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Comment by lrvick | Hacker News Reader

Buy any TV you want, ignore all instructions to connect it to the internet, then look for an HDMI port on the back. Plug an HDMI cable into one end, and in the other end plug in a cheap Linux computer like a used Intel NUC from ebay. Then use a nice air-mouse remote like the Pepper Jobs W10.

I watch any movie or TV show I want in 4k via Kodi, but then can alt tab to a Terminal or a real web browser.

Privacy, and dramatically more functionality than any TV would ship with anyway.

Using this setup to type this message right now on pc hooked to a projector in my garage from my couch.

It turns out we never needed Smart TVs in the first place. Just treat it as a screen for a desktop computer.

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Samsung TVs (and probably others) will connect to other Samsung TVs in range and exfiltrate data via that route… merely not connecting the TV doesn’t present data harvesting

Iirc, Amazon uses a tool they call “sidewalk” for this purpose

In that case, jailbreak it, or open it and unsolder the wifi antenna, or put some well placed copper tape until you no longer see any wifi traffic from the TV from other wifi capable devices running a wifi packet inspector.

The TV belongs to you and it will obey you with modest effort.

Alternatively, don't give your money to e-waste vendors.

Sure when the choice exists, but we should encourage de-fanging the hardware that is already purchased.

I want to know how to disable their external communication via wifi, I'd like to see how they are exfiltrating info. If I don't connect them to my wifi, apparently they connect to Xfinity wifi at your neighbors house.

Basically don’t buy Samsung or LG if you really care.

But that's the OP's question isn't it? What brand can you buy that isn't outright evil?

Especially considering some models now refuse to work without seeing an internet connection during the setup procedure

Sony has treated me well and I don’t have it internet connected. It’s the one brand I haven’t seen nag when you have the internet disconnected. Was also easy to just opt right out of connecting it. Pretty standard google tv too.

They don’t do that. Do you have a source?

There’s something called Wi-Fi Direct but it requires explicit pairing. And Sidewalk isn’t on TVs. There’s no evidence of Samsung TVs trying to use each other as relays.

>Samsung TVs (and probably others) will connect to other Samsung TVs in range and exfiltrate data via that route

Do you have a source for this? Because the implication is that my Samsung TV will connect to my neighbours Samsung TV, and send my PII through their network without my consent, which would be a huge deal in Europe.

[citation needed]

Better hope that no guest connects the TV to their phone hotspot to watch their Netflix like one user in a previous post reported happened to them.

There is no way any guest in my home would not know my views on such things. I would respond to this in the same way as finding out a guest hid a microphone in my living room.

Yes. Or you can do the same thing with a regular monitor that has no wifi capabilities at all. Some are quite large, good quality and good price.

Did this for years when I was single living in a tiny room. Nothing wrong with this either!

LG’s monitors were caught installing adware on Windows computers recently…

Through an HDMI connection?

Through Windows automatic driver downloads.

The problem here is Microsoft as much as LG. The same monitor on Linux wouldn't download anything. This would require root anyway.

Many 75"+ monitors you can recommend?

Or use something Kodi as the OS and just have a TV like interface. You can also run a Jellyfin client on linux or with Kodi and have that as a reasonable interface for the TV too.

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