this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2026
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196
Stopping the smart TV from being used against you. (www.s-config.com)
submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by inari@piefed.zip to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 12 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

I recently bought a new TV and did some research to find the "least worst" TV with regard to internet connectivity and reliance on its "smart OS" navigation to just use an external HDMI port. I can report pretty good news for the Sony Bravia line of Android TVs.

  • there was no requirement to connect it to the internet
  • during setup there is a choice for "basic" which adds only a few default apps (which are uninstallable/disablable by the user)
  • there is a setting called "Power on and remember last input port". What this means is you last used HDMI1 port when you powered off the TV, when you power it back up again it automatically goes right back to that HDMI input port without any extra button presses or user interaction. In practice this means you see the Sony logo on the screen and just a fraction of a second the graphic circles of part of the AndroidTV interface before it switches to the HDMI1 input where we left off before powering off the tv prior.

Bonus feature we like:

  • there is a setting you can enable/disable that if the TV is already powered on, when you power on a device on another HDMI port than the one you're on, the TV will automatically switch to that HDMI input without prompting. So if we're watching the AppleTV on HDMI1 and then want to watch a Blu-ray, simply powering on the Blu-ray player will also have the TV switch to that HDMI2 input.

I wish there was no AndroidTV OS on it at all, but the only time I've ever seen it was the one time when we went through the initial setup. We haven't seen or interacted with it since.

[–] FourThirteen@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

Are there TVs that require an internet connection to simply use without "smart" features?

[–] Aibo1@ani.social 5 points 9 hours ago

I recently purchased an old plasma TV I will be tinkering with. No internet connectivity of any kind. It is hard to get excited about new TVs that are basically google and Bezos boxes and I do not wish to send them a single dime just to be spied on when I just want to watch my movies on bluray.

I am aware I can just disconnect my TV from the internet, but I don't want to support the stupid platforms that are built into the TV. Why is it any of Googles, amazon or any other platforms business what I use my TV for?

[–] newton@feddit.online 5 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

Just buy a monitor ,connect a SBC to it ,ad software ,install IPTV player, tvgarden , and visit FMHY.net for ideas

[–] CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world 4 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

ad software

I prefer my TVs to have no ads, thank you very much.

[–] newton@feddit.online 1 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

😂😂😂🤔😂😂😂, never seen ads in the last 10 years

[–] WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 7 points 7 hours ago (3 children)

and how will you control it with the TV remote? don't say to use the mouse and keyboard from the couch because then I rather won't turn it on at all

[–] ccunix@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago

Use Kodi and it will respond to HDMI-CEC. Works a treat with my LG.

[–] CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (1 children)

Get a media TV remote and a USB IR receiver.

Edit: I wrote Bluetooth when I meant USB

[–] WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

It is clear until that point, but how do you set up full control with that? afaik by default nothing listens to the input events generated by the IR receiver

[–] CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

Well, certain inputs like will map directly to keyboard equivalents. The OK button generally maps to . And then other inputs like play/pause, volume, skip forward/backward are standard PC inputs that just about every OS supports out of the box. Most keyboards have those buttons on them and they "just work".

For additional functionality you can use specialized software to manage it.

The IR receiver is just a "translator". The input the computer sees is just a standard HID peripheral (Human Input Device).

[–] crispbacon99@lemmy.zip 90 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Not connecting it to the internet and using HDMI like we've been doing for the last 20 years...

[–] NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip 5 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

Except there are lots of good reasons to hate HDMI.

So reluctantly using HDMI is more appropriate.

[–] Brewchin@lemmy.world 23 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This. Everything is this.

[–] bigmclargehuge@lemmy.zip 22 points 23 hours ago (3 children)

My fear is that this will change. We already saw LG load malware via windows when connected. So in theory future devices like Roku and Apple TV could act as a proxy for the tv.

[–] CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

We already saw LG load malware via windows when connected.

This was 100% a Windows driver issue as opposed to a TV issue. And I could see possibly Roku doing this, but not Apple. Apple being Unix based precludes the type of driver loading that Windows is susceptible to.

Same goes for Linux. Just use Linux.

[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 2 points 6 hours ago

So in theory future devices like Roku

This is your reminder that the Roku company is currently in the process of being purchased by Fox News. No, I'm not joking.

[–] harmbugler@piefed.social 14 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

I also fear we will have to install faraday mesh in our walls when these things start arriving with their own internet connection to collect your data and show you ads.

[–] boatswain@infosec.pub 3 points 22 hours ago (1 children)
[–] Prove_your_argument@piefed.social 6 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

I can only imagine how this would totally screw with cell signal and probably generic interference with wanted wireless tech.

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 1 points 10 hours ago

As someone who lives in an older style house that totally screws with cell reception “Wi-Fi Calling” makes all the difference

[–] inari@piefed.zip 12 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

I hear that some models now require internet access to even be able to use it

[–] hansolo@lemmy.today 1 points 7 hours ago

Only items with the price subsidized by the speculative price of data harvested from the consumer.

Pay full (real) price for a higher end product and you skip the game entirely.

[–] RamRabbit@lemmy.world 44 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (1 children)

Sounds like a great item to return to the store for a full refund. Manufactures just love returned products, completely destroys the profit on the next several sales.

[–] schipelblorp@sh.itjust.works 9 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (1 children)

unfortunately, the store often eats the cost as a lower-priced open box.

[–] BassTurd@lemmy.world 22 points 19 hours ago

Then it's on the store to stop carrying bad products.

[–] hornedfiend@sopuli.xyz 7 points 17 hours ago

But what stops LG from convincing the Ubuntu maintainers to make an LG variant of their supposed driver to magically appear in your snap or apt package repository? You hope to God they don't, but the danger is always there.

What a convoluted way of saying Linux is better. And using Ubuntu as reference...

[–] Lenny@lemmy.zip 19 points 21 hours ago (2 children)

My dream is for my kid to learn enough about electronics to be able to open up his TV, identify any microphones, and be able to disable them. Then he might have a chance of privacy when he’s an adult.

[–] MountingSuspicion@reddthat.com 12 points 9 hours ago

That's likely not going to cover it. They're taking snapshots of what's on screen and sending that info home. They're using wifi and Bluetooth to get your location and information about what other devices you have. Never connecting it to the internet is going to be one of the best things to do for privacy.

[–] hansolo@lemmy.today 2 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Lenny, never let that TV touch the internet. Who's that mic going to talk to with no connectivity?

[–] LaggyKar@programming.dev 1 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

Unless they start adding cellular connectivity for serving ads. Though maybe the calculation doesn't work out, presumably most people would either connect the TV to the internet voluntarily, or they're not gonna use the TV:s UI much and thus not see many ads.

[–] SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 21 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Keep it offline? Wow, that was easy.

[–] einfach_orangensaft@sh.itjust.works 15 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago) (1 children)

just because it isnt conneted to your network dosent mean it isnt sending data over side channels it could:

  • use alternative networks provided by other devices (ring cams, amazon echo etc)

  • decentral networks like apple or google tracking networks via phones

  • it could strait out have a sim card with modem

  • sending ultrasonic tones recived by ad tracking networks on smartphones

  • high speed IR flickers that could be recived by smartphones distance sensor

  • samsung service personal in the building across the street with a big telescope

[–] hansolo@lemmy.today 3 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

I'd genuinely love to see real evidence of any of these things being used in a wide range of models.

These are mostly expensive options (a SIM card for every TV? really?) and require maintenance and finesse, and aren't needed for the majority of units shipped. Occam's razor would suggest they're happy enough with anyone stupid enough to connect the TV that all this work for 5-10% of their market isn't worth the additional marginal cost to each unit.

[–] wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago

...by not buying one. /thread

[–] schipelblorp@sh.itjust.works 2 points 20 hours ago

Ha! I knew there had to be an EDID blocker out there!

[–] Rebels_Droppin@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I love this writing style

[–] Estebiu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 15 hours ago

How you gonna watch the nfl then??