this post was submitted on 30 Jan 2024
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I guess it needs to be said again: “smart TVs” are cheap because of post-purchase monetization. That is: they gather your viewing and UI interaction behaviors (and, in some cases, ambient sound) for analysis and sale by the manufacturer.
The TV is a product, sure, but so are you when you use a “smart TV” like that without mitigating its connectivity by not letting it on your network and just using a discrete streaming peripheral of some sort instead.
Cheap? I must have missed that part.
Dude, do you remember how expensive a 65” 4k TV was when the technology debuted? Paying $1000 nowadays for what’s basically cutting-edge display tech is nothing - they were in the neighborhood of $10k or more when they were first produced. And you can get one with older tech from TCL or whatever for like $3-400 now, which is embarrassingly cheap for a 65” 4k.
A lot of technology is expensive when it's first introduced and it has not reached mass market yet. Bigger TVs were already gaining popularity before Smart TVs. Getting cutting-edge display tech from a couple decades ago ain't all that.
Nah, this stuff is not nearly cheap enough to justify all the spyware and ads.
Signage TVs are basically as cheap but without the slow as balls UI filled to the brim with ads.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1652499-REG/lg_65ep5g_b_ep5g_b_series_65_class.html
Pre-purchase is monetized as well. Those streaming services that are featured on the box, and on the remote featured on the box, those are also paid placements.