Stupid TVs FTW. If you can’t buy them stupid, give them a WiFi lobotomy.
this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2025
441 points (98.2% liked)
Technology
71799 readers
4677 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related news or articles.
- Be excellent to each other!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
- Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.
Approved Bots
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
There has to be a youtube guide to giving WiFi Lobotomy
It doesn't if you don't connect it to the internet. Fortunately most smart TVs still have HDMI inputs so you can use them as dumb TVs with a PC.
Yep. My TV has not and never will be on the Internet in any way. I picked it for its screen quality, and the fact that it also has "smart" components never even entered into the decision. Because those smart components will literally never do anything.
On my Sony Bravia running Android you can just disable the Samba app from running same as you'd disable any app in Android.
no it isn't. yours might be, but not mine.
Spy all you want Agent Hisense of the Roku org, I've got you in a black box. Your communications have been cut! You'll never report back to HQ now!
The company that made my TV is engaged in copyright infringement, you say? Transmitting copyrighted images over the Internet for profit?
Huh.
My TV is not a smart TV, it's not spying on me.
Well, maybe a Hisense or a cheap soundbar might have a listening device, but they'll be hard pressed to phone home.
How old is it ? Which one did you buy
2 1920x1080 LG ones probably over 10 years ago. If smart TVs can't get online they can't spy on you.
In other news, water found to be wet, puppies cute. More at 11.
Do you have pictures of these puppies? We need confirmation.
Hundreds of snapshots a second? So my tv has at least 200 Hz? Or do they snap the same frame multiple times just for fun?
Part of the reason why I take good care of my little 24" dumb TV. It's on the lower end (poor viewing angles, absolutely no adjustment on the legs) but I still have a use for it, so I won't be replacing it.
The other concern I have with smart TVs is because manufacturers basically install a smartphone SoC, the TV's lifecycle is now the same as a smartphone. Most people probably won't connect a new smart TV box to their discontinued, laggy (thanks to bloated apps) smart TV, the completely functional unit just gets replaced.
We need regulation to be able to unlock these devices and make available the firmware drivers so that after the manufacturer stops support, the community can continue it (and obviously for us hackers, we would strip the system of all telemetry)
Comms must be infrequent bc my domain sink doesn't log anything like that from my tv when I've checked
No shit