The hidden cost of cheap TV's

caroln said:
Sorry, I can't read the article. The website wants me to subscribe.
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No need to apologize, Im not a subscriber either, so regretfully, I didn't know that some of you would have trouble viewing the article. There are methods to bypass things like that but I'm pretty sure that I might be banned, this time for good, if I shared them with you. So, instead, I saved article as a pdf file that you can read from the link in this message. I hope you find it interesting, I know that I did as it was something that I'd never considered before.
 

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  • The Hidden Cost of Cheap TVs - The Atlantic.pdf
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Meh, I read most of the PDF. The point was that, if you set up your TV (cheap or not) to connect to the Internet and sign up with Netflix or other companies' services that require Internet access, etc., then those companies can collect data from you.

Well, duh.
 
Devi said:
Meh, I read most of the PDF. The point was that, if you set up your TV (cheap or not) to connect to the Internet and sign up with Netflix or other companies' services that require Internet access, etc., then those companies can collect data from you.

Well, duh.
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Everyone collects data from you and always have. My first adult job was with a list data broker and that was over 50 years ago. Companies would sell us your names, interests, etc. and we would broker them out, sell that data to those interested in what you were up to. No computers, we did it all by old fashioned means.
 
Thanks for the PDF. It was an interesting article but it raised some questions for me. I have what is called Super Box. It's a separate little box that sits next to my TV. It connects to my WIFI and I get like 700 channels or more. (After purchasing the box for $200 everything is free from then on.) I don't have Roku or Netflix or You Tube or any of the other services. I didn't think anyone is watching or collecting info on me, but now I wonder?

But as others mentioned, it's no different than websites collecting info.
 
Farrah Nuff said:
So, instead, I saved article as a pdf file
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Well done! 👍
So, not surprisingly a TV with "smart" capability, meaning having an operating system with media apps built in(Youtube,Netfliz,Hulu etc) can(and does) collect user data related to content viewing and shopping, and general interests and preferences. Market research.
Sadly, without a webcam the smart TV would not be able to identify @garyt1957's brand of undies or chips. ;)

P.S. the Microsoft Windows 10 & 11 operating systems for computers are designed to collect user data, as well as stimulate unnecessary computer equipment replacement. No significant improvements in function, quite the opposite I'd argue.
 
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I don't know if all TVs nowadays are Smart TVs -- but for Smart TVs, if you don't plug them into the Internet, you can just use them as a regular TV.

I'm not recommending one way or the other. Just saying it's good to be aware of the issues.
 
Alligatorob said:
Thanks @Farrah Nuff it is an interesting article. Pretty much knew about the reductions in price and increase in size...

However I had not thought about the spying on us. Is there anything we can do about it? Other than not connecting to the internet.
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I don't really know, Buddy. I'm just the messenger, not the expert but I was sharing something that, since I'd never considered it, I thought that maybe some people here hadn't thought of it either. I'd suggest Google or your favorite search engine if you want to know more.
 
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