Don’t buy the product. Don’t give them the sale.
Televisions aren’t mandatory, you can do without.
Comment on Newly purchased Vizio TVs now require Walmart accounts to use smart features
NarrativeBear@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Don’t plug in a Ethernet cord, and don’t connect it to Wifi.
Now you have a fully functional TV screen that wont be artificially bricked with OS updates.
Get a dedicated “streaming device” like a Nvidia Sheild, Android TV, Apple TV, or Roku and you are good to go.
captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
My dedicated media PC is the new Atari VCS. It works awesome and I can boot into Atari is for some light gaming too. Or emulate anything up to ps2.
Disabled all the smart TV bs and told the SO we dont use that anymore, 0 complaints so far. They’re also learning some Linux because of it!
yabbadabaddon@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
Yeah except fuck all those devices. I want a degoogled smart TV.
ieGod@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
You give up control this way. Dedicated devices are superior.
yabbadabaddon@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
Like which one
possumparty@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 days ago
mini pc with jellyfin/plex or a debrid service of your choice
garretble@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Yep. Just don’t connect it. Or connect it once a year to get some firmware updates if one wants (or better yet use a USB stick).
I have a good Samsung TV, but when I had it connected to the internet the UI would be painfully slow every time I needed to switch inputs (I have most things running through my receiver, but my PC was straight into the TV). Turning off all internet functions vastly improved my experience with this TV.
cley_faye@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Until the next one refuses to even pass through HDMI if it’s not connected.
Just don’t buy shitty devices.
frostysauce@lemmy.world 1 day ago
And what happens when the shitty devices are literally the only ones available?
bilb@lemmy.ml 1 day ago
In that case, the answer has to be shop for used or do without.
cley_faye@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Well, too bad. Do something else.
But as long as people have some brain, if the market gets a majority of “smart” devices to the point there’s enough people looking for alternative, some people are likely to try and fill the gap. It might become a new niche market, but it’s one place where supply and demand will work to our advantage.