Most smart TV owners do not connect their sets to internet

http://www.telecompaper.com/news/most-smart-tv-owners-do-not-connect-their-sets-to-internet--946053

 

You know, if the TV is actually smart it ought to be able to connect itself to the internet.

I don't have any interest in this. I'd rather keep the TV "dumb" like a monitor and not really do anything other than maybe some scaling to deal with legacy content. I'd prefer to just use a separate box that could be upgraded, replaced, and/or augmented.

 

Haha, well I am not a fan of the so called "smart TVs" either. My set top box does all I want and need.

 

I know a number of people with them, & NONE are smarted up The only reason they chose those particular models, was for the make/image quality/price. = good deal @ the time for the quality.

 

The industry just won't give up on making you connect your tv. It's that same old convergence crap that started in the 90's..

Internet and TV are two different activities. One is active, one is passive. Sometimes people want to sit and be entertained. And other times they want to interact.

Since the mode of engagement is so dissimilar, so are the devices. And merging these devices will always be fraught with annoyances - both for the consumer and the industry.

 

In my opinion "smart" devices would be an unwanted/unneeded intrusion into my home and an abuse of my right to autonomy under my own roof and an attack on my human, civil rights and security. I do not want every aspect of my life monitored and controlled by those who may not necessarily have my best interests at heart. I don't want any organisation outside my home (that does not have my explicit consent) to know (and share information) when I get up, go to bed, go out, come in, put on a kettle, turn on my lights, use a power tool, do my washing, go on holiday, have a bath or shower, have extra guests, watch tv etc. In my opinion unscrupulous monitoring and profiling are the greatest attacks on our personal integrity and liberty of the high tech age.

 

One of my relatives own a couple ones and none of them are connected to the web.

 

@ sdmod

Couldn't have said it better myself

I think that MOST people don't realise ANY/ALL of the implications of such connected devices What's even worse is, a LOT that do, don't seem to care

 

Well, I think in this case it's just a TV with things like video playback and the internet integrated into the TV itself, rather than in a separate box. It wouldn't monitor you any more than a typical PC would (or perhaps less, since you likely wouldn't be using it for web browsing as much as your PC).

Although, one concern is that you wouldn't have as much control over the software in this thing as you would a PC.

 

http://www.telecompaper.com/news/brits-prefer-stbs-over-smart-tvs-for-catch-up-tv-study--946783

 

What kind of malware could infect a smart TV or a set-top box ?

I don't have either; just wondering.

 

The problem is that it might not be a problem now but could be in the future.

 

I don't see a point of having a smart TV if a dumb TV does exactly what I need it to do. Each to their own.

 

I have a Smart TV and it's quite dumb and slow.

 

I imagine it appeals to people who like all-in-one computers, in which all of the hardware is in the monitor.

 

Some smart TVs use Android as the operating system. Also there a plenty of external Android devices (external boxes, or USB stick sized devices which plug directly in the the TV's HDMI port) which connect to the HDMI port of a TV and to convert it to a smart TV. These will be able to be infected just like Android phones and tablets.

 

You can view YouTube videos or other online videos or play games for example.

 

Not me anyway, I like iMacs for example, but I don't like Smart TVs, and I would never buy one.

 

I think there was a thread a while back wich was about internet connected set-top boxes that "could" perhaps get infected or what is was about, don't remember exactly.

 

Yeah, most of the current Smart TV's are quite sluggish. I know because my uncle owns one and i cant even watch Youtube HD videos in full screen.

 

Does he have a slow internet connection, I figure the smart function must work better on faster connections, no? And I imagine it has to be done over wireless too? Sorry for asking

 

His internet can handle HD videos the problem is that the TV Youtube app doesnt support full screen HD videos from Youtube . . . it only plays anything in full screen except 720P/1080P. I think its because it doesnt have enough processing power.

 

Same problem here and I think it has something to do with flash because if I stream 1080p movies from my PC using Plex Server it's working fine.

 

I see, well that's just how good the not so "Smart" function is I guess, after all it's a TV and not a computer, and even if you can browse with it, the processing power just isn't there

 

They can make them have enough process power anyday, but the economy is still working using the principle: let's fool the stupid suckers.