If the govt is going to exert control over "smart" TVs, I would rather they ban ads and data collection from TV operating systems / apps that can't be removed.
this post was submitted on 23 Nov 2023
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The cheap TV section of JB HiFi and The Good Guys will be decimated. /s
Those ads and EULA-based privacy violations subsidise the cost of the hardware. The fact that the premium brands also extract as much user data as the cheap manufacturers is irrelevant.
There needs to be either an Industry code of conduct to prevent all user data mining or there needs to be legislation to ban all user data mining, regardless of subclauses of consent hidden in a compulsory click-through EULA.
How about nothing gets pre-installed and we can install what we actually want?
I made the mistake of getting a "smart" TV as a computer monitor because it was the only 4k display I could get my hands on. I connected it to the internet and it immediately installed 12 different streaming apps, some of which I'd never heard of, then stuck the PC display right at the end of the list. You couldn't just turn it on to the PC channel, it goes to the main menu and you'd have to scroll all the way across to the end which was off-screen every time. Instant factory reset.
Even now when I turn it on it has to go to the main menu first, then I have to select the PC, then it has a big popup about how the TV is in gaming mode because keeping that shit on is the only way it'll run at 4k above 60Hz.
A normal tv with a dongle or just connected to a media PC seems far superior to the ironically named smart TV.
Good luck finding a normal TV in a store. You have to go commercial grade to get away from the bullshit.
you can also buy large computer monitors although they are expensive as they usually have much faster refresh rates and stuff.
Never Ever connect a “smart TV” to WiFi or Ethernet.
If your TV does not function until it is connected to the Internet, take it back and return it as “not fit for purpose”.
This is not actually that different from when a government body had oversight over what TV channels were available on broadcast and what order they were numbered in. BTW never connect your TV to the internet.
I don't see the big deal. If the big American media companies get to have their apps preinstalled then I don't see why local channels shouldn't get the same treatment.
My bias is I would never connect my TV to the internet anyway.
Personally I haven't watched traditional TV channels in about a decade. To have it installed on my TV would aggravate me to no end.
I'm still fine with it, but I assume this should apply to GoogleTV/FireTV devices.
Best guess is that companies are probably paying the TV manufacturers to have their app preinstalled and appearing in front of the line.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Millions of Australians tune in each day to their favourite series and movies on streaming services – many directly through smart TVs, which are connected to the internet.
So, the federal government is drafting new laws to deal with the situation, which is already being labelled by critics as an attempt to control Australian TVs and sway viewing habits.
New smart TVs often have some streaming apps pre-installed – icons leading to subscription services such as Netflix, Apple TV+ and Binge flashing up the moment the television is turned on for the first time.
Under legislation expected to be introduced to parliament in the next fortnight, television manufacturers would be forced to ensure free Australian services sit at the top of the queue for viewers.
"Prominence means that a group of providers will get some sort of special access or dominance at the expense of another," said Patrick Delany, ASTRA chairman and chief executive of Foxtel.
Mr Delany said subscription services invested heavily in Australian productions, and that millions of dollars of spending on television shows and movies could be at risk.
The original article contains 914 words, the summary contains 182 words. Saved 80%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
The pitiful groans of a dying format. Shameless really.
Literally. I don't want to watch endless ads intermixed with tired old programming. Trying to shove it down my throat will not work either. There's a reason it's dying and they share a lot of the blame.
It's so frustrating that accommodations are made for them just because they exist and are the power brokers of yester year.
If they Vanished overnight nothing of any value would be lost.
idk this doesn't feel like a bad thing to me, all things considered. most tvs have shortcut buttons to netflix (or other) and those buttons lose their usefulness if you're not subscribed. I would never press a channel 7/9/10 button, but i don't press the netflix one either.
Seems pretty reasonable really. Contrast that to whatever is happening in Canada..
I say make sure it happens. So much media is free because we paid for it as taxpayers, but takes huge amounts of effort to find because the TV won't direct us to it. There are big bribes going on to make sure netflix is on a remote control, yet the tv doesn't even come installed with the ABC or SBS. I hope they manage to fix this.
I mean they already probably know what kinda porn I watch so yer go for it
Radical idea, just let order it howI want