Gonna keep it real with you chief. TVs should have never needed updates.
I’m going to agree with you 100% but offer an anecdote, my lg tv has an hdmi 2.0 port but didn’t support Dolby vision at 120 hz out of the box. After an update, it now supports it. Should LG have had that ready to go by the time of manufacture ? Maybe. With design and manufacturing timelines maybe the spec wasn’t ready to implement by the time needed. Is Samsung going to use this to enshitify the tv? Maybe. But the time from design, to manufacture, to retail is such a long process there are cases where a feature update can be justified
Maybe I'm just jaded, but I feel like they are doing this to maximize how long they have to inject ads and unnecessary features that track our data into our lives. My TV is not connected to the internet.
I'd rather not have software updates and just have a tv that accepts hdmi, displayport, and AV
They could offer 20 years of updates, and I still wouldn’t give it internet access.
I have connected my TV to the Internet a few times just to update the firmware. Then I turned it right back off again. Not sure if this was actually a great call or not, but I couldn’t help myself. Probably should’ve checked to see if I could do it with a USB drive at least lol.
Genuinely curious, what new features did that updated firmware have that were valuable to you?
At least on my TV, I've had firmware updates enable things like variable refresh rate, enable 4K/120Hz, improve the dynamic contrast performance, and fix a couple of weird bugs it had shipped with.
last firmware update I performed for my TV removed features, including the ability to see what resolution and framerate the set was currently displaying.
Nice. Now make a TV that doesn't need updates. Hint: Drop the internet connection.
Now now, you didn't think that through. How then would you get your data mined and be served delicious ads, hm?
Well obviously with the block chain, duh.
when i was growing up we had a thirty year old television that worked fine
Nobody is saying the TV won't work just because updates stop. Although I really haven't seen an LED or LCD look to good after 10 years, either.
Why should a TV ever need updates? Does anyone still make good "dumb" TVs that don't want/need an internet connection?
Askin' the real questions here... average answer i've seen is Buy a monitor instead.
I believe the search term you seek may be "commercial signage display"
I do purchasing for a company that installs digital signage, yeah this is what you want.
Look at the CDE series by Viewsonic or similar, we mostly order Viewsonics so they’re who I’ve seen.
These also tends to be designed for 16/7 runtime, which should be way more than most residential usage — unless grandma keeps it running 24/7… but hey, if you splurge a bit more, there are models designed for 24/7 as well.
I wanted a dumb tv. I was so sick of looking, I just got a 27" gaming monitor with 2k resolution for $150.
You can also get a 32" 4K monitor for like $500 but I didn't really need that.
I've had updates fix issues with HDR and what not, but I do agree, and think dumb TVs so be more available
I bought a 50" TCL 5 Series a few years ago on-sale and never connected it to internet. It does fine for my needs and doesn't bother me about connection or apps at all.
Oh thank goodness! I would hate to have some hackers invade my television set and my viewing habits be pwned by somebody ... Besides Samsung I mean... or anyone who might be willing to pay Samsung.
I wish a hacker would open up this shit crap Tizen OS garbage on my TV so I can use the exploit to install a minimal linux setup and no longer need to connect directly to my PC again.
I'll never buy another Samsung TV. I bought a top of the line LCD/LED TV in late 2020 and it had so many weird issues:
It had frame rate issues with some streaming devices. It was widely reported as an issue in the Samsung forums, but it was never fixed.
The interface wasn't user friendly, taking many many more button presses to switch Inputs than any other TV I've had.
The grid of LEDs that were supposed to turn on and off to help make dark spots darker ended up being distracting, you could clearly see when one or two of the LEDs turned on, causing an area to get highlighted by comparison.
Nope, never again, I bought an nice LG OLED and it's great, build quality, UI, responsiveness, picture quality.
My Samsung S90C OLED is pretty good. I spent a lot of time researching TVs and user reviews before I bought it though, and an LG OLED also made the shortlist.
Which TV did you buy? I bought a KS8000 in 2016 and it never has any issues and I use an Apple TV with it. I’m surprised you are having so many issues with a top of the line TV.
It was a Q90T bought in October of 2020. I also remembered another issue, after I replaced the TV with an LG, I started using it with a gaming laptop so my friend and I could play games on PC together. But we had nights were we spent an whole hour trying to get the TV to recognize the Laptop's output. Sometimes it'd work, other nights it would refuse, and it got worse over time. I hate that TV with a fiery passion, it cost so much money and it was not worth it, not even close. The prior TV I had was a Sony top of the the line in 2007, and it was immaculate, lasted until 2020 when I replaced it.
Wow that sucks. I’m sorry to hear about the issues you had. Looks like their quality has gone down. I think LG is the leading tv manufacturer now.
I did this as well. Been buying Samsung since 2006 and finally said let's get a high end one around 2017... it was incredible, for like 4 months, then it started having some issues with lines appearing on and off. It was so quick at first I didn't think to take action (also in denial). By the time it was bad it was like a year later and the warranty was over. I haven't needed a tv in years since I'm living with it, but the next one will no longer be a samsung.
I have a samsung tv from 2016 and it always lags terribly when switching inputs. Sometimes the menu takes 20 seconds to load. What is it doing?
Same experience here with any Samsung TV made in the last 10 years. I bought a cheap 40" Samsung in 2010 that worked perfect for a decade, but after buying a new one I had problems immediately with it not recognizing inputs, scrambled screen occasionally when I turn it on, and the menu sticking on screen occasionally.
My BIL has gone through probably 4 separate Samsung QLED TVs in the last several years because they keep breaking on him (coincidentally his kids have also been over the last few days doing laundry because their Samsung washer and dryer is broken for the hundredth time).
I also recently bought an LG OLED (C3) and it's the best TV I've ever used.
Samsung products are just pure garbage now and have been on a steady decline over the last 10 years.
Will it shut down after the seven years, telling you that the software running on the TV is "no longer supported"?
All in the name of your security of course :)
What they’re saying: “we promise to support your device for seven years! Isn’t that great!”
What they mean: “We promise to keep our spying/data gathering/ad serving updated to the latest spying/gathering/ad tech to extract as much data and money as we can.”
(I 100% didn’t read this article and am 100% taking the piss on these shitty companies spying on us and manipulating us)
I actually do trust this bro tbh
No thank you.
Haha, look how proudly she is gesturing towards the ads :D
Okay cool. But can they be user serviceable, repairable and/ or dumb, as in not connected to WiFi. I'd much rather just connect my Xbox, Kodi box, jellyfin or PC to my TV and use those to access my media, rather than do it on the TV. Can we bring back pretty, dumb, repairable TVs? Please and Thank you.
I'd love standarized modules to unscrew and separate the "smart" part just like a desktop pc can. If they want to shove in that shit, then at least make me able to pull them out.
just tried disconnecting the "smart" part of my desktop pc. Now all I have is an expensive space heater.
Gets an update a couple of years in to fix some bugs.
Gets second update on year 5 to add ads in all menus.
Gets a third update on year 6 to add a nag banner saying it isn't going to work anymore soon with a discount code for a new Samsung TV.
Gets a fourth update on year 7 on the backend to disable Samsung account access from the TV but on the front end of the TV making Samsung account access mandatory to use the TV.
I’m old
I remember dlp tvs and 40 inch tubes that weighed 200lbs.
I bought one of the first 1080p large screen LCDs that wasn’t $10k. A Sony XBR 46” for like $3000. At one point, I thought “man I should replace that TV, I can get a bigger screen, a thinner bezel, and better blacks”
And then I remember that this 20 year old TV has no internet connection, no ads, no bs, a million connections of any type (want to hook up that retro console - boom this tv can do it) AND it still looks good after all these years. It’s arguably a great tv, better than a lot of the crap being sold today. Funny and unexpected.
I think I’ll keep that TV forever.
I am doing this for your own good, boy
Sure daddy 🤡
FTS. I’m still using a Visio that’s a good 10 years old with an Apple TV.
Will they reprice it for a 7 year lifespan?
A baby step in the right direction.
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
