[mushyhammer]

> Why not just never connect it to the network?

I don’t understand this take. I think it's pretty clear a lot of people use Netflix and YouTube and it's incredibly obvious that they wouldn't want to add an extra $100 for a lesser (read: non-integrated) experience to use it on their TV when the TV can do it natively. Of course I'm going to connect my TV to the internet, that's the only thing I use it for.

I think the only solution here would be for appliance vendors to have a "nutrition box" for privacy and advertising, so the user can pick the least obtrusive TV and the vendor cannot just add ads later.

But in the US I don't see that happening this decade.

[ilikehurdles]

I've seen the performance, advertising, bugs, and connectivity issues that happen on these smart TVs and in no way are those plug-in devices a "lesser" experience. An Apple TV interface just works and keeps rocking incredibly well. Once you've got one, you can use their one remote for their own controls as well as common TV ones (turning it off/on, volume). You pay a premium to never have to interact with the cruddy TV interface again.

[BeetleB]

> I think it's pretty clear a lot of people use Netflix and YouTube and it's incredibly obvious that they wouldn't want to add an extra $100 for a lesser (read: non-integrated) experience to use it on their TV when the TV can do it natively. Of course I'm going to connect my TV to the internet, that's the only thing I use it for.

A decent Roku can be had for $25 on discount. I think it is $35 regular price. And I'll bet it's better than what most smart TVs offer. I haven't used modern smart TVs, but several years ago, the inbuilt apps sucked. Netflix is more likely going to update its Roku app than some app on some TV. Indeed, those friends of mine who bought smart TVs 10 years ago got burnt by this within 2-3 years of purchase.

[mushyhammer]

The only smart TV I used is a Bravia 4K from 2019 and I was able to install Kodi and side load additional extensions. It was good for me. If Sony stops updating it, I think it’s fine to add a dongle to extend its lifespan. But yeah I was thinking of more expensive pieces like Apple TV.

[BeetleB]

Apple anything is expensive.

[KerrAvon]

You get this take because the solution that works right now is to never connect the TV to the internet, and instead do all of your streaming through an Apple TV (or a Pi Kodi box or something).

[damontal]

I’ve never had a smart tv that ran Netflix, etc natively better than a Roku or Fire Tv. Non-integrated means nothing here. You press a button and get Netflix whether it’s on the Roku or the slower integrated Samsung software.

[asdff]

The native TV experience is the lesser experience in this case though, and even my non tech peers agree. These devices are so underpowered they scarcely change the volume without input lag. Most everyone I know uses something like an xbox, apple tv, or fire stick, because chances are the vizio netflix app is terrible, and they might not even offer an app for some other streaming service you buy. The only time I've seen someone personally use a smart tv native app was when it was a tv actually made by roku that integrated the roku device.

[ed25519FUUU]

I think they meant leave the TV off the network but use something like an Apple TV to control the media.

[thenickdude]

Where is this $100 number coming from? Chromecast is $30

[mushyhammer]

Apple TV 4K starts at €199. $100 was an average