Roku TV bricked until agreeing to new terms of service

AA5B , 7 months ago

I had the same on my 3 yr old Vizio TV earlier this week. TV was useless until I agreed. I don’t know whether it operates without an internet connection, because it has a couple Apps I use that are not supported on my Fire Stick

rehydrate5503 , 7 months ago

I have a Vizio as well. It’s been disconnected from the internet for at least 2 years now and functions fine. I guess I miss out on updates, and if I press the Vizio “home” button it freezes up as it’s trying to connect for 20-30 secs before I can do anything, but works fine with an external Android or Apple box. You obviously won’t be able to use any of their apps if you disconnect from the internet, but it’s 100% worth it.

ArgentRaven , 7 months ago

Why would a TV need an update? What's changed that would require updating to continue to display the signal it's getting?

I have a Vizio that isn't connected to the Internet and it's essentially a computer monitor for my htpc that I control.

If it ever forces me to update I'm getting rid of it.

My real concern is that in 10 years, my htpc loophole will be closed and they'll datamine me anyway and force me into subscriptions regardless.

rehydrate5503 , 7 months ago

Well that’s just it, mostly unnecessary if you’re using it as essentially a monitor (like both of us are doing). Most of the updates would have to do with their smartcast OS or additional features or apps. The updates could also have additional support for devices as new hardware comes out, bug fixes (or additional bugs), speed improvements, etc.

They could definitely implement hardware that automatically connects to wifi without your permission. I guess a solution to that would be to connect to your own internet at home, maybe on a separate subnet that is blocked from accessing the internet.

AA5B , 7 months ago

Are you able to use the built-in airPlay/Chromecast, if it’s on your local network but not the internet and assuming you have a model with that?

rehydrate5503 , 7 months ago

Not sure about chromecast, but for AirPlay you don’t need internet connection. It’s probably the same for both, but I use an AppleTV and used a Xiaomi Mibox 3 before that, and would just cast to those if I need.

AA5B , 7 months ago

I’m pretty committed to trying Apple TV like this, as everything else gets shittier faster.

Currently the only thing stopping me is rumors of a new release: If that’s going to happen, I at least want to see what it is before deciding what to buy.

For example, the practical part of the big AI push: Apple has been using more “Neural Engines” in recent processors and that directly translates to better on-device voice processing

ohlaph , 7 months ago

I wonder if they are planning some serious invasive activities.

AA5B , 7 months ago

Probably. We’re in the middle of a wave of “increased monetization” of streaming. We mostly see more ads, but more tracking helps justify a higher price for ads.

Maybe it’s all Google’s fault 😉. Now that Chrome finally implemented features to block tracking cookies, there’s a potential shift in where advertising dollars are spent. What soulless greedy corporate huckster wouldn’t be salivating at that opportunity?