Do you get analog fuzz or a blank screen when not tuned in?
“They’rrrrrrre heeeeerrrree…”
Some television models have a USB-A port for firmware updates via sneakernet. My household has a fairly old HDTV in the family room equipped with one that has long since had any manufacturer updates, and the Samsung SlimFit TX-T2793H CRT mentioned earlier also has a USB-A service port as well.
It’s analog fuzz for the non digital channels!!! Of course I have constant tinnitus so I don’t even need to have the TV on an empty channel for the Poltergeist reruns.
Who knew that old TV’s would make a comeback for privacy reasons? My (adult) children are tired of my repeated “you guys are so lucky” stories about my family only having a 13" black and white TV throughout my childhood/high-school and having a “party line” (3 other families) hardwired rotary telephone.
That seems more accurate than my googled estimate of 106lbs. Either way, it’s awkwardly heavy.
Here are a few relevant articles:
There is also an updated list of recommendations for current products on the consumer market:
Related:
Yep, good point, provided that you don’t need some crappy blackbox Windows software in order to get the firmware update.
Usually the firmware files are provided from the manufacturer’s website in a .bin file, or at most a .zip file that requires archive extraction.
I didn’t cable cut, but I did flip from Cox to T-Mobile. In the past whenever I wanted to cancel service, I got whining from the ISP, Dish Network made sales pitches to keep me on board, Verizon also made sales pitches with offers for more stuff.
When I asked Cox to cut service this week, the chat guy said “effective immediately” and lo and behold, (I was still running them on one of my devices), it stopped within 5 minutes.
Good thing I was running both services in parallel.
Yet another article: How smart TVs spy on you and harvest data • The Register
The latest and greatest in TV dystopia: Why I’m disappointed with the TVs at CES 2025 - Ars Technica
LG webOS TVs Log Audio in Standby, Map Home Networks: https://stateofsurveillance.org/news/lg-smart-tv-standby-microphone-recording-home-network-scan-2026/
The description of it reads like an advanced persistent threat that works even if there is no online connection or it’s turned off. Well, if you do it in a large enough scale, surely it must be just strategic and legal - right? An if there is a fine, surely also all those TV:s are going to get collected away and returned - right?
… sometimes I feel like I need a vulnerability scan of my friends and family, just to see how much very (not just little) spying-enabled hardware they have around their house - just to see, if I want to go see them or set up a meet somewhere else. Anyone got an app for that?
A Pi-hole surgical implant, plus anti-surveillance apparel and voice disguiser? 