I love my smart TV. I love the way it takes a long time to boot up because it's trying to refresh the advertisements on the home screen. I delight in the way it randomly restarts because it's downloaded an update without asking me, each of which makes the TV slower and slower with every subsequent install. I adore the way it buries the apps that I want to use, and that I use without fail every single time, below the apps that it's being paid to promote and which I have never touched in my life and would never use without the cold metal of a glock pressed hard against my sweating temple. I am infinitely thrilled by the way the interface lags constantly, due to the need to have one thousand unnecessary animations rendered on hardware ripped wholesale from a ten year old phone. I feel myself borne aloft on wings of pure joy when I am notified that my data will be collected and analysed to determine my useage patterns. Even now I am writing this from a field of beautiful flowers and soft luscious grass as I lie and look up happily at the bright blue sky, smiling happily to know that this is the future of technology

@burgerdrome maybe try free to air? My 10+ year old 27” Samsung Tv still going great and doesn’t spy on me because it can’t.

(Funny story, when the antenna distribution system in our apartment block died recently, we were the only ones to complain. We already knew we were the weird old couple in the building but that proved it decisively 🤪 We tried using The Internet while it was off but the experience was too awful, much as you describe in fact.)

@dj2mn @burgerdrome watching FTA doesn't stop a smart TV from doing all that bullshit stuff. The only way is to completely block its network access. And then you lose Netflix et al unless you have a set top box of some description...

...which is just as susceptible to enshittification :(

@unfnknblvbl @burgerdrome Fortunately for me there's nothing on Netflix that really appeals so I don't subscribe. I have an old rev2 AppleTV which is slowly becoming more incompatible with everything (something something HDMI something?) but I can still stream from my phone or iPad in an emergency. As mentioned earlier tho the whole experience is pretty awful and I was very glad to get my FTA back and not have to dick around with the tech. One area I'm entirely comfortable being a luddite in :)
@dj2mn @burgerdrome I mean, replace Netflix with Plex or YouTube or whatever... I'm honestly surprised the Shield hasn't been killed off by now, to be honest. Eight years and counting!
@unfnknblvbl
Takes that long to depreciate that much up-front cost. Too rich for my blood.
@dj2mn @burgerdrome