That just keeps it from spying on your activities. It doesn’t prevent it from getting malware or attacking your local network after it gets malware. If it is connected to the internet and has a security flaw that is not patched, then it is vulnerable to attack. It’s a computer, only it’s not getting regular security updates like a well maintained PC or Mac. This is a real thing that is happening. See Naoza’s link above.
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I plug an ethernet in mine periodically to check for updates and then unplug it.
Are there actually updates for yours?
Also, has anyone out there made custom firmwares for Smart TVs the way we have for routers? Could get the best of both worlds. Actual full fledged HTPC with NO BOX!
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Yeah, my blu-ray player, my TV, hell even my receiver all get updates. I really only update them to make sure the HDMI keeps working correctly.
Now that is a goldmine of an idea. I wonder if anyone has. Edit: Sorta? Very early stages and only for samsung tvs
I can say that my parents were set up with a like router provided by the ISP that was just a hunk of garbage. It was only configurable from a web interface that could only be accessed from optimum.com.
I set them up with an old router I found in my closet BUT. I hung on to the optimum garbage, I wanted to experiment with flashing Tomato onto it.
Turns out optimum has made that… challenging. There are many versions of the garbage router and no easy way to tell the difference between them and each one requires some hardware modification to attempt to flash something on there.
I imagine the smarttvs may have the same problem just worse as the boards do more and are bigger.
There was an attempt a couple years ago to basically make a standard where the “Smart” part of a TV was on a physically separate board with a standardized interface. The idea being that it couldn’t go completely obsolete because you could just pick up a new single board computer and pop it in. If that had happened there could’ve been effectively a cartridge slot on your TV for your Roku / Apple TV / Steam Link / Raspi.
Personally I have a projector set up for movies and such because my living room is giant, and a smallish, old, dumb TV that I use for retro gaming etc.
That seems kind of silly to develop that kind of slot. HDMI can be that slot, and it is.
This.
This is why I would never connect my smart TV or similar devices to the internet.
HDMI isn’t that because you can’t just unplug the smart part of your smart TV. I think the original plan wasn’t intended to be a thing most consumers would mess with but it was exactly the kind of hardware project that no one can ever agree on specs for. AFAIK no one has developed a real open standard for single board computer docks that is remotely viable, and at this point I think it should just be 2 USB C ports a set distance apart.
Or we just keep using an HDMI thing and ignore that smart features entirely.
The only downsides of using HDMI are:
- You have a separate box taking up space other than your TV.
- You have to have a separate remote control for the external device if you can’t somehow program a universal remote that controls both your TV and the separate box.
1 can be solved by having an HTPC so you only have one external box in total. It can be solved further by getting a tiny enough HTPC (Raspberry Pi?) and mounting it behind the TV with a tiny HDMI cable. You’ll never see it. If you have a larger HTPC, just have to do some work hiding the cable. It’s not too hard when there’s just one box in total. Even people with Smart TVs are likely to have at least one or two external boxes. Even if you buy into the smartness, it’s never complete enough.
I’m still looking for some elegant solutions to #2. Literally the only buttons I ever push on my TV remote are Power and Input switch. That’s it. The only buttons I push on the remote for my speakers are power, mute, volume up/down and “effect”. I also have a tiny remote for my optical audio switch to choose between the Nintendo Switch and the HTPC for audio. I only press the buttons 1 and 2 on this. 99% of the time I use my wireless keyboard with touchpad.
Is there any truly universal remote out there that I can program to replace the TV, Speaker and optical audio switch remotes? Something that I can program freely to send any arbitrary IR signals?
Duct tape the three of them together.
Except instead of doing that, remove all their casings, mockup a casing that fits all 3 boards and only has the buttons you actually use on it. 3d print that mockup and then bind all the buttons to the respective boards and put them into the casing.
voila for like months of real work, you get 1 heavy remote with 3 separate infrared communicators.
I do like in a minor remote hell if I’m honest.
I’m 100% confident that something like a Logitech Harmony remote can replace my TV remote and also the remote for my speakers (which themselves are Logitech). It’s just the optical switch I’m worried about.
I will buy anything that can replace all 3 of my remotes elegantly.
I don’t think you can program it to send arbitrary IR signals, but the Logitech Harmony remotes support so many different types of hardware that you may not need to. It also has the ability to learn signals from existing remotes. They do require installing software on a PC to program them via USB, but it makes it much easier to set up than the old fashioned “look up codes in a book” sorts of universal remotes.
I’ve been using them for years and have been quite happy with them.
Oh, if it can learn from an existing remote, then it might work.
There are so many models of harmony remote, can I get by with the cheapest one?
Holy shit. This rando optical switch is specifically listed as a supported device on all logitech harmony remotes. The exact model number is in the database on the logitech site.
I’ve always used the cheaper/est ones without any problem. The more expensive ones generally do things like use recharging docks, have color touch screens, and the like.
yep. I got the $30 el cheapo. Having 1 remote instead of 3 will be great. Hopefully I can also push fewer buttons to do things.
They’re down to $30 now? Damn, last time I got one (which admittedly was a couple of years ago), the cheap ones were about $70. Still worth it IMHO, though.