...selling TVs.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/10/22773073/vizio-acr-advertising-inscape-data-privacy-q3-2021
https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/3/24312508/walmart-vizio-acquisition-complete
Walmart bought Vizio - The Verge
"$2.3 billion transaction closed on Tuesday. The retail giant says the acquisition will help bolster its advertising business, as Platform Plus — the TV-maker's advertising and data division — "accounts for all the company's [Vizio's] gross profit."
All that data will be a boon for Walmart's growing advertising business, which has already started leveraging shopper information to target ads on Disney Plus and Hulu"
June 2022: Debbie says "Buy 2 $420 55" 4K Ultra-HDTV DUMB TVs NOW!"
Glad I did.
>DUMB TV's
Good call. Dumb TV's are getting hard to find.
I had to buy a $70 32" dumb TV for my 93 yr old mother. It had to be a dumb TV because Mom, with zero internet, would have been totally confused by menus, pop up ads, streaming reminders, whatever. I think I got the last one at the local Best Buy and they had to send a rock climber up the racks to near the store roof to get it down. I struck out at Walmart. The clerk told me they weren't stocking dumb Tv's in-store anymore.
I have not bought a TV since 2010, but a thinking of getting a new one for the rental.
What do I need to look for? Or is it just a case of "abandon hope ye who enter here"?
This is the brand & model I bought
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CJV674U
Looks like the 50" version is still available. But double-check the specs comparison
https://www.amazon.com/Sceptre-50-inches-LED-U508CV-UMC/dp/B01CJV6722/141-8618786-3947530
Amazon.com: Sceptre UTV 50" Class 4K LED TV 3840x2160 U508CV-UMC 4X HDMI Ports, Metal Black : Electronics
Looks like Sceptre is pulling out of TVs. Their Amazon store is 100% monitors now.
In any case, the rental has a custom built-in with a fireplace and TV cabinet limited at 44" by 27.5" which means a 46" or, possibly, a 48" TV. Some 50" TVs are advertised as 40" wide on the dot, but I'm afraid it would just fail to fit.
It's funny - when we bought the TV 14years ago, 46" seemed big. Now it's hard to find one that *small*
Mostly I don't want a TV that serves its own ads. Ideally, it would be a semi-smart TV with built-in ability to run apps so I don't have to have a Roku. The fewer things renters can touch and the fewer remotes, the better. And since it's not my privacy I'm giving up (even better, constantly rotating set of viewer throws noise into the signal), I'm not going to get too down in the weeds about that.
But ads and huge network security holes are an issue. I could put it on a separate satellite router. I'm not using the Pi that I was using for channel bonding. Maybe just put all the IOT devices on a Pi Hole router and then just not worry about all that other stuff
2022:
Hacker News has a post that says LG is circumventing pi-hole by putting ads on same server as content.
https://th3core.com/talk/hardware-technology/terrified-of-my-new-tv/msg77505/#msg77505
https://www.google.com/search?q=Lg+stops+pi+hole+not+working
Roku TV has roku streambox built in now, IIRC.
I swear writers check th3core for ideas.
https://www.makeuseof.com/reasons-why-dumb-tvs-deserve-a-comeback/
Why Dumb TVs Deserve a Comeback
More likely, there are a lot of cranky, grumpy curmudgeons in the world. Some post here. Some are actual journalists.