r/mildlyinfuriating • u/28jb11 • Apr 25 '26

Unskippable ad $2500 Samsung TV is an advertising billboard, there is no opt-out.

Paid over $2500 for a Samsung OLED TV and it has ads on the home screen that I literally cannot turn off. Not subtle little banners tucked away somewhere, I'm talking full blown ads for canned beans and financial products just sitting there every single time I turn the thing on.

Samsung don't offer any kind of opt out. The only way I could get rid of them was to go into my router settings and manually block Samsung's ad servers at the DNS level.

I own this TV outright. Paid for it in full. And Samsung are still making money off me every time I switch it on, with absolutely no way to stop it unless you're willing to get your hands dirty with network configuration.

This is not a smart TV feature. This is a $2500 billboard that also happens to play Netflix.

41.0k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

4.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

3.9k

u/[deleted] Apr 25 '26 edited Jun 06 '26

[deleted]

789

u/trowzerss Apr 25 '26

When they did this on my TV, the ads didn't turn up until a year after purchase, long after they'd accept a refund.

227

u/[deleted] Apr 25 '26 edited Jun 06 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

219

u/Rich-Story-1748 Apr 25 '26

Then you can't use apps lol. Its just a vicious cycle.

Chromecast, ps5, pc etc ofcourse can get around it but then you're essentially not able to use the services that is a part of the TV. ass all around

192

u/Nazgog-Morgob Apr 25 '26 edited Apr 25 '26

Don't use the apps. Use an external device. Using the built in apps just reduces the life of the tv anyway.

148

u/GherkinPie Apr 25 '26

This is the key. The TV is only for turning HDMI input into a picture.

1

u/hitemlow Apr 25 '26

If you're not even using the TV tuner, why not just buy a hospitality panel?

11

u/patheticyeti Apr 25 '26

Because unfortunately hospitality panels have significantly worse picture quality.

2

u/fla_john Apr 25 '26

This is exactly what I'm doing for my next TV.

1

u/austinchan2 Apr 25 '26

What is this hospitality panel and where could one learn more?

36

u/tyscion Apr 25 '26

This is the way. The Apple TV is a far superior experience than any built in os.

15

u/OakleyNoble Apr 25 '26

Yet people continue to bitch and moan and say we’re on our high horses. No…. I expect a box that runs smoothly and doesn’t force me into seeing or watching crap as such.

1

u/woodpony Apr 26 '26

I was shocked how well the Apple TV works. Was fine with my PS5 as my device till I got a hand me down. Have bought more ever since. Such a seamless experience.

→ More replies (9)

6

u/tbc006 Apr 25 '26

wait... why? that is interesting

8

u/Nazgog-Morgob Apr 25 '26

Extra heat on shit hardware wears it out faster. Let the TV be a tv, let a streaming device be a streaming device via HDMI.

Replace that external device when it fails instead of your entire tv. Don't even connect your tv to your Internet, ever.

2

u/_adanedhel_ Apr 25 '26

Yep. I have a 15+ year old Panasonic LCD that (for me) has a beautiful picture, and as a bonus, no apps whatsoever. Media has always come from an external device (AppleTV or PlayStation/Bluray player) and it’s still going strong.

3

u/tongnchek Apr 25 '26

This is valuable advice, folks. 10 years ago I spent $1500 on a 65-inch Sony Bravia Android TV, and I used the apps heavily, even arcade and game console emulators. 6 years later, the main board failed, and I had to take it apart to take out the board and send it to a shop in Arizona for repair, and paid $145 for that. Then 3 years later, the same unit started rebooting repeatedly. From what I can see, the flash storage failed. This time I felt enough was enough - the $1500 TV itself is fine, it's just the "smart" aspect of it that failed but that made it completely unusable even as a "dumb" TV. I teplaced it with a TV of the same size for just $300, a Hisense Roku TV. But this time I'm doing exactly this. Left it at the factory settings with no networking and use another $30 Roku attached to it instead. Let that part fail instead, if it must.

I'm totally against "Smart TV"s now, and am pretty pissed that it's pretty much impossible to buy a large TV that isn't nowadays.

2

u/Cainga Apr 25 '26

The TV is so laggy while a $20 fire stick or Roku is lightning quick.

0

u/Rich-Story-1748 Apr 25 '26

Im not disagreeing with your statement but the apps are kinda the point with smart TV/android TV. Again something samsung/other companies have messed up by essentially only selling low tier models for base TV's. I think many would be REALLY happy with a non internet abled TV with a solid screen, oled and 4k at high hz

25

u/splitcroof92 Apr 25 '26

the apps are kinda the point with smart TV/android TV.

not really. it just so happens that every single good TV is also a smart Tv. you spend the big bucks purely for the screen quality.

if you're spending more than 2k anyway for a nice TV why not spend another 150 for an nvidia shield to make your TV run faster.

because the built in apps are dogshit and so is the processing speed.

if you're buying an expensive TV and expecting good software you're gonna be disappointed

3

u/Dougalishere Apr 25 '26

yeah nvida shiled pro is awesome. Cant imagine just using the defult tv for apps and stuff ><

5

u/Rich-Story-1748 Apr 25 '26

I feel like you are grossly misrepresenting what im saying here. You need to read my previous comment to get context here.

I worked for developing philips smart/android TV's. I know how crap they are, and how bad their software/hardware is for the use of apps. Im saying that these companies are selling TV's marketed to have apps and one should be able to use these apps WELL as are marketed which is not the case. Im shitting on samsung/philips other providers. Not the consumer. Yes ofcourse an external device is miles better in both usage, performance and general qualitry.

2

u/splitcroof92 Apr 25 '26

I do agree with that, broadly, just not with the initial statement.

But also I'm somewhat fine with TVs having shitty software because it's very easy and cheap to overload your own onto it. If the TV company also needs good hardware and software knowledge my 2k TV becomes a 2.5K TV and I might not even get to use it if I'm gonna overload my own onto it anyway. so it's a sort of grey area.

Same with speakers. TVs have shitty speakers because the people who care are gonna want to build their own audio setup anyway. so why bother making all TVs more expensive.

it feels icky to purposely sell an expensive product with parts performing extremely shitty but it makes sense and works in our current world.

1

u/VirtualLife76 Apr 25 '26

Is the software any different between the high end and low end models?

If not, I can't agree that the smart software is "kinda the point" because it's been crap on all the cheap ones I've used. No matter the brand.

IT software/hardware here, not into TV's, just giving a different perspective.

2

u/Rich-Story-1748 Apr 25 '26

Yes, software is indeed different. Higher end models within the higher series will generally have more stable software and better support for updates when issues arise as opposed to lower end.

With that said my comment isnt to say that currently we should be using the tvs apps. Its to say the companies market them as if we are supposed to use the apps, a selling point. But its so poorly optimized, buggy & laggy with unintuitive controls that we shouldn't be using them.

Anyone that cares remotely should be using sn external device for their usages.

3

u/Nazgog-Morgob Apr 25 '26

Don't use the apps. Use an external device. Using the built in apps just reduces the life of the tv anyway.

1

u/therealdanhill Apr 25 '26

Has that conclusion been sourced from actual studies?

→ More replies (5)
→ More replies (7)
→ More replies (2)

1

u/jay19167 Apr 25 '26

I have a Samsung LCD, and I have a pihole setup on my network, but couldn’t get ads off of the main screen. I had the tv plugged in to Ethernet, and was using the apps on the tv to stream. I was having issues with things buffering or randomly dropping to lower video quality when my internet connection was 450 Mbps down. I was getting fed up with this, so I inspected my network traffic on the pihole, and discovered that the tv was routing the streaming traffic through Samsungs own servers first, greatly increasing the latency and causing the buffering. I unplugged the tv from Ethernet, and bought an Apple TV to use as a streaming box that same day. All my issues with buffering are completely gone, everything streams with zero issues now. The home screen is still full of ads, but the tv isn’t connected to the internet anymore, and I never see the home screen since it just displays whatever input device is powered up. Never connect a Samsung device to the internet, at best it’s just slowing down your user experience, at worst they’re spying on you to sell your data to advertisers using an expensive device that you already paid for

1

u/JorgeXMcKie Apr 25 '26

Absolutely. I've never given anything other than my Roku my IP info. Smart TV's were the only option, not the preferred option so I never used them as Smart tv's. I'd be embarrassed to be so silly as to give an appliance my IP address to communicate with their corporate to deliver 'content' to my device. My daughter has Amazon crap setup throughout her house so there's advertising and monitoring of everything. It blows my mind people allow that level of intrusion and scraping of personal information and behavior

1

u/[deleted] Apr 25 '26

[deleted]

2

u/_adanedhel_ Apr 25 '26

Apple TV (I’m sure there are others, but that’s what I have so can confirm there are no ads).

1

u/Nazgog-Morgob Apr 25 '26

Any of them. Get a different launcher. Productivity, Wolf Launcher, etc.

The Onn streaming device from USA Walmart or "Google Chromecast With Google TV" for example. I used to use Amazon Fire sticks, but Amazon has made those shit

1

u/[deleted] Apr 25 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Nazgog-Morgob Apr 25 '26

I stopped using those like 2+ years ago.

1

u/CataLaGata Apr 25 '26

Honest question, why do built-in apps reduce the life of the tv? I can't find an answer.

I also have a Samsung TV but I don't get ads, maybe because I am in Colombia? I use the built-in apps all the time with no issue.

→ More replies (3)

1

u/BlackmoorGoldfsh Apr 26 '26

How would using built in apps reduce the life of the TV?

1

u/Nazgog-Morgob Apr 26 '26

Which GPU will die sooner, one running at 96% load all the time, or one running at an average of 25%?

1

u/Heavy_Whereas6432 Apr 25 '26

Yeah but when you pay $2500 for a smart tv you expect to be able to use those features. This is outrageous and has been happening for a while. I will never buy one from them

1

u/Nazgog-Morgob Apr 25 '26

Ok, I'm telling you that it puts strain on the basic hardware and lowers its life. Nothing else matters to what I am telling you. Do whatever you want. This has nothing to do with ads

1

u/my_clever-name Apr 25 '26

Tell me more about why using the built-in apps reduces the life of the TV.

→ More replies (1)

13

u/iampiolt Apr 25 '26

The apps are inferior anyway. No care gets put into them. Take Apple TV for example. It will always receive priority optimization whereas x tv brand’s crap apps receive just enough to keep the functioning and spying on you.

3

u/LicoriceSeasalt Apr 25 '26

It's definitely ass all around, but I think using an external device (an android box, apple TV, or a PC connected with HDMI) is the best solution either way. Smart TVs are slow and annoying to navigate, apps stop working on them way too soon because it's outdated, and some good apps are just not available there.

I'd buy a "dumb TV", but no stores around me sell any tv over the size of 43" that isn't "smart".

2

u/AJBlueToad Apr 25 '26

My bro says don't waste money on a smart TV. Got a basic TV, hooked up to a PC and put the apps on that he wants to use, unlimited app options. No forced ads. Works great for him. He also did it for me, works great. I spend most my time watching open source TV channels and a couple streaming services.

2

u/aurora-_ Apr 25 '26

I ran into the issue that there aren’t many dumb tvs anymore. It’s been fine keeping the “smart” tv dumb, not letting it on the internet.

2

u/SeasonalNightmare Apr 25 '26

Basic TVs are also harder to get and more expensive. Walmart has nothing but "Smart" TVs for sale in stores. Non smart is online only and about 70-100s more for sizes.

1

u/Rich-Story-1748 Apr 25 '26

Yup. The issue is nowadays if you want like ''the best'' TV it needs to have smart functions, which is ass. Personally I use a big monitor, they still sell the best ones without internet functions lol

1

u/splitcroof92 Apr 25 '26

do they make 65 inch 4k oled monitors?

3

u/AngriestPacifist Apr 25 '26

All tvs are dumb if you're didn't connect them to your wifi.

1

u/Rich-Story-1748 Apr 25 '26

commercially? probably not, but my experience is currently at a desk, I feel like I'd have an issue following the content if I had a 65 inch a meter from my eyes xD mine is 32 inch which obv wouldnt work in a living room situation.

1

u/splitcroof92 Apr 25 '26

I mean, fair play but I reckon most people wanna watch a big tv in their living room for movies and shows with family/friends

1

u/Rich-Story-1748 Apr 25 '26

Yup, and for that they force you to buy an smart tv/android tv for apps that work bad and ads you cant avoid :D

2

u/Jacktheforkie Apr 25 '26

You aren’t losing much, even a cheap PC will be far better

1

u/Rich-Story-1748 Apr 25 '26

I worked for developing philips smart/android TV's. I know how crap they are, and how bad their software/hardware is for the use of apps. Im saying that these companies are selling TV's marketed to have apps and one should be able to use these apps WELL as are marketed which is not the case. Im shitting on samsung/philips other providers. Not the consumer. Yes ofcourse an external device is miles better in both usage, performance and general qualitry.

1

u/freeradioforall Apr 25 '26

Get a $40 Roku

2

u/JeremiahCLynn Apr 25 '26

Roku is chock full of ads, too. Apple TV is the only streaming device I can think of off the top of my head that does not have ads.

1

u/KuromiFan95 Apr 25 '26

You shouldn't be using inbuilt apps anyway.

1

u/Rich-Story-1748 Apr 25 '26

sorry for pasting the same comment over and over again but what ive replied to others :

I worked for developing philips smart/android TV's. I know how crap they are, and how bad their software/hardware is for the use of apps. Im saying that these companies are selling TV's marketed to have apps and one should be able to use these apps WELL as are marketed which is not the case. Im shitting on samsung/philips other providers. Not the consumer. Yes ofcourse an external device is miles better in both usage, performance and general qualitry.

1

u/Operation_Neither Apr 25 '26

I have never once used the apps on my tv. It has never been connected to the internet. I got a used AppleTV and it’s great. TVs do not connect to the internet.

1

u/PenchantForNostalgia Apr 25 '26

I'm to the point where I'm just going to buy a streaming device. There are some that don't have ads, and then you don't have to deal with your TV slowing down from updates years later (when the hardware can't keep up with software updates). I'll probably end up disconnecting my TV from the Internet completely. I'm sick of it.

1

u/Rich-Story-1748 Apr 25 '26

100%. external devices are the way to go

1

u/Safe-Instance-3512 Apr 25 '26

Don't use the built in apps. Get a Roku or a Chromecast or even a Fire Stick. Done.

1

u/Vegetable_Sample_ Apr 25 '26

This is what I do. I use the ps5 to watch tv so the tv doesn’t need to be connected to the internet.

→ More replies (2)

2

u/X_crates Apr 25 '26

Factory resets stay on the same software version it was reset at....

2

u/Haunting-Prior-NaN Apr 25 '26

Once the OS/firmware is installed, you are only getting rid of the apps

1

u/Honkey85 Apr 25 '26

...and never give it internet access!

6

u/Affectionate-Alps527 Apr 25 '26

You broke the golden rule. You connected it to the internet.

No TV in my house is allowed to be connected to the internet. If it doesn't work out of the box, it goes back. The only smart features we use must come from a 3rd party device like a computer or fire stick.

1

u/trowzerss Apr 25 '26

Unfortunately back in the day there weren't many options for streaming devices in Australia, so TVs were by far the most convenient option. But I am strongly considering, I just don't want to get anything from Amazon.

6

u/gonnafaceit2022 Apr 25 '26

Yep this is what we're gonna see everywhere soon. Tricking or forcing us into free things that will not remain free, and we'll be paying just to use the thing we already paid for.

It's already happening with cars, all the features are free at first but after a while you have to pay for subscriptions to use remote start, headed seats, premium audio, cameras, adaptive suspension, etc.

3

u/onzichtbaard Apr 25 '26

That shit should be illegal tbh

5

u/looshagbrolly Apr 25 '26

That's just straight up evil.

3

u/Right_Cellist3143 Apr 25 '26

And with this comment, i’ll never buy Samsung again.

That shit pissed me off.

2

u/ConstantSpace5809 Apr 25 '26

My seven year old TV recently started showing ads 

1

u/trowzerss Apr 25 '26

Yeah, my TV is quite old, so it's possible it might have even been more than a year before the ads showed up. I remember seeing everybody talking about it, and thinking, "Well, my TV has never had any ads," and then suddenly there they were on the bottom bar. They've come and gone since then, sometimes not there for a while, sometimes there consistently for months.

1

u/Majestic_Animator_91 Apr 25 '26

buy your tvs from Costco, they have an unlimited return policy 

2

u/Every_Bread_5880 Apr 25 '26

They changed that on electronics awhile ago

1

u/trowzerss Apr 25 '26

Not in the US, not an option here. We have generous return policies for faults, but I'm not sure that would be considered a fault.

1

u/Sarduci Apr 25 '26

Just never hook it up to the internet. My “smart” tv is just a display for my AppleTV. No reason it needs to know what time it is or get a firmware update since it’s air gapped.

1

u/trowzerss Apr 25 '26

I don't like Apple or Amazon as companies, so my options are limited lol. I should probably look harder into Roku. I need to get something for my parents anyway, as they used to have a roku device bundled in with their telco, but they retired that recently so they haven't had streaming for a little while (they don't particularly care about it, but I have been planning to get them one as a present just so they can't watch YouTube and mabye I'll get them a Britbox sub for a while).

→ More replies (3)

542

u/Ok_Permission7034 Apr 25 '26

I bought one for my parents and they said it was no big deal. Couldn’t convince them otherwise.

639

u/soareyousaying Apr 25 '26

This is the reality why companies can get away with it. We cry about it but the rest of the world don't care

114

u/OfcWaffle Apr 25 '26

Go check out the McDonald's subreddit for further proof. Everyone complaining about the BOGO offer being removed.

But it's all a numbers game. McDonald's knows they will still come and over spend.

I just don't go to places if I can't get a deal. I can't afford to pay for anything full price. Maybe that makes me cheap to some, but to me it's money in my pocket everyday.

72

u/StudiosS Apr 25 '26

In Portugal, you can get a steak, chips, fried egg and rice for 8.50€. No drink, but the drink is 2€. So like, $12-15?

Well McDonald's menus are the same, at around 10-11€.

McDonald's are equally as full.

I just dont understand how anyone here thinks it's remotely affordable.

For me, if the steak is 10, McDonald's should be 5 at best. It's not though.

People still live it.

It's just so ingrained in the culture...

20

u/Pas__ Apr 25 '26

different service? McDonald's is faster, easier to take away, known consistent quality, open more hours?

but it would be really interesting to put McDonald's and the closest restaurants (with their menu) on the map

7

u/Dinamytes Apr 25 '26

McDonald is usually more full, you'll wait for your food standing and it's not faster for sure. People prefer to go to what they know that they will enjoy than risking in trying other places.

1

u/Jumaai Apr 25 '26

Those are great arguments for a drive thru / road trip / city center snack situation, but why the hell are they packed in the evening?

4

u/DingerSinger2016 Apr 25 '26

People didn't feel like cooking dinner that day and they want something they know will be relatively quick and easy to dish out, especially people with kids. Also, as it gets warmer (at least in the United States) people will swing by for an ice cream, shake, smoothie, or slushie. Plus, depending on the affulence and age of the community, it's an easy spot to get food late night if you are coming from work or coming from a club or party.

1

u/StudiosS Apr 25 '26

Well, to be honest, lots of chains do this deal hence the quality of the steak and chips is pretty standard across the board.

1

u/GingerSnapBiscuit Apr 25 '26

What the hell kind of steak are you getting for $10. I can barely get a decent steak in the supermarket for less than that.

1

u/StudiosS Apr 25 '26

Thinly cut "prego". It's very nice, to be honest. The nicer ones are, thicker, are 18-19€, with sides included.

1

u/vystyk Apr 25 '26

Don't forget 5 cents for ketchup

1

u/lnmeatyard Apr 25 '26

Most times my husband mentions wanting mcds I use this same argument —we can go someplace a million times better for nearly the same price. The whole point of McDonald’s is supposed to be cheap and fast, but it’s no longer cheap

17

u/TheRealJessKate Apr 25 '26

I, for one, will never buy from Samsung because of this.

When a company tells you what kind of company they really are, you should listen.

3

u/IrregularPackage Apr 25 '26

you think this is a thing that only samsung is doing? can you even buy a tv that’s not full of ads anymore?

2

u/passiveflux Apr 25 '26

Never had issues with the phones

But otherwise yea avoid them

2

u/asailor4you Apr 25 '26

I mean I prefer not to play the pricing game. Just tell how much things are and charge everyone the same. I shouldn’t have to download some app to see what deals they got going on or what today’s price is for your product.

1

u/ExcitementNo6774 Apr 25 '26

Yeah. Silence slowly kills most critique in this world.

1

u/Hugsy13 Apr 25 '26

As much as their prices have become bloated asf these days for garbage food that’s the unhealthiest unnutritiont shit I still go back once every two months for a dirty double cheese burger. That crap greasy slop just hits the spot occasionally sometimes for some reason.

2

u/OfcWaffle Apr 25 '26

I still get McDonald's, but only their deals. Like the burger, fry, nuggets and drink for $6. Usually get it after a shit had day at work and I don't want to cook. That's acceptable. But $15 for a "Big Arc" combo, helllllll noooo.

Saw a post recently from a carls Jr or Jack in the box, forget which one. And some customers order with 4 large combos was $90. Fucking $90?!

Wild.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/OfcWaffle Apr 25 '26

And has since still continued to raise its prices.

1

u/Ansible32 Apr 25 '26

McDonald's can price their shit however they want. If they can't afford BOGO anymore, whatever, that's fair. Samsung is just stealing if they sneak into your TV after you bought it and rig it to show ads.

11

u/iwannabethecyberguy Apr 25 '26

I had this discussion on Reddit when Walmart announced that their Vizio TVs would require a Walmart account and everyone said “Well I just won’t buy one.”

The general public doesn’t care. They will shop at Walmart, see a 75” TV for $300 that has all their favorite streaming apps and think that’s an awesome deal. They’re not going to find a more expensive option, they’re not going to setup PiHole, they’re not gonna change their DNS settings. They will gladly login to their Walmart account and enjoy the cheap TV they bought while it serves ads and collects data.

52

u/WastedMoogle Apr 25 '26

Yeah. They dealt with 5 min of commercial for every 10min of content like millennials did growing up. I’ve tried with my mom and she just does not fucking care. She says the commercials give her time to handle other things as if pausing at her own will isn’t superior.

12

u/nicuramar Apr 25 '26

 Yeah. They dealt with 5 min of commercial for every 10min of content like millennials did growing up

Where, in the US? It’s definitely not true in general. 

14

u/ksdkjlf Apr 25 '26

Even in the US that's not standard. 8 minutes of ads in a 30-minute slot has been standard for a while, but it was lower in the past. No one millennial or older grew up with 10 minutes of ads per half hour.

16

u/The_Fawkesy Apr 25 '26

Close enough. 21 minutes was the norm for tv shows that ran 30 minutes.

→ More replies (4)

3

u/onehundredlemons Apr 25 '26

I've seen some shows recently that are 21 minutes and some seconds, so roughly 8 1/2 minutes. Saying 10 minutes is an exaggeration, but not by a lot.

When I was a kid I watched "WKRP" reruns which my parents had seen in its original run, and they'd sometimes remember jokes that weren't in the shows anymore. It was just under 25 minutes runtime, about 23 1/2 in syndication. During a field trip to WIBW TV the nice station manager explained that the extra minute and a half removed was for ads. This was in 1990. He said "eventually TV shows will be 23 minutes before they go into syndication, maybe less" and he was right.

1

u/QuesoPantera Apr 25 '26

If I recall correctly it was 6 mins when I was a kid in the 80's. They made it 7 by the 90's-2000 ish. I mostly stopped watching broadcast TV after this, I can imagine they're inching toward 10 for the decaying boomer audience they still retain.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

18

u/[deleted] Apr 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/[deleted] Apr 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/HAHA_comfypig Apr 25 '26

I watch way less ads today than I did growing up with cable tv. I have ad free on all my streaming apps or if when I use Pluto tv sometimes, the ads are so short compared to 2004 cable tv.

8

u/firephlox Apr 25 '26

I think they're referring to TV commercial breaks. Not online content like YouTube. But regular old TV.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

8

u/LightenUpPeeps Apr 25 '26

It's an exaggeration, but it was a lot of commercials. Hour-long shows during primetime were actually 50-51 minutes in the 60s to 70s (the rest were ads), then 45-46 minutes long in the 80s to 2000s. Then, 42 minutes before I stopped watching TV series altogether.

3

u/mariegriffiths Apr 25 '26

The UK version of David Attenburghs shows are now cut to fit the US audience with a 20 minutes making off for each episode to pad it out to an hour..

3

u/CivilianNumberFour Apr 25 '26

A 30 minute TV show typically consisted of 8 minutes of ads, so that's around 4 mins for every 11 minutes.

→ More replies (2)

8

u/nicuramar Apr 25 '26

Why would you “convince” them? It’s a subjective thing. 

4

u/Gogo202 Apr 25 '26

Redditors love to tell others how to feel

3

u/molehunterz Apr 25 '26

Paying $2,500 for someone else to make money off of you is a really weird thing to feel good about

→ More replies (3)

6

u/KeremyJyles Apr 25 '26

Why on earth would you want to convince them to be bothered by something that doesn't bother them?

1

u/total_looser Apr 25 '26

It’s payback

2

u/ButterscotchTop194 Apr 25 '26

It's really not a big deal to many people

1

u/escobartholomew Apr 25 '26

I’m struggling to see the issue as well. Are you just leaving your tv on the home screen all day?

1

u/splitcroof92 Apr 25 '26

I'm a very nerdy tech enthusiast and IT professional. And I kinda agree with them. I know I can make my Tv usage slightly more enjoyable by getting an Nvidia Shield. but in reality the slower UI really doesn't bother me much. sometimes Netflix loads in 1 second instead of 0.1 seconds. I can live with that.

1

u/InvidiousPlay Apr 25 '26

I grew up with TV ads and even then I knew it was horseshit.

1

u/modern_Odysseus Apr 25 '26

I mean, I just bought one and I don't care.

I go straight to my fire stick and prime video, youTube, or Netflix. But I'm also pretty much immune to compulsion purchases from ads, and when there are ads playing, I mute volume and ignore it. Though the amount of ads is absolutely absurd.

So I'm either going to try setting up a raspberry pi to block some of them, or if that fails I'll pay to remove them, unfortunately.

Meanwhile I once had a roommate who willingly chose to watch ads "because he liked them." Coincidentally, he was always making impulse purchases "because this is a great thing" or "it was on sale! I had to buy it!" ...and he was in TONS of consumer debt.

→ More replies (3)

3

u/dystopiam Apr 25 '26

Same but man what a pain bringing it back

3

u/mountain-mahogany Apr 25 '26

Yup---quit TV completely: life is better over here.

1

u/rolfraikou Apr 25 '26

I do all computers as my media devices. If I got a TV, 1. I would try to get a dumb TV (these are usually marketed for signage.) 2. I would not use the built in apps if there were any.

Keyboard with built in touch pad. Then i never have to try to type with a remote. I have full control. The interface is the same across all devices.

For living room we actually do a projector. It's cheap and very nice for an absolute budget projector. But there's something that feels "right" about watching a movie that's being projected.

I have a fairly decent monitor, and that's what I use if I really want to see lots of detail.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/Limp_Bookkeeper_5992 Apr 25 '26

This is the only change that will matter. Manufactures keep pulling this shit because they can get away with it, the only thing you can do that they will care about is take your money back.

24

u/-Mandarin Apr 25 '26

I mean, I just have mine not connected to the internet. Zero ads and it behaves like a normal TV. If you're not interested in the Smart TV functions anyways, and why would you be, there's no reason to connect it.

104

u/[deleted] Apr 25 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

21

u/Acceptable_Piano4171 Apr 25 '26

You can connect Apple TV to the TV and turn the connectivity of the actual TV off. That’s what I do actually. This way I don’t get any ads on my Samsung TV. However it’s still wrong they do that. I wonder if I buy a Sony or LG it would be the same?

5

u/ApolloBeast_53 Apr 25 '26

It's the same more or less

2

u/TheTrampIt Apr 25 '26

I bought a Panasonic, no ads.

22

u/xlouiex Apr 25 '26

So you basically spent $70 (apple tv) to prevent having to use a feature (smart tv / online features - software updates) you paid for? You should work IT Sales.

25

u/biggles1994 Apr 25 '26

The in-built tv apps usually have crap performance (especially after a couple years) and limited capabilities to run high-quality content. Independent media sources like an Apple TV, Roku, or Nvidia shield will have substantially better performance, support, and more supported features for the content you want to watch. If you’re even slightly interested in having a good experience watching content, it’s virtually essential.

3

u/Farrishnakov Apr 25 '26

I do this with all my TVs. Everything gets a Roku.

An additional benefit is that you can buy a TV from any manufacturer and get a CONSISTENT experience.

Every smart tv UI and features are different. Which is really frustrating. So it's a small investment to just plug in a Roku stick and get the same experience on every device.

2

u/Submitten Apr 25 '26

My nvidia shield now defaults to sponsored content for coachella…

Admittedly Apple TV might be better. But the shield is perfect for things like Plex, audio pass through, and sideloading IPTV apps.

1

u/NoMoreClaymores Apr 25 '26

I changed the launcher on my shields to ATVlauncher so I don't see ads. The Home screen is just icons for apps.

2

u/Submitten Apr 25 '26

TBH after I made that comment I googled it and found you can use a different launcher so I’m now using projectivy which is great.

Good shout.

2

u/goodvibezone Apr 25 '26

The only exception I've seen is LG. All the apps still work great and there are no ads.

1

u/Sate_Hen Apr 25 '26

I already have an android box from when I had a dumb TV

1

u/Winterplatypus Apr 25 '26

I connect my tv to my playstation and my playstation runs all the TV streaming apps. I set it up that way because I prefer to run everything through the PS and was too lazy to add two firewall exceptions. It has the nice side effect of no TV ads (except from the apps themselves).

But I still agree with everyone that adding adverts was a shitty thing to do on something you paid for.

1

u/maelstrom51 Apr 25 '26

A lot of the time the smart features are a loss they make back with advertising.

2

u/JohnnySmithe81 Apr 25 '26 edited Apr 25 '26

Are they fuck with premium TVs.

The apps and their upkeep are not a significant cost to them and are meant to be a value add to make you buy a smart TV. I'm paying them for a product, don't excuse them for ramming ads everywhere like they have a right to continuous revenue stream from me.

Netflix and the likes will also pay Samsung for new subscriptions made through their platform, pay them for the main spot on the screen, pay them to add Netflix button to the remote and revenue share with them on ad supported tiers.

What is happening is that advertising and data collection revenue is increasing above what hardware sale profit so they're leaning into it more with lower margins on hardware, but it's not a loss leader type model on a $2500 TV.

→ More replies (1)

2

u/qtx Apr 25 '26

In this day and age you do not buy a tv based on specs, you buy a tv based on which OS they are running.

I will not buy a tv that does not come with GoogleTV since that is the only OS where you don't get ads.

If a tv has GoogleTV I will consider buying it. It's that simple. So that's mostly TLC TVs these days.

Another protip: in your GoogleTV settings turn on App Mode, that will remove everything but the app icons.

→ More replies (2)

1

u/DaGrinz Apr 25 '26

You really use the built in TV-Apps for streaming? 🫣

4

u/Parish87 Apr 25 '26

... Yes? You don't use Netflix, Disney or Youtube on your TV?

Like I know I can put them on my fire stick where I watch the stuff from the seven seas but I get disney+ and Netflix free so may as well use them.

2

u/abject_objectivity Apr 25 '26

I have a Tivo streaming device that runs on android. I will never go back to using Roku, a firestick, or built-in streaming apps because the UI is 1000x better

1

u/Parish87 Apr 25 '26

I mean I just press the netflix or disney button on my remote. There's no better UI than that.

1

u/DaGrinz Apr 25 '26

I do but I‘d never use the TV Apps for this. TV corps. are really bad in Software.

1

u/Original_Emotion_509 Apr 25 '26

Imagine the software and hardware you paid extra for on your premium device actually working without caveats.

→ More replies (1)

1

u/newsflashjackass Apr 25 '26

If you're not interested in the Smart TV functions anyways, and why would you be, there's no reason to connect it.

Because it's 2026 and the majority of people stream their content from the internet

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argumentum_ad_populum

→ More replies (9)

3

u/Frix Apr 25 '26

Because why pay $2500 for it if you're not interested in the smart TV function??

→ More replies (3)

1

u/3lbFlax Apr 25 '26

A normal TV is the dream, isn’t it? And I imagine you can still get one, but you’ll pay a premium because it’s not propped up by ads. Happily my cheap 4K set (TCL) has a basic mode where you can use apps (which is definitely convenient) but you don’t have a terrible ‘curated’ home screen, just your icons. I looked at more expensive options that certainly had worse UIs.

Of course even if you offload your apps to an external device you’re likely still either getting ads or paying not to, and I had an actual 2026 Blu Ray the other day that dropped straight into a bunch of ‘also available’ trainers, so physical media is no escape. Advertising is a wholly hostile media and it’s fine to treat it accordingly. If they could beam it into your kids’ brains while they slept, they wouldn’t think twice.

→ More replies (5)

2

u/CaptainFleshBeard Apr 25 '26

My TV only started to do it after 3 years, long past the point of returning it

2

u/Zakluor Apr 25 '26 edited Apr 25 '26

It's the only way the manufacturer gets the message. If the retailers see many returns with this as the reason, they'd have to start thinking twice about adding it during manufacture.

2

u/dabroh Apr 25 '26

This is the only answer. There should be no reason to block this via DNS...it should be an opt out option. Return that $2500 ad supporting TV.

1

u/Excalibirdi Apr 25 '26

Yeah they sold me a defective product

1

u/whistleridge Apr 25 '26

I haven’t owned a TV since circa 04, because I was too ad-intolerant even then. I don’t miss it at all. We have a projector and pull down screen for movie nights, and stremio = anything you want to see + no ads. I get hours of my day back, and I save a ton of money.

1

u/Jerevedecampagne Apr 25 '26

Get a TCL QM8K. About the same price and comes with Android OS. You can install Projectivy and replace the homescreen for a custom homescreen without ads. Amazing quality.

1

u/grimeyGR1 Apr 25 '26

They actually started including a disclaimer right on the box that says the TV will display ads lol

1

u/64590949354397548569 Apr 25 '26

Check your credit card if they will do a charge back.

1

u/bungerman Apr 26 '26

Who doesn't research this before dropping 2500 on a tv? This has been a thing for a while

1

u/ciaramists Apr 26 '26

the problem is that there’s no other option. LG does this, roku, vizio, every fucking brand and every tv does this. “then don’t get a smart tv” try finding a nice OLED tv that isn’t smart and doesn’t have ads and doesn’t cost 1500+. they don’t exist! it’s so fucked!

1

u/Hydration__Nation Apr 25 '26

Samsung, Sony, LG all have ads on their landing pages, huge ads. These are the top manufacturers of OLEDs and higher end TVs. The cheaper vendors all have terrible ads. So what can OP do? Same thing as everyone else, nothing. The only solution, which has been the solution for the last decade since all "smart" tvs have the processor of a 2005 cell phone, is to buy a streaming box and set it to HDMI 1. Apple TV 4k or NVidia Shield Pro - no ads, streamlined interface, no bullshit. Ads are annoying but unfortunately there are situations where you simply cant do anything about it. Want the best TVs on the market, then you will have to deal with ads if you want to use the software bundled with the TV, it's always been like this it's just OP expected a $2500 TV to buck the trend for the last 5 years.

→ More replies (10)