Newly purchased Vizio TVs now require Walmart accounts to use smart features

JoeBOFH

At my last job we bought a lot of Vizio tvs. We used them for conference rooms, hallway displays, etc. They were reasonably priced and had a good feature set needed. They have been on a decline for years and this is a nail in the coffin.

SunshineTheCat

Kinda a wild idea I had never really considered, but absolutely a possibility: using a TV as a loss leader to sell ads. Not sure if that's they're intent here, but I could easily see that becoming a thing (if it isn't already). And what better way to collect useful ad data on people than forcing them to create an account and then tracking their usage of the device.

shermantanktop

2040: a $30k neural interface becomes available. 2042: a $20 budget neural version hits the market but requires the user to watch a 15s ad every 5 minutes.

ryandrake

For now, we can vote with our wallets and avoid this crap. But, how long until the entire TV and display industry requires an account to tether you to each company in order to use their products?

darknavi

Isn't that actually great? Just never create and sign into a Walmart account and now your TV isn't infected.

limagnolia

So, just like Google, Amazon, and Roku TV's? (And probably LG and Samsung too?)

kotaKat

(dupe) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47510800

1970-01-01

The best thing to do is just leave them as dumb TVs until a root exploit is available.

Robdel12

Is there any kind of “hook up” on wholesale large dumb displays? I know I’m preaching to the choir, but I just want a giant dumb display from my Apple TV. I vaguely remember someone posting a link to tvs restaurants use but I don’t remember exactly what or if it was what I’m looking for. (Sorry, being lazy here)

RiverCrochet

A lot of people do their grocery shopping at Walmart (even if you don't). This positions Walmart as being able to offer discounts for food and other daily necessities to people right on their TV. People are going to like this-especially the cohort that would buy a cheap TV at Walmart. They're going to really like saving a few dollars on groceries or gas. Not to mention Walmart can now offer perks through the TV to its millions of employees. They're going to like it too. Walmart is one of the most litigated companies ever, and probably has 10+ active lawsuits against it at any given time. So if they're getting into this, they're fairly sure it will work legally now and in the future. The battle against personal-data-collection by default on TVs is probably lost at this point. It's over. Non-smart TVs will probably become specialized, super-expensive corporate-class expenses out of reach of most people before too long. Projectors are capable of creating a big image on a wall like a TV, and while it's not as bright, it comes with much less privacy invasion, and is also portable. That's where I'm likely spending my future TV dollars until those gets caught up in this as well.

beastman82

Buy an Nvidia shield and never look back

SoftTalker

Just use an AppleTV, Roku, etc. and connect it to the HDMI port. TV is just a screen. That is how I've used mine for the last 5+ years.

bob1029

My solution to this problem has been to stop using TVs. The last TV I actually enjoyed more than a PC/Mac display was a monster Panasonic plasma that had some serious practicality issues. I'd use it maybe 2-3 hours per week. None of the other display technologies are that interesting to me. OLED gets close sometimes, but nothing matches the visceral urgency of a plasma panel clocked at 600hz. The noises it would make in bright scenes was crazy. You had to have a powerful sound system to cover up the semiconductor switching. And, that's kind of the entire point for me with a television. Go big or go home. Exhibition. If I just want to consume content without pissing off the neighbors, my MacBook/PC tends to provide a much better experience.

ge96

Reminds me of the insta go 360 3s cam I bought recently, have to install a mobile app on your phone to activate it. At least you can uninstall the app after. The hardware is amazing, the software could improve in terms of how it deals with motion blur and surfaces like gravel.

Havoc

Wishful thinking but I wish the EU would legislate this BS away.

PunchyHamster

at this point the TVs should be sold in ad and non-ad supported versions

ethagnawl

This is a friendly reminder that your local e-waste collection site likely has no shortage of sufficiently dumb TVs available for the taking. (Check local regulations before taking anything without permission.)

giancarlostoro

I never connect my smart TVs to the network, I just plug in my Apple TV and move on. It's frustrating because it takes longer to turn these devices on than it should because of all the additional overhead I don't want or need. I wish someone would make a painless gadget to flash the software with dumber software that loads instantly.

nla

This is why you never connected a "smart TV" to the internet. If you disagree, do it and then run a Wireshark analysis. The best option I have found, after trying them all is Apple TV. Least about of telemetry, best picture quality, and very secure.

beloch

"A Walmart spokesperson confirmed to Ars Technica that Walmart accounts will be mandatory on “select new Vizio OS TVs” for owners to complete onboarding and to use smart TV features." ------ Some questions prospective buyers should ask: 1. Is "onboarding" necessary for this "Smart TV" to function as a "dumb screen"? i.e. Would a user need to get a Walmart account just to access video settings? 2. Does it inject ads or phone home to share screen captures from HDMI input? 3. Is not giving it access to WiFi sufficient, or does this thing have alternative ways of getting "updates"?