To refuse a smart TV despite my kids' pleas.

[BeSunnyRaven]

We just moved house and got a new TV. I settled for a Cello one with a built in DVD player and no smart bullshite.

I don't want all this telemetry or the attention span ruining elements of being able to watch whenever you want when you want. Nor do I want to connect it to my internet and I'm certainly not paying to watch something, especially not to an american company

DD13 and DS11 desperately want one. I've said that if they want to watch something on netflix or the like, they can use the pirate bay to download it, burn it onto a dvd and load that into the TV.

Apparently that's 'not cool' and 'annoying' or whatever.

AIBU?

It's not just the billionaires you're stealing from.

It's the creators and craftspeople who make TV and movies. Camera operators and make-up artists and actors who might get one decently paid job a year.

Nobody is trying to get you.

Aren't you so marvellous then.

They can still watch what they want, just I'm not paying for it, they can pirate it or watch on something that isn't full of telemetry. Their friends like the 'granny tv' as it's called by one of the kids from the neighbourhood, DS regularly invites over his friends to watch TV.

On the plus side, think about the person selling DVDs, who now can’t believe their vintage luck.

So would it be unethical for me to pay £7 and bingewatch it all in one round? It's a data collection service first and foremost. I'm all for buying DVDs though. regularly buy new releases from HMV

HMV is financially booming. Ya must be 10 to think DVDs are vintage.

That’s called a smart TV. You download the apps you want, like iplayer and ITV player. You do not need to download Netflix or prime or any other.

They are called apps, not programmes. And you choose the ones you want.

You do sound slightly mad. Especially telling them to illegally download and burn DVDs. Computers aren’t even sold with disc drives anymore.

No, because that would be within their terms and conditions and part of the scenarios they budget for. Also, crucially, not theft.

Loves these threads.

OP: AIBU and being a dick for the sake of it
MN: resounding YABU and really weird/silly
OP: Double down IANBU. Dont care if I am a dick / thief (yes pirating content is theft and NO I do not pirate content).

You do whatever you want OP. Dont waste time asking for opinions that you aren't interested in. Or perhaps you just wanted everybody to say ooh look - how marvellous that poster is so cool, stealing from and eschewing mainstream media.

Meh

Edited: DYAC

Didn’t even know you could still buy non smart TVs any more TBH! You do you though.

The one I bought (Dell, 2025 model) has a disc drive. You know nothing about computers. And apps come on a phone or tablet.

They come preinstalled with netflix, youtube and the like. There's no way to delete it, I did a lot of searching regarding this.

We do use ITV and iPlayer though, wish there was a telly with iplayer and itv and my5 or whatever but no American programs.

It’s called a smart TV. Not sure how you can avoid ‘American programs’ as the terrestrial channels show American programmes.

American programs that collect data. NCIS isn't getting telemetrics off of me.

Then get a firetv stick and only download the apps you want.

They are called apps. If you want to access iplayer etc then that’s the only ones you download.

Apps come on TVs, TV sticks, as well as phones and tablets. That’s literally what they are called.

You might not be able to delete Netflix but you also don't HAVE to sign up to it. You could just not use that app.

Iplayer and ITV also collect your data. Has nothing to do with being American streaming services.

I'm not getting a firetv stick. Bezos isn't getting my data.

No. Just as it wouldn't be unethical for you to buy a weekly bus pass and ride around all day. That's part of the Ts and C's of the deal.

Well at least I know the likelihood of it being used for nefarious purposes is far lower due to british data laws.

Hmmm yeah it's your data he's after specifically too...

Really can't decide if this is a wind-up or not.

Can you explain the nefarious purposes streaming service owners are using the data of which TV shows you watch for?

And apps come on a phone or tablet.

and a tv also. You go to the app store on your literal TV and download an app. For example, we just downloaded MUBI. It's great for indie/foreign language/alternative films.

If I watch an ancient episode of Frasier on Channel 4, exactly what data is being collected?

Will I need a tinfoil hat, and (more importantly) will the cat?

Next to none, which is why I said I wish there was a british/eu alternative to the usual smart tvs.