It always kind of blows my mind that I keep seeing "smart TVs" which have a bunch of integration options for high-end AV installations (rich people's houses, etc.) but no API that you can integrate with to just handle toggling channels/inputs/power states/volumes.

(I did get my last Sony Bravia integrated with Homekit so that I could control inputs, volume, etc. via the Home app, but that's not really what I'm looking for).

Give me an HTTPS API, require me to authenticate devices on the TV itself before it accepts their commands, and just let me do whatever. Default it to off and make it a hidden setting, but yeah just let me do the thing without having to pay tens of thousands of dollars for some professional installation to integrate with hardware I don't have and can't afford.

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dfxm12 an hour ago | parent | next [-]

Smart TVs don't exist for your convenience. They exist to track your behavior and serve you ads. If they happen to have some hackability, it's an accident or happy coincidence.

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lstodd an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

It always blows my mind why those rich people even bother with TVs. I'm not rich by any measure, but still I can afford a projector, a screen and a couple KRK monitors.

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Guvante an hour ago | parent [-]

Multi use rooms require TVs.

Projectors cannot handle ambient light without being a fire hazard.

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ghaff 39 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

>Multi use rooms require TVs

That seems an overstatement. I now have one in my entire house (don't have kids).

There's a fairly large TV panel on one wall in basically a sitting room. Otherwise I just use a computer. A relative basically has TVs in every room. I guess it maybe made sense when he was rebuilding anyway but it still seems excessive to me who might sit down to watch a movie or show but doesn't have live TV.

But, then, I don't have AC either in Massachusetts.

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lstodd 34 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

If you are rich you have single-use rooms. Hell, even I have a sleeping room, a cat room and a hacking room. It's not that expensive. The cat room doubles as a mini-cinema.

Ambient light is dealt with having nice thick blackout drapes.

This is not some rocket science, it was done for like a hundred years.

edit: actually in my former apartment I just bought a roll-down projector screen that completely covered the window. pull down - zero ambient light even in full sunshine.

	▲	vel0city 17 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Lots of people (even exceptionally wealthy ones) don't want to always have to go to the theater room to go watch something. Lots of people like having the TV on in the same way one might think about having a radio on, its not necessarily a thing they're exclusively focused on. Take a look at this house: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5619-Walnut-Hill-Ln-Dalla...? Sure, it has a theater room with probably an incredible projector I'd imagine. It also has a bar with a big TV behind it. It also has a game room with several TVs mounted on the walls. In both of those situations, you wouldn't really want a projection setup. A brighter TV wins out in the end. I've seen lots of TVs mounted in outdoor living room/kitchen arrangements. They're common to find in living rooms even for people who have separate theater rooms. I've seen them mounted in garages. TVs have uses other than just pure cinematic experiences. And I say that as someone who has personally pushed TV watching to an exclusive space in my home and made a point to not have TVs everywhere. Other people like different things.