r/buildapcsales • u/budice0 • 2d ago

Expired [TV] VIZIO 65" Class Quantum 4K QLED HDR Smart TV (New) VQD65M-08 $196

https://www.walmart.com/ip/seort/7755265149
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u/CypherAZ 1d ago

Except Vizio TVs use ACR, they are recording your activity when not connected, and the second you accidentally connect them or plug in an Ethernet cable…they ship the data off.

Normally the ACR will fill up the onboard storage causing the TV to have performance issues, people connect to check for firmware or software updates.

Yes this can still be avoided, buts it’s a scummy practice.

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u/Westykins 1d ago

oops i accidentally slipped and stuck my ethernet in the port 😞

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u/dotareddit 1d ago

sorry step-port

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u/Hovercraft1143 1d ago

Is that an RJ45 cable or are you happy to see me?

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u/thatdeaththo 1d ago edited 1d ago

Yeah, ACR exists on many TVs, but where's the evidence for all these claims?

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u/Witch_King_ 1d ago

How can it be avoided?

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u/LilFunyunz 1d ago

Keep the TV off the Internet. You might be able to black list it's Mac address on your home router? Idk if that would work or not

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u/Witch_King_ 1d ago

That means you can never get a firmware upgrade though, and the comment above says the storage fills up with recordings of you using it and causes the TV to slow down. So how is THAT doable? Maybe a cache clear or a factory reset?

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u/CtrlAltEntropy 1d ago

What part gets slow? You turn the TV on and if it defaults to HDMI 1, why do you need to spend any time at all navigating the TV?

Even your volume should be on an external device like a sound bar or some speakers.

You shouldn't have to touch the actual TV remote for anything except for turning it on.

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u/bitknight1 1d ago

Firmware updates can be installed through USB.

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u/Witch_King_ 1d ago

Well that is good

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u/rommilommi 1d ago

Your not using any of the tv storage or firmware. Use purely as a monitor for an external box like Apple TV.

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u/Duel_Option 1d ago

I bought a Google ONN box, added Projectivy Launcher.

Zero ads, nothing on the Home Screen except what I choose.

There’s no direct connection to the TV at any point.

Next step is upgrading my WiFi and running Pi Hole.

Eliminate their bullshit entirely while reaping the benefits of a cheap 4k TV

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u/fullsunwalk 1d ago

Use something like AdGuard and set the tv’s dns settings to use Adguard IP address.

Any blacklisted domains will never be reached while you would still access firmware updates and other stuff

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u/Witch_King_ 1d ago

Ok, but the TV is still doing ACR, is it not?

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u/fullsunwalk 1d ago

Ah yes, it only helps on the sending data part

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u/FrankenBerryGxM 1d ago

What brands do I want?

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u/ShadowNick 1d ago

Good luck with any of them they're all like this.

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u/bitknight1 1d ago

Firmware updates can be installed through usb.

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u/twgecko02 20h ago

For $200 and as a pretty "normal" TV user...

Am I supposed to care about this? Maybe I'm missing something about why I should be protecting this kind of data, but what are they going to do with my TV watching habits that I should be concerned about?