> CostCo sells several brands, but in particular Sony, that they have arranged to ensure that these TVs are fully functional when you decline the T&Cs and never connect it to the Internet.
Do you have a reference for this? I guarantee that it would be interesting for people.
I had seen it on Hacker News in the past, and so I ended up buying a Sony A80CJ 65". The CJ vs the J is that the CJ is the CostCo model. It has three differences, as far as I am aware:
1. CostCo models have 3-year manufacturer warranty instead of 1 year. (mine bundled coverage through AllState to make it 5 years warranty total)
2. CostCo models have a physical switch for the built-in microphone (used for Google Assistant, Alexa, and tuning audio for the built-in speakers) to turn it off. Mine is turned off and left off out of the box. [2]
3. In the fine print on superscript 2 in the spec sheet[1]: "Use of TV without connecting to a Google account allows only basic TV features and certain apps."
So #3 there, basically means if you don't accept the T&Cs and connect the TV to the Internet it acts like a dumb display with just support for HDMI, etc inputs. I am using mine with an Xbox Series X connected to it and that's how I watch Netflix, as an example, or play games with Game Pass. The TV itself has never had an Internet connection, and all /display/ features work perfectly fine, it just doesn't do anything "smart" in basic mode. In basic mode it basically reverts to a dumb TV. It also doesn't nag you after you make a choice.
This differs from the non-CostCo models, which in some instances /force/ you to connect to the Internet and accept the T&Cs within some time frame in order to be useable. As far as I am aware, CostCo has agreements with most manufacturers to produce CostCo specific SKUs and always enforces points #2 and #3 for these TVs. It's the primary reason I bought my TV through CostCo.
I almost can't believe that there's a place where you can specifically buy a product that's not (or less) user hostile (there's a reason all the manufacturers have jumped on this train).
Does Costco do stuff like this in more instances? Are they for real some kind of consumer super heroes?
> Are they for real some kind of consumer super heroes?
I'm reluctant to call any company a super hero, but, costco does some fairly great stuff aside from this TV thing (which I wasn't even aware of).
Costco are fairly famous for cost optimizing with their vendors, but, in contrast to how others do it they have a much different model from what i've read and heard. They try to help their vendors to optimize their own costs and thereby sell things cheaper by using their extensive operational knowledge to help them both understand their own cost structures and what they can do to reduce their costs. Unlike most other brands they then just pass that savings on to members. Many other companies would chose to use this information gathering to undercut their vendors and eventually supplant them and/or force them out of business (I'm looking at Amazon as the prototypical company here for this bad behaviour) but costco seems to value their relationships more and doesn't really do this (see https://www.trendymatter.com/fast-gallery/these-big-name-bra...).
Anyway, i'm hesitant to canonize any corporation but I do love their food.
I really like costco, but I'm not sure if they are that mindful.
I bought a treadmill from costco, a proform 2000 pro.
It said stuff in a weasely way 1-year iFit membership included (internet required for ifit).
I didn't care about that at all.
I just plugged it in and after a bunch of "now lets set up your treadmill" screens and asking for wifi access... you can see "manual mode" in the corner of the screen.
That's all you get. You can press start and then press the speed or incline buttons but nothing really useful.
I called them and they said there are canned workouts that will unlock if you connect it to the internet, but without doing that, you only get manual mode. jerks.
I also got an A80 in Europe and never accepted the TC and never signed in with Google. Have an Apple TV and a console. Even if the whole Bravia Sync doesn't work by any chance, if the TV is on and the Apple TV or console are not, I only see the Sony screensaver and nothing else. The whole home screen is empty because I'm not signed into Google, but I don't even remember how to get there, because you can just use the Apple remote or PS controller to turn it on and off - meaning that I also never used the TV remote.
I do exactly the same thing. My remote was used once to adjust the picture when I first bought it but has never been used since. I've never connected it to Wifi and it more or less acts as a dumb display.
Sounds pretty much how I use mine. I just turn on the Xbox Series X, and via CEC it turns the TV on, once I'm done, I turn off the console and the TV turns off. In basic mode it doesn't even list the "apps" on the TV, so you can't even accidentally click on them. From the Sony remote its just input controls, settings, and the home screen which is just a list of inputs.
My girlfriend just bought a Hisense Fire TV from Amazon and it has a basic mode you can choose at setup. Choosing basic mode allows use of OTA, HDMI inputs and a limited number of apps. She enabled basic mode but not because of any privacy concerns. She just doesn't like Fire TV and uses a Roku 4K streaming device which she moved from her dead Samsung TV to it.
> I guarantee that it would be interesting for people.
I second that. Will need a new TV soon and before buying a much more expensive signage display I would consider a SmartTV that would work as "dumb" screen without complaining, or worse, forcing me to connect it to the Internet.
Do you have a reference for this? I guarantee that it would be interesting for people.