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Technology

Samsung is Putting NFTs in Its Smart TVs (engadget.com) 75

Given that 2021 was a blockbuster year for NFTs, it's not particularly surprising that major tech companies are incorporating Non-Fungible Tokens into their CES lineup. From a report: The latest comes from Samsung, which revealed a new "NFT Aggregation Platform" designed for its smart TVs. The platform, which will be available on Samsung's MicroLed, Neo QLED and The Frame models, allows users to browse and buy NFTs directly from their sets. The platform pulls in NFTs from several marketplaces, so users can preview the art and see other relevant details, like who created the work, as well as relevant blockchain metadata.
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Samsung is Putting NFTs in Its Smart TVs

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  • Why? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by fahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) on Monday January 03, 2022 @03:15PM (#62139283)

    ... allows users to browse and buy NFTs directly from their sets ...

    Seriously, why would anyone ever want this? I can't imagine NFTs will ever be such a hot commodity that people will feel the need (or even desire) to impulse buy them via their TV from their sofas.

    • Obviously they will take transaction fees/percentages and probably also lock you in to the Tizen shit show to access your "art". [samsung.com]

    • by fermion ( 181285 )
      I donâ(TM)t know why we want half the stuff on a smart Tv. Just spent an hour trying to get a smart tv back up after having to reset. The TV fights with any external sources that may be present. This is why I havenâ(TM)t bought a tv in 10 years.
      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        The solution is a conference room monitor [newegg.com].. Just stick a Pi on the back

        • The sad thing about this is that you'd be paying literally 2x the price of an equivalent TV (same size, quality, features), just to get a lobotomized TV.

          • features

            Why do you assume he'd put ads in it?

          • That's just it, the "low" price on the TV is paid for with the ads.

            • by laktech ( 998064 )
              exactly right.. the smart tv is made less expensive because it's discounted by the cost of the users privacy.
          • I've done just this using an Iiyama "signage display" monitor and a mini-itx Linux box running MythTV to provide the "smarts". As for being lobotomized this setup does *FAR* more than any "Smart" (sic) TV I've ever seen. And the hard/software will be supported as long as Linux is available for the CPU family.

            All my friends who have seen it in action much prefer it over their TVs. I've got quite a number who want me to build them something similar once their current set fails/is retired.

            The slight extra c

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by kellson ( 9200249 )

          It sucks that you pay more for the lack of the smart TV functions... but the irony is that the "dumb" TVs will likely be around a longer time, after all the apps and firmware start failing due to no more updates, and the smart TV is serving the equivalent of Beenz and Flooz ads, assuming smart TVs don't move to an "always on" model, like modern gaming consoles, where if there is an Internet connection disruption, the TV will cease to work.

          The good thing is that some off brands of TVs can be put into HDMI mo

      • I bought an LG tv recently and the smart stuff hasn't been intrusive at all. I have never even connected it to the Internet.
        • by taustin ( 171655 )

          I haven't either, but an increasing number of TVs simply don't work without activating them (and keeping them) online.

          • There needs to be some labeling requirement for something like that. Truth in advertising. Same for Toyota's remote start that stops working after a few years if you don't start making a monthly payment.
        • That's one of the ideas behind 5G networking. You won't have to connect it. It will connect itself.

    • Why? You DO know that everything on a smart TV gets reported back to the mothership, right? Samsung, Sony, LG, etc. will all find a way to capitalize off of this (if only to send you ads about NFTs).

    • Re:Why? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Entrope ( 68843 ) on Monday January 03, 2022 @03:57PM (#62139413) Homepage

      Presumably Samsung would get a cut of any sale through their TVs, and that motivates them to spend effort on looking like trendy, planet-incinerating Ponzi grifters (to borrow a phrase).

    • How does the TV set come to own the NFTs? Will it argue price with me?

      • How does the TV set come to own the NFTs? Will it argue price with me?

        I think you'll have to enable "Haggle Mode" for that; it's under "Unnecessary Settings" ... :-)

    • by shanen ( 462549 )

      Because smart TVs are for stupid people? Or is that all TVs?

      Actually I'm reading a book about the history of TV in Japan. It's call "A Nation of a Hundred Million Idiots?" The question mark was apparently rhetorical?

    • It's most likely to do with Samsung's Frame tv series. Being able to use NFT "art" (Most NFT's I've seen are hideous, and the few that aren't seem to be just plain stolen), it further allows them to push the idea that the tv can also show off your art collection.

      https://www.samsung.com/ca/lifestyle-tvs/the-frame/highlights/
    • by jythie ( 914043 )
      I suspect it has less to do with what consumers want (or would even use), and more about someone inside Samsung building their personal brand within the company. Kinda like marquee value, but for internal advancement rather than external sales.
    • by taustin ( 171655 )

      If they don't buy it on impulse, they likely won't ever buy it at all.

    • Home shopping channel is back!

      • Why do I feel an interactive home shopping network would be a sensational success... 1 click buying... I think even I would buy something I don't need just cause of how east it would be
    • One critical part of NFTs is security. Having a signing/wallet app which, when you tell it to pay x amount of ETH for a picture of an ape, you get the signed picture of the ape. However, with a TV offering that functionality, how do we know that the wallet used won't be emptied as soon as it is given access to one's ETH wallet?

      Finding wallet apps is not hard. Finding trustworthy ones is. I would recommend people consider hardware wallets like Trezor, Ledger, or others that either have no direct Internet

  • Why?

    Just because you can, doesn't mean you should!

    • Come on, if more people adopted that kind of defeatist thinking we would never have invented nuclear bombs, late-night infomercials, or deep-fried Twinkies. And then where would we be?

      • by taustin ( 171655 )

        In a world joyfully free of nuclear bombs, late-night infomercials, or deep-fried Twinkies.

  • donâ(TM)t know anymore. I canâ(TM)t keep up with the ignorant fads today. Whatâ(TM)s the phrase? âoeSomeone stop the world. I want to get off.â
  • This has got to be proof that we've officially entered an alternate reality.
  • by bigdavex ( 155746 ) on Monday January 03, 2022 @03:35PM (#62139345)

    Is it also 3D? Does it have embedded Divx DVD support?

    • by xanthos ( 73578 )
      This! Where are my mod points when I need them! 3D tv has been dead for about as long as it was alive.
  • Ok yeah this is stupid. But eventually NFT-like objects will exist, they are already talking about an open platform where you can buy things for your avatar (clothing, accessories), that will travel cross platform. These items will likely be NFT-y in nature in order to to put value on digital items (only 200 pairs of glasses available!).

    The kids are all ready all over this junk like digital baseball cards, however limited to whatever platform they are on. Once these items are available to âoeshow off

    • by jythie ( 914043 )
      Is it really 'the kids' that are into these, or middle aged investors paying instagram influencers?
    • they are already talking about an open platform where you can buy things for your avatar (clothing, accessories), that will travel cross platform. These items will likely be NFT-y in nature in order to to put value on digital items (only 200 pairs of glasses available!).

      Off the top of my head, Railworks was about the only company that allowed their DLC to be moved from v2 to v3 of their core application...Activision hasn't been allowing weapons from CoD 2018 to move to CoD 2019, instead opting to allow users to repurchase those items in this year's release. Same for FIFA or any other annual franchise where an account already exists with the publisher and moving things from one game to another would be trivial to implement.

      If there hasn't been an attempt to allow in-game it

    • It's nothing new, the idea of limited editions has existed since the time of mass production. Artists generally made only one copy of each of their paintings. But at some point they started to issue prints at a lower price. These are essentially high quality reproductions, worth bugger all and unlikely to ever appreciate in value... except that the artist signs and numbers them by hand, and only prints so many before he destroys the printing plates. It's artificial scarcity, nothing is stopping the arti
  • by johnlcallaway ( 165670 ) on Monday January 03, 2022 @03:42PM (#62139357)
    ... the digital beanie baby craze ...
  • by enriquevagu ( 1026480 ) on Monday January 03, 2022 @03:52PM (#62139387)

    Please remember that Samsung is also known to install spyware that monitors you while you watch (or maybe don't watch) the TV [slashdot.org].

  • Reject Modernity (Score:5, Insightful)

    by drwho ( 4190 ) on Monday January 03, 2022 @03:52PM (#62139389) Homepage Journal

    Never has the phrase "Reject Modernity" sounds so wise as now. I used to laugh at it. Then I stopped laughing, seeing some benefits to the idea. But today, with images of bored apes worth millions of dollars, Samsung adding a marketplace for such utter nonsense to their televisions, I am convinced we've completely crossed over. I've seen the future, and it is stupid.

    • This is capitalism without regulation. NFTs and cryptocurrencies only exist because common Sense money laundering and tax evasion laws have been abandoned.

      Modernity is not giving up on basic aspects of civilization like a well-regulated financial system. If anything this is the opposite of modernity. It's Neo-feudalism. The scary futures from the worst dystopian cyberpunk novels.
  • With TV OSes being deprecated every few years do you really want to store something 'valuable' in one, or back end it to some company that might drop a platform or feature with zero notice?

    Maybe I'm getting old but I can't help but think this is just combining one crap idea with another to make a good way to loose your money. Now excuse me while I chase those damn kids off my lawn...
    • Yeah, apparently my first generation Samsung QLED TV (circa 2019) will not be getting this update. I really don't care, but it shows how disposable Samsung thinks their products are. Much like their Android phones, you get two years of updates (if you're lucky) and then you're on your own.

      • by ukoda ( 537183 )
        Yes, when I buy a TV I take a laptop to the store and check the HMDI inputs are not messed with and the lag is ok. Some of the fancy motion smoothing features reduce a 4K image to an effective 1080 image making fine text unreadable. With a decent HDMI input you can connect a RPI or STB and ignore the 'smart' features.
    • by Amnenth ( 698898 )

      I just want a panel that displays whatever input I throw at it. It doesn't need to be able to navigate to Youtube or Netflix or whatever the hell on its own, that can be done by a discrete device that sits on one of the inputs. And can be replaced independently of the panel if necessary. Or the panel can be replaced independently of the streaming device, if it somehow manages to die first.

      • Look at "digital signage displays". That's exactkly what they are. A bit on the expensive expensive side but...

  • So I don’t have any concerns about this, other than to note that the reason these companies keep adding superfluous “features” is because they’re trying desperately to avoid commoditization.

  • Projectors make for awesome viewing, but a big secondary reason to like them is that it seems like mostly they have escaped the Smart TV madness of things like these - they are built pretty much just to display video, which is great.

    There's probably a few that have started to integrate that but I was just looking into newer projectors and didn't see any mention of Smart TV features, especially not NFT support...

  • by TheNameOfNick ( 7286618 ) on Monday January 03, 2022 @04:13PM (#62139479)

    Samsung added to no-buy list. Samsung, meet LG and Sony.

    • }}} Samsung, meet LG and Sony. {{{ --- I know about LG and Samsung. What's the problem with Sony?
      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by joe_frisch ( 1366229 )
        Rootkit from decades ago (and maybe other things). Also their new TVs are terrible - mine crashes and needs to be power cycle rebooted regularly the problem is that if you reject vendors because they are bad, you cycle through all of them pretty quickly.
        • The reason I asked is that I have a Sony Bravia LCD-TV from 2008, and it has been fine all these years. But there's no networking in the TV, maybe that is why. It is basically a monitor with the ability to select inputs.
    • They added a feature that does not interfere with your uses, what's so bad about it? I understand the no-buy list when it's about rootkits, data mining, or more ads. Here it's a harmless feature that you can just decide to ignore, like we constantly ignore most of the capabilities included in our devices.

      • The problem is that it is evil, and world destroying. I prefer companies that doesn't try to intentionally destroy the Earth.

  • by Random361 ( 6742804 ) on Monday January 03, 2022 @04:39PM (#62139565)
    I'm now offering an exclusive NFT that represents my morning dump from New Year's Day this year. It's one of a kind, and the bidding starts at a mere $1000. Don't let this shit pass you by!
  • 2021: ads for Disney+ on your TV menu. 2022: ads for horrid monkey jpegs on your TV menu
  • Now I can take Samsung off the list of TVs I'd potentially buy which makes things easier.
  • Don't let a "smart" tv on your network. They just spy and sell the info. A TV is only a monitor. The sound is generally horrible and the "smart" features are sloppy and only supported for a few years.
  • by takionya ( 7833802 ) on Monday January 03, 2022 @06:38PM (#62139879)
    "I'm here to say fuck you and fuck this. Everyone involved in the project should be witheringly ashamed of this decision to partner with planet-incinerating Ponzi grifters." Jamie "jwz" Zawinski
  • Come on Samsung, I need to be able to buy NFTs while doing laundry.
  • Oh, cool! Do you know what I fucking need? I need my fucking TV to join the neo-hipster craze of buying pretend digital artifacts using pretend digital currency. I never realized this was missing in my life, until now!

After all is said and done, a hell of a lot more is said than done.

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