When you connect a new device to a ‘smart’ tv, you must pay homage to the manufacturer with a ritualistic dance. Plugging and unplugging the device. Turning them on and off in the correct sequence like entering a konami code.
Every time you want to switch devices, the tv must scan for them. And god forbid you lose power, or unplug something. You are granted the delight experience of doing it all over again.
I have fond memories of the days of just plugging something in, and pressing the input button. Instant gratification. It was a simpler time.
What is some other tech that used to be better?
If your firewall can set outbound rules, and you can control DHCP on your network so that you can reliably know the TV’s IPv4 address, you can block the TV from reaching beyond the local network there with a “deny all from source address of TV” type rule.
If your router/firewall is handling IPv6 though, it gets a lot more complicated, since the TV could have any number of addresses that change often.
Thanks. Will check out my router settings and respond back later tonight. :)
Okay, I checked, and as far as I can tell (which doesn’t mean much as I don’t know much about this stuff, mind you) it does seem like I can control outbound rules. However, I don’t know how to find out the IP address of the TV. Additionally, I don’t know if my router is IPv4 or IPv6 in this context, but according to the online spec sheet for my router model it supports both.