Comment by danudey
3 hours ago
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.
I think the standard control for TV is the RS-232C port on the TV.
https://community.home-assistant.io/t/serial-projector-contr... from a quick search.
In the professional A/V integration world, it's normal for displays and projectors to have serial port interfaces that can be driven by commands from e.g. a Crestron controller or video switcher. Just not as much of a home/consumer thing.
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.
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.
It always blows my mind what ideas people have what "rich people" have or want.
I know a few 'filthy rich' people and some of them don't even own any TV or projector, because they're totally content with a laptop screen and don't want their kids to be exposed to TVs. You will not see their wealth unless you know where to look.
Once people have money, most of them begin to think about what actually serves them and what doesn't; if you can afford anything you want, you usually become more humble and selective. There's simply no point in owning things for the sake of owning them any more. Displaying your wealth usually has far more downsides than upsides. What we see is the outliers.
Truly rich people do not have TVs.
Or if they do own a ultra high end TV like a C Seed N1 they hide them away inconspicuously.
https://www.cseed.com/en/indoor-tv/c-seed-n1-tv.html
It is like eating cheap and nasty junk. If you are rich you avoid it or eat it discreetly...Or your acquaintances laugh at you.
If you want slightly more affordable (they have prices listed - starting at £6k for a 48" TV) there's also Bang & Olufsen:
https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/gb/televisions
Multi use rooms require TVs.
Projectors cannot handle ambient light without being a fire hazard.
>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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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.
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