Vizio - soon to be an advertising company with a TV side business (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

$48M profit from selling TVs. $38M from advertising — collecting data on the TV owners and selling that data. And those profits are rising much faster than hardware profits. Vizio will soon be an advertising company that sells some TVs to hoover up its customers data with.

VIZIO HOLDING CORP. Reports Q1 2021 Financial Results

VIZIO Holding Corp. (NYSE: VZIO ) today announced its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. Our first quarter results demonstrate the success of our investments in our Device and Platform business," said William Wang, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of VIZIO Holding Corp...

investors.vizio.com

The smart TV business model

Via Daring Fireball comes this Engadget story about TV-maker Vizio’s finances: Issuing its first public earnings report earlier today, the company revealed that in the first three months of 2…

sixcolors.com

 

[Worth]

And that's the real reason why all the manufacturers are pushing 'smart' TVs. And why I keep mine offline.

 

[TheFOMO]

Sadly, their cash cow (SmartCast) is so badly implemented that I can't begin to recommend Vizio until it's fixed.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Sadly, their cash cow (SmartCast) is so badly implemented that I can't begin to recommend Vizio until it's fixed.

Using an inexpensive streaming box solves this issue. I have two Vizio 4K displays and never use their smart TV feature. One display has a Roku attached, the other has both an Apple TV 4K and Roku. Same with our Samsung 4K display, which has a Roku sound bar.

 

[DaveF]

Using an inexpensive streaming box solves this issue. I have two Vizio 4K displays and never use their smart TV feature. One display has a Roku attached, the other has both an Apple TV 4K and Roku. Same with our Samsung 4K display, which has a Roku sound bar.

Sure. But the point of these smart tv's is you don't need a streaming box. And if you're going low cost to save a few dollars, why spend an extra $25+ on a streaming stick that isn't needed?

Case in point: My bedroom TV is an LG. It's smartTV features work great, so I'm not spending an unnecessary $25 for a Roku for it.

A Vizio would be a "bedroom" TV for me, where I don't want a streaming box. So insofar as reasonable, I'm not buying a Vizio or other TV that is primarily a data gathering company.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Sure. But the point of these smart tv's is you don't need a streaming box. And if you're going low cost to save a few dollars, why spend an extra $25+ on a streaming stick that isn't needed?

Case in point: My bedroom TV is an LG. It's smartTV features work great, so I'm not spending an unnecessary $25 for a Roku for it.

A Vizio would be a "bedroom" TV for me, where I don't want a streaming box. So insofar as reasonable, I'm not buying a Vizio or other TV that is primarily a data gathering company.

Our bedroom TV is a Samsung 4K, and I prefer using a Roku over the TV's streaming apps. I had a 4K Roku Premiere attached before replacing it with the Roku sound bar - - the TV's built in speakers sucked.

 

[TheFOMO]

Using an inexpensive streaming box solves this issue. I have two Vizio 4K displays and never use their smart TV feature. One display has a Roku attached, the other has both an Apple TV 4K and Roku. Same with our Samsung 4K display, which has a Roku sound bar.

I do think most enthusiasts will have a streaming box as part of their preferred setup like you have, but for the vast majority of consumers (given the considerable amount of revenue generated by Samsung, LG and Vizio from these smart features) who buy TVs, they just don't want to deal with yet another device to figure out.

 

[DaveF]

Our bedroom TV is a Samsung 4K, and I prefer using a Roku over the TV's streaming apps. I had a 4K Roku Premiere attached before replacing it with the Roku sound bar - - the TV's built in speakers sucked.

I do think most enthusiasts will have a streaming box as part of their preferred setup like you have, but for the vast majority of consumers (given the considerable amount of revenue generated by Samsung, LG and Vizio from these smart features) who buy TVs, they just don't want to deal with yet another device to figure out.

Yeah. My 2020 LG's apps are as good or better than the apps on my 2017 AppleTV and the 2019 Roku 4K Stick. SmartTV's now have processors powerful enough to run apps well. I'm sure like everything tech, my LG's apps will start becoming obsolete in a few years. But to start, especially for a bedroom TV, a new TV is more than serviceable without another $25+ expense.

 

[John Dirk]

I gave up on the idea of complete privacy a long time ago. It's just not realistic in the digital age. As long as the collected data is in aggregate form, I really don't care if companies profit from it. I just weigh the convenience I get in return to decide whether or not I want to play.

My "smart" TV's are all fairly old so I did recently buy a Ruku Premiere to avoid the pain that is using circa 2015 Samsung apps. Beats the price of a new TV by a longshot and they all [Roku included] sell marketing data to advertisers.

 

[DaveF]

I don’t see it as all-or-nothing. I control what I can control, and accept the pragmatism of what I can’t.

 

[Thomas Newton]

Consumer Reports – Vizio Is Now Inserting Pop-Up Ads Over TV Shows (April 5, 2022)

"Vizio announced last week that it is experimenting with advertisements that pop-up over live television on the company’s smart TVs."

Vizio wasn't my first choice in TVs before, but there's no way I'm ever buying a Vizio TV now, or recommending a Vizio TV to anyone else.

 

[Sam Posten]

Vizio is dead to me

 

[Lord Dalek]

Well Vizio thanks for making me regret this TV.

EDIT -- Oh its only if you have a coax running direct into the TV. That does not apply to me.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I have two Vizios and only use them for streaming via AppleTV boxes. As long as Vizio doesn’t figure out a way to insert pop-ups into my stream, I don’t see a reason to stop using the TVs, regardless of how despicable of a practice this is.

 

[Greg.K]

How ridiculous. I guess I'll remove Vizio from the potential bedroom TV list.

 

[TonyD]

Vizio is dead to me for more then this reason.
I bought one in Nov 2020 but last year towards the end of the year they put out 2 fw updates that ruined 2020 and 2021 model TVs for gamers and people who watch anything that uses HDR10.

This affects mostly skin tone where it is most noticeable.
Everyone looks like they have a red blotchy rash on hdr10.
Vizio fired or the guy quit that was corresponding with people in the long thread on Reddit and now they don’t respond to anyone.

People have put in a warranty claim and have received refunds.
I put in a claim and they sent me another tv which has the same firmware and the same problem.
Anything that uses HDR10 is unwatchable.
Never again.

 

[Edwin-S]

Vizio is dead to me for more then this reason.
I bought one in Nov 2020 but last year towards the end of the year they put out 2 fw updates that ruined 2020 and 2021 model TVs for gamers and people who watch anything that uses HDR10.

This affects mostly skin tone where it is most noticeable.
Everyone looks like they have a red blotchy rash on hdr10.
Vizio fired or the guy quit that was corresponding with people in the long thread on Reddit and now they don’t respond to anyone.

People have put in a warranty claim and have received refunds.
I put in a claim and they sent me another tv which has the same firmware and the same problem.
Anything that uses HDR10 is unwatchable.
Never again.

At least they sent a replacement. If it had been LG they would have told you it was your fault for cleaning the screen and ruining it. Then you would have battled them for two months to get it replaced.