A new UN report finds that humanity is generating 137 billion pounds of TVs, smartphones, and other e-waste a year—and recycling less than a quarter of it.
I generally prefer simpler devices, and it was difficult buying a fridge with decent longevity (i.e. limited smart crap, ice maker in the freezer instead of fridge, etc). That’s becoming more and more difficult, and large appliances have shorter and shorter lifespans (I had my compressor die twice in <10 years in my LG fridge… fridges used to last 15+ years).
I should say that my current fridge is 27 years old and has NEVER had a problem (other than over-stuffed crisper drawers being broken).
I was reading that the average life for a fridge is 10-15 years, and I can’t honestly believe they are being made so poorly these days. They are such simple appliances, and I dread the day when I have to replace this one for a modern version.
But I’d love for my next TV to be a dumb TV. All the features my LG tv has just gets in the way of using it. LOL
Yeah, after some research, LG in general is the worst, especially with their linear compressor. It failed after 2-3 years (under warranty), and failed again after 4-5 more years. We didn’t bother fixing it again, since the repair people said it’d cost $600+ assuming the part is under warranty, and probably wouldn’t last much longer anyway. Samsung is apparently similarly bad, but with different components. I liked this video, which goes over which fridge to get, and other resources say something similar: LG and Samsung are piles of crap (they’re super fancy though), Whirlpool and GE are better if you avoid fancy features, and everything kind of sucks.
We went with Whirlpool this time, but everything I’ve read says the expected lifetime is still just 10-years. I don’t want fancy features, I just want it to keep things cold, and I’d rather pay someone to fix it than replace it…
All the features my LG tv has just gets in the way of using it
Same. I have a Samsung “dumb” TV (~40", 1080p) from ~10 years ago and it’s fine, and I have an LG “smart” TV (~55", 4k) from 5-ish years ago, which can be a pain to use and I’d prefer to just have a “dumb” TV instead. I even use the “smart” features sometimes, but they’re slow and I’d get a much better experience with a small PC hooked up to it instead.
But it’s incredibly hard to find non-smart TVs. There’s a handful of “hospitality” TVs, but they’re usually lower resolution, don’t have nice features like OLED, and size seems to cap out around 40" at the biggest (most are 32"). I don’t want any of the AI fixing crap, apps, etc, just give me a bunch of HDMI ports (ideally DisplayPort as well) and a decent picture.
I remember watching a recent program (one of those investigative consumer news shows), and I remember the LG problem you mentioned. A ton of people had an issue with that compressor, and LG just kept selling the damn things. Knock on wood, our LG washer and drier, and TV have been very reliable.
I’d get a much better experience with a small PC hooked up to it instead
That’s what I do these days. Combined with media I have on my NAS, I don’t need other “apps” or garbage nonsense on my TV. If only they made 60" computer monitors. LOL
LG just kept selling the damn things. Knock on wood, our LG washer and drier, and TV have been very reliable.
Apparently it’s just their refrigerators that suck, just like with Samsung.
We have an LG washing machine and dryer, and other than one repair that I handled myself (logic board failure, so $150-200 repair), it has been solid. I also have an LG TV, and aside from the smart crap, it works pretty well (have had for >7 years now).
Combined with media I have on my NAS
The one feature I like about the smart TV is support for DLNA, which means I can stream video directly to it from my NAS. I have ripped many of our DVDs to the NAS so I don’t need to go fiddle with disks to watch something. My Blu-ray player supports DLNA as well, so I don’t really need the TV to support it, but it is somewhat convenient.
The one feature I like about the smart TV is support for DLNA
Yes, a nice feature that even early “smart” TVs had. It could have stopped at that and everyone would have been happy.
But today’s smart TV’s loaded with ads; unnecessary bloat; “shortcuts” to services you have no intention of ever using; massive user tracking; and complicated firmware/software that can render your TV useless, have become the real problems. It’s the enshittification of hardware that really was just fine being “dumb”.
I should say that my current fridge is 27 years old and has NEVER had a problem (other than over-stuffed crisper drawers being broken).
I was reading that the average life for a fridge is 10-15 years, and I can’t honestly believe they are being made so poorly these days. They are such simple appliances, and I dread the day when I have to replace this one for a modern version.
But I’d love for my next TV to be a dumb TV. All the features my LG tv has just gets in the way of using it. LOL
Yeah, after some research, LG in general is the worst, especially with their linear compressor. It failed after 2-3 years (under warranty), and failed again after 4-5 more years. We didn’t bother fixing it again, since the repair people said it’d cost $600+ assuming the part is under warranty, and probably wouldn’t last much longer anyway. Samsung is apparently similarly bad, but with different components. I liked this video, which goes over which fridge to get, and other resources say something similar: LG and Samsung are piles of crap (they’re super fancy though), Whirlpool and GE are better if you avoid fancy features, and everything kind of sucks.
We went with Whirlpool this time, but everything I’ve read says the expected lifetime is still just 10-years. I don’t want fancy features, I just want it to keep things cold, and I’d rather pay someone to fix it than replace it…
Same. I have a Samsung “dumb” TV (~40", 1080p) from ~10 years ago and it’s fine, and I have an LG “smart” TV (~55", 4k) from 5-ish years ago, which can be a pain to use and I’d prefer to just have a “dumb” TV instead. I even use the “smart” features sometimes, but they’re slow and I’d get a much better experience with a small PC hooked up to it instead.
But it’s incredibly hard to find non-smart TVs. There’s a handful of “hospitality” TVs, but they’re usually lower resolution, don’t have nice features like OLED, and size seems to cap out around 40" at the biggest (most are 32"). I don’t want any of the AI fixing crap, apps, etc, just give me a bunch of HDMI ports (ideally DisplayPort as well) and a decent picture.
I remember watching a recent program (one of those investigative consumer news shows), and I remember the LG problem you mentioned. A ton of people had an issue with that compressor, and LG just kept selling the damn things. Knock on wood, our LG washer and drier, and TV have been very reliable.
That’s what I do these days. Combined with media I have on my NAS, I don’t need other “apps” or garbage nonsense on my TV. If only they made 60" computer monitors. LOL
Apparently it’s just their refrigerators that suck, just like with Samsung.
We have an LG washing machine and dryer, and other than one repair that I handled myself (logic board failure, so $150-200 repair), it has been solid. I also have an LG TV, and aside from the smart crap, it works pretty well (have had for >7 years now).
The one feature I like about the smart TV is support for DLNA, which means I can stream video directly to it from my NAS. I have ripped many of our DVDs to the NAS so I don’t need to go fiddle with disks to watch something. My Blu-ray player supports DLNA as well, so I don’t really need the TV to support it, but it is somewhat convenient.
Yes, a nice feature that even early “smart” TVs had. It could have stopped at that and everyone would have been happy.
But today’s smart TV’s loaded with ads; unnecessary bloat; “shortcuts” to services you have no intention of ever using; massive user tracking; and complicated firmware/software that can render your TV useless, have become the real problems. It’s the enshittification of hardware that really was just fine being “dumb”.
Yup. I may end up getting a projector because the TV space has too much nonsense.
Just make sure it’s not a “smart” projector! LOL
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I liked this video, which goes over which fridge to get
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