• Re: OT: Sony and TCL are working on a deal

    From Ian J. Ball@3:633/10 to All on Tue Jan 20 13:02:35 2026
    On 1/20/26 11:54 AM, shawn wrote:

    Just saw this news and given how many conversations revolve around TVs
    this seems somewhat relevant. Looks like Sony has signed an agreement
    to combine their TV division along with TCL for future products. It's
    not exactly a merger but effectively that seems to be the case. I
    think it's a case of Sony realizing they are hurting and can benefit
    from TCL's deeper pockets (in the TV industry) as well as their
    production knowledge.

    Of course it may all come to nothing because at this point nothing has
    been made final but this is the direction Sony has decided to go. Here
    is the video discussing the situation:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOzGpZjhYOU
    "TCL and Sony have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in which TCL
    take controlling interest of Sony?s TV and Home Audio business. But
    what does that mean? Here?s everything I know, plus some opinion on
    what the future holds for Sony TVs"

    It will make me nervous if TCL starts producing the Sony Bravia TVs... :|



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From super70s@3:633/10 to All on Tue Jan 20 15:47:21 2026
    On 2026-01-20 19:54:32 +0000, shawn said:

    Just saw this news and given how many conversations revolve around TVs
    this seems somewhat relevant. Looks like Sony has signed an agreement
    to combine their TV division along with TCL for future products. It's
    not exactly a merger but effectively that seems to be the case. I
    think it's a case of Sony realizing they are hurting and can benefit
    from TCL's deeper pockets (in the TV industry) as well as their
    production knowledge.

    Of course it may all come to nothing because at this point nothing has
    been made final but this is the direction Sony has decided to go. Here
    is the video discussing the situation:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOzGpZjhYOU
    "TCL and Sony have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in which TCL
    take controlling interest of Sony?s TV and Home Audio business. But
    what does that mean? Here?s everything I know, plus some opinion on
    what the future holds for Sony TVs"

    I've never owned a TCL TV, is it possible for them to upgrade their
    software like Roku does occasionally? I wouldn't want to own one if you couldn't. Seems like I remember hearing you couldn't but that could
    have been their early TVs. Or one of the other streamers.


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From shawn@3:633/10 to All on Tue Jan 20 18:36:04 2026
    On Tue, 20 Jan 2026 15:47:21 -0600, super70s
    <super70s@super70s.invalid> wrote:

    On 2026-01-20 19:54:32 +0000, shawn said:

    Just saw this news and given how many conversations revolve around TVs
    this seems somewhat relevant. Looks like Sony has signed an agreement
    to combine their TV division along with TCL for future products. It's
    not exactly a merger but effectively that seems to be the case. I
    think it's a case of Sony realizing they are hurting and can benefit
    from TCL's deeper pockets (in the TV industry) as well as their
    production knowledge.

    Of course it may all come to nothing because at this point nothing has
    been made final but this is the direction Sony has decided to go. Here
    is the video discussing the situation:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOzGpZjhYOU
    "TCL and Sony have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in which TCL
    take controlling interest of Sony?s TV and Home Audio business. But
    what does that mean? Here?s everything I know, plus some opinion on
    what the future holds for Sony TVs"

    I've never owned a TCL TV, is it possible for them to upgrade their
    software like Roku does occasionally? I wouldn't want to own one if you >couldn't. Seems like I remember hearing you couldn't but that could
    have been their early TVs. Or one of the other streamers.

    I think they can all be upgraded/downgraded now. Often automatically
    over the Internet which is why all the 'Smart' TVs require Internet connectivity.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Your Name@3:633/10 to All on Wed Jan 21 13:06:05 2026
    On 2026-01-20 23:36:04 +0000, shawn said:
    On Tue, 20 Jan 2026 15:47:21 -0600, super70s
    <super70s@super70s.invalid> wrote:
    On 2026-01-20 19:54:32 +0000, shawn said:

    Just saw this news and given how many conversations revolve around TVs
    this seems somewhat relevant. Looks like Sony has signed an agreement
    to combine their TV division along with TCL for future products. It's
    not exactly a merger but effectively that seems to be the case. I
    think it's a case of Sony realizing they are hurting and can benefit
    from TCL's deeper pockets (in the TV industry) as well as their
    production knowledge.

    Of course it may all come to nothing because at this point nothing has
    been made final but this is the direction Sony has decided to go. Here
    is the video discussing the situation:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOzGpZjhYOU
    "TCL and Sony have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in which TCL
    take controlling interest of Sony's TV and Home Audio business. But
    what does that mean? Here's everything I know, plus some opinion on
    what the future holds for Sony TVs"

    I've never owned a TCL TV, is it possible for them to upgrade their
    software like Roku does occasionally? I wouldn't want to own one if you
    couldn't. Seems like I remember hearing you couldn't but that could
    have been their early TVs. Or one of the other streamers.

    I think they can all be upgraded/downgraded now. Often automatically
    over the Internet which is why all the 'Smart' TVs require Internet connectivity.

    I have yet to find any TV that actually "requires" an internet
    connection. If you're using it as a standard TV (via broadcast / cable
    / satellite), or as a DVD / games console display, then an internet
    connection is simply not necessary. You only need an internet
    connection if you're using some of the "smart" features, such as
    streaming via the TV's Netflix app or some of the new "AI" nonsense.

    Just one of many such webpages ...

    "Can you use a smart TV without internet? Yes, if you find yourself
    without the internet you can still enjoy watching your smart TV.
    You'll be able to watch cable TV channels, connect to Bluetooth
    and use your TV just like a traditional TV without any issue at all."
    <https://www.samsung.com/uk/tvs/tv-buying-guide/what-is-smart-tv/>




    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From super70s@3:633/10 to All on Tue Jan 20 18:19:06 2026
    On 2026-01-20 23:36:04 +0000, shawn said:

    On Tue, 20 Jan 2026 15:47:21 -0600, super70s
    <super70s@super70s.invalid> wrote:

    On 2026-01-20 19:54:32 +0000, shawn said:

    Just saw this news and given how many conversations revolve around TVs
    this seems somewhat relevant. Looks like Sony has signed an agreement
    to combine their TV division along with TCL for future products. It's
    not exactly a merger but effectively that seems to be the case. I
    think it's a case of Sony realizing they are hurting and can benefit
    from TCL's deeper pockets (in the TV industry) as well as their
    production knowledge.

    Of course it may all come to nothing because at this point nothing has
    been made final but this is the direction Sony has decided to go. Here
    is the video discussing the situation:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOzGpZjhYOU
    "TCL and Sony have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in which TCL
    take controlling interest of Sony?s TV and Home Audio business. But
    what does that mean? Here?s everything I know, plus some opinion on
    what the future holds for Sony TVs"

    I've never owned a TCL TV, is it possible for them to upgrade their
    software like Roku does occasionally? I wouldn't want to own one if you
    couldn't. Seems like I remember hearing you couldn't but that could
    have been their early TVs. Or one of the other streamers.

    I think they can all be upgraded/downgraded now. Often automatically
    over the Internet which is why all the 'Smart' TVs require Internet connectivity.

    One of my DVD/Blu-ray players is an older Panasonic that you can
    upgrade its software with an Internet connection. I've never had any
    reason to do it though (nor a practical way to hook it up to the
    Internet).

    A few years ago I bought a used Garmin device for the car on eBay, I
    was able to upgrade its maps once but that doesn't even work now, lol.
    I think they started charging a fee to do that and I'm sure as hell not
    paying for it.


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Your Name@3:633/10 to All on Wed Jan 21 14:39:15 2026
    On 2026-01-21 00:19:06 +0000, super70s said:
    On 2026-01-20 23:36:04 +0000, shawn said:
    On Tue, 20 Jan 2026 15:47:21 -0600, super70s
    <super70s@super70s.invalid> wrote:
    On 2026-01-20 19:54:32 +0000, shawn said:

    Just saw this news and given how many conversations revolve around TVs >>>> this seems somewhat relevant. Looks like Sony has signed an agreement
    to combine their TV division along with TCL for future products. It's
    not exactly a merger but effectively that seems to be the case. I
    think it's a case of Sony realizing they are hurting and can benefit
    from TCL's deeper pockets (in the TV industry) as well as their
    production knowledge.

    Of course it may all come to nothing because at this point nothing has >>>> been made final but this is the direction Sony has decided to go. Here >>>> is the video discussing the situation:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOzGpZjhYOU
    "TCL and Sony have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in which TCL
    take controlling interest of Sony's TV and Home Audio business. But
    what does that mean? Here's everything I know, plus some opinion on
    what the future holds for Sony TVs"

    I've never owned a TCL TV, is it possible for them to upgrade their
    software like Roku does occasionally? I wouldn't want to own one if you
    couldn't. Seems like I remember hearing you couldn't but that could
    have been their early TVs. Or one of the other streamers.

    I think they can all be upgraded/downgraded now. Often automatically
    over the Internet which is why all the 'Smart' TVs require Internet
    connectivity.

    One of my DVD/Blu-ray players is an older Panasonic that you can
    upgrade its software with an Internet connection. I've never had any
    reason to do it though (nor a practical way to hook it up to the
    Internet).

    Some devices you can download the update on your computer, then put
    that file on a regular USB key ring drive which the device can then
    install it from. One of our old TVs has that function, but we've never bothered to update it since it works fine, is not plugged into the
    internet, and we have zero interest in any of the fancy features - its
    just used as a regular TV to watch broadcast channels, the Sky TV
    recorder box, and watch the very occasional DVD.



    A few years ago I bought a used Garmin device for the car on eBay, I
    was able to upgrade its maps once but that doesn't even work now, lol.
    I think they started charging a fee to do that and I'm sure as hell not paying for it.

    Unfortuantely far too many companies are moving to this kind of
    "subscription" model in a greedy cash-grab. :-(




    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)