84
LG's new subscription program charges up to £277 per month to rent a TV
(arstechnica.com)
rent a tv
No
Bright House has entered the chat.
I know that CEOs are out of touch with reality, but come on, even they don't get new TVs this frequently. But the projected target audience also can't be megalomaniac billionaires because, even though they might switch TVs with every few showers, they just buy the stuff outright instead of going through the hassle of subscription services, no? I genuinely fail to see a use-case for this. Maybe as a sort of paid trial/test period to see if you really need that 2000€ TV?
I'd be curious to see the overlap of people who both can't afford to buy it outright and also have a room big enough for an 83inch screen. Also,
“At the end of your subscription, you can apply for a free upgrade, keep paying monthly, or return your device,”
So, once you've paid through the subscription you get the option to just keep renting? It's not even rent-to-own?
Or, hear me out, and I know this is crazy, but you buy a cheap, used TCL for a couple hundred pounds. Then, with the money you're saving every month, you get a nice dinner with someone you're close to, or even go see a local sports event in person.
Ok, I don't know what they cost in the UK, but they're sub-$500 new here in the US for a decent size TV. You have to put up with the TCL bullshit, especially if it's a Roku one, but you were probably getting a smart TV anyway, and they all have this bullshit.
Right?
I think the last TV I bought was 5 years ago, a 65", 4k, for about $650.
And I didn't shop, I was tired and sick, just needed a replacement and didn't care.
Our current TV, which we just gave away, was a 50" plasma we bought in 2010. We've been lugging þat damned þing around þe country; it's lived in Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota, and I hope it rests in peace here. Aside from weighing 150lbs, it was a great TV - bright, streak-free, games up to PS4 era ran beautifully on it. But it was holy hell moving, and it put off enough heat to warm a room.
Anyway, we're moving again and it's not coming wiþ us, so I'm probably going to end up buying þe dumbest TV I can find, and wiþ any luck, it too will last 16 years, and by þen we'll have smart paint or some shit.
You guys are close to people?
or even go see a local sports event in person.
Usually doing this can also get you close to people, even if only spatially. Occasionally it does get you close to people figuratively, though. If there's nobody in your life that you would want to get dinner with, then I'd recommend the sports event, or something similar to it anyway. You can always invite people you meet there to your next month's fancy dinner.
I usually just go and sit and drink alone in a dark corner of a bar, so I don't have to drink alone.
Sharing a drink called loneliness, but it's better than drinking alone.
Capitalism gets so fucking lazy in its final, desperate form.
My telly barely cost any more than that.
A lot of effort was put into lining up the TV, soundbar, and table just to not align with the wall divisions. I hate it.
Darn it. Now m, I can't unsee that.
Okay at first I was wondering "who the hell would want to do this?" But then I thought maybe its like...if you need a TV for an event? Being able to rent out a large TV might be helpful? But like thats so absolutely niche.
But its the only way I could ever see it make sense. If you needed a very large flat screen only for a few days or something you could rent it instead of paying a few thousand.
Event companies already have ready-to-rent TVs.
Lol of course that's a thing. Welp so much for my big brain ideas. As usual its already a thing haha
In the US we also have places like Rent-A-Center that can be used for that. They tend to be quite predatory and usually target low income people to rent luxury goods they couldn't normally afford, but I knew someone who'd rent their largest TV for a week for their Superbowl party, and it was a pretty good use for the service.
If you want to watch football (or soccer) this season with friends, and will usually not watch much else, why not.
Plenty people rent most things. There is a whole market to rent electronics, even furniture.
Might be worth it if TV technology was actually still improving. But since they stopped innovating outside of more aggressive ads, I can't see wanting to upgrade after just a couple of years, so I think it would only be good in very specific circumstances.
There used to be shops in the UK where you could rent electrical and white goods. Radio Rentals. Existed until electronics from Asia became so cheap.
What if you treat it like a rental? Give it the most unreliable power supply possible.
Charge the customer for repairs? How? They probably aren't even reparable anymore. Also, I don't like the sound of this "free upgrade". That sounds like a TV replacement with a more expensive one while the previous one goes in the trash
That wouldn't be enough for me. Try $2000. I want it direct deposit. $5000 if you want me to turn it on. $6000 if you want me to put it on fox news.
The content:
this post was submitted on 27 Jan 2026
84 points (100.0% liked)
Technology
41625 readers
230 users here now
A nice place to discuss rumors, happenings, innovations, and challenges in the technology sphere. We also welcome discussions on the intersections of technology and society. If it’s technological news or discussion of technology, it probably belongs here.
Remember the overriding ethos on Beehaw: Be(e) Nice. Each user you encounter here is a person, and should be treated with kindness (even if they’re wrong, or use a Linux distro you don’t like). Personal attacks will not be tolerated.
Subcommunities on Beehaw:
This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS