It turns out that this is a feature that Samsung has built into its TVs as well. In a post on its website, Samsung discussed an event that happened in July in South Africa where a distributor was broken into and a number of its TVs were stolen in the process. However, it turns out that the thieves will not be able to profit off their escapade as Samsung has outfitted its TVs with remote blocking technology called “TV Block”.
According to the company, “TV Block is a remote, security solution that detects if Samsung TV units have been unduly activated, and ensures that the television sets can only be used by the rightful owners with a valid proof of purchase. The aim of the technology is to mitigate against the creation of secondary markets linked to the sale of illegal goods, both in South Africa and beyond its borders. This technology is already pre-loaded on all Samsung TV products.”
It should be noted that this doesn’t mean that Samsung will ever remotely disable your TV, but we’re sure that there are going to be some who are concerned at the level of access a company like Samsung would have to your TV.