Switching TVs on remotely ?

[60 oldjohn]

Prompted by a recent BBC news item from Japan. Apparently the Warning sirens were sounded during the night, and the TVs in private houses were switched on remotely by the authority's to broadcast a warning of Missiles.
I guess these were smart TVs, would it be possible in the UK ? Or were these sets special manufactured for Japan.


John.

[paulsherwin]

I suspect this has come in from some news agency and has been garbled in the process. Obviously a broadcaster can't turn on a TV if it's switched off. Maybe somebody mistranslated some Japanese text.

[ParcGwyn]

According to Wikipedia a number of consumer device (TV and radios) can be automatically switched on (if in sleep mode) by the Earthquake Early Warning system. On FM radio a tone is transmitted that is detected by the radio (in sleep mode) and automatically switches it on so the warning can be heard.

Dave

GW7ONS

[Nuvistor]

I would think it needs to be built in to the TV and in standby.

For information I can turn my Sky box on from my iPad over the WiFi network so it’s possible a “Wake on LAN”, Over The Air, or similar comms link could do the same for a TV.
Even if I was not at home, if I was on a WiFi network I could set up the Sky box to record programmes from my phone. So controlling the Sky box does not take much of a step to controlling the TV.

[60 oldjohn]

It was an interview with a Japanese resident who spoke very good English, and was very convincing. I think he was surprised this had happened. I would guess the set would have been left in standby.


John.

[OscarFoxtrot]

I stayed at the Europa Hotel in Belfast in the 1980s and they had their bedroom tellies connected via a mains switch box so they could be turned on remotely for security announcements.

Obviously not the same system, but similar application.

[G6Tanuki]

Probably this is Japan's "Zenkoku Shunji Keihō Shisutemu": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J-Alert

The US has a similar mobile-phone-based system: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_Emergency_Alerts

[Graham G3ZVT]

Originally Posted by paulsherwin

I suspect this has come in from some news agency and has been garbled in the process. Obviously a broadcaster can't turn on a TV if it's switched off. Maybe somebody mistranslated some Japanese text.

If we assume that "switched off" means "standby" then anything is possible.
Graham.
G3ZVT

[Nickthedentist]

My posh Sony ST-SB920 tuner (which cost of all of £7.50 on eBay) has something like this:

If there is an emergency announcement by governmental authorities, "Alarm" flashes in the display

and the set will switch frequencies to receive the emergency broadcast, as well as switching the amp to the tuner input if it has an "EON control" connection.

But it can't switch it ON from off.

Nick.

[Brigham]

Another part of Orwell's nightmare comes true!
It was meant to be a warning, not an instruction book.

[Boater Sam]

There are some very sophisticated tsunami warnings systems around the world.

[Argus25]

Originally Posted by Brigham

Another part of Orwell's nightmare comes true!
It was meant to be a warning, not an instruction book.

I was informed by a local TV tech that one day a huge number of TV's in our area "locked up" with a frozen picture on the screen, I think they must have been "smart TV's". Most people didn't think to turn them on & off to reset them. Service calls overwhelmed all the local service centers. The sets were non responsive to their controllers and all showed the same TV presenter's face on the screen. The TV channel had been inserting data into the transmission and it was somehow recognized as a command.