Everything has ads now, I don’t have a fire TV but surprised Amazon is this late to this bs game. The Xbox has ads now like with mw3 when you launch the console. My Visio Tv I spent ~1000 on a few years ago is stuffed with ads when you turn it on.
pihole
Is this…an ad?
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A solution. Is it an Ad when it is for something you do yourself that solves problems about which you’ve publicly complained? Think there is another word for that. hmm. It sure suggests something that is specifically designed as being a definition for that. Sure suggests something, but I guess we’ll never know. I’d appreciate anyone recommendation upon a good word to use when someone offers a solution to something about which you complained. Any suggested recommendation would be welcome.
Top tier sarcasm lol
Aniki got it. Endorsement.
Jokes, of course ❤️
This is why my ‘smart’ TV will never, ever be connected to the internet. It’s an LG so I would expect it to not be onerous, but it’s often nagging me to connect to my router for stuff like AI tools.
No thanks. You’re smart enough already for my use, TV! HDMI only please.
I’m a firm believer that smart should be self contained. If a device needs the internet, it’s not that smart since it has to rely on outside sources to work properly.
Although I agree with the sentiment. It’s like saying people that research are not smart.
They should all just be thinkers like Einstein, let some other dummy find the proof.
You can disable the AI in the settings.
They’re not late. I’ve been using Fire Sticks for years and Amazon has been working hard the whole time to shove more and more ads all over the UI. The main row of apps gets smaller with every update and more and more ads are plastered around and between them to try to sell you more shit you don’t want or already have.
I managed to jailbreak mine before they locked them down and install a custom launcher so they’re actually usable, but the stock UI is god-awful. I’ll be replacing them once the next round of Apple TVs come out.
I’ll be replacing them once the next round of Apple TVs come out.
The Nvidia Shield Pro is quite capable. Sideload a different launcher and install Aerial Views and you’re good to go!
I got one cheap, but OMG it’s ridden with ads. I guess it’s too late for me to root it, no?
How did they lock them down?
Pushed a software update that disabled third party launchers and disallowed disabling future software updates.
Oh, shit!
My Xiaomi Mi Box S 4K doesn’t auto-update because there’s not enough storage space left.
No idea if Xiaomi have pushed any Amazon-level evil updates since last update though.
All I know is, 3rd-party launchers changed my life for the better, and I don’t want it to change anytime soon.
My favorite 3rd party launchers
AndroidTV
- FLauncher
- LeanbackOnFire
Android
- Kvaesitso
It’s not new, Amazon just changed their policy allowing ads for non-media. The Fire devices have always been primarily vehicles for ads; they take up the entire lockscreen on the Kindle reader and Fire tablets. On Fire TV, the top 40-ish% of the screen is a giant ad, then you get a tiny carousel of recommendations, then another thinner banner ad, then “your” content like queue and watchlist.
My Apple TV has no ads.
One of my home monitoring cameras suddenly started placing ad watermarks on my video feed - I shit you not. I feel like obstitricians are going to start slapping ad stickers on newborns bellies as they pull them out soon enough. I hate it. I’m not completely sure what the answer is, but I’ve always been a proponent of the micropayment idea as a way to navigate digital life with more focus and less dependence on ads but it’s not caught on at all because HEY FREE!!
Thank gosh my PS5 doesn’t yet have ads when I launch a game
My tcl doesn’t have ads. Probably because it already knows I’ll ignore them and it’s selling that data
TLC was discussed above https://lemmy.world/comment/5181873
Your comment sounds like you might already be aware, but maybe you were just assuming it’s doing the same spying most smart TVs are probably doing.
buying a ‘dumb’ tv is getting harder and harder to do…
how long until you are forced to hook a new ‘smart’ one up to the internet, just to “set it up”–even if you have no plans on ever using the ‘smart’ features or embedded apps?
Roku tvs already do that, you even need to put in a credit card number for it to work.
You can choose not to connect a Roku TV to the Internet during the initial setup, and you just get access to live TV and the HDMI inputs with (obviously) no streaming channels or updates. It works fine as a dumb TV.
And the credit card thing? That’s after you create your account on their website, you can just close the browser window. Or click the button saying “skip” or “later” or whatever it is.
Was helping family with setting it up, I guess I didn’t see that
They don’t make it obvious at all, in fact they do their best to seem like you can’t
does this link to make an account without a payment method not work anymore?
https://my.roku.com/signup/nocc
Looking forward to the 1 yr free trial of my new TV, before I have to subsribe to Samsung+ for just 15.99 per month to turn it on.
I cannot stand how believable this scenario is.
Unlock additional HDMI ports for only $5.99 a month!
If you buy a Sony Bravia you can put them into “pro mode” which keeps all the signal processing, but lets you turn off android.
That’s good to know!
Just don’t connect it to the internet.
That’s the point they are making. Currently that’s possible. But what is stopping the producers to force you to hook it up to the internet?
They already do, vizio sets and roku TV sets require an internet connection as soon as you power it on to set it up
O… damn.
Not buying the tv might work… at mass. Like everyone. Please people, vote with your wallet/privacy.
I can’t figure out why the cheap TCL I bought 5 years ago isn’t packed with ads. Maybe because it’s Roku-based?
Probably because it’s Chinese spyware. https://www.tomsguide.com/news/tcl-smart-tv-security-flaws
Disturbing; thanks for sharing that. Seems like the Roku flavor may be okay-ish, but I just walled it off from rest of home network anyway.
Yeah, TCL was the front-runner when I was looking for a non-smart TV until I saw that. :( I ended up just going with a samsung and hoping for the best. I’ve not noticed anything annoying, but we’re probably going to switch back to a PC hooked up to the TV with all the subscription problems / price jacking lately.
Functionally, it’s proven to be a really great TV, particularly at the price point. At most, only one ad in the interface, and it’s for a movie typically.
Agreed. You can buy the displays that are marketed to businesses and usually come without all of the invasive smart features.
They definitely cost more on average, but they’re also built to run more often or constantly, and hold up far better. They’re even a lot more customizable.
You can buy some that come with slots where you put in a raspberry pi or another computer of your choice, instead of whatever OS that comes with smart tvs.
At this point, I’m starting to regularly check if there are “for business customers” options available when I need something, because the options for regular consumers are getting so bad with all this data hoarding and ad pushing.
Get a projector and a screen. They’re all dumb.
Not always an option. You’d need to dim the lights every time and - most importantly - have a whole spare wall in your home.
Im sure you could mount a rollup projector screen anywhere you would put your TV, but your first point is huge. The light issue is a huge non starter
I’ve tried getting a way too cheap, really bad projector running Android to work once. From Wish or something, I guess. It was a truly unpleasant experience. Fortunately, it wasn’t mine!
Also, I had a good ol’ dumb Epson projector 10-15 years ago, but it had a very noisy fan, meaning you had to always turn up your HiFi to try and camouflage the fan noise in louder sound than you else would’ve had. Are low-end consumer projectors still that noisy?
I have a Ben-Q and sit under it without noticing fan noise at all. It’s 1080p and the lights don’t need to be dimmed. The projector screen is mounted to the ceiling so I just roll it up when I’m done.
That’s good to know! Mine was only 720p “HD ready”, though I remember the image quality as being decent. I just had a white wall, though it actually looked fine on e.g. a blue wall too. I still have it somewhere, but the lamp is broken. Thought of fixing it last time I found it, since a replacement lamp isn’t too expensive, but decided it wasn’t worth it because of the fan noise…
Been awhile but boy I really feel like my LG setup was pretty darn close to this sort of experience.
What a totally expected turn of events!
Stuffing ads on streaming services? How could Amazon do such a thing?
Anyway, for your consideration, Barbie (at last!), now available on streaming services everywhere.
I have you tagged as ‘probably actually her’ just because I want it to be true.
And as I’ve said here before: I just play her on TV.
Which is a fantastic answer, but this is Lemmy, not TV, and Margot Robbie’s name is Margot Robbie.
I’m not trying to call you out, nor draw you out though. I’m not into parasocial relationships, but I do love the idea of Lemmy’s first celebrity user being the actor that literally played Barbie. It’s just a delightful thought.
But being the first novelty account: also fine.
These are all important milestones for Lemmy.
I completely forgot about tags. My first Lemmy tag is now ‘probably actually her.’
Hopefully not on me, because I can assure you that I am a 4 year old Polish Lowland Sheepdog, and not acclaimed actor Margot Robbie. Please tag responsibly.
I didn’t. I tried to use Sync but they paywalled tags. Thank Boost for existing.
I have a nearly-dumb TV (chosen for that and never connected to the Internet) and a separate little Android TV box I got from AliExpress for 25 bucks were I only use Kodi.
The TV is maybe 4 years old, the little box maybe 1 year (I had a 10 year old similar thing before but it can’t handle newer video formats so I switched).
Have yet to see a single Ad.
Mind you my setup is as is because I’ve long ago learned that you want your fast-changing-cheap-tech bits separate from your expensive-long-life stuff, so in this case I want my digital video file decoding hardware separate from the much more expensive large digital TV screen so that I can switch the former without paying a new of the - much more expensive - latter.
and a separate little Android TV box I got from AliExpress for 25 bucks were I only use Kodi.
Yeah, so you may not be seeing ads, but there’s a non-zero chance you have a botnet infested device on your network instead.
Is there a way to check if the little Android box you already have is one of these infected devices?
Here’s the GitHub repo of a software developer that was one of the first to find this, and I think the first to make it really public. It has some info on how to tell and possible steps to do some cleanup.
There’s been a lot of articles recently about those cheapo boxes being filled with spyware straight out the factory. Might wanna check that out.
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Not sure why you’re being downvoted. But you’re correct—some TVs have been found to automatically connect to open wifi networks to phone home.
Yeah. I have a Vizio smart TV but each time you turn it on it acts 100% like a dumb tv until you press the smart button.
I have a seperate shitty little HTPC that’s used for all the media and my brother uses his xbox.
Actually kinda surprised that chromecast doesn’t have ads, at least the model we have.
We have a dumb projector with features such as “select source”.
The original cast-only chromecasts didn’t have ads as far as I know, but they’ve all been discontinued and replaced by the google tv chromecasts which have ads integrated throughout the interface, mostly just for streaming services, movies, etc.
Fuck seriously? I have a Chromecast from like 7 years ago and I was considering getting a newer model just because, you know, improvements and stuff. But definitely not if there are ads. Holy shit no.
Google TV has ads, though they are for the moment easy to miss or ignore.
For the moment.
Didn’t used to. Stopped using it once adverts showed up
And you are surprised?
Anyone that didn’t know that was the end game was not paying attention.
People said “Aw, they won’t do that” when streaming eclipsed cable television. Yet, here we are.
Anybody who ever says “they won’t do that” clearly doesn’t have a clue how nothing is off the table for capitalism.
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Glad I use Apple TVs on LG devices.
I have the same setup. Apple TV’s have ads too, they just aren’t intrusive.
What ads does AppleTV have?
If you put the Apple TV app on the top bar it will put trailers and such for Apple TV + content. That’s the only ads on Apple TV I know of
I actually haven’t sat down and used my Apple TV in a while, but I thought there was a carousel ad at the very top of the Home Screen, but maybe I’m thinking of a carousel ad at the top of the Apple TV app on the device, which might make more sense since you use it to purchase and watch movies. It’s still showing ads though, technically.
Ya but thats extremely nitpicky to the point I wouldn’t really take it into account. Don’ get me wrong, I’m appreciative you took the time to share this conjecture but I just don’t see it in the same way. Its not invasive, I honestly have way more criticism reated to their bullshit “Not now as opposed to never” nags, and also the way when you try to turn of shit they want running 24/7 there’s always this annoying worthless disclaimer that trys to talk you out of doing something you have and will do a million times like turnning of location services
The Apple TV is expensive for a reason. It’s a good product with good hardware, which means it has a smooth interface. When something is extremely cheap, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT.
I must miss them — perhaps because Pi-hole?
Check out NextDNS with this guide if you can’t self-host a Pi-Hole for some reason. NextDNS also has some other advantages, e.g. it works when you aren’t at home or when using a VPN.
I have had three in high availability at home but intend to have a look at this thank you!
Am I the only one who sticks to old school solutions like a dedicated HTPC running Linux and Kodi instead of ad-infested Android TV sticks/boxes?
Most people are not that technically savvy.
Even a Windows computer, like a laptop. An HDMI cable isn’t hard to plug in.
Even learning to broadcast programming from your laptop to your TV has a learning curve. Meanwhile, you can just push a button on the TV and get to Netflix. The problem is that now half the space is going to be taken up with ads, and not even relevant ones.
Exactly. It seems people often completely miss the human behaviour element of this whole issue. Just saying ‘LeARn to TEcH N00b’ isn’t helpful or realistic in the real world for most people. I have family that still won’t touch a computer, or only use one for the most basic of browsing and email, but they can use a TV remote without issue.
If thats the price of freedom then I think one should definitely become tech savvy.
Besides, isn’t saying that you’re not tech savvy in today’s tech world kind of admitting that you’re willfully ignorant and only buy tech stuff for show?
You think people only buy TVs for show? That’s a very strange thing to suggest. People buy TVs so they can watch shows. For over 70 years, all they’ve had to do is turn it on and maybe turn a knob or push a couple of buttons and that’s it. Expecting people to learn more than that is too much for many people. And saying you aren’t tech savvy isn’t some shameful thing except to people who are tech savvy. Even if it does mean someone is ignorant, that doesn’t mean they deserve to be taken advantage of.
Leaving aside the silly thing about buying stuff for show (which may be true of a fraction, but not the vast majority), I disagree.
While becoming ‘tech-savvy’ might allow people to navigate around the pervasive ads in techn like the Fire Stick, it’s unrealistic to expect this level of expertise from the average person. People have a myriad of responsibilities and interests competing for their attention; not everyone has the luxury of dedicating time to become a tech expert just to avoid advertisements. This expectation completely ignores the complexity of our lives and the sheer volume of knowledge required to custom-build solutions like a media PC, or build your own media library. It’s not about being willfully ignorant; it’s about the practical realities of everyday life.
Also, the implication that not being tech-savvy is a form of willful ignorance is unrealistically dismissive of the different talents and intelligence people possess. Being proficient in the many and various technology’s is just one skill set among many, and people value privacy and simplicity without having to jump through hoops to achieve it. Technology should serve to enhance our lives, not add another layer of complexity. The burden should not fall solely on consumers to fend off invasive advertising; it is also the responsibility of companies to respect their users’ desire for a straightforward and unobtrusive experience. (Though I suspect we both agree this bit is more dream than reality…)
I find a dedicated HTPC is just overkill in terms of hardware these days. I just use Kodi sideloaded onto a Fire stick and point it to my file server for all my media. There are methods to get Kodi to launch on startup or to remap one of the stupid service-related buttons on the newer remotes to launch it instead.
Ads on the home screen? I don’t give a shit, I’m just there for a second to launch an app. Ads while searching? Cool, I don’t think I’ve ever used the device’s built in search.
I have a NanoPC-T4 that I use as a server, the thing would in principle make a good set top box – it’s what Rockchip designed the RK3399 for, after all, it can decode 4k h.264 and h.265, and it’s from 2016 (I got it for its pcie lanes, a rarity with arm boards).
None of those SmartTVs run expensive hardware, any reasonably fresh potato can do what they do.
I did that, but at the end of the day, I find the experience of the Shield TV better.
The Shield TV is one of the better TV boxes. In fact, the Apple TV and the Shield TV are the only TV boxes I would ever use, if I had to use one. I’m very happy with my custom HTPC though.
I’m very happy with my custom HTPC though.
Fair enough, although I might add that there is not a better way to run Kodi but HTPC, even when the Shield is more than a capable client, it sucks from time to time, I blame the limited RAM of the device.
The HTPC solution is not for everyone, but I’m really enthusiastic about my setup, so it’s my preferred way of consuming media on a TV. The Shield TV is totally fine though.
I’m really shocked that this is the Technology community and it’s full of people complaining about ads. We’re supposed to be the geeks who are laughing at the normies for watching those ads while we watch content on our techy solution which is immune to such garbage.
We’re supposed to be the geeks who are laughing at the normies for watching those ads while we watch content on our techy solution which is immune to such garbage
Many of us are, but some aren’t. We can teach them about it.
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If you bought a Vizio TV 4 years ago it now has a “feature” where it switches inputs to the ad-ridden integrated android system if it detects that whatever input you are on doesn’t have a signal for more than 5 seconds. Even if you pull it from the network it still tries to load it anyway. It’s becoming unavoidable even for those of us who roll our own solutions.
vizio also moved the tv tuner bits over to it’s ‘smart’ bullshit, too.
“Smart” in regards to modern technology means ad-infested spyware
Why would you even connect your TV to the network in the first place? I use an LG Smart TV but I never connect it to the internet.
I connect my LG because jellyfin works great on the built on web browser. I can also run it on a firestick or chromecast but I like the interface provided by the browser.
To use the android-based remote (which was actually pretty cool at the time tbh)
I almost never need the remote of the TV. I just use my HTPC running Kodi which I can connect to a remote app on my phone if I want to.
I have a Nokia android TV with no ads as far as I can tell 🤷
An Apple TV box doesn’t have ads.
My HTPC doesn’t either.
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That’s only because they don’t have the market share. If Apple ever becomes dominant in this arena they would absolutely take the opportunity.
That’s debatable. Unless you have the TV button open the home screen and not the Apple TV app, Apple TV+ content when not subscribed can be seen ads.
My Shield TV doesn’t either.
I do wonder what makes some people despise ads.
I myself do, but I’ve never been told to or even been echo chambered (well maybe now, but not always). Going back over tens years and detested them.
But at work some people think ad-blockers shouldn’t be a thing as it’s stealing as the internet runs on ads and I just can’t see that point of view. However valid it could be.
I don’t want to see them all my digital life as they are on the real world. Christ I’ve seen them on the pissing motorway ffs.
In theory, I’m fine with some ads. Useful ads in places where it makes sense (like shopping). Small, unobtrusive ads that fill up otherwise empty space. But ads are like capitalism and cancer. They just continue to grow and grow and get worse and worse until they’ve utterly destroyed the thing they were meant to support. If you let them in, it’s only a matter of time until they completely take over. No one has managed to do ‘reasonable ads’ for any great length of time.
It’s just one of those things where in theory it sounds workable, but in practice it’s highly destructive and corrosive towards everything.
I concur. The problem isn’t the ads themselves, but ads in a capitalist society, where profit has no ceiling and neither do the amount of ads.
Ads can be a reasonable price to pass for free or discounted content.
The issue is that every day, every year, they are finding new ways to shove even more ads. The more they’re shoved, the less reasonable it becomes. Where the line between reasonable and unacceptable is will vary per person. However, there is a point where enough becomes enough and you just become done with them.
Well, I’m okay with old concept of ads. But it was them that decided that ads must double dip with customer information and it was them that decided that ads viewed by people who are engaged to the ads doesn’t count as ads that was ‘seen’.
Continuous race to the bottom since then.
Put your network behind NextDNS or a self-hosted solution like Pi-Hole or AdGuard Home.
Vote with your wallet. Don’t make them keep profiting on this BS.
Sure, that’s the best thing to do. But if you already have one of these pieces of trash, these are some ways to improve the experience of using them.
Oh no! Whoever could have foreseen this awful turn of events! Amazon would never (checks notes) stuff ads down our throats.
When you’re served ads, you’re not the customer, but the product. The customers would be the advertisers. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, mind you, until it stops you from consuming the context you intended on consuming. Then it becomes a problem.
