“Awful”: Roku tests autoplaying ads loading before the home screen
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I got to know more about your setup. How much was the device and what software are you running?
Sure. The device I use is an Onn streaming a Android TV box. I think I got the 2023 4k streaming version and it was about $20, from Walmart. You can probably get cheaper models, but I wanted one with an Ethernet port.
Then I installed a couple of alternative launchers from the Play store on device. I also loaded F-Droid as well (though I had to do that directly through an apk). I can't remember which launcher I went with in the end, but it was either FLauncher or Projectivity. They were both good.
The wrinkle here is that the OS defaults back to the default launcher (which has ads and a lot of clutter on it). But I used a free command line tool called adb to switch the default launcher off.
I've been very happy with the new setup. My kids (who use it all the time) occasionally complain that an app will crash while they are watching something, and take them back to the home screen/launcher. But I haven't run into that, and it's probably just them accidentally hitting a remote (which I know they accidentally do a lot).
I documented the process and posted them here, in another thread a few months ago.
Additional note: The default YouTube app isn't very conducive to quick profile switching, which can be annoying. To switch profiles you basically have to go back to the OS level and do it there, then go back into the YouTube app. It's an Android TV quirk. But I discovered that if you side-load the Amazon Fire version of the YouTube app onto the device, you can switch profiles within that version of the app, and it works just fine.
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Technically you can get commercial TVs but many companies stopped selling them. They are literally the new screen tech with no "Smart" capabilities. They are also much cheaper than their smart counterparts.
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This method will not work on all Roku tvs, some Roku TV brands require you to phone home to activate the TV before you can use it for the first time. Which requires you to not only connect to the internet but also log into a Roku account on it. It's stupid.
I bought a Samsung TV that wouldn't let me change the input until I connected it to the internet, I returned that crap within the hour.
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Or better yet, use a Pi-Hole or something similar to block the relevant adservers at the DNS level.
That's not better, you didn't allow any smart TV to connect to the internet.
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Sorry to inform you, but we are already in the Brave New World.
I seem to be lacking in Soma and orgies.
Ah crap. That means I'm an Epsilon.
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isn't their a foss os you can flash on your tv?
Lineagos can be flashed on some android TV sticks
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I personally do have the capabilities I'm just pointing out this is unrealistic for 99% of TV watchers.
You're absolutely right. The better option is to get a TV without all that crap to begin such with.
I'm just don't saying it's an option, that's all.
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Commercial displays
I must not be looking at the right thing. All I'm finding are expensive displays that have all this fancy scheduling, web surfing, etc. built into it.
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Witch brands have moonlight available natively? I think I remember Samsung. Anything else? LG doesn't....
Anything that runs android, but still, just get an old laptop with a broken screen and duct tape it to the back of the screen
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Roku had the best smart tv ui. I was seriously bummed when the ads started rolling in a few years ago.
I want an open source streaming client, but from what I hear DRM gets in the way of that.
Honestly i dont even care about non intrusive ads. I dont like it but i can live with those ads on the side bar telling me about some movie coming out, but this auto video bullshit that takes over my screen is fucking awful. That's the line for me
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Manufacturers need to put the cheap ass software on a cheap ass $20 stick. Stop fucking up TVs with it. Stop accepting any 'smart' features and stop calling them smart. They're invasive advertisement platforms, full fucking stop. It is in fact NOT worth it to get a google TV, because they'll pull this shit or worse next week. We had perfectly functional TVs for decades before this shit, stop acting like the only choice is to surrender your hardware.
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I prefer a dumb TV.
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So far. And I actually prefer the Roku UI even though the Google TV will do more things, like let you sideload apps. Roku is propietary.
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I've had luck with just not giving a smart TV my wifi password.
That’s what I do
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Anything that runs android, but still, just get an old laptop with a broken screen and duct tape it to the back of the screen
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Witch brands have moonlight available natively? I think I remember Samsung. Anything else? LG doesn't....
I can only speak for Apple TV, I'm afraid.
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A Sharp Aquos TV from the late 2000s, pre-Hisense days. We have a 42" model from ~2007. It's only 1080p (which is honestly just fine for its size and our usage), but there's plenty of I/O for modern and legacy equipment, and lots of configuration options. It is an absolute monster at 75 lbs, but an incredibly high quality unit nonetheless, especially considering it's age. I've owned it since 2019 and it's needed zero repairs or anything.
For comparison, we also have a much newer 55" curved Samsung TV (in our basement, wall-mounted up high) which has already needed a backlight driver board replacement. Luckily that was only $50, but still, I expect better.
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That’s such a cool and novel opinion. Wow. My Android TV does everything I need it to right out of the box. Never fucking shows me advertisements, and actually made it easier for me to stop paying for an overpriced Hulu subscription.
So does my dumb TV. No subscriptions.
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We use Moonlight instead of Steam Link. It requires a little more setting up at the PC end, but overall seems to be a more smooth result.
I’ll take a look, but I haven’t noticed any performance issues with Steam link.
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Buy a commercial signage display. It's just a TV without the smart garbage.
Or, get a projector
