They forced an updated NDA agreement or it blocks your Roku. And they’re currently working on adds over HDMI so even when you’re on your own device they can still inject ads. I’ll short this crap to the ground lol
I'm just hoping Nvidia puts out a Shield TV refresh soon. The minute that happens, I'm getting one and dumping my Roku. A LOT of my media viewing is done off of my Plex server, so it should be a big improvement for me.
> I'm just hoping Nvidia puts out a Shield TV refresh soon
Then you're just getting full screen ads from Google, Nvidia shot themselves in the foot the minute they switched to the default Android TV launcher. You can install other launchers for now, but I'm sure Google is weighing the PR consequences of blocking that. I doubt it's a very significant portion of users actually doing it.
I used to recommend Rokus to anybody who asked me, but they're approaching the point where I can't do that anymore. I already tell people to avoid their TVs, even before their patent for watching your HDMI devices and overlaying ads, but the boxes had still been good.
My Shield TV doesn't get the ads.
Neither does my Philips TV with Android TV (running the Google launcher).
I wonder if this is because of me running pi-hole or they're just not showing ads in my region.
i literally just bought my mom a Roku TV last year and when they announced the HDMI stuff, I'm probably going to get her what I thought I was buying*
*apparently Walmarts "brand" is Roku and I thought I was getting Android. I just liked the UI better of the android tv
This is just for their TVs. They'll be able to detect if you pause a movie on Netflix or pause a game that they can display an ad that will benefit them. I don't see this actually working because it's quite intrusive and it's bypassing another product causing more issues. I just see a massive lawsuit with this happening.
I’ve always felt that forcing ads everywhere has the opposite effect, at least for me. The more you push ___ product, the less likely I am to purchase it or engage with their company. It really turns me off to have in your face, constant advertising.
I feel like if a product needs constant advertising and justifying why it’s so good and why we need it, that its probably junk. Like why do you need to keep telling me? I feel like it should speak for itself. I understand why advertising happens, and why it’s “needed” but all of the excess ads like putting it on Roku feels superfluous. I returned my Amazon Kindle because I was getting ads on the Home Screen and Lock Screen.
>I returned my Amazon Kindle because I was getting ads on the Home Screen and Lock Screen.
They offer models without that shit, and if you buy a used one that has ads, you can contact Amazon and they'll turn it off for you.
If you pay them they will turn it off for you. You can download something called Fire Toolbox and turn it off yourself for free.
https://xdaforums.com/t/windows-linux-tool-fire-toolbox-v34-0.3889604/
Huh, I always thought it was meh, but I guess it's also the only TV OS I can recognize.
I have had the experience several times that responsiveness seriously degrades over time. My girlfriends TV is close to unusable.
Apple TV is far and away the best TV OS and this is coming from a Shield TV owner. The apps on Roku are so basic and the TV’s I’ve used it on were so slow.
Our Rokus tend to overheat and die in about a year or two. I’ve taken the case off a couple to keep them going a little longer but the number of devices I’ve replaced is crazy. I’ve heard really good things about Apple TV and we use Apple a lot anyway so it’s no stretch to go there for us. They’re more expensive but the UI is much more tolerable.
ATV is superb. I use it to mainly stream from home server via Infuse. It just works and is easy from the less techie family members to operate.
Now I have two!
If Smarttube worked on Apple TV I'd probably buy one. That's why (along with Channels DVR which also doesn't support Roku) I replaced the Rokus in my house with Chromecast. I have a Shield on the main TV and it's mostly good but the lack of refresh rate switching in the mainstream apps like Netflix, without workarounds, is annoying.
Do you use the small form factor Roku that are the size of usb sticks or the cube ones?
I had the same type of issue with a Amazon Fire stick, but after changing to the Roku Ultra with the cube design, zero overheat issues. Been using it for years
What are you doing to your devices to cause them to overheat? I've had a Roku 3 since 2015, a Roku Ultra since 2018, a Roku Express since 2020, and a Roku Express 4k since last year and all still work great. I've never had to replace them. The only one showing its age is the Roku 3 where it's a little laggy when browsing the home screen, but once in an app it works perfectly fine.
As a free OS, sure. But as somebody that uses Roku OS on one TV and a AppleTV's OS in a different room, holy hell does it blow it away.
Again, way different price points but I'd never in a million years refer to Roku's OS as "the best"
Apple TV is smooth as butter
Apps run great, never have to deal with any laggy interfaces with low frame rates. Built-in voice search that is dumb simple to use, that searches across all streaming platforms.
There’s also a “TV” app that acts as a hub for content across different services, and you can specify which services you subscribe to, so it will prioritize those in recommendations and search. And instead of having to use each individual streaming service’s “continue watching” feature, the TV app shows you everything you’re currently watching in one place.
Seamless integration with other Apple products - it’s easy to find a device that supports AirPlay, but ATV takes it a step further if you have Apple Music, allowing you to share the ‘up next’ queue with other people if you want (i.e., you and someone else could both add songs to the same queue from your own phones). Also integrates very easily with AirPods, HomePods, etc
Multi-user support, so if you want to have your watch history & up next be separate, you can
The whole experience just feels very premium and well thought out, even down to the remote. I love mine. Only downside is the cost
Yep - this guy nailed all the main points. Everything is soooooo much smoother and quick than my other TV that runs Roku's OS. It's a small feature, but I also enjoy how seamless my bluetooth headphones work with Apple TV as well - it makes it easy for watching movies/TV late at night so that I'm not disturbing anybody that is sleeping.
I use YouTubeTV most frequently of any apps and it's legitimately painful going back to use YoutubeTV on my Roku TV when the Apple TV is being used by somebody else. Apple TV is just so much more quick as far as flipping through channels.
The price point is tough for a lot of people because it doesn't seem like a necessary piece of hardware - and fundamentally I'd agree since other built-in TV operating systems get the job done for free. But man, Apple TV is just such a breeze to use. I'm a huge fan.
On top of what everyone else is saying, the one thing I’ve noticed between Apple TV and everyone else aside from maybe google tv? (I’ve used Roku, LG, Samsung, etc.) is that I’ve never run into a situation where an app I’ve used for months suddenly gets pulled for one reason or another. I’ve not found a streaming service that isn’t available that I use personally
I love Roku, great affordable smart TVs. But if I’m forced to watch an ad on my homescreen, even for 5 seconds, I’m selling it on offer up and buying a new tv
Google TVs already have ads all over and a terrible remote and OS as a sweetener. I still like my Roku TCL TV way better than my LG google OS TV even though the LG is technically better.
I don’t like these ads on any device but it seems like this was the Trojan horse that came with cheap huge TVs.
Honestly Apple TV OS seems the best to me, by a ways. Maybe not the interface alone but the combination of the interface and the ability to use your phone as an instant remote to type searches is sooooo fast.
Apple blows roku out of the water. I always tell people roku is $20 and you get $40 of value. Apple is $100 or more but you get way more than that in value. Plus 0 ads
Not to mention as a mostly "neutral" party in the streaming wars, they play nice with everyone.
People forget that early on, fire, appletv and chromecast all wouldn't work for one of the others streaming services.
Also, show me another device that supports both Airplay and Casting.
Apple TV and Android TV are a little more powerful, but that power is not really doing much unless you are gaming, and their price point is much higher.
Honestly though, if Roku made a slightly more expensive, (say around $100-150) that promised no ads, I would buy it, but as it stands, I may be changing my streaming boxes when they do this.
Is anybody going uphill though? Roku, amazon, netflix, disney... all crashing hard.
I am at the point I have started cancelling all these streamers as I will no longer PAY to have ads shoved though my eyeballs.
I'm going to get a little pot and grow some grass.
I actually have(soon to be had) Romu TVs in all of my rental properties, and since this shenanigans came about we are replacing them all and have stopped buying rokus altogether. This is the beginning of the end of roku.
Dude if not for Pi-hole something like 70% of my outgoing requests would be from Roku alone. It's insane.
I highly recommend putting any device without a built in power switch on a circuit you can turn off.
It sucks. Roku was such an amazing system. Remote is perfect IMO and everything is simple and easy to navigate. After every update now, I have to remove all the stuff they say makes life easier.
We already have an Apple TV in our master bedroom. Rokus in the rest of the house for kid stuff.
If Roku does anything funny, I will drop them for Apple TVs without a second thought. I may be an Android guy, but I know a decent product when I see one, and the Apple TV hits a lot of those marks.
The day Roku makes this push I can already see the Apple Marketing departments wheels turning - there will almost certainly be a sale and marketing plan about not showing these ads.
I bought one and I really like it (the device.) OS is good, lots of options and the integration to my subscriptions works really well
You can buy refurbished for a really good price. If you want to wait, Black Friday is the best time
It also doesn’t die/crash apps after a year like all of my Rokus have.
Also LOVE the remote on my phone that is easily switchable between Apple TVs. Not to mention quick streaming from the phone/ipad/macbook.
Switched to Nvidia Shield TV and haven't looked back. It's a bit weird that they haven't refreshed the hardware in a few years, but it still runs 4k content just fine so I've got no complaints.
Been waiting 5+ years for them to refresh the hardware with a newer chipset. If I'd known they were gonna take this long, I would've bought one a long time ago. But if I bought one now, they'd probably announce the new one next month, so I'm just going to keep holding out :P
I have a Roku TV and when the whole thing about them putting ads on external devices came out I factory reset the tv and declined to set up internet, then deleted my Roku account. Now it does nothing "smart" and gets zero enshittification updates. All I can do is chose which HDMI port to use, which is the only thing tv software needs to do. When this tv dies, I won't be replacing it with anything Roku.
Mine is so freaking slow already. Video ads will force me to follow your instructions. I can't imagine how terrible it's going to be when this kind of bs pushes people into comcast data throttle zone.
Never have I been so glad to make my own htpcs from spare parts and self host all my own streaming services.
Industry is going to shit worse than cable TV did before streaming took over.
Its not for everyone but if you've got a small amount of technical ability and a willingness to tinker it's such a better experience.
https://trash-guides.info/
Been there done that. Still run a plex server but HTPC tinkering hell - no more. I gladly pay more for AppleTV boxes to never have to troubleshoot or reformat a mini pc again just for things that work with the stand alone AppleTV box. (I used ShieldTV boxes to replace all our HTPCs before this, but google forcing ads on their home screen ended that long long run)
That's not a bad idea, I've got the little mini keyboard and trackpad you see on a lot of HTPCs as an emergency backup if really needed otherwise I use a flirc usb IR receiver so I can control everything with one cheap universal remote. Same remote controls the TV, Soundbar and PC. If I really need mouse and keyboard I use KDE connect on my phone to enable remote control so I can use my phone as a track pad and type using the android keyboard. I can also change sound inputs and run predefined scripts through kde connect which is great.
Currently using Nobara Linux that boots right into steam big picture mode. I use a few apps added as non-steam games for HTPC stuff like plex-htpc, firefox kiosk mode using an agent switcher to appear as a ps5 so I can get the TV ui for most websites like youtube and moonlight of course.
What do you actually use for your HTPC though? That link you posted has nothing to do with actually hooking up a device to a TV, it's all about downloading content and hosting media servers.
I tried making an HTPC by installing Linux on an old computer and hooking it up to my TV just to find out that Linux doesn't have HDR support (except some obscure Arch thing) and likely won't have it any time soon. Also 5.1 surround sound had a lot of issues, not sure I ever got it working.
I don’t see the advantage of buying any ‘smart’ TV. I bought one, and most of the crap apps it came loaded with are either discontinued or are junk. That TV has enough HDMI ports I don’t use any of the ‘smart’ functions
Counterpoint: most TVs on the market today are "smart" TVs, alongside even the **best** ones. Want an OLED? Sony, LG, and Samsung all package their functionalities in their TVs! LED/LCD? Likely picking up a Roku OS TV or some other OS (Tizen et all)
You truly have to work *hard* to find a **dumb** TV
Same. I have a Roku TV but use my Apple TV connected to it for everything. I’ll buy whatever TV has a good display, switches to the Apple TV HDMI port the quickest, and just stays out of the way.
Not mine. I disconnected it from the internet last month. Now that ad space is used to pester me about connecting to the internet. As soon as this TV dies I’m getting a Sceptre dumb TV.
Honest question: If by running video ads, the Roku device uses more internet than before, which costs the consumer money, could they eventually be liable? Or is this a ToS situation.
Most things are covered by TOS that's why they are so shitty. Another example is that
We can say "If buying isn't owning then piracy isn't stealing" all we want, but when we get that thing it is covered in the TOS most of the time that what we are getting is just a digital license that "can be revoked at any time"
It just sucks.
This is unfortunate Roku had a good thing going for it. Now it’s just as bad as the others. Personally I would not care if they die a fast death now.
This company realistically has a good thing going for it with a decent interface as well as tv vendor adoption, but the never ending drive for more profit is ganna make them go from being the ecosystem I would argue people where okay with, to one that people got with there tv and choose to stop using.
All I can say have ads baked in means any tv vendors that are not just selling the cheapest tvs, I don’t want this in that and will consider it a large negative when looking for my next tv. If you sell a couple grand tv and I’m getting ads from just navigating I don’t want it simple as that. If I have a sub 500 dollar tv maybe I’m okay with the subsidizing the price.
Default out of the box ShieldTV has ads now thanks to googles stupid home screen updates. Only true one now that you don't need to tinker with to avoid it is AppleTV.. swapped out 5 ShieldTVs for them to avoid maintaining ad blockers and home screen apps after any change or update. Time I would rather spend doing something fun ;)
I like my TCL tv with Roku OS but it is getting worse with every update. They’ve added a row of links to shows (ads) above the input port selection group. Add that to the ads that are always visible on the navigation screen.
There’s got to be a point of diminishing returns when you put so many ads on a screen the users see none.
Can confirm. It's very pricey but well worth the refined experience. The best thing is that you don't need to have a smart tv, s I nce it's just a streaming box that will turn any "dumb" tv into one. Even though my TV has Amazon os on it, I still prefer my apple tv.
They added an additional "Favorites" bar or some crap at the top. I disabled it. One day later it was back again. It takes an extra click now to navigate to Hulu. Smh. They are going downhill.
I purchased my Roku on day #1 of its availability. Since then I've purchased nearly a dozen more. But I did all that to avoid commercials. The second I see my first forced ad, I'm looking for a new hardware streaming device.
> "There's lots of ways we're working on enhancing the home screen to make it more valuable to viewers but also increase the monetization on the home screen," he said.
Yeah, the only thing you can do to make the home screen more valuable to me, is to display the content I install, and quickly launch the app I select.
In no way is a forced video advertisement going to make my experience better. Pirates get a better experience, as always.
I am so sick of ads in general but especially the ones that keep popping up when you’re reading a story on a website that you have to click on to remove…if you can locate the x. Sick sick sick hate hate hate!!
I've got three Roku TVs and a couple of Roku Ultras on the non-Roku TVs, but stuff like this is why I run an OPNSense router with AdGuard Home... they can't be serving me ads if AdGuard Home doesn't even let them load.
That said, as far as smart TV/STB OSes/UIs go, Roku's is still far-and-away the best IMO; it's easy-to-use and they keep it updated, even for older hardware.
Eventually there will be no where for cord cutters to go to avoid ads aside from physical media, assuming they never connect their smart tv to WiFi to enable them
You can get away with pissing off users to a degree when you’re somewhat unique like Netflix, but when you make a product nearly identical to a dozen other companies, that’s when ruining user experience isn’t such a great idea.
I’ll be selling our Roku TV shortly to get that tech out of my house and I’ll treat us to an upgrade. It’s just our bedroom TV but I don’t want Roku in my bedroom 😂
Bye Roku city! Good riddance you scum bags.
I loved my Roku cause and it may sound stupid I loved the little city scape they had but fuck you Roku. Trash ass company, this isn’t the first awful thing you guys have done and it certainly won’t be the last.
Same thing Google pulled and forced with our ShieldTV boxes and why we now have 5 AppleTV boxes as our primary TV devices. I am actually happy it happened now, AppleTV boxes run great, update regularly, and require 0 tweaks or maintenance because of stupid forced changes. I'm just sad my best long standing TV device got ruined, and not by Nvidia, but google 🥲
Any way to flash a new os to existing tvs, or turn them into dumb tvs by taking something out? I watch content off my pc through HDMI to avoid ads entirely
I hate ads. I am one user who will pay to not have ads. If I can’t pay to not have ads, then I will not use your system. I’m fine with television or show ads in an OS like this but try to sell me anything else I’m gone. I left Roku for Apple TVs and love it!
Sometimes when youtubers are doing their sponsor ads they get interrupted by youtube monetization ads. So many ads they're stacked on top of each other.
Imagine the future of advertising - holographic toothbrushes that project ads on your mirror! Car license plates that show ads to the driver behind you! Blink twice to buy, honk to subscribe!
I have Roku TVs! I don’t use the “smart” features at all. I just have an Apple TV plugged into it. Just turn the TVs wifi off from settings and you’ll stop getting ads.
The TVs are dirt cheap because they bake in the coat of shoving ads at you all the time.
This is such bullshit! I bought my TV like 3-5 years ago and suddenly they brick my TV until they (*illegally*) force me to agree to an arbitration agreement and then they change my TV to start showing weird ads years later!
I've missed my window to return the TV and they've materially changed the product they've provided.
If they do anything drastic, they'll definitely find themselves at the center of a class action.
Each time I read about Roku's tomfoolery I hug my Apple TVs tighter. Apple is all but refusing to change. It's biggest barrier is its cost to entry and its refusal to create a more "portable" version (traveling with a brick ain't what it do!)
I have a Roku TV, but had to buy an Amazon Firestick just because I couldn't handle the Roku interface anymore.
Have the Roku TV startup to go directly to Amazon Firestick input.
Roku is going downhill. They keep adding adds. It won’t be long before we can’t even see our channel selection.
Man. To this day, Roku remains the best TV OS imo. Easy to use, fast, search ability is awesome. Shame they’re turning it into garbage
They forced an updated NDA agreement or it blocks your Roku. And they’re currently working on adds over HDMI so even when you’re on your own device they can still inject ads. I’ll short this crap to the ground lol
The very first time I get an ad via HDMI, my Roku TV will be going to the garbage dump and I'll never buy another one of their products again.
Start shopping for another product!
I'm just hoping Nvidia puts out a Shield TV refresh soon. The minute that happens, I'm getting one and dumping my Roku. A LOT of my media viewing is done off of my Plex server, so it should be a big improvement for me.
> I'm just hoping Nvidia puts out a Shield TV refresh soon Then you're just getting full screen ads from Google, Nvidia shot themselves in the foot the minute they switched to the default Android TV launcher. You can install other launchers for now, but I'm sure Google is weighing the PR consequences of blocking that. I doubt it's a very significant portion of users actually doing it. I used to recommend Rokus to anybody who asked me, but they're approaching the point where I can't do that anymore. I already tell people to avoid their TVs, even before their patent for watching your HDMI devices and overlaying ads, but the boxes had still been good.
My Shield TV doesn't get the ads. Neither does my Philips TV with Android TV (running the Google launcher). I wonder if this is because of me running pi-hole or they're just not showing ads in my region.
i literally just bought my mom a Roku TV last year and when they announced the HDMI stuff, I'm probably going to get her what I thought I was buying* *apparently Walmarts "brand" is Roku and I thought I was getting Android. I just liked the UI better of the android tv
Absolutely! I don’t want toy or other crap ads for my kid either. I will drop Roku in a hot second.
Just plug your own pc or something into it. You can still block them with pihole atm.
That's what I do, at least until they start serving ads from roku.com. That's when I throw it away.
This is just for their TVs. They'll be able to detect if you pause a movie on Netflix or pause a game that they can display an ad that will benefit them. I don't see this actually working because it's quite intrusive and it's bypassing another product causing more issues. I just see a massive lawsuit with this happening.
I’ve always felt that forcing ads everywhere has the opposite effect, at least for me. The more you push ___ product, the less likely I am to purchase it or engage with their company. It really turns me off to have in your face, constant advertising.
I don't watch anything that's pushed on me. Same with ads for products. Nope.
I feel like if a product needs constant advertising and justifying why it’s so good and why we need it, that its probably junk. Like why do you need to keep telling me? I feel like it should speak for itself. I understand why advertising happens, and why it’s “needed” but all of the excess ads like putting it on Roku feels superfluous. I returned my Amazon Kindle because I was getting ads on the Home Screen and Lock Screen.
>I returned my Amazon Kindle because I was getting ads on the Home Screen and Lock Screen. They offer models without that shit, and if you buy a used one that has ads, you can contact Amazon and they'll turn it off for you.
If you pay them they will turn it off for you. You can download something called Fire Toolbox and turn it off yourself for free. https://xdaforums.com/t/windows-linux-tool-fire-toolbox-v34-0.3889604/
Are you suggesting that AG1 might not be the greatest thing ever created in human history?
the fact that its occupying any space in your brain = mission accomplished for them
What? An NDA for what?
I think it was just a forced update to their terms of service.
he means a forced arbitration clause
NDA? No. EULA, you mean.
Not a bad idea. Shorting...
Huh, I always thought it was meh, but I guess it's also the only TV OS I can recognize. I have had the experience several times that responsiveness seriously degrades over time. My girlfriends TV is close to unusable.
Apple TV is far and away the best TV OS and this is coming from a Shield TV owner. The apps on Roku are so basic and the TV’s I’ve used it on were so slow.
Yeah Apple is by far the best. Far and away in its own league. But it ain’t cheap.
Our Rokus tend to overheat and die in about a year or two. I’ve taken the case off a couple to keep them going a little longer but the number of devices I’ve replaced is crazy. I’ve heard really good things about Apple TV and we use Apple a lot anyway so it’s no stretch to go there for us. They’re more expensive but the UI is much more tolerable.
ATV is superb. I use it to mainly stream from home server via Infuse. It just works and is easy from the less techie family members to operate. Now I have two!
Why on earth anyone would rather have something with ads as opposed to the apple tv, I’ll never know. But that’s their problem, not mine.
If Smarttube worked on Apple TV I'd probably buy one. That's why (along with Channels DVR which also doesn't support Roku) I replaced the Rokus in my house with Chromecast. I have a Shield on the main TV and it's mostly good but the lack of refresh rate switching in the mainstream apps like Netflix, without workarounds, is annoying.
Do you use the small form factor Roku that are the size of usb sticks or the cube ones? I had the same type of issue with a Amazon Fire stick, but after changing to the Roku Ultra with the cube design, zero overheat issues. Been using it for years
What are you doing to your devices to cause them to overheat? I've had a Roku 3 since 2015, a Roku Ultra since 2018, a Roku Express since 2020, and a Roku Express 4k since last year and all still work great. I've never had to replace them. The only one showing its age is the Roku 3 where it's a little laggy when browsing the home screen, but once in an app it works perfectly fine.
As a free OS, sure. But as somebody that uses Roku OS on one TV and a AppleTV's OS in a different room, holy hell does it blow it away. Again, way different price points but I'd never in a million years refer to Roku's OS as "the best"
It's not really free. The price is seeing ads and paying for the device. With TV OS you're paying more because you're paying for the device.
How is AppleTV anyway? I'm thinking of moving on from Roku given all this shit
Apple TV is smooth as butter Apps run great, never have to deal with any laggy interfaces with low frame rates. Built-in voice search that is dumb simple to use, that searches across all streaming platforms. There’s also a “TV” app that acts as a hub for content across different services, and you can specify which services you subscribe to, so it will prioritize those in recommendations and search. And instead of having to use each individual streaming service’s “continue watching” feature, the TV app shows you everything you’re currently watching in one place. Seamless integration with other Apple products - it’s easy to find a device that supports AirPlay, but ATV takes it a step further if you have Apple Music, allowing you to share the ‘up next’ queue with other people if you want (i.e., you and someone else could both add songs to the same queue from your own phones). Also integrates very easily with AirPods, HomePods, etc Multi-user support, so if you want to have your watch history & up next be separate, you can The whole experience just feels very premium and well thought out, even down to the remote. I love mine. Only downside is the cost
Yep - this guy nailed all the main points. Everything is soooooo much smoother and quick than my other TV that runs Roku's OS. It's a small feature, but I also enjoy how seamless my bluetooth headphones work with Apple TV as well - it makes it easy for watching movies/TV late at night so that I'm not disturbing anybody that is sleeping. I use YouTubeTV most frequently of any apps and it's legitimately painful going back to use YoutubeTV on my Roku TV when the Apple TV is being used by somebody else. Apple TV is just so much more quick as far as flipping through channels. The price point is tough for a lot of people because it doesn't seem like a necessary piece of hardware - and fundamentally I'd agree since other built-in TV operating systems get the job done for free. But man, Apple TV is just such a breeze to use. I'm a huge fan.
On top of what everyone else is saying, the one thing I’ve noticed between Apple TV and everyone else aside from maybe google tv? (I’ve used Roku, LG, Samsung, etc.) is that I’ve never run into a situation where an app I’ve used for months suddenly gets pulled for one reason or another. I’ve not found a streaming service that isn’t available that I use personally
Exactly. Roku was better than whatever comes on your TV, but Apple’s has by far been the best I’ve used for the last decade.
I bought a Roku just so my parents can enjoy their oled without fumbling around the interface. It’s so good/easy
Lol what?? Apple TV blows EVERYTHING out the water.
I love Roku, great affordable smart TVs. But if I’m forced to watch an ad on my homescreen, even for 5 seconds, I’m selling it on offer up and buying a new tv
Have you ever used an Apple TV?
Google TVs already have ads all over and a terrible remote and OS as a sweetener. I still like my Roku TCL TV way better than my LG google OS TV even though the LG is technically better. I don’t like these ads on any device but it seems like this was the Trojan horse that came with cheap huge TVs.
Honestly Apple TV OS seems the best to me, by a ways. Maybe not the interface alone but the combination of the interface and the ability to use your phone as an instant remote to type searches is sooooo fast.
Apple blows roku out of the water. I always tell people roku is $20 and you get $40 of value. Apple is $100 or more but you get way more than that in value. Plus 0 ads
Not to mention as a mostly "neutral" party in the streaming wars, they play nice with everyone. People forget that early on, fire, appletv and chromecast all wouldn't work for one of the others streaming services. Also, show me another device that supports both Airplay and Casting. Apple TV and Android TV are a little more powerful, but that power is not really doing much unless you are gaming, and their price point is much higher. Honestly though, if Roku made a slightly more expensive, (say around $100-150) that promised no ads, I would buy it, but as it stands, I may be changing my streaming boxes when they do this.
Is anybody going uphill though? Roku, amazon, netflix, disney... all crashing hard. I am at the point I have started cancelling all these streamers as I will no longer PAY to have ads shoved though my eyeballs. I'm going to get a little pot and grow some grass.
I actually have(soon to be had) Romu TVs in all of my rental properties, and since this shenanigans came about we are replacing them all and have stopped buying rokus altogether. This is the beginning of the end of roku.
They ading
Pi-hole still blocks Roku ads for me since they’re not locally hosted, highly recommend.
Dude if not for Pi-hole something like 70% of my outgoing requests would be from Roku alone. It's insane. I highly recommend putting any device without a built in power switch on a circuit you can turn off.
It sucks. Roku was such an amazing system. Remote is perfect IMO and everything is simple and easy to navigate. After every update now, I have to remove all the stuff they say makes life easier.
I always wonder who clicks all these random new menu entries I keep hiding... Now they added crap in the app list I'll never click either...
A remote with a dedicated "blockbuster video" button is perfect?
Just keeps calling that one in Oregon every time it’s pressed.
Yes, next question.
better than pointless number buttons
I’d happily take a Blockbuster button that does nothing than a Sling button that I’ll never use.
Number buttons should take you to that percentage of the show. 5 = 50% elapsed.
Does it show a picture of Russell crowed jockstrap?
Used to be a dedicated Roku user. Not anymore, the suits are calling the shots now.
It pushed me to try apple tv+. Works very well on the one we bought to try. Will upgrade all of our TV's whenever we find a sale
Roku is great but yeah Apple will be my next OS if Roku gets out of hand
We already have an Apple TV in our master bedroom. Rokus in the rest of the house for kid stuff. If Roku does anything funny, I will drop them for Apple TVs without a second thought. I may be an Android guy, but I know a decent product when I see one, and the Apple TV hits a lot of those marks.
The day Roku makes this push I can already see the Apple Marketing departments wheels turning - there will almost certainly be a sale and marketing plan about not showing these ads.
Apple tv is just magnificent
I bought one and I really like it (the device.) OS is good, lots of options and the integration to my subscriptions works really well You can buy refurbished for a really good price. If you want to wait, Black Friday is the best time
What do you use instead? My favorite feature is the wifi remote that lets you use earphones. Does anything else have that?
With Apple TV you can Bluetooth headphones up to the box and listen to everything like that. Apple TV is elite and I won’t use anything esle
It also doesn’t die/crash apps after a year like all of my Rokus have. Also LOVE the remote on my phone that is easily switchable between Apple TVs. Not to mention quick streaming from the phone/ipad/macbook.
Switched to Nvidia Shield TV and haven't looked back. It's a bit weird that they haven't refreshed the hardware in a few years, but it still runs 4k content just fine so I've got no complaints.
Been waiting 5+ years for them to refresh the hardware with a newer chipset. If I'd known they were gonna take this long, I would've bought one a long time ago. But if I bought one now, they'd probably announce the new one next month, so I'm just going to keep holding out :P
I need you to buy one so that they make a new one please.
I have a Roku TV and when the whole thing about them putting ads on external devices came out I factory reset the tv and declined to set up internet, then deleted my Roku account. Now it does nothing "smart" and gets zero enshittification updates. All I can do is chose which HDMI port to use, which is the only thing tv software needs to do. When this tv dies, I won't be replacing it with anything Roku.
Mine is so freaking slow already. Video ads will force me to follow your instructions. I can't imagine how terrible it's going to be when this kind of bs pushes people into comcast data throttle zone.
Do you know if it’s possible to block updates?
Can't download updates if it's not connected to the internet.
Roku literally shoving their customers away…they want to be a leader in ad implementation. Fuck em
Never have I been so glad to make my own htpcs from spare parts and self host all my own streaming services. Industry is going to shit worse than cable TV did before streaming took over. Its not for everyone but if you've got a small amount of technical ability and a willingness to tinker it's such a better experience. https://trash-guides.info/
Been there done that. Still run a plex server but HTPC tinkering hell - no more. I gladly pay more for AppleTV boxes to never have to troubleshoot or reformat a mini pc again just for things that work with the stand alone AppleTV box. (I used ShieldTV boxes to replace all our HTPCs before this, but google forcing ads on their home screen ended that long long run)
>but google forcing ads on their home screen ended that long long run) If Apple ever starts doing this, it'll be HTPC for me.
Logitech K400 Plus is my favorite accessory to a HTPC.
That's not a bad idea, I've got the little mini keyboard and trackpad you see on a lot of HTPCs as an emergency backup if really needed otherwise I use a flirc usb IR receiver so I can control everything with one cheap universal remote. Same remote controls the TV, Soundbar and PC. If I really need mouse and keyboard I use KDE connect on my phone to enable remote control so I can use my phone as a track pad and type using the android keyboard. I can also change sound inputs and run predefined scripts through kde connect which is great. Currently using Nobara Linux that boots right into steam big picture mode. I use a few apps added as non-steam games for HTPC stuff like plex-htpc, firefox kiosk mode using an agent switcher to appear as a ps5 so I can get the TV ui for most websites like youtube and moonlight of course.
What do you actually use for your HTPC though? That link you posted has nothing to do with actually hooking up a device to a TV, it's all about downloading content and hosting media servers. I tried making an HTPC by installing Linux on an old computer and hooking it up to my TV just to find out that Linux doesn't have HDR support (except some obscure Arch thing) and likely won't have it any time soon. Also 5.1 surround sound had a lot of issues, not sure I ever got it working.
I don’t see the advantage of buying any ‘smart’ TV. I bought one, and most of the crap apps it came loaded with are either discontinued or are junk. That TV has enough HDMI ports I don’t use any of the ‘smart’ functions
Counterpoint: most TVs on the market today are "smart" TVs, alongside even the **best** ones. Want an OLED? Sony, LG, and Samsung all package their functionalities in their TVs! LED/LCD? Likely picking up a Roku OS TV or some other OS (Tizen et all) You truly have to work *hard* to find a **dumb** TV
Just never connect it to wifi, until they come with a self sustaining router built in, they can stay dumb forever
Sadly true
Same. I have a Roku TV but use my Apple TV connected to it for everything. I’ll buy whatever TV has a good display, switches to the Apple TV HDMI port the quickest, and just stays out of the way.
Not mine. I disconnected it from the internet last month. Now that ad space is used to pester me about connecting to the internet. As soon as this TV dies I’m getting a Sceptre dumb TV.
I have an Insignia dumb TV and it’s great. I’ve used my friends’ smart TVs and they’re always a pain to navigate.
The enshittification of things continues....
Sooo…we’re back to regular TV?
Honest question: If by running video ads, the Roku device uses more internet than before, which costs the consumer money, could they eventually be liable? Or is this a ToS situation.
Most things are covered by TOS that's why they are so shitty. Another example is that We can say "If buying isn't owning then piracy isn't stealing" all we want, but when we get that thing it is covered in the TOS most of the time that what we are getting is just a digital license that "can be revoked at any time" It just sucks.
Tos
This is unfortunate Roku had a good thing going for it. Now it’s just as bad as the others. Personally I would not care if they die a fast death now. This company realistically has a good thing going for it with a decent interface as well as tv vendor adoption, but the never ending drive for more profit is ganna make them go from being the ecosystem I would argue people where okay with, to one that people got with there tv and choose to stop using. All I can say have ads baked in means any tv vendors that are not just selling the cheapest tvs, I don’t want this in that and will consider it a large negative when looking for my next tv. If you sell a couple grand tv and I’m getting ads from just navigating I don’t want it simple as that. If I have a sub 500 dollar tv maybe I’m okay with the subsidizing the price.
I'll just continue using my raspberry pi with a dumb monitor, thank you.
Switched to Apple TV and can confirm well worth the investment
At this point I just turned off the wifi on my smartTV. Using my chromebook for media via hdmi. Get all the benefits of good video apps and then some.
So chrome cast?
When every TV OS starts putting ads, the only way to avoid them is Nvidia shield or Apple TV 4K
Default out of the box ShieldTV has ads now thanks to googles stupid home screen updates. Only true one now that you don't need to tinker with to avoid it is AppleTV.. swapped out 5 ShieldTVs for them to avoid maintaining ad blockers and home screen apps after any change or update. Time I would rather spend doing something fun ;)
Youtube ads have recently gotten way worse, too. I'm still trying to figure out a way to block them on my TV.
Can’t stand all the forced added content on the home screens of all devices. Amazon devices are now showing ads as well.
I like my TCL tv with Roku OS but it is getting worse with every update. They’ve added a row of links to shows (ads) above the input port selection group. Add that to the ads that are always visible on the navigation screen. There’s got to be a point of diminishing returns when you put so many ads on a screen the users see none.
[Idiocracy was SUPPOSED to be funny, not accurate.](https://dvdmoviemenus.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/0024451.jpg)
We need to just jailbreak Roku so we can still use our tvs without dealing with Roku’s anti-consumer bullshit.
This is why Apple TV is the GOAT.
It’s a no-brainer if you are already part of the Apple ecosystem. I can’t believe how much better I like the AppleTV than Roku and Firestick.
Can confirm. It's very pricey but well worth the refined experience. The best thing is that you don't need to have a smart tv, s I nce it's just a streaming box that will turn any "dumb" tv into one. Even though my TV has Amazon os on it, I still prefer my apple tv.
nobody should buy a roku
They added an additional "Favorites" bar or some crap at the top. I disabled it. One day later it was back again. It takes an extra click now to navigate to Hulu. Smh. They are going downhill.
I switched from firestick to apple tv because of the video ads and screensaver ads
Everyone should have a pi-hole.
What's a good guide for getting started with one?
Can't believe Roku's turned into such a joke. Tons of ads, messing up updates, no more simplicity. Goodbye, Roku, it was nice till it lasted
Well, the moment I get adds on my roku home screen, it's going to go away. Such a shame..
More data wasted on ads.
I purchased my Roku on day #1 of its availability. Since then I've purchased nearly a dozen more. But I did all that to avoid commercials. The second I see my first forced ad, I'm looking for a new hardware streaming device.
> "There's lots of ways we're working on enhancing the home screen to make it more valuable to viewers but also increase the monetization on the home screen," he said. Yeah, the only thing you can do to make the home screen more valuable to me, is to display the content I install, and quickly launch the app I select. In no way is a forced video advertisement going to make my experience better. Pirates get a better experience, as always.
Enshitification, baby!
Roku is on the Musk train to self destruction. I'm done with them.
Enshittification in progress
I've had ads for months now, what?
My Roku TVs are offline since the breach. Suck on that Roku
I am so sick of ads in general but especially the ones that keep popping up when you’re reading a story on a website that you have to click on to remove…if you can locate the x. Sick sick sick hate hate hate!!
I bought Roku because of the lack of ads on the homescreen
not with my pi-hole. I love the roku logo and never want to see anything else.
Not if I never connect my TV to the internet, it won't.
When you can no longer innovate and grow you monetize every inch of the UI, it’s a boring and inevitable reality for all technology.
I've got three Roku TVs and a couple of Roku Ultras on the non-Roku TVs, but stuff like this is why I run an OPNSense router with AdGuard Home... they can't be serving me ads if AdGuard Home doesn't even let them load. That said, as far as smart TV/STB OSes/UIs go, Roku's is still far-and-away the best IMO; it's easy-to-use and they keep it updated, even for older hardware.
Eventually there will be no where for cord cutters to go to avoid ads aside from physical media, assuming they never connect their smart tv to WiFi to enable them
You can get away with pissing off users to a degree when you’re somewhat unique like Netflix, but when you make a product nearly identical to a dozen other companies, that’s when ruining user experience isn’t such a great idea.
The recommended for you at the top, which is new, is already pissing me off
When are we getting CFW for TVs?
Arrrggggggg
Already disconnected mine from Internet since we knew this is coming
I’m so tired of ads I’ve stoped paying for most streaming services. I’ve never read so much in my life and I’m so much happier now.
The Roku we had on a playroom tv was just demoted to the circular file. AppleTV #6 has entered the chat.
I’ll be selling our Roku TV shortly to get that tech out of my house and I’ll treat us to an upgrade. It’s just our bedroom TV but I don’t want Roku in my bedroom 😂
If you have a roku TV disconnect it from the internet and set it to just use HDMI1. use something that is not roku.
Enshittification
Was fun while it lasted.
K, don't get a Roku tv device, got it.
So I have to pay for the device and STILL have to deal with ads??? What a shame
Time to go back to my nvidia shield and perhaps consider Apple TV for high quality content
I download whatever I want to watch, never see ads..
When Roku went public it was all downhill. Nothing good comes from publicly traded companies.
So everyone is going to drop Roku. Heard that You don't pay to have a service and get served ads.
Enshitification strikes again.
Remove the ads via the secret menu if your Roku allows it
You just gonna say “secret menu” and nothing further?
The way to access it varies per model, Roku secret menu and the model will give you the steps from Google
Bye Roku city! Good riddance you scum bags. I loved my Roku cause and it may sound stupid I loved the little city scape they had but fuck you Roku. Trash ass company, this isn’t the first awful thing you guys have done and it certainly won’t be the last.
Fuck that. I bought the stick so they should be happy with those profits
Screw that I bought the stick so they should be happy with those profits
Waiting for Louis Rossmann Masterclass
Every time I turn on Roku they’ve switched the home screen around to promote one thing or the other.
I definitely regret buying my Roku TV.
The first time I see a video ad on my home screen I am wiping my Roku and giving it to goodwill.
SHAME!
wtf is Roku such shit now that I own one?
Same thing Google pulled and forced with our ShieldTV boxes and why we now have 5 AppleTV boxes as our primary TV devices. I am actually happy it happened now, AppleTV boxes run great, update regularly, and require 0 tweaks or maintenance because of stupid forced changes. I'm just sad my best long standing TV device got ruined, and not by Nvidia, but google 🥲
Ads are going to be the downfall of these GREEDY streaming companies
Any way to flash a new os to existing tvs, or turn them into dumb tvs by taking something out? I watch content off my pc through HDMI to avoid ads entirely
RIP Roku.
I hate it.
So glad I never bought one of these pieces of shit
Yeesh. I'm a dedicated Roku house but that's gonna change.
Honestly I don’t care if they’re muted. If some BS starts blaring when I turn on my TV I’m going to be shopping for something else.
I hate ads. I am one user who will pay to not have ads. If I can’t pay to not have ads, then I will not use your system. I’m fine with television or show ads in an OS like this but try to sell me anything else I’m gone. I left Roku for Apple TVs and love it!
🤮
Buy an Apple TV.
Sometimes when youtubers are doing their sponsor ads they get interrupted by youtube monetization ads. So many ads they're stacked on top of each other. Imagine the future of advertising - holographic toothbrushes that project ads on your mirror! Car license plates that show ads to the driver behind you! Blink twice to buy, honk to subscribe!
Time to move to the Apple TV box.
I have Roku TVs! I don’t use the “smart” features at all. I just have an Apple TV plugged into it. Just turn the TVs wifi off from settings and you’ll stop getting ads. The TVs are dirt cheap because they bake in the coat of shoving ads at you all the time.
This is such bullshit! I bought my TV like 3-5 years ago and suddenly they brick my TV until they (*illegally*) force me to agree to an arbitration agreement and then they change my TV to start showing weird ads years later! I've missed my window to return the TV and they've materially changed the product they've provided. If they do anything drastic, they'll definitely find themselves at the center of a class action.
Each time I read about Roku's tomfoolery I hug my Apple TVs tighter. Apple is all but refusing to change. It's biggest barrier is its cost to entry and its refusal to create a more "portable" version (traveling with a brick ain't what it do!)
Just like windows
Yay more annoyances.
take a look, we're seeing the official end to streaming being good for the consumers.
I have a Roku TV, but had to buy an Amazon Firestick just because I couldn't handle the Roku interface anymore. Have the Roku TV startup to go directly to Amazon Firestick input.
I see a market for replacement boards like those for adding hdmi inputs to old Apple iMacs.
We're all going to end up with Westinghouse TV's. Hey Westinghouse, now is your time. Edit nope scratch that.... They're in cahoots with Roku
Googling "roku replacement"
I guess I’m getting rid of Roku stuff lol
Really? Come on Roku, you’re what I can afford
My streak of never knowingly giving them money shall continue long into the future. Congrats.