Comment on After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads
netchami@sh.itjust.works 10 months ago
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?
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
We are talking for the normies here. And it is becoming more and more difficult to block ads and trackers even for moderately savvy person.
Yup. Small Intel NUC, Linux, and one of those Air mouse remotes are all I need.
It’s hard not to be that guy and mention how neat such a setup is every time I have to watch someone else fumbling around with the horribly designed and ad-ridden UI of their “smart” TV.
I have a Nokia android TV with no ads as far as I can tell 🤷
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.
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Most people are not that technically savvy.
Synthead@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Even a Windows computer, like a laptop. An HDMI cable isn’t hard to plug in.
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 10 months ago
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.
Index_Case@feddit.uk 10 months ago
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.