Submitted 4 months ago by return2ozma@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.theverge.com/news/819043/amazon-illegal-streaming-fire-tv-stick
Say what you want about Amazon, these were a decent deal. You could find a guy on your local marketplace that would sell one of these fire sticks preloaded with a custom IPTV app that had a bunch of channels for about £20-£40 permanently, no reoccurring cost.
If you got one before the police started cracking down on them you’re golden.
GF used to have one, they were $200 in California apparently
In this day and age, why even use that smart tv shit?
I switched to an old PC connected to HDMI and a mouse that works like a wii controller. Firefox with AdBlock, audible, Spotify no problem at all here.
I think only tech illiterate people should even consider using smart tv, everyone else: get back you autonomy ffs, there are alternatives to that crab
I’m was in the market for a new tv and literally none of them come without smarttv functionality. The only option is to scour marketplaces for screens made for businesses, or find a chinese no-name with the panel you want (which carries its own risks).
And if you “just don’t connect it to the internet” (which is actually impossible if you ever have an open wifi network in the vicinity) and connect your PC to it, Netflix and Apple and Amazon and Disney won’t stream at the highest quality because you’re not using an officially licensed smart tv app.
I mean there’s always piracy, but, you know
It’s rough out there 🥲
These are valid concerns, I still value my privacy way more then 4k resolution in some shows and not being able to use unsecure wifi.
My TV isn’t connected to the Internet for the past 4 years no problems here and you can easily set a password on your hotspot if you need one.
Well, I see your pain, but this being the reason to give in is stupid in my opinion. Privacy is worth fighting for but people will only start to realize that, when they don’t have any and it’s too late.
Hey, mind sharing which mouse you’re using?
They are all more or less the same chinese products with different cases, but it’s pretty cheap
It doesn’t work as well as the Wii controller since it uses the accelerometer, but you get used to it. The keyboard on the backside too, works for urls and some searching but you most likely don’t want to type longer texts with it.
Is there a good alternative that’s in the same compact size?
Onn/Thompson sticks. They also use the stick form factor but they run Google TV so they shouldn’t be affected.
Got a Xiaomi TV Stick 4k arriving today 🤞
Not quite as compact but I think you can r pi a little media box pretty easily.
Hmm I was thinking of using it when travelling so I don’t think that fulfills the same use case.
I’ve just been using a Chromecast and my phone for nearly a decade now.
I’d personally rather not use something that requires Chrome and has miracast support too.
Hardware is never profitable it’s the services you sell them that make profit.
Printer manufacturers never make profit from printers
Sometimes it is profitable
“the Fire TV Stick 4K Select, which runs on Linux instead of the easily-modified Android software used on previous TV streaming hardware”
Ok… who wants to break it to them?
The Select is even more locked down, it uses Vega OS which doesn’t permit any sideloading at all. The only apps are HTML5
Its not sideloading, its installing apps on your device which you bought from a company in an exchange of goods, which you should be free to modify and do what you wish.
Amazon? Never heard of it.
well, that’s a rock worth living under
If you took it seriously, I wish you the best.
Worst streaming devices I used was a Fire stick and a fire cube, so painfully slow I couldn’t wait until I got something different. Went with a Shield and the only disappointment I have is my TV’s built in stuff is just as good for my usage so no need to hook up the shield.
I’m not watching ads.
Like I’ll just not watch anything. It really is that simple for me.
But until then 🏴☠️
Looks like I left Fire Sticks just in time. They say they are going to block apps that allow piracy. So are they going to block their own shitty web browser?
You were lucky! But I am sure there will be some ways around it in a matter of time. Maybe with some way to sideloading them or something.
Probably use some AI bullshit to scan what you’re watching/doing on it and block the sites that way.
It doesn’t specify what apps… how broad will this be? The good news is i was already looking for alternatives a few months ago, and I think i see a few that will be a better solution anyway. Screw Amazon, and i hope they underestimate the percentage of people that only use this for those reasons. From everyone I know, I am pretty sure none of them use it for just legitimate reasons. I dont even use it for illegal streaming, but will they consider apps like plex, emby, and jellyfin as potential threats?
Amazon sell these devices at a loss to drive usage of their platform. They would prefer people using them to sideload would fuck off.
I wonder how many that is in %. Got to be a good chunk who side load. They ain’t gonna suddenly convert and set up prime subscriptions.
I don’t stream anything illegal but I have had to sideload a couple of things that weren’t available to download for whatever reason. I’m not going to give up that ability.
It’s one thing if it was never available because they didn’t want to put in the work. I’m talking very generically here, not about Android or the Fire Stick in particular. Like, no one is really going to be upset that something like an MP3 player or a DVD player can’t run whatever software you want. But if your company is intentionally removing such functionality, you can fuck right off. Greed is the only reason to do it.
It doesn’t sound like they are saying the are going to block sideloading, just sideloading stuff like Kodi that are often used for illegal streaming
Hopefully nobody tellsl them about plex
It says you’ll only be able to download stuff from their store.
I cracked down on amazon, highly recommended
Me too. At least with Temu and Wish I know the majority of my money is going directly to some crook in China and not to Bezos. Cut out the extra middleman. Same low quality of goods, direct from the drop-shipper lying about them or perhaps even the factory counterfeiting them. It’s a substantial improvement in supply chain honesty and legitimacy, you’re left with no illusions about the products and all the reviews are fake, so it’s deeply refreshing to not have to try to figure any of it out. It’s always 100% consistent. You know exactly what to expect, with no worry you’re accidentally going to overpay for something you think is genuine and receive a box full of rocks that’s obviously been opened, stolen and returned, nah not on these sites. You’ll get exactly what’s pictured (not to scale necessarily, though). Way more reliable than Amazon.
Just go to AliExpress instead of Temu / Wish. Save you some cash.
The ideal answer is to !buyeuropean@feddit.uk and/or buy local.
Can confirm, great result.
Strawberry@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 months ago
I use the OSMC vero V to have a nice Kodi interface for my liberated films and TV shows, which I have on my PC with a network share. It’s great.