Submitted 9 months ago by AnActOfCreation@programming.dev to technology@lemmy.world
Ugh. Roku was one of the platforms with fewer ads.
PiHole Domain regex blacklist: (ads|logs|cloudservices).roku.com$
And there it is, folks.
I added the Roku servers to my blocklist months ago, (maybe even years ago, at this point?) My three smart TVs are the most blocked devices on my network, by far. It’s not even close.
For reference, my phone (my most used device) is number four on that list. My three smart TVs (two Rokus and a Samsung) are numbers 1, 2, and 3. I haven’t even watched TV today. Smart TVs are hilariously, mind-bogglingly invasive, and you should block them ASAP.
Why did you black out your private IP addresses?
What does it look like on your tv after blocking the ads
Did you add the expression by the user you are replying to?
Does it just block the Roku / Samsung spam, while leaving the platform otherwise in tact?
For those with Roku TVs or any of their products, I found that a PiHole blocks the ads on the home screen so far. Hoping I could pick up an ONN box in the future so I can just not deal with this shit lol.
A pihole is a whole “home” adware/malware/spyware blocker. It runs on a raspberry Pi but can also run on a physical/virtual install of several different Linux distributions. Not only can it block ads on your computer but can also block ads on technology that you can’t (easily) block ads on (“Smart” TV / stock cellphone / IoT devices / etc). In addition, with some easy to instal additional (free) software you can block ads even when not at “home”!
Pihole also has a docker distribution, so it’ll also run easily on “appliance” NAS solutions with minimal effort
Thank you for the explanation. I felt very out of the loop on this whole thread. I’ll look into pihole.
Yeah, DNS blocking is quite effective for not just ads, but also telemetry on Roku.
Personally, I use nextdns until I can can a good pihole setup going.
You can comfortably run pihole, unbound, and a VPN like wireguard on a pi zero or zero 2. You can find entire zero 2 kits for under $35 if you’re patient
I use roku…I might have to try a pihole…or switch to something else. Damn shame just about everything gets ruined by greed.
Anyone jailbreaking these damn things yet?
Rokus are not worth the effort. Nvidia literally publishes dev roms for the shield tv boxes.
I love the RF remote, the functionality, and the responsiveness.
Are the dev roms fully compatible with Netflix & Co.? I’m running a shield and the one thing that kept me from rooting it was compatibility with hardware DRM. Have since cancelled all my subscriptions after they locked my family out and tried to hike the prices, but I’m still following the developments out of interest.
Thank you Roku, a step forward towards self hosting and self managing of every service
How are you going to self-host streaming hardware? A HTPC for every TV in the house along with a mouse and keyboard?
I was already thinking of upgrading my old Roku to a $20 Onn (Walmart brand) Google TV box (which I’m told is hackable), but this will only accelerate that decision.
Small SBCs and keyboard/remote combos. That’s what we do.
Use Android TV with an alternate launcher like FLaunchee
Yes I have a thinclient attached to my TV running linux mint
No need for HTPC, just a small USB device with HDMI output and DLNA support. You use your phone as a DLNA controller, a server running Jellyfin as DLNA provider, and the device attached to the TV as DLNA renderer. And sometimes TVs have DLNA support built-in (my Toshiba does).
I just recently started using my Samsung TVs as dumb screens because they’re slow as shit, but a nice side effect is zero ads.
ONN 4k streaming box for $20 at Walmart. Install a custom launcher. Install a button remapper for the remote. Install SmartTubeNext for YouTube (no ads, SponsorBlock) Install whatever other apps you need (Plex, etc)
FAR better experience. Turn the TV on and it’s ready to go in a few seconds, not the ~60-90 seconds it takes the Tizen nonsense to “warm up.”
It’s not perfect, but it’s a hell of a lot better. Can recommend, especially for only $20.
(Plex, etc)
Just get started on the move to Jellyfin now.
Seriously, people, use some pattern recognition here. Plex is already on its way down the enshitification pipeline, you’ll be sick of it in a couple years too, just like Roku. Why wait?
Jellyfin is definitely on my radar, and I’d love to make the switch. One thing that’s important to me and my family, however, is the library sharing between accounts. To my knowledge, Jellyfin doesn’t support this.
Just picked up the Onn box and did all that. Also installed RetroArch and so far the SNES era stuff all plays good with my bluetooth controller though there is a slight input lag or i just need to adjust lol.
Bluetooth does have latency issues, but setting your TV to Game mode (if available) will provide extremely noticeable improvement.
Any guides/links on setting up my Onn box like that? It’s been great for the $20 but removing ads and deeper customization sounds amazing
Directly from the play store, you can install alternative launchers. Some people like FLauncher; I did not. I went with Projectivy. Highly customizable, very clean.
You can also grab a button re-mapper there. I went with tvQuickActions Pro - it’s paid, but quite powerful.
For SmartTubeNext, I followed this guide.
SmartTubeNext might be the greatest thing about AndroidTV just for the sponsor block. It’s so amazing.
Y’know what I love most about the high sea, matey? She never gets enshittified.
If someone, let’s say, happened to own a Roku TV and a NAS full of some sort of DRM-free video content ripped from home-video media they legitimately own and have legally format-shifted and backed up, to watch their stuff they’d still have to wade through Roku’s enshittifying home screen to access the appropriate media player.
How do i pirate an ad free tv
Might not be the exact solution you’re looking for, but I run my “smart TV” off a cheap ass laptop. The TV itselfbhas never been connected to the internet.
Pihole helps. If you have androidtv you can setup a custom launcher and avoid it on your interface.
Jesus, I hate that word, “shoppable”. It just sounds dystopian.
it’s not as brutal a construct as the other Sales-Bro trash we see: ‘the ask’, ‘the spend’, etc. It’s too bad that no matter how much we mock the soulless people who parrot that crap, it’s just our dumber friends who won’t learn anyway.
Step one.
Buy a thing. It is a good thing.
Oops, now it only works if you pay monthly. Ok maybe they’re doing some upkeep.
Now there’s ads. You’re paying them money, but they want even more so now you’re the product.
Haha it broke! My family tech guy says it’s literally impossible to fix without the cheat codes.
Final step. Don’t buy the thing again. Don’t buy anything with “terms may be altered. Pray I do not alter them further.” Probably stick to open source.
Me after getting those dumbass Canary cameras that cost $200 a piece then they completely wrecked the free tier then started giving them away for free to get more subscribers.
Wyze cams with wz_mini_hacks firmware offline in a VLAN with Frigate and Home assistant from here on out!
Google is already doing this with their default Android TV launcher. I tolerated their home screen ‘recommendations’ for a while as they occasionally highlighted something interesting to watch, but one day I switched on the TV and was greeted with a huge advert banner for a fucking watch on the home screen.
At that point I spent a few hours setting up FLauncher on all my ATV devices.
I did the exact same thing. Also blocked androidtv updates in case Google starts pulling shit regarding custom launchers.
It’s gross how ads are being crammed in every little nook of our lives. Not like the ShieldTv was a cheap device either.
Pretty sad to see Roku going down the same road. Guess forcing a third of the screen devoted to ads just wasn’t enough.
I prefer projectivy launcher. It’s got a few more features and feels a little more polished.
That’s the reason I’ve been using Roku. I couldn’t stand all the suggestions and ads on my Google TV. If Roku does that, too, then there’s nothing good to distinguish them.
I like that I can install custom apps on Google TV, but Roku beats them in UI IMO.
This launcher looks super cool, does anyone bychance know if it works on FireTVs? I was ok with the FireTV launcher up until they made it autoplay ads with sound everytime you turn the damn thing on.
Same! I recently found this “feature” can be disabled in the preferences, along with a bunch of creepy tracking options.
I can’t speak from experience as I don’t own any Amazon devices, but I have read reports that it seems to work fine with the FireTV variant of Android.
The dev has only tested it against Chromecast with Google TV, with that said I’m using it on a Shield TV and a Shield Pro and it runs fine on both.
Chromecast 2. No ads ever. Just send stuff from your device to your TV.
Yes, this is what the people want! More ads! Skip the content, just show ads 24/7! That will definitely keep people from pirating out of sheer frustration.
And dont forget about that ad space on the remote control too.
Can these ads be blocked with pi-hole?
I block logs.roku.com and cloudservices.roku.com on my pihole without impacting any functionality.
Is there a good resource to learn how to install that kind of a system for a person who’s tech knowledge ends at one semesters worth of C++?
Yea my Adblock Home (pihole alternative) blocks the ads on my Roku home screen. Now it’s just a big blank box.
Yes.
PiHole blocks the current ads. Hopefully these new ones too.
Hey, nice, I get to build an HTPC again and check out the latest streaming shit for Linux.
I'm not even being ironic. Tired of this corporate hellscape and finding joy in returning to the kind of hobbyist tech I grew up on.
corposhit used to at least be worth paying for with all it's flaws but they're shitting it up so bad it's increasingly not even worth it in the slightest
Well time to replace my roku TV with a Goodwill special TV because fuck that shit. Fuck smart tvs in general and what they have become. They used to be neat little editions added on for value on your TV back when Netflix made sense. But now they don’t especially with the ads that automatically get shoved into your face depending on what you are doing that have started to interrupt your viewing experience. It’s not like I’ll be downgrading at all when just using a computer with a TV using Stremio and AllDebrid.
Enshittification strikes again!
After reading so much about this, I’m definitely going to start reading up on running a Pihole at home
I’d like to ask for suggestions on FAQs or guides that’d help me get started.
TIA!
Why won’t anyone make a privacy focused premium streaming box with no ads? I’d pay so much for this thing that will never exist.
So you go from owning a multi media entertainment system to owning a online store front where you must buy crap that you don’t need.
This is bait and switch level bullshit
I’ve been doing some research for the last few days on setting up a home server/NAS. If anyone’s going to ruin my entertainment, it’s going to be ME
I do see the appeal of non-smart TV’s now. Just getting a device that host your media and streams is a good option.
They’ve gotten great at this war of attrition. They know if they make changes incrementally people wouldn’t accept all at once then most people won’t notice or care. That’s why I through that trash and two firesshits out in the garbage where they belonged when they started with “related” ads and app store ads.
Is there any way to repurpose an old android phone into an android TV? Sometimes like Linage OS but TV focused. Even older Android phones can be considerably more powerful than any current streaming box. Add on privacy and you’ve got the perfect solution. It also would save on e-waste.
DNS blocking at the router never fails.
I don’t mind if it’s an ad for a new tv show or movie or streaming platform. But if it’s shopping stuff I’ll need to find a new tv.
So how about a Raspberry pie with jellyfin connected to your TV?
Pi-Hole/AdGuard works to stop these ads, never even have to see them.
Not with pihole I wont.
looks fucking stupid
I know a lot of people reeeeeaaaaalllly hate apple, but, having used many different streaming boxes over the years, I’ve never had a better experience than with my Apple TVs.
YES, for those who don’t like Apple and/or who aren’t totally into the who Apple ecosystem, one won’t get all of the benefits and one might see friction with some of Apple’s “way of doing things” — especially that fucking annoying remote of theirs - but, all things considered, it does what it does extremely well, and it’s fa better than its competition IMO. and it is especially good at both protecting your privacy (compared to its competitors) and keeping ads far, far away (except when individual apps insert them, i.e. Hulu or Netflix with ads).
kadu@lemmy.world 9 months ago
After all the issues with software updates, ads, and just overall terrible experience of TV operating systems and those little media boxes, I just finally accepted that my life is better using my TV as a dumb screen that’s connected to a PC and then using Steam Big Picture for games and Jellyfin for media.
dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 9 months ago
After various trial and error, not to mention irritation, I have determined that this is the way. It’s what I did back in the dark ages when I was in high school (with a Pentium 3 that had enough hardware acceleration to play DVD’s!) and it’s what I do once more. By hook or by crook, one way or another you’re guaranteed to be able to retain complete control over a PC even if that ultimately means you have to install some flavor of Linux on the fucking thing.
You can get a perfectly capable media center PC for very little money if you don’t need it to be able to run AAA games, which in my case I don’t. Even the various nanocomputer boards like one of the beefier Raspberry Pi’s or any of its myriad competitors can do the job these days, fit in a tiny enclosure, make no noise, and consume very little power.
Fuck all the Chromecasts, Fire sticks, Roku boxes, Apple TV’s, and other sundry and bullshit devices of the world.
deweydecibel@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Nvidia SHIELD is still ok, because it’s Android TV, and you can install custom launchers on Android. Therefore no ads on your home screen.
Granted, Nvidia is letting the SHIELD line twist in the wind, but it’s not outmoded yet, I’ll be using mine for a number of years yet.
Stovetop@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Inb4 Toyota ads start popping up in your Steam library.
Schmidtster@lemmynsfw.com 9 months ago
It’s already in some games unfortunately…
endhits@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I want to love jellyfin, but the Roku app is a buggy mess.
VampiricClam@lemmy.world 9 months ago
The Roku app has had a major update recently. Might be worth checking again.
1hitsong@lemmy.ml 9 months ago
I’m one of the Jellyfin Roku devs. What bugs are you experiencing?
nicetriangle@kbin.social 9 months ago
Yeah I was getting fed up with apps and boxes said fuck it and am running a mac mini hooked up to a shitload of storage now and it's been great. Plays media, works as a competent file server for said media, and emulates a bunch of console games. We don't use anything else now.
Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Isn’t Apple TV the most ad free box now? I’m still on Roku but I’ve read that Apple TV is equivalent to a Roku but without the ads.
Odelay42@lemmy.world 9 months ago
I’ve been doing this for a decade.
Highly recommend it. The only thing some people don’t like is using a keyboard and mouse on the couch, but there are endless solutions for that.
MentallyExhausted@reddthat.com 9 months ago
I have a little mini keyboard/trackpad combo. Primarily just use the directional pad and media controls to navigate Plex, but if I need to pop into a web browser or whatever, it works great.
chakan2@lemmy.world 9 months ago
Actually…that’s the sticking point at my house. I’m ok with mouse keyboard, but my wife and kids are not.
Still trying to find a remote that will suit that use case.
Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 months ago
I have like four or five Logitech K400 keyboards, they’ve got a touchpad and they’re super inexpensive!