This is one of the many reasons why you should be your own streaming service. 🏴☠️
this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2025
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Technology
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We had one on our TV the other day. This will absolutely be our last Roku.
In the meantime I immediately installed PiHole, to block all their ads.
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I will absolutely be getting rid of mine if I experience this.
I only have my roku tv because I got it dirt cheap ages ago, I don't use it all that often and no good enough reason to replace it, I'm already considering replacing it with a dumb tv and just hooking up my laptop to it. If I ever experience this, it will make the cost of a new dumb tv 1000% worth it.
You can reset your Roku tv and simply not connect it to the internet. It will still work as a dumb tv.
I'll try that, thank you.
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Basically punishment for people who either don't get their own streaming box/avoid tvs with roku built in.
What? This is reported to be happening on both sticks and tv versions of the rolu app.
It's capitalism... When every CEO, Board Member, and shareholder wants a yacht, it's literally never enough. They even created a term to describe this inevitable deterioration of every company's product: enshittification.
It's not that they all want yachts, they make enough to each buy multiple yachts. It's just that nothing is ever enough. They don't know what success is, so they chase the undefined feeling until they die unfulfilled. Fucking living dead and a cancer on collective humanity
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hence, punishing those who didnt get their own streaming box (that isnt roku based), or has a tv that has roku built into it.
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I never plugged mine into the Internet. I just plugged in an Apple TV, and I’m good to go. No ads, no sweat, no problem.
New devices don't allow that
I got mine three weeks ago from Amazon. How much more new can it get?
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They're not "smart" TVs. They're TVs with shitty android spyware boxes attached.
Stop using that garbage. Don't connect it to a network, just use it as a display.
If you need to watch YouTube on your TV go and grab an OSMC (Kodi-based OS for media boxes) media box. You can get a pre-built one for around $100, or install it yourself on a raspberry pi.
These manufacturers depend on you being lazy and accepting their spyware. You will save yourself so much more headache in the long run if you control your own hardware and software.
Trying to navigate through the world without some minimal knowledge of computers means you're going to get taken by every scam like what Roku is pulling.
It's not just the tvs, they're doing it on their streaming sticks too.
Yeah, every product that they sell will do it.
Using something like OSMC (or buying a Vero is you don't want to mess around with the setup) will let you control what runs on your player.
Until you do that, you're paying some random company while also giving root access on a device in your house and letting them waste your time with ads.
All you get out of the deal is avoiding having to learn how to use a new piece of software. A Pyrrhic victory due to the fact that you have to learn to use Roku.
I'd rather spend a few hours learning how to setup Kodi. It's free software, you don't pay for it and it's Free software, you control it with no strings attached.
My big issue with kodi is that i like my media library to be human navigable and named and it does not. Dealbreaker
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NVidia Shield 2 when?
Apparently Valve might be releasing a shield-like thing. If they do it's an instant buy for me.
Never, apparently. Dunno why Nvidia is dragging their feet on this one
I was expecting them to release one with the Switch 2 but haven't heard anything yet unfortunately.
Not to say that the Shield 1 isn't great. It's still the best streaming device to this date! It's awesome!
I remember when Roku was the big cost saving alternative to TV. I remember when it was the all in one streaming aggregator.
Meh, I don't even watch TV anyway
Advertisements suck and no regular person would ever advocate for seeing more of them. Enshittification is also out of control and ad-free services you pay a subscription for are more and more sneaking in ads where they can. This combination of facts is why I am a deranged data hoarder with self-hosted solutions wherever possible.
I just really really hate ads. If I had a Roku and this change rolled out to me I'd probably flip.
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Ive never looked into it but how viable is a raspberry pi zero for this? I mean, is the hardware powerful enough and is there software available for easy TV use? Potentially paired with an android bluetooth remote.
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