Roku OS home screen is getting video ads for the first time
Roku OS home screen is getting video ads for the first time
arstechnica.com Roku OS home screen is getting video ads for the first time
Meanwhile, Roku keeps making more money.
81 comments
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It was my favorite UI between firestick, android tv, and roku. I'm seriously bummed out by what they've been doing.
Last time I asked it seemed like open source streaming box OS's aren't a thing.
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There's at least one for sale; https://osmc.tv/vero/
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I thought it was nifty with a sharp UI. I provided feedback on multiple occasions not to degrade their own platform, which I’m sure were read by nobody. But still, it’s a shame.
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LibreElec?
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I am living that dream right now and it's pretty sweet. Tied into my jellyfin and emby setup. Personal photo screensaver, integration with my control platform, can run some emulators. And add-ons for some services.
I can't get prime video to work but that's not terrible, I do wanna watch fallout though.
I need to figure out a way to dual boot to Blissos easily on the fly.
But yeah LibreELEC has made me proud
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I think our parent’s generation (or maybe their parents’?) would have said something like “There ought to be a law!” but we don’t say that because we don’t expect anyone in office will ever help us. Hm.
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This seems entirely opposite to my observation. I'd say Biden and his administration are unusually focused on unfair or annoying business practices. In just the past two weeks the Biden administration:
- Set clear rules requiring cash refunds for flight delays
- Banned non-compete clauses
- Set new rules on "junk fees" for credit cards
- Increased the minimum salary for overtime exemption
- Expanded fiduciary duty to retirement "advisors"
- Announced a lawsuit against Live Nation (TicketMaster)
- Re-instated net neutrality
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For RaspberryPI/Adguard:
Custom block rule
(ads|logs|cloudservices).roku.com$-
Thread MVP ^
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Can you block these by adding Pi-Hole? I’m so tired of enshittification.
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Last time I had a Roku you could block the static home screen ads with PiHole. So as long as they don't start serving these from the same domain as something you need for the box to work right or start hard coding a different DNS server into the OS that won't respect your local network settings it will probably keep working.
But if they are not doing one of the above to get around DNS adblockers yet, they will eventually in the name of those sweet sweet ad dollars. Best to just start planning an exit from Roku products if you care about such things.
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Currently, yes and no.
Yes, in that pihole can filter ad servers, but no because backup DNS servers are hard coded in the software; you have to block those too from your router.
Not sure about the new changes planned.
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I’m wondering if they managed to break that, too. I tried forcing my Roku to use my pi-hole by blocking Google DNS (what it seems to be hardcoded with) at my router and the Roku just stops recognizing that it even has an Internet connection.
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How can I block their hard coded DNS servers? Is it based on their IP numbers and if so how do we determine what they are?
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Man Roku's just getting worse and worse. I used to love my Roku years ago. Thought it was crazy I would have a fire stick because Roku was so much better. Those days are gone. Well mostly I still hate Fire Sticks.
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I factory reset my roku TV and now keep it offline. I have a laptop with Ubuntu hooked up to it.
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Same, im gunna hook up a pi5 to it soon. Crazy how much faster the Roku UI is when it’s not bloated with all that crap
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Roku went to shit long back
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Sigh, time to sell my Roku stock
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I’m not shocked, but I am disappointed.
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Boop beep I got delete. .
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Yeah, but I’ve been using the Jellyfin app on the Roku for my older “dumb” TVs, so I’m just fracked at this point.
That said, the webOS Jellyfin app is finally available for all webOS TVs, so at least I can go straight to JF on one TV.
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Boop beep I got delete. .
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Related question: what's everyone using to stream from their Jellyfin server these days?
I have a shield pro, but it's definitely starting to age, and with Nvidia neglecting it for years and finally ending support, I don't think I'll be getting a new one. My TV OS doesn't have an app without side loading, and even if it did, I don't think I'd want to use it.
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Boop beep I got delete.
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What do you mean neglected for years?
It's time for something new, yes. It's been nearly 10 years since the first release. But I wouldn't say it has been neglected.
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I just recently got that forced arbitration agreement from them. In response I got out an old Odroid N2+ I had laying around, installed Android TV, installed SmartTube, and never looked back. My only gripe is I have a Nebula subscription and the Nebula app that runs on Android TV is like a damn phone app. It starts with the phone aspect ratio and it expects me to use a touchscreen. It's annoying. If anyone has a solution to this Nebula problem then I would be most appreciative.
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I've had the displeasure of using a Roku TV while put up by insurance since a truck drove into our garage in January, after a couple hotel stays.
I'm sure it's a few years old but there can't be more than 8mb of RAM.
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The software is so bloated and sluggish on mine
I really wish software developers were actually allowed to ship decent firmware for stuff rather than just running a gigantic bloated os to effectively just decode and display video
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wish software developers were actually allowed to ship decent firmware
huh funny i thought the talent were in charge...
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It blows my mind how slow mine is now. I don't even use the UI really, I only switch between ps5 and my shield tv, but that switch takes SO LONG
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Any thoughts on an alternative device to stream through Plex? I have an LG tv I guess I can use 🤷🏼♀️
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AppleTV with the Infuse app.
Blows everything else away. It will connect to Plex and Jellyfin servers. Or a standard SMB folder share if you prefer. No ads. It never lags. Has reliable frame rate matching. And you’re likely to get 5+ years of software update support.
The only thing it won’t do is Atmos from Bluray rips (it will do lossless 7.1 but not the atmos layer). If you need that, then get an Nvidia Shield Pro.
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Plex user here, you install app on your receiver (tv/tablet/phone/whatever) and if you so desire you can host local content via plex server running on a machine on your network. Not used it as a home screen though, as i avoid paid players.
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You bought an ad supported device.
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I can’t believe the company that puts ads on the remote would do this to me.
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Fork
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This is the best summary I could come up with:
The news highlights Roku’s growing focus on advertising and an alarming trend in the streaming industry that sees ads increasingly forced on viewers.
Wood's comments didn't address the expected impact on the Roku user experience or whether the company thinks this might turn people off its platform.
Our business remains well positioned to capture the billions of dollars in traditional TV ad budgets that will shift to streaming," an April 25 letter to shareholders [PDF] authored by Wood and Roku CFO Dan Jedda reads.
For example, an Accenture survey of 6,000 "global consumers" noted by The Streamable found that 52.2 percent of participants thought that streaming platform-recommended content "did not match their interests."
Similarly, an October TiVo survey of 4,500 viewers in the US and Canada ranked "streaming apps / home screen / carousel ads" as the fourth most popular method of content discovery, after word of mouth, commercials aired during other shows, and social media.
While Roku is a budget brand associated with more affordable TVs and streaming devices, excessive ads could make people reconsider the true price of these savings.
The original article contains 734 words, the summary contains 182 words. Saved 75%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
81 comments