Roku OS home screen is getting video ads for the first time : technology

[–] nul9o9 67 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (3 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 7 months ago (2 children)

There's at least one for sale; https://osmc.tv/vero/

[–] LesserAbe 14 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Stupid question, but am I right in thinking that osmc won't support streaming services like Netflix/Hulu/Max?

[–] [email protected] 12 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It's open source, so you're right, it won't. I use mine as a jellyfin box.

[–] lemmy_get_my_coat 4 points 7 months ago

I haven't followed this guide so can't comment on how up to date it all is, but looks like there are addons to stream Disney, Netflix, and Prime at least: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/netflix-amazon-video-plex-raspberry-pi/

[–] [email protected] 15 points 7 months ago

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.

[–] Aceticon 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

LibreElec?

[–] SidewaysHighways 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

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

[–] Aceticon 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I recently got rid of my TV box from my ISP (around here it tends to be bundled, but I found a cheaper data only ISP) and of a separate media box I had to play my collection of videos in digital files that were stored in a NAS and even the old NAS setup (which was just improvised with some external HDs connected to my router and used the older SMB v1 protocol which is much slower than more recent versions) and brough everything onto a single device which is a Mini PC with Lubuntu and Kodi which even has so additional stuff in it like an always on VPN and web controlled Torrent download server.

I never had a this good and this well integrated home entertainment setup before.

That's basically a "make your own" version of LibreElec, but I didn't recomend it above because that Mini PC was $150 and you do need to know your way around Linux to set something like that up yourself (plus the added value to make it worth it is in being able to hand more server services in that machine, such as Torrent downloading over that always on VPN) whilst LibreElec is a pre-assembled full solution and is also available for much cheaper devices.

But yeah, it's actually pretty amazing how far open source home entertainment solutions have come in just a decade (which is how old my setup with a dedicated media box and NAS was before this restructuring of the whole thing to modern tech).

PS: Oh, and by the way, it's possible to get a wireless remote control (about $4 from AliExpress) that works absolutelly fine with Linux and lets you control Kodi by remote just like you would control a dedicated TV Box.

[–] [email protected] 46 points 7 months ago (1 children)

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.

[–] RustyEarthfire 42 points 7 months ago (4 children)

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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[–] negativenull 45 points 7 months ago (1 children)

For RaspberryPI/Adguard:
Custom block rule
(ads|logs|cloudservices).roku.com$

[–] JDPoZ 7 points 7 months ago

Thread MVP ^

[–] [email protected] 44 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Can you block these by adding Pi-Hole? I’m so tired of enshittification.

[–] flop_leash_973 34 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

If shit like this keeps going, soon my car is going to be homemade out of 2x4s and a backyard-forged 2 stroke engine, while I try to turn sand into chips so I can stay connected to the Internet...

[–] grue 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (5 children)

I've already resolved to not buy cars newer than the ones I already have (from the '90s and 2000s).

(It sucks 'cause it means I can't have an EV unless I find one of those super-low-volume '90s fleet compliance cars or build my own.)

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 7 months ago (3 children)

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.

[–] SandySocks 15 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I haven't seen a seen a single home screen Roku ad since I installed Pi-Hole.

This will be my last Roku, it has become such a horrible ad-ridden experience since I first got it years ago.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago (1 children)

At first, Pi-hole was enough, but some devices had a software update a year or two ago that used Google (if memory serves) DNS as a backup. It was sneaky, but adding a block rule closed that loophole.

Not all devices had that change though. I'm hoping mine is old enough to be ignored for the new video ads.

[–] SuperIce 4 points 7 months ago (3 children)

I imagine they'll eventually work around block rules with DNS over https.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (5 children)

Better alternative, stop buying Roku products..

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[–] njm1314 42 points 7 months ago (1 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Roku always was a company with great engineers and shitty money grabbing management. The new user creation always requested data not necessary for basic operation.

[–] Plopp 6 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Roku always was a company with great engineers and shitty money grabbing management.

So, like most companies then?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago

No, most companies also have mostly incompetent engineers.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I factory reset my roku TV and now keep it offline. I have a laptop with Ubuntu hooked up to it.

[–] blackwateropeth 12 points 7 months ago

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

[–] catalog3115 28 points 7 months ago

Roku went to shit long back

[–] Bell 26 points 7 months ago

Sigh, time to sell my Roku stock

[–] [email protected] 23 points 7 months ago

I’m not shocked, but I am disappointed.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (8 children)

Boop beep I got delete. .

[–] kaitco 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

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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[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 months ago

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.

[+] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

[deleted]

[–] crossover 8 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (5 children)

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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[–] OwlPaste 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

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.

[–] neuroneiro 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

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.

[–] StV2 6 points 7 months ago (2 children)

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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[–] just_another_person 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

You bought an ad supported device.

[–] simplejack 3 points 7 months ago

I can’t believe the company that puts ads on the remote would do this to me.

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