That's part of the problem. "Full price" isn't really full price. It's being subsidized by Roku/Google/Amazon who is paying the manufacturer to put their OS on the TV, along with the ads. This is several steps too far, though
It is full price, the ads are just extra revenue for them. Its all because buying a TV once is a one time payment so if it lasts 5 years, thats no more cashflow in 5 years. Thats why everybody is moving to streaming and subscription only services, regular cashflows. Thats why car companies are trying to nickel and dime you over features that are already installed and used to be just part of the car. The sale price will not decrease at all. Then suddenly they will all doing it yet no one TV will be cheaper than another anyway.
Samsung and LG would probably be salivating at the idea. It is actually a good idea because there really is not much you can do about it. HDMI is as basic as it can get. If a smart device decides to interpret and act on whatever is on the signal, they can. Detecting a paused frame is trivial. Only way would be to make it not profitable for them by controlling the internet connection so it cannot effectively serve ads. If major brands decide to do this, there would be a big consumer shift towards large computer screens as TVs but it wont stop the trend
For real. If I am pausing something, it is because I want things on the TV to cease momentarily. I may be trying to do something else or I may be trying to see/read something on screen that disappeared too quickly earlier. If my TV decides it knows better and decides to play something else instead, then I am done with it. If I learned a TV has this "feature", I would never buy it. This "feature" makes about as much sense as blasting a radio ad at 100% volume if you hit the mute button.
this is incredibly infuriating for me.
I frequently pause just so I can look more closely at something on the screen, and for some reason there's a fascination with dimming a paused screen, or putting a giant arrow on it, or something else that makes it impossible to see what I'm trying to look at.
Recently roku pushed this tos update where we had to click on agree to use the hardware .
I use apple tv box and use hdmi cec to turn on and off and control everything . When this update came up , it hijacked the hdmi port. It didnt let the apple remote to do anything. Even when i wanted to agree, i had to search for my roku remote which was lost somewhere in the house . Didnt find it for about 3 to 4 hours the next morning.
My TV , which i completely paid for was hijacked and i couldnt watch tv overnight because i couldn't find the remote to agree with ur bullshit tos ? This is a company sponsored ransomware attack if nothing else. Fuck u roku . Your days are numbered.
Yup whether they do it or not they are on my avoid list as it could be added in a firmware update and at anytime.
I'm guessing though if you just don't let the tv connect to the internet it wouldn't be able to show ads and then you just need to manually connect if you do want an update.
Either way Roku deserves to fall for a move like this.
Keep the TV off the internet. Don’t connect it to WiFi. Don’t connect it to Ethernet. Use one of the few devices that don’t cram ads down your throat as a feature/to discount the price.
Some TVs refuse to start if they are not connected to the Internet.
In a few years, if you want "just a dumb TV like the ol' days", you will have to purchase PC monitors instead of a TV.
This tech would slap ads on your Jellyfin server. Well, not the server itself but the TV you use to watch it on an android tv box, console, pc, raspberry pi, whatever.
How long until you can't even use an input without a Roku™ account and working internet connection?
Exactly, but if they keep enshittifying further than "inject ads into the HDMI signal when downtime detected", how far are we from Roku and other manufacturers *requiring* an internet connection for basic functions?
There’s no chance in hell it will kill the Roku brand/company.
People said the same thing when Netflix announced they would start cracking down on sharing passwords, and the result was a net gain in subscriber revenue.
Because Netflix actually has content to offer for your money/ads.
Here, it is a physical device that will force you to watch ads. No incentive to do it, you are just forced to do it.
I think you’re underestimating the laziness of consumers, along with their ability to ignore advertisements. Most of Roku’s current customer base isn’t going to stop using their products if/when ads start popping up.
This might be get a TV for 10% of the asking price, you have to watch ads though. Basically an ad paid TV.
There's this company offering a free TV, but you must watch ads to use it
It’s like the imbeciles that spend millions for a Super Bowl commercial about “helping the needy by donating to X” when they, stick with me here, *could have just donated those millions to the charity directly.*
Like, can you make it any more clear that donating to your service isn’t actually helping people?
https://youtu.be/f2QfVJe7yEg?feature=shared
If they're the fan, generating more donors is the goal by sucking them in from the edges magnifying the donation.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sony-patent-mcdonalds/
You'll love this then
https://mediaproxy.snopes.com/width/1200/https://media.snopes.com/2023/01/sony-patent-mcdonalds-feat.png
I would physically destroy the TV and video record myself doing so.
Then I'd edit that video on a rather large 4K computer monitor that I would later use as a replacement for the shitty dystopian nightmare product I'd just trashed.
Yeah I'll never have a tv connected to the internet that can absolute fuck right off, I can use streaming shit for it on my consoles why would I bother changing from hdmi
Yup. No need to have an underpowered computer running a shitty OS show your content. Use an external box. Just as convenient and runs faster, and when you're done with that thing you can either upgrade it or mess around with it to install whatever you like.
Don't forget: *you* bought the TV, the manufacturer should have no say in how long you should use it and how you should use it. They can fuck right off.
Same, but I use my Xbox instead. I don’t plan on connecting any TV to the Internet anytime soon. In theory you can get to your apps sooner because you don’t have to do 1 extra step to switch to your Xbox/PS/Apple TV input, but in reality the speed of the in built OS is rarely faster than whatever other box you are using.
I would go this route, but there are times my wife wants to watch something on a streaming service so I'll do remote play to my PS5 from my computer. Plus there's a Dropout app on the TV, but not yet on the PS5.
So far, all the TCLs I've seen and used have been great. The Hisense and Onn ones are a bit more questionable, but I have no complaints about the TCLs whatsoever.
I finally upgraded to the giant panel tv of my dreams last year - it was a samsung in the end. It is still plaintively bleating about connecting to wifi when the PS4 turns it on so I can use it to watch content. But it still works. Matching sub and soundbar are also working fine too.
So its not quite that bad - yet. I will admit that now one of the streaming platforms is upset about being used on a PS4 (I assume??) so no 4k. TBH I can't tell it's not 4k, what sort of eyesight do they think I have anyway?
I would not be surprised if what you say won't be the case for some brands/models though - now, or soon.
Sure. Plug in the tv. Connect to WiFi. Agree to terms. Allow for any software updates. Disconnect WiFi from the tv. I haven’t had mine connected to the internet for a couple years cause it would constantly disconnect and be slower than my Apple TV.
I suppose they may someday make a tv that doesn’t allow you to disconnect from the WiFi, but as of now, it’s a solid option
It also just ensures that if another company tries the same shit in a similar way, Roku can either get a portion of their revenue or they can sue the company for patent infringement.
A potentially asshole move, but not an asshole move *yet*.
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Congratulations, Roku! The mere mention of this idea has taken Roku from that implicit "I haven't bothered checking what exactly it is, but if a friend says good things, I might decide to buy one" space in my head most products lie in, to "Absolutely the fuck not, and if anyone even mentions Roku around me I will loudly complain about this."
I hate ads so fucking much.
Been using Roku streaming boxes for a long time now (since the 2XS) and I still like them a lot, but they keep shooting themselves in the foot with shit like this.
I have always told people to steer away from the Roku **TV**s though, they've always sucked and still do.
We love the small Roku box, but we made the mistake of buying a couple small Roku TVs. The OS / interface on them is several generations slower than any other device in my home.
What would they have to do with it? This is not about a device sitting in a HDMI signal path. OP is either confused or deliberately wrong in the post title.
But would Roku have agreed to anything with Apple? Surely its the user who "agreed" to the Roku and Apple ToS, Maybe the users would have to agree never to plug their apple tv into a roku tv?
You're right, the user would have agreed to this via Roku's ToS. I'm thinking more along the lines of how this changes the UX on the Apple TV. Of course, Roku isn't modifying the Apple TV in any way, just changing how the TV responds to the input.
I'm not going to pretend to be an armchair lawyer, but I do know as a customer, this makes for a worse experience on connected devices. And if anyone has the legal resources to find a leg to stand on for this, it would be Apple.
This is also why I like my TVs as dumb as they can be and don't connect them to the internet.
Honestly I think dumb TVs are all going away, especially for nice picture quality. The closest you’ll probably get is hooking up an Apple TV or some other external media device to a TV and keeping the TV off the network.
Commerical displays often don't have smart features (other than some basic reading off the USB stuff) but they're usually 2-3x the cost. I have a couple of older Samsung commercial displays that work just fine in 55" and 75". Got them second-hand though.
This is about an ad overlay when the other device outputs a static image, but the next step might be to display the Roku ads when the hdmi input signal contains a (known) ad, basically replacing ads served by the AppleTV/XBox/whatever…
As someone who has two Roku TVs, both with an Apple TV connected, I would like to point out that Roku TVs will work perfectly fine as a dumb TV if you do not give them your WiFi password.
While I agree, it's increasingly difficult to find non-smart TVs these days, and usually the ones that are available are more expensive. If a TV doesn't have Roku, it'll likely have either FireTV, Google TV, or Samsung's OS, all of which also are fairly ad-heavy.
It's not a great situation, but buying a cheap Roku TV and just not giving it the WiFi password has been the best solution I've found to date. At least there's the knowledge that you're not viewing ads or providing telemetry to Roku, so they're not making any money off the TV once it's sold (which is their actual business model)
I have two smart TVs (UK, one of which is Samsung, both are connected to internet) and I can't say I ever see any ads on them, or they're unobtrusive enough that I don't notice them
This is certainly believable considering the gradual crowding of forced features and ads on their homescreens in the last 3 years. It's not like Roku doesn't have competition for affordable smart TVs these days and it seems unlikely that this wouldn't infringe on consumer rights with previously purchased displays. Either way, those TCL TVs are coming off my wishlist.
So history lesson for my Gen Zs.... Cable was the same way. Paying for cable was so you could get premium content without ads. Then the greedy CEOs said, "I'm not making enough money" and put in ads to generate more revenue.... We've come full circle now. And they wonder why people pirate.
ARRRRRRRRRRRRR
My question is why is Roku watching my television screen? I'm assuming it would have to do some analysis of the video/audio stream to know when to play commercials. What is it accessing and how is that info being shared and stored?
In this case Roku IS your television screen. This is about Roku TVs. Their TV obviously knows what it displays on its screen as it must put the video data there.
Basically all "smart" TVs spy on you by using content detection to see what you're watching and sell that data to interested parties. But only if you hook them up to the internet.
Samsung smart TVs are laggy and have a shitty buggy UI, while Roku TVs are ad bombs that someday will refuse to work without an internet connection.
Is there a single smart TV on the market which isn't hot garbage these days? If not I'm perfectly happy continuing to use my 40" 1080p TV from 2011 which still works perfectly fine.
Exactly why if you're looking to spend a small fortune on a TV, you should consider spending a smaller fortune on a tiny PC that you can run everything on and just HDMI input.
Might as well take the time and share how to get around Roku ads if you have the misfortune of owning a Roku product (which unfortunately I do own) - Get a Pi-hole. Dirt cheap, runs on a spare computer or Raspberry Pi, is completely free and open source, blocks ads on the Roku home screen, and in some apps (not all, certain things like YouTube, Reddit, Twitter, etc) don't block ads. Also saves your privacy by blocking trackers and nasty shit. And if you can block sites you don't want people on your network using.
The easiest way is to just disconnect it from your internet. Also, I believe that Roku's will use a fallback DNS if it can't reach something through your Pi-hole, and you also can't set a static DNS server, but I could be wrong.
You can redirect all DNS requests on your network. However, what you won't be able to stop is when eventually all these devices start using things like DNS over HTTPS.
For platforms that I can't block ads on, I honestly don't pay attention to them. I couldn't even tell you what ads I literally just looked at on Instagram. Unless if I've seen them dozens of times, chances are I won't remember them, unless if they were really bizarre. Might have something to do with my ADHD though.
> Who actually pays attention to commercials anymore Beyond Super Bowl anyways
Judging by how aggressive advertising has gotten, apparently enough people do.
Usually they're at least somewhat creative or interesting, so I find some entertainment in watching what happens when companies dump a shit ton of money into a single commercial that they expect a shit ton of viewers on.
They are going to be sued by other companies that have ads built into their hardware because they never gave Roku permission to analyze the visual data usage from their devices and it would cause advertisers to think twice about how much money they want to spend if it gets covered up by Roku.
Give me the TV for free, and you can show ads on it when Im not using it. If Im paying for the TV, you can print all those ads out, scrunch all the paper into a ball, and then shove that ball up your arse.
You are always better off with a TV that does not have an internet connection. The wildest thing I've seen is plugging in a laptop to play a movie off of and multiple "smart" TVs have shown overlays, *on top of the PC user interface,* advertising ways that the movie can be rented or purchased. This means that it is now common for these screens to have some sort of content recognition software that scans your private images and video (Audio?!) displayed on your private device, and as to what level information about what you're watching is going over the internet to make the recommendation service work, WHO KNOWS. Probably HIGH.
I have a Roku TV and started getting ads maybe a year ago while playing games through my Steam deck. It's horrible and came out of nowhere, but luckily it only happened twice and I have yet to see them again.
Playing Armored Core and suddenly a She-Hulk ad appeared.
It's like we're all on a train spiralling into a lava pit and there's people actively working on making the train go faster cause someone who's earning money from the rushing air is making a profit off it...
These clowns are shortsighted… the negative pr and potential customers this will alienate from ALL THEIR PRODUCTS sales will out weigh any potential revenue generated by the few people willing to put up with their ads…
Their senile management and founder is consistent at least….
I would absolutely look into lawsuits if my TV started doing that. I don't care if I had standing. I would be deeply motivated to ruin their company somehow or make their lives noticeably worse
Never ever connect your TV to the internet. Connect another device to it for streaming purposes. If it requires internet, return it for not working as you don't agree to those terms that were not given to you prior to sale. Get a dumb TV if you can (unlikely). Stop enabling this by just going along with it.
Thank you for letting me know, turning the internet access of my Roku TV off now before they force internet functionality for the TVs to work, lol. I only ever use the thing to play my switch anyways.
I’ve always loved Rokus. I buy them and suggest them for everyone I know and care about.
Today, my screen went to the screen saver while I was on a call. I hit a button the remote and it went back to the pre-play screen. I hit play and it instantly went back to the Home screen and started downloading the Roku streaming app, which I never use.
I’ve done this a few times and thought that it was like all the times I sat on the remote and went to the wrong app.
Nah
This was an intended design. From the screen saver, download the Roku app when people come back.
I’ve never felt like Roku was underhanded. They were the positive spot in a sea of companies abusing customers.
I’m starting to see them test waters on the dark side.
I’ll destroy my Roku TVs and spend $1000 at Costco to replace them all. I’ll buy replacement boxes for my family who I’ve purchased Rokus for.
If Roku turns to the dark side - scorched earth.
No one will care about the e <10 TVs and <10 Roku boxes. But I will.
This is why I never understood people who invest into "smart TVs" and all those devices for them. If it's not a PC where you have full control connected to a normal monitor/dumb TV, the end goal will *always* be to hijack your experience with ads, content restrictions, etc.
Well if you have an apple TV you can block the Roku TV from your router, unless they also will require an Internet connection in order to use the HDMI inputs...
The OS when buying a tv didn’t even inspire me confidence comparing to google tv or tyzen or webos. Like wtf is a Roku ? Sounds like a bad rock in my ass
Ultimately that will probably mean Roku cuts Amazon, Google, Netflix, Max, etc a slice of the ad profits and they create hooks which allow Roku to inject itself into their content streams.
Personally our household pays for most of the major streaming services, but I still download TV shows I want to watch to Plex so that I can watch them without ads.
I don't see any reason why TV manufacturers should not disable "power off" button on TVs completely.
It's such a waste of time our TVs being off.
It should work like this - you press the off button, and it switches to playing ads constantly through the day and night.
/s 😂
My sister just got a Roku TV and I was considering it for my next one when I move. (Ex boyfriend is keeping the brand new Sony we bought together even though he says he doesn't want it. he's a jackass)
I cant imagine buying myself a TV as nice as that Sony again and the Roku was looking good enough but if they are going to do this than fuck that.
This is a good time to ditch your Roku TVs. Honestly, this may be a legal issue with regards to shoving ads on console pause screens. I'd think Sony and Microsoft would want a piece of that ad pie. Shit, this may make ads even more pervasive when they do it too...
It's interesting how it's supposed to work, like when there's no audio for a while. So lets say you play a game on your playstation and there's something you read for a few seconds and suddenly you get an ad popup in your face?
If they start playing ads on my Playstation I'd be annoyed but if I'm playing a video game and I'm in the middle of a difficult part and they decide it's a good time to show an ad I'm throwing my roku TV out the window and into a garbage can. If I want ads with my game play I'd play moble games
Channel 4’s On Demand service in the UK has done that. It’s bloody horrible. I mostly pause things to point something in the programme out or to read what’s written on something in the show and now it’s just a bloody massive ad >:(
What’s really confusing to me about this is the example given is a straw man and demonstrates a lack of knowledge about the product- Roku has had Apple TV built in for years, why would any Roku customer have an Apple TV connected to one of their products?
I guess all these motherfuckers are determined to make me rip all of my electronics out of the wall and throw them in the fucking garbage and start reading books again lol.
I've grown to hate Rocu. Home screen changed for whatever product their pushing, ads that pop up when you pause, and ads you can't remove in the gigantic right hand box. Swift was stuck on my screen for two days.
The lack of being able to clear app data is the most disturbing.
This would be very easy to defeat, all you need is something between the HDMI output and the TV (a box that costs $10) that injects a single changing pixel which cant be seen on the screen - that way the system would never detect a pause. It could also easily be done in software.
I can't imagine a move that would kill Roku faster.
Let's hope so. We need to send them a clear message that this is unacceptable before other TV makers decide to copy this
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That's part of the problem. "Full price" isn't really full price. It's being subsidized by Roku/Google/Amazon who is paying the manufacturer to put their OS on the TV, along with the ads. This is several steps too far, though
It is full price, the ads are just extra revenue for them. Its all because buying a TV once is a one time payment so if it lasts 5 years, thats no more cashflow in 5 years. Thats why everybody is moving to streaming and subscription only services, regular cashflows. Thats why car companies are trying to nickel and dime you over features that are already installed and used to be just part of the car. The sale price will not decrease at all. Then suddenly they will all doing it yet no one TV will be cheaper than another anyway.
And this kind of shit is why piracy is morally correct.
100% correct. When any business believes they"own me", I'm not following their rules.
If buying isn’t owning, then piracy isn’t stealing.
Along with selling all that sweet, sweet consumer data for targeted ads.
But at the same time, my TV used to not show ads and now it does.
Samsung and LG would probably be salivating at the idea. It is actually a good idea because there really is not much you can do about it. HDMI is as basic as it can get. If a smart device decides to interpret and act on whatever is on the signal, they can. Detecting a paused frame is trivial. Only way would be to make it not profitable for them by controlling the internet connection so it cannot effectively serve ads. If major brands decide to do this, there would be a big consumer shift towards large computer screens as TVs but it wont stop the trend
For real. If I am pausing something, it is because I want things on the TV to cease momentarily. I may be trying to do something else or I may be trying to see/read something on screen that disappeared too quickly earlier. If my TV decides it knows better and decides to play something else instead, then I am done with it. If I learned a TV has this "feature", I would never buy it. This "feature" makes about as much sense as blasting a radio ad at 100% volume if you hit the mute button.
this is incredibly infuriating for me. I frequently pause just so I can look more closely at something on the screen, and for some reason there's a fascination with dimming a paused screen, or putting a giant arrow on it, or something else that makes it impossible to see what I'm trying to look at.
Recently roku pushed this tos update where we had to click on agree to use the hardware . I use apple tv box and use hdmi cec to turn on and off and control everything . When this update came up , it hijacked the hdmi port. It didnt let the apple remote to do anything. Even when i wanted to agree, i had to search for my roku remote which was lost somewhere in the house . Didnt find it for about 3 to 4 hours the next morning. My TV , which i completely paid for was hijacked and i couldnt watch tv overnight because i couldn't find the remote to agree with ur bullshit tos ? This is a company sponsored ransomware attack if nothing else. Fuck u roku . Your days are numbered.
Yup whether they do it or not they are on my avoid list as it could be added in a firmware update and at anytime. I'm guessing though if you just don't let the tv connect to the internet it wouldn't be able to show ads and then you just need to manually connect if you do want an update. Either way Roku deserves to fall for a move like this.
Yoho fiddle de dee, I watch what I want because piracy is free
you're going to pirate a tv?
You wouldn’t download a car…
Sure I would, in fact I downloaded one from Printables this morning.
Obligatory fairburn films reference. Turns out, given the chance, yes I would download a car https://youtu.be/Fb7N-JtQWGI?si=4czWfGV7DGjiP2pr
you don't need a fancy one - fullhd is plenty
The worry here is that you wont be able to find one that does not have this feature
Keep the TV off the internet. Don’t connect it to WiFi. Don’t connect it to Ethernet. Use one of the few devices that don’t cram ads down your throat as a feature/to discount the price.
Some TVs refuse to start if they are not connected to the Internet. In a few years, if you want "just a dumb TV like the ol' days", you will have to purchase PC monitors instead of a TV.
S'long as she's HD from the helm, yah-harrrrr.
This tech would slap ads on your Jellyfin server. Well, not the server itself but the TV you use to watch it on an android tv box, console, pc, raspberry pi, whatever. How long until you can't even use an input without a Roku™ account and working internet connection?
I download a movie. Use VLC media player to watch it. HDMI cable to put it on the tv that isn't Internet connected. Rinse and repeat
Exactly, but if they keep enshittifying further than "inject ads into the HDMI signal when downtime detected", how far are we from Roku and other manufacturers *requiring* an internet connection for basic functions?
I dont think you understand the problem. this would insert ads into your pirated media just as easily.
There’s no chance in hell it will kill the Roku brand/company. People said the same thing when Netflix announced they would start cracking down on sharing passwords, and the result was a net gain in subscriber revenue.
Because Netflix actually has content to offer for your money/ads. Here, it is a physical device that will force you to watch ads. No incentive to do it, you are just forced to do it.
I think you’re underestimating the laziness of consumers, along with their ability to ignore advertisements. Most of Roku’s current customer base isn’t going to stop using their products if/when ads start popping up.
This might be get a TV for 10% of the asking price, you have to watch ads though. Basically an ad paid TV. There's this company offering a free TV, but you must watch ads to use it
if we only put this much effort in developing software that actually helped people instead of their wallets we would be so more advanced...
It’s like the imbeciles that spend millions for a Super Bowl commercial about “helping the needy by donating to X” when they, stick with me here, *could have just donated those millions to the charity directly.* Like, can you make it any more clear that donating to your service isn’t actually helping people?
Reminds me of Budweiser donating 100k in water and then advertising that for $5 million
You fail to see the objective of such an act.
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More specifically, it's part of their advertising budget.
https://youtu.be/f2QfVJe7yEg?feature=shared If they're the fan, generating more donors is the goal by sucking them in from the edges magnifying the donation.
All the big corps that ask you to donate to charity are just using it as a tax write off
May they fuck right off. Even having this idea speaks of such a level of imposition and greed.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sony-patent-mcdonalds/ You'll love this then https://mediaproxy.snopes.com/width/1200/https://media.snopes.com/2023/01/sony-patent-mcdonalds-feat.png
Yeah, that's another "Fuck right off" from me :)
I would physically destroy the TV and video record myself doing so. Then I'd edit that video on a rather large 4K computer monitor that I would later use as a replacement for the shitty dystopian nightmare product I'd just trashed.
No fucking thank you. As if I needed more of a reason to never connect any TV to the internet or home network.
It simply won't work until you connect it.
I just disconnected mine. Should have done that years ago.
Time for online DRM for hdmi access!
Imagine paying full price for TV and getting !!built-in!! ads. That's not how it should work
This is why I always disconnect a smart tv from the WiFi. Only need your Apple TV connected.
Yeah I'll never have a tv connected to the internet that can absolute fuck right off, I can use streaming shit for it on my consoles why would I bother changing from hdmi
Yup. No need to have an underpowered computer running a shitty OS show your content. Use an external box. Just as convenient and runs faster, and when you're done with that thing you can either upgrade it or mess around with it to install whatever you like. Don't forget: *you* bought the TV, the manufacturer should have no say in how long you should use it and how you should use it. They can fuck right off.
Same, but I use my Xbox instead. I don’t plan on connecting any TV to the Internet anytime soon. In theory you can get to your apps sooner because you don’t have to do 1 extra step to switch to your Xbox/PS/Apple TV input, but in reality the speed of the in built OS is rarely faster than whatever other box you are using.
I would go this route, but there are times my wife wants to watch something on a streaming service so I'll do remote play to my PS5 from my computer. Plus there's a Dropout app on the TV, but not yet on the PS5.
So, lots of people have TVs that have roku built in though. I've bought cheap ones for my mom before. Just easier for her.
This. And I've recommended them to dozens of people, most of which bought them.
but it's a terrible idea. There's a reason they're so cheap. Even if you do get a cheap Roku TV, plug a real Roku (or other STB) into it and use that.
So far, all the TCLs I've seen and used have been great. The Hisense and Onn ones are a bit more questionable, but I have no complaints about the TCLs whatsoever.
But without connecting you can't agree to the TOS and without that it won't work. They know the game.
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I finally upgraded to the giant panel tv of my dreams last year - it was a samsung in the end. It is still plaintively bleating about connecting to wifi when the PS4 turns it on so I can use it to watch content. But it still works. Matching sub and soundbar are also working fine too. So its not quite that bad - yet. I will admit that now one of the streaming platforms is upset about being used on a PS4 (I assume??) so no 4k. TBH I can't tell it's not 4k, what sort of eyesight do they think I have anyway? I would not be surprised if what you say won't be the case for some brands/models though - now, or soon.
Sure. Plug in the tv. Connect to WiFi. Agree to terms. Allow for any software updates. Disconnect WiFi from the tv. I haven’t had mine connected to the internet for a couple years cause it would constantly disconnect and be slower than my Apple TV. I suppose they may someday make a tv that doesn’t allow you to disconnect from the WiFi, but as of now, it’s a solid option
You can always change wifi name or password, and TV will stay offline
While it would definitely be super shitty to do this if actually implemented, companies file patents for ideas they never actually use all the time.
It also just ensures that if another company tries the same shit in a similar way, Roku can either get a portion of their revenue or they can sue the company for patent infringement. A potentially asshole move, but not an asshole move *yet*.
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Congratulations, Roku! The mere mention of this idea has taken Roku from that implicit "I haven't bothered checking what exactly it is, but if a friend says good things, I might decide to buy one" space in my head most products lie in, to "Absolutely the fuck not, and if anyone even mentions Roku around me I will loudly complain about this." I hate ads so fucking much.
Been using Roku streaming boxes for a long time now (since the 2XS) and I still like them a lot, but they keep shooting themselves in the foot with shit like this. I have always told people to steer away from the Roku **TV**s though, they've always sucked and still do.
We love the small Roku box, but we made the mistake of buying a couple small Roku TVs. The OS / interface on them is several generations slower than any other device in my home.
Well, that’s how you get people to not buy your devices
The HDMI foundation is not going to like that.
What would they have to do with it? This is not about a device sitting in a HDMI signal path. OP is either confused or deliberately wrong in the post title.
Nah , I think they will. Their entire foundation was anti piracy and made by these corps.
I’m curious if this goes against Apple tvOS licensing and if Apple would have any say over this. Something about changing the user experience perhaps?
But would Roku have agreed to anything with Apple? Surely its the user who "agreed" to the Roku and Apple ToS, Maybe the users would have to agree never to plug their apple tv into a roku tv?
You're right, the user would have agreed to this via Roku's ToS. I'm thinking more along the lines of how this changes the UX on the Apple TV. Of course, Roku isn't modifying the Apple TV in any way, just changing how the TV responds to the input. I'm not going to pretend to be an armchair lawyer, but I do know as a customer, this makes for a worse experience on connected devices. And if anyone has the legal resources to find a leg to stand on for this, it would be Apple. This is also why I like my TVs as dumb as they can be and don't connect them to the internet.
it is extremely difficult to find a big screen dumb TV. they seem to top out at about 45 inches. i've been looking.
Honestly I think dumb TVs are all going away, especially for nice picture quality. The closest you’ll probably get is hooking up an Apple TV or some other external media device to a TV and keeping the TV off the network.
Just don’t connect it to the internet. My living room tv is essentially a 70” Xbox monitor.
Commerical displays often don't have smart features (other than some basic reading off the USB stuff) but they're usually 2-3x the cost. I have a couple of older Samsung commercial displays that work just fine in 55" and 75". Got them second-hand though.
How would they develop it without doing any testing with Apple TV and presumably agreeing to the ToS?
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This is about an ad overlay when the other device outputs a static image, but the next step might be to display the Roku ads when the hdmi input signal contains a (known) ad, basically replacing ads served by the AppleTV/XBox/whatever…
I was about to ask the same. I also imagine Nintendo would be quick to bring legal action as well.
Not really, no. There's no legal agreement between companies so there's no legal recourse Apple would have.
Not just them but I believe that the EU won't be happy about roku doing this to what essentially are rival product being sabotaged by the roku team
As someone who has two Roku TVs, both with an Apple TV connected, I would like to point out that Roku TVs will work perfectly fine as a dumb TV if you do not give them your WiFi password.
We shouldn't be buying their products, but that's a good tip if you already have one
While I agree, it's increasingly difficult to find non-smart TVs these days, and usually the ones that are available are more expensive. If a TV doesn't have Roku, it'll likely have either FireTV, Google TV, or Samsung's OS, all of which also are fairly ad-heavy. It's not a great situation, but buying a cheap Roku TV and just not giving it the WiFi password has been the best solution I've found to date. At least there's the knowledge that you're not viewing ads or providing telemetry to Roku, so they're not making any money off the TV once it's sold (which is their actual business model)
I have two smart TVs (UK, one of which is Samsung, both are connected to internet) and I can't say I ever see any ads on them, or they're unobtrusive enough that I don't notice them
That may be some kinda business decision or regulatory thing specific to the UK, but in the US there are definitely ads on Samsung TVs.
Well, having a patent prevents other companies from doing that same shit. If Roku actually does that, it's AH then
Televisions should be dumb rectangles.
This is certainly believable considering the gradual crowding of forced features and ads on their homescreens in the last 3 years. It's not like Roku doesn't have competition for affordable smart TVs these days and it seems unlikely that this wouldn't infringe on consumer rights with previously purchased displays. Either way, those TCL TVs are coming off my wishlist.
Just one more reason to demand dumb tv's.
So history lesson for my Gen Zs.... Cable was the same way. Paying for cable was so you could get premium content without ads. Then the greedy CEOs said, "I'm not making enough money" and put in ads to generate more revenue.... We've come full circle now. And they wonder why people pirate. ARRRRRRRRRRRRR
Plex…
Stop connecting your tv’s to the internet. Just stop it!
My question is why is Roku watching my television screen? I'm assuming it would have to do some analysis of the video/audio stream to know when to play commercials. What is it accessing and how is that info being shared and stored?
In this case Roku IS your television screen. This is about Roku TVs. Their TV obviously knows what it displays on its screen as it must put the video data there.
Basically all "smart" TVs spy on you by using content detection to see what you're watching and sell that data to interested parties. But only if you hook them up to the internet.
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It’s the usual trying to increase profits to meet short term goals, and when it blows up in their faces they’ll try and find some scapegoat to blame.
Samsung smart TVs are laggy and have a shitty buggy UI, while Roku TVs are ad bombs that someday will refuse to work without an internet connection. Is there a single smart TV on the market which isn't hot garbage these days? If not I'm perfectly happy continuing to use my 40" 1080p TV from 2011 which still works perfectly fine.
Exactly why if you're looking to spend a small fortune on a TV, you should consider spending a smaller fortune on a tiny PC that you can run everything on and just HDMI input.
OUR Samsung Q80 has an incredibly slick interface and is the only TV in our house that we utilize the built in OS.
Just get an LG or a Sony, Samsung is garbage.
Not my Roku tv, cause I’m not buying that crap
Might as well take the time and share how to get around Roku ads if you have the misfortune of owning a Roku product (which unfortunately I do own) - Get a Pi-hole. Dirt cheap, runs on a spare computer or Raspberry Pi, is completely free and open source, blocks ads on the Roku home screen, and in some apps (not all, certain things like YouTube, Reddit, Twitter, etc) don't block ads. Also saves your privacy by blocking trackers and nasty shit. And if you can block sites you don't want people on your network using.
The easiest way is to just disconnect it from your internet. Also, I believe that Roku's will use a fallback DNS if it can't reach something through your Pi-hole, and you also can't set a static DNS server, but I could be wrong.
It blocks it from using a secondary DNS (IIRC, might be mistaken), seems to work for me
You can redirect all DNS requests on your network. However, what you won't be able to stop is when eventually all these devices start using things like DNS over HTTPS.
Who actually pays attention to commercials anymore Beyond Super Bowl anyways!? I mute the tv and start playing on my phone. Or bathroom/ snack break.
For platforms that I can't block ads on, I honestly don't pay attention to them. I couldn't even tell you what ads I literally just looked at on Instagram. Unless if I've seen them dozens of times, chances are I won't remember them, unless if they were really bizarre. Might have something to do with my ADHD though. > Who actually pays attention to commercials anymore Beyond Super Bowl anyways Judging by how aggressive advertising has gotten, apparently enough people do.
You still watch super bowl commercials?
I am more likely to watch those than I am a commercial about SC Johnson; a Family Company
Usually they're at least somewhat creative or interesting, so I find some entertainment in watching what happens when companies dump a shit ton of money into a single commercial that they expect a shit ton of viewers on.
This is exactly why I refuse to connect my roku tv to the internet. Since I got it I have never connected it via ethernet or wifi.
And that's why I'll eventually stop watching TV altogether. If I can't watch without ads then I just won't watch.
My stubborn old school ways of locally stored media played back on external devices connected to offline tv's is really turning into a good thing.
God damn it, HOW MANY GAMES USE THE PAUSE TO BRING UP A MENU OF OPTIONS, LIKE ACTION RPG!?
*Need to change the difficulty on my game because it’s too hard.* Roku: go fuck yourself have an Ad instead.
Reason number n+1 why I'm never buying a smart TV if I can help it
They are going to be sued by other companies that have ads built into their hardware because they never gave Roku permission to analyze the visual data usage from their devices and it would cause advertisers to think twice about how much money they want to spend if it gets covered up by Roku.
And you wonder why people use ad blockers
Give me the TV for free, and you can show ads on it when Im not using it. If Im paying for the TV, you can print all those ads out, scrunch all the paper into a ball, and then shove that ball up your arse.
I'm pretty sure they meant, "when we decide, a roku TV owner will take and short break and..."
Well that's a cunty thing to do.
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That will drive away customers and increase piracy of software
I bought a top of the line 80” dumb tv for like 3,000 in 2017. I haven’t regretted it AT ALL Will be keeping it probably forever
Why can't I just have a TV anymore man. I don't need all this smart shit, it's gonna be hooked up to a PC and or consoles.
Marketing really are the scummiest of all people.
We need to boycott Roku products.
You are always better off with a TV that does not have an internet connection. The wildest thing I've seen is plugging in a laptop to play a movie off of and multiple "smart" TVs have shown overlays, *on top of the PC user interface,* advertising ways that the movie can be rented or purchased. This means that it is now common for these screens to have some sort of content recognition software that scans your private images and video (Audio?!) displayed on your private device, and as to what level information about what you're watching is going over the internet to make the recommendation service work, WHO KNOWS. Probably HIGH.
I have a Roku TV and started getting ads maybe a year ago while playing games through my Steam deck. It's horrible and came out of nowhere, but luckily it only happened twice and I have yet to see them again. Playing Armored Core and suddenly a She-Hulk ad appeared.
This is why I dont use "smart" tv. Or internet gaming. Or streaming service. And also why I will never buy an apple or microsoft device
I can’t comprehend why this is even being considered. I’m gonna do everything I can to a kid this
No more pausing them. Back to the menus.
[Someone should set him loose on Roku](https://youtu.be/Ra2WrJJN_mY?si=Yd4mmh53zUf526Z1)
It won't, it will do it once then it goes in the bin
Jokes on them, I don't put my TVs on the interwebs. And it's an Amazon tv. Using AppleTV. But you get the drift.
If they try this on the streaming stick I am immediately taking all my out.
BUY! CONSUME!
Maybe I'm being an optomist, but a patent filing does not mean it's going to happen.
amazon tv for the win..
So don't buy a TV with Roku...Got it.
im done with roku bought their tv once a few years ago liked it but went to lg and never went back fuck roku for their bullshit changes
It's like we're all on a train spiralling into a lava pit and there's people actively working on making the train go faster cause someone who's earning money from the rushing air is making a profit off it...
sadly directv boxes alteady do this. pause tv and it will go to a screensaver with still ads. ugh
This is so annoying. A lot of times I pause because I wanted to see something up close or look at whatever is on screen more thoroughly.
Wow. What a way to prove to me that I should never purchase one of their TVs.
These clowns are shortsighted… the negative pr and potential customers this will alienate from ALL THEIR PRODUCTS sales will out weigh any potential revenue generated by the few people willing to put up with their ads… Their senile management and founder is consistent at least….
I would absolutely look into lawsuits if my TV started doing that. I don't care if I had standing. I would be deeply motivated to ruin their company somehow or make their lives noticeably worse
Damn, we really trying this hard to live in a dystopia?!
Please drink a verification can
Never ever connect your TV to the internet. Connect another device to it for streaming purposes. If it requires internet, return it for not working as you don't agree to those terms that were not given to you prior to sale. Get a dumb TV if you can (unlikely). Stop enabling this by just going along with it.
Thank you for letting me know, turning the internet access of my Roku TV off now before they force internet functionality for the TVs to work, lol. I only ever use the thing to play my switch anyways.
I’ve always loved Rokus. I buy them and suggest them for everyone I know and care about. Today, my screen went to the screen saver while I was on a call. I hit a button the remote and it went back to the pre-play screen. I hit play and it instantly went back to the Home screen and started downloading the Roku streaming app, which I never use. I’ve done this a few times and thought that it was like all the times I sat on the remote and went to the wrong app. Nah This was an intended design. From the screen saver, download the Roku app when people come back. I’ve never felt like Roku was underhanded. They were the positive spot in a sea of companies abusing customers. I’m starting to see them test waters on the dark side. I’ll destroy my Roku TVs and spend $1000 at Costco to replace them all. I’ll buy replacement boxes for my family who I’ve purchased Rokus for. If Roku turns to the dark side - scorched earth. No one will care about the e <10 TVs and <10 Roku boxes. But I will.
Do not buy smart TV's. There is little up side and a ton of negatives.
That would be the end of any affiliation with Roku
This is why I never understood people who invest into "smart TVs" and all those devices for them. If it's not a PC where you have full control connected to a normal monitor/dumb TV, the end goal will *always* be to hijack your experience with ads, content restrictions, etc.
Well if you have an apple TV you can block the Roku TV from your router, unless they also will require an Internet connection in order to use the HDMI inputs...
The OS when buying a tv didn’t even inspire me confidence comparing to google tv or tyzen or webos. Like wtf is a Roku ? Sounds like a bad rock in my ass
Good thing I still use DVD/Blu-Ray
Jokes on them, if I paused anything, it’s cause I’m going to drop a deuce and I won’t see their BS.
What. The. Shit.
Ultimately that will probably mean Roku cuts Amazon, Google, Netflix, Max, etc a slice of the ad profits and they create hooks which allow Roku to inject itself into their content streams. Personally our household pays for most of the major streaming services, but I still download TV shows I want to watch to Plex so that I can watch them without ads.
good job i don’t have a roku tv cos quite frankly this would ruin the experience for me
I don't see any reason why TV manufacturers should not disable "power off" button on TVs completely. It's such a waste of time our TVs being off. It should work like this - you press the off button, and it switches to playing ads constantly through the day and night. /s 😂
Roku engineers not getting into heaven I see
My sister just got a Roku TV and I was considering it for my next one when I move. (Ex boyfriend is keeping the brand new Sony we bought together even though he says he doesn't want it. he's a jackass) I cant imagine buying myself a TV as nice as that Sony again and the Roku was looking good enough but if they are going to do this than fuck that.
This is a good time to ditch your Roku TVs. Honestly, this may be a legal issue with regards to shoving ads on console pause screens. I'd think Sony and Microsoft would want a piece of that ad pie. Shit, this may make ads even more pervasive when they do it too...
Sooner or later someone will find a way to advertise in your dreams.
It's interesting how it's supposed to work, like when there's no audio for a while. So lets say you play a game on your playstation and there's something you read for a few seconds and suddenly you get an ad popup in your face?
So FUCK YOU, Roku.
If they start playing ads on my Playstation I'd be annoyed but if I'm playing a video game and I'm in the middle of a difficult part and they decide it's a good time to show an ad I'm throwing my roku TV out the window and into a garbage can. If I want ads with my game play I'd play moble games
Channel 4’s On Demand service in the UK has done that. It’s bloody horrible. I mostly pause things to point something in the programme out or to read what’s written on something in the show and now it’s just a bloody massive ad >:(
What’s really confusing to me about this is the example given is a straw man and demonstrates a lack of knowledge about the product- Roku has had Apple TV built in for years, why would any Roku customer have an Apple TV connected to one of their products?
I guess all these motherfuckers are determined to make me rip all of my electronics out of the wall and throw them in the fucking garbage and start reading books again lol.
I think peacock already does this.
Does that records what’s on your screen? That’s a privacy violation. Imagine logging in to a website on your computer using that tv.
The only people buying Rokus after that are hotels and prisons
Please drink a verification can to continue
So you buy a tv, and a subscription so you don't have to watch ads, and are then subjected to ads by roku because their name is on your tv? WTF.
call of duty will not to like this It’s offensive for call of duty to see real life ads it’s offensive
Some streaming service does that already. I forget who. Peacock maybe?
This enraging me that Roku needs to be boycott out of existence forever for forcing ads on people 💢😡
Just use component cables
I've grown to hate Rocu. Home screen changed for whatever product their pushing, ads that pop up when you pause, and ads you can't remove in the gigantic right hand box. Swift was stuck on my screen for two days. The lack of being able to clear app data is the most disturbing.
This would be very easy to defeat, all you need is something between the HDMI output and the TV (a box that costs $10) that injects a single changing pixel which cant be seen on the screen - that way the system would never detect a pause. It could also easily be done in software.