“Awful”: Roku tests autoplaying ads loading before the home screen
Users are unimpressed, eager to toss devices if test sticks.
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none of this is a big deal, simply never connect your TV to the internet
I see this thrown around a lot.
90% of us watch Netflix, Plex, YT TV or some other streaming service, how do I watch these with 4k quality without connecting to the Internet? That's just an unrealistic request for 90% of TV users.
Use a separate, not ad-riddled device plugged in via HDMI. If you have a game console it can do this.
I don't know what's good for Android TV boxes it used to be the NVIDIA Shield was a well regarded streaming device but it's really old now. Google makes one (Google TV Streamer) and you can install a custom launcher if you're a bit technical and the "suggested content" of the stock launcher bothers you. Same for other Android TV boxes.
Apple, like them or not, makes a really decent TV box with no system level ads and an interface that mostly stays out of the way.
Shield is very old, but it still works pretty well and unlike apple TV you can have true surround sound with bit pass audio.
Yeah but I wouldn't recommend anyone go and buy one at this point.
Why?
Because it's end of lifespan and you should spend your money on something that will at least get a few years of support and updates
What do you propose? I don't feel like there's really great options. I still prefer the shield.
Modern Android TV box with a custom launcher. Apparently Projectivity launcher is decent.
But if you already have a Shield that's cool keep it until it stops working. I'm just not gonna tell anyone to go buy one.
I run projectivity on my shield. I definitely have told people to buy them. There is a reason they still often resell around their original 2019 market price - they've maintened their value. For large screen or projectors the proprietary 1080 to 4k upscaling is still unmatched imo. I don't use mine for gaming, but many gamers still like them for their gaming capabilities as well. If you buy one and don't like it there's still a good chance many months later that you can resell at or above what you paid for it too.
If you have some technical knowhow, you can configure your router to let things like Netflix through, but not the rest of the OS. Or you can try your luck with PiHole or similar.
I personally do have the capabilities I'm just pointing out this is unrealistic for 99% of TV watchers.
You're absolutely right. The better option is to get a TV without all that crap to begin such with.
I'm just don't saying it's an option, that's all.
