Roku explores taking over HDMI feeds with ads

Any company trying to use the HDMI-CEC protocol in such a subversive manner should lose their license to the HDMI standard IMO.

Imagine being the guy working on this and how much you hate yourself anytime somebody asks you what you are working on.

The shittiest of enshitifications.

"People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you.

You, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity.

Fuck that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.

You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs."

– Banksy

Is there an anti-ad community on Lemmy? Or another non-Lemmy place to work through blocking/avoiding this bullshit? I'm so fed up with the advertisement industry. I don't want ads on my devices. I don't want ads in my operating systems. I don't want ads in my content. I don't want ads in the sky. I don't want ads in the ocean. I don't want to be forced to see or hear ads while putting gas in my car.

I really can't emphasize how much I am willing to go through to rid my life completely of advertisements.

Man... My personal list of banned companies not to buy from is getting scary long.

If a consumer watches something on their Apple TV and then presses the pause button, a Roku TV set could use either audio or video-based content recognition technologies (known in the industry as ACR) to identify what’s being watched, match the current scene to a database and extract relevant information to pair an ad with it.

Wow somehow their idea is even worse than I imagined, glad I don't own a Roku now.

How the fuck can an economy that's almost nothing but advertisements sustain itself for any period of time? It feels like forcing more and more ads is the only thing anybody does for money anymore.

Don't buy Roku TVs. Got it.

Used to recommend Roku to others. I will never buy anything from them or recommend them to anyone again.

Someday maybe boards will figure out that "business" people have no idea what they are doing.

Imagine a world where talented engineers would put their minds to work for solving big problems instead of ... I'm not sure wtf this is.

Late Stage Capitalism: Using a microscopic laser, we are able to burn our advertiser logos directly into our customer's retinas, so they will see them even as they sleep.

Shareholders: 👏 👏 👏

If Roku actually does this I would definitely never use them again. Completely asinine behavior. Especially because most people aren't even using stand alone boxes with their smart TVs.

It seems like so long that Roku was not a horrible company. Simple little box for a good price with a small static ad on the home screen to make money.

Seems like a lifetime ago.

Guess I'll never buy a Roku TV then: Get all the way fucked!

Is this why they made people waive their right to sue them?

Yeah... Fuck Roku.

"Wow, this Roku TV is so cheap!"

Your selling your privacy and basically leasing the disposable tv.

I wish a pox on these capitalist pigs.

Every day I get a step closer to dropping all this trash, going back to piracy.

Permanently Deleted

A TV is a device that shows you what you want. This is no TV.

This is gross. I cut my cable because of ads. Have about 3 types of adblockers on my computer to stop them. This hyper marketing is why so many have turned away from traditional entertainment to begin with.

I am more than the ability to spend money and it’s goddamn time everyone say this and boycott companies that do shady garbage like this

Just because they patented it doesn't mean it will happen. Sony patented this evil idea.

Never connect your smart TV to the internet. Just don't do it. Get a third party device or ideally use an old PC with an appropriate HTPC Linux distro or something.

so glad i never bought into roku

and i never fucking will

good riddance.

This is how you get people to start rooting their TVs

Great, so Smart TVs won't even function as basic displays anymore.

I'm done with Roku. I have one in every room, but they all need to go.

Oh please don't misunderstand my post. I'm in total agreement that this bullshit can't go unchallenged and that posting about it is necessary and good. It's just that, like public comment town halls, all the complaining in the world does not affect change.

Instead, I meant to imply that more needs to be done and in a way that people who have already paid can use to fight against them.

Like encouraging all Roku TV owners (and eventually all Smart TV owners) to contact their local, state and federal representatives to demand they enact consumer protection laws against post purchase forced software changes to functionality of the product (aside from security patches) or forced acceptance of 'terms of service' that essentially take away your right to your preferred method of recourse.

I mean, the idea that we buy something for the features and capabilities it gives us just to have it changed at the whim of a corporate moneymaking scheme is insane. Even moreso when policy changes mean you accept something you don't want to or lose what you paid for (i.e. Roku's forced arbitration acceptance that would otherwise brick the TV).

It's fine to vent frustrations but in the long run, jailbreaking and looking to buy something different doesn't resolve the root problem. Greed overcoming consumer protection in the name of shareholder interest (most of which are corporate C level douches).

Sorry if I wasn't clear with my opinion but my posts usually are already too long before they even start. lol

Enshitification gold rush continues. It's like now there is a word for it, all these companies are exploring how they can do it.

Roku, somehow becoming shittier than Twitter

Ow my balls

I wish I could find a TV for sale that isn't a Smart TV. It's not necessary and you get issues like this down the road. I'm sure it isn't too long until the other TV manufactures do the same thing.

You know what people tend to forget?

Shareholders = Consumers of the product too

Marketing departments that come up with these assinine ideas are staffed with consumers of the product too.

As long as enough people are making bank from this stupidity, it will not stop.

The only right answer is not to give them your money. Hard to do that when they all do it and after purchase protests are kind of pointless since they already got paid. So, how to actually impact their bottom line? That's the only language they listen to.

I don't get it.... Wouldn't it be easier for Roku to just declare bankruptcy and saves themselves the trouble?

Looks like I'm about to go buy another used computer to setup my streaming services using Kody.

I've never given money to roku, and now I'll never will

Didn't know I'd have to drink a verification can just to turn on the TV

Luckily I'm not involved in this smart-TV saga in any way, as I haven't been watching TV since my childhood (there were no smart-TVs back then, but TV shows in my country were shit).

Now my biggest fear is, if enough people realize that smart-TVs are shit, then desktop monitors will start to become "smart" too. My life will be doomed if that happens.

All I heard is keep my current TV I'm using as a monitor alive for as long as possible.

If they can do that, then nobody can say anything about devices doing the reverse.

Can you just not connect your Smart TV to the internet at all to bypass this? I never connect my Smart TVs to the internet, just my Apple TV since it’s my streamer platform. Seems like this would hamstring their ability to push ads.

This way, when an owner of a Roku TV takes a short break from playing a game on their Xbox, or streaming something on an Apple TV device connected to the TV set, Roku would use that break to show ads.

But what if I want to have ads playing while I'm playing XBox? Can the Roku analyze the image, identify 3d surfaces in the game I'm playing, and plaster ads on them so that they look integrated with the game?

Hardware that is supported by ads or requires a subscription should be free, or better yet, not exist at all. Fuck paying $800+ for a TV that leeches forced ad revenue on top of the sale.

And fuck the TV manufacturers for enabling this behavior. Bring back non-smart TVs. I’ll never use Roku or Google built-in streaming, so they shouldn’t be on my TV at all.

Exactly what people want: more ads.

Cool so what are some good Roku alternatives?

Over my dead body

That's a fantastic way to guarantee my TV will not be connected to the internet

Roku is pretty great for what it is, but the day I see such an ad is the day it hits the bin. That would finally bother me into driving the TV with an actual PC.

Roku, I already had you blocked at Pihole, but now I’m just straight up turning off your network access.

Playing Xbox or PS5: "Game on with power thirst"

Watching Xxx content: ((Jergens ad))

Watching a movie: "Don't forget the popcorn"

No. Fuck no. All of my fuck no's that have ever fucked no

I hate this timeline

Is there some open-source replacement for Roku? All I really use it for is a portal to my streaming services that’s easy to navigate with a remote. I’ve noticed my Roku become increasingly more overrun with ads ever since I started using it 4-5 years ago to my dismay, and it’s obviously not stopping any time soon. I’m vaguely aware of Plex but I have no clue where to start with setting it up or if it would even meet my needs

Well, that would be a way to guarantee I buy a new TV...

Mutually assured destruction if they were able to do this, because every other company that has a device that interfaces with HDMI would immediately implement their own ad-hijacking system that would fight for the same screen space during those "breaks".

Not to mention that if Roku saw some unknown time to monetize the screen, surely the host device they're trying to draw over would've done it by now.

Maybe they could plaster ads over their screensaver to ruin their own experience before trying to do it to someone else.

Am I the only one who gets the feeling that this is kinda dystopic? Like come on, this just gets crazy. It amazes me that some people think this is an ethically acceptable way to earn money.

That is definitely way too invasive. Plugging something on to a Roku TV shouldn't enable them to show you ads through that other device.

I was actually thinking about getting a Roku once too. Really dodged a bullet.

I'm so glad I made the switch to projectors. They have yet to be riddled with this horse shit. My current projector does 1080p, 60fps, makes an 85" screen in my room, can be used just fine during the day, works great with my Deck, and with the Kodak branded screen cost me less than 600 bucks.

If this happens I will find the person responsible and punch their dad in the cock

Wow! Not since Xitter have we seen a brand so aggressively shoot itself in the crotch!

Amazing, Roku. That’s . . . something.

Lmao, Roku can go suck on a lemon... Never buying any of their shit ever again.

I swear to fuck, in 2030 we're going to be spinning our own homebrew crts. 640x480 is better than ads.

I just had a horrifying thought while wondering what these TV manufacturers will do with the TVs if you just never connect them to the Internet.

I know people are worried about them jumping on your neighbor's WiFi without prompting, or even hacking your own connection, etc but I think that seems unlikely because of how deeply illegal it is...but my horrifying thought was that they could just create a new, free mesh network that only serves up ads.

You'd need a fucking faraday cage wrapped around your TV in order to not see ads.

Now if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go throw up. 🤮

Wow... Roku found a way to dig a deeper while and somehow make Samsung look good by comparison.

I doubt that Roku is the only one exploring this option though. Heck Samsung displays ads everywhere in their UI, including the individual, source selection items.

I will buy any other brand or a try to find a dumb TV if they do this.

The only reason I liked using their remote app was being able to do Bluetooth listening. Now the app no longer runs on my phone, and after reinstalling and rebooting I deleted that and am back to using the Chromecast. Time to cut the internet to the TV so I don't get an update with this ad feature

Our TV can fortunately bypass all the "smart" shit, and run like dumb monitor, maybe because it's an older TV? We use it with an external computer with Linux mediacenter, where we have full control and no adds.
Would it even be possible to run a new "smart" TV as a dumb monitor?

We are very happy with our TV, because we can run it as a plain monitor no problem, but it could break.

Imagine scrolling through the pornhub video that you spent half an hour searching for and then Bam! "Clean those pesky cum filled tities with Downy! Now with strawberry flavor, Downy is the only official pornhub gangbang body odor control soap and lubricant. Get your official pornhub bottle filled at the Costco sample counter today!"

patents don't mean shit tho, companies usually just patent whatever they want without any plans of implementation

Ugh, well what are the best Roku alternatives?

Sounds like a good way to get open source tvs

I'm so crotchety if your site so much as makes me click an extra X for an ad, promo, or even a coupon I'm fucking out homie.

First, fuck Roku. This is exactly why my roku tv is not connected to the internet and never will be. My kodi box handles my entertainment needs.

At this point who would ever trust Roku products.

The next step is they have cameras installed on them so they can watch you and detect the best time to play ads.

How much further are we away from commercials beamed into our dreams?

Bro Wtf If this happens I'm litterly buying a new tv

Roku, the company that’s literally puts streaming service ads on your remotes.

all the more reason to not connect your smart TV to the internet and let it update.

Not only can they hold your TV hostage until you agree to their terms, but now they want to hijack your signal and inject their own ads to monetize all the content thats not theirs.

what an excellent extra reason to not use hdmi

Does nobody in this thread know about HDCP? This wouldn't fly at all.

Uhhhg

Someone tell me there's an OSS Roku like system out there >_>

Never give your TV wifi credentials so it can't use the internet, then they have no mechanism to monetize ad impressions or spying on you.

If they decide to go through with this I will literally replace every Roku TV I own, fuck that shit!

Yeah fuck that shit

I was permitted to close my account....without any hassle. Sign into my.roku.com and delete account is as the bottom. Selecting "don't want to use this anymore" gives you a box with 255 charachter limit (because of course they don't want to hear a real reason) and then when you hit send you just get "Thank you, account closed, if you come back you will need a new account"

Surprisingly, suspiciously, painless.

Wish I could uninstall it from my television

My cousin wanted a Roku TV as a wedding gift. I said no. Got Sony instead. I like to think he's thankful for that with all the shit Roku has been doing

Xiaomi has been doing that as well, except it's whenever.

Now, the TV is forbidden to access my Wi-Fi because screw that.

Any info on how to make it dumber would be appreciated.

This would only effect people who are using the roku service built into their tv, yes?

is an HDMI feed like an rss feed? How does this "supposed" feed work here?

ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ

because after the buttons I am going to include a bunch of AI-generated copy from Google’s Gemini in order to pad this thing out.

😂😂😂

Welcome to 2024 people!

Alright, time to stay with Google Chromecast. At least I know they inject me with ads in their apps

Yeah now I'm never buying a roku I think when amazon eventually manages to wreck my cube (which they really seem to be trying to) I'll have to try something like a raspberry pi or maybe a small ryzen card.

I'm really not sure but The one thing I've decided is to take it out of another company's hands.

You've got a great UI Roku, but now stop being evil.

They'll have a hell of a time with that. My roku TCL's don't even know the internet exists over here.

Are there major limitations of using a computer monitor as a TV if I plug another device into it (eg Apple TV) apart from the screen size?

I feel this would be a good way to go for small cheap TVs at least.

Ok...I have an old chromecast that I use when I travel to connect to my jellyfin server. It's already giving me crap in the home screen for movies and series on platforms I don't even have. What would be a cheap and portable device I could use when I travel so I can hook to any TV?

Thanks!

https://youtu.be/YqQ6D0Bu-a8?si=LbULiyEWAmbknARy

To be fair Roku is just aping on futuristic depictions of TVs.