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It would certainly be a shame if some rogue Roku employee deployed an update that stripped ads and broke automatic updates for all devices right after Fox finalizes the deal but before they get anything out of it.
On the day of the handover lock it up with ransomware.
I’d settle for a crack so I can make it a plain ole linux htpc.
Bonus points if I can configure the remote.
that’s a nice idea, but when they catch-on it probably wouldn’t survive six months before breaking changes are implemented on the backend somewhere.
aaand then they just broke millions of TVs. there goes the brand recognition
Can you imagine what it must be like to have a stake in roku when you get the news that the company is going to be sold for 22 billion? Do you just immediately nut and throw up at the same time?
$22 billion to get the maga propaganda machine front-and-center on more screens than cable tv ever did, and timing is just right to get it all going in time for 2028.
Time to toss the stick I use on the spare TV in the garbage
Well shit.
This is the same Fox that owns Fox News. So now Roku’s advertising push can include a side of misinformation.
I was just at my father in laws house and he has roku, it already does that. He went from voting for Harris to last week saying “Trump is the smartest president we’ve ever had”.
Sounds like dementia.
Fox news is literally designed to target the elderly as their critical thinking skills are fading, targeting their most triggerable fears. Fox Brain is a known phenomena, one which can usually be reversed if easy access to Fox News is removed, as seen in this documentary.
I myself was able to stop my mother from going down that path with the help of a browser add-on that let me block right-wing rage bait news from showing up in her YouTube feed, which had an almost immediate and lasting effect.
Link to the addon instead of a preview of a comment with the link https://github.com/amitbl/blocktube
Ah, I didn’t realize the Voyager app worked that way when using it to share links, which is really weird and awkward. I edited my comment to a direct lemmy link now that I’m on a PC. Thanks for the heads up.
And for others reading, I linked to my older comment since I briefly explained how I used blocktube to be effective, but I’ll add it here as well:
At some point she had an appointment to go somewhere and I happened to have an opportunity to access her computer for an extended amount of time.
What I did was subscribe her youtube account to a bunch of left-wing news sources, and more critically, I installed the browser addon BlockTube, which allows you to create a blacklist that seamlessly prevents videos or channels matching any keywords you choose from displaying on youtube. I added words like Trump, Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk, Fox News, Sean Hannity, etc.
The comment does contain tips on how to set it up though
Yeah, that doesn’t sound like Roku’s fault.
Dementia doesn’t automagically make one rabid for Trump.
There seems to be a pretty strong correlation though
Same with the level of propaganda.
No, but it does often lead to sudden, late-life personality changes
Side?
Okay, okay… the entire goddamn buffet AND the drinks from the bar.
Don’t forget the sundae bar.
Guess it’s finally going to be time to flip over to AppleTVs.
Sail the high seas.
Still need something to get the plunder to the TV.
I’ve heard Apple TV is great, but I can’t bring myself to use a limited device for media at home… I recently replaced our raspberry pi media players with a levovo tinys that I got for a steal (under 100USD each, i5/16/256!) because my partner uses YouTube while working and I can’t bear to have ads playing in the house. Got a PiHole but that doesn’t work on sites where the ads are served from their own servers. If I was going to get any box thingy to play media at this point though, it’d for sure be an appletv—they seem the most polished and least invasive of any premade box like that.
Raspberry Pi, Plex media server software and you’re good to go. (it’s free when you stream across your own home network) Bonus points for using industrial velcro and slap the raspberry Pi on the back of the TV.
Plex Media ServerNo.Jellyfin. Easier to configure. No corporate BS.
The rest is fine.
Use Radarr, Sonarr, Lidarr for movies, TV, and music respectively. (they really missed the ball with the Sonarr name).
I recommend getting an account with a service like UseNet News (UNS). Set up NZBGeek. Connect the above to that. UNS costs a fraction of what streamers cost and you can download most anything you want any time.
I would suggest torrenting, but I feel that’s inherently more risky.
Plex Media ServerNo.Really? Hm. I’ve got it installed on my main computer and it streams my videos to the TV w/o issue.
Granted, the OS on the computer is ancient and it’s an older version of Plex (at least 6 years? Maybe more…) and I refuse to let it online to update and it’s not failed me at all.
I’ve been sailing the high seas since the days of Mactella, so…
I didn’t say it doesn’t do that.
However, it is worse at transcoding, it is more of a memory hog, there’s a potential risk of Plex using your information (privacy concerns). Plex can potentially catalog what’s in your library and use that information for marketing or worst-case-Ontario, report you if you’re a pirate.
It’s a corporate entity with corporate-sized issues. You can dig deeper if you want.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR7AmIN5wHU
https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/plex-how-bad-is-it-for-privacy/26180
https://www.askdavetaylor.com/how-to-maximize-your-privacy-with-plex-media-server/
Jellyfin is better. ESPECIALLY if you aren’t sharing your library with others. Even if you are, use Tailscale or some other VPN to your network to do it.
Just because it’s how you’ve always done it doesn’t mean it will always be right.
pi or old pc/laptop, maybe? with remote control or mini wireless kb/mouse (what i use, one with trackpad integrated) or one of these remote control sized ones?
Get a onn. Box from Walmart and put something like Projectivy launcher on it
can those be “set up properly” without having to use a wm or google account?
No, I bought one thinking I just wouldnt log into google and it would not let me do one single thing without logging into Google. Nothing. Took it back immediately.
Well that sucks, the disinformation network just got a much broader reach.
Guess I’m glad I never bothered with Roku
Breaking up all of these media mergers and tech companies needs to be the top priority if we ever have a Dem president again. And Hungary proves it’s possible even when the trash controls 90% of the media.
Fuck every one of these fascists.
The same Fox owned by Disney?
Different Fox, article addresses that. 21st Century Fox was sold to Disney. This is Fox networks, think Fox “News”.
Fun fact: Google Gemini is b******* and the AI summary told me that Foxcorp was one of the Disney holdings.
Your answer, obviously, is more correct
Well, I did have the advantage of having read the article. 😉
thats worst. its the “prime fox” owned by murdoch. murdoch specifically seperated his company so no one else can own it. disney owns the right to produce fox media movies and shows, just not the news portion.
Tons of older folks (like my Mom) have Rokus set up for their cable. She loves Roku TV.
So… Yeah. That’s not worrying at all.
A lot of the stuff that comes over the online TV channels is also broadcast over the air, have you considered getting them an antenna?
They all have one! In the attic, with an amp. I installed them myself.
It’s not the same as the Roku TV app though. Those channels are like older person catnip, and the duplicated ones don’t cut out unpredictably.
It’s also difficult for some folks to remember how to change TV input, rescan channels and such.
It would be a gold mine for them. People always forget the optional agreements and don’t want to find where to turn off the faucet of personal data or even know what that means.
I have brought this up while installing TVs for my job and I either get a “wtf, help me fix” or [blank stare] “why should I care?” reactions. Mostly the latter and they are all over the age of 60.
Look I’m 48 and I get it. I get the Russian level paranoia about people accessing my data. What you’ll find is there are a lot of people that are aware and genuinely don’t give a shit.
We are old enough to know that if you want privacy don’t use technology.
Jesus Christ just yesterday I had to tell my oldest to watch what he says because he mentioned Luigi wasn’t wrong. I told him I agree but I explained they’re all listening and pointed to the alexa, the TV, his phone, his laptop.
Privacy is a farce. You can make it harder which I’m all for but if someone wants the data they can get it. You have secrets keep them to yourself. That is privacy.
Anyways, rant from someone with 25 years in Corporate IT. It’s all theatre.
This is why the amazon dot in my house sits unplugged most of the time. I use it as a bluetooth speaker for my laptop, otherwise it is the extra chunky coaster I sit my coffee mug on. For real.
Kodi is a great platform if you have something like an odroid or raspberry pi to run it on
Damnit…
KODI KODI KODI KODI KODI KODI KODI KODI KODI
Don’t be lazy. Put some work into customizing your setup. Enjoy a better life.
Fuck Fox and Fuck Roku. It will only get worse. My Roku is already the top blocked device in my Pihole, making thousands of telemetry requests for no good reason. Time to remove…
It’s not about laziness. Roku is used by a ton of people who don’t know what a linux is.
The best solution would be for an open source roku alternative that is plug and play
Thank you! For a 54yo non-tech person I’m keeping my head above water, but please don’t ask me to learn a whole new something in an area that I have no skill or interest in.
Re Fox buying Roku, it makes me want to throw up.
Also, can you run common streaming services on Kodi without having to fight endlessly with their countermeasures?
I would love to dump all of this crap and just run a pc with a browser on the tv, but there is no clean interface that I could use with a remote.
Kodi keeps clunky and old honestly.
heck we need to go out evangelizing kodi
Gotta find a way to connect with the old people now that cable is going the way of the dinosaur.
The regulators allowing this should be shot.
