Roku is exploring ways to show consumers ads on its TVs even when they are not using its streaming platform: The company has been looking into injecting ads into the video feeds of third-party devices connected to its TVs, according to a recent patent filing.
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. Roku engineers have even explored ways to figure out what the consumer is doing with their TV-connected device in order to display relevant advertising.
Any company trying to use the HDMI-CEC protocol in such a subversive manner should lose their license to the HDMI standard IMO.
The HDMI forum is run by big companies so that is not happening, sorry
Death to HDMI. DisplayPort is the superior port.
I’m sure that a DisplayPort device in a chain can also inject video, but I have to admit that I would kind of like to not have two competing video standards, and my impression is that DisplayPort tends to lead HDMI technically, so…
DisplayPort: We have
- Higher maximum resolution.
- Better support for higher refresh rates.
- Multi-stream transport so you can use a single display cable for multiple monitors.
HDMI: Oh yeah? Well, we have
- Royalties.
- Specifications hidden behind contracts.
- An emphasis on implementing DRM technology that makes it hard to use a capture card.
Fuck HDMI.
Oh and HDMI prevents open source GPU drivers supporting HDMI 2.1 natively.
It’s not like they ever properly implemented it in the first place.
The bastards that control the hdmi standard: yeah!
Roku: 💰
Bastards: actually no
You know HDMI is not some big secret they can use it without the license and ship from overseas like 90% of shit shipped from China.
The shittiest of enshitifications.
We need an anti-awards show for shit like this.
I like that. If there was a site that did like The Razzies for movies but for technology enshitification, I would definitely watch, and probably follow a blog if it was done well
Youre in luck!
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://www.piped.video/watch?v=NXhmnQzZ7n8
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
The plungies. Winners receive golden plungers
Roku has always been a shitty company that wants to monetize everything. People are finally waking up. How many of us have a Roku remote that advertises a useless or bankrupt streaming service?
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.
I don’t know if they’re on the fediverse yet but Adbusters has been doing great work in this space for a long time.
Dammmn that takes me back! I had a subscription to their magazine in high school in the early 2000s. HOLY CRAP they’re still selling the Corporate America flag too! Seeing all those tech company logos on the modern version makes me feel so old though… Shit.
If the gas pumps have those unlabeled buttons around a screen, try pressing all of em. The pumps around here (nebraska) will mute the audio when you press one of the buttons, it just isn’t labeled. I’ve taken to writing “mute” on the magic-button with a sharpie whenever I pump my gas.
I’ve tried pressing every button at every pump I’ve used in my area and this trick doesn’t work. I want to epoxy the speakers and screen and glitter-bomb the entire thing.
I won’t. But I want to.
Sometimes it’s multiple presses. Around here for example I find that at my local Shell station it’s the second button down on the right side, two or three times.
Wait, the thing about ads while fueling your car is real?
WTF?!
Look into adgaurd or set up pihole software for dns and have a network device dedicated to blocking ads
I already have Pi-hole with a bunch of additional lists to be blocked. I also cancelled all streaming services that service ads, and I use Adblock. I still see ads occasionally. What do you suggest for dedicated ad-blocking hardware?
Also, I don’t know what to do about the environmental ads.
But would you like them on a train? Would you like them on a plane?
Ugh. Both of these exist already:
https://www.adquick.com/media/transit/train
https://simpleflying.com/inflight-advertising/
Sigh. They also have them in the rain:
https://www.streetadvertisingservices.com/discipline/rain-advertising
Rate those places online to warn others. fucking hailCorporate nonsense
Perfect. Then people can avoid ads at that gas station by going to another gas station with ads!
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.
Boards only understand “line go up” or “line go down.” If something turns off a few weirdos like us but it lets them sell access to millions of eyeballs they’ll do it.
They’d step over their own dying mother to make a buck.
I mean, if she’s already dying, what’s the issue here? I’m losing money if I have to stop and call 911, when she has a perfectly good phone to do it herself.
I’ve always found their monetization strategy icky. Their remotes, with streaming service ads on them, always made me feel gross. Especially since those services change every couple years, and you get stuck with remotes plugging stupid services like Blockbuster and Redbox.
Just because they patented it doesn’t mean it will happen. Sony patented this evil idea.
We are not far from “please drink verification can”
If Sony patented this idea, does it mean nobody else can use it until it expires? Good guy Sony always looking out for us
I think you can still pay to license patented technology for commercial use if the patent holder is willing. Just because they haven’t used it yet doesn’t mean they won’t though!
If McDonald’s needs a surefire way to make me not go to a McDonald’s ever again, that’s perfect.
MCDONALD’S!
Roku, somehow becoming shittier than Twitter
Roku still gives me a lot more valuable content
Well, that would be a way to guarantee I buy a new TV…
Cool so what are some good Roku alternatives?
A simple PC, you can also use it to browse, download stuff, Steam stream etc. The possibilities are endless
Is nVidia Shield an alternative?
That’s what I’ve been using for years now. It’s great.
I blocked my TV from using WiFi, but there have been times I have need to unblock it (like using AirPlay or Google Cast), so it gets updates occasionally. I’m open to throwing my TV straight to the dump and buying another TV to avoid this at all costs.
I’ve always loved my Apple TVs.
Personally looking at dumb panels and building OSMC machines to run them.
Get an A/V receiver, a computer monitor or dumb TV, and speakers. Then you can get a Roku streaming player and it cannot show you anything when you do not have its input selected on the receiver.
Even an inexpensive pair of bookshelf speakers placed on either side of the TV will sound better than built-in TV speakers. Add a center speaker and a subwoofer drastically improved sound.
Non-4k AV receivers are dirt cheap used.
Lmao, Roku can go suck on a lemon… Never buying any of their shit ever again.
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.
As a former Roku fan, forced arbitration or a brick was the breaking point. Roku can fuck off.
Forced arbitration is a cancer and should be illegal, but at least it’s useful and technically my 5 yo agreed to it, so how is this legal again?
Isn’t Netflix locked at 720 on pc? I can’t go without 4k hdr Netflix
I’m not sure. These old eyes can’t see the difference and I don’t own 4k hardware. It is possible that you need a locked down system for some content levels.
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.
Would it even be possible to run a new “smart” TV as a dumb monitor?
Never connecting the TV to the internet and never updating the firmware usually works. If they are determined to show you ads, they may not let you use the TV without an internet connection though. I would suggest that you avoid buying a roku TV.
Okay but they can also mesh the TVs with your neighbour’s tv of the same brand so that if your neighbour’s TV has internet, your TV can leapfrog onto his tv to download the ads
Open the TV, find the antenna, desolder it and replace it with a 50 ohm resistor. Now the WiFI will no longer have enough range to connect to your neighbors.
You’re hired!
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.
The article says Roku is attempting to detect breaks, which are the only places Roku will try to show you an ad. So you open your inventory in the pause screen to fight a boss and an ad pops out.
I wonder if they’re prepared for Microsoft’s lawyers to come knocking when they find out their screen space is being highjacked by another company for profit…
The way you wrote this sounds like you think this isn’t that bad of an idea…
It’s not as bad as Dhark thinks, but still pretty bad. Read my last sentence and fully immerse yourself.
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.
you have to boycott all of the HDMI consortum and the streaming services who demand HDMI for full features. The idea of widevine levels on android are put to prevent “stream piracy” and why all the streaming services push you to use their apps.
basically all TV manufacturers are part of the HDMI consortum, or adhere to it.
If this happens I will find the person responsible and punch their dad in the cock
Unless that person happens to be with their dad, that would then require finding their dad. That’s a whole extra person to find. It might be easier to skip straight to finding their dad.
The real treasure is the cocks we punch along the way.
Roku, I already had you blocked at Pihole, but now I’m just straight up turning off your network access.
