My dog tore up the remote so we were forced to use the roku app to control the tv.

They’re showing ads on the remote app. It feels like we can never escape this dystopian hellacape.

    • aldalire@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
      321·
      6 months ago

      Yes I am aware. I mainly use the Jellyfin app on it. I have a PiHole but I unfortunately can’t change the DHCP/DNS settings on my router (i have no admin access to it) so i have to rely change the DNS for every client on my home. But unfortunately Roku does not allow for changing their DNS server.

      I have heard about putting my roku on another submet but i don’t know how to do this. Any thoughts 🤔

      • 1hitsong@lemmy.ml
        161·
        6 months ago

        I mainly use the Jellyfin app on it.

        Hope it’s working well for ya’!

      • BoisZoi@lemmy.mlEnglish
        91·
        6 months ago

        I have heard about putting my roku on another submet but i don’t know how to do this. Any thoughts 🤔

        I believe that would rely on the modem settings… If you buy a router (eero, Google WiFi, etc.) and connect it to the Ethernet port, you could create a separate network and your modem would see your router as a single device. I have T-Mobile Internet but don’t trust them with my data, so in conjunction with the above, I have all my network traffic pointed towards AdGuard DNS (Personal Plan)(they have a free version that works well, but you can’t customize it).

      • bane_killgrind@lemmy.mlEnglish
        6·
        6 months ago

        Buy another router to stick in between your ISP device and the rest of your network. You won’t notice.

      • NoneYa@lemm.ee
        31·
        6 months ago

        You should look into getting another router. If you’re concerned with privacy, your router setup is not going to do you any favors there and might be another breach in your privacy.

      • thegreekgeek@midwest.socialEnglish
        1·
        6 months ago

        If you’re running home assistant as well you can use that to create a remote card pretty easily, that’s what I’m doing with my Nvidia shield.

    • qwertyqwertyqwerty@lemmy.one
      4·
      6 months ago

      I didn’t know it was quite this bad. App uninstalled, and TV blocked from WiFi. I have connected devices I typically stream from, but that data collection is crazy. Next TV I’m going to rip the WiFi antennas out of it if I have to.

      • BoisZoi@lemmy.ml
        1·
        6 months ago

        No worries.

        It’s a shame because if you look at the history of Roku, it was founded with technology and ease of access in mind. Unfortunately, like many things, advertising and invading a users privacy is the “best” route for these companies to become profitable.

        Google is a perfect example of this, especially after Eric Schmidt and the introduction of Google accounts.

  • Vent@lemm.ee
    322·
    6 months ago

    That’s crappy, but have you seen what other remote apps are doing?

    Vizio has an ad that takes up around 25% of the screen!

    MyQ has a large scrolling ad at the top, and they are actively hostile towards any integration that allows you to control your garage door without using their app (unless you use one of the very few subscription-based integrations they offer, of course).

    vizio app with a huge ad

    myQ app with a scrolling ad

  • EmoDuck@sh.itjust.works
    26·
    6 months ago

    My dog tore up the remote so we were forced to use the roku app to control the tv.

    Force your dog to watch ads as a punishment

  • cm0002@lemmy.world
    271·
    6 months ago

    Are you using the actual official remote app? It looks different from mine and doesn’t have the “featured” tab shown

  • ShitpostCentral@lemmy.world
    221·
    6 months ago

    I recently stopped using my firestick. Even though I only used it for Jellyfin, the ads on the home screen were too much for me. So I swapped it out for a Raspberry Pi with LibreElec as the OS, and there have been literally no downsides.

    1. Jellyfin for Kodi add-on with Embuary skin shows your entire Jellyfin library on the home screen with continue watching and next up widgets right there when you turn on the TV.
    2. You can set it up entirely through the GUI. Works with either keyboard and mouse or remote.
    3. Uses HDMI-CEC so works with my TVs original remote and even my firestick remote.
    4. If you want to use an app remote, Kore is officially supported and has no ads.
    5. Invidious add-on with the Send to Kodi and libredirect Firefox extensions means I can cast YouTube videos to my TV with no ads.
    6. You can even run an Ethernet cable from your router/Jellyfin server to the Pi. I did this and have not experienced any buffering since.
    7. It even passed the spouse test. My wife says she likes that it’s faster and more responsive. Plus she likes the asteroids screensaver.
      • ShitpostCentral@lemmy.world
        3·
        6 months ago

        Pi 4B with 4 gigs of RAM. You might be able to get away with 2gigs because of how well it runs for me, but idk. I didn’t follow any guides for setting up the Pi or LibreElec. It’s honestly super intuitive. Like I said, everything is set up through the GUI. The only slightly technical part is flashing the LibreElec image to the SD card, and even that is super easy. I did follow the Jellyfin documentation for setting up my Jellyfin server, but that’s a whole other thing.

    • LesserAbe@lemmy.world
      3·
      6 months ago

      Pardon what might be an obvious question, but can you watch paid services using this set up? (Netflix/HBO/prime etc)

      • ShitpostCentral@lemmy.world
        2·
        6 months ago

        Not easily. There are a few 3rd-party add-ons by random people which technically allow you to watch these services if you enter your account details, but the UI is generally just a list of movie and show titles with no or small thumbnails and no other info. It’s worth doing this if you already have your own media server but not really otherwise.

        • ShitpostCentral@lemmy.world
          61·
          6 months ago

          Because family or friends are always going to have them and share with you. In terms of effort, it’s still a lot easier to use free-to-you streaming services (even with ads) than set up your own Jellyfin, Radarr, Sonarr, and Jellyseerr stack. I can definitely see the appeal of a streaming stick that let’s you do that, is fast, and isn’t riddled with ads on the home screen. Hell, I might’ve paid for one if I knew it existed and had less free time.

      • VonReposti@feddit.dk
        2·
        6 months ago

        Yes, Jellyfin’s Kodi add-on sends watch info back to Jellyfin which keeps track of the watch history. Just remember to install the Kodi Sync Queue add-on in Jellyfin too.

      • ShitpostCentral@lemmy.world
        31·
        6 months ago

        Pi 4B with 4 gigs of RAM. And yes! I was surprised, but it had absolutely no trouble with playing 4k, especially after using a wired connection.

    • nul9o9@lemmy.world
      2·
      6 months ago

      I was thinking about moving pihole off onto a docker container, and converting my pi to a streaming box. Thanks for posting this.

    • nicetriangle@kbin.social
      2·
      6 months ago

      Yeah I think an RPi is the best streaming box setup going forward unless you want to go ham and run an actual Mac Mini or PC.

      The Apple TV is decent and runs well and doesn’t hit you with ads, but they’re a bit pricey, they’re in the Apple ecosystem (could be a pro or con) and doesn’t support as many apps.

      The Nvidia shield is starting to cram in ads so that’s a non starter as far as I’m concerned, especially for the price. The Amazon stuff is Amazon and is getting more aggressive with ads. Roku is getting worse every year and all their devices I’ve used sucked. Etc, etc.

      Every one of these made-for-purpose streaming sticks/boxes/etc are all gonna go down in enshittification flames. Mark my words.

      Edit: come to think of it, I’d say it’s a safe bet that corporate America/etc is coming for any digital device or platform or service that feels nonabrasive and like a good value for the money/investment of your time. They’re gonna make it more annoying, more ad filled, more data harvesting, and more privacy invading until they can’t anymore.

      • ShitpostCentral@lemmy.world
        1·
        6 months ago

        It was a Raspberry Pi 4 model B. I got it for $60 and a 25ft Ethernet cable for $10 on Amazon just because I had a gift card. You can probably find it somewhere else for cheaper. You also need a small micro SD card for the Pi. Maybe only 8 or 16 gigs because it doesn’t store the media locally.

  • Kolapy@lemmy.world
    8·
    6 months ago

    I had something similar happen. You can find loads of replacement remotes online for very little money.

  • nicetriangle@kbin.social
    62·
    6 months ago

    Roku to me has always seemed like a bogged down, spammy platform. I’ve always been surprised at how often it gets recommended in cord cutting and self hosting sort of forums.

    • nul9o9@lemmy.world
      6·
      6 months ago

      I have a fire stick and a roku device. The Firestick is a slow, ad ridden POS, the Roku UI is much more straightforward forward to me.

      • nicetriangle@kbin.social
        13·
        6 months ago

        Every Roku thing I’ve used was slow and had a bad remote and UI and I recall seeing ads of some kind in at least some of them.