Yeah, because everyone is asking for that. They will force ads into everything they can, because Google is an Ad company.
Might as well just get/make a home theater pc
My MCPC is a micro PC that’s at least 10 years old. It plays h.265 at 2k just fine. I’m excited to see things move back to media computers.
That’s amazing. I do have an old computer laying around, so I may be able to do that. May I ask what specs your MCPC has?
i7 (mobile processor) with the built in Intel gpu. 16G ram. 120G ssd. It’s an optiplex. They’re pretty cheap on Amazon / ebay as refurbs. I bought it for the processor. Bought and upgraded the ram and ssd separately. I just have kodi on it (on Linux Mint). Everything is stored on my synology, which has an m.2 ssd cache. My TV is only 2k, so I haven’t tried pushing any higher res stuff. I was surprised a few years ago when I started playing h.265 videos. No issues playing it at all. I didn’t upgrade the ssd at first, but noticed the box got pretty hot by the end of a movie. That upgrade dropped the temp in the box a good bit. I don’t think I’m pushing it much. It just gets warm a little and utilization remains under 50%. The box is really snappy too.
pats his Apple TV good boy
Apple is not your friend.
In this case, more than Google apparently.
I wish Kodi had a more intuitive UI and support for Netflix, etc. We need an option powered by the people, for the people.
Google is an advertising company. Apple is a hardware/software company. They have very different incentives from one another. Neither are my friend, but one’s entire business model runs on psychological manipulation, the other sells iPhones.
I hate to be the one to break it to you, but Apple uses a ton of psychological manipulation in order to sell those phones.
We all just learned about the green text bubble thing. It was hilariously infantile
I like that even if Google does something I don’t like I can install my own launcher. Or buy a different device, apple is apple and you better be happy with what they want you to want.
The out-of-box defaults says a lot about how a company views you.
Replacing a launcher only goes so far when blocking shenanigans.
No ads. Fast box. All the apps I need.
Google and Roku primarily make money from ads.
Apple does some stuff that isn’t great, but the Apple TV doesn’t have ads like their competitors. Apps can advertise what’s inside of them when they’re selected, but that’s it on the Home Screen.
Ya, so… They didn’t GIVE me the Google TV device, I had to buy it. Therefore they got their money from me for that hardware. I’m not using other ‘free’ google products that cost them money on that device so why would they be showing ads? What cost are the recouping?
For the record, I have not seen this and we do have a number of google TV’s in our house. However our primary TV uses an Nvidia Shield.
Typically they’d be recouping the cost of the tv they sold at a loss. They sell it at a loss because they know they’ll make more money in the long run via the ads.
In this case, these are not TV’s but small HDMI plug in devices. $30 device that I’d be surprised if they’re selling at a loss https://store.google.com/us/product/chromecast_google_tv
And personally, If they are doing that, I want two versions, one I can pay the actual cost w/some profit for them, and no ads. The ads keep making them money long after they recoup any hw costs as they continue to profit off users. When I bought an amazon Kindle way back when, I chose the one without ads for the same reason. I’m ok paying for a product vs. being the product.
I worked on the original Chromecast and I was told the price point at launch was specifically set at the break even point.
I’m a product designer who has worked on a lot of products that have been monetized with ads.
It’s pretty common for a company to split their revenue targets between register sales and monetization deals. You break even on the hardware, and make profit on the ads.
I sure would like the option to pay for the HW/profits up front and not have perpetual ads.
Fun fact: Amazon actually have you this option with the original Kindle. They sold two different versions where the only difference was that the cheaper one would show ads.
Agreed, this tends to be why I keep going back the Apple. It’s performant, will be supported for a decade, and can be configured as a minimally annoying app launcher.
Biggest problem is that a lot of the setup and security stuff isn’t as nice if it’s not paired to an iPhone.
Ya I’m an android user but my wife/kid use iPhones and I actually have a MacBook. I hate iPhones, and don’t love apple but I do really like my mbp :)
Yeah, we’re also a “blended family” with regards to platforms. Some of the stuff in my house is in Google’s ecosystem, some is in Apple’s, and I have a Pi in the house that plays mediator between the platforms.
I have a box of chrome cast devices in many different flavors. I mostly only use them for traveling. Home media I keep on the bulkier AppleTVs.
How well AppleTV works with Android? Can you cast stuff from Android or is it strictly for AirPlay?
Oh, we’re all in google here (because of me) except the two outcasts (even though I’m outnumbered)
We have 6, and about to have 12 chromecast audios that run speakers all through the house. All tv’s have google TV dongles except the main tv that has Shield TV (still android) Google mini’s in every room
You say “Pi” to mediate? What do you mean there? (Raspberry pi?). I run Pihole in our house for ads,trackers etc.
It’s fairly easy to block Roku ads with a Pihole. I’ve got all mine in a special group and all I see is a nice, empty space where the ad should be.
True. Just saying there is a reason why Google and Roku’s stuff is dirt cheap. The real money is in the ads and selling your data.
Yep, which makes that empty void where an ad should be feel even better
Agreed. Although even if you’re blocking the loading of ads, they’re still capturing and selling behavioral data. Also, I have remotes that advertise video services that don’t even exist anymore.
I don’t know about Roku but Google doesn’t sell data, just ads. You can’t go to Google and buy data about users.
They “sell” it in the sense that, as a marketer, you buy the ability to target behavioral and demographic cohort of users. You’re not actually buying a database of names and numbers.
Right, so the “sell” it in the sense that they don’t sell it. I get the same response every time. I don’t understand why people think it’s ok to just lie, and then when they’re called out try to argue that lying is fine you said something that feels true.
I thought fast food TV adverts were illegal in the UK?
Not until at least October 2025.
God damn it Google.
When I turn on the TV, it’s fine if the masthead is a banner advertising a new show. I’m literally using the product to find things to watch.
But fast food? That can fuck right off.
I’ve had an Nvidia Shield since they came out, about 6 months ago when I started seeing a car ad I was like “it’s time to switch to something else…”
Or just install a new launcher
I have yet to find one that isn’t lacking basic features like being about to put the device to sleep.
You can block ads on the NVIDIA shield launcher using Pihole of adguard DNS. Just need to go into settings for your wifi network on your shield, change dns1 and dns2, then reset the home app. It won’t be able to download new ads, so the banner on the home page will stay the default ad for several of Google’s own apps like play store and YouTube or whatever.
I too was not able to find a third party launcher that looked as nice as the original.
I’ve been using Sideload Channel Launcher since they started putting ads on the home screen. It’s a simple clean layout that is easy to set up and get everything you want on it. It even has a icon you can add for power settings.
What did you switch to?
My shield has always been laggy… I’d like to find a TV “OS” that can run apps and is actually fast.
The Zidoo Z9X Pro, it’s about the same price and supports Dolby Vision and Atmos in Kodi (they have their own build called ZDMC) and is generally faster then the Shield (USB 3, SATA, 4 GB RAM, etc… ).
It doesn’t seem to support the DRM protected streaming apps that use Widevine though (Netflix and the like) since I can’t find them in the Google Play Store, which sucks, but I can just use the smart apps on my LG TV for that.
It seems that it’s really difficult to find a STB that supports everything these days and doesn’t come with shitty specs/is years old 😑
Thanks. It seems like the Apple TV is the best option if you need DRM… 😥
I guess it needs to be said again: “smart TVs” are cheap because of post-purchase monetization. That is: they gather your viewing and UI interaction behaviors (and, in some cases, ambient sound) for analysis and sale by the manufacturer.
The TV is a product, sure, but so are you when you use a “smart TV” like that without mitigating its connectivity by not letting it on your network and just using a discrete streaming peripheral of some sort instead.
Pre-purchase is monetized as well. Those streaming services that are featured on the box, and on the remote featured on the box, those are also paid placements.
Cheap? I must have missed that part.
Dude, do you remember how expensive a 65” 4k TV was when the technology debuted? Paying $1000 nowadays for what’s basically cutting-edge display tech is nothing - they were in the neighborhood of $10k or more when they were first produced. And you can get one with older tech from TCL or whatever for like $3-400 now, which is embarrassingly cheap for a 65” 4k.
A lot of technology is expensive when it’s first introduced and it has not reached mass market yet. Bigger TVs were already gaining popularity before Smart TVs. Getting cutting-edge display tech from a couple decades ago ain’t all that.
Nah, this stuff is not nearly cheap enough to justify all the spyware and ads.
Signage TVs are basically as cheap but without the slow as balls UI filled to the brim with ads.
Google TV? What is that?
Sounds like a product they’re gonna kill off soon.
It’s actually been around for about a decade…
And I believe technically it’s a layer on Android TV (the thing that’s been around for a decade+), but their branding on stuff is pretty crap and inconsistent so I’m not sure
IDK if you’re being sarcastic, but it’s the Set-top/Ten Foot Interface version of Android that’s largely only used for Smart TVs and STBs.
Upvote this to heaven
You
Have made my day, most likely my week. Ads aside, I friggin HATE the Chromecast UI
Now, let’s pretend that I’m 5 yrs old. How do I get this to. Be the default launcher? I’ve already combed through the settings options and can’t seem to figure it out…
Settings -> Projectivy Launcher Settings -> General -> Override current launcher
Plus, allowing it in accessibility options
https://youtu.be/bK8MAnc7Ico?si=Zs1otJfixHXz6DNJ I think explains
Thanks! I needed to go back to the accessibility settings 👍🏻
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://piped.video/bK8MAnc7Ico?si=Zs1otJfixHXz6DNJ
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
This is incredible, I’ve been annoyed at the home screen ads for years but I never thought to look at the chromecast app store. Super easy to set up and it looks really clean, thanks for the recommendation!
FLauncher is another great option — and open source!
looks like it’s time to never buy anything from google ever again!
Has there been a company that has experienced such a fast fall from grace as Google?
Mere years ago they were viewed as the bastion of intellectuals in tech. They worked on stuff that was deemed “not evil”, people that worked there were deemed the best and brightest, and their culture was celebrated so highly that literal movies have been made about working there.
Obviously, the reality is different from the vision, but in a short amount of time they’ve implemented URA, have had multiple mass layoffs where people were locked out overnight with no more than a sentence in an email after a decade of work, have doubled-down on enshitification of their services, and have alienated a significant chunk of their workers through RTO and cost cutting.
URA? Ironically, Google doesn’t define it in regards to themselves.
Anyone who bought into the don’t be evil story / marketing is being willfully naive. Like all the big tech companies they’re basically intelligence fronts. Big tech is big brother. You don’t even have to look hard to see how intertwined with the CIA / NSA Google had been from the beginning. Furthermore, Snowden’s exposure of PRISM made it clear that it wasn’t just a few grants early on, it was setup by design to limit govt liability yet allow mass surveillance to go on unabated and the entire launch of Gmail is yet a single token example. Don’t trust big tech.
Maybe, but I do believe at least then being aspirationaly not evil made it a much different company. It made people try to be better both in and outside google even if at some level it was still a big corp doing big corp things.
Whatever it is now is a boring husk of what it was and I think you can draw a line from that to those naive people and their belief in that principle trying to make awesome things and a better world.
Maybe that’s just me looking back with rose colored glasses though.
Still, they completely pulled out of China to protect their users’ privacy the moment China asked for full access to their data. Google back then was completely different than today. Google today will never pull out of China and give up revenue from the most populous country in the world. In fact, I think Google will reenter chinese market the moment Chinese government let them. Out of all big tech, only Google not having any presence in China even though Android is very popular there. Google execs are probably cursing their “don’t be evil” predecessor for pulling out of China now.
Google is, and always has been, an advertising company. Thats their bread and butter
I understand putting ads on a free service like Google search or YouTube. But I bought this fucking Chromecast. I even suggested it to friends and family.
Another case that pisses me off is having bought a pixel watch at premium price and they want me to pay a monthly shitty Fitbit subscription to provide me with some trivial computations.
Same thing with their Google home screen. You pay a good price and you need a subscription to use the fucking sleep sensor that you paid for.
Another one is having a premium pixel pro and they still want me to buy a Google one subscription to get useless photos filters with Google photos.
I love that Android is open source (mainly) but fuck you Google you are an embarrassment to your former self.
Checkout Projectivy or any other 3rd party launcher on the app store. I installed it on a chromecast and an Nvidia Shield the moment they started showing ads.
Also won’t be buying these anymore in the future. Rather setup a Raspberry Pi and use that.
The Fitbit subscription also includes
Emergency Sharing, Fall Detection, Safety Check, and reach emergency services and contacts
So some safety features don’t work without it!
Wow!
There is a reason why these things are under $50, and the boxes without ads cost 3x more. This is always Google’s playbook. Start with limited ads on a free or cheap service, then open things up to a monetization team milk it.
It’s a function of the OS. My Nvidia Shield TV has fucking ads on it.
That part is enshittification, true.
That’s how they started. Small, tasteful, text only ads. It’s how they got all their market share. Everyone loved them because at the time the internet was a nightmare of pop up ads, toolbars, and seizure inducing flashing boxes.
It’s like when the big box stores come in with lower prices to drive smaller shops out of business then jack up their prices once they’re the only game in the area. It happens less now because they used those tactics years ago to push out Main Street, but you can still see it from time to time.
Tbh I don’t know if they would cost 3x as much without ads. The hardware is kinda shit. It’s slow are barely working.
Start with limited ads on a free or cheap service, then open things up to a monetization team milk it.
Yeah that is probably they plan all along to lock us in and then enshitify it as time go on but even if they sell them at loss, we consume a lot of YouTube (I even rent movies from Google). They can make their money without ads, if they actually cared about having a great product and not just milk us.
The best kind of sleep.
If you have a CCwGTV, you should be using Apps Only mode. Sucks that Google hides this, because I’ve found that this is the best streaming device for my needs, but they just keep pushing ads like this. Makes me want to do a homebrew chromecast device.
But switching to Apps Only mode is a decent workaround… for now. https://support.google.com/googletv/answer/10070784?hl=en
There are now food ads in Apps Only mode on my TCL Google TV.
Will this really remove the ads? From your link:
In Apps only mode, you don’t get personalized recommendations on your home screen. You’ll find a list of installed apps that you can open to find something to watch. You’ll also find sponsored content and teasers for popular movies and shows.
There’s still a single banner at the top, but it’s not a giant scroll of ads, and you only have to click down once to get to the apps, instead of scrolling past a whole page of “suggestions”
Yes, It turns the home screen to a grid of app icons and nothing more.
Can’t you install a custom launcher?
Yes, but you can’t change the default launcher in the settings. You have to configure the custom launcher to automatically launch everytime, which does require a some adb commands, if I recall correctly.
Otherwise, setting it to apps mode is the only alternative. Aside from disabling ads, it does disable a few other useful features, but the trade-off is worth it.
But honestly, now that AppleTV allows VPNs and proxy apps, I’ve mostly stopped using my Google TV boxes.
Hell.
Water… like from the toilet??
This guy talks like a fag!
Go away! Batin’!
Best comedy ever made.
*documentary
If you have a pi-hole or other way to block access to your network, I’ve found these useful to block:
androidtvwatsonfe-pa.googleapis.com
I hope Flauncher or other alternatives are here to stay…
