Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Nvidia Shield TV Owners Are Pissed About the Banner Ads in Android TV

gizmodo.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 302 posts

Re: Nvidia Shield TV Owners Are Pissed About the Banner Ads in Android TV

#41

Post by echelon »

Legion wrote: post #29

I strongly prefer the Apple TV UI approach over all the rest. The whole content recommendation view is contained withing the Apple TV application, instead of the home screen. The home screen gives me an unsullied grid of applications. If I want to have the content recommendation view be my default, the settings gives me the option of defaulting to it instead of the home screen.

> I strongly prefer the Apple TV UI approach over all the rest.

> unsullied grid

The only thing "unsullied" was the brief period of time you could get everything on Netflix without everyone stuffing their grubby hands into the cookie jar.

I'd swear Apple is paying for astroturfing everywhere on the Internet. I know you're not an ad, but I'd honestly never know it with the way the Internet works these days.

A lot of folks have Nvidia Shield because they don't want to be beholden to the FAMNGA monopolist giants. And yet, here we are.

I'm tired of being sold to by companies that want a bigger market cap and more user lock in. Apple probably wants their 40% cut of all ticket sales and streams, and Google wants to beam ads into your skull.

Re: Nvidia Shield TV Owners Are Pissed About the Banner Ads in Android TV

#42

Post by harpersealtako »

wildrhythms wrote: post #13

It's really incredible how the average American home spends some $116/mo for television[1], and is still subjected to 16 minutes of advertisements per hour of entertainment. [1] https://www.doxo.com/insights/united-states-of-bill-pay-doxo...

>$116/mo for television

The link you posted says that's cable and internet, not television.

Re: Nvidia Shield TV Owners Are Pissed About the Banner Ads in Android TV

#43

Post by pier25 »

Is this coming to all Shield models? My 2015 doesn't have any ads (yet).

I also own an ATV 4K for streaming HDR in DV (Netflix, Disney, etc) but for Plex the Shield is still king. It can direct stream HDR10 and can do HDMI passthrough of any audio format (eg: TrueHD). The ATV decodes surround sound to PCM and while the quality is good, it causes audio sync issues and I think it loses Atmos information (I only have 5.1 setup).

Re: Nvidia Shield TV Owners Are Pissed About the Banner Ads in Android TV

#44

Post by johnasmith »

eplanit wrote: post #8

I'm guessing the Android Launcher is next to have banner ads.

I think this is unlikely, but should it become the case, you can easily install an alternative launcher, something presumably impossible on the sheild.

Also, the default launcher happens to be something heavily customized by each OEM (likely extending the AOSP launcher which will never have ads or more typically extending a shared base launcher[0]), and I think routing ads through OEMs would be both a technical and logistical impossibility.

The phone space is such a competitive market, and the cost of switching (launchers/to a different Android phone/to iOS) is so low, and the risk to future sales so high, I really doubt you'll see ads on the launcher.

[0] https://cs.android.com/android/platform/superproject/+/maste...

Re: Nvidia Shield TV Owners Are Pissed About the Banner Ads in Android TV

#45

Post by sneak »

gpspake wrote: post #22
sneak wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't have to bend over and take it, you can throw the device in the garbage. This is what I did with my Alexa hardware the instant it suffixed a routine response to a unit conversion or the weather or something with an ad for some unrelated Amazon service.

There's not a comparable device short of plugging a pc in to my tv and I'm not going back to that life. I play retro arch installed from the play store, stream my pc from my office in to RDP, and connect a wireless kb to one of two usb ports in the back. I also generally like the Google stuff including the assistant integration. The device is perfect in every way and I shouldn't have to throw this $300 device that's…

The recommendation if your fridge starts showing ads one day is indeed that you throw it in the trash and get a fridge that, you know, doesn't do that.

Same goes for an STB, or car, or any other thing that abuses you. You don't have to sit and take it simply because "that's the modern world".

Consumer choice is an important and powerful tool. Don't buy or use crap that abuses you, and don't shop at vendors that think that abusing their users is ok.

We got into this situation because people tend to throw up their hands and suffer.

> I also generally like the Google stuff including the assistant integration.

Google is an advertising company. Everything they do is in service to this goal, despite whatever side perks it may deliver to you occasionally. Liking the Google stuff while not liking ads is a mistake, because they are inseparable.

If you don't like ads, don't give your money and data to an advertising company. Don't run Android TV.

Re: Nvidia Shield TV Owners Are Pissed About the Banner Ads in Android TV

#46

Post by reaperducer »

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #24
djrogers wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apple is seems almost as bad too. There's recommendations that I don't want. The main AppleTV UI doesn’t have any recommendations for streaming apps you don’t own - the only thing that’s even close are when you highlight one of the apps in the top bar.

As an iOS user, there's a couple weird ones: Apple prohibits apps from putting ads in notifications, but sends a notification ad for every new Apple TV+ show. "Rules for thee, but not for me"

For those of you not on iOS, here's what one of those notification spams from Apple looks like:

https://twitter.com/Reaperducer/status/1393380938642563072

See also:

Ads for Apple Music, Apple Arcade, and Apple's fitness thing at the top of the Settings app.

https://twitter.com/Reaperducer/status/1390696646854397955

Fake notification alerts in the App Store to get you to tap on the Apple Arcade button to show you a subscription ad.

Spam from Apple that I can't seem to stop receiving, even though I'm unsubscribed from every Apple list. I've gone as far as to contact AppleCare about it. I spent an hour on the phone with someone at AppleCare who couldn't explain why I keep getting Apple Arcade spam in my e-mail.

https://twitter.com/Reaperducer/status/1394843930932523015

Re: Nvidia Shield TV Owners Are Pissed About the Banner Ads in Android TV

#48

Post by ssimpson »

djrogers wrote: post #17
sdflhasjd wrote: post #6

My shield updated to this the other day. I'm pretty furious about it, it's not a cheap device, and it's certainly not Google's. To be adding these "features" without asking, irrespective of whatever agreement between me, Nvidia or Google exists, is ridiculous. I know it's in whatever terms I, uh, "accepted", but there's just no escaping it in this day and age. Fortunately, I know how to use ADB and just installed ano…

> Apple is seems almost as bad too. There's recommendations that I don't want. The main AppleTV UI doesn’t have any recommendations for streaming apps you don’t own - the only thing that’s even close are when you highlight one of the apps in the top bar.

Youtube app update and now has a huge banner ad at the top when you start it up. Very annoying!

Re: Nvidia Shield TV Owners Are Pissed About the Banner Ads in Android TV

#50

Post by 0xbadcafebee »

Every time I disconnect from technology, I get a little happier. I don't own a TV, so I can't get TV ads. I'm disconnecting from "streaming services", so I won't get ads in my music, audio books, or movies. I'm disconnecting from Google so I won't be subjected to annoying product "features" I didn't ask for. Eventually I will disable text messaging on my phone, though it also means I won't be able to login to half the services on the internet (including my bank). I hope one day to have a job where I don't need a smartphone or even the internet; technology retirement, I call it.
Post reply on HN