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The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

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Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#211
post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love my ATV 4K. But it’s useless for traveling since hotels require you to login and the AppleTV doesn’t have a browser. The Roku sticks get around this by temporarily exposing a pass through wifi connection that you can connect to from your phone/computer and log in to your hotel’s wifi. The only work around with the AppleTV is to buy a second travel router.

With tvOS 15.4, "Captive Wi-Fi network support on tvOS allows you to use your iPhone or iPad to connect your Apple TV to networks that need additional sign-in steps, like at hotels or dorms." https://developer.apple.com/documentation/tvos-release-notes...

I did not know that. Thanks

Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not having an TV is also a viable option. Around 2016 my last TV broke down and i have adapted to live without it. When i say 'TV' i also mean to include Netflix and Hulu and other services serving the same purpose.

We are doing that. We have a projector. In its case under the table in the living room. Setting it up increases the transaction cost of watching a show/movie. The result is that we only put it up for the few cases when we deem it worth it. And when we do, the experience is awesome.

I had this idea as an undergraduate. Unfortunately, I didn't consider the geometry and realized too late that a good viewing experience with a projector requires a screen, which I didn't have room (or money) for. As penance I watched most of Inuyasha on a popcorn wall.

Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#213
post #76

I feel like these anti-consumer practices by BigCorp can open the door for new companies to emerge on the market: build an ad-free tv, ad-free smartphones etc. Or is it just the effect of me living in a bubble while 99.9% of the customers don't care about this?

Non-tech people I talk to hate ads too. Boomers have been talking about how facebook is all ads now too.

Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#214
My current main television is a Sony Bravia I got right before the explosion of smart TVs. For all that it is "limited", it does all of those things very well.

I get much more functionality by plugging in a computer than I do by using any smart TV.

Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#215

YouTube's advertising strategy is pushing me to get rid of my SmartTV, or at least find a 3rd Party solution to completely block the ads. I was completely fine with one or two 6 second ads randomly playing before a video, or during a lengthy video. Then they added 14 second ads, which was very annoying, but bearable since it's about the same length as the two short ads. But now they're advertising even if I simply op…

With YT I pay for Premium. With how many ads they throw in to videos now I find it very worth it.

Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#216
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d honestly rather watch adverts than have to run a home server again.

Controversial .. Would you care to expand on that ? I don't know anyone who would prefer to see adverts compared to plugging in a NAS / DLNA ? These days there is nothing more than plug and play..

I ran a home server last year with jellyfin, nextcloud, torrent server, etc. I ended up spending more time and money on the server than watching and paying for the actual content. And then the thing was always broken in some way.

Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where can I get a 65 inch computer monitor? I’ve done the homelab media server. I did my first one back in 2006 with a Mac Mini running Front Row. But this is 2022. If you want a set top box without tracking, just buy an AppleTV. It cost more because Apple makes money off of hardware and not advertising. Yes I know the reports about Apple getting even deeper into advertising. Yes it saddens me.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-75-4k-interactive-touch... Not cheap though.

Being an interactive touch monitor is likely part of the cost.

Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#218

YouTube's advertising strategy is pushing me to get rid of my SmartTV, or at least find a 3rd Party solution to completely block the ads. I was completely fine with one or two 6 second ads randomly playing before a video, or during a lengthy video. Then they added 14 second ads, which was very annoying, but bearable since it's about the same length as the two short ads. But now they're advertising even if I simply op…

Pay for Premium - YouTube is one of the few services that actually lets you pay to stop the ads, it’s worth it. I wish that also fixed all the bad product design that results from building something corrupted by ad incentives. You can also disable all tracking in settings.

I don't have a problem with ads in general - I have a problem with how they are currently presenting ads. It was never this bad in the past, and I honestly I'm not sure I want to pay money to a company who uses these predatory techniques.

40 minute ads? Who even does this? The only way someone would even consider watching this instead of the content they actually clicked on would be if someone let it autoplay. This is the kind of thing my 5 year old nephews would do.

Absolutely disgusting predatory behaviour...

Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#219

YouTube's advertising strategy is pushing me to get rid of my SmartTV, or at least find a 3rd Party solution to completely block the ads. I was completely fine with one or two 6 second ads randomly playing before a video, or during a lengthy video. Then they added 14 second ads, which was very annoying, but bearable since it's about the same length as the two short ads. But now they're advertising even if I simply op…

YouTube do have a paid option, which doesn't have ads (unless the content creator has some sponsorship deal). It is the subscription service I get the most value from. Based on a few videos from content creators, it also seems like it's a good deal for them. I think Linus Tech Tips phrased something like: It matters much more than you think. Other have shown data suggestion that Premium customers contribute as much a…

The paid option is very expensive. I would pay for an ad-free only Youtube, but this option is not available in my country. I already pay for Spotify and Netflix. So I don't care about other services of youtube premium except ads-free

Re: The downfall of smart TVs: From promises of seamless viewing to ad tool

#220
post #118
post #57

> Some may argue that there's no need to be dramatic and that there's nothing wrong in seeing an occasional ad every now and then. Oh, no, I am very dramatic about this. I will go to any lengths not to see advertising. I will entirely forgo any platform that shows me even one ad, especially when I pay them. Amazon Prime video is already pushing it with their preroll previews. The second it's something else I'm cancel…

Yup. It's kind of incredible how these platforms are fucking up their services. Like, all they had to do was to provide the content in a way more convenient than pirating, but they've managed to go down a path where the experience get more and more user hostile by the day.

In my experience, most users are aloof idiots and do not even notice it.
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