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After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads

arstechnica.com

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Re: After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads

#151

Post by graphe »

kxrm wrote: post #27
RajT88 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See - that would work if our TV was sending out DNS requests. It doesn't though! Like, it seems like it has its own truly internal DNS resolver, which gets updated I presume via OS updates.

Interesting, I wonder if newer OS updates are now using DoH. It's sad that I have to block upgrades for my TVs firmware for what could resolve potential security issues simply to have control over how my TV behaves on my network. This just re-enforces that I should continue to not let my TV upgrade it's firmware and continue to not let it access anything on the internet directly.

What security problems are you worried about? I never cared for security, there's no money they can get or data, and if there's someone who wants to hack my network with it, good luck lol itll be easier to phish anyway.

Re: After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads

#153

Post by drewg123 »

whalesalad wrote: post #7

The trick is to never give your TV access to the internet and to pair it with an Apple TV. If you buy a TV and it won't even boot or work without an internet connection - return it and get a different one.

AppleTv is amazing, and I use it for everything but YouTube. For YouTube, I use a Fire stick with SmartTubeNext

Re: After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads

#154

Post by tonyedgecombe »

isoprophlex wrote: post #4

Well don't worry. You buy a premium "lifestyle tv" like a Samsung Frame, and the moment you connect it to the internet, it too slams every user interface panel full of advertising. This amazon is shit egregious, but par for the course. They're hardly the only ones. TVs are enshittified pretty badly. Thankfully my Samsung forgot those ads after wiping it to factory defaults. So now it is only connected to the apple tv…

I've heard so many of these stories about Samsung that they are automatically rejected whenever I am buying consumer goods.

Re: After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads

#155

Post by MBCook »

gambiting wrote: post #132
whalesalad wrote: post #7

The trick is to never give your TV access to the internet and to pair it with an Apple TV. If you buy a TV and it won't even boot or work without an internet connection - return it and get a different one.

Meh, I own an LG CX and I have never seen a single ad on it - the app integration is so good I can't imagine needing to mess with another device just to use streaming services. Just don't buy ad-ridden crap from Samsung and others, I guess?

TBF that’s a higher end TV. I love mine.

The lower the cost, the more likely this crud is. If you buy a $250 55” TV you’re (unknowingly) signing up for ads.

Sadly, there isn’t much middle ground anymore. Ads and spying, or a ton of money (and spying).

Re: After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads

#156

Post by teeray »

andrewla wrote: post #131

Roku has done the same thing with their appliance. If anyone from Roku is listening, I would pay a significant premium to never again see an ad.

And advertisers will pay more than whatever that premium is to target you who have the disposable income to pay for ad-free experiences.

Re: After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads

#157

Post by Sebb767 »

ndriscoll wrote: post #142
pxx wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd much rather my ads be targeted than generic. It increases value on both sides here. Comparing against the baseline of terrestrial broadcast, this is a far better experience than before.

You're making the mistake of assuming the ad is for the best offer you'd be interested in instead of the one that makes the most money from you (i.e. the worst one for you). The expected utility to you is negative.

> You're making the mistake of assuming the ad is for the best offer you'd be interested in instead of the one that makes the most money from you (i.e. the worst one for you)

You are making the mistake of thinking that this is a zero-sum game. The product that makes the most money is not necessarily the worst one, it might actually just be one with higher margins or even an actually superior product that just lacks mindshare; in the end, buying it might still add value to your live.

Re: After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads

#158

Post by graphe »

speedgoose wrote: post #108
RajT88 wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'll be happy to know we're not wasting it. We use that TV frequently.

I understand, but when you describe your TV as a cheap consumable not worth being careful with, be prepared to trigger some emotional reactions with people who are concerned about the environment.

It is, because that's what it is. It's not a luxury item, it's like the dull butter knife you use first.

Re: After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads

#159

Post by zumzumzum »

RajT88 wrote: post #3

My wife and I bought a Fire TV for a particular use case: - The hot tub room in the winter - The outdoor patio in the summer It was so cheap, we don't mind the ads on the home screen. If it dies from the moisture, we'll just buy another one. The apps are the key anyways, as I use a few totally ad-free apps to stream stuff: - JellyFin - VLC - HDHomeRun (for my antenna on the roof) PlutoTV is not ad-free, but has so mu…

Have you found a way to block ads while preserving the voice recognition feature? I have a C1 and a C2 on which I have successfully blocked all ads, but I can no longer use voice recognition for things like searching. It's a fair trade, but I wish I could have both.

Re: After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads

#160

Post by t-3 »

pxx wrote: post #140
nvy wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>These shows take pseudo-commercial breaks and send you 2-3 ads tailored to you specifically. My wife didn't believe it until I did a simple Amazon search on my phone for automotive batteries. Not more than 30 minutes later the ads switched to some random LiPo battery for RVs. This is so depressing. We're living in the future and it's awful.

I'd much rather my ads be targeted than generic. It increases value on both sides here. Comparing against the baseline of terrestrial broadcast, this is a far better experience than before.

"Targeted" ads are not targeted though, they're just trying to sell you the same thing you just bought. It's the most annoying, stupidest, and least effective form of targeting they could possibly use.
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