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Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

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Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#171

Post by mctt »

matthewrobertso wrote: post #95

I ran into this last week on my nvidia shield. Here's a summary of the workaround I found (apologies for not having the specific package names offhand): 1. Install a new launcher from play store (I found one called "Basic Launcher" that matches the aesthetics of the default one). This doesn't solve the problem though, because Google disabled changing the default launcher for some user hostile reason, until you delete…

>I manged to remove them...you go to All apps..scroll down to "Show system apps"...Android TV Home...Force stop... Uninstall updates => You will have old Home Screen

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/forums/shield-tv/9/4579...

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#172

Post by AshamedCaptain »

pixxel wrote: post #51
temp8964 wrote: post #15

I hated FireTV exactly because of the ads. Now I am using Roku comes with the TV. Roku has ad too, but not overwhelming. In the future, maybe the only choice is no-brand Android TV box/ stick which has ads removed.

PiHole to remove those Roku ads! I have PiHole running on a five dollar Pi Zero. Just sits on a shelf doing its thing on all devices connected to network.

PiHole and similar ad-filtering proxies are a very fragile solution. The moment Google just decides to stream ads through the same domain as the "regular" content (e.g. updates, Play Store, etc.), what exactly is the PiHole going to do?

This is not a "cat and mouse" game, like in-browser ad-blockers where the advertisers change something then the ad-blockers try to catch that. The in-browser ad-blockers have a lot more flexibility with blocking content since they are, basically, the consumer of that content.

With PiHole, there is a point in which PiHole can just DO. NOTHING. to block content. If Google TV fetches its ads/spyware from playstore.google.com (for example), and uses https, what can PiHole do?

Not even MitM, because Google will just pin the certificate. And let's not even get started on DNS-over-HTTPS...

PiHole and the like are not long-term solutions.

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#173

Post by dehrmann »

matthewrobertso wrote: post #95

I ran into this last week on my nvidia shield. Here's a summary of the workaround I found (apologies for not having the specific package names offhand): 1. Install a new launcher from play store (I found one called "Basic Launcher" that matches the aesthetics of the default one). This doesn't solve the problem though, because Google disabled changing the default launcher for some user hostile reason, until you delete…

Anyone try LineageOS on a Shield? I'm guessing everything is missing. I'm not sure if that's bad, but I'd missing being able to Chromecast to it.

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#174

Post by [deleted] »

leesalminen wrote: post #160
teekert wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess I can come to your house tomorrow and paint some ads on the walls, or were you promised an ad free experience?

How about their car’s infotainment system? Can we start showing them ads when stopped at a light or were they promised an ad free experience there as well?

[deleted]

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#175

Post by bitL »

input_sh wrote: post #110
scrollaway wrote: post #77

Question to HN users: I have a dumb display attached to an nvidia shield. The Shield is nice: It's powerful enough, runs decent version of the common apps I care about (netflix, plex, youtube, spotify are the ones I use), and the remote is minimalistic and nice to use. Let's say I want to opt out of Google for this. What the hell do I do? I do have a Windows PC attached to the TV, for gaming, but if I wanted to run t…

There's only one correct answer: https://kodi.tv/ Works fine, but it is not the most stable software. Plenty of add-ons and themes, and (probably the reason why it's popular) you can sideload some pirate TV add-ons.

Aren't most of those add-ons depending on real-debrid now, meaning a $5/month subscription? Why not Netflix then?

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#176

Post by izacus »

rattray wrote: post #60
jmacd wrote: post #49

The new Apple TV 4K is a absolutely better than any of the high end android tv devices. I’ve been through them all (at considerable expense) and am now totally happy on the new apple tv

Would use of an Android phone have any cause for frustration with an Apple TV? I'd assume not but I've never used one.

You will not be able to mirror your phone screen or cast anything from YouTube or any other cast supported app.

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#177

Post by zz865 »

username4567 wrote: post #88
jmacd wrote: post #49

The new Apple TV 4K is a absolutely better than any of the high end android tv devices. I’ve been through them all (at considerable expense) and am now totally happy on the new apple tv

After a few weeks of my 3 year old Android TV having ads and having choppy animations, I bought the new Apple TV. In the last month we haven't watched anything on the base Android TV interface. Apple TV is smoother, easier to find what we want, and interfaces for HBO Max look better. This is supporting my believe that expensive (durable) goods like TVs, cars, and appliances should have an external control hardware fo…

Cars yes please. I remember when people bought aftermarket car stereos, was great. I really dont like today's integrated entertainment, they dont work that will and in 10 years will look terrible.

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#179

Post by afavour »

fartcannon wrote: post #2

Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook - we power their abuses with our money. Just stop buying their trash. Support open hardware, free and open source software.

Very difficult to do when it comes to entertainment. Almost all streaming services have locked down DRM that makes running open source software very difficult.

(I know someone will say “just pirate it then!” but even putting moral obligations aside that’s still not realistic for the average viewer)

Re: Reviews of Android TV launcher after Google added ads to the homescreen

#180

Post by jyrkesh »

shmolf wrote: post #143
simonh wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's nothing wrong with it, if you are told about this up front and it's part of your purchasing calculation. Retroactively adding ads to an ad-free device after the customer has purchased it, sometimes buying it specifically to avoid competing devices with ads, is inexcusable bullshit.

If you subscribe to cable/satellite television, you expect there to be advertising. I'm not certain, but i suspect the agreement you sign while signing up for cable or streaming services, would include some sort of advertising clause. Ie, u less a service explicitly promotes am ad-free experience, there should be no expectations of such.

This isn't about a service, it's about devices. The Google TV launcher is the de-facto UI for Android TV devices (like my Nexus Player, which is...7 YEARS OLD and now gets ads) and Google/Android TV-powered TVs, which are made by a bunch of different manufacturers. While my Nexus Player is rooted and I could theoretically install a different launcher, many of these TVs can't be modified. So if you purchased a TV thinking that it's smart capabilities were like a dumb OS UI into services like Netflix or Hulu (which may or may not have ads in their service agreement, as you point out), now they're getting pushed Amazon Fire-esque ads that prioritize spending money with Google from the UI over the services that you want to use.
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