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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

#451

Post by thiht »

LordDragonfang wrote: post #445
thiht wrote: post #345

I recently bought a 2000€ Sony Bravia which I love, but the update adding ads is atrocious. I paid premium and still get fucking ads, it’s a nightmare! The weirdest thing is that these ads have a political agenda, every day it’s for a new LGBT program. Every. Single. Day. Right now the three ads on the carousel are Pride on Disney+, Turn it Around on myCanal (French cable which I don’t use, I have no idea why I have…

>these ads have a political agenda, every day it’s for a new LGBT program >I don't emit a judgment of value here It's Pride month, and today is literally the anniversary of Stonewall. Explicitly calling saying that any content even featuring LGBT people "has a political agenda" is a value judgement, implying you think the mere existence of a minority sexual identity in content is a political statement. You wouldn't c…

> It's Pride month, and today is literally the anniversary of Stonewall

And not living in the US, I have no idea what Stonewall is nor that it's Pride month, nor even that Pride month is a thing (is it in France too?)

> implying you think the mere existence of a minority sexual identity in content is a political statement

No, I think recommending this and only this is a political statement.

> so it's prejudicial to claim the different for LGBT content during pride

It's literally written "LGBT" in the 1 line description of the ads I have.

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

#453

Post by davidcuddeback »

mh- wrote: post #230
davidcuddeback wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought an Nvidia Shield because the Plex client can switch the display's refresh rate to match the content (no judder for 24p content). Based on [1], it sounds like that should be possible with the Apple TV, too. Can anyone confirm if this works well? [1] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208288

I can't confirm with Plex specifically, but I can tell you content matching is an OS-level feature, not specific to apps. It works for the apps I've tried.

Thanks. I'm going to give the Apple TV a shot. If frame rate matching works well in other apps, it will probably be good in Plex, too.

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

#454

Post by mikestew »

kstenerud wrote: post #146
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

I have an Apple TV and I want to like it, but the remote is utter garbage. Every time I so much as brush against it, it does some weird shit, like pause playback, go into fast forward, change the program or whatever... so then there's a mad scramble "where's that fucking remote?" as I try to figure out what appendage touched it so I can find it and undo whatever it decided to do. I'm afraid to stretch my legs or arms…

Your cries have been heard. You want one these:

https://function101.com/pages/button-remote-for-apple-tv-hom...

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

#455

Post by Axsuul »

fny wrote: post #356
billyhoffman wrote: post #335

I hate to be that guy, but this is exactly why I happily paid for an Apple TV. Yes, it’s $100 more than basic streaming sticks, but I have never had to worry about ads suddenly appearing after an update. This whole space is a race to the bottom with sticks being sold at or below cost because you are the product. For example, Vizio revealing in their first quarterly report as a public company that they get nearly as m…

Unfortunately Apple TV remotes are a nightmare to use. The touch UX is an absolute pain.

The 2nd generation Siri remote adds click support back in again.

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

#456

Post by least »

vesinisa wrote: post #449
least wrote: post #429

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have to make reasonable assumptions when making purchasing decisions. Just because something could happen does not make it a likely thing to happen and assuming that any company is equally likely to start serving advertisements on their devices is unreasonable and foolish. While people may not have had the foresight to know that Google would be adding advertisements to their tv box, the behavior itself isn't unexp…

Apple subjects its users to entirely different type of abuse: purposeful incompatibility and vendor lock-in on every imaginable level from cable connectors to keyboard layouts. You always have to go all in to their ecosystem and pay a 50% premium on everything just for the Apple logo. I guess it's a choice of if you want to bend over at the checkout or at home when you have started using the product.

> Apple subjects its users to entirely different type of abuse: purposeful incompatibility and vendor lock-in on every imaginable level from cable connectors to keyboard layouts.

By cable connectors I'm assuming you are mostly referring to the lightning connector, which came before USB-C was an option. I actually still think it's a better connector than USB-C, but the advantages of adopting USB-C at this point heavily outweigh the merits of keeping it. Still, Apple doesn't shy away from adopting new standards that it thinks it's better. They famously ditched their own serial connector (ADB) for USB in the iMac.

I have no clue what you meany by keyboard layout or how Apple in any way locks someone into a specific keyboard layout.

> You always have to go all in to their ecosystem

Why do you have to go all in on their ecosystem again? There are plenty of people with airpods or an iPad without any other Apple device and are perfectly happy with just that. Apple puts a lot of effort into creating an attractive ecosystem because their business is in selling hardware.

> pay a 50% premium on everything just for the Apple logo.

... And for the software, the ecosystem, the hardware, and a lot of other factors. I find it extremely weird that you say this in the same sentence that you mention the ecosystem. Beyond that, it's not even true? What devices cost 50% more when compared against comparable options from other manufacturers?

> I guess it's a choice of if you want to bend over at the checkout or at home when you have started using the product.

You're making of choice of paying for higher quality hardware that isn't subsidized or lower quality hardware that is. The biggest slap in the face here is for people that bought premium Android TV devices like the Nvidia Shield and still have to put up with this bullshit from Google.

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

#458

Post by MiddleEndian »

least wrote: post #149
MiddleEndian wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just use my Windows laptop, it's pretty good. You're not limited to anyone's apps, you choose what goes on. And you're probably already used to disabling whatever dumb ads Microsoft tries to put onto your machine.

Using a Windows laptop does not solve the part of the problem where Windows is not a friendly user interface for TV use. Android TV and Apple TV are nice to use because the interface is designed around sitting at your couch and controlling it with a remote with limited inputs. There's no such launcher on Windows that doesn't deal with the pitfalls of it being Windows. Even something like Steam's Big Picture doesn't r…

I prefer it because I can just launch whatever program I like. Don't have to rely on somebody making the right app, I can just drag an MPC-HC window over, a web browser over, a game over, photoshop over, whatever. Don't need custom integration, the TV screen is just another monitor.

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

#459

Post by kmonsen »

mschuster91 wrote: post #439
kmonsen wrote: post #374

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be clear Android the operating system offers targeted security updates. The device manufactures prefers to package them with feature updates. I guess it doesn’t matter for users.

Aren't many core components now taken care of by the Google Play Services library that's updated separately to avoid carriers and manufacturers from delaying critical security updates because they need to package and test these with all their bloatware crap?

Play services do not get just security updates, that’s true. It’s pretty hard to not have that up to date on an Android phone anyway.

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

#460

Post by rconti »

thereddevil wrote: post #245
rconti wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good parallel is the recent Peloton Treadmill update (as a result of the CPSC suit). You used to be able to use the treadmill without video content, it worked as a treadmill; you only had to pay for a subscription if you wanted Peloton content on the screen. This seems fairly obvious to anyone buying the device, and makes sense. I buy a treadmill, I can use the treadmill forever, but if i want content, I pay a mont…

This is a bad take on Peloton. Peloton made it subscription only because the default user experience had bad design in that treadmills can be pin locked only if the customer is subscribed. In order to compensate for the bad design peloton has offered 3 months of subscription for free and has promised to add the pin lock feature to non subscribers soon. Not that I agree with anything Peloton has done in this situation…

How is it a bad take on Peloton? If anything, your comment is more critical ("default user experience had bad design"). It seems clear to me that they'll end up replacing it with a pin lock that works even without a subscription, but it was probably easier to quickly implement in existing code that required a subscription. And, now that I re-read your comment, you say the same thing -- "has promised to add the pin lock feature to non subscribers soon".

I don't see how a single word of my comment makes it sound much worse than it is. I pointed out what they did as a result of CPSC, and indicated that they'll likely reverse course, which you confirmed.

I'm not super well-versed in how it works at the moment. I've got a Tread, but can't use it due to knee surgery, so I've been watching the CPSC uproar / PIN requirement from afar, and generally think it's pretty silly.

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