Gilgamesh_48 946 Posted April 30 Share Posted April 30 Roku plans to bring video ads to your TV's home screen I read this pretty carefully and I "think" the ads predicted only affect Roku TVs but i do not seem to be able to penetrate the gobbledygook well enough to be sure. I own several Roku set top boxes but I own no Roku TVs so i expect this does not directly impact me. One phrase does worry me by saying that Roku is exploring other ways to get ads onto the Roku platform as those "Other" ways could include things like playing an ad on any app launce or even inserting ads in streams that other apps are playing. I love Roku and this is the first time I have ever been much concerned that Roku ads could be coming to places other than the home screen on Rokus. Fortunately I have other Emby clients that are not Rokus so if it becomes unbearable for me I have clients (Fire stick and Shield TV) that are not based on Roku at all and that are already proven to not let anyone insert ads in the stream. Of course both of those have ads on their home screen but those are pretty easy to suppress or ignore as needed. Roku has been going "bad" for about the last 7 years but nothing they have done before is even close to placing video ads on the "home" screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke 37216 Posted April 30 Share Posted April 30 Hi, yes I guess we will see how it shapes out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chyron 238 Posted April 30 Share Posted April 30 14 hours ago, Gilgamesh_48 said: I read this pretty carefully and I "think" the ads predicted only affect Roku TVs but i do not seem to be able to penetrate the gobbledygook well enough to be sure. [...] Roku has been going "bad" for about the last 7 years but nothing they have done before is even close to placing video ads on the "home" screen. I remember hearing people complain about ads showing up on Android TVs. I have an Nvidia Shield, so I was concerned that they might some day include set top boxes. And then one day they did. It made me glad that I can install a custom launcher on my Shield: https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/99519-nvidia-shield-home-screen-ads/#comment-1041193 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilgamesh_48 946 Posted April 30 Author Share Posted April 30 41 minutes ago, Chyron said: I remember hearing people complain about ads showing up on Android TVs. I have an Nvidia Shield, so I was concerned that they might some day include set top boxes. And then one day they did. It made me glad that I can install a custom launcher on my Shield: https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/99519-nvidia-shield-home-screen-ads/#comment-1041193 Ads on the home screen are only a problem for me if they must be watched before proceeding on to actual content. I almost never watch the home screen as I prefer to watch content. When the ads are forced, like some services do when content is launched, like watching an ad before the content plays, it is often too intrusive and I often go to another service. Almost nothing, for me, is important enough to suffer through an ad to watch. Most things I have seen on my Shield or Fire stick still allow you to browse while the ad plays so, to use my Shield as an example, I mute the sound when I start my Shield and unmute after I choose the app i want to use. I can usually effectively ignore the visuals as long as the sound is off. The thing the I am dreading is clients like Roku, Shield or Fire playing pre-launch ads that must be watched to completion before the app starts. For me that would be a deal breaker. I have not had the need to use a custom launcher, at least yet. But, if the ads become unskipable, I will either use a custom launcher or use a different client. I prefer my Rokus for watching content and I would really hate it if my Rokus even become unusable due to intrusive ads. BTW: I have heard rumblings that NVIDIA is investigating forbidding custom launchers and, if true, that would be a huge step in the wrong direction. The streaming universe seems to be becoming a continuous fight between ads being forced and people devising new ways to avoid ads. Right not it seems, industry is strongly leaning toward forced ads. Unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chyron 238 Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 19 hours ago, Gilgamesh_48 said: BTW: I have heard rumblings that NVIDIA is investigating forbidding custom launchers and, if true, that would be a huge step in the wrong direction. Agreed. I did some googling and haven't found anything to suggest that is true. Anything remotely resembling that discussion appears to be rather old and blamed on Google. Part of the beauty of Android is its customizability. I should certainly think that removing custom launchers would be a bad idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanmaCanada 359 Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 They will be coming. Roku also has a patent on injecting ads into any HDMI stream connected to their devices. If you don't have a pi-hole, this is your warning that they are now necessary. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One2Go 98 Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 If Roku does the video adds it then depends on how much of an annoyance they are and how quickly can they be skipped. If they are mandatory watching, then I will ditch my Rokus and buy and Apple TV 4K box and be done with Roku. Just hope that the Emby app for Apple is as good as for Roku. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilgamesh_48 946 Posted May 2 Author Share Posted May 2 9 hours ago, One2Go said: If Roku does the video adds it then depends on how much of an annoyance they are and how quickly can they be skipped. If they are mandatory watching, then I will ditch my Rokus and buy and Apple TV 4K box and be done with Roku. Just hope that the Emby app for Apple is as good as for Roku. You really think an Apple product will be an improvement? Apple is not noted for respecting users at all. I will look for an Android product that I can be comfortable with but I would NEVER expect an Apple product to be useable by me. I guess if it gets real bad and extends to my Shield and Fire there are a LOT of third party Android devices and they are usually quite customizable. BTW: I do own an Apple TV, i received it as a promotion for trying a local cable bundle, I tried it for a while but i found it clumsy and intrusive so it has sat unused in my rack for well over a year. But this is why we have variety in clients. If one size fit all then there would be no need for variety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanmaCanada 359 Posted May 2 Share Posted May 2 16 hours ago, One2Go said: If Roku does the video adds it then depends on how much of an annoyance they are and how quickly can they be skipped. If they are mandatory watching, then I will ditch my Rokus and buy and Apple TV 4K box and be done with Roku. Just hope that the Emby app for Apple is as good as for Roku. Apple TV is HORRIBLE for Emby. Just read the Apple TV support threads about HDR and DV support, subtitle support, and other issues. If you want the best experience it's either a Shield or a 3rd Gen Firecube. Apple is great if you never want to leave their ecosystem, ever. As soon as you try to do anything that you feel the box should be able to do, you find out you're handcuffed to their choices. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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