And Google enters the fray...

[mark-in-dallas 86]

I just bought a Mi Box S and set it up yesterday, and watched a couple of recordings and a little bit of live tv and have not seen any pixelation issues as of yet.  I did have the featured ads though, and was able to get rid of them by uninstalling updates to the Android TV Home app in Settings > Apps > System Apps.

Edited August 26, 2020 by mark-in-dallas

[Sammy 735]

8 minutes ago, mark-in-dallas said:

I just bought a Mi Box S and set it up yesterday, and watched a couple of recordings and a little bit of live tv and have not seen any pixelation issues as of yet.  I did have the featured ads though, and was able to get rid of them by uninstalling updates to the Android TV Home app in Settings > Apps > System Apps.

Which system app? There are dozens of them. Doh! Android TV Home app.. LOL NICE WORK!

I wonder if this is persistent and overnight it'll happen again?

Edited August 26, 2020 by Sammy

[Riggs 300]

I don't have ads on my Nvidia. I have everything updated, but I have blocked all the content of the Home and if something that I install starts to show I remove it, YouTube at some point was annoying but from the settings -> home I could turn off all that.
Disabling Amazon, if you don't use it is a good idea too.
I also don't have my location enabled and I take care of removing permissions that some apps assign themselves.
In the case of Emby it is not yet possible to use the search system without making a request to the microphone. That's really annoying @ebr

[mark-in-dallas 86]

2 minutes ago, Sammy said:

I wonder if this is persistent and overnight it'll happen again?

I just checked and yeah the ads did come back.  I was able to uninstall updates again and make them go away again, but to get rid of them for good I guess I'll have to look for another solution, if there is one. 

[mark-in-dallas 86]

So a bit of good news, when I uninstalled updates to the Android TV Home app the first time I forgot to turn off auto updates.  When I did it the second time and did disable updating the featured ads have not come back.  I am guessing that at some point Google will force it in a system update, but for now they are still gone anyway.  And, if they do come back I think installed a different launcher would probably make them go away.

[BAlGaInTl 279]

On 8/19/2020 at 5:03 PM, sooty234 said:

Shield may not be getting this.

https://9to5google.com/2020/08/19/nvidia-shield-tv-seems-like-it-might-be-exempt-from-android-tvs-new-homescreen-ads/amp/

I read that as well.  I was considering getting a Shield Pro for my Sony set for the improved upscaling.  I guess this seals the deal.  I'll be disconnectring my Sony from the internet once I get one. 

On 8/24/2020 at 10:47 AM, Sammy said:

Anyone have success blocking it at the router using ad blocking? 

That's an interesting idea.... If you run PiVPN or something similar it may work if you can figure out where they are being served from.  But then you would probably just end up with an empty row, but it would still be there.

[Sammy 735]

On 8/27/2020 at 5:05 AM, mark-in-dallas said:

So a bit of good news, when I uninstalled updates to the Android TV Home app the first time I forgot to turn off auto updates.  When I did it the second time and did disable updating the featured ads have not come back.  I am guessing that at some point Google will force it in a system update, but for now they are still gone anyway.  And, if they do come back I think installed a different launcher would probably make them go away.

Where did you turn off auto updates? I'm using MiBox s BTW.

[Sammy 735]

On 9/1/2020 at 8:52 AM, BAlGaInTl said:

I read that as well.  I was considering getting a Shield Pro for my Sony set for the improved upscaling.  I guess this seals the deal.  I'll be disconnectring my Sony from the internet once I get one. 

That's an interesting idea.... If you run PiVPN or something similar it may work if you can figure out where they are being served from.  But then you would probably just end up with an empty row, but it would still be there.

Therein lies the riff. I can block specific IP addresses in my Unified Dream Machine but I just need to know what to block.

[mark-in-dallas 86]

21 minutes ago, Sammy said:

Where did you turn off auto updates? I'm using MiBox s BTW.

I've got a Mi Box S myself.  To block auto updates go to Apps -> Get More Apps -> Settings -> Auto Update Apps, and click the Don't Update radio button.

BTW, the advertisements still have not come back, so unless and until Google forces it through as a system update all is good.

[Sammy 735]

23 minutes ago, mark-in-dallas said:

I've got a Mi Box S myself.  To block auto updates go to Apps -> Get More Apps -> Settings -> Auto Update Apps, and click the Don't Update radio button.

BTW, the advertisements still have not come back, so unless and until Google forces it through as a system update all is good.

But does this block updates for other apps, such as Emby, Prime and Netflix too?

 

[Carlo 4330]

14 minutes ago, Sammy said:

But does this block updates for other apps, such as Emby, Prime and Netflix too?

Yes, but you can manually update apps one by one anytime you want as well.

[ebr 14910]

Resistance is futile...

You guys are just going to cause yourselves more problems down the road trying to block updates.  The suggestions really aren't that big of a deal.  Just scroll by and ignore them if you wish.  Or, maybe, you'll actually catch a glimpse of something interesting and find some new entertainment.