this just in: buying closed-source black boxes that are wholly under the control of a faceless profit-seeking entity results in a bad experience when said profit-seeking entity starts scraping pennies out of the user's asshole against their will and also has zero incentive to improve user experience or freedom when the user is already platform locked
Like them, I had the same lesson after changes to Google Home, Smartthings and have moved entirely to cheap stuff that works with Home Assistant and allows me total control
The $20-30 cheap garbage is exactly what it is: cheap garbage.
Apple charges a premium for their streaming box, but guess what: the 4K AppleTV they released in 2017 is still going strong. I’ve had this thing for seven years, it shows no ads on the main screen, and still gets updates. And it’s still fast as hell.
Maybe the enshittification is just on all these Android streamers? I have a Chromecast with GoogleTV in my bedroom, and it’s fine. But it’s just about two years old and already sluggish (especially compared to the AppleTV), and every time I turn it on it takes longer than it should to update the Home Screen with trash I don’t care about.
For those that don't know, forced arbitration or they'll brick *the device you *paid for. Before you agreed to that.
Not who you responded to but I am absolutely concerned about it. I use my Roku currently, but when it dies or I upgrade, there's no chance I'll continue to support that company and their bullshit. And the enshittification of greedy companies continues...
Thanks for the elaboration. I was really dismayed because the Roku stick felt like the simple, safe option for so long compared to Amazon and Google. I’d pay extra for an Apple TV, but sometimes I actually like the stick format.
Totally, me too. ☹️ I think the issue is that, like smart TVs, these companies still have so, so much control over your device after you buy it, up to and including making it completely inoperable...
My thoughts exactly. Apple is literally still providing new functionality to 10 year old AppleTV HD boxes, and they're still performant.
If you're concerned about longevity, you kind of need to purchase with that in mind.
IMHO, I have no problem with the hardware the author purchased, but I can't say that I'm surprised to hear that long term support is an issue for Amazon, Google, and android TV stuff.
The problem is that there are no good alternatives. I don't like Apple and I don't want to support them. The Android world is terrible, all devices are locked down and sold by awful companies, or if they aren't, they are probably made by non-reputable Chinese manufacturers.
The only option is to buy a mini PC (like a NUC, or similar) or reuse some older/second hand PC/laptop, and install your own software.
It's not convenient, but the only way you're not going to get burned. And the software is rough, I personally don't like Kodi... I just use it like a computer with a wireless keyboard with integrated trackpad.
My thought is that all of these players kind of suck and screw over their users in different ways.
If you’re not pirating and running a media server, and you just want a dumb thing for your family to not worry about when you’re gone, you’re going to have to pick your poison.
Not sure of you can hear all the way up there on your high horse but I have a couple of fire sticks I got for free in a promo... Never paid monthly fee to Amazon, still get updates and the only commercials I see are posters for whatever new movies are out which is a great prompt for me to pirate
I got these because the size (physical size) was amazing, much better looking than a Old PC near every TV... Android provided enough flexibility (not open like a Linux box but not listed like an apple appliance), I can side load the apps I use
These threads always have comments like “I want a fast device that’s well built and has years of software update support and doesn’t have ads and respects my privacy…but I’m not an Apple customer”.
I mean, fine, fuck Apple. But stop buying the cheap alternatives and complaining about them.
What a stupid title. As if anybody's buying smart devices in the hope they'll be worth more someday.
My on topic advice: if you rely on your smart TV to get to your content, you're going to have a bad time. Get a small computer instead, and treat your "smart" TV as a monitor, nothing more.
I did get myself an nvidia shield last year, and after switching out the stock launcher for something that doesn't show ads (and better yet, launches straight into plex at boot), I couldn't be happier.
Out of curiosity, which is the launcher you chose?
I froze the stock launcher at the last version without Ads. It works, but I guess some entries like "continue watching" could be bugging out now because it is out of date/never patched.
Yes, I still love my Shield, but there's no doubt it's getting long in the tooth, and there aren't any true replacements on the horizon. The Shield has also lost some features through time, like Nvidia's local game streaming, though Moonlight and Steam have helped fill that gap.
I was getting "suggestions" to install apps for streaming platforms like Disney or hbo which I had to scroll past before I could start the apps I installed myself.
Maybe you're on a different firmware version from me.
If you need a cache cleaner and other third party maintenance software constantly available on your video streaming box to make it nice to use… maybe you should have abandoned that platform years ago.
But the article is otherwise correct, the enshitification of platforms with ads and the removal of enthusiast features does suck.
