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Roku Unveils Redesigned Home Screen

Oooh new home screen wow. Garbage devices garbage OS that takes 1 minute to change a channel, 20 times worse than any cable TV setup from the 80's. Filled with advertising garbage, filled with spyware that reports every item you watch to the big daddy.

Stick with Apple TV, the only device that is responsive and respects your intentions.

Any TV that asks for your WiFi password: no. Block it on the router or give it temporary access via an ethernet cord when absolutely required. Do not use "intelligent" stupid and dumb built-in media functionality.

Only use the Apple TV for anything online.
 
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Um... are we certain this is actually new? I helped a friend setup a Roku two months ago and this is the interface they had. Small category icons on the left side, 4 columns of "channels" in the middle, big advertisement poster on the right...

For that matter this is the Roku interface on my brother's Roku when he bought his house last fall...

For that matter this is the Roku interface that's been on a friend's TV since 2022 on a TV that was purchased, good lord, in 2018?
 
Justin Cymbal said:
I’d rather have competition THAN no competition….even if I don’t like what they offer, the market itself (we the consumer) will determine if the offering holds value and respond accordingly thru purchasing or lack thereof

Competition is what drives innovation and lowers pricing, without it, you have monopolies which of course limit both pricing and innovation
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This is not the competition you want... https://www.lowpass.cc/p/roku-hdmi-ad-insertion-patent
 
I've had an Apple TV for years but am considering switching to a Roku or Google box.

The TV app is no longer content agnostic like it used to be when they first rolled it out. It used to be a hub for all of your services and curate recommendations from all of them.

Now the TV app is just an ATV+ circle jerk. I don't subscribe to Apple TV+ and am not interested, but the top 80% of the screen is nothing but banner ads for Apple TV shows.

I'm pretty sick of it to be honest and I would like to use a device that offers a more neutral "content hub".
 
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ignatius345 said:
Same. And I’ve been using the same ATV for like 3 years and still going strong, so that “extra” cost was forgotten long ago...
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I literally had a conversation earlier today with my brother-in-law about his 10-year old Apple TV (I believe it's the 4th gen Apple TV; i.e. the first to utilize the modern tvOS) and whether it's worth upgrading to the latest one. Beyond his not supporting 4K output (which doesn't matter since his TV is only 1080p), and the obvious SoC upgrades, the capabilities b/w his 10 year old Apple TV and my latest gen Apple TV 4K are nearly identical. As long as you're just streaming and not trying to play games or anything, a 10-year old Apple TV runs circles around the latest Rokus or Amazon Fires Sticks (not that a Roku or Fire Stick can play games...)
 
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carniesandrubes said:
Yet another company that thinks they know what you want to watch better than you do.

Glad I ditched Roku years ago.
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To use what?
I have a Roku Hisense TV and I am lucky in that Roku don,t really change anything on it. I don't know if that is because it is a Hisense Tv, or because it is a Tv or because I am in the U.K.
Looking at other TV/streaming devices Operating systems, there is little to choose between them. Fire OS is full of ads, on their devices and tv sets. AndroidTv is no better and Viddaa Os that Hisense seems to use now is awful.

To me Roku seems to be the better one, even if they do change it.
 
Ad47uk said:
To use what?
I have a Roku Hisense TV and I am lucky in that Roku don,t really change anything on it. I don't know if that is because it is a Hisense Tv, or because it is a Tv or because I am in the U.K.
Looking at other TV/streaming devices Operating systems, there is little to choose between them. Fire OS is full of ads, on their devices and tv sets. AndroidTv is no better and Viddaa Os that Hisense seems to use now is awful.

To me Roku seems to be the better one, even if they do change it.
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The obvious answer is an Apple TV
 
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Joooeforlong said:
I've had an Apple TV for years but am considering switching to a Roku or Google box.

The TV app is no longer content agnostic like it used to be when they first rolled it out. It used to be a hub for all of your services and curate recommendations from all of them.

Now the TV app is just an ATV+ circle jerk. I don't subscribe to Apple TV+ and am not interested, but the top 80% of the screen is nothing but banner ads for Apple TV shows.

I'm pretty sick of it to be honest and I would like to use a device that offers a more neutral "content hub".
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Just don't use the TV app? You can easily reprogram the TV looking button on the Apple TV remote to go to the Apple TV home screen instead of the TV app. That way you can just have a grid of your preferred streaming apps and open them individually. Maybe not the solution you're looking for, but there are never ads on the Apple TV Home Screen.
 
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Not appeared on any of ours so far. When my Dad got himself 4K Roku and given me HD Roku and I only used it for BBC iPlayer (UK) cos they was only one stubborn NOT adding subtitles when it is everywhere else and all other streaming apps do on Apple TV. 10 years later, last year BBC iPlayer FINALLY added subtitles to Apple TV then I ditched HD Roku and given back to Dad and he use it as other room when he irons.

Current layout is simple even mum can use it (she is absolutely awful with tech). I think new screen will confuse mum. I hope it won't appear for while so I don't need go through with her and explain.
 
AppleTO said:
Yes, at least for me it does. I don’t have the new home screen yet though.
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I have been wanting to set up pi hole for our network, I think I am going to have to.

BTW awesome avatar! Our family owned construction company used to sell Robertson Steel building systems when we had it and they built the pod at the top of the CN tower. I still have the model of the tower in chrome that we as a builder/dealer was given when the tower was opened.
 
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koelsh said:
Um... are we certain this is actually new? I helped a friend setup a Roku two months ago and this is the interface they had. Small category icons on the left side, 4 columns of "channels" in the middle, big advertisement poster on the right...

For that matter this is the Roku interface on my brother's Roku when he bought his house last fall...

For that matter this is the Roku interface that's been on a friend's TV since 2022 on a TV that was purchased, good lord, in 2018?
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You are mistaken about the latter 2. This interface was “beta forced” over the last few months.
 
Joooeforlong said:
I've had an Apple TV for years but am considering switching to a Roku or Google box.

The TV app is no longer content agnostic like it used to be when they first rolled it out. It used to be a hub for all of your services and curate recommendations from all of them.

Now the TV app is just an ATV+ circle jerk. I don't subscribe to Apple TV+ and am not interested, but the top 80% of the screen is nothing but banner ads for Apple TV shows.

I'm pretty sick of it to be honest and I would like to use a device that offers a more neutral "content hub".
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Such a device doesn’t exist.
 
Disaster incoming in 3, 2, 1...

Also "Roku says this change provides a cleaner canvas for discovering content, but it also results in a large ad being shown persistently on the right side of the screen." Right, so the second part is the real reason...the large persistent ad on screen.

1779976583364.png
 
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The problem with the automatic software update model is that developers can change the terms of the deal behind your back. Roku updates automatically and there is no way to disable the feature. Frankly, it sucks.

Apple is also guilty of this to a smaller degree, using updates to push their services and degrade experience rather than having to produce marketable improvements. It's no coincidence that Apple's fastest operating system was Mac OS X 10.6, just before the change to push services began. Broadly speaking the best UIs from all companies were from the mid 2000s before this started.
 
noraa said:
Just don't use the TV app? You can easily reprogram the TV looking button on the Apple TV remote to go to the Apple TV home screen instead of the TV app. That way you can just have a grid of your preferred streaming apps and open them individually. Maybe not the solution you're looking for, but there are never ads on the Apple TV Home Screen.
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I mean, sure. But I want a "Home Page" where my subscriptions converge and serves as a hub for what I'm already watching, as well as recommendations.

This is what the TV app started as and I don't understand why this doesn't seem to bother anyone else lol.

Everyone likes to say that Apple TV doesn't have ads. But as someone who isn't an ATV+ subscriber, the TV app is ALL ads for Apple TV+.
 
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ikramerica said:
Such a device doesn’t exist.
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But this is literally what the article is about. The updated Roku Home Screen is built around acting as a hub for your services.

Is some of it going to be sponsored? Sure. But the entire Apple TV app is just one big ad for Apple TV+.

If you go into the TV app and scroll down far enough, eventually it shows you recommendations from other apps. I counted, and you need to navigate down 21 times to get there.
 
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