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Google TV's homescreen video ads now include fast food too (9to5google.com)

submitted 9 months ago by SVcross@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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Yeah, because everyone is asking for that. They will force ads into everything they can, because Google is an Ad company.

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[-] knobbysideup@sh.itjust.works 73 points 9 months ago

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spocky.projengmenu&pcampaignid=web_share is an easy install

[-] LoganNineFingers@lemmy.ca 16 points 9 months ago

You

Have made my day, most likely my week. Ads aside, I friggin HATE the Chromecast UI

Now, let's pretend that I'm 5 yrs old. How do I get this to. Be the default launcher? I've already combed through the settings options and can't seem to figure it out...

[-] knobbysideup@sh.itjust.works 13 points 9 months ago

Settings -> Projectivy Launcher Settings -> General -> Override current launcher

[-] LoganNineFingers@lemmy.ca 7 points 9 months ago

Plus, allowing it in accessibility options

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[-] quylaa@lemmy.ml 8 points 9 months ago

This is incredible, I've been annoyed at the home screen ads for years but I never thought to look at the chromecast app store. Super easy to set up and it looks really clean, thanks for the recommendation!

[-] GustavoFring@lemmy.world 8 points 9 months ago

Upvote this to heaven

[-] pirat@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago

FLauncher is another great option — and open source!

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[-] Jordan117@lemmy.world 58 points 9 months ago

[-] __init__@programming.dev 19 points 9 months ago

Go away! Batin’!

[-] ZeroCool@slrpnk.net 14 points 9 months ago

Water… like from the toilet??

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[-] 1984@lemmy.today 5 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Best comedy ever made.

[-] Dran_Arcana@lemmy.world 14 points 9 months ago

*documentary

[-] SVcross@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

Hell.

[-] cbarrick@lemmy.world 43 points 9 months ago

God damn it Google.

When I turn on the TV, it's fine if the masthead is a banner advertising a new show. I'm literally using the product to find things to watch.

But fast food? That can fuck right off.

[-] pete_the_cat@lemmy.world 12 points 9 months ago

I've had an Nvidia Shield since they came out, about 6 months ago when I started seeing a car ad I was like "it's time to switch to something else.."

[-] AtmaJnana@lemmy.world 9 points 9 months ago

Or just install a new launcher

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[-] flop_leash_973@lemmy.world 25 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I almost completely stopped going to the movies once the pre-roll stuff was ads for cars, food, etc instead of just movie trailers.

The more inconvenient Google makes avoiding ads on their platforms and services, the less of Googles platforms and services I will use.

For now I have a third party launcher setup on my CCwGTV in my living room, but the Apple TV 4k I have in my bedroom sure is looking nice these days with how well it performs and how much less trouble it is to setup and reset should I need/want to do that.

Going the HTPC route is less desirable to me since services like Amazon and Netflix go out of their way to restrict resolutions offered to things like a Debian box running Firefox. I could use Windows and Edge, but that would mean hitching myself to another company that seems more interested in selling me to advertisers than selling things to me.

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[-] EnderMB@lemmy.world 22 points 9 months ago

Has there been a company that has experienced such a fast fall from grace as Google?

Mere years ago they were viewed as the bastion of intellectuals in tech. They worked on stuff that was deemed "not evil", people that worked there were deemed the best and brightest, and their culture was celebrated so highly that literal movies have been made about working there.

Obviously, the reality is different from the vision, but in a short amount of time they've implemented URA, have had multiple mass layoffs where people were locked out overnight with no more than a sentence in an email after a decade of work, have doubled-down on enshitification of their services, and have alienated a significant chunk of their workers through RTO and cost cutting.

[-] gaifux@lemmy.world 8 points 9 months ago

Anyone who bought into the don't be evil story / marketing is being willfully naive. Like all the big tech companies they're basically intelligence fronts. Big tech is big brother. You don't even have to look hard to see how intertwined with the CIA / NSA Google had been from the beginning. Furthermore, Snowden's exposure of PRISM made it clear that it wasn't just a few grants early on, it was setup by design to limit govt liability yet allow mass surveillance to go on unabated and the entire launch of Gmail is yet a single token example. Don't trust big tech.

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[-] driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 22 points 9 months ago

Fucking uber have ads, my bank app have ads, everything have ads now. It's a Fucking nightmare.

[-] SVcross@lemmy.world 12 points 9 months ago

And, no kidding, sometimes ads have ads.

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[-] goferking0@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 9 months ago

Gas station pumps have fucking ads while you pump

[-] circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 9 months ago

We were all fed the lie that ads were a necessity to "pay" for services that were otherwise free to the consumer. Of course, it was always the plan to charge for anything that really took hold, and it was concurrently the plan to throw more and more ads on everything anyway -- it's just now, they're considered normalized.

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[-] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 19 points 9 months ago

Google and Roku primarily make money from ads.

Apple does some stuff that isn’t great, but the Apple TV doesn’t have ads like their competitors. Apps can advertise what’s inside of them when they’re selected, but that’s it on the Home Screen.

[-] dmtalon@infosec.pub 15 points 9 months ago

Ya, so... They didn't GIVE me the Google TV device, I had to buy it. Therefore they got their money from me for that hardware. I'm not using other 'free' google products that cost them money on that device so why would they be showing ads? What cost are the recouping?

For the record, I have not seen this and we do have a number of google TV's in our house. However our primary TV uses an Nvidia Shield.

[-] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 7 points 9 months ago

I’m a product designer who has worked on a lot of products that have been monetized with ads.

It’s pretty common for a company to split their revenue targets between register sales and monetization deals. You break even on the hardware, and make profit on the ads.

[-] dmtalon@infosec.pub 8 points 9 months ago

I sure would like the option to pay for the HW/profits up front and not have perpetual ads.

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[-] fox2263@lemmy.world 17 points 9 months ago

pats his Apple TV good boy

[-] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 16 points 9 months ago

Apple is not your friend.

[-] fox2263@lemmy.world 13 points 9 months ago

No ads. Fast box. All the apps I need.

[-] hightrix@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

Google is an advertising company. Apple is a hardware/software company. They have very different incentives from one another. Neither are my friend, but one’s entire business model runs on psychological manipulation, the other sells iPhones.

[-] maniajack@lemmy.world 10 points 9 months ago

I like that even if Google does something I don't like I can install my own launcher. Or buy a different device, apple is apple and you better be happy with what they want you to want.

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[-] Murdoc@sh.itjust.works 9 points 9 months ago

I hate to be the one to break it to you, but Apple uses a ton of psychological manipulation in order to sell those phones.

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[-] mipadaitu@lemmy.world 11 points 9 months ago

If you have a CCwGTV, you should be using Apps Only mode. Sucks that Google hides this, because I've found that this is the best streaming device for my needs, but they just keep pushing ads like this. Makes me want to do a homebrew chromecast device.

But switching to Apps Only mode is a decent workaround... for now. https://support.google.com/googletv/answer/10070784?hl=en

[-] redcalcium@lemmy.institute 10 points 9 months ago

Will this really remove the ads? From your link:

In Apps only mode, you don't get personalized recommendations on your home screen. You’ll find a list of installed apps that you can open to find something to watch. You'll also find sponsored content and teasers for popular movies and shows.

[-] mipadaitu@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

There's still a single banner at the top, but it's not a giant scroll of ads, and you only have to click down once to get to the apps, instead of scrolling past a whole page of "suggestions"

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[-] dan1101@lemm.ee 4 points 9 months ago

There are now food ads in Apps Only mode on my TCL Google TV.

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[-] breadsmasher@lemmy.world 8 points 9 months ago

Google is, and always has been, an advertising company. Thats their bread and butter

[-] bbigras@sh.itjust.works 9 points 9 months ago

I understand putting ads on a free service like Google search or YouTube. But I bought this fucking Chromecast. I even suggested it to friends and family.

Another case that pisses me off is having bought a pixel watch at premium price and they want me to pay a monthly shitty Fitbit subscription to provide me with some trivial computations.

Same thing with their Google home screen. You pay a good price and you need a subscription to use the fucking sleep sensor that you paid for.

Another one is having a premium pixel pro and they still want me to buy a Google one subscription to get useless photos filters with Google photos.

I love that Android is open source (mainly) but fuck you Google you are an embarrassment to your former self.

[-] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 8 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

There is a reason why these things are under $50, and the boxes without ads cost 3x more. This is always Google’s playbook. Start with limited ads on a free or cheap service, then open things up to a monetization team to milk it.

[-] TexasDrunk@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

That's how they started. Small, tasteful, text only ads. It's how they got all their market share. Everyone loved them because at the time the internet was a nightmare of pop up ads, toolbars, and seizure inducing flashing boxes.

It's like when the big box stores come in with lower prices to drive smaller shops out of business then jack up their prices once they're the only game in the area. It happens less now because they used those tactics years ago to push out Main Street, but you can still see it from time to time.

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[-] machinin@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago

If you have a pi-hole or other way to block access to your network, I've found these useful to block:

androidtvwatsonfe-pa.googleapis.com

androidtvchannels-pa.googleapis.com

androidtvlauncherxfe-pa.googleapis.com

[-] Dariusmiles2123@sh.itjust.works 5 points 9 months ago

I hope Flauncher or other alternatives are here to stay..

[-] obinice@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

I thought fast food TV adverts were illegal in the UK?

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this post was submitted on 30 Jan 2024

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