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Comment by netruk44 | Hacker News Reader

I also have an Nvidia shield that now sits unused for the simple reason that Google forced ads onto the home screen.

It used to be that the Shield was the one bastion away from ads on Android TV, then with one update that somehow manages to reinstall itself despite being completely disconnected from the internet, there are now permanently ads on my Nvidia Shield TV.

I honestly don't know why it's such a big deal for me, but I basically never use it anymore. It's real shame, I got a lot of good use out of it, because as you mention the support has been going on for years now. But I will not subject myself to ads if I can help it. I pay for Youtube to avoid ads, I pay for Twitch to avoid ads. I can't pay to remove ads from my Android TV homescreen (that I didn't even have for the past like 5 years)

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I was the same, really pissed off when they made the change. Luckily, it's android, so you can install a custom launcher. I remember I had to play around with adb a bit, but after that, it's smooth sailing. I use FLauncher[0], but there might be something better out there.

[0] https://gitlab.com/flauncher/flauncher

Thank you for this link! I, like a moron, kept looking on the play store for something and only saw garbage. Never thought to sideload.

The nagging in the android launcher has got more and more obnoxious recently. Half the time I open an app it asks if I want to "add it to my discover" with the only options being "yes" or "later". Infuriating.

Oh wow, I was put off from getting one because of the ad update a few years ago. If this works well enough I'll probably actually get one now

Are you saying this works with a Shield TV?

Yes, I've switched out launcher on my Shield TV to one that only shows a few app buttons. It works fine.

It is possible to plug your shield into your PC and sideload a new launcher which doesn't have ads, it's not too difficult (tho installing adb is a hassle).

I heard on reddit that if Nvidia even hints that this is possible, they violate the license agreements with Google, and then Google is allowed to yank the play store...

Do you know if it has to be plugged in to sideload a launcher? I sideload apps through wireless adb and it was pretty easy to get set up.

Should work but I haven't tried it

That works. That's what I did

The home screen ads are infuriating. I know it's Android, by Google, but I bought the freakin device. It wasn't cheap. And they added this retroactively. Shame on Google and shame on Nvidia for allowing it.

I used a 3rd party launcher but there wasn't a way (at the time) to make it the default.

Personally, I don't see what the big deal is. I don't have an Nvidia device, but I do have an Android/Google TV. I really don't care about all the "recommended" crap on the home screen; I just ignore it all, and use my remove to skip down to the SmartTubeNext icon and open that app to watch YouTube videos ad-free (no sponsor messages either!). Or I use a different button that leaves the home screen and takes me to a file manager to view the files I've loaded on my USB stick so I can watch those (I decline to say where these files came from exactly). These are the only 2 things I need out of a TV.

I've been a year or so using Sponsor block in addition to basic ad blocking. Now any device that doesn't offer both simply is a complete non starter for me.

you mean something like that?

https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTubeNext/

I mostly stream to "dumb" devices connected directly to a display. I hate smart TVs. You can still use a remote and stuff by just opening `youtube.com/tv` in the browser and you can even use a remote/phone to control it.

For mobile you can use ReVanced.

That app is a godsend.

What kind of ads? I see recommendations for movies that I would have to purchase but not general ads in my Chromecast.

Those are ads.

It's not like they're showing you ads about shoes or kitchen utensils. It's a TV appliance so.. what else did you expect? A blank screen with just the Netflix icon? Are the Netflix recommendations ads too?

> what else did you expect? A blank screen with just the Netflix icon?

Yes

> Are the Netflix recommendations ads too?

Yes

We're entering troll space, I see.

Not really.

it's just that the tolerance towards unsolicited promotional material / ads varies from person to person.

It's not trolling.

They are ads, and I also would prefer a tastefully blank screen with none of them.

Just to add support to that post.

Call me old fashioned, but my TV should display exactly what I tell it to display and precisely nothing else.

This is your brain on ads.

> I pay for Youtube to avoid ads

As Google clearly doesn't respect your boundaries, maybe stop giving them money?

eg stop rewarding them for their current behaviour

I choose to pay for YouTube Premium to support the content creators. I doubt they will get paid if I used an ad blocker.

Interesting. Most of the content creators I tend to watch (not that many really) organise their own sponsorships. eg "This video brought to you by XYZ"

For those, using an ad blocker won't make much difference. But I guess if the content creators important to you are relying on youtube's monetisation, they would indeed be affected.

Not sure how else to send a signal to Youtube though, as they only seem to care about revenue. Seems like there's only that one lever that can be pulled. eg "ad blocker or not?"

Interesting I haven't seen any ads, although I do use the Dan Pollock hosts file on my router to block a lot of stuff: http://someonewhocares.org/hosts/

I was on the verge of buying a Shield but this has put me off.

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