Edit: ok your comments just made me buy a cheap android TV box, thanks guyz x

96 points

Please everyone if you’re not using something like Ublock Origin (best in the game imo) you’re doing the internet wrong.

Some say they play ads to support content creators but they make almost nothing from them because Google is so greedy. Best way to support them is direct, $5 on buy me a coffee or a patreon subscription.

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18 points

I agree with you, don’t shout at me please 😭 I just can’t use ublock on my TV and I’m too lazy to plug my laptop in.

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26 points

If you have a smart tv or nvidia shield that can sideload apps, I recommend SmartTube

https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTubeNext

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6 points

You can side load on Roku too? Literally tried googling this and every thread was like “not possible”

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5 points

Thank you. It’s a really old smart TV though and it just has a handful of pre-selected apps you can install.

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9 points

If it’s an android tv, install smarttubenext and never look back.

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9 points

Whenever possible, just pay them directly through PayPal or a similar service. Out of the money you pay to someone on Patreon, the creator usually ends up with less than 50% due to VAT, payment processor fees, Patreon fees, and income tax. By skipping Patreon, the creator doesn’t lose out to VAT and Patreon fees.

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8 points

More creators need to start using Liberapay. It’s a non-profit organization that funds itself via donations, so the only fees it charges are the ones being passed through from the underlying payment processor. It also avoids VAT by prohibiting creators from offering anything in exchange for payment.

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9 points

Also, for mobile there’s revanced.

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5 points

And uYou+ for iOS.

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9 points
*

Also, firefox on android (and I suspect iOS) allows you to install extensions including ad blockers.

Faster, saves battery, prevents sites from breaking on mobile.

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11 points

Not on iOS, because Apple forces all browsers on iOS to just be safari with a different look

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5 points

Take a look at “vinegar” in the app store. It’s a safari extension that changes the video tag on youtube videos and removes the ads.

I don’t explain it well, and it costs money (fyi), but it’s working for me.

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8 points

I just pay $11 for YouTube premium. I did it entirely for YouTube Music (Google Music) but the ad free YouTube was just a nice bonus.

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5 points

Or New Pipe on phone. It’s quite a while since I saw any ad on YT.

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2 points

Honestly I forget youtube has ads sometimes

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5 points

even giving just 1 dollar is equal to about 50-500 views

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23 points

Saw your edit, just a reminder for people to be careful with cheap Android TV boxes off Amazon/AliExpress etc. Lots of them are malware-ladden: https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/18/popular-android-tv-boxes-sold-on-amazon-are-laced-with-malware/

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8 points

I got a very cheap 4k Spectre tv from Walmart. I specifically wanted a “dumb” tv because I have an Xbox and I don’t need overly complicated, slow, janky interface. It has this funny issue when I put my router behind it where the volume goes up and down by itself. I moved the router and the issue is gone.

I have been surprised by it. It was so cheap I thought it couldn’t possibly be decent, but I barely watch tv so it was whatever.

4k video is absolutely beautiful on there. I half expected or to be lying on the box.

I don’t see the point in smart tvs (at least for me).

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2 points
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I don’t see the point in smart tvs (at least for me).

Right?! Paying more for a smart TV when you can just get a PS4 or something for cheap and use it for any app you could possibly want on your smart TV is just so much cheaper.

My girlfriend and I have been living together for 3+ years and her father keeps recommending that we set up our TV to watch Netflix on it directly for convenience. Dude, our PS5 is basically running all day anyway. Why would I want to go through the hassle of connecting my TV to our WiFi and then mess around with a shitty remote to search for stuff I want to watch on YouTube or Netflix? Not worth it for me at all. Not everything needs to be a smart device.

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3 points

I recommend the Onn one

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2 points

I got the Easytone T95super after reading an Expert Reviews review, is that any relation to the Allwinner T95? Have I made a grave error? 😂

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3 points

Unfortunately there’s so many OEM variants of these things that it borderlines on impossible to tell for certain which ones are and which ones aren’t, short of taking the firmware apart. Given the proximity in the naming convention, I suspect it might be.

Much as I dislike Google, the Chromecast with Google TV (4K) variant is probably the closest in price and is reputable.

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2 points

Thank you :)

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Black Mirror had an episode about this!

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12 points

I was just thinking, wasn’t there something a out having to watch ads, and if you looked away the ad would stop until your eyes returned to the screen….

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Yep, you either pay to skip the ad or have to watch it.

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3 points

We’re getting there

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16 points

DRINK VERIFICATION CAN

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15 points

Don’t buy youtube premium

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2 points

Why? I have it for YouTube Music and it works great plus no ads on YouTube.

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9 points

Just use an adblock and you don’t give money to google

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2 points

But I don’t mind giving money to Google for using Google Music/YouTube Music. The no ads on YouTube is just a bonus. I’m paying for the convivence of playing any song I want on any device anywhere I am. And I assume a portion of that fee goes to the artists, although I admittedly don’t know how that works.

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