I have 2 “smart” tvs. IMHO I don’t connect them to the internet.
Use a device (, pi-running Plex or kodi?)
Edit. Removed roku
Do not recommend Roku please.
Done. Honestly it was one of the first that popped in other than roll your own…
I like Plex Ymmv
Get yourself a small pc like a intel nuc and use it instead
I already have a Raspberry Pi 4 with 2GB of RAM lying around. Can I somehow connect it to the TV and use it via the TV remote? If so, what OS would I need to install to it, and what software would I use?
LibreELEC with a FLIRC dongle and a cheapo infrared remote. If you have any bluetooth console controllers laying around, you can use those too so long as they have good Linux support. There's Kodi addons for popular streaming services and LibreELEC also offers an SFTP addon in case you want a local media server setup instead.
Kodi
People around here like to pretend Netflix, Hulu and the like don't exist. A HTPC will be neither user-friendly or remotely good quality in this fashion. Most programs will be limited to 720p if you use linux. No you cannot control it with a remote, you'll need a keyboard and mouse.
1.Install a network-wide VPN or ad-blocker like Proton, AdGuard, or PiHole
2.Buy a $20 ONN device from WalMart and plug it in and use that to watch your programs with SmartTubeNext
3.All of the above.
That's a really hard problem to solve. But my advice, and what was working for me last time I tried, was using the Pi-hole as an exit node and forcing as much traffic through it as possible. The only downside to this is that your Pi-hole dashboard will be less interesting because your devices will show as the Pi-hole itself. If you're already doing that, then my only guess is getting obsessive about domain blocking until it stops, and even that will have its limits.
If you can not install anything, your only choice is probably to set up a pihole or something similar on your network.
Edit: Some models seem to have advanced settings, where you can change the DNS - you could try to use adguard dns servers, or any DNS adblocker you want to use.
I already have, but piHole doesn't block YouTube ads.
Weird how people are saying it should work, lol. Blocking YouTube ads with pihole most definitely does not work. Cannot work even, it's just how YouTube works.
I'm afraid that using something like a googletv stick (or nvidia shield etc) and installing smarttube is your best bet.
Yupp that works well with CCWGTV for now.
Probably a smoother experience than the built in OS too. Hoping for a new Shield with the upcomming Switch so I can leave yet another Google product behind
Can confirm. Pi-hole does not block YouTube smart TV app ads. Hasn't for a long time (2018ish?)
I use sefiniks (sp?) lists which has a YouTube list but no luck.
Check your blocklist and keep in mind that YouTube is testing server side ads muxed into the media streams, which will not be blocked by traditional adblocking techniques.
My pi-hole has almost 1.4mil+ domains blocked. It doesn't work on most streaming services. At least in my configuration. It absolutely works everywhere else. And I do have a Roku device in one of the kids rooms. It's one of the biggest offenders with blocked requests. Telemetry I'd assume, attempted at least.
Maybe not with your default lists enabled, you may need to expand. You could also try AdGuard and see if you get any better results with their defaults if you already have the Pihole in place.
Are you sure it isn't Android?
Yes
Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.
In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.
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