4 ms·

It's worth noting that Roku devices apparently send a lot of information about your usage habits back to their servers, so if "privacy" is one of your reasons f

It's worth noting that Roku devices apparently send a lot of information about your usage habits back to their servers, so if "privacy" is one of your reasons for choosing a dumb TV, perhaps Roku's not the best choice. Not sure if there are authoritative deep dives out there, but here's what the Pi-hole folks saw: https://pi-hole.net/2018/09/19/what-really-happens-on-your-network-part-eight/#page-content https://pi-hole.net/2018/09/19/what-really-happens-on-your-n... I was disappointed but not surprised to learn that. My experiences with Rokus have been really positive. Tracking issues aside, the user experience is pleasantly simple and responsive. A great example of "it just works" hardware+software. In fact, my 85 year-old dad and his tech-phobic wife even had positive things to say about the remote and interface.

loughnane 6y ago
Agree. I use pihole + Roku with my dumb tv and it feels like a good balance. The pihole also gets rid of the big ad on the channel screen
- JohnBooty 6y ago
  Are there any issues with a Pi-hole'd Roku?
  - deeblering4 6y ago
    In terms of breakage, no none that I’ve found. I can say it successfully blocks the big ad on the home screen and probably a lot of other requests too.
  - loughnane 6y ago
    None that I’ve noticed. Been doing it for a few years
kevin_thibedeau 6y ago
Doesn't indicate if tracking was disabled in the Roku settings.
memco 6y ago
I have two Roku devices, never been particularly enthused with the response times using the remotes: they've both had issues recognizing signals and screens take a while to load. However, I do like that I can turn my TV on from my phone. I will probably look for a dumb TV at some point, but I'm also hoping to get a pi-hole setup to increase privacy in the meantime.
- JohnBooty 6y ago
  Were you using Roku models with the IR remotes, or the WiFi direct ones? (I would imagine their newer models use BT, but that's just a guess) I found the remotes responsive, but I was using the WiFi direct ones. I would imagine that the IR remotes feel muck pokier, which is of course pretty much always going to be the case with IR.
  - unwiredben 6y ago
    It's the other way around. A few of Roku's early RF remotes used Bluetooth, but now they all are based on WiFi Direct.

loughnane 6y ago

Agree. I use pihole + Roku with my dumb tv and it feels like a good balance. The pihole also gets rid of the big ad on the channel screen

JohnBooty 6y ago
Are there any issues with a Pi-hole'd Roku?
- deeblering4 6y ago
  In terms of breakage, no none that I’ve found. I can say it successfully blocks the big ad on the home screen and probably a lot of other requests too.
- loughnane 6y ago
  None that I’ve noticed. Been doing it for a few years

kevin_thibedeau 6y ago

Doesn't indicate if tracking was disabled in the Roku settings.

memco 6y ago

I have two Roku devices, never been particularly enthused with the response times using the remotes: they've both had issues recognizing signals and screens take a while to load. However, I do like that I can turn my TV on from my phone. I will probably look for a dumb TV at some point, but I'm also hoping to get a pi-hole setup to increase privacy in the meantime.

JohnBooty 6y ago
Were you using Roku models with the IR remotes, or the WiFi direct ones? (I would imagine their newer models use BT, but that's just a guess) I found the remotes responsive, but I was using the WiFi direct ones. I would imagine that the IR remotes feel muck pokier, which is of course pretty much always going to be the case with IR.
- unwiredben 6y ago
  It's the other way around. A few of Roku's early RF remotes used Bluetooth, but now they all are based on WiFi Direct.