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I bought rokus because of the previous Amazon/google fight over YoutubeTV. I naively assumed they were immune to this kind of thing. Now I'm getting AppleTVs

I bought rokus because of the previous Amazon/google fight over YoutubeTV. I naively assumed they were immune to this kind of thing. Now I'm getting AppleTVs but I suppose it's just a matter of time before they start the same thing.

g_p 6y ago
Not familiar with the Roku ecosystem, but is it possible to sideload apps? On Android there are native YouTube player apps like NewPipe (which reverse engineer the APIs and work without any of the consent prompts and nagging UI), and one whose name escapes me, which is a pretty usable client to YouTube, based around the web interface (used sometimes on fire stick etc.) I guess the underlying issue is the reliance on these large platforms (like YouTube etc), and how they can use access to their walled garden platform as a way to coerce independent commercial negotiations.
- simcop2387 6y ago
  Sort of, not suremif it's changed but you used to be able to do this with the developer options and load a single channel with it. You'd have to unload the old one to load a new onw though.
  - rascul 6y ago
    I've never used it but here are some docs https://developer.roku.com/docs/developer-program/getting-started/developer-setup.md https://developer.roku.com/docs/developer-program/getting-st...
- judge2020 6y ago
  You can side load apps but I don’t think anyone is going to put in the work to keep a YouTube TV app up-to-date for Roku once breaking API changes happen.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
devoutsalsa 6y ago
I use a PlayStation 4. It has client apps for all the things I want to use. And if you’re a little savvy, it can also be used for watching DRM free content (e.g. streaming from a media server, watching from an inserted USB drive, etc.). It's the laziest option to get most of what I want.
- jtms 6y ago
  I have a PS4 sitting around collecting dust - I’ll have to give this a try! Thanks for the suggestion
  - devoutsalsa 6y ago
    My original inspiration was that I wanted to watch Netflix with a non-crappy remote! Playing the occasional video game was just a bonus :)
    - ahefner 6y ago
      A non-crappy remote that has to be constantly plugged in for charging..
  - ThatPlayer 6y ago
    If your TV and remote support HDMI CEC, you can even control the PS4 mostly fine with just the TV remote. Not enough buttons to play games, but for browsing videos, I find it works.
- deadmutex 6y ago
  Does PS4 support any streaming game services?
  - t-writescode 6y ago
    PS Now
    - 6y ago
crocsarecool 6y ago
Same! I bought a chrome cast without realizing I couldn’t watch Prime on it, then I learned about the Amazon/Google dispute. I felt so disappointed in these companies.
- bagacrap 6y ago
  Amazon has added casting support to the prime video app. Why did they withhold support in the first place? I had assumed it was because they wanted to sell fire sticks. It's not in Google's interest to make Chromecast less capable.
  - ghaff 6y ago
    This was honestly never a big deal for me because I could always cast from my browser on a laptop. But, yeah, I've observed that some of the Apple/Google/Amazon incompatibilities seem to have gone away over time.
  - wyldfire 6y ago
    I believe Google didn't permit FireTV to carry YoutubeTV because Amazon wouldn't sell Google Chromecast in their store (because it competed w/FireTV I guess).

g_p 6y ago

Not familiar with the Roku ecosystem, but is it possible to sideload apps? On Android there are native YouTube player apps like NewPipe (which reverse engineer the APIs and work without any of the consent prompts and nagging UI), and one whose name escapes me, which is a pretty usable client to YouTube, based around the web interface (used sometimes on fire stick etc.) I guess the underlying issue is the reliance on these large platforms (like YouTube etc), and how they can use access to their walled garden platform as a way to coerce independent commercial negotiations.

simcop2387 6y ago
Sort of, not suremif it's changed but you used to be able to do this with the developer options and load a single channel with it. You'd have to unload the old one to load a new onw though.
- rascul 6y ago
  I've never used it but here are some docs https://developer.roku.com/docs/developer-program/getting-started/developer-setup.md https://developer.roku.com/docs/developer-program/getting-st...
judge2020 6y ago
You can side load apps but I don’t think anyone is going to put in the work to keep a YouTube TV app up-to-date for Roku once breaking API changes happen.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

devoutsalsa 6y ago

I use a PlayStation 4. It has client apps for all the things I want to use. And if you’re a little savvy, it can also be used for watching DRM free content (e.g. streaming from a media server, watching from an inserted USB drive, etc.). It's the laziest option to get most of what I want.

jtms 6y ago
I have a PS4 sitting around collecting dust - I’ll have to give this a try! Thanks for the suggestion
- devoutsalsa 6y ago
  My original inspiration was that I wanted to watch Netflix with a non-crappy remote! Playing the occasional video game was just a bonus :)
  - ahefner 6y ago
    A non-crappy remote that has to be constantly plugged in for charging..
- ThatPlayer 6y ago
  If your TV and remote support HDMI CEC, you can even control the PS4 mostly fine with just the TV remote. Not enough buttons to play games, but for browsing videos, I find it works.
deadmutex 6y ago
Does PS4 support any streaming game services?
- t-writescode 6y ago
  PS Now
  - 6y ago

crocsarecool 6y ago

Same! I bought a chrome cast without realizing I couldn’t watch Prime on it, then I learned about the Amazon/Google dispute. I felt so disappointed in these companies.

bagacrap 6y ago
Amazon has added casting support to the prime video app. Why did they withhold support in the first place? I had assumed it was because they wanted to sell fire sticks. It's not in Google's interest to make Chromecast less capable.
- ghaff 6y ago
  This was honestly never a big deal for me because I could always cast from my browser on a laptop. But, yeah, I've observed that some of the Apple/Google/Amazon incompatibilities seem to have gone away over time.
- wyldfire 6y ago
  I believe Google didn't permit FireTV to carry YoutubeTV because Amazon wouldn't sell Google Chromecast in their store (because it competed w/FireTV I guess).