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I mean, saying it impacts hardware you purchased is a stretch. You can just as easily plug in an Android TV box, or an Amazon fire stick, or any number of other

I mean, saying it impacts hardware you purchased is a stretch. You can just as easily plug in an Android TV box, or an Amazon fire stick, or any number of other products with different interfaces. Google doesn't "control" the hardware you own, Roku does. Nobody forces people to buy a TV with Roku preinstalled; anyone who did this has consented to having their hardware limited/controlled by Roku. This isn't to absolve Google, as their behavior is also anticompetitive and generally shady. But saying that Google is the one impacting your hardware is letting Roku off the hook for the part they play in effectively owning your hardware.

jfrunyon 5y ago
Huh? Roku is "hardware you purchased". Sure, you could go out and purchase something else to replace it. I'm not sure why you think that means it doesn't impact the hardware you already have.
- antasvara 5y ago
  Roku is more analogous to software than hardware. My phone OS updates at least every few months, and I don't have a problem with that. In fact, I'd wager that most people don't have a problem with that. Roku is as much "hardware you purchased" as calling Android "hardware you purchase." Even that isn't a good analogy, because unlike a phone, you can still use your TV without Roku. When I buy a TV, I'm not "buying" Roku. A lack of access to YouTube in no way impacts the things that make my TV work as a TV. It still turns on and can be used to view any content of my choosing, provided I supply it with the right accessories.
  - MadcapJake 5y ago
    Roku is literally a device that you purchase for using media streaming apps. If there's a TV with Roku built-in, that's only one gateway to their platform and I don't think it's a huge chunk of their userbase.
    - antasvara 5y ago
      Roku sells between 25 and 40 percent of all smart TV's in the US. I wouldn't be shocked if Roku TV makes up a significant amount of their userbase.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
      - jfrunyon 5y ago
        > Roku sells between 25 and 40 percent of all smart TV's in the US. Color me extremely dubious. Perhaps Roku TV + Roku devices connected to a TV are about 25-40% of "smart TVs" but I doubt even that. I have literally never been to a single person's house with a Roku TV in their living room. But a Roku hooked up to their TV? You bet. We have 2, my mom has 1, and several of my friends have them as well.
  - jfrunyon 5y ago
    You're correct. When I buy a TV, I'm not buying Roku, either. Because I have a Roku player https://www.roku.com/products/players https://www.roku.com/products/players

jfrunyon 5y ago

Huh? Roku is "hardware you purchased". Sure, you could go out and purchase something else to replace it. I'm not sure why you think that means it doesn't impact the hardware you already have.

antasvara 5y ago
Roku is more analogous to software than hardware. My phone OS updates at least every few months, and I don't have a problem with that. In fact, I'd wager that most people don't have a problem with that. Roku is as much "hardware you purchased" as calling Android "hardware you purchase." Even that isn't a good analogy, because unlike a phone, you can still use your TV without Roku. When I buy a TV, I'm not "buying" Roku. A lack of access to YouTube in no way impacts the things that make my TV work as a TV. It still turns on and can be used to view any content of my choosing, provided I supply it with the right accessories.
- MadcapJake 5y ago
  Roku is literally a device that you purchase for using media streaming apps. If there's a TV with Roku built-in, that's only one gateway to their platform and I don't think it's a huge chunk of their userbase.
  - antasvara 5y ago
    Roku sells between 25 and 40 percent of all smart TV's in the US. I wouldn't be shocked if Roku TV makes up a significant amount of their userbase.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - jfrunyon 5y ago
      > Roku sells between 25 and 40 percent of all smart TV's in the US. Color me extremely dubious. Perhaps Roku TV + Roku devices connected to a TV are about 25-40% of "smart TVs" but I doubt even that. I have literally never been to a single person's house with a Roku TV in their living room. But a Roku hooked up to their TV? You bet. We have 2, my mom has 1, and several of my friends have them as well.
- jfrunyon 5y ago
  You're correct. When I buy a TV, I'm not buying Roku, either. Because I have a Roku player https://www.roku.com/products/players https://www.roku.com/products/players