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You can go to Walmart and buy a streaming box that is a Raspberry pi-sized board with custom Android installed and the package claims it has 700+ channels. But

You can go to Walmart and buy a streaming box that is a Raspberry pi-sized board with custom Android installed and the package claims it has 700+ channels. But it just is an overlay for pirate streaming sites.

marssaxman 4mo ago
> just is an overlay for pirate streaming sites Now you're making it sound even more interesting. What is the name of this device?
- iririririr 4mo ago
  just use something that you can run a torrent client (and use tpb.party with adblocker). Those apps are malware and botnets.
- righthand 4mo ago
  “Superbox” I believe.
pwdisswordfishs 4mo ago
> it just is an overlay for pirate streaming sites Not "just". You left out its role as a bot network exit node.
tadfisher 4mo ago
It is also a gateway for "residential proxy networks", AKA botnets for rent.
- prepend 4mo ago
  Which is a decent trade off for unlimited content.
  - vitally3643 4mo ago
    "I'm willing to make everyone else's life worse for minor personal convenience"
    - munk-a 4mo ago
      Ah, the choice content providers made a few years back that put us all in this situation to begin with - throw constant ads at us for marginal revenue.
      - toraway 4mo ago
        Uh, it's a complete false dichotomy? There is literally no reason you need to participate in a botnet to stream content for free. That's ... not a thing. Those sticks just glom on to free software maintained by other hardworking unpaid devs to steal residential IPs from unsuspecting buyers drawn to the "all-in-one" pitch for their sketchy VPNs and/or botnets. Then, eventually whatever API keys/endpoints they stole for streaming stop working and all you're left with is the botnet part of the deal. This is like saying the included porn malware you got bundled with uTorrent from the first sponsored link on Google is a price worth paying to access The Pirate Bay and stick it to Netflix, lol. Why earth would anyone voluntarily advocate for that/defend the malware authors instead of just downloading qBitorrent from Github like a normal person?!
        munk-a 4mo ago
        You absolutely don't have to and I'd encourage people not to (I personally advocate for just using a desktop/pc that you have control over to make the experience more palatable. But I disagree with framing that solution as one where the customer is solely involved in making a bad decision. The old version of Roku, and even streaming sites within recent memory, offered a significantly less enshittified product. The botnet you bring into your home is only an option people are willing to consider because of how poor the UX has gotten. It's disingenuous to frame this situation as a cavalier abrogation of duty at the sole discretion of the selfish consumer. The malware laiden set top box is a terrible solution, but it being even in the realm of consideration is due to how incredibly terrible set top boxes and streaming platforms have become. In the 2010s torrenting was something of an archaic habit done mostly by those with a strong idealogical bent - gone were the days of everyone installing napster or kazaa to have any access to digitized music that they could actually listen to without a binder of CDs. Excessive enshittification brought on by the selfish actions of corporations is what is bringing these options back to the table for the mainstream. The consumer should be better and shouldn't bring a malware laden box into their home - but the platforms should also be better and offer reasonable pricing for their value and experience.
  - SoftTalker 4mo ago
    Until authorities show up asking questions about the activity on your IP address.
    - ssl-3 4mo ago
      Is that a thing that actually happens in this context? I'm lead to believe that there are quite large numbers of folks using such devices.
toraway 4mo ago
Or you buy a non-scammy Onn stick for $20-$30 from Walmart instead, install a launcher like Projectivy/ATV Launcher Pro from Play Store (or Aurora/F-Droid), and either choose your streaming app subscriptions ... or remove them all and install Stremio/Kodi/Plex/Jellyfin etc for your own preferred "alternative" streaming sources via Usenet/Debrid/Torrents/etc.
- righthand 4mo ago
  My comment wasn’t purchasing advice, but just for argument’s sake, your alternative is much more work for the average user.

marssaxman 4mo ago

> just is an overlay for pirate streaming sites Now you're making it sound even more interesting. What is the name of this device?

iririririr 4mo ago
just use something that you can run a torrent client (and use tpb.party with adblocker). Those apps are malware and botnets.
righthand 4mo ago
“Superbox” I believe.

pwdisswordfishs 4mo ago

> it just is an overlay for pirate streaming sites Not "just". You left out its role as a bot network exit node.

tadfisher 4mo ago

It is also a gateway for "residential proxy networks", AKA botnets for rent.

prepend 4mo ago
Which is a decent trade off for unlimited content.
- vitally3643 4mo ago
  "I'm willing to make everyone else's life worse for minor personal convenience"
  - munk-a 4mo ago
    Ah, the choice content providers made a few years back that put us all in this situation to begin with - throw constant ads at us for marginal revenue.
    - toraway 4mo ago
      Uh, it's a complete false dichotomy? There is literally no reason you need to participate in a botnet to stream content for free. That's ... not a thing. Those sticks just glom on to free software maintained by other hardworking unpaid devs to steal residential IPs from unsuspecting buyers drawn to the "all-in-one" pitch for their sketchy VPNs and/or botnets. Then, eventually whatever API keys/endpoints they stole for streaming stop working and all you're left with is the botnet part of the deal. This is like saying the included porn malware you got bundled with uTorrent from the first sponsored link on Google is a price worth paying to access The Pirate Bay and stick it to Netflix, lol. Why earth would anyone voluntarily advocate for that/defend the malware authors instead of just downloading qBitorrent from Github like a normal person?!
      - munk-a 4mo ago
        You absolutely don't have to and I'd encourage people not to (I personally advocate for just using a desktop/pc that you have control over to make the experience more palatable. But I disagree with framing that solution as one where the customer is solely involved in making a bad decision. The old version of Roku, and even streaming sites within recent memory, offered a significantly less enshittified product. The botnet you bring into your home is only an option people are willing to consider because of how poor the UX has gotten. It's disingenuous to frame this situation as a cavalier abrogation of duty at the sole discretion of the selfish consumer. The malware laiden set top box is a terrible solution, but it being even in the realm of consideration is due to how incredibly terrible set top boxes and streaming platforms have become. In the 2010s torrenting was something of an archaic habit done mostly by those with a strong idealogical bent - gone were the days of everyone installing napster or kazaa to have any access to digitized music that they could actually listen to without a binder of CDs. Excessive enshittification brought on by the selfish actions of corporations is what is bringing these options back to the table for the mainstream. The consumer should be better and shouldn't bring a malware laden box into their home - but the platforms should also be better and offer reasonable pricing for their value and experience.
- SoftTalker 4mo ago
  Until authorities show up asking questions about the activity on your IP address.
  - ssl-3 4mo ago
    Is that a thing that actually happens in this context? I'm lead to believe that there are quite large numbers of folks using such devices.

toraway 4mo ago

Or you buy a non-scammy Onn stick for $20-$30 from Walmart instead, install a launcher like Projectivy/ATV Launcher Pro from Play Store (or Aurora/F-Droid), and either choose your streaming app subscriptions ... or remove them all and install Stremio/Kodi/Plex/Jellyfin etc for your own preferred "alternative" streaming sources via Usenet/Debrid/Torrents/etc.

righthand 4mo ago
My comment wasn’t purchasing advice, but just for argument’s sake, your alternative is much more work for the average user.