Channels & viewing

[atc98092]

@TimDSM Roku has no control over the ads you see on YouTube. Blame Google for the increased ads, not Roku. And Google can see what device you're using, so they absolutely can send more ads to Roku devices over something else, or even different model of Rokus. 

[Dualeieio]

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@chunk_split wrote:

@loufuddrucker3 I have YouTube Premium and I don’t see ads on my Roku. Purchased it long before I got a Roku since it works on everything I’m signed into, Chrome, Chromecast and etc.

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Dear All:  

I am interested in knowing for certain IF i were to get a youtube PREMIUM account for around $11/month, whether i will have NO ads when using the youtube channel on my two Roku Ultras connected to the two TVs in my home.

there seems to be different thoughts as to whether or not that can be done on Roku's youtube channel.  @chunk_split  said very clearly on his post that he does NOT see ANY ads whatsoever due to his youtube premium account.  @chunk_split spefically said that on his Roku's youtube channel, he does NOT see ads, not merely having no ads when using, say for example, a PC's browser to be on youtube.com's site to view videos with no ads.   However, others seem to say there is no way at all to have no ads using the youtube channel on Roku.

may i please kindly ask for a definitive answer?  thank you all in advance.

[ektoplasm]

I don't know, but I agree the ads are getting ridiculous. Sometimes I will be 1 minute into playing a video and the thing already wants me to watch not one, but TWO 30 second commercials. I've seen it schedule ads as aggressively as every 2 minutes and for me, it is always 2 ads back to back, sometimes with one that is several minutes long.

I agree that it would appear that Google is intentionally creating a negative experience on Roku. I can watch the same videos on other devices and there aren't nearly as many commercials. I don't think it's the content creators inserting this frequency of ads, it's Google doing it.

[Dualeieio]

@ektoplasm:  thanks for your reply post.

may i ask if there is a way around this over abundance of ads issue?

even if we have to pay a fee, does that really mean we won't have ads anymore?  

is the fee that would get rid of ads from the service called YouTube PREMIUM, or is there another subscription service from YouTube?

it's confusing as people have said that YouTube PREMIUM does NOT get rid of all the ads on Roku's YouTube channel, as opposed to, say, watching YouTube on your PC.

hope someone has a definitive answer about this.

to make matters more complicated, there are often issues to try to UNsubscribe to a service once you subscribed to it.  might someone reading this thread be already a subscriber to YouTube PREMIUM and might be so kind as to inform us as to whether ads on Roku's YouTube channel is also gone with their subscription?

thank you.

[atc98092]

@ektoplasm 

Yes, it is Google inserting the ads. But I can't say the ads on my Roku devices are any more annoying than when using my Shield players. There's just as many ads on those players, and they are even running Android, which Google supports. But since Google is "fighting" with Roku, I certainly wouldn't be surprised if Google makes the experience worse on some Roku devices. 

[ektoplasm]

Just to reconfirm my suspicions I just played the latest Kreosan English episode on YouTube using the app on my phone, then using the same app to cast to Roku...

Phone only: 

1 pre-roll ad, then 2 15 second ads at 6 minutes.

Cast to Roku:

2 pre-roll ads, then 2 30 second ads at 3 minutes, then 2 1 minute ads at 9 minutes.

At any rate. If you have a firewall that can do DNS based blocking it is possible to block some of them, although in my experience the Roku will hang for an inordinate period of time trying to load the ads before moving on and sometimes it hangs altogether and you have to restart the video. Because of this, I no longer block those ads.

I don't know of any way to block the ads that doesn't degrade functionality on the Roku. I had a 30 day trial back when the premium service was called YouTube Red and virtually all the ads disappeared then but you have to have the account logged in on the Roku for it to work. I don't know if that is still the case today. My roommate does have a YouTube music sub he uses on the Roku and when he is logged into it there are no commercials.

I don't really have a problem with YouTube and content creators trying to make some money but I agree that Google is being very aggressive with the ads now and also that they seem to be unfairly targeting the Roku platform with excessive ads. It's probably a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act to Target a competitor in this manner but good luck getting our government to do anything about anything in the year 2021.

[atc98092]

@Dualeieio I don't pay for Premium, so can't say for certain. But if you look at the promo page for YouTube Premium here, they plainly and clearly state "no ads". 

"Enjoy watching YouTube uninterrupted by ads whenever you sign in - on your mobile device, desktop, or enabled TV."

I did find another page that does have some disclaimers:

With YouTube Premium, you can watch millions of videos without interruptions by ads before and during a video, including video overlay ads. You will also not see third-party banner ads and search ads.

You may still see branding or promotions embedded in the content by the creator and promotional links, shelves and features in and around the content that are added or enabled by the creator. These links, shelves and features could be for their website, merchandise, a membership to their channel, event tickets, or other related destinations they are promoting.

Ad-free videos are supported across all devices and platforms where you can sign in with your Google Account—including on compatible smart TVs/gaming consoles and the YouTube, YouTube Music, and YouTube Kids mobile apps, if they're available in your location.

So, ads embedded by the content provider will still appear, but they claim they themselves will not add any ads before or during a video. I notice they left out "at the end", but it's easy enough to exit out of a video if an ad starts at the very end. And they again state that is on all devices, so if you see any ads on a Roku device they would be liable for fraud, or at the least misrepresentation.

[Dualeieio]

according to this:

https://bgr.com/tech/youtube-premium-lite-is-a-cheaper-way-to-get-rid-of-ads-on-youtube/

there is a new Youtube Premium LITE coming.

it is less costly than Premium but does remove all the ads, just none of the other perks, which i don't want anyway.

sadly, LITE is not yet coming to the USA, only in parts of Europe.

[ektoplasm]

I've continued playing the Kreosan video. At 16 minutes in it went to a 1 hour and 6 minute long "commercial." I agree, this behavior is beyond irritating. That commercial spot is even longer than the entire Kreosan video. 

Now, at 21:04 in, another 30 second ad.

Edit: And now at 24:00 a 3:30 ad.

Edit: 27:00 another 15 second spot.

Edit: 30:00 2 30 second spots

[Dualeieio]

should one of us try the youtube premium (non-lite) subscription for $11.99 per month (after the 4-month free trial) and see if it works well?

one would have to be a substantial consumer of youtube to be worth the $11.99, right?