Features, settings & updates

[JeffLawlor]

Well put! What more needs to be said? Other than goodbye Roku.

[JeffLawlor]

I just tried that setting. I hope it gets rid of the ads and doesn't just give me a static ad that I can't skip.

[JeffLawlor]

Check out the nVidia Shield. It's more expensive but way more customizable.

[JeffLawlor]

It's not clear to me that this will work. However, this is a great time for everyone to do just what you did. Make their advertising less profitable to them across the board. 

I should not have to see any advertisements. This Auto Play one is way, way over the line, though.

[JeffLawlor]

If they are doing this on Roku TVs, that is truly unforgivable because there is no escape. I can toss my Roku device in the e-waste. Trashing an entire TV is really expensive and inconvenient.

I feel for you. I don't see any way around trashing your TV. But maybe you can get relief withal nice class action brought by everyone who bought an expensive, ad-spewing paperweight.

[Screaminhotdog]

Here is that same statement of the Roku CEO ran through an AI to cut out the Corpo speak:

Alright, let’s cut through the jargon and break this down into plain English. This person is talking about how their company (likely a streaming platform or smart TV service) is trying to make more money in 2025 by focusing on three main things, with a big emphasis on their home screen—the first thing people see when they turn on their TV.

Here’s what they’re saying:

1. They want to cash in on the home screen.
   • About 125 million people turn on their TVs every day and land on this company’s home screen. It’s where people decide what to watch, and they already spend time poking around there.
   • The company sees a chance to shove more ads into that space. For example, they’ve already started tossing video ads onto the home screen—think car commercials or other big brands. It’s a quick way to blast an ad to a ton of eyeballs at once.
2. They ignored the home screen before, but not anymore.
   • In the past, they kept the home screen simple and focused on making it a smooth, enjoyable experience for viewers. People liked it—it stood out from competitors’ cluttered designs.
   • But they didn’t think about milking it for cash. Now, they’re flipping the script and turning it into a money-making tool.
3. They’re adding more ads and branching out.
   • They’ve got this thing called a “marquee ad” (basically a flashy banner or video spot) on the home screen. It used to just be static banners for movies or TV shows, but now they’ve upgraded it to video ads.
   • They’re also selling these ads to more types of companies—not just entertainment (like movies or shows), but stuff like consumer goods, cars, even cruise lines.
   • Same deal with “themes” (like wallpapers for the home screen). Before, it was all about promoting something like a Disney show—say, a Mandalorian takeover. Now they’re letting other industries, like Carnival Cruises, slap their branding up there too. It’s less about movies and more about whatever pays.

In short: They’ve got a huge audience staring at their home screen daily, and they’re now laser-focused on cramming it with more ads—especially video ones—and selling that space to all kinds of businesses, not just the usual entertainment crowd. It’s all about raking in more revenue while keeping it pretty enough that people don’t complain.

[ddbbbrtb45t4g4]

Word.

[ddbbbrtb45t4g4]

I too contacted support but they didn't understand what I was calling about, so I guess a lot of the agents didn't get a heads up that this was happening - it didn't seem to be something she could find in her repertoire of scripted responses. We're done.

[cargousa]

Just got my first one.  I'll give it a week or two for them to realize how bad this is... but after that I'm ditching my 4 Rokus.  

[atc98092]

If you go into the Settings/Accessibility/Auto-Play Video you can disable these auto-play ads. Note that it's done because the federal ADA laws are pretty much mandating this, so don't think this is going to be a Roku-specific issue.