I do wonder if they were to offer exactly that - a version with and another without ads, what would happen. This is not without precedent after all. I paid more for my Kindle so as not to have to be advertised to when I want to read.

Free users of YouTube outnumber YouTube Premium subscribers by an overwhelming number. If no ads isn't worth $10/month, you can bet no ads isn't worth several hundred dollars on each TV purchase.

If most YouTube users were Premium subscribers, it would more than double revenue. Premium subscribers are worth more to Google than free ones are in ads revenue, by a lot. Monetized channels receive orders of magnitude more revenue per view from Premium subscribers than free ones.

There are plenty of dumb TVs out there, usually intended for commercial signage, conference rooms, etc. But they are more expensive.

I believe the tech being used very literally scans the stuff being shown on screen. I have read about this tech in the past. It also raises privacy concerns, as if you watch old family movies or some such, the TV could be beaming metadata of that back to the mothership for analysis. Creepy times we live in.

Wow. I'm curious to know how Inscape (the scanning tech mentioned here) is able to circumvent HDCP in this case. Do they have special access ?

Smart TV SoCs usually have a capture engine that taps into the video stream being sent to the screen after HDCP decryption and allows it to be DMA'd directly to main RAM [1], and from there analyzed and sent to the manufacturer's ad partner of choice. As long as the firmware does not allow the end user to access these decrypted frames in any way, the TV will still pass HDCP certification with no issues.

[1] https://blog.ammaraskar.com/roku-tv-philips-hues

The TV is the one displaying, it obviously needs to decrypt the content.

Is this something that could be defeated with PiHole?

Usually not with a default pihole setup. Most smart TVs hardcode a dns server of 8.8.8.8, or one the company runs (rarely), which gets around a default pihole setup.

See the recommendations on this thread for the additional work you'll have to do: https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/recommended-strategy-for-cli...

Some consumer routers may not allow the configuration necessary at all.

Likely, assuming your router is intercepting and forwarding all port 53 traffic to it (since they tend to hard-code a DNS server). If they hard code an encrypted DNS client, a custom encryption solution or DOH or otherwise, it can’t be defeated via the network and you’re better off not supporting these practices financially by purchasing the product.

If you can block access to their hardcoded DNS servers, sometimes they'll fallback on what the network provides.

I have two pairs of originals. Both have trash batteries now. I bought the new Sony XM4s. Remarkable headphones.

Congratulations! Something I noticed - one of the screenshots on the store app page has a spelling mistake - the word distractions.

Good luck!

Yes, someone else pointed it out and that amateur-hour moment is gonna drive me crazy until we can push another update. Thank you for paying attention and caring enough to let me know.

I like this one! Rather fun to play also.

Yes, not so easy and the sound, just great :-)

I was proud of my JTV channel. I actually used to vlog and chat to people. They regularly featured me too. I wonder how much I could have made in today’s market..

I’d give them a call. Their customer service is amazing with things like this.

I’ve got scoliosis and spondylitis. People tend to assume I’m lazy if I take a seat on public transport because I’m young.

Such things can get rather tiresome.

I have syringomyelia (spine cavity that presses on nerves causing neuropath pain) - some days it's barely noticeable and some days it feels like someone is putting my legs/feet in boiling water.

Had a massive row because it hurts to stand on those days and I'd booked a reserved seat on a train and someone decided that reservations don't matter.

I had to politely ask them to move, then impolitely ask them - there are days when been 6ft/200lb (1.83/90KG) has it's uses tbh.

It’s sad how often people assume you’re just being an awkward or crappy person when you have less obvious issues.

I see it as character building haha

I’ve worked my ass off every opportunity I have gotten to do so. It certainly hasn’t made my life any better. It has shown me that those in charge rather like those below them working hard for no benefit whatsoever however.

I’m sure some fair better than others. Not so much in the lab!