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Roku-Enabled TVs Will Soon 'Listen' To Programs You're Watching To Suggest Streaming Content (variety.com)
Roku-enabled TVs will be receiving a new OS update that will listen to what show or movie you're watching via your cable or satellite set-top or over-the-air antenna, in order to suggest internet-streaming content. "Compatible TVs will use automatic content recognition (ACR) technology to identify the content and then suggest additional viewing options available on via streaming services like Netflix, Hulu or Vudu," reports Variety. From the report: It may seem vaguely Big Brother-ish, but Roku is being careful about ensuring consumer privacy: Users will be required to enable the feature via an opt-in prompt. In addition, the "More Ways to Watch" feature can be turned off at any time (although Roku says viewing information collected prior to the feature being turned off will not be deleted). For now, the "More Ways to Watch" feature is available only in the U.S., and only for Roku-enabled television sets available from Best Buy's Insignia, Sharp, Hisense and TCL. It will be coming first to conventional HDTV models first, followed by support for 4K Roku TV models later this summer.
Now it can hook to links and torrent the shows to a connected flash disk then we're getting somewhere!
Sure glad I own a stupid TV.
Getting weary of the poor performance and half ass app builds. Maybe I'll just delete all the apps except for PLEX. At least PLEX porformance is somewhat decent.
I need to investigate the availability of acquiring stock of dumb TVs for retail sale. There has to be a business model here that can work. The threat to our privacy and security is huge.
http://www.freestateproject.org/
but they're not watching you, they're listening.
And they got fined by the FCC for doing it without telling the users. They have a prompt to opt in now. I only use the TV to watch Netflix and play video games ... so even if I opted in they are not listening ... yet.
I can't wait until they analyze your sex noises and recommend complementary products and/or services. People around here may be interested in the "Jackin' the Beanstalk" package. Roku knows what you need.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
In Soviet-America, TV listens to you!!!
Seriously, is nobody else concerned about the privacy implications with always on microphones connected to the internet? And don't give me that "I have nothing to hide" bullshit. Privacy is an expectation in your own home.
Even though I slip and I have the odd bad thing here or there, I prefer to have my setup as functional offline as it is online. My chromecast 1 is dead in the water if it can't connect to google. Forget about the chromecast 2, it has a mic. So far my favourite setup only has 1 exception: Speed. I have a raspberry Pi with OSMC (Kodi/XMBC) on it. Although their recent vouch for wanting to go legit and all this crap, it was the ideal setup. Can use plugins to stream torrents... plex made an app for it so I can browse my plex library nicely with it, and if all that fails and my internet goes out, Kodi will jsut read my digital media and play it just fine.
I'm really concerned about today's requirements to tie everything to the internet. IoT is a crock of shit and I wish more people valued being off the grid a little more than we are these days.
Roku only wants to know what you watch away from it's box to know what advertisements to send to you.
Caution: Contents under pressure
Roku-Enabled TVs Will Soon 'Listen'
Not sure what the scare quotes are for... that is pretty much exactly what it's doing.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
It sounds this could work better for finding porn than even Bing or Google.
It pisses me off that I paid for this device and then it spies on me without my permission so the manufacturer can make more money. What's missing from a lot of the modern world is a concept of device ownership. I paid for my cell phone/laptop/etc. and I damned well want to control what it does and does not do. And I want it working for me, not some advertiser.
The tragic thing is: I NEVER NEVER NEVER buy the shit that behavioral ads think I want. It's all a waste of time and effort for them.
Enough of this shit.
Like Roku units?
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
Append "/nocc" to the Roku activation link. It'll activate without a credit card. Normally you have to call support for that...
CAPTTCHA: Keyhole
I use Paypal and then after I pass that, I deactivate the Paypal authorization. Once deactivated, that link cannot be used to charge your account anymore. The only way to reactivate it is create a new link which requires logging into your paypal account again.
I used a prepaid VISA rebate card that had 5 cents left on it to activate mine. I agree its irritating though.
Amazon stores everything I say to alexa
Roku now records my viewing habits
All the ISPs record my browsing history and soon will sell it
Satellite with a disconnected set top box looks like my only option to watch awful television with no fear of being judged.
Knowledge = Power
P= W/t
t=Money
Money = Work/Knowledge so the less you know the more you make
To quote but Roku is being careful about ensuring consumer privacy. I love it when those little pigs fly with such elegance.
On y va, qui mal y pense!
Roku is being careful about ensuring consumer privacy: Users will be required to enable the feature via an opt-in prompt.
Seriously, is nobody else concerned about the privacy implications with always on microphones connected to the internet?
The summary states that the feature is opt-in. Are you concerned about a software defect causing the feature to turn on by itself? Or are you concerned about "required to enable" meaning "this device will cease to function until enabled"?
So.. in the past I have advocated in favor of "smart TVs" because even if you don't use the features, they're basically "free" (as in beer). Some processing power is already going to be there anyway, and it's not like the chips are expensive. The price of Raspberry Pi should give you a good idea of the most it could possibly cost, and even that is a pretty pessimistic estimate.
But that position was based on the assumption that "utterly and completely worthless to me" was the lower bound of what the user would get out of it.
If the software is going to be hostile, such that the value of a smart TV over a dumb TV might actually be negative, then I have to retract my thumbs-up.
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
Roku should either be dead, or adopting Android TV. It's obnoxious to have yet another incompatible, proprietary platform out there. Just like Nokia finally came into the Android fold, so should Roku. Their software leaves much to be desired.
I didn't buy the device for the fact I had to register it, luckily I read that on the reviews before I bought it. WTF is that? How come they don't say that at purchase time, oh yah their sales would tank as most people would say WTF?
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*