That's not a good answer, unless you just want cable. YouTube, Netflix, etc won't work. Buying hardware is paying extra which is already a deterrent, but anyway just shifts the problem to that piece of hardware - is the stick vetted to not do any harm? Other solutions are often impractical or overly complex for non-technical people. I haven't seen any good answers to date. I guess your TV just shouldn't spy on everything you watch? Seems like a reasonable expectation.

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raw_anon_1111 19 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Buy an AppleTV.

Google devices are out because they are developed by a advertising company.

The Roku CEO outright said they sell Roku devices below costs to advertise to you.

	▲	jimt1234 18 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		My TCL/Roku TV recently started showing popups during streams with services like YouTubeTV and PlutoTV, that basically say, "Click here to watch this same program on the Roku Network". I poked around the settings on the TV, and sure enough, there were some new "smart" settings added and enabled by default. I disabled the settings, and the popups stopped. But it's only a matter of time before something else appears.
	▲	ahefner 16 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Apple is already sending spam notifications for stupid bullshit like that F1 movie.

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crote 19 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> is the stick vetted to not do any harm

The stick is $30 and trivially replaced. The TV is closer to $1000. Worst-case scenario I'll just hook up an HTPC or Blue-Ray player to the TV.

	▲	raw_anon_1111 19 hours ago \| parent [-]
		The $30 stick is also sold below cost and makes money from advertising. The only one that I would trust is AppleTV

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BeetleB 18 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Because with a stick, I can easily decide to chuck it and replace with another. Over and over again. Hard to do with a TV. Even if I had the money, disposing of one is a royal pain.

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EduardoBautista 19 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I trust Apple’s business model.

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garciasn 19 hours ago | parent [-]

For now. They’re about to undergo a CEO change, again. Who knows what will happen in the future, particularly if the shareholders expect the perceived value provided by enshittification.

	▲	merely-unlikely 18 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		John Ternus, SVP of Hardware Engineering, is considered the front runner for CEO right now. The board wants a more product oriented CEO this time. Things could change but makes me optimistic.
	▲	josegonzalez 15 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Its not like they change CEOs every year - Tim Cook has been CEO since 2011.

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xdennis 19 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I just connect it to a computer and watch YouTube without ads and movies without anti-piracy warnings (from a store I go to-rrent them).

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afarah1 18 hours ago | parent [-]

How do you hook it up and how do you control it remotely?

	▲	qwerpy 16 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I do the same thing. My PC is hooked up via HDMI to a receiver which goes to the TV via HDMI. I use VNC on my phone to remote control it. It works well. The phone’s touch screen functions as a mouse and you can pull up the phone’s on screen keyboard to type. My wife is extremely non technical and does fine with it. Usually we just use the browser to watch ad-blocked YouTube or unofficial sports streams.
	▲	YurgenJurgensen 9 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Elecom Relacon, the only wireless input device worth owning.