• nothingcorporate@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I do this. It’s the best. You can buy used HP or Dell mini workstations on eBay for super cheap.

    Full Linux, full ad blocking, full access to every streaming service instead of just whoever makes an app for your particular TV.

    And with the enshittification of smart TVs injecting ads everywhere they can, keeping it disconnected is the only way to fly. Modern tech is like Skynet, you can’t let it connect or it’s the end of the world.

    • zarkony@lemmy.zip
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      2 months ago

      Only problem is streaming services like Amazon that purposefully limit the quality on Linux.

      • Kaityy@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        2 months ago

        This is the point where you download qbittorrent on the machine, and hop on your favorite torrent site to go get whatever show or movie you want for free, and play it on VLC. Just make sure to use a VPN if you live in a country that enforces piracy law. My reccomendation is Mullvad VPN ($5/month) if you care about privacy, and literally whatever’s the cheapest if you don’t.

      • bizarroland@fedia.io
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        2 months ago

        And it also depends on your version of Linux as sometimes they don’t play well with the copy protection software.

        I had a lot of issues getting some videos on Tubi to play just because I was playing it on a Linux.

        I was using mint cinnamon.

      • brown567@sh.itjust.works
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        2 months ago

        Get a browser spoofing add-on! I have google fiber, and I’ve found that my internet is faster if it thinks I’m using chrome 🤷‍♂️

        • fallingcats@discuss.tchncs.de
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          2 months ago

          That doesn’t make sense, a “browser spoofing” addon most certainly doesn’t do anything that would be detectable by an ISP listening in on your encrypted connections.

          • thanks_shakey_snake@lemmy.ca
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            2 months ago

            Amazon is not an ISP though…? In this scenario, Amazon Prime Video is a server that is receiving a series of HTTP requests. User agent spoofing absolutely would work in that scenario.

      • SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org
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        2 months ago

        That is why I’m not subscribed to any of them. If they don’t want to offer me the same bare minimum, it’s on them. I mean why are they even doing that? To protect against piracy? Yeah, that seems to be doing absolutely nothing then.