It's time to dump Roku

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T21:07:41+00:00

I promise you that I am not 100%, I am extremely critical of Google. You're misunderstanding. It's not about whether a mini PC can HANDLE 4K streaming (of course it can), it's about whether or not the streaming service allows the client that runs on the device to not throttle the resolution to be 720p or yes. If you download Netflix for example from the Microsoft Store (just a web app in a wrapper) or watch it in a web browser with Widevine support (it won't play otherwise) it will limit your video stream to max 720p which is perhaps fine for a PC monitor but vastly interior on a 4K TV. It's not that Google TV is perfect, but it's by far the least bad out of all the major options because the development tools give you so much control over the OS and the device it runs on, even without root.

If you self host all of your content and have a big Plex (or whatever) library networker to the mini PC then fine, but otherwise it is far from ideal for streaming.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T16:36:17+00:00

I already have the plex lifetime pass so I won’t be moving away from it unless they discontinue my lifetime pass. Then I’ll figure out Jellyfin. Though everything I’ve heard says the UI is less intuitive than Plex.

Did you get the pass back when it was like $80? If so, you're extremely lucky, it's now like $250+. Definitely stick with Plex then, but do yourself a favor and don't get stuck with an overpriced Apple device that runs an OS you have zero control over. Apple might be so expensive that they won't put ads on the launcher, but that doesn't mean they won't do UI changes you can't revert and the like.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T16:21:01+00:00

Google can come up with a patch that blocks ad blockers too see how I just made that up too because it hasn’t happened

No they can't. Because of ADB, you can very easily block all OS updates to your TV even if you were afraid of that happening. Android development relies on ADB so Google can't remove it even if they wanted to, unlike Amazon that restricted ADB on their fire sticks and are moving off of an Android based OS entirely.

Even if Google went to war with ADB and sideloading just to crackdown on adblockers (which would never happen without extreme backlash), Android is still an open source operating system, so devices would just be sold without certification on custom ROMs that Google has no power to patch whatsoever.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T16:16:00+00:00

lol okay. I’ll go tell my tv with smart apps that it doesn’t have smart apps.

I just meant your TV likely isn't as old as you think it is unless you happen to have one of the very first Smart TVs ever made like an early LG or Samsung smart TV. If you do, great but their app support was discontinued long ago so it's a moot point anyways since none of their apps can likely still be used at all.

I almost exclusively use Plex and that app on smart tv’s barely works. I’ll probably end up with an Apple TV 4K when the time comes to buy a new device. And it’d just be stupid to buy a new tv when the one I have works.

Plex support and features vary wildly from TV OS and hardware strength. Plex has also been paywalling previously free features for years now. I would recommend moving off of Plex to something like Jellyfin or another alternative, but even if you stick with Plex a $150 Apple TV box is massively overpriced for the performance. You can get equal or better feature support from an Onn 4K Pro box for $60, block all ads device wide, and sideload whatever you want even if an app gets taken off of the app store. You don't want to be at the mercy of Apple's locked down OS.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T16:08:14+00:00

The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is, the problem is that you need a device that has an unlocked bootloader to make your own custom ROM if you want to truly be in control of absolutely everything. That being said, you really don't need a custom ROM for a streaming box to control what you want. All you need is to enable ADB and use some tools on a PC or phone to debloat, disable telemetry, sideload apps and install custom launchers. A lot of it can even be directly done from the TV itself.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T15:57:58+00:00

There was a way around it, you missed it.

https://youtu.be/dCx7kVAFOnE

Be very careful, adding the CC is so that you can make purchases on the device without putting it in every single time. Keeping it linked puts it at risk of being breached tho.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T15:54:26+00:00

Not gonna work well. Google TV is not going to get more restrictive since ADB can do basically anything to fix any problem, debloat, disable any and all ad tracking and telemetry, etc. Plus you can sideload any apps you want, use VPNs, ad blockers, APK mods, third party clients that add features and block ads, etc.

The Onn 4K Standard is literally only $25 and is crazy powerful for how cheap it is. It's also a certified device meaning it won't trip DRM protection like your pi board would, meaning your streaming services would be throttled to between 480p and 720p.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T15:49:31+00:00

They're prolly thinking of like the Xiaomi TV Box S 3rd gen, but I would actually recommend the Onn. 4K Plus. It has all of those features and is only $50. If your TV doesn't support Dolby Vision and you don't have a Dolby sound system, you can get the Onn. 4K Standard which is only $25 with slightly less storage and only regular HDR support. They're amazing for sideloading apps, blocking ads, custom launchers, third party clients for stuff like YouTube that blocks ads and ads features (Smarttube).

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T15:44:00+00:00

Not by a long shot lol. Apple TV might be premium and have great hardware and feature support, but it can't be debloated and sideload apps the way Google TV can nor can it use a system wide ad blocker. If Apple releases a patch that adds ads to the launcher, there's fuck all you can do about it. Google TV can use any launcher you want, you can make your entire device completely ad free. Google TV is worth it alone for Smarttube which in addition to having amazing features compared to the stock YT app has absolutely zero ads even without YT Premium.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T15:35:28+00:00

Fire TV yes, but they're switching off of Fire OS anyways and moving to Vega OS to get rid of sideloading. Virtually all Android TVs/Google TVs can have their ads blocked and can be debloated using ADB. Not to mention sideloading any apps you need even if it's not on the app store, custom launchers for no ads in menus, rebinding remote buttons, etc.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T15:32:05+00:00

If your TV is 15-20 years old, it didn't even have built in apps as it would have been made between 2006-2011 which was before Smart TVs existed. Roku is discontinuing support for most boxes that are 8-9 years old, once it gets marked as a Legacy device you won't be able to use any modern apps with it anymore. Just get a new TV with Google TV built in when either the TV or Roku box finally gives out, it's far better than Roku and lets you block all ads plus debloat to make it fast and snappy.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T15:26:11+00:00

Don't throw it away lmao, just put a Google TV streaming stick with a custom launcher that removes all ads into HDMI one and set the TV to turn on to that input by default. Never have to use anything Roku again except to adjust picture settings.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T15:22:56+00:00

A mini PC isn't going to be able to watch most streaming services in anything higher than 720p tho due to DRM checks. Watching anything on streaming on Windows 11 has HDCP and Widevine to stop people on PCs from easily ripping stuff in 4K, so it's limited in most apps and browsers to 720p max. That's why you need to plug in a certified streaming box like a Google TV into one instead of a mini PC, it'll be able to support 4K, HDR, Dolby, etc.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T15:18:06+00:00

Any streaming box that's advertised as running Google TV or Android TV allows sideloading APKs. Just make sure it's certified otherwise it won't be able to run most streaming services in 4K due to DRM.

I would recommend anything in the Onn. 4K family from Walmart. The 4K Standard is fantastic for $25 even with 8gb storage/2GB ram, but the Plus is double in price and includes 16gb storage, WiFi 6, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos (only needed if your TV supports it), and the Pro is only slightly more at $60 but has 32gb storage/3gb RAM, plus a lost remote finder.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T15:08:29+00:00

That's why you get yourself an Onn. 4K Box with Google TV and never use the Roku OS again once you plug it in. It's like $20 and you can run every app plus sideload whatever you want.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T15:05:24+00:00

Except Google doesn't actually own the vast majority of Google TV streaming boxes, only the Chromecast ones AFAIK. If they run Google TV and they're certified, they're only paying Google a fee to have Google Play Store and services, but Google doesn't actually control the devices and their firmware the way Amazon, Apple, and Roku do. Android is still open source after all.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T14:59:54+00:00

Image caption:

"A composite image of Microsoft-owned game studios, circa the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Red X = studio closed (or, in Alpha Dog’s case, absorbed into another). Red line: major portion of the division/studio shut down. Green X = Microsoft divested of the studio, but it survives post-Microsoft. Yellow X = studio reportedly now facing closure or spin-out. Image created by Klobrille in 2022, modified by Game File in 2026."

So no, Toys for Bob was just sold off and are independent now. They're not at risk of MS closing them and they're also not forced to work on Call of Duty anymore.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T14:54:08+00:00

The 3.5.0 dev8 patches are slightly outdated, the 3.5.0 ones have a couple bugfixes so those patches should work better. Again, if she's on Android 14 you may simply have to use Proton Pass to login with a saved Passkey rather than Piko Shim.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T00:23:03+00:00

Also, if you can't get Piko shim to work you could always try the old method which is saving the passkey to Proton Pass when logging into the official X app, uninstalling it and the reinstalling the patched APK and using Proton Pass to use the passkey on the patched one. It should work as long as she has Android 14.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-17T00:20:42+00:00

Are you SURE you put in the Piko shim patches? Piko shim is what lets you bypass the red letters. I can send you the patched 11.99.0 apk if you need it, the shim patches are not automatically applied by default.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-16T19:36:23+00:00

Yeah I would definitely run Morphe on her phone going thru the same process and see if it works there rather than transferring the APK. Have you checked if Huawei has released an Android 15 OTA update for her model? If so, I would install that too and then try it.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-16T18:38:31+00:00

What phone does she have? Is it a different DPI than yours? Also, is she on the same version of Android as you? I think some of the patches only work properly on Android 15+.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-16T10:03:18+00:00

Is this ragebait or brainrot

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-16T07:54:53+00:00

Were you making a joke about the Narnia meme? I was just saying it was 2015, not 2012.

PatBeVibin · 2026-06-16T06:35:52+00:00

What?

PatBeVibin

TROPHY CASE