[munk-a]

Unironically, the best streaming box out there is a PC where you can hook up ad block and stream content from independent content providers like Dropout and Nebula using their web-based UI.

We seem to have an economic cycle of enshittification => piracy => people realizing they've over enshittified => goto 10. We were in phase 3 a few years ago, now we're in phase 1 and it's an insane race to the bottom.

[chipotle_coyote]

I certainly wouldn't mind being able to block ads on the Apple TV for certain services (by which I mean YouTube), but for services which aren't as aggressively terrible as ad-supported YouTube is, I'm generally fine just making the choice between paying a higher price to go ad-free or putting up with ads. I know some folks are absolutely against all ads no matter what no exceptions, but I'm okay with the notion of "you pay for this by watching ads" if they don't abuse their end of the bargain (by which I mean YouTube).

Also, I watch Nebula on my Apple TV pretty frequently, and Dropout's available there, too.

[munk-a]

Yeah, I am not dead set against advertising in all its forms[1] but I think the balance of advertising and experience quality to price has swung way out of alignment. There are numerous streaming platforms that all price by subscription to take a small chip out of your luxury cash. For most households one or two platforms (which would probably be somewhere near 25 USD) is the reasonable budget and the costs just don't make sense for the quality of content (and the fact that you still get ads in a lot of cases). I support ad-subsidized content for wide accessibility, but the greed has gotten out of hand and the product, if you do pay through the nose, doesn't match that price point.

1. Personally, I find it incredibly disruptive but I had ADHD so it tends to break my immersion in the media but I understand that I'm an edge case and I'll always need a more complex solution.

[tredre3]

The desktop is the best streaming box only if:

- You run Windows because nothing else will let you stream in 4k

- You ignore the absolutely sub-par UI/UX couch experience

And I say this as someone who's been running a media center pc in various forms for decades.

[munk-a]

I use a projector as an output device (though there are plenty of TVs (just maybe not the newest ones) that still will take an input cable and blindly pass through the contents) as well as having a little wireless mini-keyboard the size of a remote with a touchpad on it and a wireless any-surface mouse that I use to control it from the couch. I genuinely don't think most people would find that interaction disagreeable and it provides a very familiar UX that you can even trivially replace or get multiple of since it's literally just a mini wireless keyboard and mouse which cost you all of maybe 30 USD.

I will conceded that windows is a real advantage though since enshittification has driven other environment applications to become rare or unmaintained. Though I haven't invested real time into seeing what options might be available as unified platform solutions in other envs - like maybe the work Valve put into proton allows you to sneak your way into good media support?