Roku's Ultimatum: Surrender Jury Trial Rights or Lose Access to Your TVs

https://community.roku.com/t5/Community-discussions/Roku-disables-player-with-attempt-to-coerce-arbitration-agreement/td-p/950649

by WA9ACE • 2 years ago

59 17 2 years ago

community.roku.com

zrail• 2 years ago

Roku seemed like the least bad choice when we were picking a new tv a few years ago, so that's what we have. If I could find a dumb display of the same size and quality without any of this software at a price even in the same ballpark I would opt for that, but that's not how the industry works anymore.

DoktorDelta• 2 years ago

Same here. I'm planning on replacing my Roku TV with a Google/Android TV model and replacing the launcher to avoid ads. Then I'll sideload a YouTube client that has sponsorblock and adblock so I can get the benefits of YT Premium.

Larrikin• 2 years ago

Sponsor block is so good that I initially tried to replace my Roku. The lack of Unicode was pushing me away from Roku, but programmatic ads in the middle of music videos pushed me to try the Android TV ecosystem.

But the ecosystem seems to be years old shields that struggle with 4k, cheap junk, and unknown but probably cheap junk from China.

My shield is definitely a lesser experience than my Roku, with the lags and skips, but I can put up with it on most days. But when I want to watch a 4k movie I'll switch over the HDMI cords back to my Roku.

mindslight2• 2 years ago

I can't seem to reproduce on Kodi. Seriously, stop buying into the surveillance industry paradigm of churn. Stop connecting devices running proprietary software to their desired Internet command and control channel. Stop using streaming services that demand buying into the surveillance industry ecosystem. Stop talking about any of these attractive nuisances as if they're anything but technological dead ends.

It's at least somewhat understandable when Joe Sixpack goes to Targmart and tries to buy a TV, but comes home with a manufacturer backdoored surveillance device and only discovers the trap six months later. But why is this seemingly a consumer concern for a technical community? Everyone here should know better.

ProjectArcturis2• 2 years ago

What's your setup?

mindslight2• 2 years ago

LG 43UD79 display (I believe the newer model is 43UN700), Kodi on NixOS pulling from an NFS mount, N3700-ITX motherboard (started its life as a low power server, then a router, now this), 2U black rackmount case with the ears removed that looks right at home in the entertainment center. I only do 1080p, if I wanted 4k I think I'd have to change the motherboard for a CPU with better decoding hardware.

I've had it in my head that I wouldn't mind a larger display some time, and from what I've seen I certainly can't rule out having to suffer some crapware UI with a glacial turn on delay. The important bit is that I would never connect such a device to the Internet where continuous updates invite manufacturer malfeasance.

In fact this is exactly what I've done with my receiver (Marantz NR1605). It was sold with various streaming capability gimmicks that didn't and don't matter to me. It continues to perform the same function that I bought it for nearly a decade ago.

ProjectArcturis2• 2 years ago

Smart TVs have gotten absolutely terrible. My 2016 TCL Roku used to be pretty decent - quickly responsive, all the apps worked reasonably well, not filled with garbage. I didn't love the ads but they weren't particularly intrusive. By now, though, it's a lot less responsive, and I often have to tell it to check the WiFi connection even when nothing has changed, or else it thinks it isn't connected to the internet.

The Samsung/Google TV I bought last year is absolute garbage. Always pushing ad-supported channels so Google can make a commission. Sluggish response out of the box that has only gotten worse. Roughly daily it will freeze up and need to be unplugged. I've had to just connect it to my computer and basically use it as a monitor to get any use out of it. Certainly soured me on any more Google products.

drewg123• 2 years ago

Get an AppleTV. Its responsive, and doesn't shove ads in your face. The downside is a lack of sideloading. I keep a firestick around for what I need to sideload, and cringe my way through the onslaught of ads to get into whatever app I need.

mamcx• 2 years ago

The problem now is what to use as a display...

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I have very old sets of TVs that work but have terrible image quality (720p), and more importantly, are now too small for our vision. Because I wait too much, I can't get any decent display in a size/quality combination

yummypaint• 2 years ago

Another option is a linux pc with firefox and ublock origin with a big tv-sized computer monitor.

slig2• 2 years ago

Got a LG C2 last year, set up the country to some one-weird-trick that I found out on Reddit and it gives me exactly zero BS. 10/10 so far.

theGeatZhopa• 2 years ago

You care for telling more on this by chance?

aussieguy1234• 2 years ago

Use stremio + torrentio + real debrid or kodi + real debrid and an old laptop running Linux instead of a Smart TV.

No more surveillance capitalism and a much better, cleaner experience. And the content range is unmatched.

breput• 2 years ago

I got this non-dismissable dialog today on a TV which has the Roku software installed, but isn't a Roku product. So not only was the Roku functionality blocked until I agreed, but also the ability to use the TV as a monitor was disabled until the agreement was accepted.

Two interesting notes:

* In order to opt-out of the binding arbitration, you have to identify yourself and your devices, and possibly provide a proof of purchase, to Roku via snail mail. This is information that they would not necessarily have for a device like a 3rd party TV that just happens to use the Roku software.

* There is a clause in the agreement[0] that if more than 25 arbitration requests are received within a period of time, Roku is allowed to group the requests to avoid having to pay the abritration fees for each[1].

K. Mass Arbitrations. If 25 or more Claimant Notices are received by a party within 180 days of the first Claimant Notice that the party received, and all such Claimant Notices raise similar Claims and have the same or coordinated counsel, then these Claims will be considered “Mass Arbitrations.” You or Roku may advise the other if you or Roku believe that the Claims at issue are Mass Arbitrations, and disputes over whether a Claim meets the definition of “Mass Arbitrations” will be decided by the arbitration provider as an administrative matter. To the extent either party is asserting the same Claim as other persons and are represented by common or coordinated counsel, that party waives any objection that the joinder of all such persons is impracticable.

[0] https://docs.roku.com/published/disputeresolution/en/us

[1] https://www.perkinscoie.com/en/news-insights/another-court-r...

Havoc• 2 years ago

These sort of give up your rights ultimatums should be illegal

voakbasda• 2 years ago

This change is straight up extortion, and they deserve everything that's coming to them.

I've been using Roku products for over a decade, but I will actively avoid using them in the future. I've recommended them to countless people, but now I will actively tell people to avoid them.

I have to wonder if they even care that these kinds of shenanigans are a recipe for losing customer loyalty and destroying a brand.

Roku's Ultimatum: Surrender Jury Trial Rights or Lose Access to Your TVs

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