Yes, I know, Roku sucks for a variety of reasons, and we can just add this to the pile.
Roku launched a new feature, Backdrops, which is just a screensaver that they foist upon you. But they must have gotten complaints about screen burn in, because months after the lauch, they pushed an update that adds this notification pop-up.
A few things that should have been obvious:
- A television with the screensaver on is probably unattended.
- The point of a rotating screensaver is to avoid static images that cause screen burn
- The pop-up never goes away and covers the bottom of the screen across all images, with the QR code in stark black on white, which is most likely to create screen burn.
The thing is, this is such a small issue, but it belies a foundational disrespect for users. The carelessness and incompetence could be ignored, but the obligatory nature of pushing this out without consent or care is why it fits squarely in asshole territory.
I’ve actually sent them an email detailing how the HDR feature on my grandma’s TCL Roku tv was making the picture absolutely horrid, and demanded a way to either turn it off completely or flash a TCL “factory” (non-Roku) firmware.
Needless to say, they told me to go f—k myself, and I’ve made it a point to not buy TCL panels (including those manufactured by TCL for Samsung, LG, etc) or Roku products, and to do exactly as you say. In four years, none of my TVs have never known the taint of a WiFi connection or an accepted EULA.
Now I’m really sad that nVidia didn’t make the Shield a regular product line. Mine still works quite well.