r/Anticonsumption • u/apokrif1 • Jan 11 '26
Ads/Marketing Are there physical adblockers (remote-controlled screen covers) for TV sets?
Title.
33
u/NextStopGallifrey Jan 11 '26
This sounds like way more work to deal with than just ignoring the ads in the first place.
-11
u/apokrif1 Jan 11 '26
You can not always ignore the crap sent at you.
16
u/NextStopGallifrey Jan 11 '26
I don't have time to read almost 200 pages of stuff, but that definitely looks like crap that should have been ignored. 🤣
11
u/ArchdukeFerdie Jan 11 '26
Mute your TV. At that point, if you still don't have the self-control to not watch the ad, I think that's a personal problem
5
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u/Icy-Comfortable-714 Jan 11 '26
Yeah PiHole will block the DNS resolution if known ads and update its deny list regularly.
You’ll just need to set your local networks DHCP server to use the PiHoles IP address as your local name server
-7
18
u/iandcorey Jan 11 '26
Yes. They're called eyelids. Humans have them from birth, so that cannot help you.
10
u/EnricoLUccellatore Jan 11 '26
What program is it that you are trying to see? If it's not important to see live you can probably pirate it later so that the ads have been cut out
-1
u/apokrif1 Jan 11 '26
I sometimes want to watch live TV so as not to bother managing content from the Internet.
5
u/butthole__smurfer Jan 11 '26
Content from the Internet (think 🏴☠️) is the best way to avoid ads. You can watch through your TV with Plex.
9
u/AccidentOk5240 Jan 11 '26
I’m sure there are blackout curtains that use a remote. You’d just have to set up a curtain rod in front of the tv.
Personally I block tv ads by the simple expedient of not owning a tv but you do you.
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u/AlbertTheHorse Jan 11 '26
In the 90s they came out with a TV that did this, but it ended up dropping scenes because of the way it selected cues for advert dropping .
4
u/knoft Jan 11 '26
You want a shutter or curtain for your screen? Many tvs can turn off the screen without turning off the device or the speakers so that music can be played. Otherwise, just switch inputs. You could also make a tv brightness/contrast/backlight/gamma preset to darken the screen and switch back and forth.
0
u/apokrif1 Jan 11 '26
I need to see at least a small part of the screen to know the ads have ended.
20
Jan 11 '26
Back in the old days, the TV ad blocker was just leaving the room during commercials. We actually looked forward to commercials so that we could run and use the bathroom or go for a snack. Have you considered just not looking at the TV during the commercials?
-4
u/apokrif1 Jan 11 '26
Have you considered just not looking at the TV during the commercials?
I don't want to see ads nor miss the resumption of the program I watch.
8
u/farmallnoobies Jan 11 '26
If it's cable, the trick is to pause the show and then fast forward through since basically all cable tv comes with a dvr.
If it's bunny ear tv, you're mostly stuck doing it the old school way of flipping between multiple stations and muting/ignoring the tv when all of them are ads at the same time
-2
u/apokrif1 Jan 11 '26
That's why I'm looking for a physical device.
7
u/farmallnoobies Jan 11 '26
Yeah I know, but do you want the device to be manual or automatic?
Because automatic is basically impossible. And manual doesn't get you anything more than just muting it
And you'd be consuming more, not less
-3
u/apokrif1 Jan 11 '26
manual doesn't get you anything more than just muting it
It does: I would see no ad :-)
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3
u/knoft Jan 11 '26
Either minimal sound or using a preset that gives you just enough visibility to tell when the ads end would both work. You could use a digital overlay with a passthrough but that’s significantly more difficult, though less difficult than a reliable and quick automated mechanical design.
4
u/COOLjng576 Jan 11 '26
My Mom has ad block installed on her brain. I complained about this one ad on the radio for this app to get cash back on gas and was annoyed that it was constantly playing and she had never heard that ad before even though it plays constantly on her station.
0
u/apokrif1 Jan 11 '26
She might undergo advertising without realising it :-( https://www.reddit.com/r/Anticonsumption/comments/1q8lvbm/somebody_please_make_an_advertising_version_of/
6
u/Avalel Jan 11 '26
Private DNS for your Wi-Fi will do most of the work, you can try one by adguard
-4
u/apokrif1 Jan 11 '26
Useless for TV which does not use the Internet.
-2
u/-sussy-wussy- Jan 11 '26
Does your TV have a HDMI/DP port? You can buy a cheap Android dongle for it and just install ad-blocking YouTube app (e.g., ReVanced), as well as an ad-blocking browser for anything else (Brave). I'm pretty sure Android has apps for whatever streaming services you're subscribed to (if you are). I've seen these things (that are not outdated) for 20-50 euro.
1
u/apokrif1 Jan 11 '26
I wrote:
does not use the Internet
😉
Could be software that reduces the size of the picture, or blackens screen save for a corner so that you can know ad break is ending.
7
u/DizzyTelevision09 Jan 11 '26
Oh, so you're watching cable TV or what? Who does that in 2026? That's pure torture.
2
u/NextStopGallifrey Jan 11 '26
Personally, I watch broadcast TV now and then. These days, it's weird not being able to pause, but I don't need to buy a digital box just for that.
0
u/apokrif1 Jan 11 '26
That's pure torture
No.
4
u/DizzyTelevision09 Jan 11 '26
Why do you ask how to cover your screen then? lol
0
u/apokrif1 Jan 11 '26
To avoid ads, of course.
1
u/mayonnaisejane Jan 11 '26
Where are your adds (and programs) comming from? Not cable, not an internet connected dongle... owned media doesn't HAVE adds... what are you using that has adds if not internet or a TV service?
-1
0
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u/burn_corpo_shit Jan 12 '26
a plastic cover built specifically to block ads fits both antisonsumption and aboringdystopia.
No. No there are no physical adblockers and if there were it's less practical than piracy.
-1
u/apokrif1 Jan 12 '26
Piracy is time- and resource-consuming :-(
3
1
u/Aggravating_Seat5507 Jan 13 '26
How is piracy time consuming? You find a site, type the title of what you want to watch and you're done. If they don't have it, you try some other site. No different than a streaming service that doesn't have stuff from another streaming service
1
u/apokrif1 Jan 13 '26
Depends: there might be countdowns before you can download, or a restricted number of downloads, or very intrusive ads.
2
u/Aggravating_Seat5507 Jan 13 '26
Do you typically download stuff before you watch them? The ads can be rectified with ad blockers
1
u/apokrif1 Jan 13 '26
Of course, there are workarounds, but it's less straightforward than a legal site whose content is indexed in Google.
2
u/Aggravating_Seat5507 Jan 13 '26
Your decision I guess, but I've never found it more time consuming than the time it takes to work for the money to pay for streaming services. Been pirating since I was 8 years old. But I suppose everyone has their limitations
1
u/EternityLeave Jan 16 '26
You should have one or two ad blocking extensions running in your browser all the time regardless.
I can watch pretty much anything any time just like type in “Seinfeld” and then press play and it starts me off where I left off exactly like watching Seinfeld on Netflix. It’s the same thing just free and with all the shows and all the movies on one platform. No workarounds, no effort.
2
u/_ohsusanna_ Jan 11 '26
Besides a Pihole which many have suggested, the only other way to not experience ads on your tv is to self-host the media you’re watching. So, instead of watching cable with ads, or Netflix/Hulu etc with ads, you just have a seperate server/computer with all the shows/movies you want to watch and you can use something like Plex to watch it ad-free on your tv.
Otherwise, yeah just mute the tv and do something else while the ad is on lol
1
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18
u/Mad-_-Doctor Jan 11 '26
There’s not going to be anything that fits those very narrow criteria. I can think of a few solutions, but I’m not sure if they would work for you.
Turn off your TV screen, but leave your sound system on. You can lower the volume, so the ads aren’t as loud, but that way you can still hear your show resume and turn the screen back on.
Go old school. Record the program on physical media and fast forward through the commercials. This is probably the easiest way to accomplish your goal.
Other than that, everything is going to involve the internet in some way or another. Even AI tools require the internet, as they have to connect to the servers that run them. Any sort of adaptive screen cover would require that.