For over a decade I've been watching TV Series and Movies from a Media Box connected via Ethernet to my home NAS (which is generally an old notebook or even my router - once I got myself a decent router - with some external hardisks), which is actually a pretty simple network to set up using Ethernet Over Powerlinr adaptors (which were already good enough for it back when they only did 20 Mb/second and now that they're 1000Mb/s will handle even the huge resolution lightly compressed stuff that one can now find as booty out there).

The setup has been recently upgraded to a Mini-PC with Lubuntu and Kodi, which is in my living room (right next to my Internet router to which it is connect with Gigabit Ethernet) and is also my home NAS and Bittorrent server over always on VPN, with a wireless remote for using in my living room to control Kodi (so it works the same as a TV Box for watching media) whilst the background stuff I control from my main PC remotely using a mix of web interfaces and ssh command line.

I had never had this good an environment for TV entertainment and I'm not even using any of the *arr suite or Usenet to source content so a lot of it is really just doing the same stuff as a decade ago but with better hardware and a more modern UI for media playing and (most importing) a way faster Internet connection.

Anyways, the point I'm making is that nowadays one can actually upgrade a little bit from your setup (which, by the way, is superior to what I had before my Mini-PC upgrade) cheaply and even get themselves very close to the same experience as the corporate stuff (media box with remote and a nice UI to play stuff from a media library) whilst maintaining maximum control and getting no shit from enshittification.

PS: I couldn't recommend more getting a wireless remote if you want to just be able to sit down on your sofa and have a no hassle media box experienced (even whilst behind sits a far more complex home infrastructure that what people who outsource that side of things to the likes of Hulu have). It real helps with having a shit-free under your total control entertainment experience without sacrificing the part of that experience that comes from having a modern interface for media selection.

Its honestly getting to the point now where doing these home setups are so much simpler than owning these proprietary streaming boxes which have everything locked up to serve you ads or just steal data in general.

Hooking a PC up to the TV even to watch the paid services is probably better at this point.

I wish I was technically savy enough to do any of this.

Unfortunately I am cursed, I break shit and hate having to spend hours working out what's fucked on my computer.

TV's wifi card shit itself, problem solved pulled out replaced.

Computer wouldn't boot cause reason number 432 (actually the flash on the MB said fault reserved for future fault finding) hours of struggling.

They went full ret*rd, I want full refund.

(I know you can cuss on the internet, but that word has some baggage...)

So I think this might be getting misrepresented. Now I don't in anyway support"interactive ads" like this, but I'm pretty sure that is all this is. I actually had this exact commercial yesterday and didn't even realize that it was actually asking the question in a non-rhetorical way. So I didn't touch the remote and the commercial just plays out and ends as it would if the text wasn't on the screen. I don't know what happens if you actually answer the question. Hulu puts an ad countdown timer on the screen when ads are playing so you know how much of the ad is left and my show resumed at the time it said it would before the commercials started.

you must live in one of those real countries I've only read about.

What country and what law?

Quick edit: you know, if Hulu doesn't include anywhere that they do this, it could be seen as additional consideration (in the legal contractual term of the word - basically, what each party provides for the other) in order for Hulu to provide its service that wasn't disclosed.

Of course, that just means we'll get yet another "We updated our terms and while we're at it we're increasing our rates $3/month. Fuck You." email and that's that.

For one you don't have to answer it or anything. Many streaming platforms have been doing this for awhile.

That's really odd, I bring up piracy in conversation decently often (usually if I'm talking about a show and someone asks me if that's on Netflix/Prime/Disney+/Hulu or whatever and I have to tell them I haven't a clue)

The reaction had never been judgement, more so curiosity about how I go about my piracy.

Although I guess that's really more of an indication of the poor, anti-capitalist leftist types I tend to associate with than anything else :P

Headed? Were already there.

Some kind of thing US people are reduced to using because their tv has become such a joke.

Of course, now it's become the new playground of the corpos. Can't have the plebs wasting their leisure time without the important people getting some profit after all.