Janko Roettgers

Your smart TV may be scraping the web for AI Some TV apps let you watch programming with fewer ads, as long as you allow your TV to participate in a global proxy network.

Some TV apps, especially on Samsung and LG TVs, let viewers watch with fewer ads. The catch: They first have to opt their TVs into a global proxy network that scrapes public web data for AI training and other purposes. www.lowpass.cc/p/smart-tv-w...

Your smart TV may be scraping the web for AI Some TV apps let you watch programming with fewer ads, as long as you allow your TV to participate in a global proxy network.

Today in Lowpass: Your smart TV may be scraping the web for AI www.lowpass.cc/p/smart-tv-w...

The next iTunes may be vibe-coded The new music app Parachord aims to unite Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp — with the help of AI.

15 years ago, a small group of music tech hackers built an app that tried to bridge the gaps between streaming service silos. Now, one of them is resuming the work, with some help from AI www.lowpass.cc/p/parachord-...

The next iTunes may be vibe-coded The new music app Parachord aims to unite Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp — with the help of AI.

15 years ago, a small group of music tech hackers built an app that tried to bridge the gaps between streaming service silos. Now, one of them is resuming the work, with some help from AI www.lowpass.cc/p/parachord-...

Jeff Bezos: It's always day one!
Washington Post reporter: Well, in that case ...

How Gorilla Tag is weathering the VR winter The popular VR game is breaking audience records, all while its makers are working on a mobile offshoot, a TV show, and a Gorillacon live event.

Also coming: A Gorilla Tag TV show and ... Gorillacon 👀 www.lowpass.cc/p/gorilla-ta...

How Gorilla Tag is weathering the VR winter The popular VR game is breaking audience records, all while its makers are working on a mobile offshoot, a TV show, and a Gorillacon live event.

Gorilla Tag is the biggest game in #VR. Now, it's working on a mobile app. www.lowpass.cc/p/gorilla-ta...

How Gorilla Tag is weathering the VR winter The popular VR game is breaking audience records, all while its makers are working on a mobile offshoot, a TV show, and a Gorillacon live event.

Today in Lowpass: Gorilla Tag is the most popular game on Meta's Quest VR headsets. Now, the company behind it is building a mobile app, making a TV show and planning a live event. www.lowpass.cc/p/gorilla-ta...

Game consoles built streaming — until it outgrew them It’s the end of an era: Hulu ends support for its Nintendo Switch app, while Netflix says goodbye to the PlayStation 3.

New in Lowpass: Game consoles built streaming — until it outgrew them www.lowpass.cc/p/netflix-ps...

Everyone is stealing TV Fed up with increasing subscription prices, viewers embrace rogue streaming boxes.

The maker of that device soon got used out of business, but the concept survived, and in fact is now bigger than ever. The twist: Nowadays, Chinese device makers are targeting mainstream America ... and they're finding buyers everywhere. www.theverge.com/streaming/87...

And other immigrant communities as well, for that matter. I remember walking through Koreatown in LA, and stumbling across a billboard advertising TVPad.

Piracy, in a box, paid for by an upfront hardware purchase: That proved super popular among Chinese expats, and those boxes started popping up everywhere.

The UI was clunky, the thing was obviously running Android on cheap hardware ... but it streamed Chinese TV stations for free. Oh, and it also had a bunch of Western movies, and even a grainy live feed of HBO.

There's a bit of a backstory to this one. Around a decade ago, someone I know got a weird little box called the TVPad as a gift. The thing looked like a cheap Apple TV knockoff, but supposedly cost $200 retail.

Everyone is stealing TV Fed up with increasing subscription prices, viewers embrace rogue streaming boxes.

I wrote a feature story about rogue streaming boxes for The Verge: www.theverge.com/streaming/87...

It's the end of an era. For context: Netflix used to do a lot of innovation on the PS3, because it was easier to test and tweak things than on some of the other early platforms. One example: The first Netflix TV client to support casting was on the PS3.

Related: www.lowpass.cc/p/casting-hi...

Zuckerberg: All videos will be 3D worlds Just don't call it the metaverse: Meta's CEO says the company's VR investments will help create new mobile-first media formats.

New on Lowpass: Zuckerberg: All videos will be 3D worlds www.lowpass.cc/p/zuckerberg...

What Netflix's Warner Bros. deal could mean for TVs and remotes Smart TV makers have long been forced to jump through many hoops to carry the Netflix app. Will that change once Netflix gets its hands on HBO Max?

Today in Lowpass: What Netflix's Warner Bros. deal could mean for TVs and remotes www.lowpass.cc/p/netflix-de...

If you're wondering why today's Lowpass newsletter ended a bit abruptly ... here's an explanation: sfba.social/@jank0/11594...

Scoop: Telly had only 35,000 TVs in people’s homes last fall Free TV startup Telly remains far behind schedule, according to internal data. The startup also struggled with TVs breaking during shipping.

Telly owners have also long complained about many TVs arriving broken at their doorsteps. Thanks to newly-leaked numbers, we now know that 10% of Tellys delivered by FedEx were damaged. www.lowpass.cc/p/telly-3500...

Scoop: Telly had only 35,000 TVs in people’s homes last fall Free TV startup Telly remains far behind schedule, according to internal data. The startup also struggled with TVs breaking during shipping.

When Telly launched in 2023, execs boasted that they would give away 500,000 TVs before the end of the year. In Q3 of 2025, the real number of Telly TVs in people's homes was just 35,000 😲 www.lowpass.cc/p/telly-3500...

Scoop: Telly had only 35,000 TVs in people’s homes last fall Free TV startup Telly remains far behind schedule, according to internal data. The startup also struggled with TVs breaking during shipping.

Scoop: Telly had only 35,000 TVs in people’s homes last fall www.lowpass.cc/p/telly-3500...

Text reading "Netflix built its voting tech to only allow one vote per Netflix profile. But those early tests showed that fairness was as much about the way different options were presented, and that long-held beliefs about user interface (UI) design could introduce perceived biases. One example: Designers such as Iyengar like to direct the eye to simplify smart TV interfaces. When you open up the Netflix app on your TV, you’ll find that one title is always preselected, which helps to understand what to do if you want to navigate to the title right next to it, or perhaps one in a row below. “On TV, you should always have something in focus,” he says. “Otherwise people don’t understand where the focus state is.” When Iyengar’s team built the interface that people will use to award stars to Star Search performers, they initially followed that same principle and highlighted the third star to direct the eye. Test audiences immediately pushed back. “People did not like that we were filling up the stars for them,” he says. “They were, like, ‘Why are you voting for me?’”"

I loved this tidbit about the live voting feature of Netflix's Star Search reboot. www.fastcompany.com/91477533/how...

How Netflix brought interactive voting to 'Star Search' Netflix's 'Star Search' reboot will let viewers vote with their remote controls. The company wants to repurpose the tech for other live events in the future.

My latest for Fast Company: How Netflix brought interactive voting to ‘Star Search’ www.fastcompany.com/91477533/how...

JWX acquires AI video studio Augie Founder predicts "a tough year for single-function startups"

Also on Lowpass today: JWX acquires AI video studio Augie www.lowpass.cc/p/jwx-aug-x-...

The full story is behind the paywall, but you can unlock it with a 7-day free trial: www.lowpass.cc/upgrade?offe...

Casting is dead. Long live casting! Also: AI video app Augie gets acquired

Today in Lowpass: Why Netflix abandoned casting after 15 years, and why others think that there's still demand for this tech www.lowpass.cc/p/casting-hi...

TV makers are taking AI too far The latest smart TV news straight from CES in Las Vegas

My latest, from CES: TV makers are taking AI too far www.lowpass.cc/p/ces-2026-t...

En route to CES ...

The Texas AG’s smart TV lawsuits are a hot mess No, China doesn't have your Hulu password

New in Lowpass: The Texas AG’s smart TV lawsuits are a hot mess

Five lawsuits allege spying by smart TV manufacturers. Unfortunately, they're full of hyperbole and sloppy mistakes. www.lowpass.cc/p/texas-ag-k...