I have been using kodi but it just so limited and clunky. Android TV is better but that is a major challenge since Android TV is very tied to Google with not much existing outside of Google.
What I am looking for is a device that can work with mostly Jellyfin. I don’t use any streaming services. It would need to work flawlessly with a remote and I am looking for something that maintains itself mostly.
How “big” are your movies and tv shows? If they are 4k UHD remuxes then Nvidia Shield Pro or Apple TV 4k behind a firewall to block external internet is your best option for performance, usability, and privacy. You will want to ocassionally allow it internet for software updates. Kodi, a mini pc, raspberry pi, etc. would be more private but you trade off a seamless remote, easy interface, and streaming codecs (e.g., dolby vision).
The Nvidia shield can run Lineage which is a option.
Lineage has google tv version?
can it be flashed on “google tv” teevees?
I use a raspberry pi with LibreElec/Kodi. It works with the HDMI-CEC, meaning I control it with the TV remote.
Jellyfin can be used as a source for movies and stuff with a plugin.
Awful UI and my TV remote only has on off with CEC. I have a Bluetooth remote but the select key code is higher than 255
Yeah, fair enough. Did you try kodi with a different hardware? Might be a bit easier on the clunkiness. But besides AndroidTV, which I hate because it doesn’t do what I want, I have no alternative.
I haven’t dabbed in it, what does the select keycode being higher than 255 do?
Select
Kodi just have a awful menu system everything is buried under menus.
As far as Android TV goes it is pretty sure friendly and works out of the box
Yeah, it does need a lot of getting used to, especially if you want to change some settings.
With AndroidTV I have the same problem as with Windows: More and more of the “features” seem to be against my interests. That might be a view tainted by the SmartTVs, but it’s the only experience I have with it.
We really need a foss TV is that’s modern with modern apps
I really dig my tcl roku tv. Ultra cheap and has plex/jellyfin. Has 1 ad on the main screen that can be easily blocked but can also be setup to insta launch an app on boot. These tvs also have decent latency in game mode too (my most important requirement).
I remember that roku TVs refuse working until you connect it to the internet. their values/intentions are clear, I wouldn’t give money to them
Not true at all. Yes you do have to do an initial setup connected to the internet (and making a roku account), but after that you can disconnect it from the internet completely. It even looses its initial ad after a certain time.
So it is true. Why do you call it not true?
oh that was it, the account requirement was what I wanted to remember but couldn’t! was sure it was something even worse, thanks for the help.
yeah if I would buy such a TV by accident, I would bring it back within the return period and tell that it was faulty, because it is.
The ad on the right side of the home screen always shows up for me, even with a pi-hole setup at home. I actually ended up factory resetting my roku tv and disconnected it from the inyernet entirely a couple years back for that exaxt reason. Except roku OS 10+ actually gas built-in ads on the right side that show up even if you’re offline.
…so how did you get rid of the ads entirely? Because I’d love to do that myself.
You have to disconnect the internet for a while. Think a month or two.
Weird, I’ve had it disconnected since the factory reset.
Maybe I should connect it, let it load new ads, and then cut it off again?
Humm. How long has it been disconnected? I wouldn’t reconnect just in case it starts a timer back over or something.
A couple of years now. I messed around with the Secret Menu settings today and I might have solved it; my guess is that there are some “default” ads cached forever on certain settings.
Cheapest TV you can find that has the specs that you are interested in combined with a $50 pawn shop laptop and an inexpensive wireless keyboard and mouse.
Linux is optional but highly encouraged.
Connect that to a USB dac which is then piped into an amplifier for 2.0 sound.
I could probably rig up a subwoofer for a little extra oomph but none of the amplifiers I found at the thrift store have a way to turn off a powered amp or power an unpowered one.
I have a TV. I just need a good TV box which probably will be a old RPI
Also I would rather continue to use Kodi over a keyboard. At least with kodi I can use my phone to control it
A 4B is kind of the minimum for newer Librelec versions. Still cheap and fanless with a good heat sink case. I’ve learned recently about CEC and it works on my old Panasonic with Viera but I keep a little Bluetooth keyboard around too.
It works fine on a rpi3 (osmc)
Recently got this for my laptop/TV in the bedroom, this thing is awesome.
It’s a keyboard/touchpad/basic IR remote
I have a portable USB/Bluetooth DAC with jack, that get’s me high quality music if rigged to my pc and can switch to phone/tv-box with a tap.
Doesn’t annoy my neighbors and is a better DAC than those built in wireless earbuds.
Nvidia shield is an option you should check out.
even though Microsoft clearly wants to push Windows 10 users to Windows 11
does it still require a pointless hardware upgrade? then no, they clearly fucking don’t.
Because they want to make money. The get a licensing money for big OEMs. It probably was the OEMs who were pushing Microsoft to make everyone upgrade. They want to continue selling computers at a high rate.
with the death of Moore’s law they will find it much harder to add enough value to hardware to make upgrading worth it.
I’m ready for the Linux switch but for many this kind of bullshit will strong arm them into buying new shit they don’t need.
I’ve heard an nvidia shield with lineageOS is really quite good!
What software do you use? I assume it is Google free
Use the jellyfin kodi addon works very smoothly. I’ve been using it for two years and love it. I replaced all my chromecasts with kodi. It even has the approval of my wife.
It even has the approval of my wife.
He is the chosen one! Hail him!
I’ve been using a Chromecast with Google tv, and have deprived my tv my WiFi credentials. 90% of what I watch is from my Plex server, 9% other streaming services, 1% digital antenna.
It’s not an ideal situation but as you know because you asked the question, the privacy situation in TVs is dire. Otherwise you’re doing ridiculous shit like plugging computers into it or whatever.
I use a steamdeck with jellyfin installed. It’s not its main purpose but works well enough
RPi with minidlnad, all devices at home from computers, phones, tablets, video projector, even VR HMD, can play content with e.g VLC.
Very quick to install (basically have a media directory with your videos inside) and still very flexible, e.g new content is added simply by copying from any other device with access, e.g scp which itself can be a script after downloading something.
Personally, I just use a raspberry pi with flex launcher. Not sure about remote though
Thank you for sharing this, it looks really promising
I’m tired of only hearing of Kodi suggested in threads like this. I don’t get why it’s so popular, it’s confusing for non-tech oriented people, you can’t stream, YouTube functionality is questionable, the interface is dated looking and IMO an eyesore…
Some people like Kodi and that’s great but it sucks balls for other people and there’s barely ever any mention of any sort of alternative (like your comment)
These threads are usually just:
“I need a device or software for watching tv that works with a remote”
Kodi Kodi Kodi jUsT uSe A lApToP Kodi Kodi Laptop + HDMI cable
Yeah, as much as I love Kodi it is simply not meant for what I want to do, streaming that is.
Kodi isn’t for streaming from services like netflix and YouTube. It’s used to stream offline video files over the local network.
Well a) yeah I know I said that in my comment
And b) you can get a YouTube plugin for Kodi IIRC
So what’s your point?
It should be feasible to get the remote working under Wayland
We’ve been using an Apple TV. From memory, there’s a Jellyfin client.
Apple isn’t exactly my go to company especially for privacy and freedom
Jellyfin + Apple TV + Infuse = Bliss
Apple TV only works on Apple hardware and isn’t great for privacy or freedom. No thanks.
The “Apple TV” is Apple hardware.
Exactly. It is locked down and does not respect your freedom
What can you do on your android tv that you can do on an Apple TV?
Install F-droid and not be locked into Apples ecosystem. Also there are privacy issues as well as it connects to Apples servers
Does fdroid even work on android tv?
Yes
Put them behind a firewall in the guest network.
Who?
I’m looking for a TV desktop environment