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.
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Hdmi cable to a laptop
+1 that’s what I do at home with my desktop and what is IMHO the best solution.
Yet on vacation I use an old android box with Android Tv (SlimTv) and I have to say it’s nice to have a dedicated interface allowing use of a remote.Okay, but then the TV is still running all the same spyware.
Update: just disabling wifi doesn’t guarantee 100% privacy anymore on a densely populated area. Nowadays you’ve stuff like Amazon Sidewalk and who knows who’s partner and what devices are in it.
Deny it wifi credentials and it has nowhere to send the stuff it’s spying on
That doesn’t guarantee 100% privacy on a densely populated area anymore. Nowadays you’ve stuff like Amazon Sidewalk and who knows who’s partner and what devices are in it.
Don’t connect it to the internet
That doesn’t guarantee 100% privacy on a densely populated area anymore. Nowadays you’ve stuff like Amazon Sidewalk and who knows who’s partner and what devices are in it.
Iirc that’s specifically for amazon devices, this was regarding Samsung TVs
Not specifically for amazon devices, they’ve opened up the network to “selected partners”, I believe Samsung isn’t on the list but that may happen at any point and to be fair did you read the ToS to know if they don’t have something similar already? What are their plans?
All I know is that I’ve never connected my TV to the internet and never gotten ads on it
Not saying more sinister things aren’t possible, but for my TV to connect to some kind of mesh net, it would probably need a firmware update, which its not going to get, because again, its not connected to the internet.
Pihole is your friend.
Dedicated mini pc running vlc and retroarch with a network link to my 18tb file server schwing schwing
Good choice, I’ve been tempted to set up something similar myself
Go a mini itx over nuc, you can add a half decent gpu and run 1964 as well
Personally, I just use a raspberry pi with flex launcher. Not sure about remote though
It should be feasible to get the remote working under Wayland
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?
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
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!
It isn’t bad but it does leave something to be desired. Mostly a UI that doesn’t require going though submenu after submenu. Also my remote control doesn’t work with kodi as it can’t handle key codes greater than 255
Just started messing with this last night and can’t find wjhere Jellyfin ends up after installing it.
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
You can debloat an NVIDIA shield android tv box, replace the default launcher, then install whatever else you want. It’s probably not perfect but it’s pretty darn good. That’s what I use and it can be updated without losing any of my customization.
I don’t own one but I agree, it ist very good. But it’s too expensive for what it is nowadays. A second hand one or maybe the next generation might be worth it again
Yeah we looked into a shield recently because we know someone who has one and we really liked it, plus I’ve heard it can be locked down and side loaded decently
But then we saw the price of one and are not willing to spend more than half the cost of a brand new 4k tv on a little box to stream from our media server and Netflix…
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 an amazon fire tv 4k, I only use it to start jellyfin. It’s perfect.
If you don’t want it to phone home, put it behind a firewall, and block all but your domains
I can’t recommend it for such a use case. There is no way to automatically start it unless somebody found a new workaround since the last time I tried it. (I hijacked the home button via a accessibility until they removed that possibility) Though it depends on your use case. It’s probably okay if you always have internet and never have the situation where you are offline and want to watch material from a USB stick or something like that or stream it from another home server. In that case fire TV would lock you out and tell you to fix your internet, but only settings are available and all apps are hidden.
I didn’t check for internet connectivity and I’m always onine. I just don’t care that it phones home whenever I start the device.
What’s the best alternative? I’d move if there was one
ive been through this process recently and sadly, what you are looking for doesnt exist at the moment. thr closest thing is Kodi and as you already know, has a lot of flaws.
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.
Do you need an in-remote microphone? If not, I’d suggest a degoogled nvidia shield tv (i.e flash it with lineage OS or similar)
Not a bad option. However, apps are lacking and I don’t want Google
Lineage OS doesn’t include google apps or services. Jellyfin works though.
Did you install via F-droid?
Could do that, or sideload the APK from https://repo.jellyfin.org/files/client/androidtv/
ONN tv from walmart with all the bloat removed by adb and projectivity laauncher. you will not find a better option for under $30
I have one but the bootloader could not be unlocked. I’ll just reuse the remote as it was pretty cheap.
is there a good tv focused android rom you know of that would justify unlocking it? i havent found any that dont act like a phone and require a mouse to use. i like the stock ONN over others because it was so easy to debloat without needing a new rom but i def understand wanting to have full control over everything too.
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.
Nvidia shield is an option you should check out.
