My alternative is OSMC running on a RPI 3
It isn't going to win any awards but it does work nicely with a Bluetooth remote
this post was submitted on 08 Jan 2025
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It's been years since I've shopped for a TV, but... can't you just not connect it to the internet? I have a little microPC running Linux connected to our TV; it's smarter than any other TV I've seen, but the TV itself is stupid.
Why can't someone just get a smart TV and just never let it get online?
I mean, sure, if I had my 'druthers, I wouldn't be paying for features I don't use, but if it's literally impossible to buy dumb TVs, what's the issue?
They TV companies make lots of money from selling ad space and preinstalled apps. (They likely sell at a loss initially)
You could install android on something, and run one of the open source TV launchers
The main issue for me is not finding a device to play content, but a dumb screen that is not a potatoe. A 4k HDR OLED Screen without any smart features is basically nowhere to be found
You could maybe get an advertisement screen. You know, those you find at train stations and stores.
Maybe, you could even get something like those touch panels McDonald's uses, that would be nice!
Isn't most digital signage "SMART" too?
They usually have a dedicated compute unit which is sold separately (or by a different company)
Nice, I might have to get one. Also, your name reminds me I have to buy more Borax.
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I literally have a rpi4 and just put libreELEC on it
Kodi is a great choice regardless of distro, whether that's libreelec, osmc, or just regular Raspbian.
I installed Kodi on my RetroPie setup, and it works well.
If Android is okay, I'd recommend the ONN 4K Pro player from Walmart (if located in the U.S.) with some privacy caveats:
- Do as little with Google: Make a throwaway login if Google requires one to get the device started up. Try to avoid Google Play Store as much as possible. If privacy from Google isn't a concern, feel free to use your Google account to download apps from the Google Play Store.
- Learn how to sideload apps: There are multiple ways to do this, like a USB drive or FTP server.
- Pick an alternate launcher: This will replace the default Android TV OS UI with one that has much more flexability and no ads. FLauncher and Projectivity are ones that I recommend to friends.
The final product is a modern streaming device with much more flexability than any other store-bought device. Building a HTPC with Linux is probably the true self hosted option. Personally, I'm able to afford some privacy sacrifices with Google for something that "just works."
I got one of these recently and it works well. Much smoother than whatever my Smart TV is natively running and it doesn't crash constantly.
If it were just me I'd have set up a small HTPC with Kodi, but my family needs something that works without ever needing my intervention, and it needs to run the 100 streaming services we hemorrhage money to. These boxes are super cheap and let me run Jellyfin too.
The old software versions support Lineage OS. If you can find one that was unlocked before they broke unlocking you are in luck. If not Google is bad for privacy.
The option(s) other commenters gave are great! But just to give you more options, I'll give you a few additional ideas.
- KDE Connect: You can still use a normal desktop (preferably KDE or Gnome), set your display scale to 150+%, and then use your phone remotely to control the cursor, media playback, and more.
- Bazzite: often used to replace SteamOS, it also boots into Steam big picture mode by default, where you can set applications in the start menu. It has a nice console-like interface, and you don't have to maintain anything, e.g. updating. It also supports Waydroid and webapps by default.
- An old laptop or mini-PC with Bluefin or Aurora. They are basically like Bazzite, but without gaming stuff. You can set the display scale to 200% and enjoy a worry-free experience. Optionally, you can install Phosh or Plasma Mobile on top, which is made for mobile devices.
Is bazzite couch friendly? I'm expecting to need a mouse and that isnt my ideal setup
In big picture mode it's couch/ controller friendly. In desktop mode you'll need a mouse. Either way you'll need a peripheral device for any platform.
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As others have suggested, OSMC is OK, but personally I prefer having Android so that I can use SmarttubeNext and access native apps for stuff like Jellyfin, Dropout, Nebula, etc. For years I played with various Linux options, but in the end I ditched it all for an Nvidia Shield and I couldn't be happier with the results.
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As others are saying, OSMC might work. Most difficult part is making it so that the TV turns on when you turn on the computer since ARC isn't a thing for most computers.
I ended up giving up on OSMC and bought an Apple TV since nothing else got the "wife approval" factor. It's better than Google getting my data, has a Plex client, and let's me stream my Steam library.
The RPI has CEC support
A laptop running linux mint.
have a look at OSMC, you write it to the Pi SD card and it gives you Kodi all setup and ready use. you can even use your TV remote to control it
Could it do Plex instead of Kodi? Always found the Kodi UI pretty amateur dev.
There's probably a Plex add-on for Kodi. At least, there is for Jellyfin and Emby. If you don't like the UI, try changing it. I prefer the one called "Arctic: Zephyr - Reloaded". You'll need to customize the homescreen a bit to get the most out of it. That way you can make it show widgets of your content, e.g. the latest content added, continue watching, specific libraries, etc. That, at least, works very well with Jellyfin through the Jellycon add-on.
no, its based on kodi. but there are themes you could try
Kodi ui is great! No different menu every single week with them Shoving ads down your throat and stuff. Every interface for every add-on looks exactly the same. Easy to find what you need.
I have been meaning to give this a try. https://osmc.tv/store/
Not OP but it looks good. I wanted an alternative to my Apple TV to watch movies from the NAS and it seems to do the trick for a slightly lower price.
I have the previous model. It does a great job of playing videos from my server in the other room. It technically can do YouTube, but that's a pretty horrible experience. It can't do any other paid streaming services.
But it does do an amazing job of local streaming. It handles most all of the audio and video codecs, and can direct stream just about any video file without too much playing around. I like mine, and definitely recommend it for anyone who also wants a trustworthy local media player.
Yeah, I have a mini pc that I use when I travel as most places have issues with Plex unless you use a VPN. But it's just Ubuntu desktop. I want to try this out and see if I would recommend it to less than techno wizard friends as I don't want to be their IT support at all hours.
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