Is the nvidia shield TV still the go-to box for streaming content to your TV?
I don’t really need much, just something that can pick up jellyfin. hulu/HBO/etc. is a bonus
Maybe something running Kodi? I don’t use streaming services but I do use Kodi on a single board computer.
Stay away from cheap Chinese TV boxes. They are full of malware
I’ve been very happy with roku tvs at home and a roku stick “to-go”. Very simple interface with minimal ads that you can block.
If you have Apple users in your household, the current generation of Apple TV 4K 128GB is a solid device that’s going to offer the best integrated experience, along with capability of Thread. If not, it’s probably a bit overpriced compared to the other solutions.
If you go the android route turn on Apps Only Mode in the settings. It gets rid of the home screen ads for the most part and disabled a lot of the “features” that Google tries to push.
Might as well load a 3rd party launcher gets rid of the rest of the ads. Not using the extra features at that point anyway.
I use a beelink nuc, put on Linux and just connect it via HDMI to my tv, this way I have no real restrictions and I can keep it up to date easily.
What ui do you put on? Kodi? Or do you just run a full fat deskop environment?
I do the same. I have Debian with KDE and Kodi autostart on boot. Use Kodi most of the time but can tab out if needed.
OSMC makes some good Kodi boxes under the Vero name if you don’t need proprietary streaming services. I use the jellyfin plugin to read from my JF server, works great. Supports 4k, HDR, audio passthrough, many codes, all the good stuff.
Between that and my PS5 it covers all the bases
Why not use a pi or some other sbc?
Just get a firestick
Are firsticks bad? (Genuinely asking)
No, but Amazon decides what you see on the top half of the main screen unless you install a custom launcher. You can use your own photos for the screen saver. You can side load android apps. I use one called “smart YouTube tv” which blocks YouTube ads and has sponsor block built in.
You can grab an Onn Google TV 4k Streaming Box from Walmart for about $20.
I saw one of these. Have you used it? Does it work okay?
I’ve been using an Nvidia Shield TV Pro for a while, and hardware-wise it’s still amazing. But with the way the OS is going, I can’t recommend it to anyone anymore, not for that price. I basically had to stop updating any of the system stuff so it doesn’t plaster my TV screen with ads.
IIUC you can flash LineageOS on the shield (if you try, let us know how it goes)
I’m kinda new to the scene so take what I say with a grain of salt. I have jellyfin running on a laptop and I use a roku stick to stream through. Not perfect by any means however it does what I need to do. I’ve been told using a raspberry PI would be a great budget option with more feature.
I have Xiaomi TV stick 1080p (android) and I’m happy with it. I know its not popular solution, but its cheaper and I had 0 issues so far
I’d vlan anything cheap and Chinese. It’s pretty much guaranteed to phone home and send as much info about your environment as possible.
Given the recent issues with ads, I wouldn’t recommend anything Android/GoogleTV based. A USFF PC will give you better performance for less money, especially if you buy used. You can find 1L X86 boxes for $30-60 on eBay that are perfect for the job.
I’ve tried a lot of different things before settling on a old (windows) laptop with a wireless mouse and keyboard… I just cba with any of the streaming boxes anymore, and the laptop will always be compatible and performant.
A RaspberryPi with a Flirc case is silent
What os/frontend would you recommend?
I use LibreELEC, it’s great.
deleted by creator