I have a couple of TVs that I use HTPC appliances with. One’s a shield TV and the other’s a roku. I’m not super happy with either of them. The shield lags like crazy and apps crash constantly. The Roku is stable, but can’t decode h265 or av1. Both at riddled with ads. Does anyone have a solution they’re happy with? I mostly watch content from major streaming services and stream media from my NAS. I have a raspberry pi 4 that’s not in use right now, I tried to get it working as a set top box, but couldn’t get DRM content to work so I went back to the shield.
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Some 2nd gen Intel Acer Aspire (?) SFF with an older gen NVIDIA card. Last Windows machine in the household due to WAF.
What is WAF?
I guess Wife Acceptance Factor, the number one parameter in home self host.
wife acceptance factor :)
Two Shield TVs because there’s not really anything else.
I’m using a Shield TV Pro with the default launcher disabled, replaced with FLauncher, and the netflix and voice search buttons disabled via button mapper.
I’m 1000% happy with it and absolutely would not go back to an actual HTPC.
Oh, I also uninstalled youtube and replaced it with SmartTube Beta
Is there any way to fling YouTube videos to SmartTube from a smartphone?
That’s the one thing locking me into Kodi.
Yes, you can cast from the official YouTube app (or Revanced). You need to generate a code for connection in the SmartTube settings, then connect your phone through the cast menu. The option in the cast menu on the phone is called something like “Connect with code” IIRC.
I ran into issues with this function on my shield pro, it would randomly reopen the smart tube app continuously until I disconnected my phone.
Not that I’ve been able to find. I rarely notice but when I do it’s quite frustrating.
I’ve tried libreelec on a raspberry pi 4, but it just doesn’t pass the wife test.
We have a thomson streaming stick 140G (EU branding for ONN). We just use jellyfin, smarttube and our national public service streaming apps. It’s in apps-only mode, but Google still injects one ad on the home screen. I didn’t bother with a custom launcher just yet.
just a normal PC? Streaming should work in a browser.
Actually some browsers also have issues with 4k and certain codecs. IIRC Edge is (or was) the most compatible surprisingly.
Intel NUC running Linux. Not the cheapest solution but can play anything and I have full control over it. At first I tried to find some kind of programmable remote but now we have a wireless keyboard with built-in touchpad.
Biggest downside is that the hardware quality is kind of questionable and the first two broke after 3 years + a few months, so we’re on our third now.
I was tempted by these n100 mini PCs, but worried about the no-name components. I saw many people on reddit/lemmy recommending Dell, Lenovo, HP micro form factor PCs. You can pick them up used from eBay as companies clear out “old” computers. The advantage of the known brands is ongoing firmware support.
Ryzen 1200/GTX 960 small build running Linux Mint. There’s a UHD blu-ray drive in it as well with the custom firmware to rip disks. Media is stored on my NAS that handles Plex and transcoding. The parts were mostly old extras I had lying around, just needed the case, blu-ray drive and boot SSD. Oh and the like $20 wireless Logitech keyboard/track pad combo for control.
I’m using a Ryzen Mini PC running Debian and Flex Launcher.
Works well as both a media consumption machine and light gaming rig.
I don’t do drm’d content, its all coming from JF so ive got random assortments in various parts of my home. An apple TV, a roku, a regular chromecast, a Chromecast with google TV dongle, and a lenovo m90q with a launcher running arch/KDE.
Shield, mine is very stable, never crashes, doesn’t lag
I use a Radxa Rock 5B running an Android TV ROM. Sits in a 3D printed case and has a silent little Noctua fan keeping it cool. Could be better - the ROM has a little jank to it - but it has taken everything I’ve thrown at it so far.
Apple TV is rad, because you can pair it with a controller, and use the Steam link app to play on your computer from another room.
No need to have the computer near the tv for couch gaming. No need to listen to the pc fans screaming.
Android devices can do that too. I use steam link on my shield.
I just use a Chromecast and use my phone to cast from Jellyfin on my home server right to the Chromecast. No fiddly bits.
i just use repurposed PCs. cost (or lack of, rather) is the prime factor.
the main playback ‘device’ is currently a 6th gen laptop that runs lid down (doesn’t support turbo boost, so heat isn’t an issue at all), and an old wireless kb/trackpad for a ‘remote’.
storage is a hodgepodge of usb hdd, 2.5in hdd, and desktop systems. usually only one of which is being used (powered on) at a time.
i just use a text dump out of ‘everything’ for my ‘catalog’ and have numerous vlc playlists saved. i looked into things like jellyfin but the work involved in normalizing directory structures and filenames would be nightmarish.
Beelink Mini PCs or ones like that, plus a wireless keyboard/trackpad combo.
If you go this route I recommend installing Kodi + Jellyfin Plugin + Kore Android App. You can control everything from your phone or laptop.
