Tv box recommendations?
Tv box recommendations?
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
Permanently Deleted
I will have an OG Xiaomi Mi Box and it's absurd how over the years it went from a purely functional media device to a complete shit show covered ads. Genuinely disgusted me every time I turned the TV on. I couldn't stand it anymore, I had to tear out the launcher with ADB and replace it with FLauncher.
I wish Kodi wasn't such a pain in the ass to deal with, especially for YouTube. We really need a new FOSS media center application. Until then, at least FLauncher works for now as a simple app switcher for a handful of Android apps.
Emby gang
What exactly is your problem with Plex? I've used it for years and there's not even a hint of ads. They bow offer their own content as well, but you can simply remove that (or just not add it in the first place) from your start page. Other than that?
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.
A RaspberryPi with a Flirc case is silent
What os/frontend would you recommend?
I use LibreELEC, it's great.
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.
I second the roku, they are economically priced, they perform very well, minimal ads. My friends and family use them to stream from my jellyfin server over the internet to their homes.
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.
A Shield TV is probably overkill for you and the recommendations of a pi would do just fine, but if it's in budget I say go for the Shield TV. Mine is nearly 8 years old and I haven't had a single issue, streams 4k HDR, and runs so much better than any of the crap that comes with even the newest of TVs.
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.
I use the shield with an alternative front end/launcher.
Yes, there are (so far) ways to get around it for more technically skilled people, but you also have to sacrifice some features like the home screen channels (or updates). But you shouldn't have to do that on a device in that price-segment, and I don't want to support a product that employs such anti-consumer tactics with my recommendation.
IIUC you can flash LineageOS on the shield (if you try, let us know how it goes)
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.
It doesn't offer AVC1 decoding; so if that matters to you, skip it. If it doesn't (and it absolutely doesn't for the vast majority of users) then it's not only best-in-class, it's alone in its class. The nVidia Shield Pro is the only other device with as much power in it and that's been eclipsed by the newest AppleTV iteration. They're really just that good.
Why not use a pi or some other sbc?
I've done this in the past. I was mostly interested to see what others have done
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.
I just run a full desktop and either use a browser for things like youtube and I have jellyfin media player for other media
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
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 got a couple of them. They work great. I actually got a Chromecast with Google TV as well, but have since quit using it because the Onn works better in my opinion.
It works pretty good but every once in a while it’ll hard lock and blast loud static out of my speakers until I unplug it and plug it back in
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
if i was to build one, i would go for a thinkcentre. easy to get for cheap and perfectly able to stream video (with linux, of course).
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
Fewer Letters More Letters Plex Brand of media server package RPi Raspberry Pi brand of SBC SBC Single-Board Computer
2 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 5 acronyms.
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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'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.
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 codecs, all the good stuff.
Between that and my PS5 it covers all the bases
Gotta be careful with osmc. It has so much choice that breaking is entirely possible to do accidentally. I absolutely love my little 4k box.
A kodi distro, such as LibreElec would be my vote, but I don't believe it does streaming services very well, if at all.
I am so done with streaming services.The local library has more TV and films than I'll ever have the time or inkling to actually watch.
Kodi / LibreELEC has add-ons available to most of the most popular streaming services. The trouble is that it hasn't the necessary licenses for playing content in the best resolutions (the same goes with most browsers). I myself have a Homatics R 4k Plus (which is a licensed box) and installed CoreELEC. When using Android I can stream my content in the highest resolutions (Star Plus, HBO Max and Disney Plus) but when using CoreELEC I can't.
Thanks for clarifying. I recalled seeing something about 720p caps for certain streaming services when using non-DRM platforms, but I wasn't sure which.
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.