With Chromecasts being discontinued, increase in ads, telemetry, etc I’m wondering if anyone else is going back to old school HTPCs or if they have some other solution to do this in house.
I think the options here are likely:
- Rooted streamer (ie Chromecast, firestick)
- Android Box
- Mini PC
I’m actually most interested in experimenting with #3, a mini PC running KDE Plasma Bigscreen. Most of my self hosted apps can be run in browser windows, and a full desktop (while harder to navigate) is better than the browsers you can get on Android.
What is everyone esle, especially the privacy / de-googled self hosters doing for their media front end?
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I was looking into something similar recently, and asked around on Lemmy. The general consensus I heard was that a Mini PC weren’t ideal, mostly I think due to the fact that they aren’t designed purely for streaming.
One think someone said piqued my interest, and I might try this. They recommended buying a cheap, Android TV compatible streaming box (like an Onn brand one), and side-loading an open source (and ad-free) launcher onto it.
I found this thread over on the Huffman Shitshow that had some good instructions.
Huffman Shitshow
LoL
If you want to put in more work for more freedom, a lot of SBC’s can do something similar too.
Not even that much work. Libre elec is pretty simple as long as you don’t do anything too creative
This is basically what I do, except the quicker way without using ADB to remove anything. Might try removing the junk though to see if it makes a difference. Launcher Manager and Flauncher makes an Onn 4K very snappy. Hard to beat for $20 and a little setup effort. I used to use Firesticks for years, but they get so slow and constantly revert my launcher changes. Finally got rid of them all.
Have you found a way to stream Netflix at 4K?
Sorry, no idea. Dumped Netflix years ago.
I do not think what I would want as a replacement exists (yet). My main requirements are:
- Only FOSS software and firmware
- Similar level of “casting” compatibility/ubiquity as the discontinued Chromecast
- Easy navigation and/or great UI/UX
- Can be controlled with a stand alone remote control, phone/tablet/laptop, and remote services like Home Assistant
- As portable and low powered as the discontinued Chromecast (or no less portable than a small mini-pc)
- Ability to turn on/off the TV, switch inputs, and control the volume
- Ability to install apps/plugins to directly on the device (maybe even things like Lutris, Moonlight, or something similar for gaming)
- Ideally, the apps would be as well maintained and provide similar levels of quality as something like an Android TV or Apple TV
- (bonus) Ability to store media locally for offline playback
I think the closest I have seen is LibreELEC + Kodi on a RaspberryPi or mini-pc. It’s still not quite there for my tastes though. Hopefully the recent Chromecast announcement will lead to more/better alternatives in the coming months!
Your wishlist sounds almost identical to mine. As frustrating as the limitations of streamers are, they are easy to use. HDMI CEC makes single remote setups possible, easy volume changes, input switching, etc. Apps are vetted so they “just work”.
As for casting, most platforms support running Miracast or AirPlay receivers. Google is the stickler here that won’t let you run a Google Cast receiver (or at least I haven’t found one) and also doesn’t implement Miracast on Pixel devices. It’s such a shame because I vastly prefer casting the URL to the TV and letting it source the content than mirroring my phone all the time.
The mini pc is the most flexible. Batocera works really well and includes:
- Kodi to stream local media and can act as an Airplay receiver
- the ability to run Flatpaks
- a nice 10 ft UI
- emulation backends and moonlight game streaming
- the ability to pair Xbox and PlayStation controllers
Get a usb IR receiver like FLIRC or something similar with HDMI CEC to control everything via standard remote.
The learning curve for Kodi is pretty steep. Most folks aren’t going to bother.
This is the first time I’ve heard anyone say Kodi has a learning curve. I’m curious what you found difficult?
Not OP but I found Kodi incredibly intuitive up until the point that something didn’t behave as expected. Then it was very complicated and support was difficult to find and understand.
Pretty much this. Imagine some untutored user given the jellyfin client. They can figure it out pretty quickly as it is much like Netflix. Compare that to a Kofi on a Pi, first you have a keyboard/mouse. OK, then arrow keys and spacebar get you a ways in - now how do I stop the video? Panic till you find out it’s the X key.
It is the simplicity vs functionality debate. Kodi is amazingly configurable but it is not accessible for your normal household user without a ton of work. Jellyfin(as an example) just runs on the Roku they are already using.
Eventually I’m getting off my old Roku 3 permanently for Kodi, so I’m just saying I wish Kodi had a dummy mode.
You’re describing a completely foreign experience to me. I’ve always controlled Kodi with the TV remote. It’s kind of annoying to type in stuff, but I mostly use Kodi to record and watch jeopardy.
What TV remote?
The one that came with my tv.
I just click up down left right enter return and it works.
Jellyfin plus radarr sonarr. No need to set up a million sticks or whatever anymore. You just set up Jellyfin once.
If you’re up for using Jellyfin, you can check out something I’m working on to achieve this: https://github.com/MattMckenzy/Homehook
The main branch used to be compatible with chromecast devices, but I’ve stopped maintaining it in favor of the v2 branch, where HomeHook communicates directly with satellite devices through HomeCast. Working with Chromecasts were a huge pain.
Let me know if you have any questions about it, always glad to help!
OSMC’s Vero V looks interesting. Pi 4 with OSMC or Librelec could work. I’m probably going to do something like this pretty soon. I just set up an *arr stack last week, and just using my smart TV with the jellyfin app installed ATM.
My PC running the Jellyfin server can’t transcode some videos though; probably going to put an Arc a310 in it.
I just used a mini PC with kde and this remote keyboard.
With kde you can set things up pretty good. There’s a lot of possibilities. I never had casting set up though.
A mix between Kodi, and stremio.
It worked good for steam link too.
I tried with a raspberry pi but it was slow. I wouldn’t recommend it. Idk how others are able to use them. Omsc or whatever might be okay.
Just run KODI from anywhere
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I’ve seen in this thread:
Fewer Letters More Letters NAS Network-Attached Storage Plex Brand of media server package RPi Raspberry Pi brand of SBC SBC Single-Board Computer SSD Solid State Drive mass storage Unifi Ubiquiti WiFi hardware brand
6 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 9 acronyms.
[Thread #940 for this sub, first seen 30th Aug 2024, 00:35] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]
There are some really wicked PC “sticks” (for lack of better word) available these days. I used one from MeLE flashed with Debian as a mobile entertainment center in my travel trailer.
Yeah, those were on my radar as well. I haven’t yet had a chance to look into what the Linux compatibility is like, but that sounds promising that you were able to do it.
The big downside I see is that while the power consumption is low, they’re running a really old SoC, usually based on Intel N4000 (launched late 2017). Looking around it seems to have h.265 decode which is the most important one to look out for. It doesn’t support AV1, but that’s mostly streaming services and not that common (I think?). There may be other disadvantages I’m not thinking of at the moment.
What was the performance like for you?
I can confirm that the one I used 3 years ago could stream Netflix and HBO from browser, no problem. It also handled local files in VLC like a champ.
I even installed Steam and played a handful of non-resource-intensive games on it.
I’d buy another in a heartbeat for use as media rig. This time I’d install barebones Debian on it, instead of med-weight MX like I did prior. It’d probably perform even better.
The issue is they sit in this odd place from a price perspective. I can get an N4000 based stick PC with 4GB RAM and eMMC storage for $140 CAD, or a vastly better performing N95 based mini PC with 8GB RAM, real SSD, and additional outputs for $50 more.
The stick PC really only makes sense if you need that form factor, or if you’re on a really tight budget. The improvements for $50 are just too much to ignore.
Fair points.
The biggest motivating factor for my use case was that it was more than happy to run off a USB C cable tapped into my solar bank’s 12v line. So for boondocking, it was a great solution.
Absolutely. It sounds ideal for something like that.
The USB-C power is huge. I don’t know why it is so hard to find. I do not want another massive power brick and barrel connector.
N100 mini PC imo. $150 does everything.
All my current self-hosting is running off an N100 mini-PC. OPNsense, NginX, Home Assistant, Unifi Controller, Docker host, etc. They are fantastic, it just seems a bit overkill for sitting behind the TV and playing Plex/Jellyfin and the occasional web stream in a browser. There’s really not much competition though as all the products below it offer a lot older processors that don’t have very up to date HW decode.
What optimized application do you run for the big screen and easy navigation? What about remote control?
I’d recommend the Pepper Jobs windows 10 gyro remote. I’ve got two of them because they’re so great.
Anyway to do this without a keyboard. I used to have a PC connected to my TV for this but eventually just bought an apple tv for simplicity.
I have one of these: http://www.riitek.com/product/254.html
The back has a keyboard, the front has programmible buttons for the TV (mostly just used for on/off), and the rest is a bunch of buttons connected to the PC.
I use it with Kodi but it’s a pretty user friendly way to control it once it’s set up.
I don’t recommend this one with kde desktop Not sure how it is with big screen.
If you are looking to clone TV remote IR buttons there is this one. The orange buttons can clone TV remote buttons. https://www.amazon.com/Rii-Wireless-Keyboard-Touchpad-Controller/dp/B0C5LFLL3G/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_pp?crid=247JUEQKDFAAL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.J1g9QtAF8xB3mG5ZS6etrWUR8cxrIbmY-Oit0UosNDdx9GOe4HOH-SC-IgSIymfthR7fZA7_WdoiGNPvKqQzpXxYvOVi4cy7zqdiaK3qTTq8s5T7F8mWjjIICmOJFabGJAaYknW4Yo82sn18O3n_Vb2D-E0LQYl7qgUqoUcAJd07BoTIgZTmgvqsqWl_3clD0sbzKhjFKfDdixiRLuBCSw.5mMB6rANHKQtxt1qbEeHzMvBxR3Rep5-BBOJFQlMZZs&dib_tag=se&keywords=rii&qid=1725324362&sprefix=rii%2Caps%2C127&sr=8-1
If you are going to use a PC desktop (kde is great) I recommend getting one with the scroll wheel.
Exactly. N100 mini PCs are like the Swiss Army Knife of computers. Almost as compact as a Raspberry Pi, and compatible with a lot more things.
And cost 10 times as much.
2.4 times. But, who’s counting?
Just sayin’
I didn’t say Raspberry Pi Zero. Those are niche machines. They’re not fast enough to do general purpose computing.
For OP’s needs they are fine though.
They can’t do 4K video. The best they can do is 1080p30.
I have been considering just installing Debian on a small PC then the jellyfin media player application set to auto start. I can think of a few different ways to get this done maybe with a couple user accounts.
I like the idea of being able to change the application that automatically starts. Maybe I want to try Kodi again. I would just change the startup app.
I’m still using an Nvidia shield which I guess counts as an android box. I thought they’d release a new version by now, but I’m considering building a htpc instead.
I used to use a raspberry pi 2 or 3 and it worked fine for 1080p content. Not sure if the newer pis support 4k, but it’s on my list to look into eventually.
I love my shields, I have both the tube and the pro in different rooms. I like the Jellyfin AndroidTV app more than Kodi. I have side loaded a different launcher to avoid the ads.
I would love to try and replace it, but it needs to be able to handle 4K UHD rips with hdr and the original sound tracks in ATMOS or whatever.
I really like mine too, I also have a tube and a pro. Both of them have a weird issue with the TV I use most often though. Both shields won’t display anything unless I boot them in safe mode.
They both work on a different tv that is 4k. This one is an older 1080p plasma. But it’s weird that it used to work just fine. It might be related to the TV, but no other devices have issues so it’s cheaper to replace one of the shields than buy a new tv lol.
I attach a computer to a TV and open streaming Web sites in a browser. There aren’t much benefits of the streaming devices compared to that unless you’re using surround sound. The Netflix desktop program has surround sound, but that’s the only service I know of.
I do have surround sound, but I wasn’t aware of that being an issue with a PC solution. Have you encountered issues getting that to work?
I haven’t used this in a bit so I thought I’d check it. They somewhat recently updated the desktop program and nothing works at all now. It appears to be just Edge pretending to be another program. It’s literally just a browser, so surround sound doesn’t work now.
It’s a weird thing for them to do. Why would anyone download a copy of edge that can only watch Netflix? You’d just use a browser.
I went back to VLC media player, vlc remote control, and an HDMI cable.
@Fiivemacs @foggenbooty ; I have been looking into using HomeAssistant as the “remote control”, I also have a logitech hub that I can control via home-assistant.
