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
Just get a firestick
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.
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 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 just can’t recommend anything with Android anymore. The enshittification is real. They’re already rolling out full-screen video ads in the OS. Even Plex lived long enough to become the villain.
I’ve just been plugging in my laptop. Super inconvenient but that’s where we are now.
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?
All kinds of problems. Most recently they’re sharing your friends recent activity to you via email and vise versa, without your consent. Also I have removed their own content from my dashboard several times but they keep rearranging it and re-adding it.
Is this via social / account stuff within the plex ecosphere ? Ive never used any of that (wittingly) including seperate user accounts in my household. Is it between such accounts you’re referring to, or more insidious than that ? Ive been plexing for some years but always have one eye on jellyfin. If theyre doing anything dodgy with data I will jump. Need to have another look at their policies and settings - its been a while. Good to have a headsup.
Interface is riddled with stuff that isn’t on my local network.
I just want something to manage the stuff on my local network!
Anyways… I now use Jellyfin a lot for the above reasons … until it doesn’t work lol.
I’m back to a full computer again too, and if you don’t have a laptop handy, the new little mini PCs are surprisingly affordable too. If you don’t want to build a raspberry pi.
Which mini-pc would you recommend? RPis are not sold here officially and thus very expensive.
RPi’s probably not a great option anyway. Too low-powered for streaming video.
I’d probably recommend one of the used USFF office PCs w/ X86 processors commonly for sale on eBay for cheap. Bonus: These are the same ones people will recommend for low power homeservers so you could have it running those as well.
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.
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.
