I’ll keep this in my head as plan B, thanks for the suggestion.
Comment on BRAVIA 4K AE1 Google TV demanding internet
jflorez@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
Get an Apple TV or a Fire TV stick and bypass the TV’s os completely
nibbler@discuss.tchncs.de 2 months ago
danielquinn@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
Or just a cheap laptop.
Or a mini PC! (little guy that can be a bit smaller + cheaper too, you will need to get a keyboard and/or mouse for it though)
Squizzy@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Where are we getting these cheap thwse days. Nucs and pis need loans at this stage
Generally, there are a lot of used options out there (particularly from businesses upgrading their hardware), just like laptops. Even when shopping for new ones, I can find lots of cheap options (though they aren’t very good value usually, but they are enough to serve as a basic media box)
Raspberry Pis have unfortunately gotten very expensive, yes, but those are SBCs, not mini PCs?
SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
This is awkward in most living rooms and the remote control sucks. Source: my house, and my job.
Less awkward, ironically, when using airplay to an appletv.
danielquinn@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
Just get one of these and set everything up in a few browser tabs. Either that or use an OS with workspace support and put the different apps you want on separate workspaces.
In our livingroom, our old laptop runs Arch Linux with GNOME. Jellyfin is on desktop 1, and Firefox is on desktop 2. Firefox runs Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube in separate tabs and switching between all of these is a keyboard shortcut on the above remote. Frankly, it’s simpler than most “smart” TVs I’ve had to work with.
SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
Oh yeah, that is a cool remote. My observation about the awkwardness of a laptop in the living room is more about furniture and the layout of most media rooms. A second screen or a place for the laptop usually isn’t quite right, or downright bothersome. Even a desktop can be a problem.
My media server is hiding in the tv stand because it is NUC sized, an old mac mini. It could directly play to the tv, but for various reasons I wind up with apple castoffs, so an apple tv running Infuse is the front end. If I didn’t have that gear I would be running a modified android player.
I wind up in a lot of living rooms mucking around in their media systems and the furniture aspect matters to a lot of people. Also convenience is paramount, they want a media appliance in front of the couch, computers are for desks.
I know my family is grateful that I no longer force them to mess with a computer to watch something Right Now.