Submitted 11 months ago by mark@infosec.pub to selfhosted@lemmy.world
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
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.
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?
FYI everyone here is going to recommend running stuff to stream your own self-hosted pirated content.
If you’re looking for something to stream Netflix, HBO, Disney, etc., forget it. Just run that shit in the browser. And even that will only be half-assed unless you go out of your way to install an invasive browser like Edge that supports their shitty DRM.
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 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)
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.
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.
What's the state of apps like kodi or other methods of local streaming on Apple TV?
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 just run a full desktop and either use a browser for things like youtube and I have jellyfin media player for other media
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.
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
You can grab an Onn Google TV 4k Streaming Box from Walmart for about $20.
Did it have Google TVs home screen that has a bunch of ads on it? The breeder l newest version is atrocious.
You can put Google TV in apps-only mode, which helps significantly. It’s not a perfect fix, but it’s a step in the right direction.
It has the same basic UI as the Chromecast
I saw one of these. Have you used it? Does it work okay?
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’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.
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
I’d vlan anything cheap and Chinese. It’s pretty much guaranteed to phone home and send as much info about your environment as possible.
Yeah it’s not like Roku/Chromecast/fire stick do that too, only the Chinese, right?
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
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.
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 |
[Thread #305 for this sub, first seen 27th Nov 2023, 07:25] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]
OSMC makes some good Kodi boxes 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 codes, 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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
helenslunch@feddit.nl 11 months ago
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.
somegadgetguy@lemdro.id 11 months ago
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.
EngineerGaming@feddit.nl 11 months ago
Which mini-pc would you recommend? RPis are not sold here officially and thus very expensive.
bear@slrpnk.net 11 months ago
I have an old Xiaomi 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.
MaggiWuerze@feddit.de 11 months ago
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?
helenslunch@feddit.nl 11 months ago
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.
ebits21@lemmy.ca 11 months ago
Interface is riddled with stuff that isn’t on my local network.
I just want something to manage the stuff on my local network!
Grey@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 months ago
Emby gang