im using a chromecast right now and i want a similar experience to that, just more privacy friendly
although i have set up a google account just for my chromecast with its own email, it still doesn’t feel like its enough
im in the eu btw
You must log in or # to comment.
Do you need works out of the box without a ton of work on your part but the privacy isn’t totally perfect? Then Apple TV 4k.
Do you use no major commercial streaming services and only your own hosted content from Plex/Jellyfin and you want to do some very light cloud gaming from the couch/bed? Then an Intel N150 mini PC or AMD equivalent (at present with RAM prices expect to pay at least $400 though if you want you can probably get a used SFF PC made recently (important for energy saving hardware decoding of video codecs) may work for you with either Jellyfin client or Kodi.
Caveat: HDR on Linux isn’t happening anytime soon and forget Dolby Vision. Also forget above 720p, maybe 1080p in Google Chrome for online streaming services.
Vero V by the OSMC people is also an option but won’t work with commercial streaming services though it is more private but you have to use your own content. It’s more plug and play than the mini-pc route and does support HDR and such. But unlike mini-pcs you can’t even open a browser to jankily watch commercial streaming services using it.
I have a Raspberry Pi 4 with Kodi on it.
Same. I’ve been using this set up for about a year. I was expecting it to be a bit clunky but it honestly feels more intuitive that my old Chromecast did.
It’s appletv unless you’re willing to use a custom sbc with a taped together third party android version.
I don’t recommend the latter option because it fucking sucks and you seem like a psycho to others who may use it or watch stuff with you.
You can just host jellyfin from your pc (or a server in your closet) if you wanna get away from streaming services and it works good with either option.
I want to be clear as day that you cannot get a privacy friendly experience from any Android streaming device unless you load it yourself and make sure it’s something like the lineageos Android tv stuff linked by another user.
It’s probably worth it for you to put into words what you’re trying to accomplish, being as clear and explicit as possible.
im mainly trynna watch something like smarttube (youtube ykyk), jellyfin and some streaming services
There are a few options.
- A repurposed PC or SBC running LibreELEC (which uses Kodi as its interface and sole application). If you plan on using Kodi, don’t mind messing with Kodi addons, and don’t need Dolby Vision or HDR10+ support, this is a great option. HDR10 should be supported just fine, though.
- A repurposed PC or SBC running a Linux distro with Plasma Bigscreen. Note that Plasma Bigscreen is still in beta and the app ecosystem is not very usable at the moment. This option also does not support Dolby Vision or HDR10+ (though it does support HDR10).
- A streaming box or SBC running the Android TV version of LineageOS without Google services installed. This will probably give you the most flexability and would be my preference. Some options will also give you compatibility with HDR formats like Dolby Vision and HDR10+ depending on hardware. This is my preference at the moment because it has the most robust ecosystem currently, at least until Plasma Bigscreen and Linux on TV becomes more robust. I use SmartTube for YouTube and Nuvio for TV and Movies, though Kodi and Jellyfin are also available depending on your preference.
didn’t know you could put lineage on a tv box but it sounds really good!!!
deleted by creator
I use a Linux machine that boots to a big picture interface with these apps:
- Jellyfin Desktop client (pirate everything)
- VacuumTube (YouTube TV interface with adblocking)
And I use a Flirc receiver so I can use a remote for all of it.
When you mention big picture mode, are you talking about Bazzite’s big picture mode or just any distro w/ Plasma Bigscreen, or something else?
I’m currently using Bazzite with Steam’s Big Picture mode, yes. I’d like to switch to Plasma Bigscreen, but I’m not sure it’s ready just yet. I keep trying it on my laptop every few weeks, but there are some crashes I keep running into.
I can’t wait to switch away from Steam Big Picture mode though, as it’s pretty tedious adding shortcuts and having to use a Decky plugin to download art for them. It’s very apparent that Steam isn’t meant to be used this way (even though once you set it up, it’s not bad). Plasma Bigscreen just reads the .desktop entries, which is a lot better.
ill check it out, thanks
I’m using my Steam Machine partially for the same purpose, but this is the first I’m hearing about this receiver. I got a shitty little PC remote that kind of works but isn’t great, I might give this a shot
The Flirc receiver is the best $25 I’ve ever spent. You can use it with basically any TV remote and turn it into a decent PC input device.
You can map any app with decent keyboard navigation support to work with up, down, left, right, enter, etc. and get a pretty seemless TV experience.
If you are looking specifically at commercial ones only, I read that AppleTV is the least evil. https://www.tomsguide.com/tvs/apple-tv-4k-is-still-the-best-streaming-box-when-it-comes-to-privacy
Obviously there are better opensource options out there.
On the spectrum of convenience vs privacy I think this is closest to the sweet spot on the side of convenience. Use a commercial “monitor” (TV that doesn’t require smart features to work). The closest to the middle on the side of privacy is setting a PC up with your TV logged in to all your streaming services.
Uah not a big wife approval factor or kids approval or people visiting.
There is a guy making LineageOS Android TV builds for Raspberry Pi and other devices.
Its quite nice on a pi5. Paired it running VPN, and control d private dns (set using adb) for tracker/ad blocking. Side note, over 50% blocking shows how much spyware crap going on with tv apps. Add in a cheap Bluetooth air mouse and its very workable & solid.
For clarity, I only run Pluto TV, tubi, pipepipe and Fred TV. And its NOT for those looking for the smoothest experience, may not be family friendly . But been using a few years now, couldn’t be happier
2nd hand mini PC running Linux?
https://plasma-bigscreen.org/ looks nice, though I haven’t used it.The bigger privacy concerns are going to be from the streaming services you use, not the box itself, unless your using something like a SuperBox which is a known botnet.
might get some hate here for this one but my parents hooked me up with vseebox. Just don’t log any info into it. This is coming straight from a tech illiterate person so I don’t fuck around with Linux or anything
Congrats you’re part of another botnet.
Not quite sure what that means
C’mon, then why did you think you were going to get hate for this? And you don’t know what a botnet is?
Vseebox’s are part of a known botnet. Some of the original boxes were a part of a net called Badbox. After that was discovered, some modifications were made to the code, it was rediscovered and this version is called, unsurprisingly, Badbox 2.0.
Just in case you truly don’t know, by using these products you are contributing to the botnet, facilitating less harmful things like ad fraud, to much more harmful things like illicit proxy services, malware distribution, and DDoS offerings.
Vseebox’s aren’t the only devices that feed into this botnet either.
I run a Jellyfin server and then have a nvidia shield with lineageos installed directly attached to the tv with Whole installed on that. The shield remote works perfect, nothing connects to google/elsewhere unless I want it to, and if you wanna get fancy, you can always do a full/semi-full *arr stack, wholphin can connect to Seerr to request stuff so you barely need to touch the back end unless something goes wrong (I believe there are a couple of “public” jellyfin/Seerr servers but I’ve never really meased around with them, but that would eliminate the need to run a Jellyfin server for yourself. If you do end up going that route shoot me a message and I can see if I can find the addresses for the “public” jellyfin server)
Also worth noting, you should be able to install wholphin and try out jellyfin with your current setup without needing new hardware immediately, that way you can see if it’s for you before buying a Shield /something else
I tried finding the same thing recently. The best I have found is a device running legion OS. It has critics about bit being perfect, but comparatively it’s a lot more privacy focused.
My current solution is also a mini pc behind the TV. Set up a script to shut down the computer after x minutes and use the TV timer when I’m watching too late. It works but it’s cumbersome.
Kodi. Why just stream when you can have movies/TV, IPTV, games, Podcasts, youtube, BandCamp, Mixcloud, weather, etc… I’m pretty sure there are addons for Netflix and that kind of proprietary stuff for people with accounts.
I recommend compiling from source for latest/fastest. It can be a project to set everything up, but I’ve been loving mine since I got it rolling.
I’m using a Flirc too. Highly recommend.
Kodi with the jellycon add-on, does require a jellyfin setup though.
If you dont mind live TV that is. While possible on kodi it is a bit more work.
They’re asking for device recommendations, not software
