Apologies if this is the wrong instance for this.
Is there a best option for HTPC streaming solutions besides throwing Linux on an old desktop? Plugging in a desktop for streaming doesn’t work too well for wall mounted televisions. My options are mini PCs or a 3rd party streaming stick. Even a RasPi stick running OSMC should do the trick.
These 3rd party sticks online are extremely tempting for power and features but I’m concerned about embedded malware. Best option would be to wipe it and load OSMCor raspbian to ensure its clean. Anyone have experience with this?
Care to share your setup?
$14.41 | DQ06 ATV Mini TV Stick Android12 Allwinner H618 Quad Core Cortex A53 Support 8K Video 4K Wifi6 BT Voice Remote Smart TV Box | Link
Runner up: $12.90 | Orange Pi Zero 2 W 1GB RAM DDR4 Mini PC Allwinner H618 Orange Pi Zero 2W WiFi Bluetooth SBC Single Board Computer Zero2W | Link
Update: My ideal solution would be $20-$50 for a replacement to several fire sticks in my home. For a solution around $100 I’d just go with a old refurbished mini pc from ebay/amazon and throw full Linux on it.
Setting up Kodi via the linux OSMC distro or even Android TV both work. Might stream games with steam link. Eventually going to setup jellyfin in my home
Current Plan: Get a mini pc and mount it behind / near my television. Ideally I would prefer just a stick for a cleaner / cheaper solution.
$100 MiniPC - HP EliteDesk 800 65W G2 Business Mini PC Desktop Computer/Intel Quad-Core i5-6500T up to 3.1GHz/ 8GB DDR4 RAM/ 256GB SSD/WiFi/Bluetooth/USB 3.0/ Windows 10 Professional OS(Renewed) | Amazon
Photo of mini pc mounted behind a TV.
Update2:
Finally researched about the Orange Pi (rasp alternative) and the darn thing comes with full hdmi! Orange Pi 3B Full HDMI and SD / eMMC / M2 (sata3) slots!
Orange Pi 3B 4GB RAM Rockchip RK3566 Mini PC Quad-Core 64-bit WiFi+BLE Gigabit Run Android Linux OpenHarmony OS SBC Single Board https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805733558464.html
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It might be the unpopular option but I love my AppleTV. I used several sticks, a FireTV and a raspi before.
On the AppleTV with Swiftfin for jellyfin and VLC as a fall back all my local streaming needs are met. The hardware is great and the price is - well, let’s say it’s okay (but quite far above you limit I think). And most of all: it blew all of the other option out of the water in terms of convenience and user experience.
So if you have the money I recommend giving it a try.
I went this route in my teardrop trailer. Installed Linux on it, and now it’s a very capable little media rig.
I use a Linux PC for my living room media server, but there’s no PC in the living room. Just stick the cheapest Roku you can find in your TV, and load Jellyfin or Plex into it. Then you can stream whatever you want to it by installing the relevant software on the server.
Yeah my issue is I have fire sticks and I want to transition away from it. Instead of purchasing another mainstream device I was hoping there would a lemmy approved alternative.
Anything that runs Kodi can have the Jellyfin or Plex plugin installed on it.
I’m aware. I can do it right now with the fire sticks. But they run the crap, loaded with ADs, Kodi crashes and it’s amazon branded. I’ve been looking for replacements. Currently looking at ONN from walmart for a cheap solution or a orange pi 3 for a nicer small solution. After that I’d do a tiny pc.
I just got an ONN, debloated it using ADB, changed launcher, used a button remapper app to remap the brand buttons, and it’s so clean now :D
Got any links to guides? This sounds like a nice intro device.
A quick search got me this using your keywords.
That’s actually the guide I used! The only difference is when I tried to connect to adb normally, it wouldn’t recognize the device, so I had to use adb over WiFi (Make sure your computer and ONN are on the same local network, then type “adb connect ONNIPADDRESS” (replacing ONNIPADDRESS with the ONN box IP address which you can find in Network Settings on the streaming box).
