Hello sailors,
as a long time FireTV stick un-enjoyer, I finally decided that the time has come to get rid of this piece of crap I was baited into buying because of the low price. The number of streaming services keeps increasing (splitting content among different servives) and each and every one of them is demanding for an increasing amount of money for a monthly subscription; “buy this movie only” services dont actually give you shi except for the right to stream it for as long as it stays in their library, even though af course you pay 13,99 as if it was a physical copy of a movie. In addition to that, the FireTV is now completely filled with ads. I am tired of this shitty customer treatment, im sailing.
I am not experienced into local media-sharing and management, so I am looking for advice… What’s my best move to replace it?
I thought a good idea would be to buy an unexpensive MiniPC that i can put behind the TV? Is that overkill? But what OS would i put into it? A linux distro I am guessing or Android TV? Is there a way I can interact with it using a remote? Are there instead “better” FireTV sticks (no ads and let users install and watch what they want)?
Gimme advice or share your secret setups please :)
I’m also interested in this. I’ve seen that used mini PCs can be found for under $100, which is still pretty pricey for this need imo, but I’m sure it’s a good choice for setting up a Jellyfin server and maybe some general home management type stuff like security cameras or smart lights or something. If you already have a PC, you might be better off using that to grab media and then throw it onto a drive that you can connect to the USB of your TV if it has one. Alternatively, maybe run a long HDMI from PC to TV? Or maybe something like a Steam Link could get that done? Combine that with a phone app to control your PC from another room and you’re in business. It really depends on the volume you’re looking to watch though because that would be a headache to do more than just a few times per week. I wish I could be more helpful to you, but I’m just some spitballing idiot who also doesn’t know until somebody with more experience chimes in lol.
I myself am flirting with the idea of building a gaming desktop that could fill this role as well as serve as a modern Steam Machine running Chimera OS. I bought a used Steam Deck a while back and fell in love with the UX, but while it’s amazing for a handheld it’s a little underpowered for gaming at home. I have built a few Windows PCs about ten years ago, but any nuggets of wisdom regarding differences today, Linux tips, etc would be greatly appreciated. I’ve done a bit of homework, but people on Lemmy seem to be super knowledgeable about this kind of thing.