The more and more of stuff like this I see, the kore I just wan't to buy the cheapest possible mini pc, make it tv remote controllable and just put it to open jellyfin directly that's connected to my home media server.
And then hook it up to the most dumb tv I can fijd with decent picture quality.
I'm biased but I think everyone should do this. You can basically find the hardware you'd need out of a dumpster, and then you can slowly build your library from there.
The best and possibly only dumb TV brand is Spectre.
https://www.sceptre.com/TV/4K-UHD-TV-category1category73.html?sort=tbt.parent_pdtype&order=DESC
Source: framework CEO https://community.frame.work/t/in-defense-of-dumb-tvs/160
Disclaimer: have not tried them.
*Sceptre, not spectre.
(I misspell it almost every time, too.)
When my parents got a new TV, I made sure they bought a Sceptre. So far it's working fine.
I second this. And the transition was made easy due to anti-consumer practices. Plus, you can take your media on-the-go for free
As others have said, just buy a TV that meets your A/V needs and don't connect it to the internet.
I know everyone talks about Jellyfin these days, but Kodi is an excellent option too if you don't need streaming to multiple devices. I use Kodi via LibreElec on an rpi4 and it's been great. All media is stored on my home server and shared over Samba, but you can easily store it locally on the box if you don't have a server.
For music streaming, I run a separate instance of miniDLNA on my server, since I like to browse-by-directory for my music instead of relying solely on metadata. This also allows you to stream to any DLNA-friendly device on the LAN.
I've digitized my disc collection and just keep the physical media as a backup. The local library has a huge selection of media too...and if we don't use it, we'll lose it.
Jellyfin has a much nicer user interface and is overall a better way of doing things. But libreElec and Kodi are great at being a cheap open source client that handles lots of different codecs without much fuss.
That's what I've done. It's the way to go. Got a TV from the panel manufacturer that's so basic you can see light shining through the back when it's on lol
That's what I did a couple months ago and I regret not doing it sooner. I got a Beelink SER and loaded it with Endeavour OS, a web browser, torrent client, and VLC.
I've tried to do this a few times, and unfortunately it feels like you really have to go all in on managing your own content library.
Like many, I had stopped pirating shit when netflix etc were "good".
None of the streaming services want you to use them outside of their official sites/apps, so you end up being limited to like 720p when running them through kodi etc.
I never touched streaming services, mostly cause they came to my country 2years ago and were already shit they are now, plus cost me too much to even afford one.
So I just have torrenting setup automated with arr software. ( Don't even need a vpn because my country has no copyright laws so free to torrent whatever I wan't )
If you find torrenting to be distasteful, you can get a cheap USB DVD reader and rip dvds instead.
It's still technically considered infringement, but at least it's completely private.
The year is 2024. I purchase a nice TV to shun nearly all of its features and never connect it to the internet because it's designed to be actively malicious.
While I get your point, the TV isn’t nice because of its app features. If it’s a nice TV it’s because of its display panel and features like upscaling, interpolation, etc., and it’s being subsidized by those built-in apps and tracking functionality.
By purchasing a nice TV, never using the built-in apps, and never connecting the TV to the Internet (or better yet connecting it to a segregated VLAN and dropping literally all traffic to/from the TV), you’re costing the company money on that TV set. Or probably more accurately you’re like the credit card user that maximizes their point rewards while paying off the balance every paycheck, you’re profiting off people who are in debt to their credit card company for whatever reason.
To be clear, I have a G series LG OLED that is not only in its own VLAN with no traffic allowed in or out, but I drop all DNS that isn’t coming from my pihole at the WAN port on my edge router, I watch stuff from a secondary device, and most everything I watch is pirated and streamed locally anyway, so I’m definitely subsidizing my entertainment with the privacy invasion of others. If I could get an OLED tv without any of the built in OS stuff I absolutely would, and would be willing to pay more for a SKU with that stuff stripped out, but afaik that’s just not possible.
If you can’t produce a product without subsidizing it by pumping it full of data tracking nonsense then you don’t deserve to be a fucking company.
Fuck that and you know it. They only produce this garbage because they get more value out of your data not because they can’t fucking manufacture a good affordable tv.
99% of people will buy the cheaper TV with tracking, it probably not sustainable to sell the expensive one without. This stuff just needs to be banned
Eye M8tey! 🏴☠️🦜🦜🏴☠️
If ye hold yer privacy dearer than a chest full of doubloons, then steer o'er to yer own private island, uncharted on any map o' the seas, to enjoy yer piles o' loot without fear o' some scallywag chartin' yer course!
AARGH!
They keep giving us more reasons to sail the high seas.
For a long time I have disconnected my TV from WiFi, I watch the news in the morning and watch movies on the official website of public TV or on Pluto TV on the computer or via Bluetooth on TV for free and without ads. It has been clear to me for a long time that the prefix "smart...." on electronic devices is synonymous with "spy....".
I Chromecast content from my computer and phone.
If I don't watch/stream stuff otherwise, and my TV isn't connected to anything else I'm aware of, is my data being exfiltrated? It's a Sony from ~2015
Probably safe to assume that the streaming app on your phone is collecting the same data about your viewing habits, whether or not you Chromecast it to another device.
Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.
In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.
much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)
