I was looking into something similar recently, and asked around on Lemmy. The general consensus I heard was that a Mini PC weren't ideal, mostly I think due to the fact that they aren't designed purely for streaming.

One think someone said piqued my interest, and I might try this. They recommended buying a cheap, Android TV compatible streaming box (like an Onn brand one), and side-loading an open source (and ad-free) launcher onto it.

I found this thread over on the Huffman Shitshow that had some good instructions.

N100 mini PC imo. $150 does everything.

I do not think what I would want as a replacement exists (yet). My main requirements are:

• Only FOSS software and firmware
• Similar level of "casting" compatibility/ubiquity as the discontinued Chromecast
• Easy navigation and/or great UI/UX
• Can be controlled with a stand alone remote control, phone/tablet/laptop, and remote services like Home Assistant
• As portable and low powered as the discontinued Chromecast (or no less portable than a small mini-pc)
• Ability to turn on/off the TV, switch inputs, and control the volume
• Ability to install apps/plugins to directly on the device (maybe even things like Lutris, Moonlight, or something similar for gaming)
  • Ideally, the apps would be as well maintained and provide similar levels of quality as something like an Android TV or Apple TV
• (bonus) Ability to store media locally for offline playback

I think the closest I have seen is LibreELEC + Kodi on a RaspberryPi or mini-pc. It's still not quite there for my tastes though. Hopefully the recent Chromecast announcement will lead to more/better alternatives in the coming months!

I'm still using an Nvidia shield which I guess counts as an android box. I thought they'd release a new version by now, but I'm considering building a htpc instead.

I used to use a raspberry pi 2 or 3 and it worked fine for 1080p content. Not sure if the newer pis support 4k, but it's on my list to look into eventually.

The mini pc is the most flexible. Batocera works really well and includes:

• Kodi to stream local media and can act as an Airplay receiver
• the ability to run Flatpaks
• a nice 10 ft UI
• emulation backends and moonlight game streaming
• the ability to pair Xbox and PlayStation controllers

Get a usb IR receiver like FLIRC or something similar with HDMI CEC to control everything via standard remote.

There are some really wicked PC "sticks" (for lack of better word) available these days. I used one from MeLE flashed with Debian as a mobile entertainment center in my travel trailer.

If you're up for using Jellyfin, you can check out something I'm working on to achieve this: https://github.com/MattMckenzy/Homehook

The main branch used to be compatible with chromecast devices, but I've stopped maintaining it in favor of the v2 branch, where HomeHook communicates directly with satellite devices through HomeCast. Working with Chromecasts were a huge pain.

Let me know if you have any questions about it, always glad to help!

#3 is the route I'm going.

Bigscreen is still pretty rough though, I'm trying to see if I can resolve some open issues to submit back to resolve, but in the meantime I'm going to start playing with flex launcher - https://complexlogic.github.io/flex-launcher/

Its likely to be the way I go as of now.

Lutris to be a gaming interface (retro games and Roms), jellyfin for movies/shows/music, gcompris for some kids educational stuff, etc.

I want to figure out a remote that I like and get some CEC testing done, may look towards using my homeassistant to act as a control system if its a pain (and most CEC is implemented poorly IMO).

But I'm done with stuff like Chromecast, rokus, etc.

I'm currently using osmc on raspberry pi 3s with the jellyfin kodi add-on installed. Works like a charm and can also install other video addons as well. Its been rock solid and you can airplay and stream from your phone. Been running this replacement for a year.

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

6 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 9 acronyms.

[Thread #940 for this sub, first seen 30th Aug 2024, 00:35] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]

I use an Apple TV 4K. For self hosted streaming, I am running Plex on a Raspberry Pi, connected to a Synology NAS, which has my media library

I went back to VLC media player, vlc remote control, and an HDMI cable.

Just run KODI from anywhere

I have Kodi running in a docker container with gui (even HDR support) on my otherwise "headless" server. Kodi just has the most flexibility because of it's plugins.

I attach a computer to a TV and open streaming Web sites in a browser. There aren't much benefits of the streaming devices compared to that unless you're using surround sound. The Netflix desktop program has surround sound, but that's the only service I know of.

I’ve got a raspberry pi 4 (8GB) running Kodi (via osmc) hooked up to our tv. The tv itself is a Roku tv that isn’t allowed to connect to the internet.

I’ve also got a pc that used to be my streaming/video editing rig back when I used to make videos, but I repurposed it as my server, and it runs Jellyfin, along with a host of other apps/services for me and my family.

The pc is older, but as a server it works great. Biggest drawback is power consumption, it’s not nearly as efficient as a mini pc with a n100 or something similar, but for my purposes it works great.

I have been considering just installing Debian on a small PC then the jellyfin media player application set to auto start. I can think of a few different ways to get this done maybe with a couple user accounts.

I like the idea of being able to change the application that automatically starts. Maybe I want to try Kodi again. I would just change the startup app.

OSMC's Vero V looks interesting. Pi 4 with OSMC or Librelec could work. I'm probably going to do something like this pretty soon. I just set up an *arr stack last week, and just using my smart TV with the jellyfin app installed ATM.

My PC running the Jellyfin server can't transcode some videos though; probably going to put an Arc a310 in it.

Jellyfin plus radarr sonarr. No need to set up a million sticks or whatever anymore. You just set up Jellyfin once.

I just used a mini PC with kde and this remote keyboard.

https://www.amazon.com/Rii-Bluetooth-Keyboard-Smartphones-Mac-Black/dp/B07T13GLY3/ref=mp_s_a_1_14?crid=2WE5IDKRXKGV4&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.xrnVtYYFTyO73ZuMPlMTiXuUtrXgu563ShL0RpC2E6Xc7hns3f8uHG9GfZK7BoKuBAEB5ZCWdZXwPPRdNcLbOs5WitdHNrWgJlJZMZAo4OIELITXPEAqZJzbeYRZxnwpfgkBsiU947VEBWvtTAkj8UTRRFynHFwOKXdF5VgSU8UlPR5RePsuUUndFEpOtHOCSCDJYTyLj56yx3VQfNQDfA.D7Rgpcdgj4ltPso9vVwL3X5B9bY1c8IRphOPAebVH1Y&dib_tag=se&keywords=mini+keyboard+with+touchpad&qid=1725323885&sprefix=mini+keyboard+%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-14

With kde you can set things up pretty good. There's a lot of possibilities. I never had casting set up though.

A mix between Kodi, and stremio.

It worked good for steam link too.

I tried with a raspberry pi but it was slow. I wouldn't recommend it. Idk how others are able to use them. Omsc or whatever might be okay.