My jellyfin collection has finally become large enough that I have been able to cancel all my streaming services. My issue now is that I want to get rid of my Roku’s that are hooked up to each TV.

Is there a good alternative? It MUST be family approved, meaning:

  1. It is not visible (no desktop/laptop hooked up)
  2. It is low power
  3. It has a simple remote control
  4. It supports Jellyfin
  5. It is relatively cheap (< $150)

I am sure I could build something out of a raspberry pi, but:

  1. I don’t need another project I have to fiddle with
  2. It MUST support new codecs (h.265/AC1/aac/…) as I want direct play from my server
  3. If it stutters/buffers once, it goes into the trash!

I’ve generally been mostly happy with my Roku, and my pi.hole blocks most of their analytics, but last week, I pressed the home button on my Roku and it started play a video add with audio. Completely unacceptable (That has happened twice in the last week). And in general, the more of this crap I can get out of my life the better!

  • slacktoid@lemmy.mlEnglish
    0·
    2 days ago

    Get one of those miniPCs with the Intel N95 or Intel N100 chips. Install Kodi on Ubuntu or libreelec Install the jellyfin plugin and you’re good to go.

    You can control it via one of those remotes on amazon with a USB dongle and it powers on the TV and the device.

    You’ll have to install the artic theme on jellyfin and mess with the view options a bit for something more polished but once done it just works I’ve been using mine for 3 years and it’s been pretty solid.

  • demunted@lemmy.mlEnglish
    0·
    2 days ago

    If you are in the USA. The Walmart onn 4k (20$) and 4k pro (50$) are amazing for the price. The remotes are really good too.

    • billwashere@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      2 days ago

      It’s just a matter of time before those are enshittified as well.

      Edit: ok my bad… apparently you can side load different launchers. I may check one of those out then.

  • primemagnus@lemmy.caEnglish
    0·
    2 days ago

    It seems like the most obvious answer is to build your own with a Pi. Run Linux and then install any player you want. You could even use the Pi as the head then network your storage.

    Also, FWIW, the latest Apple TV hasn’t seen an upgrade in about 3-4 years, so if you do go that route, bear that in mind. A new model is coming sooner than later (hopefully this year).

    • Jarix@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      2 days ago

      Did you read far enough to see that didn’t want another project? Or did you just decide that needed to hear a suggestion they already rejected again because if YOU tell them they might listen to you?

  • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    2 days ago

    Nvidia Shield. The regular version is $150 US and from what I understand it gives flawless playback. I have the pro version which is more powerful, but that’s specifically for running games.

    It’s Android TV OS, so app selection is great. You can load Smart Tube Next on there to get YouTube without ads, and there’s a very solid Jellyfin app. You can also use Kodi for local direct playback. Remote is perfectly functional, and you can use an app to rebind most of the keys.

  • Gabadabs@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    0·
    2 days ago

    I’ve personally been using a raspberry pi with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard. I just run jellyfin in Firefox and navigate with the mouse - the keyboard rarely ever being necessary. I was able to increase the icon size so it’s acceptable on a tv and bookmark any streaming websites I use. It’s certainly not as clean as using something like an apple tv, but it’s serviceable and I don’t have to fiddle with plugins like when I tried Kodi. Honestly though, apple tv probably fulfills what you’re looking for like others have said.

  • SpatchyIsOnline@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    2 days ago

    I’m currently using a raspberry pi 5 flashed with Konstakang’s Android TV image, it works pretty flawlessly and takes less than an hour to set up, assuming you have the APKs of everything you want to install. You don’t need to mess around with Google play services because most TV android apps are also designed to run on firesticks which don’t have it.

    The one issue I have encountered is that the Jellyfin client very occasionally won’t play some 4k HDR media in the default player (all my 1080p stuff works fine) so I also installed MPV and I turn on alternative player in the Jellyfin settings in the rare case something doesn’t work.

    • haque@lemm.eeEnglish
      0·
      19 hours ago

      I did not like the Rpi5 with Android TV as a jellyfin client. There is no support for Dolby Vision HDR content and playback of other 4k media was stuttering. With DV content I got the purple/green tinted picture. Sometimes the pi would only display a quarter of the picture.

      I used Konstakangs AndroidTV image with a flirc USB Dongle for use with a tv remote. F-Droid store apk for all necessary apps.

      If you have any recommendations how to fix stuttery 4k playback I would be interested. For now I just stick with the built in Android TV of my sony television.

  • bigb@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    2 days ago

    I use the ONN 4K Pro and the ProjectIvy launcher. You can completely hide the standard Android TV OS and its ads. Button Mapper is another good app to have on Android boxes. The remote is full of app-specific buttons that I’ve either disabled or remapped to alternative apps

    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spocky.projengmenu

    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=flar2.homebutton

    I have no idea which codecs are supported.

    • nafzib@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      2 days ago

      I am about to switch over to this setup from a Roku myself. I had seen recommendations for Flauncher, but I’m glad to see another launcher recommendation. I will have to try out Project Ivy. Thanks!

    • Landless2029@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      2 days ago

      I second this setup.

      I have 3 ONN sticks and they do the job. Great for the price. Just sideload Kodi, new launcher, remap buttons.

      I even paid for button mapper. Totally worth it.

    • adhocfungus@midwest.socialEnglish
      0·
      2 days ago

      This is my exact setup. The upgrade from the smart TV was night and day. Apps load instantly and Jellyfin works great. Most importantly the remote is easy to use and can control the TV.

  • MonkCanatella@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    2 days ago

    If you don’t want ads creeping in everywhere, the only prebuilt option is appletv. otherwise you have to build it yourself :/

    • primemagnus@lemmy.caEnglish
      0·
      2 days ago

      The aTV will give you the best experience when it comes to dark patterns. But just note, a new model is on the horizon, so hold out a little longer.

  • sj_zero@lotide.fbxl.net
    0·
    2 days ago

    I use Chromecast with android TV, it’s about perfect with jellyfin, and if I were to domit again I’d probably spend the little extra for the 4k model even though my TV is 1080p (more horsepower). You can run a different homescreen to somewhat degoogle it.

    Probably not what you’re looking for given what you’ve lined up here, but I live and breathe with it every day and it’s great, and as an added benefit you can cast from a lot of services or websites as well.

  • habitualcynic@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    3 days ago

    I second the AppleTV recommendation based on your disgust with the Roku UI ads, I am completely on your side there, but my similar search has bought me to AppleTV.

    I currently run Amazon Fire Sticks which also have UI ads but my pihole is catching most of them and it’s dirt cheap with h.265 support. Plus it runs various hacked apps like TVMob, Cinema, and Cyberflix. That’s what keeps me from moving to an AppleTV or an n100 box already.

  • merthyr1831@lemmy.mlEnglish
    0·
    3 days ago

    It’s surprising how slow open source is on replicating Roku. So many manufacturers could be using Linux to bypass androidTV and RokuOS bullshit. I suppose AndroidTV is good enough even despite that.

      • nix98@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
        0·
        22 hours ago

        This is very interesting. Do you know anyone who has actually tried these?

    • Max-P@lemmy.max-p.meEnglish
      0·
      2 days ago

      Both use Linux under the hood. You can even install LineageOS on some TVs.

      The only reason AndroidTV is bullshit is the manufacturers because casual users want shit like Netflix and Prime preinstalled. Google TV in particular comes with a lot of crap and the ads, which believe it or not some users take as a feature.

      But that’s not inherent to Android TV as an OS, it’s exactly like Android phones and manufacturers preloading a bunch of crap to make an extra buck. If your run AOSP you get none of that crap, and it’s fully open-source.

    • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      0·
      2 days ago

      I think it’s a chicken and egg problem. A FOSS Roku-replacement needs apps to make get popular, and manufacturers won’t port their apps until it’s popular. Basically, manufacturers need someone with a big marketing budget to help them feel comfortable investing in a platform, but that’s not going to happen with a nice FOSS platform.

      Maybe if we collectively raise like $100M or something, we could put together a big enough marketing budget to convince some of the bigger names (Netflix, HBO, etc) to take the risk, and the rest will follow if it’s popular enough. Maybe.

  • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    3 days ago

    My plan is to use the $20 Onn (Walmart store-brand) Android TV box LTT recommended as being eminently jailbreakable about a year ago, but I haven’t actually gotten around to hooking it up yet so I can’t authoritatively endorse it.

    • GroundedGator@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      2 days ago

      Been using Onn boxes for years and absolutely love them. They are about as pure android TV as you can get. I would definitely recommend the 50$ pro version over the 20$ original though.