I currently use an Apple TV 4K, which is - as far as I’m aware - more or less the best streaming box you can buy. However, it’s the version without ethernet, and Steam Link has become a dog over wifi for some reason. So I figured I’d look around to see if there’s an alternative solution.

Hardware-wise, I have a Dell Optiplex 3020 or a 2014 Mac mini (running Debian), to choose from, but have no real idea where to go from there, beyond the vague notion that KDE have put big screen mode back into beta. I did have a play with that a few months ago in a VM, but was struck that there were (obviously) no applications that made any real use of it.

Does anyone out there run anything they’ve built themselves? If so, what?

  • randomname01@feddit.nlEnglish
    51·
    10 hours ago

    I searched for this as well, but my conclusion was the same: Apple TV is the only viable option to me, at least if you want to use any streaming services. Based on what I’ve seen Android tv (or whatever it’s called) feels like a non starter, and while the FLOSS options that have already been mentioned in this thread range from promising to legitimately great all of them become iffy when DRM enters the mix.

    My main hope is SteamOS and its Android compatibility, honestly. Made for the big screen, mature controller support, backed by a big company that might have the pull to resolve the DRM issues. Though if I step back I might just be overly optimistic, since Valve hasn’t really shown any steps towards non-game media support.

    • SmoothLiquidation@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      9 hours ago

      I have a couple ShieldTVs (AndroidTV) that have worked for me for years. They have worked with streaming services as I needed, but the main use case for me is Jellyfin for movies/tv and a good YouTube client that filters ads out. The shield has done a good job of passing the correct audio stream to the receiver and it looks good. There have been a few issues here or there with some codecs, but if I fall back on Kodi it usually works.

      I haven’t tried an AppleTV despite being a mostly Mac/iOS household. It is difficult to find out how well the Jellyfin clients work on it, and last I checked there was no “official” client, just pay-for apps that may or may not do what I need.

      • Reannlegge@lemmy.caEnglish
        1·
        1 hour ago

        I was just screen sharing or whatever it is called when I canceled my YouTube premium account I was using unwatched, for YouTube, and the jellyfin on my phone.

      • djdarren@piefed.socialOPEnglish
        2·
        2 hours ago

        just pay-for apps that may or may not do what I need.

        We use Infuse with Plex and Jellyfin, and yeah, we pay a couple of quid every month to it (for the higher definition codec support), but it’s pretty much spot-on for our needs.