Hopefully this is the right kind of question for this community, my apologies if not.
I’m looking for some sort of device that will let me load my own media from a USB / SD card, and play it to my TV. Does such a device exist? Some sort of remote controlled box that can just load mp4 / mkv files from locally hosted storage? I have been using my PC over HDMI but it can get annoying having an awkward room layout because my computer always has to be next to the TV to do this.
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It can be a bit overkill for your use case if you only need to stream the USB media on your tv, but take a look at Jellyfin, it’s a program you can install on any PC and as long as this is up and running on the same network you can access your media on that PC (in your case with the USB plugged in) from any other device (TV, other PCs, Tablets, smartphones)
Like kylian said: Kodi. You can install it even on an android device (like a firestick) or you can go for some distro giving an out of the box good experience like LibreELEC.
I suggest to avoid the temptation to get one of the many cheap Android boxen meant for media playback from Ali Express or the like, as they have a strong tendency to be heavily loaded with malware. Definitely not all of them, but it’s really hard to tell which specific one you’ll get.
I am sure most of them are.
Well that depends on how you define malware ;)
I haven’t seem one without malware
And load it on a Raspberry Pi
My solution is a bit old school: A raspberry pi connected to my network and running miniDLNA. It has an externally powered USB hard drive. My TV runs Android and I have VLC installed. Any DLNA client works including Xbox and mobile phone apps too.
I don’t think mini DLNA is even updated anymore so eventually my solution might stop working but it’s been running solid for 10 years
There are a lot of tiny PCs these days that can output 4k video and audio. Look for something with an N100 or N200 CPU if you want to go as cheap as possible, they tend to be super-cheap and perform well. I’ve got one of the GMTecs and this wireless keyboard+mouse, works really well from the couch.
There are cheaper/other options but to get you started: https://www.amazon.com/GMKtec-Windows-Computer-Business-G3-dp-B0CQ4XQ2WG/dp/B0CQ4XQ2WG https://morefine.com/collections/pc-box (specifically the M9)
a small PC with kodi can do this. It can do much more as well.
This was the answer for me. A mini PC with linux, kodi, and the kore app installed on my phone
Or a raspberry pi
How about an Orange Pi running Android with a external USB drive?
It actually seems like one of these or a raspberry pi running Kodi might be exactly what I’m looking for. Thanks!
Second the pi with Kodi.
Been using this for years now. Works really well.
You will need a flymouse too… Good luck mate 👍👍
Just a note, the orange pi drivers are not in great shape. It’s getting better but I have a cluster of raspberry pi’s for development, bought an orange pi without first checking out much about them and it’s rough. Rockchip CPUs are great, and the driver / firmware situation is getting better, but something I’d read up on before buying one.
I’d still look at the N100, it’s about 2.5x the performance of raspberry pi 5, and being x86 you have more options than arm.
Kodi on any device should work
I’ve been using a Zidoo Z9X for streaming local media. Not cheap, but very powerful and has a huge amount of features. It’ll play just about anything you throw at it, all locally.
https://www.zidoo.tv/Product/index/model/Z9X/target/VEMg6VRC2%2B9KKmVViAFMcQ%3D%3D.html
Take a look at simple Android TV boxes with a USB port. There are plenty of options and you can just install vlc on them
Maybe get a reputable one, the other ones are sadly malware infected in way to many cases. It’s a way for the manufacturer to make an extra buck from the sale.
Now you make me feel old. In “the olden days” before streaming of media over the internet was as commonplace as it was now, that was the standard way that tech-savy people consumed media: Either on their PC or with some set-top box with built-in storage. I fondly remember my PopcornHour, which was basically a line of desktop-boxes that ranged from “basically a hard disk, video decoder and HDMI out” all the way to “can automatically rip your BlueRays”.
