With Chromecasts being discontinued, increase in ads, telemetry, etc I’m wondering if anyone else is going back to old school HTPCs or if they have some other solution to do this in house.
I think the options here are likely:
- Rooted streamer (ie Chromecast, firestick)
- Android Box
- Mini PC
I’m actually most interested in experimenting with #3, a mini PC running KDE Plasma Bigscreen. Most of my self hosted apps can be run in browser windows, and a full desktop (while harder to navigate) is better than the browsers you can get on Android.
What is everyone esle, especially the privacy / de-googled self hosters doing for their media front end?
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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 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.
This is what you want to get surround sound to work in windows again.
This driver will work with both hdmi and toslink (optical) and possibly other connections.
Evidently Microsoft used to include a Dolby digital driver back in the day but has removed it due to licensing.
Oh and this will also enable surround sound in games too.
I do have surround sound, but I wasn’t aware of that being an issue with a PC solution. Have you encountered issues getting that to work?
I haven’t used this in a bit so I thought I’d check it. They somewhat recently updated the desktop program and nothing works at all now. It appears to be just Edge pretending to be another program. It’s literally just a browser, so surround sound doesn’t work now.
It’s a weird thing for them to do. Why would anyone download a copy of edge that can only watch Netflix? You’d just use a browser.
I just used a mini PC with kde and this remote keyboard.
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.
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!
The casting bit is the missing piece for me.
I’ve built a RasPi with Kodi for our caravan, to use Plex and stream our free-to-air TV here in Australia (using Musk’s space innernets). I just miss being able to cast from my phone, for the occasional thing I can’t do with a Kodi add-on.
The thing that makes casting so appealing for me is how ubiquitous it is. It eliminates situations with guests where they would recommend a show/movie only to find out that I can’t easily play the content because it’s only available on a streaming service that the guest pays for and I do not. As long as the guest brought a device and connected it to my WiFi, it more than likely could be casted without having to install another app and/or sign up for a new service (or have the guest login with their account).
I am becoming less optimistic about it though. I just do not think that the level of ubiquity that Chromecast reached even 10 years ago will be matched with a FOSS alternative. Developers would need to incorporate it into their apps, websites, etc. or it would need to be compatible with existing solutions. I doubt Google will open Chromecast up enough so other options can be fully compatible with it. Additionally, without the backing of a major corporation, I do not see developers taking the time to make their content compatible with another casting option.
Your wishlist sounds almost identical to mine. As frustrating as the limitations of streamers are, they are easy to use. HDMI CEC makes single remote setups possible, easy volume changes, input switching, etc. Apps are vetted so they “just work”.
As for casting, most platforms support running Miracast or AirPlay receivers. Google is the stickler here that won’t let you run a Google Cast receiver (or at least I haven’t found one) and also doesn’t implement Miracast on Pixel devices. It’s such a shame because I vastly prefer casting the URL to the TV and letting it source the content than mirroring my phone all the time.
Jellyfin plus radarr sonarr. No need to set up a million sticks or whatever anymore. You just set up Jellyfin once.
N100 mini PC imo. $150 does everything.
All my current self-hosting is running off an N100 mini-PC. OPNsense, NginX, Home Assistant, Unifi Controller, Docker host, etc. They are fantastic, it just seems a bit overkill for sitting behind the TV and playing Plex/Jellyfin and the occasional web stream in a browser. There’s really not much competition though as all the products below it offer a lot older processors that don’t have very up to date HW decode.
Same. Seems like overkill when you can see what it can do. But also at that price you can velcro it to the back of your tv and it can literally do anything so have at. I don’t see a lot of better options. I use full computers personally.
What optimized application do you run for the big screen and easy navigation? What about remote control?
I haven’t done it other than for testing, but you can pair a fire Stick remote to a PC using Bluetooth and it works with Kodi.
Stremio/Plex with a Microsoft keyboard that has a touchpad built in. It’s big but you can get small ones off Amazon for $20
I’d recommend the Pepper Jobs windows 10 gyro remote. I’ve got two of them because they’re so great.
Are those Windows only?
Exactly. N100 mini PCs are like the Swiss Army Knife of computers. Almost as compact as a Raspberry Pi, and compatible with a lot more things.
And cost 10 times as much.
2.4 times. But, who’s counting?
Just sayin’
I didn’t say Raspberry Pi Zero. Those are niche machines. They’re not fast enough to do general purpose computing.
For OP’s needs they are fine though.
They can’t do 4K video. The best they can do is 1080p30.
Anyway to do this without a keyboard. I used to have a PC connected to my TV for this but eventually just bought an apple tv for simplicity.
I have one of these: http://www.riitek.com/product/254.html
The back has a keyboard, the front has programmible buttons for the TV (mostly just used for on/off), and the rest is a bunch of buttons connected to the PC.
I use it with Kodi but it’s a pretty user friendly way to control it once it’s set up.
I don’t recommend this one with kde desktop Not sure how it is with big screen.
If you are looking to clone TV remote IR buttons there is this one. The orange buttons can clone TV remote buttons. https://www.amazon.com/Rii-Wireless-Keyboard-Touchpad-Controller/dp/B0C5LFLL3G/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_pp?crid=247JUEQKDFAAL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.J1g9QtAF8xB3mG5ZS6etrWUR8cxrIbmY-Oit0UosNDdx9GOe4HOH-SC-IgSIymfthR7fZA7_WdoiGNPvKqQzpXxYvOVi4cy7zqdiaK3qTTq8s5T7F8mWjjIICmOJFabGJAaYknW4Yo82sn18O3n_Vb2D-E0LQYl7qgUqoUcAJd07BoTIgZTmgvqsqWl_3clD0sbzKhjFKfDdixiRLuBCSw.5mMB6rANHKQtxt1qbEeHzMvBxR3Rep5-BBOJFQlMZZs&dib_tag=se&keywords=rii&qid=1725324362&sprefix=rii%2Caps%2C127&sr=8-1
If you are going to use a PC desktop (kde is great) I recommend getting one with the scroll wheel.
Remote control over your phone or using a Xbox controller like if it were a console. Back in the day I had an htpc remote but ability to control apps is inconsistent.
For me nothing is more simple then a PC interface. I hate having to scroll using a TV remote it takes so long to do anything and it’s quite limiting in other ways.
I went back to VLC media player, vlc remote control, and an HDMI cable.
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.
Yeah, those were on my radar as well. I haven’t yet had a chance to look into what the Linux compatibility is like, but that sounds promising that you were able to do it.
The big downside I see is that while the power consumption is low, they’re running a really old SoC, usually based on Intel N4000 (launched late 2017). Looking around it seems to have h.265 decode which is the most important one to look out for. It doesn’t support AV1, but that’s mostly streaming services and not that common (I think?). There may be other disadvantages I’m not thinking of at the moment.
What was the performance like for you?
I can confirm that the one I used 3 years ago could stream Netflix and HBO from browser, no problem. It also handled local files in VLC like a champ.
I even installed Steam and played a handful of non-resource-intensive games on it.
I’d buy another in a heartbeat for use as media rig. This time I’d install barebones Debian on it, instead of med-weight MX like I did prior. It’d probably perform even better.
The issue is they sit in this odd place from a price perspective. I can get an N4000 based stick PC with 4GB RAM and eMMC storage for $140 CAD, or a vastly better performing N95 based mini PC with 8GB RAM, real SSD, and additional outputs for $50 more.
The stick PC really only makes sense if you need that form factor, or if you’re on a really tight budget. The improvements for $50 are just too much to ignore.
Fair points.
The biggest motivating factor for my use case was that it was more than happy to run off a USB C cable tapped into my solar bank’s 12v line. So for boondocking, it was a great solution.
The USB-C power is huge. I don’t know why it is so hard to find. I do not want another massive power brick and barrel connector.
Absolutely. It sounds ideal for something like that.
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.
#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 tried Flex Launcher on RebornOS but couldn’t really get it to even launch stuff, besides the Plex app. Maybe I need to read the documentation better. I think it’s promising but has a steep learning curve. I don’t need it to hold my hand the entire setup but would like a little more help with configuration than it currently offers post install. My issues could also be due to Linux. I haven’t tried the Windows version.
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.
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.
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!
FYI, Plasma Bigscreen is not ported to Plasma 6.
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
