My vote here is a PC with Linux on it. I have a PC plugged into my TV that runs Bazzite. Got it for $170 at the second hand store. It’s even powerful enough to game on and I can connect a bluetooth controller
I’ve been searching for something also but I hear flashing android on a Raspberry Pi is a thing.
Not sure.
Apple TV devices do offer a similar app for collating together all your streaming services and their offerings and Apple tends to be a tad better on privacy but for something like this I really suspect your data is being collected by Apple though what they do with it may be a little bit better than Google though I don’t really know.
These apps tend to have some sort of built-in recommendation stuff and to do that they need to profile you and your habits to be useful. Now true they could do that and not make it available to advertisers but the very idea is pretty fraught. I can tell you the streamers themselves in many cases are selling your habits and preferences.
Basically though when it comes to streaming you have only these choices of ‘platforms’:
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Google / Android TV: Run by Google, you know the deal, comes with lots of smartvs, various devices exist running it from Walmart (Onn) to Google themselves, to Xiaomi, and so on.
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Apple TV: By Apple, comes in two flavors, with and without ethernet, typical Apple experience in that it’s locked down, so no side-loading but no ads on the homescreen either and less data collection than most other offerings by Apple themselves (note: the streaming company apps often do their own data collection and will do so on any platform). Very direct competitor to Google TV by a company wealthy enough to be able to stand toe to toe and not fret too much about profits from one small device line like this, also used to get people into their streaming service AppleTV+ as the devices come free with a few months of it.
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Roku: Probably about the worst for privacy, very aggressive anti-privacy practices, data collection, profiling your local network devices and of course the service itself is ad supported.
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Fire TV by Amazon: Not great, better than Roku probably, not a lot of hands on experience with this myself but it runs a modified version of Android and in future probably a modified version of Linux. Used to be sideloading friendly but they’re now cracking down hard because of piracy.
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Roll your own device, use a mini-PC, raspberry pi, old laptop, etc: Disadvantages include all commercial streaming services will not go above 1080p (no 4k), many are locked to 720p because it’s not a certified device with lock-down against video capture, experience isn’t as natively smooth as a dedicated streaming device designed with that in mind. Hack-y solutions like using air-mouses as remote controls that can be good or bad. Things can break and you’re on your own to support yourself. Upsides include no homescreen ads, minimal data collection, complete control of the device, ability in some cases to do limited adblocking but at the cost as I said of no 4k, often no full 1080p with most streaming services. I wouldn’t recommend this unless you do a lot of served from home media streaming via Jellyfin, Plex, directplay off your movie rips hard drive, etc as this is where it really shines.
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Dune-HD: If you’re looking for something with high-end support that allows 4k streaming from streaming services plus stuff like Plex there are Dune-HD devices. They run certified Android alongside a custom linux build inside a privacy container isolated from Android. They offer a lot of devices that are in the roll your own category but a bit more polished (though still often locked to 720 or 1080p by streaming services), but they also offer a few devices that are dual-os as mentioned so straddle the AndroidTV and roll your own divide kind of offering the best of both.
Now true they could do that and not make it available to advertisers but the very idea is pretty fraught.
More than fraught… platforms are often contractually prohibited by the streaming apps from collecting and analyzing actual viewer data. Usually the meta-search and meta-merchandising (ie “recommendations”) are built from some agreed upon set of rules between the two companies. They often include some watch history, but it may be the streaming app feeding that into the platform rather than the platform doing the analysis. Contract terms are different for every provider though, so it’s a big ol opaque mess. Rarely just a recommendation algo at work.
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I’ve got an old desktop PC hooked up to our TV running Linux Mint Debian Edition. Attach a wireless keyboard and track pad to it such as this and you’ve got an easy to use streaming device that you can also download to. And you can install Ublock Origin for ad free streaming.
If you want something more portable, you may be able to get your hands on a Walmart onn. TV Box 4K (2021) and install Lineage OS on it, which is a heavily deGoogled Android fork that would allow you to stream more similarly to devices running Google TV.
If you want something more portable, you may be able to get your hands on a Walmart onn. TV Box 4K (2021) and install Lineage OS on it
I got a couple of those after the LTT video about them, but still haven’t gotten around to rooting them/setting them up. Now, because I procrastinated so long, I can use LineageOS instead of the rooted stock ROM (I think?) that was being used at the time.
Thanks, kind Internet stranger!
I did exactly this (also Mint Debian on an old laptop) and added KDE Connect so I can use my phone as a remote control. Not perfect but it works for now.
There really is no alternative to that Logitech keyboard is there (I opened that link wondering if it was something else but nope …)
Of course there is, but the K400 just does its job very well. You can get all kinds of Bluetooth and RF remotes. I have a generic one also meant for HTPCs (Rii brand) and it literally requires line of sight within 3 meters to work at all. The K400 is recommended for a reason.
That’s basically what I’ve been doing for years now. I’ve got a 'smart" tv (I don’t give it net) hooked to a pc in the living room.
It does everything the tv could have done and then some, but better, and without ads. In my opinion it’s the only way to go with the way the ad infested internet is nowadays.
You can insall lineageos on a supported streamer.
While not officially supported by the lineage team, you can also build your own streamer with a raspberry pi by following this:
Do you mean you want a smart TV with privacy respecting software and discrete apps for each service you want to use? Off the shelf you won’t find much. Your options change a little depending on your use case but they mostly involve connecting a computer to your TV and using whatever OS/software meets your needs.
