Replacement for FireTV or SmartTV

lfh63578

Hey, currently I'm using a firetv stick to watch YouTube videos (using newpipe or smarttube) and Netflix shows. Well, I known that the firetv and smarttv in general aren't very privacy friendly.
What do you guys use? Maybe a raspberry pi or something like that?

itsjpb

lfh63578 some options to check out:

kodi on a pi or similar device (raspi is wildly inflated right now, so look around), this is what i use primarily. open source smart tv, super customizable and extendable, easy to control from your phone. the one caveat is that streaming services all use DRM that requires some additional configuration. i had trouble with it in the past but i think the last few years it has improved. also allows a number of alternative options for finding movies and shows.
a pi running pi os with chrome installed. less of the smart tv experience but using chrome gets rid of most of the linux hiccups. also allows you to use it for more than just streaming
buy a resale computer on the cheap. you could keep windows and watch via app/browser/kodi or switch to linux and do something similar. can often find something with better hardware than a pi for not too expensive

User2288

There is some not so great options. Checkout:

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/build-android-tv-box-raspberry-pi/
https://aidanrom.com/
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/old-version-rom-aidans-rom-s905x-android-tv-9-old-version.4191157/

pcrzdxgofwso

itsjpb kodi on a pi or similar device

But not just every pi, I suppose. probably only pi 3 or 4? In general Pi cost-efficiency is not as good as it may have been at one time.

I think a thin client or some other mini pc might do the trick.

meiklmue

I run a Firetv Stick too. First of all, I set the default DNS to dnsforge.de (You can use of plenty adblocking DNS providers).
Second is running DNS66 as an addition adblocker, turning it on for all system apps as well and using my prefered DNS-Servers.
Then using TDUK Unified Debloat Toolbox I disabled as many apps/services as possible or useless to me.
And to block the last bit of amazon shit I use my router (fritzbox) to do some extra domain-blocking for the following domains:

mads.amazon-adsystem.com
images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com
ags-ext.amazon.com
arcus-uswest.amazon.com
cdws.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com
cognito-identity.us-east-1.amazonaws.com
cortana-gateway.amazon.com
cz15y20kg2.execute-api.us-east-1.amazonaws.com
dcape-na.amazon.com
device-messaging-na.amazon.com
device-metrics-us.amazon.com
device-metrics-us-2.amazon.com
digprjsurvey.amazon.eu
dp-discovery-na-ext.amazon.com
dp-gw-na.amazon.com
dp-rsm-prod.amazon.com
messaging-director-us-east-1.amazon.com
msh.amazon.co.uk
msh.amazon.com
prod.amazoncrl.com
tap-client-stats.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com
todo-ta-g7g.amazon.com!<

Thats my way of using a cheap FireTV stick with no or at least minimal connections to any ad- and or tracking-servers.

itsjpb

pcrzdxgofwso honestly would recommend against even a 3 at this point, so yea a mini pc would be a great choice. also frees you from the limits or arm64.

that said, the firestick dns setup meiklmue set forth may be simpler, depending on OPs needs

csis01

ADT-3. Its a lot like CCGTV, but importantly, has unlocked bootloader, which means that you can run custom built AOSP on it rather than the unbelievably spyware infested CCGTV. The advantage of course, is that you can run Android software on it.

User2288

Can you clarify what CCGTV (ChromeCast Google TV?) and ADT-3 are? Im interested to read up on them but wanna make sure i have some correct reference to what they are.

Perhaps some links. Thanks mate.

itsjpb

User2288 adt-3 looks to be a recently discontinued android tv device for developers

User2288

itsjpb

Thanks. Yeah i figured it. Unfortunately its discontinued.

Can you talk about the mini pc option a little more? (If you have any info)

What os does the mini pc run?
Can its cpu and hdmi ouput do 4k60hz HDR?
How would you use it as a streaming device? Through browser with kb/mouse? Kodi?
is it essentially a desktop connected to the tv?

itsjpb

User2288

User2288 What os does the mini pc run?

starting with your last question, yes. here's one source, about the size of an apple tv. these go as low as 180 but i think there are higher and lower tiers on the market as well. 180 probably doesn't have a great chipset, but low 200s does

User2288 What os does the mini pc run?

any os you like i assume, maybe not android tv. i think some may come with windows but they're designed to be flexible

User2288 Can its cpu and hdmi ouput do 4k60hz HDR?

should be able to get one that does. again, too broad a range to give one answer, but a lot of manufacturers know this is a common use case

User2288 How would you use it as a streaming device? Through browser with kb/mouse? Kodi?

pretty open as far as options go, like you said really just a desktop. windows booting direct to the kodi interface is probably most foolproof if you don't mind, ya know, windows. there's a number of linux distros designed for hosting kodi or similar software. a full desktop that boots in to kodi would work pretty easy with the option to go browser or other software, maybe set up some emulation and play the classics

that's about the extent of my knowledge. i think they start to push a lot of people's cost threshold for a smart tv. i use a pi that i got before the shortage. 4k video but may or may not reach 60hz which is fine with me. majority of what i watch is foreign and not available to stream so i mostly use it with kodi as a front end for my library. i think it was worth it at 60-70 bucks but if i were looking now i'd just step up to a minipc

User2288

itsjpb thanks mate. Yeah i figured but wanted to check in case i dont know something.

The arm cpus for streaming devices are well made to handle video. Intel cpus traditionally arent as good in that. Perhaps times have changed and these cpus can handle this well too now (though i doubt).

The ONLY reason essentially for me to have an android streaming device is because of plex. The desktop browser plex experience is just not as streamlined, and its playback caching is bad with many hiccups.

itsjpb

User2288 promise i'm not an advertiser but i know plex is available on kodi with a true tv interface. i think plex may even have a 'plexbox' type software you can use on its own if you like.

csis01

User2288 The arm cpus for streaming devices are well made to handle video.

Its because they have dedicated video decoders tied to them. ARM CPUs are actually really terrible when it comes to decoding video in software giving x86 a huge edge in that area, but of course having to run at higher temperatures resulting in a noisy fan. Most GPUs (like AMD Radeon) for x86 systems also have video decoders, but haven't always had DRIVERS available to make use of these features. That situation HAS changed, however, so x86 systems having GPUs with supported video decoders are now very well supported.

GraphyGraphy

meiklmue Hi, sound like a good option!
Could you explain, how to install DNS66 and the Toolbox on a firestick?
Thnak you!!

meiklmue

There are two ways, you could use the "Downloader" app from the amazon marketplace to download apks and install them or use "X-plore" filemanager from the marketplace to share files over your cloud or Wifi. I use the second method because it is easy to transfer media or apks from my computer to the tv stick.
apk for DNS66 can be found on github: https://github.com/julian-klode/dns66/releases
You can also install Neostore (https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.machiav3lli.fdroid/) to install and update Dns66. That was the only F-Droid-Store I got running and was able to somewhat use on a TV-Stick.
Here is a video on the toolbox including installing it with "downloader": https://yt.artemislena.eu/watch?v=Oc1o9zVEhJk

All of that is somewhat annoying to do, but you only need to do it once...

GraphyGraphy

Great, thank you!

rambleon

I love my NVIDIA Shield. This device will set you back a few more $$ and is overkill for general use, but it is hard to beat the video and audio format support. It runs Android TV, supports side-loading apps and a host of customizations.

Graphite

itsjpb there's a number of linux distros designed for hosting kodi

LibreElec (for RPi) and CoreElec (for AmLogic like LePotato) are "just enough OS for Kodi" as their slogans.

Raspberry Pis are still way expensive. Even older 3 models. Like over $100.
LePotato is still under $40 on Amazon.
Either can do 4K@60 with hardware decoding.
If you can flash Graphene, you can flash this in 5 minutes.

csis01

Graphite Raspberry Pis are still way expensive. Even older 3 models. Like over $100.

Really? I thought the whole point of those was to be $25? That's nuts for crap hardware.

Ok. A Pi 4 is $35: https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/raspberry-pi-4-model-b/

So obviously your pricing source is out to lunch.