1y ago

is there a set top media player that doesn't require an online account?

Onn needs a Google account. Fire stick requires an Amazon account. Apple tv, obviously an Apple account. PS5, Xbox all the same.

Is there a box that will let me stream Hulu, Netflix, Spotify, my own stored media?

Osmc is great for home stuff, but can't do Hulu Netflix.

I could use a Linux PC, but not as simple as 1 remote for a cheaper box top.

Any suggestions? Or do I just get a Linux host

39 comments

Get a raspberry pi and a cheap wireless mouse and keyboard.
- Yeah there are trackpad and keyboard that have the form factor of a TV remote. I use one with a Beelink mini Linux PC as my TV's brain.
  
  I bought one of those and it died in like a year. Took it apart to see if it could be fixed. The whole thing is just one big circuit board. No parts to replace. Ended up just chucking it and probably won’t buy another one.
- Flirc and any remote you want
- I've been using a roku but this sounds like a better setup.
  
  It takes a little getting used to but once you do it's very comfy. And you can watch content from anywhere that supports viewing in a browser or Linux desktop app including some swashbuckling ones. Lol.
- can even get used micro PCs on eBay for $100-150 that work very well, don't need to learn a new os, can use Ubuntu and sites like 123movies or sflix with ublock origin.
  
  Raspberry Pi OS is made to be easy enough for kids. It's literally point and click. There's nothing to learn. And Raspberry Pis can be much cheaper than that. You can get a Pi 4 2GB for $40.
Why not just create a throwaway account that you don't use for anything else?
Nvidia Shield?
Edit: You dont have to use the Play Store on it, since you can side load.
- shield is amazing. Chromecast worked until I tried the shield. sure 4x the cost, but damn it's fast and upscales.
- I'd love a fairphone, pixle type android tv that I can root and remove all google services from. Shield is where it's at, but it's a bit old and even without Google it's still going to be sending data to them.
  
  Shield + lineageos seems like it would do the trick
  
  You can root the Shield, and while it's older, its more than capable. Better than many new devices.
I think this is the use case for Kodi, if you have local media. If you also want multiple device sync without hassle, then Plex, but this is an online account. I hear good things about Jellyfin, which is a FOSS alternative to Plex.
If you have a lot of media, I'd recommend getting a NAS. In either case, get a little computer to hookup to your TV. It can even be an old laptop.
You can probably set up MythTV for that. Could be sone work and idk if that's even what you want.
You can get an Android TV "TV box" or "media box" or "media player" for that which will cost you about 35 bucks from Aliexpress for a decent one (get something with 4GB).
Or you can get a Mini PC for 150 bucks and install Lubunto on it with Kodi. Get an air mouse remote for it (the kind with more buttons, rather than the Google version) and it pretty much works the same as a media player - you generally don't have to use the air mouse functionality, as the buttons just map to the appropriate Kodi functionality.
The mini PC has the upside that you can put a lot more stuff in it as it has way more power and storage that you need simple for streaming and media playing - for example you can hang your home media collection from it and have it be your home NAS.
- Please be aware those media boxes from Ali are filled with malware and spyware.
  
  There we reports of that for some, so it's worth it to check the model before you buy.
  There are however, A TON of models, most which haven't been flaged as having malware and spyware.
  That said, you can always pay more (about 2x to 3x) to get an alternative from a Western brand that's not one of the big corps (whose products are also "filled" with at least spyware).
  The other option is to instal LibreElec on a Single Board Computer (essentially "make your own Media Box") were you have full control since LibreElec is basically a Linux Distro from media boxes with Kodi, compiled for the main ARM architectures used in those things (A6 and A7 if I remember it correctly), but that requires a bit more expert knowledge and you need to get yourself (or print, if you have a 3D printer) a box for it if you want it to look nice on your living room.
  The option I'm currently using and which so far I think is the best is the Mini-PC with Linux, Kodi and the air mouse remote, but then again I've been using Linux on and off for 3 decades and for part of my career was designing and implementing server-side software so am very comfortable setting up and using Linux (not that installing Lubuntu and then Kodi on a N100 Mini-PC was at all complicated, as it just works and most modern Linux distros seem way ahead of the stuff I've worked with before when it comes to hardware compatibility and ease of use).
  I actually had for maybe a decade what's now a really old ASUS media player (which they don't even make anymore), which couldn't play media with newer codecs so I upgraded it to one of the cheapest Android TVs (€18) but that turned out to be sluggish, so I upgraded to a better one (€35, which seemed to work fine), but then I just went "screw this" and replace it with a Mini-PC with an Intel N100 (€150) with Lubuntu and Kodi and also moved other services into it (it's now also my home NAS), then added always on VPN and a Torrent server.
  That Mini-PC is the best setup I've had for this stuff and there's still plenty of room in there to add more services (both storage-wise and in terms of computing power) and I highly recommend it if you're comfortable enough with the software side of Tech (a SBC with LibreElec is a little more demanding of familiarity with hardware).
- I was also thinking a mini htpc with a remote. With Kodi running at startup you could probably use almost any universal remote with a generic IR receiver. Kodi is very remote friendly.
  
  The air mouse remote I use is actually wireless with a little USB receiver, which is generally better than IR, IMHO, though you can't actually turn the Mini-PC ON with it, wh8ch is fine since purposefully chose a Mini-PC with an N100 processor exactly because its TDP is pretty low and I can just leave it always ON (which is also necessary because it's running other services).
  The thing does have an IR LED and 5 programmable IR buttons (it was designed for use with Android TV boxes, so this is how one could turn it ON with the remote even though most of its functionality is via wireless with an USB receiver), which I use for controlling my TV.
  And, absolutely, that stuff works perfectly with Kodi and once Kodi is up (which in my case I don't yet do automatically but only because I've been too lazy to get around to figuring out how to do) I can do everything in it with just the remote buttons, no need for mouse or keyboard.
The Vero V isn't too bad: https://osmc.tv/vero/ The hardware is decent, and the remote is surprisingly better than I expected.
- Do you personally have one? Is it plain OSMC in a prepackaged unit?
  
  I do have one, yes. I'm not currently using it, but if I recall it is basically vanilla OSMC, yes.
LibreELEC.
Addons for other services
One interface to rule them all. No need to battle each app's interface changing stuff around and ads.
Some small pc and Linux will do.
An Android TV box doesn't -need- Google once you've downloaded all the apps. But you do need it to keep all those apps up to date. I'm not sure what you gain with not having an account attached to the device. All those streaming services you mentioned require accounts. What's one more?
- The Google tracking. I run everything out of my garage. Just to avoid a Google signin. Plus you can't get an account without linking it with a phone number. VoIP numbers don't work last time I tried.
  
  Pay-as-you-go phones work. A $15 (sometimes free) basic cellphone with a few minutes are all you need. Once the account is set up, the phone isn't needed. I've made quite a few Google throw-away accounts this way. Just never lose your password and don't turn on 2FA.
  As far as Google tracking goes - you can firewall off all the Google servers if you dislike them, or use a router that connects through a VPN if you need that level of privacy.

39 comments