Goal: Non-technical native TV experience with streaming, live TV, live sports
I recently bought an Onn 4K Pro directly from Walmart. I’ve set it up with the following:
- Downloader (for VPN and other apps)
- CinemaHQ (for live TV)
- Stremio/Nuvio (for streaming shows and movies)
- TFlix and Norofire (for live sports)
I also have an old laptop running Linux Mint hooked up to my TV. I bought an integrated keyboard and mouse to navigate, where I use fmhy.net to stream stuff, mostly TV/movies and live sports (haven’t found reliable live TV channels).
Question: Is a streaming box better, or old laptops?
I want to set this up so my family can use it too, so it needs to be as easy and non-technical as possible. I want to give family members boxes or laptops that they can easily use with this setup (or something similar).
This is actually why I started using Nuvio, since you can set up profiles and the configuration carries over to every device (so I wouldn’t need to set up 5+ devices manually).
I would think that the Onn boxes are best for this, but I have several concerns:
- You need a Google account to set it up.
- Google is cracking down in ways that would affect “sideloading” particularly on Google devices (Onn runs Google TV).
If I can continue finding some old hardware (Thinkpads, Macbooks) for ~$125 or less, is it worth it to have an old laptop instead of a brand new streaming box? What do you think would be a good price range for hardware in this case? And how old is “too old”?
Definitely a streaming box.
Old laptops have issues with bulging batteries.
Also, the Android tv ecosystem is much better on arm than on PC
Batt.cost 60 euro ,
Yes and a bulging battery is a fire hazzard. Need to remember to check every year or so and replace if bulging. Annoying.
If it start burning ,put it in a bucket of water ,very hard to extind elect. fire
I just bought a new battery for it. Is it not worth it? I guess it will be plugged in all the time…
You can also run without battery. Batteries will bulge over time when plugged 24/7 and that’s a fire Hazzard
Many laptops will still run fine without the battery plugged in. I prefer mini PCs though.
Stay away from anything Android unless you are going to run a google free ROM on it.
Is the a way to de Google Onn 4K easily? Based on what I see in search results, it’s fairly technical. Maybe I need to keep looking.
Degoogling a tv stick is probably the best option.
PC (laptop or minis) use more power and has less apps, and that could be a WAF issue…