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”?
Is this a hardware question or an open source alternative TV experience question ? :/
The later, the most promising alternative comes from KDE: https://plasma-bigscreen.org/
Haven’t tried it but I have my eyes on :) This will probably be your best bet as soon as Google goes Apple style closed ecosystem ^^’
You could probably start this interface on boot and have a similar TV experience as Android TV box where you can put Jellyfin and other apps.
You still need to configure some controller or remote to navigate the interface !
Your only limit is your own imagination on Linux :) !
Wow, this looks awesome! I’ll have to take it for a spin.
It’s a blend of questions I guess, because there are so many considerations. Still, I only have one old laptop so far.
I used an old laptop for a few years as a tvpc. Only problem with my laptop was that it was so old that the hdmi port could only ouput 1080p. Anything made in the past 12 years should be good. KDE big screen mode would probably be your best bet for making it easiest for non-technical users.
Thanks for calling this out. The laptop is very old, by I’m not sure how old. I’ll have to check.
Definitely a streaming box.
Old laptops have issues with bulging batteries.
Also, the Android tv ecosystem is much better on arm than on PC
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
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
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…
