We currently have Roku’s on our tvs to connect to streaming services and servers but they are infested with advertisements.
Some other comments mentioned Walmart’s $20 ONN 4k boxes, but these are android and I don’t have the time or knowledge/patience to go through the flashing process on one of those; if there is even a working custom ROM.
Basically we just want a functioning (libre) streaming box. The closest I could find was OSMC’s Vero V (just released a few months ago), although it’s a little pricey at $160 usd. Are there any other options out there or does anyone have any experience with the Vero V?
I would just use a tiny PC and connect it to the Internet, then use Linux and pirating services to build a library of stuff. Works well for me.
I would 100% do this (minus the pirating part) if there was a way to get a tv style remote for the box. That’s the biggest obstacle for me because I’ve never been able to find a PC/tv remote and non technical users will be using the TV.
Look for air mouse. It’s basically a wiimote. Uses gyroscope to pretend to be a pointer device. You’ll need that because you’re basically going to need to use a web browser if you want to go down this path.
It’s not a nice experience but all the nice experiences you won’t like.
I mean the Vero V seems to be a nice polished experience. It’s just a lot of work to setup a linux box and get it to work, the latter being the hard part. The wiimote and the flirc have some comments in reviews about being poor experiences, and I just want it to be on par with the Roku or it’ll wind up in the trash heap. I don’t mind paying a little bit extra for a finished solution, and it seems like a plus that the Vero is a community/libre project.
OSMC on a rpi3 with a hifiberry+ has served me well for many years. Most things just work, even passthrough TV remote over i2c if the TV supports it (brand name for the implementation varies by TV manufacturer I think). My setup has been really slow in recent months, but I probably just need a new sd card… Streaming service integration in kodi isn’t perfect but e.g. Netflix works well enough.
It’s a bit of tinkering to get it just the way you want it, but not too much and then it’s great with a lot of flexibility. I have slapped an IR LED onto a GPIO, for example, and I have a service running that checks for audio output and turns my old hifi system on and off accordingly.
It seems to me like you’ve kinda made up your mind and are just waiting for someone to back you up before dropping the cash for the Vero :P
With the criteria you’ve listed, I doubt you’ll find a better solution. I say go for it (as long as you can afford it)!
in the nicest way possible. lower your expectations. or accept the data-selling, or VPN through europe so you can deny the ads.
Get an ir usb receiver like a flirc and just use a normal remote. I think flirc even sells a remote.
You can get a USB IR receiver and use software like LIRC to map the inputs of basically any remote you have. Setting it up takes a little effort, but it works great when it’s done.
I just use a kb/mouse combo device and treat it like a PC and use VLC/online services/DVD drive to play media. It’s not super traditional but it feels pretty easy since most of it is in a web browser!
Search wireless pc remote on Amazon, they have a trackpad scroll wheel and media controls and theyre about the size of a smartphone in landscape with full qwerty keyboard, they’re fantastic, I bought one for every TV in the house… connected to old mini pc’s
currently using a laptop and a bluetooth KB/mouse, works fine for me