Something (Raspberry PI, old computer, whatever) on Linux with jellyfin and Kodi (you can launch Jellyfin from Kodi with a controller).
this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2026
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Privacy
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i feel like a good thing would be a linux machine thats just easy to use with a remote, like watching youtube and stuff like its on a tv
Yup, if I had the money I'd develop and sell one of those. I bet we could probably get away with doing something similar with a PiZero.
I use a Linux machine that boots to a big picture interface with these apps:
- Jellyfin Desktop client (pirate everything)
- VacuumTube (YouTube TV interface with adblocking)
And I use a Flirc receiver so I can use a remote for all of it.
When you mention big picture mode, are you talking about Bazzite's big picture mode or just any distro w/ Plasma Bigscreen, or something else?
I'm currently using Bazzite with Steam's Big Picture mode, yes. I'd like to switch to Plasma Bigscreen, but I'm not sure it's ready just yet. I keep trying it on my laptop every few weeks, but there are some crashes I keep running into.
I can't wait to switch away from Steam Big Picture mode though, as it's pretty tedious adding shortcuts and having to use a Decky plugin to download art for them. It's very apparent that Steam isn't meant to be used this way (even though once you set it up, it's not bad). Plasma Bigscreen just reads the .desktop entries, which is a lot better.
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Debian
There are a few options.
- A repurposed PC or SBC running LibreELEC (which uses Kodi as its interface and sole application). If you plan on using Kodi, don't mind messing with Kodi addons, and don't need Dolby Vision or HDR10+ support, this is a great option. HDR10 should be supported just fine, though.
- A repurposed PC or SBC running a Linux distro with Plasma Bigscreen. Note that Plasma Bigscreen is still in beta and the app ecosystem is not very usable at the moment. This option also does not support Dolby Vision or HDR10+ (though it does support HDR10).
- A streaming box or SBC running the Android TV version of LineageOS without Google services installed. This will probably give you the most flexability and would be my preference. Some options will also give you compatibility with HDR formats like Dolby Vision and HDR10+ depending on hardware. This is my preference at the moment because it has the most robust ecosystem currently, at least until Plasma Bigscreen and Linux on TV becomes more robust. I use SmartTube for YouTube and Nuvio for TV and Movies, though Kodi and Jellyfin are also available depending on your preference.
didn't know you could put lineage on a tv box but it sounds really good!!!
There is a guy making LineageOS Android TV builds for Raspberry Pi and other devices.
Its quite nice on a pi5. Paired it running VPN, and control d private dns (set using adb) for tracker/ad blocking. Side note, over 50% blocking shows how much spyware crap going on with tv apps. Add in a cheap Bluetooth air mouse and its very workable & solid.
For clarity, I only run Pluto TV, tubi, pipepipe and Fred TV. And its NOT for those looking for the smoothest experience, may not be family friendly . But been using a few years now, couldn't be happier
There are some android TV devices that you can run LineageOS on which is what I do. But they are few and far between, and require specific firmware versions which makes it pretty impractical. I have used a Raspberry Pi with LibreELEC before as a frontend for Jellyfin and that worked decently well.
My dream is for Plasma Bigscreen to be supported well enough that I can just use a standard Linux machine for my TV, and there are tons of options in that ecosystem for casting, airplay, etc. But last time I tested it the issues were too numerous to ignore, specifically around application stability and UI navigation
If you are looking specifically at commercial ones only, I read that AppleTV is the least evil. https://www.tomsguide.com/tvs/apple-tv-4k-is-still-the-best-streaming-box-when-it-comes-to-privacy
Obviously there are better opensource options out there.
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It’s appletv unless you’re willing to use a custom sbc with a taped together third party android version.
I don’t recommend the latter option because it fucking sucks and you seem like a psycho to others who may use it or watch stuff with you.
You can just host jellyfin from your pc (or a server in your closet) if you wanna get away from streaming services and it works good with either option.
I want to be clear as day that you cannot get a privacy friendly experience from any Android streaming device unless you load it yourself and make sure it’s something like the lineageos Android tv stuff linked by another user.
It’s probably worth it for you to put into words what you’re trying to accomplish, being as clear and explicit as possible.
Why not Linux?
im using a chromecast right now and i want a similar experience to that, just more privacy friendly
If they had asked for a project I would have given different input. Which would have also not been Linux.
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Surprised nobody mentioned roku
I haven't used it in a decade, but wasn't this the intention of the roku project?
Roku is the antithesis of privacy and is now, or soon will be, owned by fox.
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Do you need works out of the box without a ton of work on your part but the privacy isn't totally perfect? Then Apple TV 4k.
Do you use no major commercial streaming services and only your own hosted content from Plex/Jellyfin and you want to do some very light cloud gaming from the couch/bed? Then an Intel N150 mini PC or AMD equivalent (at present with RAM prices expect to pay at least $400 though if you want you can probably get a used SFF PC made recently (important for energy saving hardware decoding of video codecs) may work for you with either Jellyfin client or Kodi.
Caveat: HDR on Linux isn't happening anytime soon and forget Dolby Vision. Also forget above 720p, maybe 1080p in Google Chrome for online streaming services.
Vero V by the OSMC people is also an option but won't work with commercial streaming services though it is more private but you have to use your own content. It's more plug and play than the mini-pc route and does support HDR and such. But unlike mini-pcs you can't even open a browser to jankily watch commercial streaming services using it.
Why can't Linux stream 4k?
Media company DRM refuses to allow it. They fear the pirates (who bypass their DRM regardless using hacked android streaming devices) will use it to pirate their stuff more easily.
Even on Windows which has a locked down DRM pipeline you have to use Google Chrome or Microslop Edge with widevine for this and a few services STILL refuse to let you watch above 1080p on anything but a streaming box/stick or mobile OS because of their incredible fear of pirates and incredible hatred of general computing devices and user freedom.
Linux can, but all streaming services refuse to serve higher quality on linux
Does jellyfin have this restriction?
I'm pretty sure stremio does not
Linux works with 4k. Jellyfin, Plex, Kodi, etc can all stream 4k streams to Linux assuming you're using your own content and not content from commercial services that impose DRM.
HDR and Dolby Vision are another matter because even on Windows those are recent and limited implementations.
Linux hasn't implemented proper Dolby Vision and HDR can be finicky but does mostly work on wayland. This is down to it being a lot of work, closed source and DRM and licensing problems from Nvidia, HDMI forum, etc that make it hard and very slow going. To be fair Dolby Vision doesn't really work on Windows either for streaming your own videos purposes. I think LG has an application that can sort of make it work with certain models of theirs but I believe it's mainly for gaming.
I don't know what Dolby Vision nor HDR are.
I understand the difference between 720, 1080, and 4k.
What would I be missing if I didn't have Dolby Vision nor HDR? Would I even notice?
Theres osmc.tv or HDhomerun ive never used either however also with HDhomerun you can use it with jellyfin
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