People here seem partial to Jellyfin

I recently switched to Jellyfin and I've been pretty impressed with it. Previously I was using some DLNA server software (not Plex) with my TV's built-in DLNA client. That worked well for several years but I started having problems with new media items not appearing on the TV, so I decided to try some alternatives. Jellyfin was the first one I tried, and it's working so well that I haven't felt compelled to search any further.

the internet seems to feel it doesn’t work smoothly with xbox (buggy app/integration).

Why not try it and see how it works for you? Jellyfin is free and open source, so all it would cost you is a little time.

I have a TCL tv with (with google smart TV software)

Can you install apps from Google Play on this TV? If so, there's a Jellyfin app for Google TVs. I can't say how well the Google TV Jellyfin app works as I have an LG TV myself, so currently I'm using the Jellyfin LG TV app.

If you can't install apps on that TV, does it have a DLNA client built in? Many TVs do, and that's how I streamed media to my TV for years. On my LG TV the DLNA server shows up as another source when I press the button to bring up the list of inputs. The custom app is definitely a lot more feature-rich, but a DLNA client can be quite functional and Jellyfin can be configured to work as a DLNA server.

I don't know how well the Jellyfin app for xbox works, but you can also install Kodi with the jellyfin addon I think. Or share your library via smb and connect to that directly with Kodi.

Jellyfin has an Android TV version

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

3 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 6 acronyms.

[Thread #480 for this sub, first seen 4th Feb 2024, 06:55] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]

I dont think you can selfhost media server on xbox, but both jellyfin and plex are amazing. If you want to run media server you should have x86 or arm based PC. Old laptop or desktop PC or SBC like raspberry pi is great starting hardware if you have one laying around. If you want to buy hardware lot of people recommend used SFFPC like intel nuc or lenovo thin client. You can run both plex and jellyfin server at the same time, they are quite lightweight and easy to install. If you want to share media with a friend plex is better option afaik, but I dont need that and like jellyfin more.

For a player, if there is no jellyfin for xbox, just use plex. Android tv supports both

Years ago when my brother lived with me he started ripping DVDs and Blu-rays and running a Plex server that pulled them from a NAS. It worked great on the Xbox in the house. When I got married and he moved out it didn’t work as well, but that probably had more to do with his network connection than anything else. Haven’t even tried in years though.

The only part I feel confident with right now is safely obtaining the media. I’m fine with that step being manual.

I haven't spent much time tinkering with it but the plug-n-play xbox experience uses the joystick like a mouse cursor, not like the android-tv's joystick to select menus - which is obviously sub par