I recently found a very overpowered for the price mini-PC and I plan to use it to replace my Android TV box that is really starting to show its age.
I think I want something bazzite-like and probably immutable but more media focused than gaming, with already working and set up waydroid and remote control support.
Thanks in advance
@StarlightDust@lemmy.blahaj.zone how much do mini pc’s cost these days?
It depends. Thie one I got for this was cheap on Facebook marketplace for ~£100.
Could be nice but the download section tells „As of right now, Plasma Bigscreen isn’t available for public use yet.
you weren’t specific about your use case, but if running media-consumption apps is your thing, there’s a LineageOS AndroidTV port for Raspberry Pi. the most polished UX, no Google spyware to slow things down, super-competent hardware (avaialable with up to 8 GB RAM), supports HDMI-CEC (you can use your TV’s remote), has a wired LAN port, and you always have the option of installing a linux distro.
LibreELEC Or OpenELEC
It is not immutable, but use Linux Mint for my tv computer. It is similar enough to windows that my so has no promblem using it. I use it with a 2 in 1 keyboard/touchbad from logitech.
Don’t try to work around a hardware issue with software.
Get yourself one of these, use any normal distro and call it a day.
Try Bazzite.
I’m going to second this. It runs Android apps with a little bit of config.
Piggy backing on this post to ask those running a mini-PC on their TV: How tf did you get content to actually stream in full HD? Whenever I try to use the web browser to watch hockey games through YouTube TV, or some random show through Netflix, I’m limited to 720p. Is there a workaround for this?
ETA I’m aware of an agent spoofer extension in Firefox, but it hasn’t solved this problem in my experience.
Torrent stuff in HD or 4K and play those files instead of trying to stream from a company that won’t offer better than 720p :-)
I figured this was the answer. It still makes me sad that I can’t legitimately stream content from the major streaming services in full HD on a regular laptop.
I use flat Ubuntu on my projector with a palm keyboard with built-in thumb-ball. 1080p all day. It’s a normal PC after all.
1080p all day. It’s a normal PC after all.
Right, but which streaming services are you watching?
YouTube
No workaround as far as I’m aware. Commenting to follow others comments to learn if something changed in this area
Thinking out loud, is it possible to load the apps themselves (YouTube TV, Netflix, etc) onto Linux using an Android emulator?
Don’t do Waydroid, its way too slow and buggy for what you’re wanting. I’d highly suggest Genymotion and have been using it on touchscreen 2in1s for a few months without issue, even with Play Store
I am pretty sure what you’re looking for is called Waydroid.
I have been slumming it with a normal ubuntu install, I tried plasma bigscreen but never got it working properly
I looked into doing this a bit ago. For me, the current solutions just aren’t good enough. Once Plasma Bigscreen and Waydroid Android TV are ready, then I think I’ll take the plunge. For now, my Nvidia Shield 2019 is hard to beat.
Look into Batocera. It has Kodi and Emulation Station as the two halves of the OS. You can even install Steam games on it (check RetroGameCorps video). Get a USB IR receiver from Flirc. The one thing it won’t support is WayDroid
There are some rumors about a new android box made by Valve. Perhaps if you have the benefit of time wait a little bit to see if it sees the daylight
Haven’t tried but maybe worth a look: https://github.com/MythTV/mythtv
Mythtv is awesome if you want to watch live TV, DVR the live TV or watch media. I’ve never been able to get it to work easily with streamed content. However you can just download the content you want and watch it as media. Best part is you can split the backend (disks, TV tuners etc) front the frontend (playback) and have a tiny box sat next to your tv
I think I want something bazzite-like and probably immutable but more media focused than gaming, with already working and set up waydroid and remote control support.
Likely does not exist yet. I haven’t heard of one, at least.
The closest one with the remote stuff and media will probably be https://libreelec.tv/
Yeah, but not immutable and not with waydroid pre-installed.
Bazzite
