https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/07/broken-linux-laptop-makes-for-a-fine-smart-tv-alternative/
DIYer picks a "little insane"-looking setup for less tracking, more control.
Escaping the smart tv doom.
This'll work great until companies start injecting ads via HDMI https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/hdmi-customized-ad-insertion-patent-would-show-rokus-ads-atop-non-roku-video/
My next "TV" will be a monitor.
In 2018 I got my employer to get me a a 40” 4k says monitor. It was great to work with, and I can’t find anything like it any more. Using even an expensive TV as a monitor doesn’t work, not because of ads, but because the pixels aren’t right for up close viewing, there are gaps between pixels that make lines look dotted and text unreadable.
Seems I can’t find a normal aspect ratio monitor over 27”, or an ultra wide over 32”. Where can we find large formats that are actual monitors these days?
Dell has some 4k monitors. Last time I looked into it they were regular monitors with a dell dock built in, so you can drive it with a laptop via a single USBC cable that also powers the laptop.
Thank you so much for the suggestion. I was looking at monitor companies and couldn’t find anything. Dell has almost exactly what I want. 43” 4k 60hz (this is for business not gaming). I just need to figure out how to get my job to cover the cost now, it’s about 2x as much as the one I used to have.
I have been doing that for the past 10 years or so and I love it. I went from having something like a Roku plugged in to now just running Linux on a mini PC.
The only annoying part has been trying to find a good wireless keyboard/ mouse combo that uses rechargeable batteries. Logitech discontinued the expensive one that I used to have.
Look for an air mouse on amazon. I have one for the laptop that lives under my TV and its one of the best things ive ever bought. And it only cost like 30 bucks. Usb c rechargeable, single charge lasts for weeks, one side has regular media remote control buttons - some programmable, and the other side is a full keyboard. Only one side works at a time based on which side is pointing up, and to control the cursor you just point at the screen. The movement is so much more accurate than i thought it would be. Oh and it has backlight leds that can be turned on or off and only light up whatever side's buttons are active.
I should have said "air mouse remote". Im in canada so the results are different but this is similar to the one i have, and then theres fancier more expensive ones that i cant speak to the value of. Its even cheaper than i remember though so definitely worth trying out.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C7RKVPYJ?ref=emc_p_m_5_mob_i_atc
Local adblocking dns network was a great addition to my home. Device like smart tv or an app on a smart phone that won’t work with a plug-in like ublock origin? Doesn’t matter, point the device to the dns server in the basement that filters ads.
Now if I use the browser on my smart tv I don’t get pages riddled with ads. If I open the home menu I don’t get all the stupid bullshit.
You may have to add some custom extra rules for smart tv home menu shit because these aren’t always in the ad block domain lists. Here’s the ones for lg/webos:
||snu.lge.com^ ||su.lge.com^ ||su-ssl.lge.com^ ||snu-dev.lge.com^ ||su-dev.lge.com^ ||nsu.lge.com^
This also blocks updates, which is handy if you’ve rooted your webos tv. I forget which specifically are the update servers but you can just turn it off when you want to check for updates or look in the access logs as you turn on the tv, it’s the first one (I’m pretty sure su.lge.com but I could be wrong, been ages since I’ve checked). If you root though there is an ad free YouTube app that still works perfectly on the webos homebrew store
For android tv it’s not as effective because google is really fucking good at serving ads and also I’m not as invested in the second tv I have that was $150 that I don’t watch as much as my fancy big tv but
||androidtvwatsonfe-pa.googleapis.com^ ||androidtvchannels-pa.googleapis.com^
Clear caches and reboot after you do this or they’ll keep showing up and some will keep showing up anyway, somehow. fuck google and fuck androidtv. runs like shit because they have it so bloated with ads on most hardware at this point, laggy and unresponsive unless you have one of those $2-300 set top boxes with much more powerful hardware than a smart tv typically has. And even then it’s often kind of shit because of the amount of shameless advertising they’ve tacked on
This article inspired me to look into blocking more of androidtv crap. I have raspberry pi running android tv with lineage kongs image and it's fully functional snappy and works great. Liked it so much when it was time to get a TV I opted for an Android TV based one, what I was using on that tv was a android tv that was bloated and slow to the point of an annoyingly laggy interface, sometimes even failing to load apps sometimes without launching it twice. Turns out I added an additional domain to my pihole that blocks the discoverability crap. Now my home screen looks more like my raspberry Pi's and my tvs interface is so much more responsive. This is such a pain in the ass. I don't understand how non tech people put up with ads all day.
Didn't know of LineageOS KinstaKang. I must give this a try ! Which version of the Raspberry Pi are you using for this ?
Yeah! I have it on a raspberry pi 4! I have a 5 too but I'm just using it for a pihole so I might need to switch that!
I use Kodi standalone and the Kore mobile app. The Jellyfin addon can be navigated directly in Kore so I don't even need to use a remote control; I select what I want to watch directly on my touch screen. I think an ideal TV interface must prioritize a more native integration between the apps and the phone (or any web app really), similar to how Chromecast works.
I would recommend another mini pc or just a laptop/normal PC, raspberrys have gotten very expensive and in my opinion they aren't really worth it anymore.
So genuine question, what part of the world are you in? I keep seeing people talk about how expensive Pi's are on Lemmy (and yes there was the covid pricing for a while) but I can get a brand new PI5 8GB model for $80 + Tax in the USA https://www.adafruit.com/product/5813
I bought 3 x PI4 2GB for $40 recently.
A N100 Beelink is $180 for the 8GB model: https://www.amazon.com/Beelink-Intel-N100-Computer-Desktop-Display/dp/B0BVFXCJ2V?th=1&psc=1
Vilros Raspberry Pi 5 Starter Kit MAX - Turbo Cooled Aluminum - (128GB Edition) - (8GB RAM) https://a.co/d/fOxU3pq
Amazon selling the pi 5 kit for $160 bucks.
The trouble with pi now is you have to have so much other stuff to get it to work.
And then it's still running off an SD card
If you aren't afraid of used . There's a ton of older mini PCs on eBay for $60ish.
Idk I have a pi running right now.. and I hate that they are so expensive. I love raspberry pi .. but for the cost... I can get something with much better performance for the same money or cheaper.
And I'm in the US
Wow, to be honest I think that that kit on Amazon is insanely over priced. $160 for that?? I attached a screen shot, I wasn't even bargain hunting just straight from Adafruit with no discount. $105 gets me :
And you're right you can get some great deals on used mini PC, but it's not an equivalent exchange. I can't install lineageos in the x86 system for a home media center, like some people have said they do with their Pi. Also new product means warrenty, which can mean a lot for some folks.
Thanks for indulging me in this price talk though.
Yeah I'll give you that.. kits from Amazon are absolutely over priced junk. And I wouldn't suggest someone buying them. It was just a quick search.
Idk I guess I'm just still burnt by them focusing on businesses and not hobby folks back in the day. But hey gotta keep the lights on.
But yeah thanks for the discussion. I'm glad to hear there are still folks passionate about pi and the wacky stuff you can do with them. :)
Oh totally agree, and them going public (though only in UK if I understand) left me a little sour. Hopefully they'll stay on target though, I love the little buggers.
Has big screen seen any improvement in the past year? Last time I tried it, it was a little rough.
LibreELEC is pretty dang sweet though
I use Librelec and it is awesome.
Easy setup to play stuff locally and I can share links to content on sites like archive.org to it via Kore on my phone and it'll play them no problem.
I just blocked my TV's mac adress to access the internet so only network-internal connections like jellyfin work.