• 0 Posts
  • 2 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
cake
Cake day: August 3rd, 2023

help-circle
  • bigb@lemmy.worldtoSelfhosted@lemmy.worldSmart TV OS Alternative
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    33 minutes ago

    If Android is okay, I’d recommend the ONN 4K Pro player from Walmart (if located in the U.S.) with some privacy caveats:

    • Do as little with Google: Make a throwaway login if Google requires one to get the device started up. Try to avoid Google Play Store as much as possible. If privacy from Google isn’t a concern, feel free to use your Google account to download apps from the Google Play Store.
    • Learn how to sideload apps: There are multiple ways to do this, like a USB drive or FTP server.
    • Pick an alternate launcher: This will replace the default Android TV OS UI with one that has much more flexability and no ads. FLauncher and Projectivity are ones that I recommend to friends.

    The final product is a modern streaming device with much more flexability than any other store-bought device. Building a HTPC with Linux is probably the true self hosted option. Personally, I’m able to afford some privacy sacrifices with Google for something that “just works.”