this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2026
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Still need something to get the plunder to the TV.
I’ve heard Apple TV is great, but I can’t bring myself to use a limited device for media at home… I recently replaced our raspberry pi media players with a levovo tinys that I got for a steal (under 100USD each, i5/16/256!) because my partner uses YouTube while working and I can’t bear to have ads playing in the house. Got a PiHole but that doesn’t work on sites where the ads are served from their own servers. If I was going to get any box thingy to play media at this point though, it’d for sure be an appletv—they seem the most polished and least invasive of any premade box like that.
Get a onn. Box from Walmart and put something like Projectivy launcher on it
can those be "set up properly" without having to use a wm or google account?
No, I bought one thinking I just wouldnt log into google and it would not let me do one single thing without logging into Google. Nothing. Took it back immediately.
Raspberry Pi, Plex media server software and you're good to go. (it's free when you stream across your own home network) Bonus points for using industrial velcro and slap the raspberry Pi on the back of the TV.
~~Plex Media Server~~ No.
Jellyfin. Easier to configure. No corporate BS.
The rest is fine.
Use Radarr, Sonarr, Lidarr for movies, TV, and music respectively. (they really missed the ball with the Sonarr name).
I recommend getting an account with a service like UseNet News (UNS). Set up NZBGeek. Connect the above to that. UNS costs a fraction of what streamers cost and you can download most anything you want any time.
I would suggest torrenting, but I feel that's inherently more risky.
Really? Hm. I've got it installed on my main computer and it streams my videos to the TV w/o issue.
Granted, the OS on the computer is ancient and it's an older version of Plex (at least 6 years? Maybe more..) and I refuse to let it online to update and it's not failed me at all.
I've been sailing the high seas since the days of Mactella, so..
I didn't say it doesn't do that.
However, it is worse at transcoding, it is more of a memory hog, there's a potential risk of Plex using your information (privacy concerns). Plex can potentially catalog what's in your library and use that information for marketing or worst-case-Ontario, report you if you're a pirate.
It's a corporate entity with corporate-sized issues. You can dig deeper if you want.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR7AmIN5wHU
https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/plex-how-bad-is-it-for-privacy/26180
https://www.askdavetaylor.com/how-to-maximize-your-privacy-with-plex-media-server/
Jellyfin is better. ESPECIALLY if you aren't sharing your library with others. Even if you are, use Tailscale or some other VPN to your network to do it.
Just because it's how you've always done it doesn't mean it will always be right.
Ooof. I can see its been wise of me to keep the thing locked down on the spare laptop that's not online.
I have many different computers, most all are dumpster dives.
As far as the torrents - I do it from my work studio and not at home simply as I am on the starter speed for internet there.
I trot my files home on a flash stick and dump them on the network drive.
Nothing is transcoded, if I need to do that, I use Handbrake.
I share my files with a flash stick. Homegirl's old school but I will look into Jellyfin and use it if it runs on my OS - it might not. My newest system is a gaming PC from 2016 (which I do NOT use for anything but gaming) and the streaming Mac is a 2010 MBP running an unsupported install of Mojave. For my graphics work, I'm using Mavericks simply as it runs all my peripherals - and of course my programs, perfectly.
pi or old pc/laptop, maybe? with remote control or mini wireless kb/mouse (what i use, one with trackpad integrated) or one of these remote control sized ones?