My elderly mum has a Roku Express attached to a dumb 1080p TV, but it's experiencing ever more frequent "insufficient power" failures and she's thinking of buying a new one.
I'm wondering if there's a freer alternative device that would be just as, if not more, user-friendly. Any tips? (I've been browsing Temu but no idea what to pick.)
Must haves:
- replaces the Roku
- allows her to watch OTT channels like Netflix and Prime (not pirated, she has legit accounts for those two), Youtube, Haystack etc
- all done with a user-friendly remote control & 3-metre interface
Nice to haves:
- replaces also the laptop (connected to the TV but basically unused)
- can get & watch Bittorrent downloads
- can watch IPTV (nothing fancy like debrid, just IPTV-org channels or some such)
- makes Bittorrent downloads & IPTV a more integral, easier part of the experience so that she actually uses & enjoys them
- reduces/eliminates ads on Prime, Youtube etc
CONTEXT
She uses the Roku for watching mainly Netflix, Prime, Youtube, Haystack (news), very occasionally TheArchive.TV, FreeMoviesPlus, Plex, Roku Channel (just one show).
I also installed IOTV, a Roku app with IPTV-org linear channels, but she never remembers it, and it's not very user-friendly anyway.
I also set up an old laptop for her, with QBittorrent on it, connected to the TV, but she never actually uses it unless I come round and download/play stuff.
PS I have no experience with "-arr" stack, Jellyfin, VPS, debrid etc.
PPS in case it's relevant, location is Mexico.
Not quite, and believe me, I've been looking.
Your best bet is probably LineageOS Android TV on a Raspi 5. From there you can install Kodi too. My issue here is that CEC does not work. Meaning you need a second remote.
I probably don't recommend LibreELEC on a Raspi, because despite install being seamless, Kodi these days is essentially a real-debrid frontend (which might be what you're looking for if you want integral torrent downloads!). The normal streaming apps for Kodi are not maintained even PlexJellyfin don't work out of the box.
Something else I'm keeping an eye on is Plasma Bigscreen but that's probably 2 years out minimum of being user friendly enough for someone not experienced.
Lastly if you have a Samsung TV, Tizentube will get you YouTube without ads (and other perks).
I do really hope Plasma Bigscreen works out, but it is already over 6 years old.
There's been some new progress and you love to see it, but we've been waiting on this one for a bit.
Me too. The original devs abandoned it and it was picked back up by new devs in 2025
The way I see it, if someone eventually makes a Bazzite-styled distro that "just works" with a Plasma-Bigscreen UI on a Raspi it will become the clear and obvious choice for anyone. But we're far from that still.