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Roku and TCL are being sued for allegedly bricking smart TVs with bad updates
(www.androidauthority.com)
this post was submitted on 04 May 2026
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Everyone wants to access Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, etc through their TV interface and I just don't get it. The best experience is when you hook up a PC to your TV... not some TV-centric Android OS or Roku's thing.
Install Kubuntu on some old PC with a GPU that can handle 4K @60Hz and you're good to go. KDE and Firefox let you crank up the zoom so everything's easy to read and it even has HDR support (though I prefer going without it... Old person eyes).
It's such a vastly superior experience. Not only do you get the usual stuff, you can use a real keyboard to type into that search bar. You can also access all those pirate streaming sites and do normal PC stuff like play games.
I'm 100% with you and this is my mantra, but at this very moment am having trouble finding a TV that can operate without ever connecting to a network and would appreciate any brand/model reccs in the 55/60" range. All I need is HDMI.
I'm sorry, but that's a terrible setup for 99% of the people. I don't want a big loud box near a tv. How would you even control it ? If all you are going to do is launch those apps, most people would be better off with apple tv. You can even install jellyfin there if you have your own home server and stream to it.
Loud?
You can get a minipc with no fan for a couple hundred bucks.
You control it with a wireless mouse and wireless keyboard.
Or with kde connect using your phone.
Or however you want to control it because it's linux and you can do whatever the fuck you want and use ubkock or pihole or whatever and never see another ad for the rest of your life.
I use a media center PC and never want to go back to anything else.
very easy to split screen / picture-in-picture
not reliant on: did this service release an app on whatever platform, and will it continue to support it
can use a real browser (read: ad-blockers)
mouse/keyboard - yes it's perfectly fine to use wireless mouse/keyboard in a livingroom on a couch
I want my tv to turn on instantly; not to wait for a pc to boot, have to log in, and only then opening my streaming app. Such a hassle.
I personally have a tcl with custom launcher, debloated the most I could, on a network with adguard, streaming only from jellyfin (Wholphin client) and Navidrome (Chora), and sometimes Youtube (Grayjay). I click the power on button, it instantly turns on into Wholphin most often, then I click the play button. Litterally 2 seconds. What's the big deal? Ok, it still has traces of google and other stuff, but it sounds like a decent compromise. Ofc, if someday somebody out there makes a custom rom I'll be the first one to install it, but until then..
Suspend the PC instead of shutting it down. It will use almost no power and wake up in a couple of seconds. Whatever you left open will still be running.
As someone who had been doing exactly this setup for a years, even before streaming was a thing, the key issue is the lack of ease.
When I was watching my own collection just streamed through local intranet, using VLC and a “remote mouse”, the problem always came down to the interface or the remote. It is vastly easier to navigate through menus, etc. on a TV using a remote than even a remote-shaped keyboard. Even when you had everything set up reasonably well in Kodi or something, there was always the issue of having a remote to control the TV and then a remote to control the TV’s PC. Using a keyboard, even one of the small mouse-keyboard combos is a hassle and is ripe with issues when trying to manage anything that needs to be navigated at the PC’s resolutions, especially if you are 8-10ft away from the screen on a sofa. Then, trying to let friends and family use your setup is not even worthwhile. It’s easier to just say, “I don’t have TV” than try to explain.
Case in point, a few years ago, I discovered Jellyfin and it completely changed the way that I watch media. Instead of ensuring that the TV laptop was properly connected to my main desktop where all the drives were connected, and running all shows and movies through numerous playlists, I had Jellyfin doing all the heavy lifting. When it came to adding Jellyfin to my TV, I added the app to the TV, and it all worked exactly like Netflix. One remote, one simple interface, working on nearly every device (PS5 interface can get fracked 😤).
No more ensuring that every TV in the house has a cheap laptop connected to it. No more buying the extra TV-PC remotes with scattered connections and continually having to reconfigure each time I decided to try something else in the setup. No more ensuring that playlists were accessible to each laptop, updating all the laptops, Windows internal connection randomly stopping on the downstairs laptop, trying to duplicate favorite film and TV to extra drives to have on hand in case I’m watching something with friends and the network folders stop registering randomly. Everything just works. Add Jellyfin app to the TV or Roku, or iPad, or whatever, and I have access to my entire collection with ease.
I’ve been doing this for literal decades at this point, and the ease that comes with “install the app and watch” is the reason that people don’t just connect a PC.
I will keep saying this:
Kde connect
It is a mouse/touchpad, keyboard, media controller in one single app, file transfer, notification sync all in one.
Simple setup.
Download on devices. Pair. Done.
If you can figure out a way to add an LG TV connection that will also change the TV’s inputs, I’m there. Otherwise, the age old problem remains.
Exactly. I'm so glad there's someone normal here. Anyway, for jellyfin on ATV I recommend Wholphin, perfect client
I’ve been meaning to check them out! Cheers!
Most people don’t have a PC laying around, just so it can be hooked to a TV.
Even more true, most people don’t know how to do what you just described.
Also some people don’t want a keyboard and mouse sitting on their coffee table. They want a remote control they can use from the couch.
Though it does surprise me such a solution doesn’t already exist. I was looking at something similar using an rpi, but u couldn’t seem to find anything with a remote.
Edit: I see all these people making open source mice for 3D printers. Someone should make a very generic open source remote, and whatever receiver (probably usb, which would plug into an rpi nicely) and then not sure what you would need to do to modify emby/jellyfin clients.
Phones...uh, can be used as keyboards.
And remotes. And as a touchpad.
I use kde connect on my phone for my 3 10+ year old linux pcs that others would have thrown away. And to control 7 devices in total. Imagine trying to do that with a remote.
It's literally as simple as install app on phone and devices and pair.
Done.
You can get a good enough pc on amazon or walmart or a local garage sale for like 100$
You're just capitulating.
There is always another way.
lol no I legit just want a classic tv style remote.
I’m aware that a phone can be used as a keyboard. Or whatever app. I could write an app that just has channel up/down volume up/down, number buttons etc. still wouldn’t be the same as a remote. Different tactile feel. Phone goes to sleep, or I’m using a different app. Or I have to use an old phone as a dedicated app. Which will need a charge more frequently than a remote would need AAA batteries. And whatever media client I’m running should have a user interface that accommodates such a device rather than just saying “fuck it, you need a mouse and keyboard to operate this thing.” The Roku emby and jellyfin apps work pretty well with a standard remote. I’m looking for something similar I could run on an rpi with a small Linux distro. Not sure how I am “capitulating” as you say.
As an early adopter of the whole whole "just plug a computer into the TV thing" going back to the early 2000s, I will say that its kinda shocking that no one has developed a really solid 10-foot interface that doesn't need a shit-ton of tweaks to work right.
I understand that people want to just be able to plug shit in and go. I have an HTPC hooked up at my house, but for family members that aren't interested in tweaking shit and troubleshooting, they get a firestick with stremio on it.
I mean, a shield TV pro with custom launcher is really really good. Kodi, stremio and what have you, makes it very easy and enjoyable to watch tv. And Nvidia just keep on shipping updates.
Betting on Nvidia to not hop on the enshittification train seems like a supremely bad decision at this point in time
While I agree wholeheartedly with this comment, I felt the need to add a footnote to it.
if you currently use mainstream media services such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, etc., be careful going this route because some service providers are known to intentionally drop the quality of your stream If it realizes you're on a browser instead of an official app. I know Netflix for sure does it because I've seen it first hand.