Anyone use a mini PC, as a media centre on your TV?

INC

INC

Member
So basically, i wanna either use an old PC/laptop as a media centre, or just buy a mini pc, as media centre on my TV

i have a few requirements tho,

i want it to behave like a smart TV, ie buy a blue tooth remote and use it that way, and boot up without booting to windows and having to naviagte like around that (dont want to have to use a K&M for it)

run 4k 60fps HDR for my tv

wanna be able to run firefox, so i can ad block youtube etc etc

potentially run games on it like steam and retro arch (this isnt essential tho, since i have raspberry pi already, but its locked to 1080p output)

basically a clean GUI and interface, so it doesnt look like a mini pc.


any suggestions on mini pcs, other alternatives, OS for clean GUI (linus, kodi etc is fine, i can work that out)
 
I had the exact same question as you a while ago and so the answer is simply no. I'd love for someone to do it. Adding a browser to an Apple TV would do it I think but Apple doesn't want that so we're sol.

Would love to hear if there has been changes and it's possible now.
 
I'm using the Steam Deck for this and it ticks every box except HDR support. Valve has it on their software roadmap, so hopefully that'll come eventually. You can even hook up an external disc drive if you're into physical media.
 
I've tried this many times and always go back to a Google TV device and the miniPC separate for gaming on different inputs. PCs can be a headache for a media center due to codec, hdmi, and HDR issues. Batocera does have Kodi built in but I never set anything up to use it as the media center.

kodi [Batocera.linux - Wiki]

Kodi Media Center If you haven’t heard already, Kodi is available with Batocera. It’s been preinstalled and configured for controller support. Kodi is not available on oga/rk3326, orangepi-zero2, rpi1 and rpizero2-based images due to not being able to play videos well and a lack of rotation...
wiki.batocera.org wiki.batocera.org
 
Dural said:
I've tried this many times and always go back to a Google TV device and the miniPC separate for gaming on different inputs. PCs can be a headache for a media center due to codec, hdmi, and HDR issues. Batocera does have Kodi built in but I never set anything up to use it as the media center.

kodi [Batocera.linux - Wiki]

Kodi Media Center If you haven’t heard already, Kodi is available with Batocera. It’s been preinstalled and configured for controller support. Kodi is not available on oga/rk3326, orangepi-zero2, rpi1 and rpizero2-based images due to not being able to play videos well and a lack of rotation...
wiki.batocera.org wiki.batocera.org
Click to expand...
I was going to get a minipc for the livingroom, then I realized that streaming apps and HDR were going to be a bitch on Windows or Linux. I guess the Nvidia Sheild is the best thing for this right now?
 
I just use my current laptop and desktop. I have a few long hdmis that I run along the walls to the computer desk. Then I use a Bluetooth keyboard to control the computer.

I'm sure you could run a program to have it run like a smart TV or something but a traditional desktop environment is more versatile. Just increase the size of the icons and text so it'll be easy to see. It's very simple.
 
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There is https://smarttubenext.com/ for Google TV, never used it so not sure how it works. I run sponsorblockcast in a docker on my server and it works pretty well for skipping in video sponsors. I have Youtube Premium so haven't had a need for ad skipping other than the in video sponsors.
 
I have a Minisforum um780 xtx with an eGPU hooked up to my 77in OLED and I love it especially with it being 120hz. You can just flash Steam OS on it and use everything with a controller to navigate through but it was little too complicated for me to get all my games compatible and up and running but there are plenty of guides online on how to do this.
 
i use a mini pc to run my plex server with media hosted on a nas. But then i use streaming devices Apple TV/ shield to stream
 
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INC said:
Ps/xbox/smart TV, don't allow ad blocker for YouTube, so doesn't fit thr criteria 🤷‍♂️
Click to expand...
I didn't even see that part, my bad.

We used to use Intel NUC systems at work. They're not the cheapest but they are super small and have a reasonable amount of power.
 
It's still possible to install a modified version of Windows Media Center into Windows 11 which you can use as a launcher for apps, but a lot of the components are outdated and might be more difficult to work with. Plus any feature updates from Microsoft could break it completely. From your requirement's, an Android based TV box like the Nvidia Shield might be more suitable, using SmartTube as your default Youtube app. If you have a PC with an nviia card, you can also Stream games from it, or use Moonlight instead.

A cheaper Alternative would be the Amazon Fire TV Cube, since it's android based you can also install SmartTube onto that.
 
Artoris said:
I use an older laptop
Click to expand...
Bingo!

My Asus is 10 years old plugged into the TV. Wireless mouse and keyboard. Runs Linux.

Awesome setup. Highly recommend something similar to others.

Wife and I are thinking of replacing it with a Beelink or a Mac Mini.
 
I just use a firestick with kodi on it. Also have a plex server running. And subsonic. One tv uses plex, the other one has the firestick with kodi and the 3rd tv has kodi on it synced with the 2nd tv. It was a bit to set up, but now it all just works.
 
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