[HN Gopher] Creating My Own Linux-Based Smart TV
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Creating My Own Linux-Based Smart TV
Author : carltheperson
Score : 43 points
Date : 2024-07-03 19:19 UTC (3 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (carltheperson.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (carltheperson.com)
| johnea wrote:
| I have this too!
|
| The TV is used as a monitor, connected via HDMI to my linux
| computer...
| MisterTea wrote:
| Yup. Intel Nuc and a Logitech K400. I dont bother with cute
| menu things and just use whatever DE with scaling turned up to
| 150%. 99% of the time you're in FF/Chrome watching streaming
| video.
| vincent-manis wrote:
| Same here, I have an LG TV which I dumbed down by removing the
| Ethernet cable. I use a BeeLink mini-PC, running Ubuntu, with
| Chrome for TV and VLC for DVDs and CDs. I still use the TV
| remote for turning power on and off, and changing input source
| (I still have cable, mostly for news). I would never use a
| Logitech wireless keyboard/trackpad for typing anything
| complicated, but it works great as a remote control.
| cynicalsecurity wrote:
| The best thing about this setup is that the freaking Smart TV
| isn't spying on you and selling your data to advertisers.
| drdaeman wrote:
| It probably still tries to analyze what's on screen, but
| probably can't send it anywhere if no network connection is
| available (unless it has a WWAN radio or can hop onto some
| Sidewalk-type network).
| bearen wrote:
| Is there any benefit of using a laptop rather than a pi?
| MisterTea wrote:
| Used laptops are cheaper than Pi's.
| carltheperson wrote:
| The benefit for me was that I already had an old laptop lying
| around. :)
|
| I'm sure a Pi could work well for this too. It just needs to be
| powerful enough to display websites and videos smoothly.
| bearen wrote:
| Ahh I see. You are indeed right about the power. I will give
| it a try some time and share under this comment if everything
| is OK with the PI or not. Thanks for the article and the
| reply!
| secstate wrote:
| Love a good hack. But in this case, I just use LibreELEC (kodi)
| and call it a day :D
| carltheperson wrote:
| Kodi is definitely a very cool project.
|
| I haven't used it much myself. How well does it work with
| streaming services? It seems like it's designed to be really
| good for offline content.
| secstate wrote:
| I use it primarily with my own Jellyfin instance, but there
| are Netflix, Disney+ and pretty much anything you can think
| of plugins. The YouTube irritatingly complicated to get
| working, but then there are "play on kodi" plugins for
| various browser so you can flip what you're watching to the
| big screen. It's really an amazing project.
| Daviey wrote:
| Out of interest, why do you use Kodi as a frontend rather
| than a native Jellyfin client?
| doubled112 wrote:
| Kodi is a native Jellyfin client, isn't it?
|
| Being able to play media from Jellyfin and other
| locations like YouTube, samba shares, etc is why I tend
| to use Kodi. I'm not stuck with one server/service.
| DrPhish wrote:
| LibreELEC is my go-to as well. I like to buy old thin-clients
| with bad storage for next to nothing and net-boot them diskless
| kiririn wrote:
| CoreELEC for me - the Amlogic chips are much more capable than
| the average Pi/PC/SBC when it comes to video, with features
| like quality deinterlacing (as good as modern TVs), HD audio
| passthrough, Dolby Vision, etc. Plus LibreELEC is always a bit
| janky, be it frame skip, audio sync issues, incorrect output
| levels, etc
| LeoPanthera wrote:
| It's always more satisfying to create something yourself but
| LibreELEC is a minimal Linux distro (barely even a distro) that
| boots directly into Kodi and is ideal for this kind of use case.
| It even has native CEC support.
| pixxel wrote:
| You should have stopped at 'but'.
|
| Great job, Hacker.
| catchmeifyoucan wrote:
| This is cool!
|
| I'm wondering how you change the input port (e.g. PS5), guessing
| you jump back to the Samsung OS in those cases?
| carltheperson wrote:
| I don't have anything else plugged into the TV. If I had a PS5
| I would have to jump back to Tizen OS, yes.
| roger_ wrote:
| These kludgey hacks have a very early 2000s feel to them.
|
| Shame there isn't a way to just put custom firmware on a TV.
| jauntywundrkind wrote:
| Looks like the gentleman built their own immersive
| entertainment system out of nothing on a consumer device. The
| future has never been so adaptable or malleable before. This
| man's got craft much more than kludge.
| roger_ wrote:
| I'm not criticizing it, but half a laptop, some HTML and an
| iPhone shortcut isn't the most elegant smart TV interface.
|
| It's a shame because there's probably decent compute in that
| TV that people can't access.
| pixxel wrote:
| This was great hacker news. Enjoyable read, too.
| dazld wrote:
| I wonder if something similar to a Wii Remote's tracking would
| work better for controlling the cursor, as that would let you
| point right where you want instead of needing to use gyro.
| c-hendricks wrote:
| I bought a couple of those gyro-mouse/keyboards, exact same
| model!
|
| Using them is pretty awful! The gyro doesn't feel right (don't
| know how to explain it, it's nowhere near as natural as a
| WiiMote). And laying it down without, you know, moving the mouse
| which usually brings up controls in a video player is impossible.
| Not to mention how often you'll lay it down and the mouse will go
| to an edge of the screen, causing the video controls to persist.
|
| Having said all that, I'm still really intrigued with the
| concept.
|
| I bought one for myself for a Steam Deck, and one for a friend
| that uses a computer as their smart tv. Neither are in use
| anymore, both replaced with Logitech wireless keyboard +trackpad
| combos.
| keernan wrote:
| I've been doing something similar for awhile. Using my old laptop
| (damaged keyboard just like OP). Set 'lid close' to "do nothing"
| (it runs 24/7 with the lid always closed). Connected to TV via
| HDMI.
|
| Only app is browser. Shortcuts for streaming and movie/tv reviews
| etc. Use the TV regular remote for volume and on/off. Use remote
| mouse 90+ percent of the time. Keyboard only when my preset links
| are insufficient and I need to type.
|
| Have the same setup in the BR (running on a used mini-Optiplex I
| bought for $135). Works great.
| somat wrote:
| Great hack, thanks for taking the time to document it.
|
| Our modern tv's are just the worst.
|
| I would probably be tempted to try and find one of those generic
| lvds driver boards and get rid of the "smarts" entirely.
|
| https://ifan-display.com/lcd-oled-display-driver-board-every...
| polartx wrote:
| "Cool clock, Ahmed"
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