Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.
In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.
much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)
Use Kodi to pirate shows and movies. TroyPoint has lots of good articles on how to set it up. Use RealDebrid and the Umbrella addon.
A 2GB RPi5 works great, install LibreElec (Kodi OS that's FOSS), put it in a Flirc passive case (they also have a Kodi variant that they then donate some proceeds towards), and hook up a small wireless USB keyboard.
maybe an android phone with usb-c to hdmi? would be very easy to use for non techie family members too.
I've recently bought a Vero V and it's been playing anything I've thrown at it without any issues. That includes 4K, HDR10 and AVI videos.
This is the best media player I've had over the decades.
I've had a Nvidia Shield before. I was just not happy with the advertising platform it really was. Which is why I upgraded to the Vero V.
Does it have voice to text ?
I went the same path and I second the Vero V, very nice little machine! It can also do Dolby Vision, which is why I chose this one.
Agreed the Nvidia shield in its later updates to the OS really went heavy on the ads.
One way around this is with a OS downgrade and sticking with OS version 8.2.3 and not upgrading the home launcher, or replacing it with another launcher internally.
These were the steps I followed to downgrade all my Nvidia shield around the house.
https://florisse.nl/shield-downgrade/
Definitely on the lookout for a new media box though and the one you mentioned caught my eye as well.
Keep your tv disconnected from the internet completely like you did, and get a dedicated android box like the nvidia sheild for example. You can pick these up second hand for cheap.
Then uninstall any apps you do not require from the Sheild and you should be okay.
Now if you hold your own 4K media collection on a NAS you can install something like Plex and/or Jellyfin and keep your Nvidia Sheild completely offline only to access your local content. Though this really depends on your desired threat level or privacy level.
I went with an onn4k not logged into a google account because I got one that was patched to keep you from replacing the os with lineage but if you get the right version you can change it to lineage and put the apks for any services you want onto it
I like cloudstream personally and jellyfin is also pretty good
I used kde connect to load the apps onto it by downloading f-droid and loading apk files that way