I just want a massive screen to watch my content on - everything else you mention is irrelevant.

I agree that the days when “everyone” watched the same show are done. But if you can find a small group to watch a show with (better in person), then there are better shows available for that experience these last several years, even if the average quality has gone down.

What are some of your favorite shared experiences to replace tv?

I like rewatching old TV shows and films, streamed from my Jellyfin server.

For me, my rule is to get a Google TV, because I can change out the launcher to Flauncher. At least that way I don't see any ads. Google may well still be tracking me, but they do all over the web and I have an Android phone so they've already got plenty of data on me. I just avoid their ads so that it minimises the profitability of that data.

Yeah I mean it isn’t like there isn’t decades of content you can catch up on or anything.

>First off, the number of movies and TV shows that merit even being watched is dwindling

The first item in your list to others is subjective

99.999% of TV's are connected directly to the Internet by their users without any restrictions. Investing in additional hardware or operator deals to capture the remaining .001% isn't typically worth it, for now.

I see many people liking their shield, and with good reason it seems, but is it a worthy ecosystem to buy in to when it has not seen a new hardware revision since 2019?

The Shield Pro is perfect for me and I have no reason to upgrade. Have mine downgraded and de-bloated using this guide [0] running a custom launcher. Like you said being Android and more open helps a lot.

[0] https://florisse.nl/shield-debloat/

I've had the same Shield for about 8 years and it's still going strong, has all the hardware decoding I need

I use the non-Pro version for 1080p streaming and have for years. It’s great, does what I want and gets out of the way. Some years ago they were forced by Google to use the standard AndroidTV UI instead of their own custom one, which means it now shows ads on the home screen (a carousel of “watch this on service X”), which are inoffensive enough I haven’t bothered to circumvent them. You can swap to your own custom UI if you want with some ssh futzing.

I image they will be much sought-after, unless you are suggesting they are being bricked

I'm still disappointed they killed the Chromecast Audio... have one uptairs I use regularly. Would have bought a couple extra had I known.

I just hook up a (linux) laptop to my TV, personally. I have a mouse (and a bluetooth keyboard which I rarely use) to interface.

I have no idea if that would in some way impact something like streaming quality because I don't have any streaming services; I live in australia where the streaming companies simply don't bother organising streaming rights for worthwhile media. I also like to own things I want to rewatch.

If I wanted to get fancy (and if I had a TV capable of connecting to the internet, which I don't) I might consider setting it up as a media server or look at NAS solutions, but my laptop is perfect for me as is.

Yes.

The only other one I'd seriously consider is the nVidia Shield (Pro?). But the risk with that is that it's decade old hardware with no updates in sight. It's more for the "My Plex/Jellyfin server has all the movies and TV shows ever" -crowd :)

Meanwhile my 1st gen 4k AppleTV (6-ish years old?) is chugging away perfectly and runs every single 3rd party streaming platform I need - even the local ones. As a market it's just too big to ignore.

And no ads anywhere on the front page. The top row apps get to show their stuff on the top part, but it's not "ads" in my book - unlike Google TV that just shoves full-screen crap of "YOU WANNA SEE THIS MARVEL MOVIE?!" at you no matter where you browse.

Before you buy an Apple TV you can try installing ProjectIvy launcher and see if that suits your needs. It's basically a simplified launcher UI for Android TV devices.

It's not perfect, not if it suits your needs you won't have to buy another device.

Happy apple tv user for > 5 years now. It has icons for the apps you want to start on the home screen. You click the icons. The apps start.

It's connected to a samsung tv that's not allowed wifi access. Besides the bad and steadily worsening UX of streaming apps like Netflix, my setup itself never shows me any ads.

Also the apple tv remote has a very solid, premium feel, which i like

A cheap used mini desktop with a linux install on it is also a good way to go. Throw in a wireless mouse and keyboard and you can do not only what an AppleTV or Android box does but also everything a cheap used mini pc can do.

Even something like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/127547167640

Would be a media powerhouse compared to almost any set top box you can buy.

Throw OpenElec or OSMC on it for simple media setup or Bazzite or Ubuntu for a normal linux desktop with downloadable applications for most streaming platforms.

I've been using an AppleTV as the primary way to get content to my (dumb, vintage 2007) TV for approximately a decade now.

While my usage has increasingly shifted toward drawing from my personal library through first Plex, then Jellyfin, I've also used Netflix, YouTube, Twitch, Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV+, and probably a couple of other content apps I'm forgetting on it. Aside from some issues with the UI of individual apps (which is, of course, on the developers), it all works great. Many of the apps can even show you a couple of tiles of "suggested content" right from the home screen (for instance, when I select the Netflix app, but before I launch it, it currently shows the next episodes from the most recent two shows I've been watching on it).

There are various ways in which an AppleTV can be better if you're already in the Apple ecosystem (which I am), but you absolutely do not need to be to make excellent use of it.

It can even join your Tailscale network and act as an exit node, giving you a quick & dirty VPN into your home network!

You could install Flauncher or another launcher onto Android TV. Then you don't see ads.

Roku has been bad in a number of ways, but here's one:

https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/05/roku-disables-tvs-and-stre...

I wouldn't assume Roku is better to share your data with. Google uses your data to feed their own algorithms instead of just straight up selling it. Their incentive is to keep the data internal so they alone can extract value from it.

Roku just directly sells it to anyone who wants it: https://advertising.roku.com/learn/resources/roku-unveils-da...

"Few ads here and there" is always worse than "no ads".

I’ve thought about doing this, what kind of device do you use for input?

I have a Logitech K400 Plus portable keyboard and it works great for general use, but I end up using my Apple TV on the couch instead since I prefer using a TV remote / gamepad to navigate.

The EU actually mandated that cars have a modem ("eCall"), so they could self-report accidents. I think this has been under reported even in tech circles.

> Next level of dystopia: cellular modems becoming so cheap that every TV, fridge and washing machine comes with one that connects it to the Internet whether you like it or not.

That's already a reality with cars in Europe.