Are mini stick PCs practical to set up as a media player, eg with jellyfin? Some advantages are the small form factor that plugs straight into the HDMI port, and flexibility/privacy vs using a dongle from a shitty company like amazon/google/roku.

Are there any things to watch out for to ensure it has enough compute power and hardware decoding? I just want it to play HD video with a jellyfin app/browser page.

I’m assuming it’s no big deal to install Linux on (x86 hardware?), do you need to watch out for specific device support? Thanks

  • AMillionMonkeys@lemmy.worldEnglish
    11·
    1 month ago

    I run an older Raspberry Pi (B?) with Kodi + Jellyfin on it as my client for my TV. I know Pis specifically aren’t a great value proposition anymore, but the hardware is really unimpressive and it works just fine - so you don’t need much.

    • eyesaremosaics@lemmy.zipOPEnglish
      7·
      1 month ago

      Do you know what number model it is? I tried using an old 2B but it was too slow and doesn’t have hardware decoding as far as I can tell. I’ve heard you need around 4B for media playback, but the price is not so great for a simple use like this. Stick PCs seemed to have some cheaper options, including hardware decoding, with the advantage of plugging straight into the HDMI port

      • AMillionMonkeys@lemmy.worldEnglish
        6·
        1 month ago

        I’m pretty sure mine is a 2B as well, but I’d have to go digging behind the TV to know for sure. I know it’s not newer than that. It works fine for me running LibreElec+Kodi+Jellyfin, but I don’t play anything more complicated than 1080p h264. If you want HD or Atmos or whatever complications, yeah, you’ll want hardware decoding.
        The ethernet jack is also a plus for me, but I think most video will stream satisfactorily over WiFi these days.