you could host jellyfin on your pc, if your tv supports the client. With this you won't even have to connect your pc to the tv.
this post was submitted on 28 Feb 2024
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I am not that super interested in this because the hdmi connection stays anyway for playing some games..
I was reading about jellyfin and it would be great for me like 8 years ago, when I was still in my data hoarding phase.
What I am looking for now is more like Player + Library + Xbox controller as input on top of that. Oh.. and subtitles support would be great.
I second the recommendation of using Jellyfin.
Additionally you can use something like the Unified Remote app to make your phone control your computer instead of a mouse. Want to turn up the volume just use the volume rocker on your phone. You can also turn your phone screen into a large trackpad. Very convenient for watching media. I think there is an open source version called KDE Connect but I haven't used it yet myself.
I totally understand Jellyfin being recommended and praised so much. I guess if I will reconsider building a home server / media box etc. — this would be my first direction.
On the other hand, I know I am stubborn, being a minimalist is not helping in this situation. I just wish I could do as much as possible with simplest solutions on my PC and right now Jellyfin feels like an overkill, even Kodi does, if there would be a plugin for VLC to just let me go for play/pause vol up/down with xbox controller I would go for it and delete Kodi immediately.
Well then use VLC and a remote control program like Unified Remote or KDE Connect and use your phone as a remote control for volume and mouse.
There's mythtv, but it's significantly more complicated than kodi and doesn't have the streaming plugins. IME, mythtv makes a nice backend for Kodi, especially if you want to capture live TV OTA/cable. For just watching stuff, Kodi is great. It doesn't really honor any file hierarchy you might set up under its "Movies" or "Music" tabs, but you'll find that structure preserved in "Browser."
I've found OSMC, which is just a dedicated OS wrapper around Kodi, a little wonky, but that could be just me. I'm used to ssh-ing in to systems to maintain them, and it took me a long time to understand OSMC's connman network manager. I think it's probably fine if you intend to interact only though Kodi's on-screen controls, but osmc feels like a 'weird' linux. Doesn't even log to /var/log/syslog
Yeah, so.. For now, I feel like I am just stuck with Kodi, but I’ve found a really great theme that kinda helps me cope with that and makes the overall feeling much less clunky.
Maybe one day I will discover something better and more suited for me.
If it's the control you find clunky, Kodi does support LIRC, and USB infrared receivers are like $20. You should be able to convince it to listen to your TV or universal remote for menu navigation, volume, etc, which will make it feel a lot like a normal/smart TV. I use the Kore app on my phone.
But UI is the Achilles heel of most open source software.
Dang, I really felt that last sentence.