I replaced my Apple TV—with a Raspberry Pi

If you want a TV box that's more flexible than Apple TV, Nvidia SHIELD, Roku Ultra, or any of the regular Android-based TV set-top boxes, this Pi build's for you!

I built a Raspberry Pi 5 media center using LibreELEC and Kodi, and I'll show you how you can do it, too. It's good enough for almost any modern content, up to 4K60, but there are a few caveats.

Some of the things I mentioned in this video (some links are affiliate links):

00:00 - Introduction
00:09 - Squarespace first mention
00:43 - Necessary parts
02:13 - Remote control
03:03 - Assembly
05:47 - First boot
06:06 - Red Shirt Jeff (.com)
07:07 - First time LibreELEC setup
08:53 - Adding content via Samba
09:36 - Scanning for metadata
12:03 - 4K, AV1, VP9, YouTube demos
14:55 - Power draw and auto boot
15:43 - Free as in freedom

[NeverEnoughRally]

I feel mostly what you buy with TV boxes is the UI. There's no way I could drop a pi with Kodi off at my parents house and not get a phone call every 10 mins. I'm still hunting for some Linux based OS that has a UI that's somewhat intuitive for non tech minded people.

[tld]

apple tv is good for home kit. the main concern for the raspberry pi is DRM on streaming services like netflix and disney. When i watch tv, i just want it to work and not worry anything else

[ernestgalvan]

A FAR better (HONEST) title:

“I Built An RPi5 Media Center using LibreELEC and Kodi”

[zevindd]

Still kinda missing the streaming part... netflix, amazon, etc.

[JG-nmzk]

The first gen apple tv was an actual computer.

[rtorcato]

It's way cheaper to put Kodi on an amazon fire stick than using the new raspberry Pi.

[joca]

Sorry Jeff I really like your content, but this not replace Apple TV or Nvidia Shield in any way, we can't cast videos, we can't install streaming apps and Kodi in 2024 ? It's just not comparable solutions...

[asnovasdodia]

I've recently got an Apple TV as a gift and I swear I'll never use a RPi for that purpose again. To add insult to the injury, it was cheaper, as it was second hand.

[danielcollin]

I have an Apple TV and one of the reasons is that it supports apps such as Netflix, Prime, Max, and local TV stuff out of the box. While you can get some of them working within Kodi with various plugins and such it's usually not that great experience and it tends to break when the "emulated" app gets updated.
For local content I just run Kodi on my Apple TV. It takes some fiddling to get running, but it's all doable.

[claudiusvier]

Honestly I think the Apple TV is actually quite worth it. Its polished and integrates into the ecosystem very well. Its a million times better than a "Smart TV"s OS and as it goes for Apple products its surprisingly good value

[dobmw]

hey, is there a part 2 of this video ? i missing the AppleTV part, streaming, Movie Store, netflix, appletv, and the other streaming services.
i mean, what you show us here is just a streaming client for local video files, that i think 99% of us not longer have, because of the streaming services

[cattigereyes]

That’s my issue they can yank shows from your downloads via internet. Sony did it recently. This means you need an off line back up player with all purchased shows saved. Meaning you would have to take new shows and move the file to your personal back up player that’s off line. I am betting the big players want that to be illegal in the future.

[gtwannabe]

I prefer Jellyfin over Kodi. The client is extremely lightweight and runs great on gimpy hardware like a Chromecast with Google TV or Roku Express. I run the Jellyfin server on a little fanless Atom PC. It hardware transcodes via Intel QuickSync and lets me watch my NAS media wherever I want.

[TerraMagnus]

AppleTV gives me actual streaming services. Kodi is a neat trick if you just pirate everything or buy blurays and rip them for everything you watch.

[xssimposter]

You mentioned having a pi running for 10+ years, mine just hit its 10th year and is running my adguard service. It started out as a temporary solution that became long-term cause it just works!

[GerardPinzone]

And what about streaming apps like Netflix, Hulu, Pluto, etc.?

[treyfordham]

My favorite thing about this video is that it goes to show how universally all these computer nerd dads love Bluey and recognize it as a wholesome show. Good to see Other Jeff likes it too.

[tyler]

I literally just did exactly this 2 days ago (with rpi 4). Kodi is really cool and I've been amazed at its codec support and playback ability for 1080p content. I would have to agree that 4k is pretty well out of the question for Pi 4, at least at 4k bluray quality. Nice to know the upgrade path is viable though.

[drmunki]

What you have there is not a replacement for the apple TV box. You're clearly an experienced techie, not sure why you would click bait this as a replacement? You even make the point that it can't replace netflix apps etc. which would be a requirement for any real contender.

[esela]

Still watching through, how does this handle DRM with the likes of Netflix? Last time I looked into this sort of solution (repurposing a nuc) running some form of Linux or Android it quickly became apparent I would be limited to something like 720p :(

Been a while since I looked into it though.