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operating systems
media center
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Set Top Box
What is the best set-top box OS?
15
Options
Considered
103
User
Recs.
May 22, 2023
Last
Updated
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14
Options
Considered
Best set-top box OS
Price
Based On
Default Desktop Environment
--
Android TV
-
Android Open Source Project (AOSP)
Leanback Launcher
--
Google TV
-
Android Open Source Project (AOSP)
GoogleTV Launcher
--
Xbox OS
-
Windows 10
Xbox UI
--
PlayStation OS
-
FreeBSD
PlayStation UI
--
SteamOS
-
Debian
Steam Big Picture, Gnome
See Full List
--
Android TV
My Rec
ommendation
for
Android TV
My Recommendation for
Android TV
All
16
Experiences
3
Pros
10
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Sideloading of apps
See More
Top
Con
•••
Certified and non-certified
Only a few devices are certified AndroidTV devices that include legally all the unfree GApps like the PlayStore.
See More
GutsySaccimi's Experience
This is definity the best it is available an many cheap devices, very easy to use(even the dumbest person in the world couln't break it) and has support for almost anything.
See More
Specs
Based On:
Android Open Source Project (AOSP)
Default Desktop Environment:
Leanback Launcher
Init-System:
Android init
Package Manager:
APK, Google Play Store
See All Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Built-in Chromecast
Android TV has Chromecast built-in (only on Google certified devices).
See More
Top
Con
•••
AndroidTV remote can not emulate a mouse
It's not possible to control the mouse cursor with your Android phone.
See More
MotivatedEurynome's Experience
I just love my tiny andtroid tv box.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Easy to use
It is bare and easy to use.
See More
CaffeinatedTangaroa's Experience
It is amazing LiveTV, netflix, youtube, prime and hulu everything just works.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Neutral
It's not focusing on any vendor. Sure, on official devices all the Google services are pre-installed by default, however, you can easily disable them.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
AndroidTV remote
Any Android device can become a remote which makes it a lot easier to write text.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Can run Android apps
It can run all Android apps, however, you might need a mouse.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
No google account
Basic features dont need a google account. However if you want to download some apps from the play store of if you need the google assistant then you need a google account.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Cheap devices
Certified AndroidTV devices are starting at around €50.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Opensource
The base system is open source.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Good game console for casual playing
Almost any Android game runs on Android TV however you mainly want to use game that support an controller. There are also plenty of emulators available for Android and some streaming solutions like google stadia, nvidia geforce now. or steam link.
See More
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See All
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Recommend
32
1
--
Google TV
My Rec
ommendation
for
Google TV
My Recommendation for
Google TV
Add Video or Image
All
4
Pros
2
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Chromecast
Like AndroidTV, it has Chromecast support.
See More
Top
Con
•••
More Google integration
See More
Specs
Based On:
Android Open Source Project (AOSP)
Default Desktop Environment:
GoogleTV Launcher
Init-System:
Android init
Package Manager:
APK, Google Play Store
See All Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Extensible with apps
Being built on the Android operating system, the Google TV also has access to the Google Play app store eco system, meaning that any Android app can be easily adapted for the Google TV, including direct apps from media providers and games.
See More
Hide
See All
Get it
here
Recommend
5
--
Xbox OS
My Rec
ommendation
for
Xbox OS
My Recommendation for
Xbox OS
Add Video or Image
All
3
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Con
•••
Vendor lock-in
You have to use their services their app sore and so on. There is no way to sideload apps.
See More
Specs
Based On:
Windows 10
Default Desktop Environment:
Xbox UI
Init-System:
Service Control Manager
Package Manager:
MS Store
See All Specs
Top
Con
•••
Power demanding
On the XBox One it needs about 90-100 watts of you play a netflix movie.
See More
Hide
See All
Recommend
6
3
--
PlayStation OS
My Rec
ommendation
for
PlayStation OS
My Recommendation for
PlayStation OS
Add Video or Image
All
6
Pros
2
Cons
3
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Some good exclusives
It has some really good exclusive titles.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Remote must be bought seperately
A PS3 or PS4 remote must be bought sperately.
See More
Specs
Based On:
FreeBSD
Default Desktop Environment:
PlayStation UI
Init-System:
?
Package Manager:
?
See All Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Content is available on other devices
PlayStation Store content like Movies is also available on android and iOS devices.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Power demanding
The PS4 needs ~93 watts if you play something on netflix.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Vendor lock-in
You have to use their services their app store and so on. There is no way to sideload apps.
See More
Hide
See All
Get it
here
Recommend
4
--
SteamOS
My Rec
ommendation
for
SteamOS
My Recommendation for
SteamOS
Add Video or Image
All
7
Pros
2
Cons
4
Specs
Top
Con
•••
Only for gaming
It can't really replace a set top box with AndroidTV or Fire OS since it is mainly made for gaming.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Sideloading of apps
You can install other Linux apps like Kodi or Retroarch to expand its abilities.
See More
Specs
Based On:
Debian
Default Desktop Environment:
Steam Big Picture, Gnome
Init-System:
Systemd
Package Manager:
Debian Package Manager, Steam
See All Specs
Top
Con
•••
Adding non-steam content is a pain
It is a pain to add non-steam content so you have to manually add artwork or use third-party tools like Steamgrid.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Native graphics processor support
The OS natively supports Nvidia, Intel, and AMD graphics processors.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Needs a keyboard and a mouse
It is only running the Steam client on top of Debian, so to configure the underlying OS you need a keyboard and a mouse.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Proprietary
Steam is proprietary software.
See More
Hide
See All
Get it
here
Recommend
4
5
--
Plasma Bigscreen
My Rec
ommendation
for
Plasma Bigscreen
My Recommendation for
Plasma Bigscreen
Add Video or Image
All
5
Pros
2
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Runs on cheap hardware
You can make any TV a smart TV with only a Raspberry Pi.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Uses KDE applications
There are no Apps designed for the system, instead it modifies the way regular KDE applications are displayed.
See More
Specs
Based On:
Debian>Ubuntu>KDE Neon
Default Desktop Environment:
KDE Bigscreen
Init-System:
SystemD
Package Manager:
Debian Package Manager, Node
See All Specs
Top
Pro
•••
A free (as in freedom) alternative
To all the proprietary set top box operating systems.
See More
Top
Con
•••
GNU GPL
This License is much more restrictive than Androids Apache license, which will lead to less developers/interest.
See More
Hide
See All
Get it
here
Recommend
3
--
CoreELEC
My Rec
ommendation
for
CoreELEC
My Recommendation for
CoreELEC
Add Video or Image
All
2
Pros
1
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
LibreELEC optimized for amlogic devices
See More
Specs
Based On:
LibreELEC
Default Desktop Environment:
Kodi
Init-System:
Buildroot
Package Manager:
Kodi
See All Specs
Hide
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here
Recommend
2
1
--
Batocera.linux
My Rec
ommendation
for
Batocera.linux
My Recommendation for
Batocera.linux
Add Video or Image
All
5
Pros
1
Cons
3
Specs
Top
Con
•••
Focuses on PC hardware
It mainly focuses on recent PC hardware, like amd86/x86_64.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
More Emulators than on Retroarch
It has more emulators included than Retroarch, however, some of them are unstable or need complex configuration.
See More
Specs
Based On:
Recalbox
Default Desktop Environment:
Emulatorstation or Kodi
Init-System:
Buildroot
Package Manager:
Kodi
See All Specs
Top
Con
•••
Mainly made for gaming
It has kodi too but it's just there as a little extra.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Not polished like Retroarch
Retroarch is more polished than Batocera.
See More
Hide
See All
Get it
here
Recommend
1
1
--
Recalbox
My Rec
ommendation
for
Recalbox
My Recommendation for
Recalbox
Add Video or Image
All
3
Pros
1
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Con
•••
Mainly made for gaming
Sure, it has Kodi installed, but it is a very limited version.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Polished
It has plenty of preinstalled themes and sounds. All emulators are very well integrated into Emulatorstation.
See More
Specs
Based On:
NA
Default Desktop Environment:
Emulatorstation or Kodi
Init-System:
Buildroot
Package Manager:
Kodi
See All Specs
Hide
See All
Get it
here
Recommend
1
--
Fire OS
My Rec
ommendation
for
Fire OS
My Recommendation for
Fire OS
Add Video or Image
All
7
Pros
2
Cons
4
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Sideloading
Since it is based on Android you can sideload any Android app.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Focuses on Amazon content
The main purpose of the stick is to provide a portal to Amazon's various online services.
See More
Specs
Based On:
Android Open Source Project (AOSP)
Default Desktop Environment:
Fire TV Launcher
Init-System:
Android init
Package Manager:
APK, Amazon App Store
See All Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Cheap devices
Amazon FireTV devices are cheap and have often a discount.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Amazon account
Needs an Amazon account.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Ads
There are plenty of ads for Amazon Prime or products.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Proprietary
The UI is proprietary software.
See More
Hide
See All
Get it
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Recommend
7
2
--
Roku OS
My Rec
ommendation
for
Roku OS
My Recommendation for
Roku OS
Add Video or Image
All
4
Pros
1
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Sideload apps
You can sideload apps if you enable the developer mode.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Proprietary
The UI is proprietary software.
See More
Specs
Based On:
NA
Default Desktop Environment:
Roku
Init-System:
?
Package Manager:
?
See All Specs
Top
Con
•••
Not available in many countries
See More
Hide
See All
Get it
here
Recommend
6
4
--
LibreELEC
My Rec
ommendation
for
LibreELEC
My Recommendation for
LibreELEC
Add Video or Image
All
5
Pros
1
Cons
3
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Free
It is free and you can install it on any old computer.
See More
Top
Con
•••
No easy way to make the root system read only
If you use it on a single board computer that has only a SD card slot, you should make the SD card read only, which is not possible with LibreELEC.
See More
Specs
Based On:
OpenELEC
Default Desktop Environment:
Kodi
Init-System:
Buildroot
Package Manager:
Kodi
See All Specs
Top
Con
•••
Clunky UI
Dozens of settings on many different screens.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Many streaming providers are not supported
For many streaming providers there exist no plugins other work only with unofficial plugins and limitations
See More
Hide
See All
Get it
here
Recommend
--
OSMC
My Rec
ommendation
for
OSMC
My Recommendation for
OSMC
Add Video or Image
All
4
Pros
1
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Polished
It is a very polished Kodi version.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Does not support intel-based PC hardware
See More
Specs
Based On:
Debian>Raspian
Default Desktop Environment:
Kodi
Init-System:
Systemd
Package Manager:
Debian Package Manager, Kodi, OSMC App Store
See All Specs
Top
Con
•••
Just Kodi
It lacks apps and uses mainly Kodi add-ons.
See More
Hide
See All
Get it
here
Recommend
2
3
--
tvOS
My Rec
ommendation
for
tvOS
My Recommendation for
tvOS
Add Video or Image
All
3
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Con
•••
Vendor lock-in
You have to use their services their app store and so on. There is no way to sideload apps.
See More
Specs
Based On:
FreeBSD>macOS/iOS
Default Desktop Environment:
tvOS UI
Init-System:
?
Package Manager:
Apple AppStore
See All Specs
Top
Con
•••
Expensive
It's a very expensive device compared to other devices with the same features.
See More
Hide
See All
Get it
here
Recommend
4
5
Don't see your favorite option? Add it.
--
OpenELEC
My Rec
ommendation
for
OpenELEC
My Recommendation for
OpenELEC
Get it
here
Recommend
1
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