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What is the best set-top box OS?

15

Options
Considered

147

User
Recs.

Feb 2, 2024

Last
Updated

14 Options Considered

Best set-top box OS	Price	Based On	Default Desktop Environment
69 Android TV	-	Android Open Source Project (AOSP)	Leanback Launcher
-- Recalbox	-	NA	Emulatorstation or Kodi
-- Google TV	-	Android Open Source Project (AOSP)	GoogleTV Launcher
-- Batocera.linux	-	Recalbox	Emulatorstation or Kodi
-- PlayStation OS	-	FreeBSD	PlayStation UI

Android TV

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 Con

AndroidTV remote can not emulate a mouse

It's not possible to control the mouse cursor with your Android phone. 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

Top Pro

Sideloading of apps

You can manually install *.apks downloaded from webpages See More

Top Con

Telemetry

Almost any OEM application uses telemetry nowadays on android tv so you might need a DNS sinkhole (like: ADGuard or PiHole), AdBlock DNS or a flashed vanilla android like LineageOS for TV. See More

MotivatedEurynome's Experience

I just love my tiny andtroid tv box. See More

Top Pro

Can run Android apps

It can run all Android apps, however, you might need a mouse. 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

CaffeinatedTangaroa's Experience

It is amazing LiveTV, netflix, youtube, prime and hulu everything just works. See More

Top Pro

Easy to use

It is bare and easy to use. See More

Top Pro

Built-in Chromecast

Android TV has Chromecast built-in (only on Google certified devices). 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

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

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

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

Recalbox

Top Pro

PLUG & PLAY - if you boot on it, it works

It can be portable and ready to use. You can dual boot (wiki support for dual booting.) Updates and support by the community. See More

Top Con

Mainly made for gaming

Sure, it has Kodi installed, but it is a very limited version. See More

Specs

Default Desktop Environment:Emulatorstation or Kodi

Init-System:Buildroot

Package Manager:Kodi

Top Pro

Easy user interface

It has a simple and easy to use UI. See More

Top Con

Needs the whole disk

There is no option to install the system in dual-boot with another OS on one hard disk drive. See More

Top Pro

Polished

It has plenty of preinstalled themes and sounds. All emulators are very well integrated into Emulatorstation. See More

Top Pro

Custom EmulationStation built for Recalbox

EmulationStation is customized to fit Recalbox features, making the configuration a lot easier. See More

Top Pro

Faster

Built on top of buildroot, the system only has the necessary services to run. See More

Batocera.linux

Top Con

Not polished like Retroarch

Retroarch is more polished than Batocera. See More

Top Pro

Wide array of features

Batocera supports more features (like nVidia streaming) that competitors do not. See More

Specs

Based On:Recalbox

Default Desktop Environment:Emulatorstation or Kodi

Init-System:Buildroot

Package Manager:Kodi

Top Con

Hostile fork

It is an hostile Recalbox fork. 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

Top Con

Focuses on PC hardware

It mainly focuses on recent PC hardware, like amd86/x86_64. See More

Top Pro

FREE and plug and play

Top Con

Mainly made for gaming

It has kodi too but it's just there as a little extra. See More

SteamOS

Top Con

Proprietary

Steam is proprietary software. 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:Arch Linux

Default Desktop Environment:Steam Big Picture, Kde Plasma

Init-System:Systemd

Package Manager:Pacman Arch Package Manager, Steam

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

Native graphics processor support

The OS natively supports Nvidia, Intel, and AMD graphics processors. See More

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 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

Fire OS

Top Con

Ads

There are plenty of ads for Amazon Prime or products. See More

Top Pro

Sideloading

Since it is based on Android you can sideload any Android app. See More

InsightfulAnaideia's Experience

it is just like apple products. FireOS devices are the future reason why you have to stay in their ecosystem. 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

Top Con

Amazon account

Needs an Amazon account. See More

Top Pro

Cheap devices

Amazon FireTV devices are cheap and have often a discount. 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

Top Con

Proprietary

The UI is proprietary software. See More

CoreELEC

Top Pro

LibreELEC optimized for amlogic devices

Specs

Based On:LibreELEC

Default Desktop Environment:Kodi

Init-System:Buildroot

Package Manager:Kodi

Plasma Bigscreen

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

Top Pro

Runs on cheap hardware

You can make any TV a smart TV with only a Raspberry Pi. See More

InsightfulAnaideia's Experience

Ugly and unstable, it is more a bigscreen mode for a desktop os See More

Specs

Based On:Debian>Ubuntu>KDE Neon

Default Desktop Environment:KDE Bigscreen

Init-System:SystemD

Package Manager:Debian Package Manager, Node

Top Con

GNU GPL

This License is much more restrictive than Androids Apache license, which will lead to less developers/interest. See More

Top Pro

A free (as in freedom) alternative

To all the proprietary set top box operating systems. See More

OpenELEC

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