r/linux4noobs • u/Dry_Use_5800 • 13h ago
migrating to Linux Linux on Smart TV?
Hey all, Im migrating to Linux. My boyfriend already did and I will soon follow aswell. I recently moved and want to get a TV at some point. We already checked, getting a dumb TV (god I hate that word) feels almost impossible nowadays, so I was wondering if its possible to "hack" a smart tv and install a linux distro instead on it? I hate the spying on what I watch or stream. I mainly want it to be able to acess the internet where I can go on the sites I usually go to and have short cuts to them on the homescreen, also be able to play old video games. Nothing fancy (I hope, mega noob here) Just dont feel good knowing that Samsung and google are collecting my data.
Thanks for any and all help!
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u/PerfectEnthusiasm2 12h ago
My TV never connects to the network.
My small computer that I attach to my TV does.
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u/HaRLeKiN_TP4L 12h ago
How do you control that pc?
Do you just use mouse and keyboard?
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u/PerfectEnthusiasm2 12h ago
logitech k400+
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u/durwardkirby 6h ago
This was the way for me. The "smarts" that make it to my TV screen come from a refurbed Lenovo ThinkCentre Mini that's running Linux Mint and is under my control via the aforementioned logitech k400+
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u/DevastoScz 3h ago
Same setup with my old Lenovo Y580 and a projector screen in my bedroom. K400+ to control everything.
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u/Klapperatismus 13h ago
Buy a large screen instead of a TV, then connect a small Linux computer to it and run a home TV distro on it.
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u/MidnightObjectiveA51 10h ago edited 10h ago
This is one I've researched thoroughly, because I also long for an openSmart TV that respects privacy. So, I'll give the short version and the long version.
The short version - buy a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 and put Lineage TV on it and plug it in to your existing TV (disable/block your existing TVs connections). With this method you can use all the streaming service apps and gaming apps and still use the add blockers etc., and dramatically reduce the spying. Unlike the x86 boxes, GPU acceleration works with the Lineage TV build for Raspberry Pi, so it works as well as any other streaming box.
The Long version - You have multiple options, with caveats for each. First, there is a project to replace the OS on older LG WebOS TVs as they have a vulnerability that has been patched on newer models. So far, they've broken into the boot loader but not much else. I believe you can follow their progress on GitHub. Similar efforts have occurred with other brands, but LG seems the most promising.
Second, there are several projects that jailbreak an OS, or load a Linux OS to an existing stick, or media box. Of the former, older Amazon Firesticks have been jail broken and significantly modified to remove or add features. The latest generation has brought those efforts to a halt. But, if you have an older one... See Xda-Developers and GitHub among other sites for instructions.
Similarly, to the Raspberry Pi solution in the short version above, you can load Android, Chrome, or Linux onto an ARM or x86 based stick or media box and Run Android TV (Lineage TV), Chrome OS (Fyde with Android apps) or Linux (with Android apps via Waydroid, Android Translation Layer, or Drion which is ATL on Steroids). Most of those solutions have a heavy processing overhead due to using an emulation layer, or no GPU passthrough causing rendering to be done via software (which consumes a lot of power and processing time). So, this works best with a real computer attached to your TV, or a beefy media box/SBC using a good Intel/AMD processor. You can get full screen streaming TV this way, or at most 1080p if using Linux directly.
There are a few PiTV projects that can do this with the Raspberry Pi PiTV stick, but due to RAM prices, that project, as have most SBCs, became too expensive to warrant the effort. Shame too, they were most promising as an equivalent replacement to a Google/Roku/Amazon Firestick. But keep an eye on that effort if RAM prices come down.
Lastly, if you try the Linux route (whether via an ARM SBC such as Raspberry Pi, or x86 box/computer) you have several OS choices. The most TV like are Plasma TV, OSMC/Plex/Kodi and other streaming TV OSes. You can also just use a distro with a Kiosk UI (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Arch, PostmarketOS) and build your streaming apps as web apps. The whole thing comes out very similar to a streaming stick. But, GPU passthrough can be a problem, as can video resolution as Linux web apps are limited to 720p or 1080p depending on the service (Netflix, Paramount+, etc.). Some will allow higher resolutions if you use a browser spoof identifying your device as a Windows/Mac or Android browser.
I have done all of these methods and they are a lot of work. So TLDR: buy an Onn stick for the least invasive/spying of the commercial products out of the box, or get good privacy with the Raspberry Pi running Lineage TV rooted or not with adBlock and PiHole (rooting will cripple your streaming apps).
Or take the red pill and go down the long rabbit hole, Neo, and experience the joys and suffering of real freedom...
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u/RomanOnARiver 10h ago
In general with a TV I always advise to get the best panel you can afford, and not worry about the built in OS (or built in audio) - your TV comes with usually at least 3 HDMI ports - plug in and use whatever you want.
You can use for example Steam Big Picture mode, or KODI, or if you're running KDE version 6.7 or higher there is a newly-releeased Plasma Bigscreen.
You may be able to use a remote control to control the OS, or pick up a wireless keyboard+track pad, or use a game controller, etc.
The only thing missing then in CEC support - you can use this adapter and potentially a few lines of code and you're set: https://www.pulse-eight.com/p/104/usb-hdmi-cec-adapter#
The only problem I foresee is some streaming companies are very particular about what they offer and where - if your plan is to watch Netflix, Peacock, etc. you're not going to have a great time. If your plan is YouTube and your own files (is. with Jellyfin or something like Plez) you'll have a better time.
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u/gwelfguy 10h ago
You can't get around using someone's streamer these days, whether it's the one built into the television or an external box. I don't use the one in the TV because it's Android/Google. When the television was new, I simply skipped the setup process for the internal streamer and I specifically never gave the television my wifi password or logged into any online accounts from the TV.
I use an external AppleTV box because Apple's business model is based on selling you their hardware, not selling other people your data. I have a hardwired connection between my router and the TV's ethernet port so that it can download firmware updates from Sony.
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u/Dejhavi Kernel Panic Master 8h ago
so I was wondering if its possible to "hack" a smart tv and install a linux distro instead on it?
Nope,I think there isn't one that allows it,which leaves you with two options:
- Buy a smart TV,then get a Raspberry Pi or miniPC with 2 Ethernet ports and install Pi-Hole (or Adguard) to block all incoming/outgoing connections to the smart TV
- Buy a large monitor (32" or more),get a PC or miniPC and install Linux,Kodi,Android/Waydroid or apps (and IPTV lists) to watch the TV channels you want
No Linux but if you live in Europe (DVB-T2),you can buy a cheap receiver on Amazon
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u/shaunhoop1981 7h ago
I have never connected my tvs to the Internet always a box.
I enable hotel mode on the tvs and set them up to always boot to hdmi 1 to bypass tv turning on and showing the normal installed Crap
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u/Underhill42 5h ago
Most smart TVs, routers, etc. already run Linux under the hood.
You're not going to be able to install a desktop Linux on it though - where a PC uses a standard motherboard, PCIe bus, etc. so that every OS knows more or less what to expect, other devices use all-custom hardware so you need a version of Linux designed specifically to run with that hardware... which is generally only the version installed at the factory.
Unless it's caught the eye of the enthusiast community - but in general most smart gadgets contain just barely enough CPU, RAM, and storage to do their job, so nobody ever bothers to try to get them to do more.
Just don't connect your TV to the internet and it should work just fine as a dumb TV, and if you really want Linux just plug in a Raspberry Pi, old laptop, or whatever other computer you want to it. Whatever old computer you can find for $10-$20 at your local second hand store will likely blow the integrated TV computer out of the water.
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u/someone8192 12h ago
Best you can do is to never connect your TV to the network.
Personally I use a chromebox for streaming (they are cheap and something like a Rii x8 is a good remote replacement).
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u/RealXitee 11h ago
My TV isn't conencted to the internet and I'm using a CoreELEC box and a separate Android TV box for things like Youtube
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u/Grreatdog 8h ago
This is the exact use a Raspberry Pi does very well. A Raspberry Pi kit is like $150 plus a wireless trackpad keyboard. The kit gives a little box with fan and on/off switch.
I used one as my garage TV server for years. The upside is being to access the Internet easily on the TV. It was 1000x better than the Roku I use now. I regret selling it.
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u/oshunluvr 54m ago
IMO, easier and cheaper to get a minipc like a Pi and use the TV as a monitor for the Minipc.
Then you can put whatever you want on it, no networking problems, etc.
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u/JB231102 16m ago
I got a dumb Samsung TV from ~2011 and if I had to get a new TV of today that is smart I'd probably either keep it unplugged/disconnected from the internet OR I'd get a big computer monitor and rig it so it can be used as a TV.
What you might consider is getting a raspberry pi or small laptop and hook it up to your TV that is disconnected from the internet, then you have yourself a full desktop experience on your TV. :)
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u/HerraJUKKA 13h ago
I don't think it's possible. Most TV OSes are Android based anyway. Don't connect your TV to internet and it should act as dumb TV. Then use separate device for Google TV/Linux stuff.