this post was submitted on 08 Nov 2026
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Any not terrible alternatives that my parents will actually be able to use without me?
Reset the TV, don’t choose Internet during setup. Connect something like an AppleTV. In Roku settings, set the TV to automatically switch to the AppleTV on power up. The remote for the AppleTV box can be used to power on/off the tv and control volume.
It's pricey but I have heard good things about Apple TV. I think someone else in the thread has a list of FOSS alternatives but you'd still have to set them up.
The used ones aren’t too expensive and they last forever. But I have found the AppleTV to be kinda crappy for old people because it constantly updates and moves things around and interrupts what you wanted to do with some kind of screen after updates telling you some bullshit or asking you some bullshit and that can scare old people.
But it’s still worth it, because there aren’t any fucking ads.
Onn Android boxes work well for my parents. As long as you install Projectivy launcher to get rid of ads and clean up the UI. I make it so there are three app icons and nothing else on the screen, then it's easy to understand and navigate.
Google tv streamer 4k is pretty good but recently went up in price due to RAM shortages
Not sure about parents but you could try building odroid with lineage os and rii i25 remote
Yeah, the thing about parents in this case is that if the solutions isn't easy as fuck then they're going to give up immediately and go get whatevers at best buy.