I’m interested in trying out OSMC because I’m really tired of my smart TV being well…not that smart. It crashes a lot of we have to reboot it manually because one of the apps isn’t working.
How is it? Is it still pretty easy to use streaming apps? We mostly use Netflix, Disney+, and Apple TV. Occasionally some others as well
Does it work well with Chromecast?
I used OSMC for years going back to when it was still raspbmc, got the first Vero and then the 4k model.
They were never perfect and hassle free, a lot of which I put down to Kodi itself. I love the idea of Kodi, but the base interface is lacking (especially when you have a big collection) and most of the fancy front-ends / skins I tried would run too slow and once again bring back the shoddy TV experience I was trying to avoid. It also does not support streaming services like Netflix or Disney+ in any usable capacity. Kodi has a rich add-on ecosystem, which usually means you can plug some gaps but the add-ons have a habit of just breaking out of the blue or during major upgrades. I’ve had to have Kodi index my library so many times that I got sick of it ruining film night.
Eventually I bought an Nvidia shield, still using Kodi at first but switching between Plex, jellyfin and emby until I settled on emby for my local content. Being able to use other streaming services was a bonus and the hardware was good enough that it doesn’t feel sluggish.
You can also install 3rd party apps like smart tube for an excellent YouTube experience (and now my preferred way to watch YouTube).
The shield is starting to show it’s age big time (it doesn’t support HDR on YouTube, for example) but sadly outside of the USA there isn’t really any devices that match or beat it - you keep hearing about that Wal-Mart device being brilliant but that’s US only.
So in short, get a good android TV box for the best experience and the most options.
Thanks, sounds like it’s probably not worth it.