Hello,
I currently have an LG TV connected but I strongly regret my purchase (first TV, so little experience, I haven't researched enough) because of Webos. I have quite a few MKV files that I would like to read and on Webos there is a media player that often surprises me (file not supported, subtitle not supported etc.), it varies depending on the MKV files (many work but many others don't) and I can't tell the difference between two MKV files (I didn't even know there were any before). I can't turn the TV back on so I'll have to trick it.
For the moment, I have a firestick and a USB stick connected locally to max Livebox to play some files via VLC. The main problem is that there is a slight loss of quality. And not possible to plug in an external hard drive, the Firestick is not powerful enough to open files.
The ideal would be to have a local system, because in a few months I will be moving to a place where I no longer have fiber (and there will be 3 of us using the internet). My budget is a maximum of 80 euros. Ultimately, 100 euros if there is a plus (or if it is the only solution or crush). If there is a little documentation, I am ready to learn, I have three months to find a solution.
So everything related to Plex and Emby, we eliminate because of the internet speed (and I would have had to buy myself a server, it's not cheap). The Raspberry is too expensive, I can't find a used kit for less than 100 euros. And since I don't know anything about it, I'm afraid to give it a go and miss it.
The only solution I see is to take an Android Box where you can connect an external hard drive (which I would buy in addition because if I understood correctly, it will have to be converted into NFT I don't know what but basically , especially for the box, so used also to reduce my budget).
I had spotted the Xiaomi Mi Box S but I want to be sure that it can read files with fluidity like on TV (via VLC or Kodi, whatever), because with this kind of purchase, there is always a surprise (of the kind, it works but it lags). For example, how much capacity of the external hard drive can it support without rowing? 2T? 4T? 500go?
If you have other solutions, proposals, other Android boxes that you are using, do not hesitate. Even though it is expensive at the moment, I am targeting the second-hand market (France). For example, 10 minutes ago I missed a sale of the Xiaomi which was 35 euros (instead of 70 euros new I think?), It was online for 10 minutes. If I had had my questions answered, I would have bought it direct. Hence my coming here.
Thanks for your help, I kinda bother having a smart TV that I can't use as such.
I am new to LG WebOS so I don´t know if there is a media player app that supports more formats. I use Nvidia Shield TV Pro myself. But I just wanted to say that if your budget is tight the best thing would maby be to just convert your video files to whatever format your TV kan read.