Ive been using XBMC/KODI for close to 10 years. Over that time, the most of it has been on a Windows based pc. With Netflix/Amazon Instant Video becoming so popular, the need for those in addition to Kodi have become releavant to my family. Sure I can bounce between inputs off of htpc to another device, but im prefering to find one device to rule them all. I have a windows based server that does the mysql server as well as sonarr duties. I switched to Fire TV sticks for the tvs for the ease of adding Kodi and using Netflix/Amazon video with that all on one device, but the limitations are starting to show in the Android forum.
I want to control everything with a remote only. No mouse/keyboard should ever come out. It has to be wife/kid friendly.
So Im looking at this-
Windows/Linux based HTPC-
Pros-
Power
Upgradability
Gaming
Integration with Emulationstation is super nice
Cons-
Netflix/Amazon have no 10 ft UI/remote support
While work arounds pop up, they get broken often, or just plain dont look good.
Raspberry PI
Falls in the Linux HTPC category with futher limitations as far as power/upgradability
Apple TV
I used to have an Apple TV 2, it worked but would crash randomly and required jailbreak. AFAIK Apple TV3 is unjailbreakable.
Kodi can be sideloaded to Apple TV4, but then im either doing it once every 7 days or paying for a developer account yearly. On top of this, no Amazon video on apple TV.
Fire TV/Android Sticks-
From what I understand, issues with audio with Kodi 17 forward and no real fix as there are a million different vendors with different parts and supported codecs.
Is there anything out there to fufill my one device fantasy, or is that a pipe dream? I tried Plex with my Xbox One/Fire TV, but the Plex interface downright sucks. Maybe if they had skinning support itd be better, but Im pretty set in my Kodi ways. Guess Im just looking for others that have been looking for the same and solutions you have come up with. My dream would be to resurrect HTPC at least in my living room just for everything it can do, but it seems netflix/amazon still treat them as computers only with no remote support, which is unfortunate. Nobody wants to want netflix with a mouse.