Heya, I’m currently running Libreelec 12 on an Argon One RPi 4B, but hit a snag when I wanted youtube playback. The “official” youtube addon needs an API key, which just adds complexity when you don’t use a google account. I’m fond of Newpipe on android and thought it would be a nice addition but there is no flatpack support. I’ve hit the limits of LEs atomic nature a couple times and so, wanted to check out alternatives. My requirements are:
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working Argon One integration (remote and power signaling)
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Kodi autoboot
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docker/podman
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waydroid/flatpack for Newpipe
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ideally backed by an unrestricted Linux install for background services
Obvious contender would be OSMC, but whenever I search for setups and experiences, people just complain about all the stuff that doesn’t work, and there is no listing available for what comes included in the appstore/repo.
I could also go manual with RPiOS/Debian/Ubuntu, but I would like a set-and-forget kodi-box and taking a more generic distro might complicate things.
Can I get some opinions on OSMC, as well as what you are rocking on your Kodi-setups. Thanks in advance.
I’ve been working on what you want basically for awhile now. But currently what I’ve come with is:
Plasma Bigscreen with Waydroid (and instead of Newpipe I’d recommend Stube instead in Waydroid).
If you do want 1080p for Netflix etc for whatever reason, basically sandboxed Firefox with DRM enabled with (streaming service website) turned into a Webapp
I’m not sure it works with kodi or not, but have you tested PlasmaTube? It uses Piped instances to provide youtube contents. Also available as Flatpak.
I use OSMC for all the RPis connected to TVs in the house and have no major complaints from a daily-driver standpoint. Can’t speak to your specific use case requirements, but is just flashing an extra SD Card and testing it out of the question?
I second that and would like to add, that I didn’t find any other YouTube client, beside the “official” Kodi app by anxdpanic. However, as it relies on an API key to work, it can also play restricted content, which currently does not work on Newpipe and probably never will again.
There is sendtokodi, which uses yt-dlp. I’m a bit surprised that there are no newpipe-extractor clients for Kodi, since there should be hooks for everything you’d need. Then again, I don’t know how well it works outside of Android.
Nice to have a backup solution in case the other doesn’t work.
I also use OSMC and have no major complaints. I’ve done some mucking about in the base at the CLI (NFS, fstab, adding some CLI tools), and have run into no issues. I’ve not done anything like docker on it as that’s all on my dedication d server
Good to hear. Having a raspberry and kodi focused base with an open Linux backend sounds good. Will try that later.
The nice thing on OSMC is that it’s Debian based (yet currently still on bullseye) thus, it offers many possibilities.
