Regardless of what you buy, it's become increasingly difficult to watch high-quality content on a big screen without navigating a laggy, ad-infested nightmare these days. In the past two decades alone, we have witnessed the rise of smart TVs and their fall from greatness.

I find them unjustifiably expensive for just the big screen because they are invariably paired with substandard compute hardware and poor software, making their usage a jarring step down from the snappy responsiveness of the gaming PCs we are used to. A smart TV shares more in common with a PC than a TV, but there's no respite in sight because manufacturers have realized that your viewing data is worth more than your user experience.

Plugging in an Apple TV 4K is a great solution, but even that locks you into a restrictive ecosystem or subscription model, and you’re still at the mercy of its (marginally better) software update cycles. For me, a basic HTPC (Home Theater PC) running Windows makes a superior replacement for the slow, subscription-laden OS on a TV, especially since I self-host most of my media. Here's how and why I offloaded the "smart" duties of my smart TV to an older PC instead.

The worst middle ground

I'm tired of playing by their rules

Smart TVs are the worst middle ground between a tablet and a PC. No matter what you're buying, you're inevitably trading performance and software responsiveness for screen real estate. Manufacturers seem to place no importance on the fact that it takes four clicks to switch inputs, and seemingly hope you won't read the spec sheet that mentions a mobile processor from five years ago crammed in there.

Unfortunately for buyers, the smart TV OS space only has a few mainstays, even if you ignore the anemic hardware. Samsung and LG wall off their gardens, while others rely on Google. Google's fickle switching from Android TV OS to Google TV after the former's rather short run also shattered my faith in smart TV operating systems, proving them too volatile for usage spanning five years or more. One day, your interface works one way, and the next, a server-side switch renders your muscle memory useless.

As the years roll by with a smart TV, you quickly realize the companies are only interested in raking in more sales, not in pushing updates for devices they have already sold. When updates do come, they typically bring new ad slots, recommendation carousels, and background services rather than services users ask for. All this takes a toll on boot times and UI smoothness, which were trashy to begin with.

These might subsidize the upfront costs of the TV, because the gathered data on your browsing practices is then sold to the highest bidder. These systems can usually be opted out of, but the setting is often buried deep in menus and covered by vague privacy policies. Essentially, viewers pay in data and privacy instead of cash for a higher-quality non-smart display, which is few and far between now.

Replacing the smart bits with actual smart content management

An HTPC built the way I want it

I retained Windows as the default OS, so my family isn't fiddling with a new control scheme on every device. Everyone knows how to use a Start menu, a web browser, VLC, and Plex. For my usage, I don't need a dedicated OS like LibreELEC optimized for simplistic HTPC duty, because it becomes another control schema for the family to learn. It isn't a conventional choice, but I'd rather tolerate the multi-step power-on routine than use an Auto-start shell replacement tool just so Kodi pulls up my desired front end when I log on.

Internally, the Khadas Mind is overpowered for an HTPC, but looks right at home on a media console with its sleek profile. It lacks a discrete GPU, but has sufficient solid-state storage and memory for a few years of HTPC duty. On the software side of things, I'm running the Jellyfin Desktop or web app in kiosk mode. It is the FOSS client for my self‑hosted Jellyfin media server. You could use Plex, but it has increasingly locked useful features behind a paywall and is drifting toward the same ad-supported model as the streaming giants we hope to escape. I also keep a local installation of VLC handy to tackle the odd codec conflict that Jellyfin might struggle with. It plays everything, no questions asked.

Live TV is not important to me because literally every TV channel now has a live stream on YouTube as well, and you can watch it much more easily in a browser. If you desperately need a TV and a DVR, you can install NextPVR for Windows and use Kodi as a frontend. The final polish comes from Power/HDMI utilities. I use scripts and small tools to handle display sleep/wake, refresh rate switching, and HDR toggling to ensure I get that seamless theater feel without reaching for a mouse every time I change media.

The best part of this setup is that, when needed, I can use the computer for everyday tasks like web browsing while still benefiting from the large TV screen. If I want to show vacation photos, browse a complex website, or even play a PC game, the power is right there. I’m not limited to the apps the TV manufacturer graciously allows me to install. A good home theater should eliminate the friction in content consumption quickly. For these purposes, the simplistic familiarity of Windows 11 with a few applications running for HTPC use is unbeatable, ridding me of the smart TV OS nightmare.