Should you need it for later, here’s the first few steps after you have the Onn device (or an alternative Google TV device) in hand. The links included are guides for the steps.

For the VPN process (if you choose an Onn device), I remember having problems with the wireless hotspot method that led me to do the ethernet option instead, but either should work. If you choose to install LineageOS, I unfortunately don’t have experience doing that, but that would come before app installations.

If you are using an Onn 4K device, it should have a mappable star button that can only be configured while using the default launcher. I personally chose to map the TV’s input switch function to it, but this step should occur before setting Projectivy Launcher as the default.

Next, you would install the Downloader app via the Google Play Store. Not ideal to have to use the Google Play Store for any installation, but at least all subsequent apps can be install via Downloader instead.

Using Downloader, you can now install and configure Projectivy Launcher. This also involves installing the Launcher Manager helper app to configure the default launcher, giving you the option to return to the default if need be. While you can try uninstalling all the bloatware that comes with the device, some of it might come back with updates (though presumedly not an issue if you install LineageOS). Should that occur, you can instead disable the apps in the Android settings or hide them from the Projectivy Launcher menu. The hiding apps feature is also useful for hiding apps such as Downloader and Launcher Manager after setup, as they’re not regularly needed. Ensure you enable the override home button setting to make the button send you to Projectivy Launcher instead.

Stremio is available on Google Play again for now, but you can alternatively install it via Downloader too. SmartTube is of course not available on the Google Play Store, but can be easily installed via Downloader too. It has many configuration options for its UI and as an in-app self-updating function.

Alternatively to Downloader, you can also install a file manager app and install APK files manually. Devices like the Onn 4K Pro let you expand the device’s storage with a USB drive to transfer files or load external media, though apps such as atvTools (Android/iOS) let you send files wirelessly to the device’s internal storage.

While only the Google Play Store can automatically update apps, an alternative is the APK Updater app, which scans several APK sources to let you manually update installed apps. There now also seems to be a third-party F-Droid client for Google TV.

As the Onn 4K Pro has several sponsored buttons that become useless without their intended apps, I tried using a button remapping app to map newly-installed apps in their place, but had mixed results in terms of buttons acting up. People seem to recommend tvQuickActionsPro though, which might work.

An issue regarding SmartTube is that if you use the voice command functionality of the remote to look up YouTube videos, Google TV will try to open them in the default YouTube app. Normally, a bridge app could be used to connect SmartTube to the YouTube API calls. Since YouTube comes preinstalled on the Onn 4K Pro (though presumedly wouldn’t if you use LineageOS?), this method must be used instead. If you don’t use that functionality though, it may be a moot point.

Unplugging and replugging them doesn’t trigger the location check, only if you perform a factory reset.

As long as the free VPN has a U.S. IP address, it should work. Proton VPN has the U.S. as an option on its free tier, for instance. To use it on the Onn 4K device during setup, you’d either need a router that sends all traffic through the VPN, or to tether the VPN from another device.

Since the Onn 4K Pro has an Ethernet port, I tethered the device to my Windows laptop to share its VPN signal (requires configuration of the Ethernet settings). An alternative for the non-Ethernet devices seems to be via a hotspot, either with Windows or rooted Android. Should rooting Android not be an option, this post claims it’s possible to do without rooting.

Having set three of them up in Europe myself, as far as I can tell the VPN is only needed one time to set up the Onn 4K Pro (or any of the other Onn Android TV boxes). After that, a VPN shouldn’t be needed unless the device is reset.

Note that Stremio, SmartTube, and Projectify Launcher work on any Android TV device (versus Amazon Fire TV, which blocks Projectify Launcher), so you can get a non-Onn brand one to avoid the initial setup hassle. I personally preferred spending a bit more to get 3GB of RAM and 32GB to ensure a smooth experience, but the same apps will work on 2GB RAM devices too (like the similarly geolocked $US20 Onn 4K and $US30 Onn 4K Plus).

It would seem that it’s possible. Some devices are listed as having official builds and other unofficial builds, the Onn 4K Pro being in the latter category. Most streaming apps would also require Widevine L1 to stream in HD, which would be another step.

Reading this thread would indicate that Projectify Launcher works too. Note that Dolby Vision apparently won’t work.

It’s geolocked to the U.S., so it’s important to note that they would need to use a VPN to bypass it during setup.

While something that runs Linux would probably be more free, in terms of usability, I would recommend a Google TV box paired with Projectify Launcher to have a UI with just apps and wanted channels rather than preinstalled bloatware. Lets you use all the regular streaming apps, with Stremio + a debrid service + Torrentio as a streaming option for additional movies and shows, SmartTube for ad-free YouTube + SponsorBlock. You can also remove unnecessary menu options in SmartTube to simplify things further.

I don’t use IPTV services—perhaps someone else could chime in to help with that—but I’m sure they would work on Android TV too.

In the U.S. the Onn 4K Pro from Walmart is the best specs-per-dollar option (US$50 for 32GB storage and 3GB RAM), but as a VPN is needed to bypass the U.S. geoblocking during setup, you might need to get a different one.

I like the convenience of searching in qBittorrent, for which Prowlarr doesn’t appear to have an actively developed plugin anymore. Looking at a few threads on Reddit, it seems that people prefer Prowlarr in general, particularly for its *arr stack integration.

qBittorrent has a built-in search tool. There are several plugins you can use with it to search for content. Of these, I recommend installing Jackett—a tracker result aggregator—and the Jackett plugin for qBittorrent.

If an affordable quota-free plan becomes available someday, then you can seed then. Unfortunately only being able to leech may limit your options in terms of private trackers that require ratio, but popular releases are typically available on public trackers anyhow.

Thanks for contributing to Lemmy!

That’s the old one they temporarily switched to that got taken down; the current options are annas-archive.li, annas-archive.pm, and annas-archive.in.

Edit: annas-archive.se no longer works.

Not sure what the best solution for sports is, but the simplest, most reliable option for streaming is a debrid subscription used in conjunction with Stremio on MacOS, Vidi on Apple TV, and Stremio Lite or Vidi on iOS.

While there’s free websites that aggregate streaming servers for movies and tv shows, their unreliability arguably makes debrid reliability worth the added cost. Here’s a debrid service pricing chart.

In the case of 1337x.to, the megathread lists 1377x.to as the fake replica of it. In terms of quality, 1337x.to is one of the best public torrent indexers.

While I personally prefer not to use YTS releases due to their low quality, and can’t seem to find a legitimate YTS link that yts.mx would be the replica of, as long as you’re downloading via Prowlarr rather than going to the website itself, the only risk is the trustworthiness of the releases, rather than the possibility of ads or otherwise unwanted links on the website itself.