Couch Commander
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV-qYv6UW4A
Here are some of the fine points:
- UI navigation is done with a common Universal TV Remote, but you can use other input devices too.
- PolyList and PolyGrid widgets do most of the heavy lifting.
- Uses VLC and MPV for DVD playback. Blu-ray too, if you have the necessary files
- Uses Firefox in Kiosk mode + xdotool to enable a more seemless PeerTube playback experience (since the browser widget doesn't work on Linux).
- Runs on Pop_OS and Linux Mint, currently deployed on 1x 4K UHD and 2x HD Televisions.
- Background slideshow is customizable via JSON configuration within ~/.config/CouchCommander/ (for future automated deployments)
- No ads or surveillance within Couch Commander (can't speak to the apps being launched, but I'm not spying on myself, that's for sure!).
- Has been working like a champ for over 6 months now, and my spouse loves it!
I'm at a point where I've witnessed a variety of companies releasing set-top boxes with custom home screens (in the United States). Many of these boxes are Android TV-based, while others are proprietary, but all are very affordable. What makes releasing this project difficult is that I don't foresee any opportunity to cover my costs. I've thought about selling accessories for HTPC enthusiasts, but I've worked in online retail before and I just don't feel like I have the energy to compete with Amazon over $15 USB Infrared dongles.
If I imagined what I would do if I received a grant or was gifted a giant pile of money: I'd make a deal to buy enterprise computers destined for recycling, load 'em up with a custom Linux distro, and build ready-made "Couch Commander" boxes. They'd come with everything you'd need, and the software/hardware would be configured and tested before shipment. There would be no advertising, no analytics, no surveillance, etc. Just a fully customizable HTPC "home screen" that the consumer controls. That would certainly be fun, but without a huge investment in the beginning, I struggle to see how I'd break into the market.
Finally, I didn't get the impression that LiveCode Ltd. is all that interested in Linux now that they're pretty deep into a browser-based solution. I didn't see Linux appear in any of the LiveCode Create advertisements, so I'm going to take a page from Annie Duke and bet that LCC is not destined for Linux desktops. (I'm happy to be wrong. In fact, I'd be ecstatic to be wrong!)
Features still on my "wish list":
- Chrome-cast support sounds possible, likely with VLC or MPV doing the heavy lifting again.
- NOAA Emergency Weather Alerts (I've actually got this working pretty well, just need to add it to CC)
- A secondary display for always-on captioning so I can watch movies without closed captioning obscuring my view (Got this working too, though the Local LLM I'm using needs some work).