Setting up a new smart TV today means enduring a barrage of privacy prompts, account creation screens, and data collection agreements. I’ve been guilty of just hitting accept and next to get the TV to work. But the problems don’t end there. Rejecting too many prompts blocks the functions behind logins. Worse yet, telemetry was quietly re-enabled after a firmware update and manufacturers made opting out only a temporary inconvenience.
I got tired of software getting worse instead of better. I loaded LibreELEC on my Raspberry Pi 4 and I connected it to the HDMI port of my television. LibreELEC is a lightweight operating system that boots directly into Kodi. Within 20 minutes, I was viewing my content library, otherwise synced to Jellyfin. Here’s why LibreELEC became my only way to watch anything from my library on the smart TV.
Why I chose LibreELEC for Raspberry Pi 4
Lightweight operating system for media center software
As a Jellyfin and Plex user, I always wanted to try Kodi. That’s why I found LibreELEC will be perfect for my home. The project calls itself “sufficient operating system for Kodi.” It is not a typical Linux distribution. It has no desktop environment, background services or any other problems. Unlike other Raspberry Pi operating systems or other general-purpose operating systems, LibreELEC boots directly into Kodi.
I downloaded the latest LibreELEC builds with Kodi 21.3 for Pi 4 and updated it using the Raspberry Pi Imager software on a 64GB microSD card. Only later did I discover the LibreELEC configuration tool, which makes it a one-click process. Since the Pi 4 board has a micro-HDMI port, I put mine in an Argon40 case with a built-in fan that has a full-size HDMI port. That made it easy to connect the Pi directly to a TV.
Another personal reason was the lack of software support for my LG C2. Despite being just 4 years old, it won’t receive the latest webOS 26 update. So I have to make do with whatever bug-ridden firmware the TV manufacturer pushes.
- Storage
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microSD card slot
- UPC
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Arm Cortex-a72 (quad core, 1.8 GHz)
- Memory
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1GB, 2GB, 4GB or 8GB of LPDDR4
- Operating system
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Raspberry Pi (Official)
LibreELEC’s interface is faster than any smart TV I’ve used
No features added silently
The first thing I noticed was the speed. After using working televisions Google TV, Roku OSFire OS and Apple tvOS over the years have all done the same thing: populate promoted content, auto-play banners, and app carousels.
LibreELEC skips all that. Menus open instantly. When browsing hundreds of movies, shows, and music albums, the interface remains stutter-free. Even after installing the plugins, there was no noticeable lag in the interface. For fun, I set Kodi’s screen resolution to 1080p and the interface refresh rate to 120Hz. Everything was fast and moved smoothly. However, Kodi’s 4K output maxes out at 30Hz.
Local library management that beats any other streaming service
Multiple ways to add your media library
While modern smart TV software is organized around applications, LibreELEC is organized around media. It seems like a small difference, but it changed everything about how I interact with my content library.
I pointed out to LibreELEC the network share on my home server and let it automatically remove the metadata. Within a few minutes, LibreELEC’s home screen was filled with movie posters, cast information, ratings, trailers, plot summaries, and multimedia codec details. It looked like a version of Netflix, but every title and design felt like my own.
Library management is what sets it apart. I set up popular databases (TMDB for movies and TVDB for TV shows) to search and sync metadata. Even multiple versions of the same movie were cleanly labeled. Since I already run Jellyfin, I installed the Kodi add-on and the status of the viewed content is synchronized between Jellyfin and Kodi. No smart TV’s built-in library comes close.
Plugins expand the capabilities even further. The YouTube plugin offers an ad-free experience without Shorts. Live TV enthusiasts can try the TVHeadend plugin and use it with a DVB USB stick. That will transform a Pi 4 into a DVR complete with live TV, scheduled recordings, and a programming guide. All major streaming services use Widevine DRM and LibreELEC does not support it. So I use a Fire TV Stick with a Projectivy launcher on the TV.
For control, my existing LG remote worked via HDMI-CEC without connecting any additional hardware to the Pi. That frees up the Pi 4’s keyboard and mouse.
Audio and video settings are in a different league
Expert-level customizations
This is where I realized why home theater fans praise Kodi. Smart TVs fall short here with their web wrapper-like apps. By default, Kodi automatically matches the screen refresh rate to the content’s frame rate. That means movies play at 24p and there are no vibrations in panoramic shots.
The audio passthrough works cleanly, especially if you have a sound bar or an AV receiver that supports Dolby Atmos or DTS:X. I use a HomePod (1st generation) with my TV using eARCand Kodi transmits the audio signal directly without allowing the TV to reprocess it.
Granular video calibration settings for Zoom, overscan correction, and subtitle positioning help deeply personalize the viewing experience. Some of these settings are deeply hidden on a typical smart TV.
Your TV knows more about you than you think
Smart TVs are watching you
Today’s smart TVs capture what you see on the screen and send that data to the manufacturer through automatic content recognition. Most manufacturers enable usage tracking and ad targeting by default, especially in preloaded streaming apps. Opt-out options for these are located deep in the settings.
LibreELEC does not collect data, has no account, and has no terms of service that you must agree to. There’s nothing calling home. The home screen shows exactly what media I assigned to the library with the plugins and layout I chose. After years of dealing with the “you may also like” push on smart TV platforms, taking back control seems more meaningful.
LibreELEC is worth it, but it’s not for everyone
LibreELEC is worth it, but it is not plug-and-play. Setup requires genuine effort and sustained 4K streaming sessions require a heatsink or active fan case like the Argon40. If this seems like a deal breaker or too much work, then a Fire TV Stick with a custom launcher as if Projectivy was a better option. If you put in an hour, it will be hard to give up what you get.
Smart TV software ages a lot, as manufacturers charge a premium when you buy a TV and then quietly stop updating it a few years later. LibreELEC does none of that. There’s no re-enabled telemetry, no content recommendations, or in-your-face promoted content. You can control the layout and your library. Of course, you can upgrade the Pi for better hardware when you need more space. Your TV is still smart. You decide who runs the show.
