The backup server at my parents house really did not want to run. Something kept breaking to the point that no web interface or SSH worked. Now I’m not new to self hosting, so I ran my fair share of HDMI and USB cables across my space to debug something on my server. But at my parents place it’s just that extra bit annoying, since I only bring my laptop. Finding a screen is doable, but the keyboard got me more than once. The only one they have kicking around has a freaking PS/2 cable… not even my salvaged backup hardware is old enough to support that. More than one time I had to wait for friends to get back from work so I could borrow their keyboard just to press ‘any’ key.
I decided to handle the issue by getting an IP KVM, which should help me deal with that, right? Wrong! I installed a new drive and that piece of hardware goes into some secure boot loop or whatever that is too fast for my KVM to turn on…
I would be so happy to drop youtube, which is one of my last subscriptions. A nice bonus would be to get my “smart” TV off the internet. But I feel like everytime androidTV or whatever comes up, I get confused as to whether there is a decent solution. What hardware do people use? My RaspberryPI 3 does not seem sufficient, even though people seem to say otherwise. Is Kodi still fine? What I need is something that just works, I can’t have my TV going down like all my other funny selfhosted business. The wellbeing of my entire household relies on that.
And then the youtube alternatives: There are so many words floating around and I never know what to do. I do have a server and would be able to get into my network via tailscale, so this would not be an issue. Invidious? That would mean I don’t have to deal with the music either 🤔