The issue is they sit in this odd place from a price perspective. I can get an N4000 based stick PC with 4GB RAM and eMMC storage for $140 CAD, or a vastly better performing N95 based mini PC with 8GB RAM, real SSD, and additional outputs for $50 more.
The stick PC really only makes sense if you need that form factor, or if you’re on a really tight budget. The improvements for $50 are just too much to ignore.
Your wishlist sounds almost identical to mine. As frustrating as the limitations of streamers are, they are easy to use. HDMI CEC makes single remote setups possible, easy volume changes, input switching, etc. Apps are vetted so they “just work”.
As for casting, most platforms support running Miracast or AirPlay receivers. Google is the stickler here that won’t let you run a Google Cast receiver (or at least I haven’t found one) and also doesn’t implement Miracast on Pixel devices. It’s such a shame because I vastly prefer casting the URL to the TV and letting it source the content than mirroring my phone all the time.
Yeah, those were on my radar as well. I haven’t yet had a chance to look into what the Linux compatibility is like, but that sounds promising that you were able to do it.
The big downside I see is that while the power consumption is low, they’re running a really old SoC, usually based on Intel N4000 (launched late 2017). Looking around it seems to have h.265 decode which is the most important one to look out for. It doesn’t support AV1, but that’s mostly streaming services and not that common (I think?). There may be other disadvantages I’m not thinking of at the moment.
What was the performance like for you?
I do have surround sound, but I wasn’t aware of that being an issue with a PC solution. Have you encountered issues getting that to work?
All my current self-hosting is running off an N100 mini-PC. OPNsense, NginX, Home Assistant, Unifi Controller, Docker host, etc. They are fantastic, it just seems a bit overkill for sitting behind the TV and playing Plex/Jellyfin and the occasional web stream in a browser. There’s really not much competition though as all the products below it offer a lot older processors that don’t have very up to date HW decode.
I’m blocking my bridge’s access to the internet right now, just in case they push an update for this. I never use the Hue app anyway.
Are you using the Unbound built into OPNsense, or something else? I ask because it’s easy to configure Unbound in OPNsense for DoT. If your ISP isn’t blocking DoT it will be just as secure.
And yes, it will be much more private. Right now if you’re using neither DoT or DoH your ISP will be able to see all your DNS requests in the clear. With either of the above it will be encrypted and they will not be able to read them.
How would you change his setup to prevent ARP attacks? More network segmentation (clients and servers on separate VLANs) or does OPNsense additional protections I should look into?
What are too currently using for your OpenWRT router? I just got one of these and I would highly recommend it: https://a.aliexpress.com/_mq4HxaS
Get the N100 barebones version because you can slap an SSD and RAM in there for cheaper and have more selection. It has four 2.5Gb NICs and the internal PCIE slot for a WiFI card if you really want, though I would recommend getting a Ubiquiti AP to go along with it.
You can put OPNsense on it bare metal, or proxmox and then run your network related VMs there instead of your main server. Your choice.
I bought the N100 version of what I linked above and it’s been great so far. Obviously you have your own requirements, but IMO this is a waste of a U. The system is so compact that you’re better off putting it on a shelf with other things.
More powerful N100, smaller, cheaper, no brainer to me.
Why buy a mobo when you could get this for cheaper, in a smaller footprint, and comes with a case and PSU? Do you really need the SATA ports?
Absolutely. It sounds ideal for something like that.