I tried LibreELEC on a Raspberry Pi, and it's better than any smart TV can ever be

At a glance:

• LibreELEC on a Raspberry Pi 4 delivers faster, privacy‑friendly playback than commercial smart‑TV platforms.
• The OS boots straight into Kodi, avoiding bloat, telemetry, and forced sign‑ins.
• Users can sync libraries with Jellyfin, use add‑ons like YouTube and TVHeadend, and fine‑tune audio‑video settings.

Why LibreELEC beats commercial smart TVs

LibreELEC boots directly into Kodi, stripping away the layers of background services that most smart‑TV operating systems pile on. The result is a launch time that feels instantaneous, with menus that open in a blink and a browsing experience that stays smooth even when scrolling through hundreds of titles. In a test run at 1080p with a 120 Hz refresh rate, the interface flowed without stutter, and the 4K output capped at 30 Hz – a performance that outpaces the sluggish carousels of Google TV, Roku OS, Fire OS, and Apple tvOS.

Beyond speed, LibreELEC is a privacy‑first platform. It collects no telemetry, requires no account, and has no terms of service to accept. Smart TVs, by contrast, quietly send Automatic Content Recognition data back to manufacturers, enabling targeted advertising and usage tracking that users can only opt out of deep within settings menus.

Setting up LibreELEC on a Raspberry Pi 4

The first step is to download the latest LibreELEC build that ships with Kodi 21.3. Using the Raspberry Pi Imager, flash the image onto a 64 GB microSD card. The Pi 4’s micro‑HDMI port can be routed through an Argon40 case with a built‑in fan and a full‑size HDMI output, simplifying the connection to a standard TV.

Library management and add‑ons

LibreELEC treats the TV as a media center rather than a streaming app hub. By pointing Kodi at a network share on a home server, the system automatically scrapes metadata from TMDB for movies and TVDB for shows. Multiple versions of the same title are neatly labeled, and the Kodi plugin for Jellyfin keeps watched‑status in sync across both platforms.

Add‑ons extend the experience further:

• YouTube add‑on delivers an ad‑free view without Shorts.
• TVHeadend add‑on turns a Pi 4 into a full DVR when paired with a DVB USB stick. Because LibreELEC does not support Widevine DRM, users who want to stream from services like Netflix or Hulu must rely on a separate Fire TV Stick running a custom launcher such as Projectivy.

Audio‑video customization and privacy

Kodi’s default behavior matches a display’s refresh rate to the content’s frame rate, so 24p movies play without judder. Audio passthrough is clean; a HomePod (1st Gen) connected via eARC receives the Dolby Atmos or DTS:X stream directly, bypassing the TV’s re‑processing.

Granular video calibration options—zoom, overscan correction, subtitle positioning—allow deep tailoring that most smart‑TV interfaces bury in hidden menus. All of this is available without the privacy compromises that come with commercial platforms.

When LibreELEC might not be for you

LibreELEC is not a plug‑and‑play solution. The Pi 4 can heat up during extended 4K sessions, so an active‑fan case or heatsink is recommended. If the setup effort feels too high, a Fire TV Stick with Projectivy offers a simpler path to a privacy‑friendly media center.

Smart‑TV software ages poorly: manufacturers stop pushing updates after a few years, and telemetry can be re‑enabled with a firmware roll‑out. LibreELEC sidesteps that cycle entirely, giving users control over what runs on their TV and when.