I just run an old PC plugged in to my TV. It's been running Windows, but I'm strongly considering switching it to linux now that it seems HDR on linux is getting stable. I might even use SteamOS directly since it's got a nice interface for controller use.

Honestly, the apple TV is the least spammy by a long shot. I also hear great things about the Nvidia shield, but it is pretty ancient by now. Or use a computer, but of course that's got its own annoyances. Of course these are all the most expensive options, apparently for a reason.

I bought an Apple TV after I had some smart tv related issues with my Samsung. I’m happy with it and it supports any app you’d want.

Apple TV has been reliable for many years. Don't even have an iPhone or iPad anymore but the OS gets the fuck outta the way and it probably has the least spyware of all the commercial options.

Building your own with like, a Pi or a PC is the best option if you mainly have pirated content.... If you stream anything that option isn't great because your device won't pass all the DRM checks to play higher definition/4k stuff. (Someone correct me but last I looked into it this was still true)

Join the darkside, and run something like a Raspberry Pi with Kodi, and/or Plex, etc.

Nvidia Shield

I've been using a Chromecast for years. I cast whatever I want from my phone. It plays media and that's it.

Another chiming in on the best device by a long shot is the AppleTV. It’s damn fast and its UI is actually nice to use. Oh and all the apps are always up to date. Zero ads just sitting on the screen anywhere.

I rooted my (Android TV based) smart TV, removed all the tracking (verified with PCAPDroid), and I use Stremio and SmartTube to stream everything. I also use AFWall as a firewall to whitelist only apps that I install to access the internet only through my VPN. I set my DNS to 0.0.0.0 to block all traffic outside of my DNS if my firewall ever fails because Android TV doesn't have that option unlike regular Android.

I have a Hisense TV if you're curious. You can also get a TV box that is supported by LineageOS and do the same thing on there.

Whenever Android 10 gets super outdated, I'm hoping that Plasma Bigscreen will be advanced enough to be able to replace it, then I will just use my laptop for TV activities instead. I also would need Linux to get better HDR support (currently it only supports HDR10 and not HDR10+ or Dolby Vision) and for AMD drivers to gain HDMI 2.1 support (which is being blocked by the HDMI forum for stupid reasons. The code has been ready for a while, but AMD isn't allowed to release it)

I use a rooted Xiaomi Mi Box 2S rooted and degoogled filtered by pi-hole and I only use stremio or jellyfin and smartube for youtube.

I usually hook my Steam Deck up to my TV via a USB hub and HDMI, and then fire something up on Plex, which I keep running on my desktop.

Bonus: Make it a wireless HDMI dongle (which I'm too cheap for but are a thing), and now using it from the couch is even more convenient.

My TV has always been run without the "smarts" ever since I bought it.

That said, recently I've replaced my TV Box and Media Box with a N100 Mini PC running Linux and Kodi plus a wireless remote and in addition to that the thing even works as my home server with additional functionality than just that of the devices it replaced.

For a cheaper/easier option try LibreELEC on top one of the devices they support (check the downloads page or the Wiki for the list). It's basically a Linux distro with Kodi, so open and with none of the privacy intrusion risks of Android. The same kind of wireless remote (example - note that you don't actually need to use the keyboard on the back or the air mouse) also works here since it just relies on standard shortcut keys of media programs like Kodi so works everywhere (even Android).

However what all these privacy-protecting non-enshittified options have in common is that they're not fully configured solutions that you just buy and use - as you've noticed, if you just buy a streaming stick or device it will likely be at the least "spammy" - and you do have to do some of the work to get them working.

Something like LibreELEC on a mini PC should be the simplest to put together as the hardware comes preconfigured in an actual box and all that's needed is to install the LibreELEC image from a bootable USB stick, but if you have a bit more technical know-how (not really that much needed, mind you) you can get something like one of the supported Orange Pi boards along with a box for it and it will cost you less than half as much as even a basic Mini PC - those boards are basically using the same chips as Android TV media boxes so you get the same performance without the "spammyness".

If you want customization and the ability to sideload apps, get an Nvidia Shield. There are custom OSes you can load which remove a lot of the spammy ad BS that the Shield’s default OS has baked in.

If you want ease of use and setup, get an Apple TV. It won’t natively run all of your pirated hentai apps, but it at least has Plex so you can stream custom content from a server if you set one up.

Never connected my LG TV to the internet. I got an Nvidia Shield TV Pro hooked up to it. The default home screen got riddled with ads as well after I got it, but at least you can change it to a third party one and never have to see it again. Otherwise a cheap used Xbox Series S might also work, but is much bigger and arguably less flexible. And if you want a truly privacy-respecting device you might have to go with a Linux mini PC, though that's much more involved to set up and many commercial streaming services won't give you the full quality streams you are paying for.

Nvidia shield with a custom launcher. Google updated their Android TV home which made 60% and More of the dashboard just ads so I added projectify as my launcher. There are now only 2 apps being shown on my screen. Plex and Google Play (for updating apps).

Old laptop connected to tv through hdmi + cheapest wireless mouse I could find. If you want to get fancy you can also get a wireless keyboard but screen keyboard does a good enough job

But what device do you use to stream?

Raspberry Pi with a bare image of Android TV installed. The result is a Roku without any attempt to serve home screen ads.