Piracy: ꜱᴀɪʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪɢʜ ꜱᴇᴀꜱ

Plug your laptop into it and use VLC. That's the simplest approach.

If you want a dedicated playback system any little arm SBC that has decent hardware accelerated video playback should work well. Something like an RPi 4 can run a basic desktop with hardware accelerated VLC, or you could run libreelec. Look for something modern that supports the encodings you think you might use, it's a drag dealing with choppy playback because you're trying to play an encoding the board doesn't support.

Or you could run a media server like PLEX somewhere on your network and use a Chromecast plugged into the TV as a streaming target. This lets you use your phone as a control device. The simplest setup for this is to just run PLEX on your desktop or laptop and shut the server down when you're not actively using it.

What about a Raspberry Pi or other SFF PC flashed with libreelec to run Kodi.

I think an existing laptop or tablet is probably the best way to go here. Only hard part is a remote

I'd recommend a Raspberry pi running Libreelec. Its Kodi so has a great UI with no ads or tracking, supports HDMI-CEC so you can control it with your TV's own remote (on most models) and I haven't found a video codec it can't handle. Also if you decide to move to a NAS or streaming for your videos in the future it supports that as well.

Any model of pi should be able to handle video playback from USB but older ones obviously can't handle 4k. Also a pi can't power a mechanical USB drive so if that's what you're using you'd either need them to have their own power supply or use a powered USB hub.

One like this could be used to power the pi and drives at the same time: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anker-PowerIQ-Charging-Macbook-Surface-7-Ports-3/dp/B00VE4UJD4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2SJ87KGXVYOFK&keywords=anker+usb+hub+powered+3.0&qid=1696764826&sprefix=anker+usb+hub+powered+3.0%2Caps%2C884&sr=8-1

• My firestick (4k) has Android, with correct accessory (that allows power and OTG at the same time).
• You can connect to USB drive or hub.
• Has remote control.
• There are alternative launchers to avoid ads.
• You can sideload most things.

I know it’s probably not what you’re looking for in terms of budget, but I use an Apple TV with a portable router called Beryl AX connected to an USB Drive when I’m traveling. To any hotel’s dumb TV I connect the ATV, and then my router through Ethernet. And there you go, all my travel drive to see and use with Infuse.

Infuse is super powerful and through name parsing you get this media “wall” interface, just as Netflix so to speak. You a get zero ad experience over all.

On the plus side this Router can connect to any Wi-Fi and re-route the traffic (kinda like a repeater but fancier), so you get your own private Wi-Fi and your ATV has also internet.

Edit: I don’t know about any of those systems you mentioned, but using a ad-filtering DNS (like AdGuard) you may be able to stop ads over there. It worked for me with Tizen OS.

Many of non-smart TVs support playing videos from USB 🫡

I have a Roku (apart from a static ad on the home screen, I haven't noticed any problem with them and if it was really an issue I could use adblocking DNS servers), and can play media on it from a NAS drive, or I can plug a USB drive into my router and access it that way. It's all controllable via the remote and provided there's good WiFi signal, doesn't require a fast internet connection. Saying all that, I do have fast internet and usually just stream stuff to it via my phone/tablet and the video caster app.

Nvidia Shield is pretty paired down if you want something plug and play.

There are some NAS products out there with media servers and HDMI output. Helps you skip a few steps.

I recommend looking into playnite as a "launcher" for your games.

If you have a PC you could also consider moonlight streaming

I dont know if these devices are available worldwide, but we, Indonesian, have 2 cheap devices exactly for that. ZTE B860H V5 and HG680FJ. It's like $10 without remote, and another $1 for the remote.

It came locked by one of our ISP, but you can easily unlock it and put anything you want in it. Linux, OpenWRT, or just regular Android TV. ROM choices are limitless.

Raspberry Pi and Steam Link if you have an ok computer to stream from

Maybe a Raspberry Pi or similar single board compter running Kodi and a USB based wireless remote? Not as simple as some out of box solution (if any exist) but should be easy to use.

I use a mini pc (ryzen 3200u) from aliexpress. you can use whatever OS you want.

The "simplest" method is to plug the USB straight into the TV if the TV supports USB playback. You could also try plugging the USB into the router as many of them support DLNA servers - not a solution but a piece of the puzzle that can be used.

AFAIK fire sticks etc. can be installed with custom operating systems

Kodi seems like your best bet, it's very accessible across many devices, you could use an older PC, Raspberry Pi or even an Xbox if you wanted to save money by repurposing a device you may already have.

Get your hands on any old working PC or Laptop and load Linux Mint. Default video player is good enough and it has USB ports. I have had no compatibility issues with remotes.

If tv cant play from usb its probably 10+ years old with small screen size. You can get brand new 40" 1080p android tv from 180€. You can just turn off internet and use it as a usb player if thats what you want. Rpi 4 4GB + psu + SD card + hdmi cable is like 120-130€ and you will still have a big pile of cables behind that old tv.

There might be better options than android tv, IDK, Im not expert. Im also not google fan, but android tv just works fine for me.

USB hubs can work, but I wouldnt put them in the same sentence with word "reliable". Maybe I just had bad luck with them... My setup is android tv + jellyfin server with sata drives