My main concern is replacing the remote, because bluetooth on linux is quite awful.
Im guessing run kodi is the other solution? I want the SO to be able to use it as easily as the smart tv, which is of course riddled with ads and downloading random shit on my network that I hate (20 gigs to Disney + in a month. I dont have any subs. Wtf is it downloading? I blocked it now ofc)
For reference, trying to axe the smart tv and use my atari vcs with mint on it to fulfill those needs. It should have the power and I want to keep the sleek look and not have an actual pc in the room.
The RX 550 is straight-up the lowest requirement for an HTPC as it will decode h.264 and h.265, which is the bare minimum requirement for that use case, so it’s a ‘Stick this in an old desktop you have laying around and there’s your HTPC’ kinda deal.
Recent AMD CPUs have integrated RDNA2 GPUs, with h.264 and h.265 decode/encode support. This has been the case for years. Buying an RX 550 for that purpose when the CPU already does it would be a waste of money, space, and electricity, and generate unnecessary heat and (eventually) e-waste.
If OP already has a spare CPU without that support built-in, then your suggestion might make sense, but I don’t see any indication of that being the case.