Kodi alternative Stremio OS is now available for Raspberry Pi 4 and 5
Stremio OS is now available for Raspberry Pi 4 and 5. This lightweight operating system is designed to run the Stremio media center application, which aggregates streaming content from various services into a user-friendly interface.
Unlike Kodi, none of Stremio's addons are installed on your computer so there's no danger of introducing rogue code (Stremio itself is open source). It will recommend content that you might be interested in and tell you if it’s free and where you can find it. It can play HTTP links, as well as magnet links and torrent files (drag and drop).
The latest release, created for Raspberry Pi, is based on LineageOS v21 (derived from a custom build of Android TV 14). It excludes Google apps and services but comes pre-installed with essential applications like Stremio, Stremio Launch on Boot, and Aptoide TV, which handles auto-updates.
To get started:
- Download the correct image for your Raspberry Pi (either 5 or 4) from the downloads page
- Write the image to an SD card (at least 8GB) -- if you are using Etcher, you will need to use the “Flash from file” button, otherwise if you are using “Raspberry Pi Imager”, then you will need to use the “Use custom” button
- (Optional) Expand the main volume -- as this is a 7GB image, if written to a larger SD Card there will be unallocated disk space, you can use any partition editor app (such as “GParted“) to extend the /data partition (/dev/block/mmcblk0p4)
- Insert the SD card into the RPI and power on the device
- Complete the one-time setup for Android TV
- (Optional) You can also start the “Stremio Launch on Boot” app, this will make the “Stremio” app automatically start on device boot (to turn the RPI into a single purpose device, yet you can go back from the app to reach the Android TV Home screen at any time)
- (Optional) You can also set the “Stremio” app as a featured app (from the “Apps” panel)
Stremio OS is considered "experimental" but it's solid, with over 30 million users across a wide range of platforms including Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android TV. The Raspberry Pi 5 version is able to deliver 4K playback, but Raspberry Pi 4 can't, unfortunately, due to hardware limitations.
Image Credit: Andrey Popov / Dreamstime.com