Streaming sticks/boxes with ad-blocking?

I’m looking for a streaming box/stick to place on my parents’ “dumb” TV.

I don’t care that much about privacy in this situation (ideally I’d set up a Raspberry Pi and/or a PiHole, but it’d be pretty inconvinient to them), but anything like not having a microphone or not requiring login and being able to sideload is a plus.

However, my top priority is ad-blocking, specifically for YouTube (it’s getting out of hand). I’ve looked into solutions like AdAway or Adguard, but I can’t seem to find reliable information about how do they perform (on Chromecast, for example).

Any suggestions about ad-blocking? What streaming stick/box would you recommend?

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I have been blocking some ad on my Roku TV using DNS based blocking. That doesn’t help for ads within the various “channels”.

If/when I replace my setup, I’ll likely just use a RaspberryPi (or equivalent) running a Jellyfin client for local content. As long as I can get to my paid subscriptions via a web browser, then I think/hope that will cover that base.

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Potentially an Apple TV:

  • tvOS has no embedded ads
  • Set a DNS-level adblock using NextDNS etc
  • Use the Yatte client for YouTube, blocking ads and optionally sponsored segments