So I've been trying to use Jellyfin for a long, LONG time now, and I've never really been able to use it remotely reliable.
I can go on for a long time about all the problems I've faced, lets just say that after years I can still not use it to watch something with the family because there is always something not working, I could start about hardware decoding having worked for a while and then suddenly without explanation no longer working, but lets start with subtitles...
I just want to have subtitles actually load without having to sacrifice a goat to whatever god is out there to have subtitles work. What is the problem that subtitles just 99% of the time don't work?
Worse, sometimes they work while watching a show, and a jellyfin update comes by and, you guessed it, subtitles no longer work for that show, even though they work for some other movies, sometimes...
I am a software engineer, I do loads of devops, I can find my way around, but jellyfin is just... I dunno what to do anymore. Is there a reliable alternative, perhaps, that actually just works?
I've long given up on the dream that I could have something similar to netflix for all my movies and shows that aren't on netflix, where I can scrub with images, for example, I just want to be able to watch a show with the family with subtitles without fiddling for 30 minutes to try and get it to work.
Current setup is google-tv with 0.17.9 client, and the latest docker server. Shows seem to have okay subtitles on web client, but on google-tv, every time I select a subtitle, I get a "subtitles loading" message, and then 10-20 seconds later a "failed to load subtitles" message.
Anyone?
Yeah I don't have a raspberry computer to connect to my TV, but if thats the only way it will work...
Do these raspberries have remote controls?
Chances are very high that Kodi will detect your own TV's remote and you can use that! https://kodi.wiki/view/CEC
If that doesn't work, there are many cheap options.
I also use the official JellyFin client on my android phone with MPV as player and that also works perfectly fine. And the Jellyfin Media Player on my laptop is also flawless.
In my experience, the older Chromecasts are probably the only clients with problems.
If I had to buy a client device, I'd probably go with a Minix U22X-J (Max) or Ugoos AM6+ https://discourse.coreelec.org/t/amlogic-ng-and-dolby-vision/24738
Apparently 0.18 client fixes a boat load of these issues, but I'll look into your clients.
Kodi is what you run on your raspberries?
Yes, Kodi (via LibreELEC) and then JellyCon on top.
For other Amlogic ARM devices, like the Minix U22X-J (Max) or Ugoos AM6+ I mentioned above, CoreELEC is the LibreELEC alternative.