# KDE Plasma Bigscreen Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/plasma-bigscreen/ 13 people recommended KDE Plasma Bigscreen in Hacker News comments, 4 had mixed feelings and 8 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 12 months, in 16 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. 8 of the 13 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Plasma Bigscreen – 10-foot interface for KDE plasma”. **Verdict:** Free open-source TV interface for Linux mini-PCs, liked for privacy and couch use. Common caveat: it is not ready yet, and most apps are desktop apps poorly suited to remotes. Summary written by Claude from 39 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 36 of those comments still count. ## Why people recommend it - Runs on old mini-PCs and laptops (5 comments in the sample): "the best option still seems to be a somewhat old mini-PC with Linux and Plasma Bigscreen" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50161465)) "I've just used it with CachyOS on a 2017 XPS with no issues and performance was great." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47284275)) "put any Linux distro that packages Plasma Bigscreen on a old laptop or mini-PC" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48681482)) - Built for TV remotes and couches (3 comments in the sample): "This is a genuine 10-foot desktop environment optimized for TV remotes and controllers." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49486217)) "This is basically a DE optimized for couch use with a remote." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48637867)) "The latter is just a UI optimized for using a PC from a couch" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47283964)) - Improving under new lead developer (2 comments in the sample): "Plasma BiScreen is now lead by Devin Lin which has done a amazing job moving Plasma Mobile" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47290937)) "I've heard KDE's Plasma Bigscreen is better than ever" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49614131)) - Private, no phoning home (1 comment in the sample): "100% private and user-controlled" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49002323)) ## What people warn about - Not ready yet, rough state (3 comments in the sample): "sounds awesome but reading the comments it sounds not quite there yet" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47283193)) "It’s an alternative, but for the majority not a good alternative" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48682840)) "it isn't really in a good state yet" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47284977)) - No Netflix or legal streaming apps (2 comments in the sample): "they never support legal streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+ and so on" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46254322)) "you don't get apps on plasma big screen" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48683092)) - Poor fit without mouse and keyboard (1 comment in the sample): "It's great that they work on a tv ui for kde but I feel like it's really not going to work well on anything but…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47286047)) ## Other desktop environments people recommend - [KDE Plasma](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kde-plasma/): 488 recommend, 112 mixed, 207 criticize - [GNOME](https://hackerapproved.com/p/gnome/): 222 recommend, 86 mixed, 419 criticize - [Xfce](https://hackerapproved.com/p/xfce/): 144 recommend, 28 mixed, 43 criticize - [COSMIC desktop](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cosmic-desktop-environment/): 53 recommend, 17 mixed, 27 criticize ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "KDE Plasma Bigscreen", https://hackerapproved.com/p/plasma-bigscreen/ (13 recommend, 4 mixed, 8 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.