KDE Plasma Bigscreen
Hacker ApprovedRanked 8 of 24 desktop environments by recommenders
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.
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.
30 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 21
- criticize it
- 9
- approval share
- 70%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 21 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Runs on old mini-PCs and laptops
“the best option still seems to be a somewhat old mini-PC with Linux and Plasma Bigscreen”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “An ad-free Android TV” “I've just used it with CachyOS on a 2017 XPS with no issues and performance was great.”
Comment from 7 Mar 2026 in “Plasma Bigscreen – 10-foot interface for KDE plasma” “put any Linux distro that packages Plasma Bigscreen on a old laptop or mini-PC”
Comment from 26 Jun 2026 in “Apple announces significant price increases for MacBooks, iPads, more” - Comment from 30 Jul 2026 in “Read This Before You Buy That TV Streaming Stick”
- Comment from 23 May 2026 in “Oura says it gets government demands for user data. Will it share how many?”
Built for TV remotes and couches
“This is a genuine 10-foot desktop environment optimized for TV remotes and controllers.”
Comment from 29 Aug 2026 in “Stopping the smart TV from being used against you” “This is basically a DE optimized for couch use with a remote.”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Nearly Half of LG Smart TV Apps Contain Residential Proxy SDKs” “The latter is just a UI optimized for using a PC from a couch”
Comment from 7 Mar 2026 in “Plasma Bigscreen – 10-foot interface for KDE plasma” Private, no phoning home
“a fully open-source alternative that doesn't phone home with your viewing habits”
Comment from 7 Mar 2026 in “Plasma Bigscreen – 10-foot interface for KDE plasma” “100% private and user-controlled”
Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “LG to Ban Residential Proxies from Smart TV Apps” Improving under new lead developer
“Plasma BiScreen is now lead by Devin Lin which has done a amazing job moving Plasma Mobile”
Comment from 7 Mar 2026 in “Plasma Bigscreen – 10-foot interface for KDE plasma” “I've heard KDE's Plasma Bigscreen is better than ever”
Comment from 8 Sep 2026 in “LG TVs caught spying even when offline or on standby”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Poor fit without mouse and keyboard
“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 a monitor with mouse and keyboard.”
Comment from 7 Mar 2026 in “Plasma Bigscreen – 10-foot interface for KDE plasma” “It's fine with an airmouse, but you will be mostly running upscaled desktop apps that aren't remote or controller friendly.”
Comment from 1 Nov 2026 in “Ask HN: Which TV do you recommend for privacy?” Not ready yet, rough state
“sounds awesome but reading the comments it sounds not quite there yet”
Comment from 7 Mar 2026 in “Plasma Bigscreen – 10-foot interface for KDE plasma” “It’s an alternative, but for the majority not a good alternative”
Comment from 26 Jun 2026 in “Apple announces significant price increases for MacBooks, iPads, more” “it isn't really in a good state yet”
Comment from 7 Mar 2026 in “Plasma Bigscreen – 10-foot interface for KDE plasma” No Netflix or legal streaming apps
“they never support legal streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+ and so on”
Comment from 13 Dec 2025 in “Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options” “you don't get apps on plasma big screen”
Comment from 26 Jun 2026 in “Apple announces significant price increases for MacBooks, iPads, more”
Other desktop environments people recommend
The four most recommended other desktop environments, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KDE Plasma | 650 | 264 | 71% | 13 | 2 yrs79 owners | Approved |
| GNOME | 340 | 464 | 42% | 12 | 5 yrs29 owners | — |
| Xfce | 183 | 48 | 79% | 12 | 10 yrs29 owners | Approved |
| COSMIC desktop | 75 | 28 | 73% | 12 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| KDE Plasma BigscreenThis page | 21 | 9 | 70% | 9 | — | Approved |
What people said
39 of the 44 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“It's fine with an airmouse, but you will be mostly running upscaled desktop apps that aren't remote or controller friendly.”
“the best option still seems to be a somewhat old mini-PC with Linux and Plasma Bigscreen”
“I've heard KDE's Plasma Bigscreen is better than ever”
“This is a genuine 10-foot desktop environment optimized for TV remotes and controllers.”
“KDE Plasma BigScreen trashed it hard”
“what you need is a mini-PC running Linux with the Plasma Bigscreen DE”
“100% private and user-controlled”
“you should also check out Plasma Bigscreen as a substitute for XFCE4”
“you don't get apps on plasma big screen”
“It’s an alternative, but for the majority not a good alternative”
“put any Linux distro that packages Plasma Bigscreen on a old laptop or mini-PC”
“This is basically a DE optimized for couch use with a remote.”
“really wish projects like that grow more”
“Linux on a mini-PC with Plasma Bigscreen”
“I think what I might be looking at as one of the better options is KDE Plasma Bigscreen”
“doesn't move all your windows around whenever you turn on/off or when KWin crashes first”
“Plasma BiScreen is now lead by Devin Lin which has done a amazing job moving Plasma Mobile”
“The edit mode is exactly the place I want to be overwhelmed with options.”
“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 a monitor with mouse and keyboard.”
“wasted half the screen on empty background”
“This is cool, I’m curious to try”
“this is making the general UI work well on a TV, then apps get populated into that”
“it isn't really in a good state yet”
“isn't this just tech looking for a problem to solve?”
“a fully open-source alternative that doesn't phone home with your viewing habits”
“I've just used it with CachyOS on a 2017 XPS with no issues and performance was great.”
“don't connect your TV to the Internet and use it as a monitor for a mini PC running Plasma Bigscreen”
“you'll freak out if you not prepared”
“The latter is just a UI optimized for using a PC from a couch”
“This (plasma-bigscreen) is going to fail, as 10-foot interfaces historically do.”
“sounds awesome but reading the comments it sounds not quite there yet”
“This is really cool and I'd love to see TVs ship with it.”
“720p using widevine. I play it. It works.”
“or, even better, build a HTPC with Plasma Bigscreen or Bazzite?”
“here's a notice that you can't use it. What's the point?”
“they never support legal streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+ and so on”
“replace it with a Linux distro running KDE Bigscreen or similar”
“I can see it becoming my daily driver very quickly.”
“maybe even something with KDE Plasma Bigscreen or something similar if desired”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.