I have a Linux pc hooked to the TV and it’s very convenient to use while lying in the sofa. In fact that’s all I use the TV for. And the reason I am interested in this post, as my 12 years old dumb TV will kick the bucket on day it the other.
The pc is my server/nas and runs kodi in a container that outputs to the TV. It has no keyboard nor mouse, but I do have a remote controller that I had lying around from an old android TV box. Basically you turn the TV on and kodi is there waiting with all my movies, series, and iptv to choose from. With a great remote controller that works beautifully with kodi.
The remote is a minix neo a2 I have had for years. Highly recommend it. If it dies I’ll do a quick research to see if there is something better this days, but I’d be keen to buy another one straight away.