[jyl]

I'm sorry about repeatedly coming back to this, but I have fading, aging pre-geezer brain and this new fangled tech stuff confuses me.

The goal is a cheap machine to connect to my Apple Airport via WiFI or Ethernet, access streaming video, and send it via HDMI to display on my TV.

For various reasons, I've ruled out the Rasberry Pi. Because I get the streaming video via apps that I think would be complicated to get on Linux. Sling TV application, coming apps for other online content (all the networks are trying this), VPNs/tunnels to geo-restricted European online streaming sports sites, Bit Torrent sites (cyclingtorrents.nl), pirate video sites, YouTube, etc. Just to keep my thinning hair, I think I need something that runs Windows or MacOS or (maybe) ChromeOS. The pirate sites are infested with malware, so an OS somewhat resistant to that would be nice. I don't want an HDMI cable from device to TV.

The choices I'm coming up with, and my thinking about the pros and cons, are:

1. A MacMini/MacOS for $500 + $30 (generic) or $130 (Apple) wireless keyboard/trackpad.
Pros - Easy to use, can be repurposed to a general purpose computer, Macs seem to last a long time, everything supports MacOS
Cons - Expensive

2. A NUC/Windows OS for $350-450 + $30 (generic) wireless keyboard/trackpad
Pros - Cheap, everything supports WindowsOS
Cons - Letting Windows back in the house

3. A ChromeBook/ChromeOS for $250 + $35 Chromecast (for mirroring)
Pros - Cheap
Cons - Low-grade specs (4GB RAM, Celeron). Sling TV might not support ChromeOS yet, I'm not positive.

4. An iPad for $300 + $100 AppleTV (for mirroring)
Pros - Most everything supports iOS
Cons - Kids will steal it, I already have a Roku, don't like the onscreen keyboard

What would your choice be?