I have not, but that is a great idea given there are definitely more TV Optimizations in their dedicated Android TV app than switching the interface to TV on the native GNU/Linux app. I don't see any reason why it may not at least play content, but not sure about things like HDR.
I wish they just had one standard binary that adapts better.
I would love if it could display in-progress shows and play next right in the interface like Android TV, though it would require native app integration, perhaps there's also a way via Waydroid or Android Translation Layer (ATL) by hooking up to those existing APIs
From what I can tell Valve has no interest in it (yet), but hopefully one day. Recent updates have been from individuals who want to ensure it doesn't get left behind.
I checked with Debian Sid, one of the reasons it is not there yet is they haven't fully migrated to QT6 including Plasma, so hopefully it means there is less friction to get the QT6 version into NixOS' packages if it already forces QT6 by default.
I edited my post to clarify. The older table QT5 version is available today to use on most distros, but there are some known issues, and things that no longer work like Mycroft. It will be great when the QT6 version is stable though, I agree.
Best way for the QT6 version is to build from source, which is what I'm doing for my Pi, as I'm using Rasbian Trixie. I would love if someone CI/CD packaged builds for Debian Sid via KDE or Debian resources to more easily install on the Rasbian, but yes it's been setup in AUR for Arch-based distros like SteamOS, PostmarketOS.
For those that want a better UI in Desktop Mode when docked playing from the couch, there is Plasma Bigscreen
There is a better QT6 version available if you build from source and I think in the AUR under
plasma-bigscreen-git
It's rough around the edges still, but hopefully with the Steam Machine more people will take interest in it who are looking to use it as a media centre instead of a Nvidia Shield Android/Google TV
You can connect Ollama and cloud providers like ChatGPT into OVOS/Neon, so that when you ask questions it doesn't know how to handle, it can respond using the LLM.
I would love if Valve shipped and contributed to Plasma Mobile and Plasma Bigscreen alongside the existing Plasma Desktop. Or even if more Steam Deck users installed it so that it would get more interest.
When I was considering what to run, I found LineageOS TV provided the best experience for being able to get all the other TV apps, and even Jackbox Games. Many TV apps offer some content free with ads, which can be taken care of. Android TV interface only shows Android TV apps in the main app drawer though.
I loved Debian with KDE Big Screen on the pi for the customizability. You can run scripts like fetching tv schedules right on it (or you can just do this on your jellyfin server), and generally you have more customizability. I run PWAs as well via Firefox. I found Steam Link difficult to get working unless on Buster or earlier.
For remote, I tried out all the ones on Amazon, and found USB connection to be most reliable, and there's one that has a keyboard on the reverse, and an option to do voice control from the remote that's a major 🔑
Been happy with my Purism Librem 14, and soon they'll have a 16". I think today, I'd probably buy their 11" tablet. Perfect travel size and you don't need to put it away during takeoff and landing of flights.
Easiest way at the moment for the latest QT6 version would be install an Arch-based distro like PostmarketOS and install plasma-bigscreen-git