HA Dashboard via HDMI on TV

[dashbook]

I’m currently running Home Assistant OS on a Raspberry Pi 4 with AdGuard as an add-on and everything works well at the moment.

I want to display my HA dashboard on a TV via HDMI. My goal is to avoid using Home Assistant Cloud, port forwarding, or any tunnel methods. I also don’t have access to a second Pi right now.

From my research, one option is to install Raspberry Pi OS, run HA in Docker (Container method), and then use Chromium to open my HA dashboard and display it on the TV.

Here’s what I’d like advice on:

1. Possible drawbacks or challenges with using Raspberry Pi OS + HA Container for this purpose.
2. Whether I can restore my current HAOS backup to HA Container and keep all my configs/dashboards intact.
3. Any alternative OS recommendations for the Pi 4 that might work better than Raspberry Pi OS for this setup.
4. Since AdGuard won’t work as an add-on in HA Container, is there a workaround?

I’m not an expert, just learning as I go. TIA

[francisp (Francis)]

Look first at this:

New Add-on: Kiosk-mode dashboard display on your (RPi) HAOS-server

Several people in the past have asked whether it is possible to display dashboards directly via HDMI output on the HAOS server. As introduced first in https://community.home-assistant.io/t/ha-kiosk-on-rpi5-running-haos/849371, I created an add-on that allows you to display all your dashboards in kiosk-mode via a display running on the HDMI port on your HAOS server. I find it amazingly helpful to just keep a cheap LCD display attached to my RPi HAOS server allowing me to check my sensors at a g…

[NathanCu (Nathan Curtis)]

@dashbook

Possible drawbacks or challenges with using Raspberry Pi OS + HA Container for this purpose.

Beef onthe Pi. Probably not there…

@dashbook

can restore my current HAOS backup to HA Container

No. Container doesn’t restore like that. Restore requires supervisor. You could copy the config folder from your current installation. You will lose the ability to run addons.

3. No see 1. Not a fan of virtual on a pi.

4. You would have to install it somewhere else at which point you defeated the purpose of all this work.

Imho get something else to cast your display to that hdmi port or use what Francis pointed at. And keep the Pi where it is. It’s not up to the task you want it to be doing. Imho.

[dzmiller]

You are likely going to need another microprocessor.

[k8gg]

1. It would work, however would be too slowww to a point where you likely will need a second or different metal box for this.
2. To restore, short answer no - not directly. You might be able to open the guts of the backup and transfer the settings/configs/passwords manually to your new setup, but at that point it might be easier to start from scratch.
3. OS might make some differences but not much. Pi4 box is simply not enough of power for everything you need.
4. For sure AdGuard has been available as a (regular, non-HA Add-on) docker container already, long before it being an add-on for HAOS.

So, would it work? Yes. Would you like it? Probably not. Is the Pi4 setup recommended? This is obviously subjective but if you ask me the answer is no.

[NavNav]

The similar price as a Pi. Get a used mini NUC.