The compression issues are true for 1080p too, any dark scene on Netflix gets some horrible color banding and artifacts.
Ironically, the pirates don’t have that issue as their multi-gig torrents don’t have much compression compared to the some-hundred megs stream provided by Netflix
An Amazon Fire Stick is far smaller, much quieter, draws less power and is simpler to use than a general-purpose PC.
Plus, if I’m using a PC I’d probably only use Linux, so I’d have to deal with lower quality streams because DRM… so overall the experience would be worse.
Using a more ‘normie’ Windows box as a streaming box could work, but that doesn’t solve the noise(!) and power draw issues, that feels like a compromise rather than a choice.
I’ve recently bought a Fire Stick and don’t regret it one bit. It’s doesn’t fell janky and doesn’t have ads as far as I can tell. The provided remote inclues an IR emitter than can turn the TV on/off and change volume (why isn’t this provided by HDMI itself is beyond me), and it’s much faster than any smart tv so you can watch content without having to wait
I recommend watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbKGw8MQ0i8