Some options besides CEC over HDMI:

- Amazon FireTV remote (connects via Bluetooth)

- Logitech F710 (if you also run RetroPie, connects via USB)

https://retropie.org.uk/ is a great emulation system for several vintage consoles (80's-early 2000's).

With a Rpi over HDMI you can use your remote on most tvs if they support the CEC standard.

No and that’s the issue. Works great for your local / NAS media. Lots of plugins for all sorts of things, except, Netflix, Amazon, XM. I still use the TV apps for that.

There’s a Netflix plugin that uses the directory structure on Kodi for v18.

Thanks, I have seen and tried it. It’s still not GA and quite buggy. Not at a level I can hand over to my family for use.

Wife and I use the Kore app. Less likely to forget where my phone is than a dedicated remote. Handy to have the youtube plugin and share a video to kodi from that app too.

Kodi supports network remotes among other types. You can just install a kodi remote app on your phone.