Hopefully this is the right kind of question for this community, my apologies if not.
I’m looking for some sort of device that will let me load my own media from a USB / SD card, and play it to my TV. Does such a device exist? Some sort of remote controlled box that can just load mp4 / mkv files from locally hosted storage? I have been using my PC over HDMI but it can get annoying having an awkward room layout because my computer always has to be next to the TV to do this.
Let’s not overcomplicate things. OP expressly wants a device that will play media off a USB drive. That’s basically Kodi on a mini PC or single board computer, as many others have suggested — or like you say, plug the USB directly in your TV. No need for “hosting” anything or other server lingo.
And “a Kodi instance”? It’s just an installation on a local device, it’s not like it’s going to federate or anything… Sorry if this is nitpicking, your second paragraph phrasing just feels like an unnecessarily advanced answer to a simple question.