Looking for what I can do with my android TV (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 8 months ago by SadSadSatellite@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/opensource@lemmy.ml

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I've got a Sony android TV and it... Kinda sucks with the constant 'reccommended content's (ads). Every update just adds more scrolling shit I don't want to see.I want to know what different programs I can try out, and maybe a different os I can put on it. I'm looking at smarttubenext currently, and I want to know of other things I can use to customize my experience.

Any recommendations?

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[-] Rambler@lemm.ee 7 points 8 months ago

I'm dreading replacing my dumb tv, but can confirm that the nvidia shield was the best thing I ever bought for entertainment: just sideload your apps and off you go.

Take the cable out of the tv, plug it into your android box and hdmi to the tv.

Can recommend STN, cloudstream and plex.

Good luck.

[-] LetterboxPancake@sh.itjust.works 3 points 8 months ago

I got myself a projector and it does nothing but display what I throw at it. I'm not watching cable anyway. The shield might be a great idea though.

[-] SadSadSatellite@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 8 months ago

Based on what I learned from another reply here, I was able to make my TV do exactly what I wanted. If you ever have to replace the dumb TV, I'm going to recommend getting an android TV just because it was so easy to remove the original OS.

I know each android TV is a little bit different, so if it helps I'm running a Sony Bravia with android TV 11.

[-] Rambler@lemm.ee 2 points 8 months ago

Excellent! Glad you found what you wanted - I'll bookmark this for when I have to replace my trusty Bravia! 👍

[-] Rambler@lemm.ee 1 points 8 months ago

Now, a Sony Bravia - what size and price may I ask ? And how difficult is it to remove all the shit ad functionality from it ?

I've had my 32" for like 8 years but definately looking for the same quality piece of kit.

[-] SadSadSatellite@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 8 months ago

65". Got it at Costco for around 600$ in 2021. I fought with the regular os after some updates about a year ago. Before that Google wasn't shoving shit down my throat all day. I've been considering rooting it for a while, but finally got the motivation today.

[-] Dariusmiles2123@sh.itjust.works 1 points 8 months ago

Could you tell us if your TV is now any slower?

I’m a little bit scared of some things not working properly afterwards.

[-] SadSadSatellite@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 8 months ago

I limited the background processes when I was customizing everything, so because of that apps take about 2 seconds longer to open, because they weren't on standby. Fewer background things mean it starts up a lot faster though. The apps all work as they should.

The ADB commands I used just disable the default launcher, it's still there if something goes wrong. If you switch over and something doesn't work, you just send the same command with 'enable' replacing 'disable' and it's back to normal.

[-] Dariusmiles2123@sh.itjust.works 1 points 8 months ago

Thanks for the answer. I might give it a try soon.

It’s a shame you can’t just format the TV and put some Linux distribution on it.

But I guess a lot of TV’s wouldn’t work afterwards and it would be more difficult to fix than a normal computer.

[-] SadSadSatellite@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 8 months ago

I believe that's exactly the case with most of them, which is why I wanted an android in the first place. It's a known architecture.

[-] Dariusmiles2123@sh.itjust.works 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I’ve now installed Flauncher and ADB and it works really well.

The only problem I encountered was that the colors now seemed way too warm on my TV.

I guess I may have unintentionally uninstalled or disabled something I shouldn’t have..

Edit: Finally had to go back to factory settings as I now couldn’t select the sources..so it’s back to normal Google experience..

[-] SadSadSatellite@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 8 months ago

In the settings menu for flauncher there's a button for Android options. If you open that you should be able to adjust the picture settings, it at least find the Bravia settings that can control the picture.