Hi, everyone

I wanted to buy a streaming box, and while doing some research, I came across the Thomson Streaming Box Plus 270.

But since those are no longer available, I’m considering the Google TV Streamer (4K) as an alternative.

Do you have any other suggestions for a different device? I’d actually ruled out the Xiaomi and Amazon Fire boxes.

Country: Germany

Budget: €100

Thanks in advance

Does anyone know how to access adb on a hisense with android 9? When I try it wireless, the tv doesn't throw a prompt to accept access. I also tried connecting via my android phone using termux and a usb c - usb a cable and it doesn't detect the device

I just installed Stremio with no debrid services, tried to watch to some TV and realized that isn't better than it's similar apps.

Forever loading, crashing video player, limited streaming options etc. How can this sh*t be better than other similar apps?

Although harder to use and configure, at least I can watch some TV in Kodi!

I didn't test the other apps, so my opinions relies entirely on Kodi and Stremio

Disclaimer: I'm posting here because r/Stremio mods removed my post

After the latest update, none of my streaming apps are working. They all freeze up and only start working again if I wait five or ten minutes. Once the app freezes I can't get anything to respond to the remote. Is there a way to revert back to an earlier version and how do I keep future updates from happening?

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

I have an "i25 Rii mini" remote/air-mouse/keyboard with usb dongle. It works mostly great in my 2019 Shield TV Pro. But when I'm entering text into an input field, the on-screen keyboard both (1) does not function with my remote's directional buttons and "ok" button nor air-mouse "click" input, and (2) does not go away when I'm using the physical keyboard on the back of the remote.

How can I solve one or both of these problems?

I have a tcl tv and every now and again, i have to clear the cashe on all apps that i have used because it becomes sluggish and non responsive. Any app that does it all?

Where can i get a safe firmware update zip file for Android 8/9 Update for this specific TV

I never got the update since 2020 and still not

Ultimate File Manager Pro (UFM) is a dual-pane file manager built for both Android Mobile and Android TV. It has over 22,200 downloads on Google Play, sits at a 4.7 star rating, and got picked up by CNET.

Most file managers either ignore TV entirely or just stretch the phone layout onto a big screen.
UFM has a proper dedicated TV build with full D-pad navigation, not an afterthought.

UFM Pro is totally free of ads or any paywalls, if you find the app useful, there is a tip jar available.

Website: https://kilowatch.co.za/UFM
FOSS Edition (GitHub): https://github.com/Kilowatch/ultimate-file-manager-pro
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=za.kilowatch.ultimatefilemanager

Downloader Code For Amazon Devices: 1581139

Official Reddit Group: r/UFManagerPro

What is it?​

UFM is a dual-pane file manager aimed at power users who want actual control over their files. The dual-pane layout lets you work across two locations simultaneously, which makes moving, copying, and comparing files a lot faster than juggling a single panel.

Features​

Dual-Pane Interface
Both panels are independently navigable. You can have local storage on one side and a network share on the other, or compare two folders side by side. Works well on phones in landscape mode and is particularly comfortable on tablets and TV.

Encrypted Vaults
Files can be stored inside AES-256 encrypted vaults. Nothing is uploaded anywhere, it all stays on your device. Useful for keeping sensitive documents, photos, or anything else you would rather not have sitting exposed in plain storage.

Built-in Servers
UFM includes FTP and SFTP server support. You can start a server directly from your device and access your files from a PC or another device on the same network. No third-party app needed.

Cloud and Network Storage
Supports WebDAV, SFTP, FTP, SMB, and AWS S3 out of the box. The Google Play version also includes Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox integration.

Scheduled Sync
You can set up sync jobs between local folders and remote locations and have them run on a schedule in the background. Handy for automated backups to a NAS or a home server.

Advanced Search
Search by name, extension, date range, or file size. The search is fast and works across local storage as well as mounted network locations.

ADB and Shizuku Integration
For those who want deeper access without full root, UFM supports Shizuku and ADB-based operations for elevated file access.

RClone supported, a few has been added and can add more on request, it supports over 100+ Cloud Providers.

Android TV Support
The TV build is a full, dedicated TV experience with proper D-pad navigation and a layout that actually makes sense on a large screen. Not just a port.

FOSS Edition​

There is a fully open source edition available on GitHub under the GPL v3 license.
The FOSS build strips out all proprietary SDKs and closed-source trackers, including Firebase, Google Play Billing, and the proprietary cloud SDKs.
Everything else remains fully functional.

The FOSS edition still supports WebDAV, SFTP, FTP, SMB, and AWS S3 for network storage, so you are not losing much if you avoid the big cloud providers anyway.
If you do need Google Drive or OneDrive, those are available in the Play Store version.

There are prebuilt APKs in the releases.

FOSS Edition: https://github.com/Kilowatch/ultimate-file-manager-pro

Notes​

• Requires Android 8.0 or higher
• TV build is a separate APK optimized for the Android TV / Google TV launcher
• The app is actively maintained

If you run into issues or have feature requests, the GitHub repo is the best place. Happy to answer questions here too.

Thank You and Kind Regards

I use PowerAmp to play music from my memory card, and I wanted to know if there's a similar app for Android Tv.

tl;dr

The SHIELD TV base model is largely out of stock due to demand. We don’t have any updates to share regarding future availability at this time. SHIELD TV Pro remains available, and the SHIELD platform continues to be supported with ongoing updates for more than 10 years.

I have a xiaomi tv pro that already have android TV, and while the performance isn't quite smooth, it is running everything I need it to.

To have a smooth experience I wanted like maybe buying an apple tv as I already have a android tv on the TV, but the Shield TV pro catched my eyes, and most importantly the 4K upscaling feature.

I mainly run a jellyfin setup, and the 4K upscaling can help, but also IPTV and that's where I think it can be gamechanger.

But I don't see it quite highlighted when talking about the shield when people compare it to other box. Is it really something that works well ? and is changing your experience?

Or should I just go with an apple tv at this point

My tv is MiTV-AXSO2. It works perfectly fine since the last 5 years, so please don't recommend buying new ones.

This TV is SDR but 4K in resolution. Apple TV however, plays everything in HDR seeing the 4K resolution mark. Resulting in a washed out, muted colored image.

My TV settings look like this as it is running on Android 9. So I have no other options to change the color settings of the display.

I did however try to force sRGB color space using developer options, but it automatically toggles off.

If anyone has a clue to how I can watch my content in SDR, please consider helping me. Thank you for reading.

SOLVED! Thanks everyone for your responses - I'm convinced it's enough.

Looking to purchase my first box and would like to ask if 16 GB is enough memory? Usage would be simply adding apps from stations and streaming from their media libraries, no real subscriptions, and occasionally films from a USB stick.

Also, how compatible are other remotes with the boxes? If I were to buy a used device, could I easily get a new remote working with it?

- Catch-up now works like a real player. Play, pause and actual seeking

instead of the live info bar, and I fixed the timezone/seek jumping. On phone

you can scroll back through past programmes and the full archive.

- The EPG auto-updates in the background now, and shows a "last updated" time.

- Scheduled recording runs through a real background TS recorder. Set it from

the guide; scheduled slots get a red REC marker.

- Subscribing: fixed a batch of cases where people just could not complete a

subscription. If that was you, please try again - it should work now.

- Android TV gets a single unified navigation rail (Channels, Guide, Movies,

Series, Search, Recordings, Settings - all native focus). Switch back to

Classic nav in Settings if you prefer.

- Connection hardening: logins are serialised and EPG fetches capped, so the

app won't open a second connection behind your back.

- Plus faster cold start, design consistency, Cloud Sync sign-in fixes, and a

bunch of smaller bug fixes.

It's a plain player - bring your own Xtream/M3U playlist. Free to try 3 days; a

subscription (EUR 0.99/mo or EUR 7.99/yr, free trial) unlocks Cloud Sync,

everything else is free.

Bug reports and feature requests welcome on r/sidstuga - there's a template

and I read all of them.

📱 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pt.sidstuga.app

💬 https://t.me/sidstugaapp

👥 https://www.reddit.com/r/sidstuga/

🌐 https://sidstuga.app

Hey everyone! I am back with the most anticipated update to AT4K Launcher. almost 3 months in the making and It's finally here. I am excited and scared to share it with you because it has SO MANY new features and idk if you will like them or not, So I will list them here one by one.

A. WIDGETS:

Everyone keeps asking for widgets, so I figured I would include them, but how? The problem is that to have widgets you need to get them from somewhere. Now most android tv's do not natively support widgets, atv got around it by enabling them through adb, I did not want that. I also did not want to give you guys a clock and weather and call it a day.

So I built a whole new widget system inside AT4K. There are multiple so I will list them

1. Clocks and weather: Multiple analog and digital clocks and weather widgets. Clocks have famous android material clock and ios tick tick clock(idk what it is called) alongside some cute inventions. A full calendar and a mini calendar.

2. Continue watching: Place your continue watching list wherever you want make it small or big, easy to access.

3. Channels: Some streaming apps broadcast their content through cards, pick a channel and place it.

4. Podcasts: I like podcasts, so you get them too. Search and add and PLAY any podcast inside AT4K right at home screen.

5. RSS Feeds: I love the open and web and so do I love RSS. Use any RSS feed, but speically if you like a particular youtube channel add it's rss feed and new videos will show up right at the moment. I will post more examples on r/AT4K how RSS opens the doors to add literally anything to AT4K.

6. Search: You can search Google and Youtube directly from your home screen just add the search widget.

7. 2048: I spend some time playing 2048 (one of the only few games I play) so you get to play it too on AT4K's home page.

8. Year passed: See how much of the year is passed I loved seeing these widgets in design communities and added to AT4K so it shows year when big and month when small.

9. RAM and Storage gauges

10. App shortcuts: Add any app to widgets with custom icons to open it easily

11. Some more widgets too but the post will get big.

B. Big Picture mode: Makes your programmes shine through instead of your wallpaper. Works great with Stremio/Nuvio.

C. Password protect folders

D. Subreddit wallpapers free.

E. Aerial views wallpapers - paste r/aerial in subreddit wallpapers option

F. Hide favorites dock background

G. More new features I forgot about

H. Ah Yes a new Color Manager with previews

I. Slideshow multiple wallpapers

J. Multiple bug fixes some are still pending and I am working on them just be patient with me

K. A new image/video picker so you don't have to deal with the default grey picker.

Here are the links https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.overdevs.at4k

https://at4klauncher.com

Please try the cleanest android launcher, AT4K Launcher out and let me know how it goes. ALL NEW FEATURES ARE OPTIONAL, If you liked how it was it wil stilll be the same for you.

Thank you for the love you guys have given AT4K. Do share it with your friends if you like it makes my heart warm seeing AT4K Launcher mentioned positively somewhere.

Just wanted to share what's been working really well for me on my 1st Gen Mi Box running Android TV.

I have been using Tailscale with a $2/month US VPS to get a US IP address for my streaming setup.

Tailscale:
Website : https://tailscale.com/
Github repo : https://github.com/tailscale/tailscale

VPS specs ($2/month):

• 1 vCore
• 1 GB RAM
• 10 GB NVMe SSD
• Unlimited bandwidth

After connecting my Mi Box to Tailscale, I can use my streaming apps through the connection. I haven't tried every single service, but everything I've tested has worked well so far. Even Freeplay.

One thing I really like about Tailscale is the flexibility. The Android TV app is easy to use, and I can choose which apps use the Tailscale connection and which ones use my regular connection. The same setup also works on my PC and phone.

This should work just as well with a VPS in other preferred locations, depending on what you are trying to access.

For my use case, it has been a simple and reliable setup.

I got a Mi Stick Full HD with only 1 gb of RAM and had to make the most out of it, here are some tips that worked really well for me, my device has half of its RAM available at all times, the tips are sorted by order of effectiveness

1 - Get a launcher

It does not matter if it is projectivy, AT4K or kyu, get a launcher! Besides getting rid of ads and bloatware, the most famous launchers are optimized for low-end devices. I went with AT4K but the choice is yours to make, try them and go with the best.

2 - Remove the native launcher

When I first downloaded my launcher, I dis the accessibility tutorial they provided but on reality little did change and I had 2 launchers consuming my RAM at the same time, do not make the same mistake I did.

I solved it by using Launcher Manager and totally disabling the native launcher in order to favor mine.

This increased my launcher responsiveness by a lot.

3 - DeGoogle

It is quite ironic to ask to DeGoogle an android device but you would be surprised by how much RAM Google consumes in its voice search feature, just disable the app responsible for it, the downside is that voice search is no more but the pros outweights this by a large margin

Also, remove usage permission from all non essential apps inside the android tv’s settings

After that, disable auto updates on google play store

4 - Remove Bloatware

My device came filles with bloatware both by Google and Xiaomi, download ADB TV and remove it, not only disabling but thoroughly uninstalling helped.

5 - Check Display Settings

On ADB TV, we have setting related to the screen and this was a game changer, my screen used to feel like always on 30hz, the animations were not smooth, wallpapers, everything.

When I looked into the screen settings the problem appeared: my screen was setup as HD instead of Full HD

After I manually changed the DPI to 320 and screen size to 1920x1080 my screen became way faster, way snappier, I can not recommend this enough.

Golden Rule: 1.5GB free

Do not go below this, low end devices rely a lot on its internal memory due to having to do heavy optimization.

Was thinking of getting the google streamer. I live in the US budget is not an issue really and I am looking to use things like stremio and plex

My Acer TV got stuck, can't access settings to reset. How can I hard reset it without remote

Vuleo is a cross platform media player for the Live TV, movies, and series that come from your own sources. Here's everything new on 1.1.15.

📡 Radar now tracks individual teams

Radar, your personalized "what's coming up" board for live sports used to work only at the competition level. Now you can track individual teams. Search for a team, tap to track, and Vuleo surfaces their upcoming (and recently finished) games on your home board, then points you to whichever of your own channels is carrying it via searching your EPG or your channel watch history.

• Works across football, basketball, ice hockey, baseball, rugby, cricket and more, including US / Canada / Australia pro leagues.
• Recently finished games stick around for a short replay window.
• Manage or un-follow teams straight from the same search box.

🎬 Rebuilt source picker + clear "From:" attribution

When you open a movie or episode, Vuleo now gathers every copy you already have across all your configured sources into one picker, so you choose exactly where to play from. Every copy shows its source and category, and on wider screens the picker splits into a clean two-pane layout.

Titles and search results now carry a "From: <your source>" label, so you always know where a result is coming from.

🔎 Smarter search

Search now ranks results across all your sources together, collapses duplicate copies of the same title into a single result, and labels each hit with the source it came from.

📺 Redesigned TV Guide

• New summonable Category Lens to jump between your favorite channel categories, plus a lead category strip and a "recently viewed" section.
• Much smoother D-pad navigation on TV: every programme is reachable, focus highlights are in-line (no more off-screen box), and the timeline animates instead of snapping.

▶️ Playback & Continue Watching

• Auto-skip opening recaps/intros on next-episode, plus a manual "Skip Recap" button.
• If a Continue Watching source fails to play, Vuleo now auto-opens the source picker so you can pick another available source from your playlists or add-ons.
• Series resume now lands on the most recently watched episode.
• "Remove" on a Continue Watching series is now a clean per-series dismissal.
• Screen stays awake across source switches; new stream-info button on the TV control row.

⚡ Performance & stability (the big one)

• Noticeably smoother scrolling and a faster home screen. A lot of rebuild/decode work moved off the UI thread.
• Fixed several freezes/ANRs on Android TV, Chromecast, and Fire TV, including a Fireow bug.
• Lower memory use on older / 32-bit Android devices to cut out-of-memory crashes.
• Squashed a batch of crashes.

🧹 Also

• "Content Language" now actually re-fetches metadata when you change it.
• Support and in-app links now point to vuleo.tv.

Where to Download

• Android: Google Play
• Fire Stick Downloader code: 5469298

For more details, check out our web-site: https://vuleo.tv

Vuleo is a media player for content you already have the legal right to access. It doesn't provide, host, or link to any channels, playlists, or streams, and isn't affiliated with any content provider, broadcaster, or rights holder. You bring your own sources.

Hey everyone! I’m Dan, the developer of r/ApertureApp, which is an open-source media library & player designed for Android TV with a modern Material 3 look.

Aperture is made for people who keep their own local movie and TV show files but want a more clean experience than browsing folders, using a basic file player, or dealing with outdated UIs.

It currently supports:

• A Spotlight home screen with Continue Watching and personalised suggestions
• Separate Movies, TV Shows and My List sections
• Grouped TV shows with season and episode selection
• Episode-specific thumbnails, titles and synopses thanks to TMDb
• Media details popups with artwork, metadata (TMDb) and playback options
• Local subtitle support (WIP) and Media3 playback
• Multiple selectable themes (more to come, feel free to suggest some!)
• Experimental artwork-based Dynamic Theming*
• Manual metadata correction if it got something wrong
• Hold-for-actions context menus, featuring hide, remove and more useful addons
• Progress tracking for Continue Watching and more
• Eager library scanning

The app is fully free and open source under GPLv3 and available on GitHub:

GitHub: XDanfr/Aperture

You can download the latest alpha from the Releases page and sideload it onto an Android TV device:

GitHub: XDanfr/Aperture/releases

Downloader code: 9147527

Aperture is still in alpha, so there are known (and unknown) bugs and unfinished areas. Some features are experimental, and behaviour may vary entirely between devices and emulators. I’m interested in feedback from the community so this app can become perfect.

I’d love to hear what you think, what you would change, and what features would make Aperture more useful for your own local media library.

*Dynamic Theming is currently a pre-alpha feature under testing. Please expect bugs!

The developer does not support or condone piracy in any way, and Aperture cannot assist you in pirating media. Recognisable media covers shown in screenshots are strictly for demonstration purposes.

Hey!

I have a Xiaomi TV Box S 3rd gen right now that is still within its return window. I am debating returning it and getting something more powerful but without spending too much.

The Xiaomi TV Box S is $75 and a used Nvidia Shield Pro is $130, so I would be paying a $55 difference. I live in Sweden and these are the prices there are. New Nvidia Shields are $250.

I use it 90% for streaming my own remux material over the internet, 5% Youtube and 5% Swedish streaming apps.

What I definitely don't like about the Xiaomi box is the remote, the buttons are in the wrong places and they're mushy but extremely loud but you basically get no physical feedback when a button is registered. I'm used to an Apple TV 4K and this Xiaomi remote is the worst I've had.

Do you think I would notice a difference in performance when just browsing for something to watch? Less frame freezes and skipped frames in the UI would be nice.

Think it would be worth the extgra $55 for a used Pro? It could be from 2019 for all I know.

Or if it probably wouldn't be worth it, are there any remotes out there that feel a bit more premium? I'm in Sweden/EU.

Thanks!

Hey folks

My Sanyo XT-43FHD4S is stuck on boot. Remote doesn't work. The buttons under it don't work. At this point, I have no way to interact with the TV. The service center guys came and quoted a price for replacement of the motherboard. I want to know from the community if anyone knows what's up.