r/AndroidTV • • 10h ago

Buying Advice Switch from firestick to what?

3 Upvotes

Hi all, I have been using a sideloaded firestick for a while but want to upgrade to something more powerful, any suggestions for something around £100 £150? I hear the Nvidia are amazing but too expensive, just looking something that I can stream movies with no buffering. I see lots of options online but no idea what to go for.

Xiaomi, ONN are two that keep popping up and Formuler are the ones I keep seeing mentioned.

Thanks


r/AndroidTV • • 6h ago

Discussion My VU 55-inch QLED TV developed a display issue after 1 year and 2 months — VU quoted ₹32,000, but a local technician fixed it for ₹6,300.

1 Upvotes

​

I bought a VU 55-inch QLED TV in 2025 for around ₹72,000. After just 1 year and 2 months, the display started showing a greyish/washed-out colour issue.

I contacted VU customer support, but they told me the warranty had expired. They asked me to pay ₹800 for a technician visit and diagnosis, which I paid.

The technician came about a week later, opened the TV, inspected it, and told me that the display panel was faulty. According to him, the repair would cost around ₹35,000.

About a week later, VU emailed me an official quotation of ₹32,000 for replacing the display panel, with a one-year warranty on the replacement.

Naturally, I was shocked. I had already spent ₹72,000 on the TV, and now I was being asked to spend another ₹32,000–₹35,000 after barely a year of use.

Some friends suggested getting a second opinion from local TV repair technicians. I contacted two or three technicians, and two of them also quoted around ₹20,000–₹22,000 for the repair.

Then I contacted another local TV seller and technician near my area. He visited my home, checked the TV, and suggested that the problem was related to the T-Con board or another display-control component rather than the entire display panel.

His repair cost was just ₹5,500, and I paid ₹6,300 including labour. The TV is now working perfectly!

Think about that difference:

Original TV price: ₹72,000

VU's official quotation: ₹32,000

Local technician's final charge: ₹6,300

Current status: TV working perfectly

I understand that the TV is out of warranty, and I am not expecting free repairs. My concern is that the official diagnosis pointed towards an expensive display replacement, while a local technician was able to resolve the issue for a fraction of that amount.

I cannot say for certain whether the original diagnosis was incorrect without a detailed technical report, but the difference in the proposed repair costs is huge.

My question is: How does this kind of service experience help VU build customer trust?

If a customer spends ₹72,000 on a TV, they naturally expect it to last more than a year or two without a major issue. And if something does go wrong, they expect a reliable diagnosis and a reasonable repair option.

If I had blindly accepted VU's quotation, I might have spent ₹32,000 unnecessarily on a panel replacement when a much cheaper repair was possible.

Now, if I decide to buy another TV in the future, would I trust VU again? Honestly, this experience makes me think twice.

I'm sharing this to hear from other VU TV owners.

Has anyone else experienced something similar with VU's service centre or received a costly panel-replacement quotation that turned out to be a different issue?

I would genuinely like to know whether this is an isolated experience or something other customers have faced too.


r/AndroidTV • • 12h ago

Troubleshooting Title: Xiaomi Android TV suddenly plays audio but shows a black screen on YouTube and Xiaomi TV+

Post image
1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,
My Xiaomi Android TV suddenly stopped displaying videos today.

Both YouTube and Xiaomi TV+ have the same problem:

I can hear the audio normally.
The video itself is completely black.

The home screen, app menus, thumbnails and programme listings all display normally.

This happens in both apps, not just YouTube.
Everything was working fine before, and the problem started suddenly.

I’ve attached photos showing that the interfaces work, but the actual videos don’t display.

Has anyone experienced this before? Could it be a video decoder or software issue, or is it potentially a hardware problem?

Any suggestions on how to fix it without doing a factory reset would be appreciated. Thanks!


r/AndroidTV • • 20h ago

Buying Advice Apple Fitness+ user switching to Android TV… how do I do it?

0 Upvotes

I use Apple Fitness+ for many of my workouts. Everything I research says the Fitness+ app is only available on Apple TV, and it seems like airplay is incompatible with non-Apple ecosystem devices. I’m not spending $300 on the new Apple TV. I like the $60 Onn 4K box. Is there a way to work around this issue and stream my workouts to an android tv device?


r/AndroidTV • • 1d ago

Discussion Is there any youtube app that has notifications tab on it?

1 Upvotes

Is there any android tv app?


r/AndroidTV • • 1d ago

Buying Advice Please help me choose the right TV Box

0 Upvotes

Here's how my final setup should look like (I'm still missing something):

  • Cat 6 cables all over the house, 2,5gb internet and Ubiquiti ecosystem with 10gb ready hardware
  • Mini PC as home server, running Jellyfin among other things
  • NAS
  • LG G6 65" Oled + yet to buy AVR Receiver, most likely it's going to be the Marantz Cinema 60, + 2.1 or 3.1 home theater, that will be expanded in the future

What I need for my use case:

- Jellyfin must be working fine. I'm not sure I will ever use KODI.

- Streaming apps certification: my gf might want Netflix at some point, and I have Amazon Prime subscription (for shippings, but still Prime Video is there), so I need them to stream at their full potential

- Audio passthrough to let the AVR handle it without "interference"

- I will mostly be playing 4k .mkv files + .srt subs (I'm not a native english speaker)

- No Gaming whatsoever, I have a PC for that

I restricted the field to the Homatics Box R 4K Plus and the Nvidia Shileld Pro (which is an overpay right now, but let's not consider this).

Any suggestion? Why whould I choose one over the other? What are the difference between the "standard" homatics and the Dune HD Version and why shoud I choose this over the standard one? If I won't use KODI does it make sense to buy something that is very focused on CoreELEC?

Any other box I should consider (I'm in EU so availability might differ a bit)?

Thank you!


r/AndroidTV • • 2d ago

Buying Advice 4K Streaming Box with DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD Passthrough

13 Upvotes

New to the game and am looking for an alternative streaming device to the Nvidia Shield Pro. I've seen mixed feedback on the Homatics Box R 4K Plus and Xiaomi TV Box S (3rd Gen).

I believe both are now able to pass DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD with the Android TV 14 release. Can anyone confirm this is the case?

I would be streaming from a local Plex media server using Plezy to either box and then passing audio from the box into my soundbar/surround system.

EDIT: Went with the Xiaomi TV Box S and it works great! Passes Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA. I tested a few 4K remixes over WiFi and had no playback or buffering issues.


r/AndroidTV • • 1d ago

Buying Advice i essentially want a dodgy fire stick that i can easilt vibe code and make look nice which one do i get where do i get it for fheao will i have 4k streaming

0 Upvotes

help me edit: you guys are all so fucking annoying just answer the question stupid entitled piece of shits


r/AndroidTV • • 3d ago

Discussion Why don't major web browsers support Android TV? (2027)

0 Upvotes

Most web browsers aren't available on the Google Play Store for Android TV.

And the browsers that do work on Android TV are usually pretty bad.

Is it because of money?
Like, if people could easily browse websites on their TVs,
would that hurt the money companies make from their apps?

Especially in the age of AI, I don't think developing a browser for Android TV should be that difficult.


r/AndroidTV • • 3d ago

Buying Advice Help! Where can I buy a TV box in Mississauga, ON for TVB content?

0 Upvotes

Hi everyone :)

I'm looking for a TV box mainly to watch TVB and other Cantonese content, including live channels and VOD.

I'm considering EVPAD, UBOX, SviCloud, or Xiaomi TV Box. My budget is around CAD $250.

I know there are shops in Markham, but it's too far for me to drive. Are there any stores in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada or nearby that sell these boxes? What is your experience with the stores and TV boxes?

Thanks advance!


r/AndroidTV • • 4d ago

Buying Advice TV Box / Stick what should i and others look for?

6 Upvotes

I looked on the pinned Androidtv-guide website on what to look for but all it shows are products.

I hope this should also be helpful for others when trying to find a TV Box that isnt the most recommended or maybe even improve the / create an indepth Wiki.

My Question is i want to buy a Android TV Box or Stick. What are the Stuff i should look for?
What Specs, Chip, RAM, ROM, Features, and more?

What are the recommended Specs and features for:
-Streaming
-Sideload + Streaming
-4k / High Bandwith Homeserver Media
-Game streaming

The Reason being here in Europe the:
-Xiaomi Mi Box 3rd Gen (or higher) = +90€
-Chromecast with Google TV 4k = 149€
-Google TV Streamer 4k = 120€

For some people including me this price is currently a bit to much with every other cost in Life also going up in the current economy.

My Current goal is just 4k Streaming via Stremio and maybe some experimenting without buying a Botnet or sus Android TV Box

I hope this Thread helps me and others.


r/AndroidTV • • 3d ago

Discussion Hey everyone, any thoughts on this viral vibecoded project (cleanyourtv).

0 Upvotes

https://github.com/Gathin23/cleanyourtv

This project claims to debloat devices running Android and Google TV operating systems. Garnering a lot of attention. Making me hesitant to try it because it is vibecoded posing possible security implications, but it does look promising to the fact that it can be fully customized.

To those who have tried it out and installed on their TV's how does it compare to the tools and apps before AI. Such as launcher manager doing the replacing part. Paired with launchers Projectivy, Monet, ATV, etc... for user preferred customization.

In what ways is the cleanyourtv repo better than or worse than the traditional way of simply installing a launcher to making TV's watchable.


r/AndroidTV • • 4d ago

Buying Advice Android TV recommendation

5 Upvotes

Hi guys, need a new streamer for my modest "Home Theater" in my bedroom. I have a 65" LG G5 TV, and I'm probably going to buy the Sonos Arc Ultra. Currently using the Google TV 4K streamer, and playing movies on Kodi as an external player of Stremio + RealDebrid - mostly for heavy Remux files.

Unfortunately, my streamer can't passthrough TrueHD with Atmos, which is my only problem (since my TV can't handle DTS at all). So I'm looking for getting a new good one that able to do so, but won't willing to spend big, since it's only one format problem.

The new one should handle:

Dolby Vision

HDR

DD+ Atmos

TrueHD + atmos

4K 60hz

and process DTS to lossless pcm.

Any recommendations? Heard about the Xiaomi box one, and the Homatics box one (not the Dune) but didn't find any proof that both can do TrueHD and everything. Figuered you'd know better. Thanks for your help!


r/AndroidTV • • 4d ago

Buying Advice TV box suggestions

1 Upvotes

I have been looking to buy an amazon fire stick, but a friend of mine said the current is and setup they have wouldn't really fit my userbase.

I want a tv box to run jellyfin and maybe YouTube.

As for budget I'm looking for something under 30 euros.


r/AndroidTV • • 4d ago

Discussion Debloated custom TV OS

2 Upvotes

I have a shitty android tv with a bloated system and apps.

Is there any way of vibecoding / installing a custom debloated clean android on the tv?

Can you share sources and instructions on that?


r/AndroidTV • • 4d ago

Discussion I debloated my android tv using claude code

Post image
0 Upvotes

My OnePlus Android TV came with massive lags and performance issues. Using Claude Code I connected my TV using Wifi and completely revamped it with massive speed and performance upto ~80% efficiency! 🔥🔥


r/AndroidTV • • 5d ago

Discussion Is it possible to replace the PTCL Shoq TV launcher using a custom UI? (ZTE B866V2F, Android 12, Developer Options locked)

5 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

I have a PTCL Shoq TV box (ZTE ZXV10 B866V2F, Android 12) and want to create my own custom home screen using AI and vibe coding.

I installed Projectivy Launcher, but pressing HOME still opens the PTCL launcher. I also cannot access Developer Options. When I try, it shows a QR code and asks for a password, which I can't get from my provider.

My questions:

  • Is it possible to replace the PTCL interface with my own custom UI?
  • Is there any way to access Developer Options without that password?
  • Can I do this without root access?

Has anyone modified this box or a similar model? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!


r/AndroidTV • • 5d ago

Buying Advice Which Android TV box/stick would you recommend?

0 Upvotes

I’m looking to buy an Android TV box, but I’m not sure which brand to go for. On AliExpress there are lots of options, but many of them aren’t Google certified, and I’m worried some might have regional restrictions or not work properly.

Can anyone recommend a reliable Android TV box? If you’re using one, I’d love to hear about your experience, including the brand, how well apps like Netflix and YouTube work, and where you bought it.


r/AndroidTV • • 5d ago

Discussion MochiLiveTV Not Working. Any Alternatives?

1 Upvotes

Recently I haven't been able to upload channels to the Mochi Apk. Channels from Pluto TV, Xumo, and Live TV. Is the app down? Or just me? If it's not me what are other apps similar to it? I don't like Google's current live tv or whatever it's called.

I have an Nvidia Shield TV Pro if that helps.


r/AndroidTV • • 6d ago

Discussion Alternative to deprecat live channels app

4 Upvotes

Google live channels app no longer work on android tv , is there an alternative app that works in newer android tv release. I am hoping for an app to replace the tv guide app


r/AndroidTV • • 5d ago

Buying Advice new android tv box.

1 Upvotes

Hi, I would like to buy an Android TV box. My requirements are:

​Internet speed: 1 Gbps or more via Wi-Fi or Ethernet (I have a Wi-Fi 7 router).

​Video quality: 4K, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision support.

​Performance: The OS must be very smooth and allow me to install any app I want (I mostly use Stremio and Nuvio).

​As for the price, as low as possible, but I cannot compromise on these features. I can buy from Amazon, AliExpress, or EU-based websites. Thanks!"

EDIT:

I've read all the replies and I thank you all for the help. To sum it up, I've noticed that for my budget I have to give up lossless audio because compatible devices are too expensive.

​Therefore, I've been considering the Thomson 270 (to be used with an RJ45 to USB 3.0 adapter) Google TV Streamer 4K and buzztv g series. Between the 3, which one would you recommend, or is there something better in the same price range? I'll be waiting for Black Friday anyway for further discounts. Thanks!


r/AndroidTV • • 6d ago

Discussion how to cast audio from androidtv to mac?

0 Upvotes

wondering if it's possible to cast audio from an androidtv (like mibox) to a mac?

I know it's possible to do it the other way around, but i'm interested doing it from androidtv to mac.

i've tried scrcpy but i dont know how that works on the mac side.

tried reflector 4 mac app but androidtv doesn't detect it.

Just wanna add: my wired earphones are already plugged into macbook for youtube, general browsing. having the mibox audio there would let me watch shows on projector silently without swapping cables. a bit of a nightowl, dont wanna disturb next room as i usually watch shows late at night. at the moment i have to keep the volume low and just read subtitles, but i miss things whenever i look away at my laptop


r/AndroidTV • • 6d ago

Discussion I want a new very light launcher for my tv

0 Upvotes

I'm Android tv is very old and only have 2GB RAM and I want to remove pachwall and put a launcher that is light and works properly please give some suggestions


r/AndroidTV • • 6d ago

Buying Advice Streaming Box for TruHD atmos pass through.

2 Upvotes

Hey , so im looking to for a Streaming box that can pass through lossless TruHD Atmos . Which is the best available in the market? ... I saw hommatics Box R 4k plus is it a good option or there is another one available thats better. My current setup : Samsung S90D Oled + Sonos Arc Ultra with Sub and Rears . I will be playing Bluray Remux Movies via external SSD .


r/AndroidTV • • 7d ago

Buying Advice Android Box or Cheap Mini PC?

1 Upvotes

I currently use AndroidOS on a cheapish PC and I am getting a bit sick of how temperamental it is. I also have my gaming PC hooked up to my TV via a 10m HDMI cable and Stremio connected to Steam big picture mode, but I like the idea of a dedicated system running LibreELEC.

I currently use it for Stremio with RD+TB. It would be nice to have access to BBC and ITV as well, at the moment I

I used to have a Firestick, but that was even slower, I just want something that works and works well.

If I was in the US, I would look at getting one of those Onn boxes, but I have heard getting them and using them in the UK can be a nightmare.

I have seen people recommending the Xiaomi TV box, but they are out of stock on their website at the moment. Others have recommended the Google Streamer, but for £100, I wonder if it would be worth getting a cheap Mini PC and setting that up instead (I love tinkering around as well, I spent hours getting my stremio just how I like it)

Any thoughts?