Sony have blocked the install of Kodi on Android TV

john_doe.

The high horse brigade wrote: »

It is true for several reasons already mentioned:
1 the hardware is weak when compared to the experience you get on even a 50 quid fire stick
2 you are at the mercy of the TV manufacturer for updates with them having the ability to block whatever they like as we are seeing here.

stumbled upon this thread as deciding between a Sony Android Tv and a TV + separate box this time.

Note i have :
Sony TV (not smart) with Minix U9-h
Samsung TV (not smart) with Minix u9-h
Sony TV (smart) with Netflix and Youtue (have also a chomecast)

i have previously been advocate of separate boxes , but im not so sure any more.

Compatibility of Apps with Boxes is not always great. Netflix is a mess on the Minix U9-h, bought these "high function" boxes couple of years back only to have a nightmare with Netflix. Only Certain version of netflix is supported , so many times had to downgrade or tried to upgrade the app. Cannot watch things like BlackMirror interactive due to the old version of the app.
Firmware has not been updated in an age. Full HD Netflix support lacking. You tube crashes. These were quite popular "android boxes"

Looked at the Roku- cant run Youtube kids. etc (had Roku at one point)
Amazon fire- running youtube/youtube kids - have to be workarounds - ultimately these devices dont have to support it.
Chromecast - you need your phone - pain to have to do this.

The Nvidia seems the only good android box out there (note the mi-box s seems to be another failure from reviews to date)

The other thing that slightly annoys me is the fact i have 3 remotes , its just not convenient (tv, set-top box, android box).

If the Chromecast ran android tv and did not need a phone for interaction id agree separate device may be better option.

But for now it seems to be an Android TV on Sony or an Nvidia box. Options are very limited, i think the "android box" market is over hyped as a lot of them also have compatibility and update issues such as the TVs themselves.

I dont think its as straightforward these days , the principle of a separate device i like , but there needs to be decent android boxes/sticks come to market.

---

My usage of apps on a box has included:
Netflix
Plex
YouTube
YouTube Kids
RTE player (very rare)
Amazon Player
Kodi(no longer use- reverted to Plex)
VLC Player (rare)
Dream EPG player(havent use since bought 2nd tiviar box)

Just stumbled across this thread.
Sony also blocked the plex app.
Had to buy the parents a chrome cast.

john_doe.

BrownFinger wrote: »

Just stumbled across this thread.
Sony also blocked the plex app.
Had to buy the parents a chrome cast.

Well that rules out Sony TV with Android for me.

BandMember

I haven't tried Plex, but Kodi is working fine on my Sony android tv - I think they reversed the decision to "block" Kodi after all the flack they got. If you read back the thread, you'll see a link which clarifies the situation.

how.gareth

john_doe. wrote: »

stumbled upon this thread as deciding between a Sony Android Tv and a TV + separate box this time.

Note i have :
Sony TV (not smart) with Minix U9-h
Samsung TV (not smart) with Minix u9-h
Sony TV (smart) with Netflix and Youtue (have also a chomecast)

i have previously been advocate of separate boxes , but im not so sure any more.

Compatibility of Apps with Boxes is not always great. Netflix is a mess on the Minix U9-h, bought these "high function" boxes couple of years back only to have a nightmare with Netflix. Only Certain version of netflix is supported , so many times had to downgrade or tried to upgrade the app. Cannot watch things like BlackMirror interactive due to the old version of the app.
Firmware has not been updated in an age. Full HD Netflix support lacking. You tube crashes. These were quite popular "android boxes"

Looked at the Roku- cant run Youtube kids. etc (had Roku at one point)
Amazon fire- running youtube/youtube kids - have to be workarounds - ultimately these devices dont have to support it.
Chromecast - you need your phone - pain to have to do this.

The Nvidia seems the only good android box out there (note the mi-box s seems to be another failure from reviews to date)

The other thing that slightly annoys me is the fact i have 3 remotes , its just not convenient (tv, set-top box, android box).

If the Chromecast ran android tv and did not need a phone for interaction id agree separate device may be better option.

But for now it seems to be an Android TV on Sony or an Nvidia box. Options are very limited, i think the "android box" market is over hyped as a lot of them also have compatibility and update issues such as the TVs themselves.

I dont think its as straightforward these days , the principle of a separate device i like , but there needs to be decent android boxes/sticks come to market.

---

My usage of apps on a box has included:
Netflix
Plex
YouTube
YouTube Kids
RTE player (very rare)
Amazon Player
Kodi(no longer use- reverted to Plex)
VLC Player (rare)
Dream EPG player(havent use since bought 2nd tiviar box)

4K firestick?

youcancallmeal

Only just saw this thread now. I have a Sony Android TV and SPMC works great on it. Surprised it hasn't been mentioned already, it is a fork of kodi and more or less the same thing

TBi

youcancallmeal wrote: »

Only just saw this thread now. I have a Sony Android TV and SPMC works great on it. Surprised it hasn't been mentioned already, it is a fork of kodi and more or less the same thing

Last i checked SPMC hasn't been updated in a while. The latest version of Kodi works well on android TV. I find Kodi has better support for all the files i throw at it.

The high horse brigade

SPMC is dead, no more updates for it. The developer joined another crew nearly a year ago.
http://www.aftvnews.com/spmc-creator-ends-the-apps-development-and-joins-the-mrmc-team/

BandMember

SPMC is finished, developer left over a year ago and is not compatible with many add ons anymore (especially the new ones).

One thing that I've noticed with Kodi on my Android TV though is that since the update to v18, the display is set by default to 1080p and I can't change that setting. I uninstalled it and did a fresh install from the Playstore, but it's still the same. Anyone else have this problem?