A set of programs for Android TV set-top boxes. Free apps for watching TV on Android TV Box and Smart TV

The Android TV operating system, whether it is a smart set-top box or a smart TV, provides convenient access to the Google Play store. True, only games and programs adapted by developers for this OS are available in it. But this does not mean that you cannot install the desired APK file manually.

This can be done through a file manager, for example "". It is available on Google Play directly from your TV. With its help, finding the required installation file on a connected flash drive or memory card will not be difficult.

Note that most manually installed applications will launch without any problems, but for comfortable control you may need a gamepad or computer mouse.

2. Install applications directly from your computer

You can also install the necessary applications through a browser on your computer. The TV linked to your account will appear in the list of devices on the Google Play website. You only need to select it after clicking the install button.

This way, you can install many applications that simply will not appear in the search results when searching from the TV. This also applies to games that can sparkle with new colors on the big screen. For greater convenience, you can install a browser directly on your TV, allowing you to use the web version of Google Play.

3. Use voice search

Most Android TV devices come with remote controls that support voice search. It is activated by pressing one button, after which you can say a command to launch the desired application or search for the necessary content. You can perform search queries in the Chrome browser in a similar way.

With the launch of Google Assistant in Russia, the capabilities of voice interaction with TVs on Android TV should be significantly expanded.

4. Compatible with Xbox and PlayStation 4 controllers

The standard package of Android TV set-top boxes rarely includes a gamepad, and even less so in the case of TVs. However, for amateurs this is unlikely to be a problem, because you can connect many Bluetooth controllers to the system, including those from Xbox and PlayStation 4 consoles.

The connection occurs by simple pairing through the “Add accessory” settings item. Gamepads can be used both to navigate the system and for games whose developers have provided this type of control.

5. Using your smartphone as a remote control

You can control Android TV not only with the included remote control and gamepad, but also using your smartphone. There is an official Google app for this, available on Android and iOS.

With it, you can navigate and use the on-screen keyboard, which allows you to type search queries and, for example, messages on social networks. In addition, the mobile application allows you to use voice search, which is especially important if the included remote control does not have such a function.

6. Chromecast features

Any device with Android TV has full Chromecast support. That is, you can easily broadcast a picture from a smartphone or content from a browser on a PC or laptop onto the TV screen. Moreover, this does not require any additional configuration.

In the case of a mobile gadget, you will need the Google Home application, but on a computer it is only important to be on the same Wi-Fi network and have the Chrome browser. In the latter, the broadcast function is available in the settings drop-down menu on the right.

7. Possibility of expanding the built-in memory

Some Android TV set-top boxes and TVs have only 8 GB of internal memory, which is very little considering the space occupied by the system itself. Even 16GB may not be enough, especially if you love gaming. A flash drive or memory card will help solve this problem. Both can be adjusted in the settings to the built-in memory, allowing the system to install applications there.

You can expand the standard 8 or 16 GB up to 128 GB. Although you are unlikely to need that much for applications. In this usage scenario, you just need to avoid removing memory unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, reconfiguration will be required every time you start.

Today's review is entirely devoted to mobile applications for watching broadcast television via an Internet connection. At the moment, there are a huge number of such applications in the Google Play app store, but many of them have the same disadvantages: a small number of available channels, low picture quality and a weak signal or no signal at all.

So, today’s review of the most interesting and high-quality programs for watching television on your gadget includes programs such as: Premium TV, SPB TV, Crystal TV And Peers.TV.

Premium TV

• Category: Multimedia and video
• Developer: PlayForMedia
• Version: 2.6
• Price: Free - Google Play

Premium TV is one of the newest services for conveniently watching television on mobile devices. The first and most important thing you should do before installing this application is to install an additional multimedia player called MX Player.

Regarding the application itself, everything is extremely simple and standard. The main menu contains a list of available channels and the TV program. If you click on one of these channels, the player starts up almost instantly and the selected channel is displayed. Of course, everything depends on the speed of the Internet connection, so it is best to use Wi-Fi or unlimited 3G/4G tariffs.

Previously, two versions of the Premium TV program were available on Google Play. They differed in the list of available channels and the presence of advertising. Now the program has become completely free, but it still contains advertising.

Pros:

• Lots of interesting TV channels;
• Program program for the week.

Cons:

• Requires installation of MX Player;
• Crashes and freezes noticed;
• Availability of built-in advertising.

SPB TV

• Category: Multimedia and video
• Developer: SPB TV AG
• Version: Depends on device
• Price: Free - Google Play

SPB TV– long-lived application. This software became available in the Google Play and App Store more than three years ago and during this time it has gained enormous popularity among mobile device users. This program is available on almost all mobile operating systems, including: Symbian, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7, BlackBerry, Maemo, bada and WebOS.

This is one of the only applications that contains a list of more than a hundred channels. Among such channels you can find both terrestrial ones and those that allow you to select one or another program for viewing (represented by a large archive of data).

To make the application easier and more convenient to use, the developers have divided all channels into thematic groups: Entertainment, Children, News and information, Music, Sports, Let's explore the world. Each of these groups contains both Russian and foreign channels. If you need to know a more complete list of channels, you can find it on the developers’ website.

Pros:

• Clear and convenient interface;
• Quick launch and channel switching;
• Weekly program schedule;
• Completely in Russian;
• Supports broadcasting to Chromecast, Miracast, WiDi.

Cons:

• Availability of built-in advertising.

Crystal TV

• Category: Entertainment
• Developer: Crystal Reality Media LLC
• Version: Depends on device
• Price: Free - Google Play

Crystal TV is one of the most popular and well-known applications for mobile devices, with which you can watch your favorite TV shows. This application is available on platforms such as: Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, Symbian, Windows and Mac.

Unlike other applications presented in this review, the developers of Crystal TV made the program absolutely free, but for this they added paid subscriptions to it, thereby recouping the development costs.

It is noteworthy that “out of the box,” as they say, we have access to several free Russian channels: First, Perets, RBC and STS. Yes, the list is, of course, small, but if you buy a three-month subscription, which costs about $9, you can get a full list of channels, from news to sports.

As for the application interface, it turned out to be quite inconvenient, and it does not look so beautiful compared to its competitors. Freezes in operation are periodically visible. The most interesting and memorable feature is picture-in-picture, which is best used on tablets or smartphones with a large display diagonal.

Pros:

• Picture-in-Picture function;
• Easy to use.

Cons:

• Ugly interface;
• Interface freezing;
• High subscription cost.

Peers.TV

• Category: Multimedia and video
• Developer: Inetra
• Version: 5.2.10
• Price: Free - Google Play

Peers.TV– this application appeared on Google Play not so long ago. Previously, it was known as CN.RU and the functionality of the application offered users an extensive list of channels available for viewing. The most interesting function of this application is: watching TV shows or films that have already been broadcast.

More recently, the service decided to change its name, but in addition to the name, the developers updated the list of available channels for viewing, and also changed the application interface, which became more convenient and practical. The features and functionality that were available in earlier versions of the applications remain the same.

The application base contains about 20 TV channels. As before, the program allows you to store recordings of TV shows for the past 7 days. It is this function that allows you to enjoy your favorite program or a show that you missed, anywhere and at any time of the day (as long as you have an Internet connection).

Pros:

• Simplicity and ease of use;
• Wide functionality and additional features;
• Watching already aired TV shows.

Cons:

• A small list of available channels.

Results

Each of the applications presented in the review has its own pros and cons, but you still need to pay attention to all the programs. I liked it most SPB TV, a good old application that made me happy back in the days of Symbian. The final choice depends only on you.

Android TV is a great OS for TVs and with the advent of the Android TV Box, almost everyone can experience all the benefits of this system. Still, buying an Android TV Box is much cheaper than buying a new TV. Plus, Android TV Box is easy to set up and very easy to use, and our Android TV Box tips will improve your experience with this device.

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However, there are not entirely obvious functions that are not explained by the manufacturer in any way. Therefore, all Android TV Box owners are advised to read 12 tips for using Android TV.

Tips for Android TV Box: installing applications from a flash drive

The Google Play Store has long had thousands of apps optimized for Android TV. But unfortunately, some apps may not be available due to your location or simply “Your device is not supported.”

The solution to this problem is very simple, because all Android TV Boxes are equipped with a pair of USB ports and can easily see USB drives, be it a flash drive or a portable hard drive. To install an application from a flash drive on an Android TV Box:

• Download the APK file of the application
• Copy the downloaded application to a USB drive
• Connect the drive to Android TV
• Open File Explorer and install the application.

Use your smartphone as a remote for Android TV

Some TV boxes come with really good remotes, but most are just terrible. If you don't like the remote control on your TV Box, use the instructions:

• Download and install the Android TV Remote Control app
• Connect your smartphone to the same Wi-Fi network to which the TV Box is connected
• Confirm connection to your box
• Enjoy!

There are a lot of advantages of a mobile phone as a remote control, but the main advantage is the input on the virtual keyboard of the smartphone, which is much more convenient than using the keyboard on the box screen, or a separate keyboard.

If Android TV Remote Control does not find your set-top box, then this application is not suitable, try other applications:

Android TVs generally do not have a built-in browser. However, you can easily download the browser and install it using a USB drive and surf the Internet on the largest screen in the house. Quite a lot of browsers work well on Android TV, for example Google Chrome.

Connect a gamepad with Mouse mode

Google wants Android TV to become a full-fledged gaming platform, at least for casual games. Therefore, gamepads can easily be connected to Android TV via Bluetooth, with which games become much more enjoyable. In addition, many modern gamepads have a “mouse mode”; by turning it on, you will get a cursor on the screen of your Android TV, a convenient thing.

Use Android TV like a PC

The Android TV Box uses much less power than the average PC, so it's beneficial to use it as a machine for light gaming and word processing. Plus, an Android TV Box can be purchased for around $50, which is much cheaper than a PC.

You can connect a keyboard and mouse to the TV Box, making it almost a full-fledged PC.

Android TV can save screenshots

As mentioned, Android TV can be called a casual gaming platform and it handles most mobile games well. If you achieve something cool in the game and want to share it, take a screenshot! This is done in the same way as on any Android device.

• Press and hold the Power button and Volume Down button for about a second at the same time
• The screenshot was saved in “/SDCard/Pictures/Screenshots”

Android TV always wants to offer you something new. But, sometimes these recommendations become a real curse, suggesting something bad. There is an easy way to set up recommendations:

• Go to Settings - Home Screen
• Recommendations
• Here you can show/hide sources according to your preferences.

Increasing the internal memory of Android TV

One of the main problems of cheap TV Boxes is the small amount of memory. Luckily, expanding the memory is very easy thanks to USB OTG support. To do this, you will need a USB drive and perform several steps:

• Connect a USB drive to Android TV
• “USB storage connected” will pop up, select “Set as internal storage”
• Select "Format" (ALL DATA WILL BE DELETED!)

The flash drive will be formatted as internal memory and you can save applications, movies and everything else to it.

Play the Easter egg game

• Open settings - about device
• Scroll down to Android version and tap on it several times
• Press again several times
• The game has started, enjoy!

Use Android TV as a screen for your laptop or smartphone

A very interesting and useful feature that can be easily and quickly implemented using Google Cast. Thanks to the integration of Google Cast into the system, you don't even have to configure anything, just open the file you want to play on TV and select streaming playback. You can transfer information from Google Chrome to your PC.

Useful information in standby mode

Did you like Android TV Box tips? Share your secrets of using Android TV in the comments.

Answers to frequently asked questions

What to do if my Android TV Box does not see the flash drive

Before connecting to the Android TV Box, format the flash drive in FAT32, then delete the files of interest and connect to the box.

Due to numerous requests from our customers, we decided to make a separate article in which we collected many applications for watching movies, television channels, listening to music, as well as games on Android TV Boxes. Some of them are not in the Play Market, so you can download them from our website.

Also, if you are thinking of upgrading your set-top box, we will give you a discount!

All applications are divided into 4 categories:

If you also know some good applications and did not find them in the list, write about it in the comments, we will definitely add them. The list of programs will be constantly updated, so you can regularly follow our news. Have a nice day! :)

Attention: Due to the ban on Russian, as well as some Ukrainian channels in Ukraine, we do not provide applications for downloading, nor do we install them.

TV apps

Download	IPTV Watch your ISP's IPTV with the IPTV app. The application is only for those whose Internet provider provides IP television.
	Lanet.TV A free application for Android mobile devices, with which you can watch digital TV online in high quality, as well as access your favorite shows, movies and sporting events anytime, anywhere.
	TVi Receive current news about events in Ukraine and the world from the TVi channel. Publications on hot topics, blogs of famous and interesting personalities. A huge number of current video programs and investigations will fully and objectively familiarize you with the situation in the country.
	News 24 These are current video news and educational programs from the Novosti 24 TV channel. Informative, interesting and unbiased about events in Ukraine and the world. News of economics, sports, show business and much more. Convenient and affordable!
	Hromadske.TV The official application from the Hromadske TV channel.

Applications for watching movies, TV series, cartoons

Music apps

Games (you need a gyroscopic remote control or joystick)