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I'm not aware of an alternative TV App for android tv. On my android TV live tv is also wrapped within the android interface but other sources like HDMI inputs are not.
If you can switch to HDMI sources outside the android apps then maybe the best thing to do is get a separate basic satellite tuner device?
It seems shitty that google are effectively hiding your inbuilt tv tuner behind an app with all their advertising and other crap.
Projectivy launcher.
I don't have traditional TV service so I'm unfamiliar with what "shit" Google is pushing through the TV app. However, if it's what I suspect (ads), a possible option would be using a local DNS server (like pi-hole or Unbound) to block Google domains on your TV.
It's worse. They add "personalized" ad TVs between the normal ones so these clutter the whole list. While it's technically possible to just use the satellite list, it's not a default behaviour and always revert to it when you switch to something else. While adding the domain on Pi-hole would solve the streaming part, it wouldn't solve the cluttering part sadly.
The general consensus seems to be "buy a dumb TV or at least the dumbest 'smart' TV you can find and never connect it to the net" and then "buy the media box that behaves the way you want."
Where I am, cable and satellite TV providers still have you rent a box for their service.
Edit: the lone review on this page suggests there is an "old" TCL TV app. Another but they don't have good reviews...
I'm full behind of buying a big monitor and plug a mini pc or raspberry pi kind of thing. But my mother wanted to experience smart TVs, no matter what I told. So here I am, trying to reduce the damage. :)
By the way, that first TCL app is still included and it's way worse than default TV app.
Oof, well you know what you are doing. Good call on the pi-hole. See if the satellite provider has a box, convince them that the device rental is supposed to be already part of customer's bill whether they need it or not. Otherwise it's $5 per month per box where I am.
Thanks! Only Cloudfront domains I couldn't add to blacklist as regex because they use hash and adding a general block to it breaks many websites. That's a bummer. I can only temporarily block them so that means, even if I factory reset the TV, some of those channels will reappear some time later.
Here we don't have additional fee if you have the satellite dish yourself so at least it's not a problem.
By "default app" I assume you mean the launcher. Just google for "android tv launcher".
If by "plain satellite TV" mean using one of the input sources on the TV (like HDMI, component, RF etc.)... this is unrelated to the launcher and would still work regardless of which one you used.
No, I'm not looking for a launcher. For example this is FLauncher but it doesn't change the default TV app, it just changes the UI.
This is a built-in TV app along with the other apps where Google pushes things I don't want to see.
What "TV app" is this exactly? I've never seen or heard of that before, and none of my google/android TVs or dongles have anything like that.
Also what make and model TV is this?
Not sure about that launcher as I use Projectivy launcher, but I have the ability to hide certain apps. On it, my home screen only has the apps I use, nothing else no ads no "suggestions"
Launcher is not the problem here. The built-in TV app is the problem, as you cannot watch satellite without it and I couldn't find alternatives for it. So it's not possible to remove those "suggestions" from the whole TV list.
Think I use FLauncher, gets rid of ads on the home screen, and Smarttube for youtube. Instead of Netflix etc, I host my own plex server on my gaming pc for whenever I wanna watch some linux ISOs
I think you need a different hardware solution entirely. If your goal is satellite, get a dedicated satellite box and feed it directly to you air gapped TV, and switch HDMI like the olden days.
No android box that supports streaming (with associated DRM and therefore bullshit) will offer true privacy. If you don't care about streaming and want to integrate satellite into your own selfhosted content, try mini PC with an openELEC variant that supports multiple input, or use an AVR to feed multiple sources into it.
Well, technically it's my mother's TV and I'm trying to find a solution for the useless and infuriating parts of it. I installed SmartTubeNext for Youtube for example. But this default TV app is plagued with Google's bullshit. The older TV had a satellite box and at least it didn't have these problems. I suggested a custom Android box previously where I was gonna install a custom ROM but she didn't want it, so I have to improvise.
Satellite TV is transmitted as DVB-S. Normally the TV itself does not decode it, but an external box.
How is the Satellite signal getting to your TV?
Yeah, the older TV had a separate box for it but that's included in this one. Just plugged into the cable that connects to satellite dish.
With my android tv I put the main menu in "Apps Only" mode to cut down on the ads... There is still the main screen ad you cannot avoid but thats it.
Then i sideloaded SmartTube, which is youtube but it skips the ads for you.
I also have a Plex server i stream from.and update by torrenting shows to the server separately when theyre interesting enough. This takes more time and effort but is definitely worth it to have control over your media.
I have two of these in the household, one of the best tech investments I made. No more homescreen ads.
I've never used the tuner/TV part of my sony x900f, only HDMI inputs and apps. Is google pushing ads to live tv now?
Not exactly like that but there are 20K+ ad TVs in the same list with the satellite ones which has only 400 channels. It is possible to switch to satellite only list but it always reverts so you have to do this every time. So I need either a separate app or the modified version of this current one. However it's possible that TV producers most likely don't open their SDKs so no one can create an app without reverse engineering.
Oh wow, that sounds highly inconvenient. I wish it was as easy to re-flash android TVs as it is to re-flash android phones. Best of luck, and keep us updated if you find a solution!
Yeah, it is. To be honest, I lost hope for all-in-one solution. Currently the cheapest option seems to be get an HDMI satellite tuner and plug it in one the of the HDMI ports and use that as a TV source instead of the built-in one.
Thank you! If I find an app solution instead of this, I'll edit my post. I can also try installing a backend for DVB-S on the network and connect the TV and use KODI but apparently that also requires a separate tuner, so the previous one seems easier.
Maybe I don't know enough of this, but would it be possible to install Kodi and use that and it's plugins for satellite? Plex also had this, and maybe Jellyfin is a good option?
In that way, you can show your satellite channels but in their interface.
Maybe that can do the trick?
Idk if this helps, but I recently learned Plasma BigScreen is a thing.
Sadly it's unavailable while it is being re-worked, but I am really hoping it turns out to be good. It's not all too hard to find a cheap or free used/refurb PC that's good enough to play video on a TV
Sounds nice but does it work on Android, especially without a backend?
Stremio
Nintendo switch (w/ dock) with android installed buggy but daily drivable, you can get it with or without gapps. (You need to homebrew the switch first)