Android operating system on a tv

David Schnell · Jan 29, 2021

I bought 2 separate TV's now that have an android operating system rather than a Roku. The first was an RCA which was junk and returned. The second is a JVC which I really like but both TV's will not let me play anything on a USB jump drive.
The manuals both didn't mention much about it. I have tried different sticks and different formats as FAT and FAT32 even NTFS. It recognizes it's a Lexar or Kinston but just wants to format it. I let it format to see what happens. It makes folders for pics and videos and apps but I can't use it on my pc to add anything.
Any ideas? Will I actually have to plug in one of my android boxes to get this workings?

ocnbrze · Jan 29, 2021

usb drive on a tv? does it mention it in your owner's manual? it should specify it's use and what files it supports. which jvc tv do you have? what model is it?

David Schnell · Jan 29, 2021

ocnbrze said:
usb drive on a tv? does it mention it in your owner's manual? it should specify it's use and what files it supports. which jvc tv do you have? what model is it?

Hi, it is supposed to play multiple formats. The manual doesn't say too much. It is just a 32" for the bedroom. The model is Model #: LT32EC3208.
There isn't much on the net about it. The 32" RCA was the same problem which seems strange. I would have liked to sideload some apps which aren't available on the playstore. They are more limited on tv's
https://www.visions.ca/product-deta...id_smart_led_tv?categoryId=513&sku=LT32EC3208

The_Chief · Jan 29, 2021

I understand the new TCL TVs, with Roku onboard, are based on Android. I've read that if an Android app isn't available in the TCL app store, it can be sideloaded. We went and looked at a 75" 4K TCL 75r635 today, in fact. Still a little more research to do before buying it but very promising and reviews rate it outstanding image quality for an unbeatable price!

We had actually purchased an LG 75" NANO99 8K TV. Top of the line. Yeah, bottom of the garbage heap is more like it! Watching any of the LG TV channels, every commercial threw the Alpha9-Gen3 processor a curve ball as it tried to recalculate the resolution... even if there wasn't a change in resolution. The result? Blurry, blob image for upwards of 11 seconds before the image sharpened! That's not 1.1 seconds - eleven seconds. It was so dismal we returned it; left a blistering review (with video) on Amazon and sent LG a message so scathing an internal document was generated by it. We're officially retired from early adopting new TV tech!

David Schnell · Jan 29, 2021

The_Chief said:
I understand the new TCL TVs, with Roku onboard, are based on Android. I've read that if an Android app isn't available in the TCL app store, it can be sideloaded. We went and looked at a 75" 4K TCL 75r635 today, in fact. Still a little more research to do before buying it but very promising and reviews rate it outstanding image quality for an unbeatable price!

We had actually purchased an LG 75" NANO99 8K TV. Top of the line. Yeah, bottom of the garbage heap is more like it! Watching any of the LG TV channels, every commercial threw the Alpha9-Gen3 processor a curve ball as it tried to recalculate the resolution... even if there wasn't a change in resolution. The result? Blurry, blob image for upwards of 11 seconds before the image sharpened! That's not 1.1 seconds - eleven seconds. It was so dismal we returned it; left a blistering review (with video) on Amazon and sent LG a message so scathing an internal document was generated by it. We're officially retired from early adopting new TV tech!

Yes I was looking at TCL as well. I just jumped on this one because it has just about everything including bluetooth. I usually have bought Samsungs but none of the ones had bluetooth unless you spend big $$. The TCL's I saw on Amazon all were Roku and I really wanted to be able to use the Playstore.

The_Chief · Jan 29, 2021

The only caveat about TCL is apparently it doesn't connect to Bluetooth headsets without some adapter of sorts. But I'll spend the money because Darling Bride is a TV freak and apparently goes deaf watching shows. She's probably scaring the neighborhood pets with that volume!

mikedt · Jan 29, 2021

FWIW I've got a Hisense TV, it's not running Android and isn't online, but it has 2 USB ports, and that works no problems with USB drives, including 4TB hard drives, as long as they're formatted as FAT32. Although I don't use it in this mode, because the TV's built-in media player basically sucks(it can't play Dolby or DTS encoded sound, H265 video, or DVD vob file images). So I use it all the time with a T95 Android 10 box plugged in, and that does everything, including YouTube. Also controllable with my phone's IR blaster.

David Schnell · Jan 29, 2021

I hooked up an old android box with 4.41 build. It works fine. I just decided to use my Google drive for anything I need to sideload or anything I would need to view on a usb stick. Just would have liked to figure out what's with the usb's. What are there 2 of them for if they don't work?

mikedt · Jan 29, 2021

David Schnell said:
I hooked up an old android box with 4.41 build. It works fine. I just decided to use my Google drive for anything I need to sideload or anything I would need to view on a usb stick. Just would have liked to figure out what's with the usb's. What are there 2 of them for if they don't work?

Some TV devices the USB ports might be reserved for flashing manufacturer firmware updates. Although as there's two USB ports, one would assume it would support playing files from removable media. With my Hisense TV, the manual mentions the USB ports, but it doesn't state what they're used for.

ocnbrze · Jan 29, 2021

David Schnell said:
Hi, it is supposed to play multiple formats. The manual doesn't say too much. It is just a 32" for the bedroom. The model is Model #: LT32EC3208.
There isn't much on the net about it. The 32" RCA was the same problem which seems strange. I would have liked to sideload some apps which aren't available on the playstore. They are more limited on tv's
https://www.visions.ca/product-deta...id_smart_led_tv?categoryId=513&sku=LT32EC3208

mikedt said:
Some TV devices the USB ports might be reserved for flashing manufacturer firmware updates. Although as there's two USB ports, one would assume it would support playing files from removable media

yeah if the manual does not state otherwise, i would assume that the usb ports are for firmware updates as stated by @mikedt

mikedt · Jan 29, 2021

David Schnell said:
Hi, it is supposed to play multiple formats. The manual doesn't say too much. It is just a 32" for the bedroom. The model is Model #: LT32EC3208.
There isn't much on the net about it. The 32" RCA was the same problem which seems strange. I would have liked to sideload some apps which aren't available on the playstore. They are more limited on tv's
https://www.visions.ca/product-deta...id_smart_led_tv?categoryId=513&sku=LT32EC3208

That just states:
USB x2 ports for playing picture (JPEG) files and service
JPEG, that means it's only using it as a picture viewer, i.e. as like a 32inch photo frame. And "service" that could mean manufacturer or workshop servicing, like flashing firmware updates.

What happens if you try installing something like Kodi or VLC, as it's Android, and see if they work. I use Kodi.

Hadron · Jan 30, 2021

mikedt said:
With my Hisense TV, the manual mentions the USB ports, but it doesn't state what they're used for.

I connected my previous TV to WiFi using a USB dongle.
Some TVs can also record to a USB hard drive as well as play from it (but unless they have dual tuners you won't be able to watch one thing and record another - though with all of the main channels here having catch-up services that's less important than it used to be anyway).

The_Chief · Jan 30, 2021

After more research, I'm ditching the TCL as an option. We don't use Roku, we DO use Bluetooth, and we want straight-up Android.

I found it.

It's a little more pricey, but the Sony x900H is the ticket for us. It has 4K at 120hz; eARC and Dolby Atmos; HDMI 2.1 and Bluetooth all day long - to headsets, mice, keyboards... whatever! So we're going to look at it to replace our 2016 curved screen Samsung.

David Schnell · Jan 31, 2021

mikedt said:
That just states:
USB x2 ports for playing picture (JPEG) files and service
JPEG, that means it's only using it as a picture viewer, i.e. as like a 32inch photo frame. And "service" that could mean manufacturer or workshop servicing, like flashing firmware updates.

What happens if you try installing something like Kodi or VLC, as it's Android, and see if they work. I use Kodi.

Thank you for this advice. I have had a number of Samsung's and I have normally just went to the drive and clicked on the file.
With this JVC I couldn't even see the file. After installing Kodi I could play it. Problem solved. I will now keep this TV as this was the only thing I didn't like about it.

The_Chief · Feb 7, 2021

The Darling Bride and I bought the Sony 75X900H, last year's flagship. Since it runs on Android TV, setup was a breeze and it copied our accounts straight off our phones. It works well and the image quality is astonishing.

Android operating system on a tv

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