I live in Japan and have used Unblock-Us for US content on my FireTV and my Sony TV with Android TV for several years without issues.

I recently purchased a Chromecast with Google TV from the Japan Google Store. At startup, I selected English as my language, turned off location access, and updated to Unblock-Us' DNS settings. My Google account's location is to the US.

However, the Google TV interface still assumes I am in Japan. Content from Japan-specific services (Abema, U-Next) is suggested, and content recommendations from international services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon are pulled from the Japanese versions of these services. Content titles are either in English or Japanese, prices for paid content are displayed in yen, and movie trailers are Japanese versions (e.g., introductory text/titles are in Japanese during playback). If I try to watch, I am prompted to subscribe to the Japanese service or, if purchasing/renting through Google, I am told that the item isn't available.

However, I'm able to install apps like Hulu/Disney+/Prime from the US Google Play Store, and clicking on these icons brings me to my US account for each service.

Another odd point: I was watching The Expanse (Amazon Prime) via Google TV, and signs that appeared in the show were subtitled in German. Today I noticed a thumbnail with a German translation of an English title as well.

Any thoughts on what's going on here, and how to resolve the issue? My aim is for Google TV to act as though I were in the US.

UPDATE: It seems to be working fine with NordVPN. I'd still prefer to use Unblock-Us, but it's better than nothing.

Title says it all. I want to buy an Android TV box and, from what I searched, this one is the best out there in its price range.

I'm quite new to this Android TV thing so I was wondering if Xiaomi or Google have anything worth waiting for in the short term (1-2 months maximum) or should I buy the Mi Box S now?

Nvidia Shield is overkill for me and way more expensive than Xiaomi, so I pass.

Thanks.

Update #1: after everything you guys shared I end up deciding to get Google TV.

I've got a google nest and I'm looking for tvs that will be compatible with it. I'm having a bit of trouble finding answers on the internet. Any advice?

Hi,

So I have had a Phillips android TV for a couple of months and when I first bought it had nothing but problems trying to open any freeview associated apps, Netflix, Prime, YouTube etc all worked fine. However, when opening the likes of 4OD, ITV Hub I was met with a black screen. After nearly returning the TV, throwing it out the window and putting a hammer through the screen I think I have found the solution....

If you're having the same issue above, go into your network settings on the TV and change your network settings from DHCP to Static IP. I didn't have to mess around with the static IP config underneath.

Clicked onto 4OD and that worked, loaded in lit 2 seconds. Same again with the remainder freeview apps.

Hopefully this solves your issues as it did mine. Seems soooooo stupid that the out of the box settings creates issues with apps???

I cannot directly connect an already paired Bluetooth earphones or speakers. There are only Unpair and Rename options and no Connect option when clicking on the name of the already paired device. Talking about "stock" android tv. Is there an app or something to do it?

Play next has been populated with a single YouTube video of Zendaya for 3 months now. I have no intention of watching, I can't remove it either. I am UK based and have lots of terrestrial apps that could fill this section of the screen. Currently the only way to get recommendations from these apps is to go into the youview guide and look that way. Any way to make this 'play next' function useful? I have gone into settings and checked all available sources are enabled, cleared cache data for everything and still Zendaya haunts my screen.

Image quality still pretty terrible though. Mic wasn't working before latest update.

Had to unplug and plug back into webcam to get it to work.

I have a yoga playlist on YouTube that I'm trying to play through app on Google Tv. I can easily play the first video in the list but I can't figure out how to open the playlist menu to view all the videos and select one. I've resorted to button mashing which is fruitless. Any one figured out how to do this?

So recently, I've decided to buy Mi box S but now it's price is too much. Anyone know why?

Hello, fellow Redditors! So as you can see on the heading, I need to know whether you can install android tv on a smart tv as the current os on my tv isn't good. Any ideas or answers? I am not sure what model my tv is but it is a Nikai 55" Tv (crappy tv yeah I know)

Hi,

When I plug the Mi Box with the HDMI cables through my HDMI splitter, the audio comes through to my laptop, as well as visuals on it and my monitor too. But a soon as I plug a speaker in the USB, the Mi Box stops sending sound through the HDMI cables.

I guess the Mi Box switches to send audio through USB as soon as it detects the speaker plugged in.

Is there a way to make it send audio to both USB and HDMI at the same time?

I picked one of these today, I own 3 other chromecast including the Chromecast Ultra. My setup is in my living room and it's the furthest from my router. I replaced the ultra with the Google TV version and tested out the wireless connection. My go to test is John Wick 3 in 4k @20.6 Mbps and wow, it started after 2 seconds. Amazing, my ultra can only do that if it's wired.

Hi everyone,

I have a issue and don't know if will be necessary send the tv to warranty, I just bought a TCL tv model 55P7151 the thing is my room is very dark and when I turn off the tv still can see the screen is no complete off is like gray color in all the screen, when I disconnect the ac cord and now the screen is all black.

Please any advice is welcome.

Greetings from Costa Rica.

Hi

I wanted to use Google keyboard with Smart Youtube Search feature but it always defaults to the built in keyboard.

Any ideas?

Thanks

After Google’s latest update adding the new launcher with ads to Android TV, I’ve seen people unironically defend it. Why?

My philosophy is this. If I buy a device, with my own money, I should not have to deal with ads somewhere like the HOME SCREEN.

Imagine you just buy a house. But, you go in, and there are ads everywhere on the walls. Ads for stupid stuff you don’t care about, in your OWN HOUSE. That’s what Google is trying to do here.

Sure, you can remove the ads, but they shouldn’t be there in the first place. This is the direction Google is going, or even worse.

These ads just shove pointless products down your throat, as well as even track you and collect data off of you, harming your privacy in the process. Google is notorious for doing this, they’re one of the worst offenders. So, why are they getting a pass?

Microsoft started this trend with the Xbox 360 by putting ads on the homescreen, and since then, companies have picked it up, following in their footsteps. Google isn’t the first, not will be the last, but that doesn’t make it okay, at all. That’s like saying “I killed someone! But, it’s fine, because he also killed someone”.

I understand you can change the launcher, but you shouldn’t have to, just to avoid ads. It shouldn’t be a thing. Also, yes, we can change the launcher NOW, but what about in the future? Google has already started cracking down on user control in recent years, and what says they will stop? As I’ll get into, Amazon doesn’t (or at least tries not to) let you change launchers. What’s to stop Google from doing the same?

There is a difference between recommendations and ads. Recommendations are fine, they can be useful, but they should be optional. You should be able to pick if you want recommendations or not, and for what services. In some of the pictures, it even shows a giant banner ad advertising what is “trending on Google Play”. No one I know even has Google Play, so why is that forced down our throats?

“But Amazon does it too”. They do, and that’s an issue as well, and absolutely part of the problem. The Fire TV is horrible about advertising. At least with Google, you can change the launcher, with some Amazon devices, you can’t even do that, in fact, Amazon actively tries to patch it.

A lot of these android boxes do, and it doesn’t make it okay. Hell, even NVIDIA does now with the “promoted content” tab, which luckily you can remove, but it shouldn’t be there in the first place. It’s ridiculous.

None of this exempts Google, and the good thing is, they haven’t rolled this out yet. We can stop them, and make a difference, if they get enough backlash, before it’s too late.

Google already makes billions of dollars off of advertising and data collection. Can’t they leave our own TV alone?

The people defending it are part of the problem as well. I agree, overall, the Google Launcher is pretty nice. It has some really great features, a clean look, etc. But, the advertising kills it. It shouldn’t be defended because it can look good, that doesn’t make it okay.

I love Android, but I’m concerned for the future.

I’ll be sticking to Wolf Launcher for as long as I can. It has a nice clean layout, widget support, custom background support, etc. And, no ads!

I really hope Nvidia and other companies don’t allow this, and that Google rethinks their act.

So I'm watching a film with my girl and someone keeps trying to connect to my TV. How can I just stop this from happening? It's so annoying. It stops whatever we are doing and we have to deny the Iphone connecting to it. Idk why he keeps trying every 5 minutes.

Using Philips 65oled854 TV. When connecting to VPN with nordvpn the internet (ethernet) disconnects.

Any fix for this? Seems like a isssue with android according to my searches on the web.

i need to know if i'm able to connect 4 bluetooth controllers at the same time

I just wanted to share with everyone interested in getting EPSON's LS300 UST Projector that, albeit the picture quality is good, the pre-installed version of Android TV does not support (natively) most apps or streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime. It does support HBO Max, and Disney+.

Hey guys I just brought a new TV and found out it doesn't support Disney+ so I thought about getting the Google Chromecast with Google TV just wanted to know of Disney+ supports 4k on that device?

Also is the Chromecast with Google TV worth it or not?

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