Best Way to Use Offline Viewing to Watch Movies Purchased on Google Play, Amazon, and Vudu?

I'm asking this question on r/AndroidTV because I really like Android TV and would prefer to stay in that ecosystem (I was thinking an Nvidia Shield might be best), but I'm open to another solution if that makes more sense.

I have a collection of movies I've purchased through Google Play, Amazon, and Vudu (I use Movies Anywhere to get them all in one place). It's great for streaming, but I'm moving to a country with slow Internet speeds that likely can't support streaming 4K movies. I know that these services allow you to download movies for offline viewing, but it looks like that only works on phone apps (and maybe Chromebooks?), and I want to watch these movies on my TV. What's the best (legal) way to download these and then play them on my TV?

Like I mentioned, I'd prefer to buy an Nvidia Shield and use that, but again, it looks like the app on the Shield doesn't support downloading the movies for offline use. Is there a way to make that work?
Or should I just buy a cheap tablet or Chromebook, download the movies to that, and then use an HDMI cord to the TV? I think you can download to an SD card, but I'm not sure what size SD card I'd need for the 40 or so movies I have. Can you also download to an external hard drive (I already have a couple of 1 TB external hard drives laying around, so that would be easier than purchasing a large SD card)? Could I bypass the HDMI cord and stream from my device to the TV (assuming I had some sort of Chromecast device on the TV), or would the slow Internet speeds preclude that (I'm not sure if there would be a difference in speed streaming something within my home WiFi network as opposed to streaming from a website outside my home WiFi network)?

Apologies if this isn't the correct subreddit, but I figure you guys would have encountered this type of problem before. Thanks in advance for any guidance you're able to provide.

2 Answers

Stuck in reboot loop

I have a Sony Bravia TV from 2016 so almost 4 years old. Lately it has started to stutter when casting so 2 days ago I did a soft restart and it got stuck in a reboot loop with 1-2 min interval. I have tried everything I can find. Factory reset from the menu, pressing buttons during startup, safe mode, firmware update, ADB commands. Since it restarts so frequently there is not enough time to copy the firmware from the USB stick. Am I out of luck or is there anything else I can try?

2 Answers

Xiaomi Mi Box S HDR and HDMI CEC

I've had this box for a while it does the job of playing 4k content well enough. However I have some issues and I'm wondering if anybody can clear them up. I just upgraded to the new Android 9.0 version as well.

Firstly HDR... so I enabled the SDR to HDR setting which seems to work. The issue is the HDR to SDR seems to do absolutely nothing. Which causes big problems when SDR content is playing. Its either unwatchable or displays odd coloured artifacts on the screen. It seems like theres no way for the box to automatically enable and disable HDR depending on the conent. Is anyone else having this issue.

Another Issue HDMI CEC works mostly without issues except one. When adjusting the volume with the Mi Box S Remote it controls volume of both the device its plugged into and the Mi Box... which is annoying. I haven't been able to find any other settings regarding this. I want it to control the volume of the device its plugged into isntead of the Mi Box or Just the Mi Box. Any one will be fine. I dont want to have to keep switching remotes... not the best experience.

Lastly Prime Video. Before Android 9.0 I had to side load the apk and I couldn't get 4k content. Now Since the Prime Video apk is installed from the vendor after the update. I tried it and I STILL cant get 4k content. Anyone experiencing anything similar.

2 Answers

Nvidia Shield + Ethernet + Tivimate = Joy!

PSA for those of you on the fence about what device to buy. I tested the Mibox S for the last few weeks with several IPTV streams and was suffering from buffering - especially over NordVPN. My solution was the Nvidia shield and a built in ethernet port.

My DL speeds are typically over 100mbps including over WIFI 5 ghz without VPN- but with VPN maybe 60-80 mbps. Still these speeds should have been good enough to stream HD over IPTV - but they weren't.

I hope someone more technically inclined might explain why my setup is now optimal?

My theory is that WIFI speeds are inconsistent and may be subject to packet loss. Ethernet is still the better option. I also think that the processing power of the Nvidia shield makes a big difference when decoding the video over VPN. I was worried I might need to invest in a better router but these 2 changes did the trick!

To make the most of your experience, get yourself Tivimate and pay for premium. I also tried all the IPTV players and IMO this one is the best.

5 Answers

Question about the Ematic Jetstream

Will we ever get an update for the Jetstream??? I also own an AirTV mini and Sling/Dish does a good job on updating that. But as far as my Jetstream, nada since I bought it about a year and some change ago!

4 Answers

Argh! Original mi box keeps rebooting!

Close to throwing this thing away!

Advice on my problem?

1 Answers

Upgrading to newest Android - can I still use the old launcher?

I stayed on Android 7 so I could use the Leanback Launcher. If I update, can I still use the old Leanback instead of "Android TV Home"?

2 Answers

Is there away to download the Android TV software to my "computer"? My current setup has two 24" curved monitors...1 I use for Netflix/Hulu ect...

2 Answers

Philips Android TV [55PUS7304 The One] How to enter recovery mode?

My TV is stuck at Philips logo at startup and i cannot enter to recovery mode. I googled but there is no article or post about how to enter to recovery mode on this exact model. Im running on latest firmware which is Android 9 Pie. Please help me, thanks.

3 Answers

Uninstalling Prime Video (Mi Box S)

The lastest Android TV 9.0 update added this app to my library . How can I remove it ?

1 Answers

Alexa control of my Mibox S

Anyone managed to get it to wake up using an Alexa voice command?

I can turn on my TV via a voice command but when it turns on the box remains off.

Did anyone figure out how to get it to wake up?

2 Answers

USB drive doesn't show in VLC and in inbuilt player after I formatted it.

I formatted my 64GB USB drive. Prior to format it showed up in VLC as sdb1 folder. Now I don't find it, it also doesn't show up in inbuilt player. However if I connect my 2TB EHD to TV it shows up at both the places. It's a Samsung TV.

I have done a factory reset on TV and uninstalled and reinstalled VLC player but all in vain.

Help will be much appreciated.

4 Answers

muntitasking... Switching apps

In OREO you simply press the HOME button twice. The recent/running apps will appear at the bottom of the screen. Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow buttons to select the app. Then, press the HOME button twice and select the app you were on. I forgot to turn on my VPN. I was in the middle of a movie on KODI. I pressed the HOME button twice, selected my VPN, pressed the HOME button twice and selected my paused movie in KODI. Hope this helps all. Moderator please fix my spelling on heading. It wont let me edit title.

4 Answers

Twitch.TV app missing from play store

So I just bought an Nvidia shield as I was having some issues with my Mi Box. The system is up to date with every application updated. The only issue I'm having is that can't find the TwitchTV app on the play store. And trying to install it from the website says that it is incompatbile on both the Nvidia shield and the mi box. I certainly remember using the application on the mi box but now it says it is incompatible?

Any ideas on how to install the application on the shield?

7 Answers

HELP: Chromecast selectively casts sound depending on app or specific media?!

Hello! I bought an EUG Android TV, used. Everything seems to be fine except that some streaming apps audio works via Chromecast (gen 1) to my Bluetooth audio and some does not.

YouTube, Prime, and some of Netflix work as I’d expect.

However HBO doesn’t transmit audio, and many shows on Netflix don’t as well. For example, “Moon” works fine but “Bad Boys” does not, on Netflix.

I do not know how to troubleshoot this, google searches aren’t helping, and I’m rather frustrated.

Please help.

1 Answers

HDMI Input/Passthrough/Overlay?

Do any current AndroidTV boxes (or knockoffs) support HDMI input? My old GoogleTV could do an overlay of another input, PiP, etc, and I really miss that feature.

Failing that, are there AndroidTVs that can tune ATSC and play a Blu-ray?

Thanks!

2 Answers

Android 9 safe to install Mi Box S?

It seems like Android 9 messes up a lot of things when I read through all the discussions about bugs and glitches in Android 9 on Mi Box S...

I am still using Android 8 on my Mi Box S and I am thinking of updating to Android 9...

Is there any stable version out yet?

14 Answers

New version of PVR Live 1.4.6 - the most complete Live Channels app

8 Answers

Anyway to restart just the built in chromecast w/o restarting the tV?

I have a Hisense Android TV and periodically, I can't cast to the TV. (The built in chromecast seems to be kinda working, it's showing images, but it doesn't show up in my list of devices from my android phone.)

Restarting the TV fixes it, but going to settings and force stopping the "Chromecast Shell" app doesn't do it.

Is there a way to restart the built in CC w/o restarting the whole thing?

7 Answers

Can i use a regular IR remote with mi tv 4s?

If yes, how? I have a universal cheap tv remote was using with sony bravia basic, my new mi tv doesnt respond to it. The android app mi tv remote also doesnt respond either. Is there any setting, or it will not just work at all?

2 Answers

Travel Channel app not supported?

I asked Travel channel support about not having a particular show on the Android TV app versus the Amazon fire stick app. This was the response.

"Thank you for being a loyal Travel Channel fan, and I apologize you are experiencing errors when attempting to stream on Android TV. Unfortunately, the Android TV OS is not currently supported; however, I will share your feedback with our internal team for immediate review.

 In the meantime, the app is available on many streaming devices such as Amazon Fire Stick, AppleTV, and Roku so that you can watch your favorite programs on your TV.

 Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns."

I would have thought the app would be the same. Is it difficult to release the same app across android based devices? Also, is this a bad sign for Android TV?

1 Answers

Can no longer cast to Mi Box S after Android 9 update

Can anyone help? Ever since updating to Android 9 on the Mi Box S, I cannot cast to the unit any more. The unit takes a long time to appear in the device list when choosing to cast, if it appears at all, but nothing happens when I select it..??

Chromecast Android shell version number is 1.42.179832.

4 Answers

Can I test my thumb drives reliability?

I bought the 16GB 1st Gen Shield TV and got a 64GB USB 3.0 thumb drive with it for adoptable storage. It's been in there for almost four years now, and I'm wondering if there's a way to test the drive to see if it's still good or if maybe it's got bad sectors now and should be replaced.

2 Answers

Is it possible to install a Amazon Fire only app on Android TV Box?

I recently purchased a VANKYO MatrixBox X95 Max 4K and so far everything is relatively good. I'm brand new to all of this and don't know anything about sideloading. Googling the answer is a confusing mess of outdated articles. I also don't know the correct terminology to get the specific answer I'm looking for.

Here is my question: Is it possible to install a Amazon app store only app onto a Android TV? This is the app https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CZ2MQJ8/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_FRikEbT26H8X6
Thanks in advance.

5 Answers

Stremio apk for Android tv

When I download the one from the website it just won't install... Anyone get it working on android tv?

1 Answers

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