Thinking of buying Android TV for offline video playback

by Motive33

Hey,

I've been looking into options for a cabin on the lake with no internet access. I've been looking into Android TV briefly now and think I understand this will work for what I need but wouldn't mind some other opinions incase I'm missing something.

Currently we have video files on an external usb drive and play on a laptop with VLC. It's a little cumbersome to get connected and the laptop is on it's last legs so I was looking a better solution. From what I've looked into it looks like newer Android TV hardware should be able to support most mkv and other video formats? We have a fairly old chrome box which we use at home for browser based streaming on our TV but it runs into issues being unable to play some video files or audio codecs.

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My plan is to just have the seagate USB hard drive plugged into a box, box is HDMI out to the TV, everything can be controlled with more of a traditional style remote.

It's possible we could teather to a moble connection at times to stream netflix or prime, but 90% of the time this would be offline.

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Am I incorrect in looking to Android TV hardware for this?

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edit: Damn, you guys are a helpful community. Thanks everyone. I've gone ahead and orderd a an android box. Will just use kodi or someething simple like VLC to play from external storage. Doesn't need to be fancy as long as I can browse the files and audio / video playback looks fine.

Sarah_Ng

Since you want to play local files and already have a laptop may i suggest libreelec? It works well on older laptop hardware and you wouldn't have to spend any money on it. Worth a try

latinriky78

Certified Android TV devices WITH Netflix and Prime Video certifications:

- AirTV Mini

- Ematic Jetstream

- Nvidia Shield TV

- Tivo Stream 4K

- Verizon Stream TV

- Xiaomi Mi Box S

- Xiaomi Mi TV Stick

Certified Android TV devices with Netflix ONLY certification:

- AT&T TV

Certified Android TV devices with Prime Video ONLY certification:

- Mecool KM1 (Available at mecoolonline.com )

- Mecool KM3 (Available at mecoolonline.com , where you can also download the NEW Android 10 firmware update for this model)

- Mecool KM9PRO (Available at mecoolonline.com , where you can also download the NEW Android 10 firmware update for this model)

Certified Android TV devices WITHOUT Netflix and Prime Video certifications:

- Channel Master Stream Plus (with ATSC dual tuner built-in but outdated Android TV version)

- Minix Neo T5 (With gigabit ethernet but remote control doesn't have a microphone)

For more info about all certified Android TV devices, head over to Android TV Guide website.

rtechr

You can do this. You just want to set it up for the first time with an internet connection, so don't do the initial setup at your cabin unless you are sure you will have hotspot internet access then.

You can use VLC, MX Player, or Kodi to play your files offline. Check the specs of the box you buy to make sure it has USB. Some don't have USB. The Mi Box S would work.

ja2_juan

I highly recommend a xiaomi mi box with vlc for that purpose.

BiggussDikkuss

To the OP make doubly sure you buy an Android TV device with the proper approvals and certifications.

This is REALLY important if you want to stream Netflix because not all devices support that App. See the list below.

darknum

A nice Android TV device and Kodi would serve all your offline needs without a doubt. Android TV + some kind of network attached storage would be even better.

YashP97

I was hosting a plex server before and felt like i was wasting power. Installed MX Player on my Android TV and connected HDD Directly to it. Works fine af no issues

Dev8765

If you are buying a TV which is already an Android TV, you don't need any additional box.

Install Xplore and VLC or MXPlayer, connect hdd to TV directly and enjoy.

elister

Mi Box S might run you $60. Its got a USB port, so use Kodi or VLC to play videos off it. Im pretty sure you'll need to connect this to a network to register and download apps.

Raspberry Pi2 or Pi3 running LibreELEC (stripped down Linux that boots into Kodi). Has 4 USB ports. Im sure the Pi4 will work, but the Pi2 will consume far less power. No need for internet access, except to download LibreELEC and image it onto a 2gb microSD card.

GenesisDH

I use Kodi for my 2017 Shield setup with connected, and Network, storage and works fine with offline content. It would still need an online connection for some metadata, but you might be able to get that setup using the laptop (which can also handle Kodi) before it conks out. Plex is simpler to setup if someone doesn't want to tinker too much with the standard system. Personal preference and experience on my end favors Kodi.

As long as the device has a USB port, any certified Android TV box will handle most video formats offline just fine. 4K in newer formats like AV1 is where some problems arise, but most content you'll come across (or produce yourself from physical media) won't yet be in those formats.

TunerSG

Amazon Fire TV Stick is able to read external USB drives, get a USB cable that spits another USB input and power input. That's what I did to my stick when I plug to TV in hotels.

Waggmans

Don't even bother.

Get a cheap Android box based on the S922x like an Odroid N2 and run Coreelec on it.

formidible

Get a decent no limits Internet deal. Problem solved. Relying on playing files on any TV is always going to be problematic. I use Chromecast to stream files from my phone with no issues at all. Chromecast is built in to an Android TV, but you'll still need a decent Internet connection.