Looking for a TV that lets me use SmartTubeNext and very confused

by Violinist_Jaded

I bought a Toshiba TV which was supposed to be an android TV or something along those lines, it seemed to describe options for installing anything and it ends up being a linux based system, with no way of adding anything at all to it. Won't read APK's from USB, won't download apps other than the ones on the toshiba built in store.
From extra reading and asking lots of people, some people have said their LG tv lets them install 3rd party apps, downloaders, screen mirroring apps and things like that.
Others have said to get a fire TV, or a fire stick, or some sort of nvidia shield device, but I don't fully understand the difference between a fire tv, smart tv and android tv
A voice control without the need of alexa or google is something that peaked my interest about LG, but I felt I may aswell ask people here what I ought to do since the "TV boxes" and firesticks seem to have their own voice controls too.

I'm not too happy with the TV I ended up with so I'll be trying my best to refund it using the "Distance selling regulations" since the retailer (Ao.com) tries to say that if you plug something in then you can only get up to 50% of the cost refunded. Anyone got suggestions? Thanks in advance for the help. I saw before posting this that I can find a list of android TV devices on a site linked, so I'll check that out in the meantime.

MinerAlum

Can't you get an external smart device and bypass the built in smarts?

Yahiroz

LG uses webOS, it's not compatible with Android apps. The same with Samsung and their Tizen OS. Fire TV Stick uses Fire OS, Amazon's fork of Android and hence is compatible with Android apps. Nvidia Shield runs Android TV and is fully compatible. Ideally you want to make sure the product description states it runs Android TV or Google TV.

Out of curiosity, which Toshiba TV model is it? If you're happy with the TV itself ignoring the smart TV features, you could get a Chromecast with Google TV and plug that into the HDMI port.

Searching the retailer you mentioned, are you in the UK? DSR law states a consumer can return an online purchase within 14 days no matter the reason but it doesn't have to be a full refund, unless the product is faulty or it does not do as advertised.

m1ndwipe

A "smart TV" is a generic term for a TV that does some internet stuff. A "Fire TV" is a TV that runs Amazon's FireOS. FireOS is a fork of Android and very similar, but there can be differences especially in the DRM implementations for video apps from major content providers. Includes Amazon's own app store. An "Android TV" is a TV that runs Google's Android TV operating system, which is heavily based on Android and uses the Google Play store (but only a subset of applications that are intended for TVs).

Many apks will run on Android TVs and Fire TVs when sideloaded, but not all.

By the sounds of it your TV isn't an Android TV, it's a TV that uses Toshiba's UK31 OS. You won't be able to run any sideloaded applications on this, certainly without jailbreaking, and I doubt many people have developed any software to do so. And it wouldn't support Android APK files.

Somar2230

Toshiba sells TV with FireOS, Android TV and their own UK31 OS. Your appears to have the UK31 OS.

IHaveTheBestOpinions

Personally, I've never cared about "smart TV" functionality. The interfaces usually suck, and they're slower and buggier than even cheap streaming devices. I recently bought a $5,000 "smart" device that doesn't even have a Netflix app.

Do yourself a favor and get a Roku. Decouple your display (which can easily last 5-10 years) from your media player (these are cheap and cycle every 2-3 years). The thing that matters on the TV is the picture quality. In a few years even the best built-in smarts will be woefully outdated, and you'll want a new media streamer anyway.

reddit_ipo_lol

Some LG TVs can be rooted to install alternative YouTube apps.

https://github.com/RootMyTV/RootMyTV.github.io

trlef19

I'm sorry my Friend. It's seem to be a common for retailers to fool buyers into thinking they got an android tv. Most manufacturers don't use android tv. What's your budget?

Violinist_Jaded

Thanks for the responses everyone, you've been very helpful! And I'm happy to say, Ao.com have offered a full refund without needing to cite any sort of regulations or laws. From what @reddit_ipo_lol said, I think finding an LG tv that wil let me root it is my best option. The higher priced TVs tend to be the android versions I'm looking for, where an LG would be more affordable if I find I can root it. Even though the ad-free youtube on the homebrew page might not be as good as the SmartTubeNext if ran from a Nvidia shield for example, The model I bought was a 65UL2163DBC and I do like it, however I think there are a few things that make me want to spend an extra 100 pounds to get something with more features. An LG that can be rooted, but then it can't install APK's so i'm not sure what I'll end up doing. Much to think about! lol