Fire edition TV user needs info/help on buying Android or Android based TV

by miamiBOY63

I have only used Insignia fire edition fire TVs and I'm thinking of buying an Android TV or Android based TV I have read up on this and they are two different types of systems so maybe with some of you people out there that have these TVs and with your expertise and knowledge of how they work maybe you can direct me to some TVs to check out and possibly buy. But there are a couple things I would like to ask and one question is can apps be sideloaded to either one of these types of TVs like i side load apps to my fire edition TV ? Do either of these TVs have the Google Play store and if so is it similar to an Android phone when downloading them do they have free and paid apps? And for those of you that are familiar with app linked or unlinked or any other app stores out there can I download from them because when I go on these 2 applinked or unlinked I see a lot really cool apps that I've never tried because they say for Android TV and as you know fire TV is a light Android based TV so they don't play nice. So if any of you that read this would help out and give me your personal opinion on what you think are some of the best TVs that have one of the two platforms im speaking of in sizes 55" to 65" but remember I want to connect a fire stick to it so I can have fire apps along with Android/google would be greatly appreciated and thank you in advance also everyone out there be safe.

Kodi_Fan_Omicron

Shop for the absolute best picture quality when buying a TV for your specific budget. If it turns out to have AndroidTV/GoogleTV included treat that as a perk, but not a necessary requirement, because you can always buy a Set-Top-Box separately that has AndroidTV/GoogleTV.

Purple_Passion000

The OS for TVs is simply AndroidTV. Some boxes that connect to TVs run regular Android, but those are usually cheap Chinese garbage that aren't updated, don't have official support for streaming apps, and can contain malware. So you want to make sure you have a TV or box that official supports and runs AndroidTV OS. You might see some devices like the latest Chromecast advertised with GoogleTV, but that's basically AndroidTV with a custom skin and few UI tweaks.

Even some boxes running AndroidTV don't have official support for some services like Netflix or Amazon Prime, but I'm sure someone who has the list will paste it in the comments.

If you're in the US and want to try out AndroidTV mainly for streaming (as opposed to gaming) you can get an ONN box from Wal-Mart for around $30 that you can hook up to the TV you have now or might buy. Or a Google Chromecast for $50. The Nvidia Shield and Shield Pro devices are terrific, if rather pricey options. The Pro especially is good for games. Nvidia has still been providing updates for devices years old, though. Unless you buy a very recent premium priced TV with AndroidTV built-in, I'd recommend using a separate AndroidTV box as most TV manufacturers don't use great processors and they don't update often.

There is a Google Play Store specifically for AndroidTV and its GoogleTV variant. As its apps are designed to run on AndroidTV you'll see a lot fewer apps than the regular Android app store, but all the big players in streaming and more are on there.

You can sideload apps like on FireTV. I use a Send To TV app to download them on my phone or tablet and quickly transfer apks to my Shield.

I don't know much about other app stores, so I'll leave that to someone else.

Deadpool-fan-466
  • "Android based TVs" are fake. You need to buy a certified "Android TV" device
  • Yes, apps can be sideloaded
  • Yes, play store is available (with free, paid & freemium apps)
  • No idea about other app stores
  • Android/Google TVs from Sony & TCL are really good
  • Finally, have you never heard of periods, commas or paragraphs?
miamiBOY63

I appreciate the reply and when I was reading up on these types of TVs the set-top box was brought up and I would have to figure out how to use it unless it's what I think it is and that's hooking it up with an HDMI and controlling it with the remote however I will look into that more to see what it's about and how to use it once again thanks for the reply be safe.