this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2026
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I have a HiSense TV and use ADB AppControl to disable/remove the telemetry or forced updates, and Projectivy Launcher to get a home screen/launcher that doesn't show ads. Both are free and work really well. I don't see trash on my homescreen anymore.
Until sept 2026...
Do you really think Google will approve those APKs once they have fully lockdown android (that includes Google TV)?
That's why this push from google to kill the APK installation without their blessing infuriates me!
https://keepandroidopen.org/
yeah, we'll be working on grapheneOS tv boxes in a years time.
I will 100% jump over to it if that does turn into a thing
OMG me too!
HDMI + A presentation mouse and bluetooth keyboard on an old Pixel?
A totally valid option I had not considered. Imo, the solution needs to be controlled by a standard remote. I tried for a couple years to get my family to use a media pc that used a media keyboard and no one would touch it. I turned it into a server and streamed to emby and now they will use it but only after I showed them it works even when the internet is down.
I TOTALLY feel you. I've wanted a good media remote for ages. seems like a project to repurpose a bluetooth remote to control a phone would be medium low difficulty
I bought one of these from Flirc but never used it.
looks pretty promising, i see there are a ton of bluetooth remotes on Amazon that are simple media on one side and keyboard on the back. I might have to screw with that on an android and see If I can cobble together a launcher that's media friendly
Oh cool, I'll have to checkout those other tools!
I basically left it vanilla after switching the launcher and borking the updates. We use emby for our home streaming but I am always looking for extra functionality
Stremio is also an option.
I don’t have an Android tv but if that day ever comes, very glad options like these exist.
That's great, but people who don't already own one shouldn't support this garbage company.
No doubt. The market is shriveling up for people who want a new tv that isn't garbo. Outside of commercial displays which are like 3-4x as expensive and have lower image quality, I don't know of anyone making dumb tvs in a 55" plus size. Yes, you can opt not to hook them up to the internet but in a house with non-tech people, its a huge hassle to get them to want to use anything other than the built in apps. Even diy set top boxes running on a pi or shield are not as user friendly for kids or grandparents.
What if it's VIDAA?
What's that?
The non-Android Linux OS Hisense and Toshiba ship their TVs with in most of the world.