blog details

  1. Home
  2. Article
  3. How to use Android TV and what are its advantages

Hot Articles

Category

How to use Android TV and what are its advantages

Before, sitting down to watch television was a passive experience. But with the advent of smart TVs, the small screen becomes a complete entertainment hub.

Android TV is an operating system for televisions that Google launched in 2014. For those of us who are used to Android on our mobiles, its use will be very simple. It is a platform that can work in a connected way with smartphones, tablets or smartwatches. Today we want to explain to you how it works and get the most out of it.

how to set up android tv: first steps

Every time we find more televisions that have Android TV integrated. This is the case with some Sony, Philips or TD Systems models. Related

To start using it, first, we will connect the TV to the internet. We will need an Ethernet cable, or we can use the Wi-Fi network of our house. In this case, the location of the television is important, so that the signal reaches it with sufficient intensity. Above all, if we want to enjoy high quality content such as 4K formats.

Afterwards, the system will ask us for a Gmail account through which we will manage all the applications and programs. That is, a username and password. Once this is done, the Android TV interface will appear before us, a simple and very manageable grid made up of different applications.

Without having to install anything else, with these first steps we already have access to services such as YouTube, Play Movies or Play Music. And to the Play Store, the reference site for downloading applications and creating an experience tailored to us.

The control of our TV can be our smartphone (but also a tablet). To do this, we need to download the Android TV Remote Control app from the Google Store. To use it, we just have to have our phone connected to the same network as the TV or use a Bluetooth connection. With this app, we will have the d-pad mode (directional control) and the touchpad mode (touch control). In addition, we can also use the keyboard to write on TV from the smartphone and make searches easier.

What is Android TV for?

To watch TV

In addition to linear television, operating systems such as Android TV give us access to different audiovisual platforms.

There are more and more television apps compatible with Android TV. For example, on Google Play we find applications for Orange TV, Netflix, Prime Video, Wuaki, Eurosport Player, Mitele, Atresplayer or HBO (the latter appeared in November). An offer that continues to expand.

Installing these apps is very simple: we download them with the Google Store and run them through its easy and intuitive interface.

To listen to music

To be able to listen to songs, we already have the Google Play Music app pre-installed, the music storage and synchronization platform created in 2011.

But if we are used to apps like Spotify, we can also access it. In the Google Store we have the app compatible with Android TV, as well as other alternatives such as Vevo, YouTube Music or Deezer.

And if radio is our thing, we can download TuenIn Radio, which tunes in to AM and FM stations and offers podcasts, or My Tuner, to access content from Cadena SER, Los 40 or Onda Cero, among others.

To play

For televisions to be a total entertainment center, it is essential to access our favorite games. The Android TV catalog on Google Play expands every month. In this link, you can find the games that are currently available.

We have multiplayer games that are played via phone, tablet, or by connecting up to four different controllers. Or we can even play offline.

In addition, Twitch, the streaming platform, also has an app compatible with Android TV, to watch and comment on live games, broadcast them and, finally, connect with the gamer community.

To navigate

One of the most used platforms in the world is YouTube. Up to 1,000 million hours of different content are played on the site every day. As it belongs to the Google family, YouTube is another of the apps installed by default when we start up our Android TV. We can also download its version for the little ones: YouTube Kids.

In addition, the television can also be used to connect to Facebook and stay in touch with our friends on social networks. One of the objectives of smart TVs is to intensify the social function of these devices.

A more and more complete experience

Other tools that will be very interesting to us are the following:

One of the most practical tools to maximize the use of Android TV is Kodi. It is an open source app that we can install for free. It is used to manage multimedia content: videos, music, photos..., either from our devices (hard drive, DVD, USB) or from cloud storage. The Kodi Android TV app is available on the Google Store. Remember, it does not include content, but is a manager of other services.

And if we want to use any Android app that hasn't yet developed its version for TV, we can use the Android application package (APK). In this way, any application that we use on our mobile will be accessible for Android TV. We just have to download the file on our computer and then run it on the TV through the ES File Explorer app. Of course, since these apps are not designed for TV, their use may be somewhat limited.

Other ways to watch TV

If our television does not have Android TV, there are alternative ways to use it.

The most popular is Chromecast. It is a transmission device that is attached to the television through an HDMI port and allows us to reproduce any content that we are seeing on our mobile or tablet. To do this, we have to connect it to the home Wi-Fi. Then, a wizard guides us through the installation process. Chromecast is compatible with Android and iOS and is used to send the screen of our device to the television through the mirror function.

If we have a TV with Android TV, it will already have Chromecast integrated. To start it up, we just have to install the Google Home app. The most interesting thing about the integrated Chromecast is that there are many applications compatible with this device, so we can watch content from Orange TV, Netflix and other VOD platforms, listen to music on Spotify or SoundCloud, play games, watch streaming sports, use Facebook or browse with Chrome…

Another tool to 'turn' a regular TV into an Android TV is Mi Box. It is a device with internal memory and a processor that acts as a multimedia player. It works through HDMI and has a USB port to connect other devices such as hard drives. It has its own remote control that connects via Bluetooth.

It has pre-installed apps like Google Play, YouTube, Play Movies. And if we want to access more applications, we can enter the Google Store and download the apps for Android TV that we have already seen or install the APK. You can play content in high-quality formats, such as 4K.

Lastly, we have to talk about NVIDIA SHIELD. It is a player with which to access Android TV but also live video and entertainment services. Above all, it is one of the preferred options of gamers. With it, we access games in the cloud, but we can also download them to our PC. It is one of the highest quality options as it supports the 4K format with HDR, so the use of games is fast and fluid.

The advantages of Android TV

Are you thinking of buying a television with Android TV or installing a device that gives you access to its options? Do not forget the advantages of this platform:

And, in addition, every month, Google continues to incorporate new apps and tools. You want Android TV to be more than just a way to watch TV, you want to be a global hub for entertainment, connectivity and functionality.

In Nobbot | These are the apps that slow down Android and you should uninstall now

Pictures | Android, Google Play

Related