Android TV x86 released. Repurpose your old pc

[GhostRoadieBL]

Summary

Android TV is now available for install on x86 systems, it's still a little early in development but gives your old PC an OS to run android apps, stream media, etc. With some things still in the works like HD Netflix and some streaming platforms and chromecast being buggy, other apps are working really well. 

 

Quotes

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Created by XDA Senior Member AmznUser444 Dev, Android TV x86 aims to be an easy and convenient way of getting apps, games, and media content on your PC that is hooked up to a big screen. LAN, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and sound should work out of the box because the ROM has its roots in the Android-x86 project. 

 

My thoughts

 Great way to cut down on e-waste machines, minimum specs are very achievable (1.2 GHz dual-core 64-bit capable processor with a typical Intel/NVIDIA/AMD GPU having 64MB of video memory) so repurposing older hardware to be much more useful later in its life. If it gets enough support there are enough apps on android TV to make streaming PC games, retro emulators, even some native android games would be easy to play with a controller on the TV. I'm most interested in running VMs in unRaid to have a gaming system and android TV system running at the same time, devote 2 cores to an android TV partition to have the TV well taken care of and the rest for a decent gaming experience at the same time. 

 

Sources

 https://www.xda-developers.com/android-tv-x86-repurpose-pc-media-streamer/

https://forum.xda-developers.com/general/device-reviews-and-information/android-tv-x86-t3726365

[WaggishOhio383]

Ooh this is interesting. I'll probably install that on my old laptop later today and check it out. Do we know if it has support for menu navigation using something like an xbox controller?

[Terminus_V]

6 minutes ago, WaggishOhio383 said:

Ooh this is interesting. I'll probably install that on my old laptop later today and check it out. Do we know if it has support for menu navigation using something like an xbox controller?

That would be so amazing. I just purchased a kit to build a LGA 1151 PC with a Pentium G4400\B250f\4GB DDR4 RAM....I think it would be perfect

[WaggishOhio383]

1 hour ago, Terminus_V said:

That would be so amazing. I just purchased a kit to build a LGA 1151 PC with a Pentium G4400\B250f\4GB DDR4 RAM....I think it would be perfect

Can confirm it does work with an xbox controller. The install process is a bit complicated but once you get it downloaded it runs amazing. Can't wait to test out some games and emulation on this OS. I may have finally found the perfect use for my old laptop!

 

The only issue I see so far is that there isn't a battery life indicator for laptops. I pretty much plan on leaving it always plugged in anyway though.

[Helpful Tech Witch]

1 hour ago, GhostRoadieBL said:

1.2 GHz dual-core

damn.

i guess mu 1.6 single wont cut it.

[Master Disaster]

I have a Core i5 6000 series NUC sitting in my cupboard doing nothing, I'm 100% trying this tomorrow.

 

Anyone know if it supports FLIRC?

[Salv8 (sam)]

don't bother, it's been around since 2017, i should know, i tried it back it when it first came out.

it's been dead for a LONG time.

it has worse compatibility then android x86 itself (which is saying something since it's BASED ON IT) and many apps like netflix don't work at all.

i even tried to figure out how to fix that and got nowhere.

don't bother with the project, it's not worth it.

[GhostRoadieBL]

1 hour ago, Salv8 (sam) said:

don't bother with the project, it's not worth it.

last updated post was Oct 2020 with Android 9.0 so a lot has changed in 2 full years of tinkering. 

https://forum.xda-developers.com/android-stick--console-computers/intel/android-tv-x86-repurpose-pcs-t4182205

 

[Salv8 (sam)]

2 minutes ago, GhostRoadieBL said:

last updated post was Oct 2020 with Android 9.0 so a lot has changed in 2 full years of tinkering. 

https://forum.xda-developers.com/android-stick--console-computers/intel/android-tv-x86-repurpose-pcs-t4182205

 

dude it's dead.

an update isn't gonna fix that.

[GhostRoadieBL]

20 minutes ago, Salv8 (sam) said:

dude it's dead.

an update isn't gonna fix that.

I know right? I tried Red Dead Redemption 2 when it first came out and it's just a dead game, for those of us not running windows 95 and trying software AFTER an initial buggy release, it seems to be working pretty well on my virtual machine. Took a bit of a workaround installing onto a virtual disk but it works and is really close to android TV on the Nvidia Shield. 

[jagdtigger]

Just use LibreELEC... Better HW support and it supports almost any codec that exists.

[Master Disaster]

39 minutes ago, jagdtigger said:

Just use LibreELEC... Better HW support and it supports almost any codec that exists.

I'm interested in it for its emulation abilities and Kodi doesn't do emulation.

[Master Disaster]

2 hours ago, Salv8 (sam) said:

don't bother, it's been around since 2017, i should know, i tried it back it when it first came out.

it's been dead for a LONG time.

it has worse compatibility then android x86 itself (which is saying something since it's BASED ON IT) and many apps like netflix don't work at all.

i even tried to figure out how to fix that and got nowhere.

don't bother with the project, it's not worth it.

Its a brand new attempt that was released on October 20th 2020.

 

Netflix does work if you use a web browser but the app cannot work since the device doesn't support Netflix's DRM. This is made clear on the XDA page.

[Brooksie359]

9 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Its a brand new attempt that was released on October 20th 2020.

 

Netflix does work if you use a web browser but the app cannot work since the device doesn't support Netflix's DRM. This is made clear on the XDA page.

Tbh if you need to use the Netflix website instead of the android app you might as well just do that in windows. 

[GhostRoadieBL]

5 hours ago, Brooksie359 said:

Tbh if you need to use the Netflix website instead of the android app you might as well just do that in windows. 

totally agree assuming your hardware can run windows still. It's not perfect, I am trying to get steamlink running and see if it is a better experience than rainway on a "virtual" low spec dual core system. 

[Orange1]

This is interesting, I am in the market for some Android TV, though I have no spare pc to do it with. I could just buy anything I wish but I think I will stick with tried and true stuff.

[jagdtigger]

9 hours ago, Master Disaster said:

I'm interested in it for its emulation abilities

AFAIK it doesnt emulate anything, android is linux based which means with some work it can be ported to anything and run natively.

[Master Disaster]

1 minute ago, jagdtigger said:

AFAIK it doesnt emulate anything, android is linux based which means with some work it can be ported to anything and run natively.

I meant being able to run a slim OS on my NUC that is 100% controllable using a remote and can run Dolphin and Retroarch with great performance.

[jagdtigger]

1 minute ago, Master Disaster said:

I meant being able to run a slim OS on my NUC that is 100% controllable using a remote and can run Dolphin and Retroarch with great performance.

Well if your TV has HDMI-CEC you can us the remote to control Kodi..... (LibreELEC is basically a bare bones linux OS with Kodi as a GUI.)

 

[Wheresmehammer]

Gallatin Pentium III with Voodoo 1 not able then?

[SpaceGhostC2C]

Why would I install android in a device that can run anything else? Even if the specs are low, I can still use a proper lightweight Linux distro? 

[Guest savagepain]

8 hours ago, SpaceGhostC2C said:

Why would I install android in a device that can run anything else? Even if the specs are low, I can still use a proper lightweight Linux distro? 

easier navigation just overall ease of use android tv is easier than any Linux distro specifically for the non tech savvy 

[SpaceGhostC2C]

40 minutes ago, savagepain said:

easier navigation just overall ease of use android

I tend to find android at the bottom of the ranking among all systems I tried. I just took it as a necessary evil given none of the others are well-suited for tiny touch screens. However, outside the confines of a small touchscreen, I find no reason to justify its flaws. I can't rule out it somehow being more intuitive to someone else, as strange as that may sound to me.

[cikeZ00]

On 11/14/2020 at 11:07 PM, Salv8 (sam) said:

dude it's dead.

an update isn't gonna fix that.

 

On 11/15/2020 at 12:25 AM, Master Disaster said:

Its a brand new attempt that was released on October 20th 2020.

 

Netflix does work if you use a web browser but the app cannot work since the device doesn't support Netflix's DRM. This is made clear on the XDA page.

If I may add.
This is a complete ripoff from the TOSAnthony build that was cracked. (https://forum.xda-developers.com/member.php?u=3385560)

This is the link to the original thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/general/device-reviews-and-information/android-tv-x86-t3726365

Heres the link to the original ISO (cracked), you can compare the two if you want:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/c9meh488vyy2ccg/atv2020.iso/file

There will be no updates.
Another thing to mention would be that said build was hidden behind a paywall and was not open source.

Whats baffling is that this got so much traction, yet the actual developer of it wasnt even credited.

[Mark Kaine]

My old pcs are a Pentium, and a couple of pentium 2/3... JOKES ON YOU!!