I recently ordered a Mini M8S II device, as it is one of the cheapest streaming devices with native 4k and HEVC support. Unfortunately, right after ordering it, I learned that it is an Android device that happens to plug into a TV, but is not an Android TV device.
I am well aware of the fact that Live TV feature is currently only allowed on Android TV devices & iOS devices. This means that it is not available on other Android device.
I have a few questions: 1) Is the Android app and the Android TV app actually a different codebase?
If it is the same codebase, why are features like Live TV suppressed on the basic Android app?
If it is a different codebase, why is that?
2) Can you trick one of these Android devices that plug into a TV into reporting as an Android TV device, in order to get the premium features?
3) Why is it so hard to compare features across different devices and platforms? The Plex website does a good job of showing the additional features when you pay for a subscription, and I understand why since this results in revenue.
Why doesn’t the Plex website make it easier to compare features across different devices and software platforms? This would have prevented me from making this hardware purchase mistake! (This question is really feedback for the Plex team, rather than the community.)
they share some things but are different. if they do not run the Android TV OS they won’t run the Android TV version of app. .“Android TV” is an operating system “Android” is a different operating system. Just like apples tvOS and iOS are two different operating systems running on Apple TV devices and iphone/pads respectively.
we were clear that live tv works on Android TV & iOS only at the moment. it is mentioned on all of our info on LiveTV
we cannot help that manufacturers such as those who make MIniM8S II falsely insinuate they run “Android TV”
I totally agree that you (Plex) was clear that the Live TV feature only works on Android TV devices. The problem lies in the very misleading product descriptions for these low-cost devices that plug in to your TV which run the related (but different) “Android” OS, rather than “Android TV” OS.
I do have two suggestions which you (plex) could do on your website to help people negotiate this confusing landscape:
Indicate clearly on your website that inexpensive devices like the MiniM8S run “Android”. You have example devices on the bottom of each page, but the page for your android app does not indicate that low-cost Android devices which plug in to your TV run the regular Android version.
A place where you can see a single big table showing the feature support along the left edge, and the device type along the top edge would be tremendously helpful. Each cell in the table would need to reflect three states: Not supported, Plex Pass, and Supported.
Thanks again for your reply and support — Plex is fantastic and I’m always excited to see what fixes or new features are in each update!
Sincerely,
—tom
P.S. Anyone have any insight into why these low-cost Android device makers can’t up the Android TV OS on the device, and instead we get this weird hybrid Android device.
Indicate clearly on your website that inexpensive devices like the MiniM8S run “Android”. You have example devices on the bottom of each page, but the page for your android app does not indicate that low-cost Android devices which plug in to your TV run the regular Android version.
Do you even know how many of these cheap boxes are out there? Plex should not have to keep a track of what device is Android TV and what isn’t. You can clearly see what is and what isn’t from screenshots online prior to a purchase. Asking Plex to keep a track of that is quite frankly a ridiculous ask and I’m sure Plex have better things to do than do research for their customers who can’t be bothered to do it themselves before committing to a purchase…
The only officially supported Android TV box (that I have seen patch notes specifically for) is the Nvidia SHIELD TV.
Place all the blame on shady manufacturers descriptions.
Indicate clearly on your website that inexpensive devices like the MiniM8S run “Android”. You have example devices on the bottom of each page, but the page for your android app does not indicate that low-cost Android devices which plug in to your TV run the regular Android version.
Do you even know how many of these cheap boxes are out there? Plex should not have to keep a track of what device is Android TV and what isn’t. You can clearly see what is and what isn’t from screenshots online prior to a purchase. Asking Plex to keep a track of that is quite frankly a ridiculous ask and I’m sure Plex have better things to do than do research for their customers who can’t be bothered to do it themselves before committing to a purchase…
The only officially supported Android TV box (that I have seen patch notes specifically for) is the Nvidia SHIELD TV.
Place all the blame on shady manufacturers descriptions.
Pretty sure all AndroidTV boxes are “officially” supported, but you probably meant that the MiBox has issues with audio when using the Plex app… I believe the Sony TVs and Nexus Player work decently well, too.> @talph@hotmail.com said:
BigWheel, thanks for the reply.
I totally agree that you (Plex) was clear that the Live TV feature only works on Android TV devices. The problem lies in the very misleading product descriptions for these low-cost devices that plug in to your TV which run the related (but different) “Android” OS, rather than “Android TV” OS.
I do have two suggestions which you (plex) could do on your website to help people negotiate this confusing landscape:
Indicate clearly on your website that inexpensive devices like the MiniM8S run “Android”. You have example devices on the bottom of each page, but the page for your android app does not indicate that low-cost Android devices which plug in to your TV run the regular Android version.
A place where you can see a single big table showing the feature support along the left edge, and the device type along the top edge would be tremendously helpful. Each cell in the table would need to reflect three states: Not supported, Plex Pass, and Supported.
Thanks again for your reply and support — Plex is fantastic and I’m always excited to see what fixes or new features are in each update!
Sincerely,
—tom
P.S. Anyone have any insight into why these low-cost Android device makers can’t up the Android TV OS on the device, and instead we get this weird hybrid Android device.
It’s not Plex’s job to educate you about the products you buy… I agree the situation is confusing, though, but you should have researched.
Those companies use the “standard” android OS because that allows the user to run any android app out of the box, while official “Android TV” devices can only run apps made for a 10ft interface and a controller.
Personal I LOVE my 3 ShieldTVs and would never use those cheap boxes, but there are tons of people out there that like using a touchscreen interface with an air mouse because then they can use stuff like Chrome and Facebook on their boxes… To each their own.
It’s not Plex’s job to educate you about the products you buy… I agree the situation is confusing, though, but you should have researched.
I did do my research, but was misled by a combination of marketing for the MiniTV box, and the Plex website. This is why I think it’s a good idea for Plex to make minor changes to their website to do an even better job of explaining the difference between “Android TV” and other Android devices attached to, or built in to your TV. (It wouldn’t matter nearly as much if the featureset was the same between Android and Android TV apps.)
Tom,
I think what would work better is if we could get other users to post what Android TV device they have that works! I just finished building my new Plex server and ready to purchase some device’s for the monitor/TV’s in the house.
@theperformanceone said:
Tom,
I think what would work better is if we could get other users to post what Android TV device they have that works! I just finished building my new Plex server and ready to purchase some device’s for the monitor/TV’s in the house.
ShieldTV works perfectly (except a recent bug with 4k files, was perfect before, will get fixed). MiBox has issues with ac3 audio. I think Nexus Player works fine, but slow.
Either way, they all work great if you use Kodi with the Plex for Kodi add-on… MiBox, FireTV, etc all work great with it.
Only ShieldTV seems to work completely fine with the AndroidTV app so far… Not sure about the smart TVs that use it for their OS.
I expect most issues like ac3 on the MiBox and FireTV2 to get resolved when Plex moves to exoplayer2… But God knows when that’ll happen.
I personally have a Nvidia Shield which is my primary Plex device.
I have a Old Nexus Player in my bedroom but that device was always flakey, especially wifi, and Google does not make it anymore so i do not recommend getting one though it does seem like Google still updates it for now
