How to make a smart TV out of an old TV. "Android set-top box": smartphones and tablets. Connecting using the S-Video connector
It’s very easy to turn your outdated TV into a smart TV - just buy an Android set-top box, like in the picture.
This Android whistle plugs directly into the HMDI port of your TV. You can control Android with a regular mouse and a keyboard, which are connected via a USB connector. Convenient to use wireless mouse and a keyboard, or for media centers.
There are three on the MK 809III USB connector– standard USB type A, micro USB and micro USB for power, through which nothing is connected. There is also a slot for microSD cards.
There is Wi-Fi and Bluetooth inside, so Bluetooth keyboards and mice work just as well.
The MK809III console is built on the basis of a 4-core RK3188 chip, so there are no problems with performance, you can even play modern games on big screen. The only problem might be the controls, as some games require a gyroscope. But if the controls can be assigned to buttons or a touch interface, then there will be no inconvenience, since the system has a pre-installed utility for mapping screen areas to hardware keys. Thus, you can easily connect and play any games with a touch interface. It’s especially nice to play all sorts of retro games from NES, Atari, PlayStation, Nintendo, MAME and others on the big screen through emulators.
However, more often than not you will not play games, but watch the MK809III works great with all sorts of things, in addition to this you can connect external drive via USB or watch a movie from another source via DLNA, while all video formats are played. If something doesn’t play, then you need to install it, not to mention viewing photos from a phone or camera with Wi-Fi.
For ease of connection, the kit includes a small HDMI extender, this is if the HDMI sticks out of the TV into the wall and the distance to the wall is small.
MK809III supports FullHD (1920×1080 pixels), the picture is excellent quality, but at this resolution some games may slow down. But in FullHD the desktop reveals its potential. You can set everything up so that when you turn on your TV, everything you need will be in front of your eyes on one screen: news from social networks, weather, program guide, calendar, etc.The current Android version for mk809iii is 4.2.2, updated regularly.
One of the strange things is that it is possible to turn off the device through the menu, but it is not clear how to turn it on - there are no buttons on it. You have to turn off the power and plug it in again.
If your TV is so old that it doesn’t even have HDMI, it doesn’t matter. You can choose one for about the same money. I just don’t recommend buying a kit with a keyboard, since these keyboards don’t have Russian letters. The keyboard can be purchased separately.
And sometimes the thought slips into my mind that the mental abilities of technology will soon approach human ones. What then? Rise of the Machines?
Let's not let the glands take over us! If a “smart” TV – Smart TV – has settled in your home, do not let its “brains” stand idle (otherwise you never know what will come into your electronic “head” :)). Load them with work, fortunately there is plenty today. I bring to your attention the best free apps for Smart TV and set-top boxes. Some of them are designed only for Android, as the most common TV OS, but many are also available for other platforms.
Twitch TV
TV Bro browser is specially designed for Android TV. It supports voice and remote control, displays web pages correctly on the large screen and has a built-in download manager.
SlyNet IPTV
– an application for watching on-air TV programs and any other video on Smart TV. And also for listening to music on the radio. You won't need any subscriptions or payments; just connect your TV to the Internet.
SlyNet IPTV has more than 800 TV channels and 1000 radio stations around the world, several thousand films, and free playlists. Residents of our country have access to almost all popular Russian channels: NTV, ORT, 1+1, STS, etc.
The program interface is Russian. To play content correctly, you will have to additionally install the free XMTVplayer.
VLC
Few people don’t know the multimedia player, but not everyone knows that it can work on Android TV, Tizen OS, and WebOS. The main advantage of this product is that it supports almost all audio and video formats without installing additional codecs.
VLC for TV includes filters and an equalizer for sound correction. It also implements hardware acceleration, support for custom playlists and subtitles. There are performance management settings.
Ivi – movies and TV series in HD and Full DH
The application is begging to be installed on every TV. After all, it represents a grandiose video library - one of the largest among its analogues. It contains almost everything: from movies of all genres to rare television shows. And it is constantly updated with new products.
Other advantages of Ivi are that the program supports all types of TV connections to the Internet and does not require downloading the content you are going to watch to your device.
365 Body Workout
It will allow you to save on a gym membership, because it will take care of your physical fitness. His arsenal includes a set of exercises for fitness, several training programs, an individual schedule, and useful tips.
The exercises are illustrated with 3D animated pictures and accompanied by voice prompts.
If you want to expand your training program beyond what is included in free version 365 Body Workout, additional content will have to buy. It's inexpensive.
LeanKey Keyboard
Unfortunately, not all manufacturers of Smart TVs and set-top boxes equip their equipment with a decent visual keyboard. If you are unlucky in this regard, install . This one is free screen keyboard has Russian and Latin alphabet, is fully controlled from the remote control, easily switches between layouts and allows you to use additional buttons on the remote control, for example, quick access to the menu.
Games for TV
Implosion – Never Lose Hope
– role-playing game on the topic of saving civilization from alien invaders, the gameplay of which, according to the developers, tends to the level game consoles. I can’t judge whether this is true, but if you believe the users, the game’s graphics are really not bad. Voice acting too, although the translation leaves much to be desired.
Installing Implosion – Never Lose Hope is free, but some content will have to be purchased separately if you wish.
Zombie Age 2
- an arcade game, the essence of which is to liberate the city from the horde Walking Dead. The latter should be chopped into meat different types weapons and earn points for yourself.
Today, developers offer Smart TV owners a wide variety of applications for watching television, movies online directly from websites, useful programs and even games. Each user can independently select the programs they need, but it is important to take into account the region of residence and the model of their TV.
- LG – enter the Smart TV section and select interactive TV from the available widgets;
- Samsung – enter the Smart TV section and select in the store Samsung applications App item Video, where you can find and download Interactive TV.
This application is only available for models from 2012. As for synchronization with devices on operating system Android, its version must be at least 4.0, and for iOS - at least 5.0.
Setting up IPTV
Viewer application television channels IPTV is now also available for Smart TVs. This program provides access to digital television, that is, to more high-quality image And soundtrack. Connection options this application several, and in many cases a special attachment is needed, but you can also do without it.
If we consider installing this program on TVs Samsung Smart TV, without a set-top box, it is immediately worth noting that this is only possible for models no younger than 2010. To watch television via IPTV you need to download the nStreamLmod application. The setup sequence is as follows:
- Login to Smart Hub through special button on the remote control;
- Pressing button A from the remote control;
- Go to creation point work record and enter the develop login and password 123456;
- Confirmation of data entry by clicking the “Create work record” button;
- Enter your username and password to log into your account;
- Pressing the Tools button from the remote control and selecting the “Settings” section;
- IN open window select “Development”;
- Enter the server IP address through setup. Each TV model uses its own. For Samsung it is 188.168.31.14 or 31.128.159.40;
- Clicking the application synchronization item (this action can remove all previously installed programs except standard ones);
- When the process is complete, launch the nStreamPlayer application and enter the address http://powernet.com.ru/stream.xml in the Playlist URL 1 field.
Additional Applications
There are a lot additional applications to watch TV programs and movies online. So, one of them is an offer from the provider MegaFon.TV. This program is free and supported by LG Smart TVs no earlier than 2013 (including TVs from v1.2.0 webOS), as well as Samsung Smart TVs from 2013, with the exception of those running on the Tizen operating system.
Like TV is also a relevant application today - free program, which opens access to watching IPTV on Samsung Smart TV (all TV models).
In 1997, Microsoft released a device called MSN TV, having bought the idea together with WebTV Networks Inc. for 425 million dollars. The essence of the device was the ability to browse the Internet using a regular TV. In those days when a computer was still a luxury, and the Internet was supplied to the house through dial-up connections, such a gadget became a real breakthrough, but it was precisely because of the low speed of the Internet and poor television pictures that the project then sank into oblivion.
Image from kvh.com
Which, however, did not stop the manufacturers, and in 2007 the company Apple started selling your Apple TV, a fundamentally different device that only worked within local network, synchronizing iTunes libraries located on home computers.
Image from wikimedia.org
IN further technology improved, and in 2010 Google introduced Google TV - set-top box on Android OS. It was she who served as the impetus for the release of many various solutions based on ready-made chipsets and open Android.
Today, the cost of such a set-top box starts at $30. For this money you get small device with everything you need included, which can access the Internet and play any video. Since such a device runs on Android, you can do everything with it that you can do with your smartphone or tablet. Only instead of touch screen you are provided with a special remote control. You can also connect a keyboard, mouse and any other input device to the console.
In order to demonstrate the transformation of a regular TV into a smart TV, specific example, our editors purchased the most acceptable option for a budget set-top box - Beelink X2 TV Box with UltraHD support and hardware codec H.265. The cost of this TV box was about $35.
Technical characteristics of the set-top box:
Operating system: Android 4.4
GPU: 2-core Mali400MP2
Processor: 4-core Allwinner H3
RAM: 1G
Built-in memory: 8G
And now, with the help of this inexpensive set-top box, we will begin the transformation.
Photo by Nikita Spivak
In a small cardboard box The set-top box itself, power supply, HDMI cable and control panel are packaged. It must be said that more expensive devices also include an RCA cable for connecting to very old TVs that do not have an HDMI connector, but our set-top box does not even have a connector for “tulips”, so there is no cable itself. The rest of the equipment is standard.
Photo by Nikita Spivak
The console itself is small in size - 11x11 centimeters, light and relatively thin - a little more than 1.5 centimeters in thickness. The top side is made of matte plastic, which does not leave fingerprints, unlike the glossy ends.
Photo by Nikita Spivak
On the back of the console there are connectors for HDMI connections, USB, network cable, optical S/PDIF output and power connector.
Photo by Nikita Spivak
On right side- Another one USB connector and a micro SD card slot that supports memory cards up to 32 GB.
Photo by Nikita Spivak
In the right corner, on the upper side, is located physical button shutdown In general, the presence of such a button is usually rare for similar devices and is always a pleasant surprise.
Photo by Nikita Spivak
At the front end, under the power button, there is an LED window. It lights up blue when the set-top box is operating and red when the set-top box is off.
Photo by Nikita Spivak
A special remote control is used to control the set-top box. It is quite simple, has the basic Android buttons: Home, Back and Menu, as well as volume control keys and arrow keys for navigation. Availability digital buttons here, rather, for beauty. Apparently, the manufacturer "put" them as an additional weight to make the remote control more like a television one. But using the "1/a" button you can quickly change the screen resolution.
Photo by Nikita Spivak
Connection is straightforward: just connect the set-top box to the TV using HDMI cable, included in the kit, and turn on the power. It's annoying for the little ones of this device The length of the power supply wire turned out to be slightly less than one meter. Therefore, we had to use an extension cord, after which the TV box quickly turned on, and we found ourselves in the proprietary menu of the “smart” set-top box.
Photo by Nikita Spivak
A simple connection allows you to make even your computer monitor “smart”.
The console itself has Android 4.4 installed, but with a pre-installed proprietary launcher, which is adapted for control from the remote control. The launcher itself is divided into three tabs.
The first one, Home, contains folders with the most necessary multimedia programs. Moreover, the choice of most applications is yours.
The second tab, More, contains folders with various favorite applications, as well as shortcuts for settings and cleaning RAM. The developers have built Task Killer directly into the system, because the device has only 1 gigabyte of RAM.
Well, the third tab - All Apps - is dedicated to all applications installed in the system. In general, almost everything comes with a similar launcher modern consoles on the Allwinner chipset, so our gadget was no exception.
In general, the interface turned out to be simple and convenient for working with the included control panel. Not very beautiful, of course, but for all sorts of little things you can install any other launcher from Google Play.
It’s very nice that manufacturers immediately built Gogle services and even Root access into the firmware. Thanks to this, we can install many programs on our console that turn our regular TV in "smart".
We tested several applications for watching TV online.
A very simple and intuitive application. Does not require registration, completely free, almost all popular TV channels are available, with acceptable quality Pictures.
Download the application from Google Play.
The SPB TV application is one of the most popular, most stable and has many additional functions: picture in picture, sleep timer, etc. But for the opening additional features and TV channels you need to subscribe.
Download the application from Google Play.
Another convenient application with program guide and many TV channels. Inside the program, you can subscribe to a premium package, which will open additional channels and the ability to record your favorite programs.
Download the application from Google Play.
Our native, Kazakh application for watching local TV channels. Works. Has a program guide for each TV channel and user-friendly interface for finger control. It’s more difficult to do this with a mouse or remote control.
Download the application from Google Play.
Clumsy application with an overloaded interface. Constantly requires registration. Without it, you can watch TV channels for 2 minutes, after which you still have to register. But after registration, you are given the opportunity to synchronize your account between all your devices. Plus paid content in the form of on-demand movies and premium TV channels.
Download the application from Google Play.
The main advantage of Peers TV is the availability of an archive of television programs. If you didn't have time to watch something in time, you can find it in Peers archives TV, in addition there is a news section, a program guide and, again, paid subscription to popular TV channels.
In addition to these applications, many others are available, for every taste and color. Moreover, the number of applications for watching online television is constantly growing, and the quality of modern free Internet broadcasting is practically not inferior to what is broadcast by television providers; you can even use the list and watch television through a browser. So, with the help of our small box, you can find and watch any TV channels that were previously unavailable. The only negative is the need to get used to the new way of interacting with the TV. If previously it was enough to switch channels using the television remote control, now you will need a computer mouse, since the included remote control of the set-top box is not perceived by some programs.
In addition, it is better to connect the set-top box to the Internet using a cable, since the budget built-in Wi-Fi antenna picks up the signal very poorly if the router is not located next to the set-top box.
A reliable Wi-Fi signal can only be obtained close to the router
But after connecting computer mouse You can not only watch television, but also play small games, such as solitaire.
Simple games like solitaire work great on a budget TV set-top box
In addition to games, if in addition to the mouse you also connect a keyboard, you can even turn our set-top box into full-fledged computer and work in office programs.
Or surf the Internet.
The most important thing that the console is designed for is watching a variety of videos. You can watch movies and TV series online in the same way as Internet television - using special applications.
Download the application from Google Play.
In any hardware store you will find that digital TVs with Smart TV function are much more expensive than regular ones. The functionality of conventional digital TVs consists, as a rule, in the ability to watch analogue or digital TV, connecting such a TV as a second monitor to any computer device, as well as playing multimedia files from USB drives with a built-in media player. The latter, by the way, is in budget models TVs can cover quite limited set file formats.
The functionality of Smart TV seriously increases the cost of the TV for good reason. In essence, such a TV is a computer - it contains firmware, it contains not only an advanced media player, but also the ability to view media files from the Internet in the implementation as individual applications, and through a special browser.
Does it make sense to buy an expensive Smart TV?
But there is no need to pay for an expensive branded TV with Smart TV function. You can turn both the cheapest digital TV and the old one into a Smart TV CRT TV, and even a monitor, though one of them modern models with HDMI output. Smart function TV is implemented in individual devices Android TV. They will be discussed below.
What is Android TV?
Android TV (or Google TV) is a mini-computer based, as the name suggests, on the Android platform. It can be called both a TV set-top box and a media player - in both the first and second cases this will correspond to reality, since the specifics of the device make it possible to erase some specific edges. Android TV is actually the same tablet, only without a screen. The device has almost the same technical characteristics same as Android smartphones or tablets - processor, RAM and permanent memory, video card. There is only no display, but instead there is the ability to display images on a TV or monitor.
Why Android platform? This is a free operating system, and differs from its, so to speak, ancestor - Linux OS - in a more colorful and intuitive interface, integration with Google services And huge store applications and games, most of which are free or distributed at a nominal price.
By connecting Android TV to your TV, you essentially get the same Smart TV, but not based on the TV manufacturer’s factory firmware with limited functionality, but on the most popular operating system with all its advantages. Internet television, FullHD video, 3D video, YouTube, various online video portals and torrent trackers, network resources Internet provider, games and applications - Android TV opens up enormous opportunities for interesting leisure activities. If you have a mobile phone Internet Android TV connected to car display, turns it, in addition to a media player, also into a reference and navigation system using one of the many presented on Google Play Market navigation applications for Android.
Just a couple of decades ago, a Soviet citizen would never have dreamed that in the future his children would be able to make video calls around the world using a TV. Black and white “Birches”, “Orions” or “Electrons” certainly would not be capable of this, no matter how skillfully you screw a disk drive to them telephone set. With Android TV you can make calls on TV, because the latter, let us remind you, just plays the role of a screen.
What is Android TV as a technical device?
There are two main types of Android TV devices on the market today. This is a MiniPC - a miniature flash drive type device - and a TV Box - a functional TV set-top box.
Android TV MiniPC
MiniPC is perhaps the smallest device included in the package. Being slightly larger than a regular flash drive, this device is much smaller than its control panel. Android TV MiniPC connects to the TV via an HDMI port (directly or using an extension adapter) and is powered by USB.
At MiniPC network port(RJ45) no, you can only connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi. There is Bluetooth, with its help you can connect to Android TV wireless devices. Data media can be connected to the MiniPC either via USB or via a card reader. Some models may include a built-in microphone for network communication.
The small size of MiniPC is designed to provide a budget digital TV with Smart TV functionality as discreetly as possible - so that the user does not feel discomfort, compared to their rich relatives or neighbors, who every year change their plasma Smart TV to a more expensive one. new model. And usually MiniPCs only have one USB port, therefore, to connect several USB devices to it, you will have to additionally purchase a USB hub.
The MiniPC is equipped with only an HDMI output; it does not have S-Video, DVI, VGA, composite (AV) output, or audio output. Because such Android option TV is unlikely to be suitable in cases with a CRT TV. To turn the latter into Smart TV, you need a TV set-top box - Android TV Box.
Android TV Box
TV set-top box Android based - multifunction device. Outwardly, it resembles a router; almost all models have external antenna. By the way, Android TV Box can additionally act as a router - receive the Internet via wire thanks to the built-in network port(RJ45) and distribute the Internet via Wi-Fi.
Android TV Box usually has more than two USB ports. And just like the MiniPC, the TV set-top box is equipped with a card reader.
Besides HDMI output for connecting to a digital TV, Android TV Box is equipped with a composite output (AV, “tulip”) for outputting images to a CRT TV, as well as an audio output for outputting sound to its speakers.
Just like MiniPC, Android TV Box models can be equipped with a built-in microphone for communicating over the Internet.
Android TV device management
The Android MiniPC and TV Box comes with a remote control that, like a pointer, can be used to manipulate the cursor on the screen. This is possible thanks to the G-sensor built into the remote control. Some device models include a remote control with a QWERTY keyboard, which can be used to enter letters.
Any external devices data input - mice, keyboards, gamepads - as already mentioned, can be connected via USB ports and via wireless connection via Bluetooth.
Specifications Android devices TV
Both MiniPC and TV Box are, as already mentioned, computer devices, assembled from various hardware components. Depending on the models and manufacturers, devices can be equipped with processors with two or four cores, with different clock frequency– from 1 to 2 GHz, RAM from 512 MB to 2 GB, as well as internal flash memory 2, 4, 8 or more GB.
Android TV devices are not represented on the market by branded models from famous manufacturers, as can be seen in the case of Android smartphones or tablets. Android TVs are usually made by little-known companies Chinese manufacturers, and the assembly of devices involves far from the most advanced hardware. As a rule, these are Rockchip or Allwinner processors and a Mali-400 video card.
Price issue
Since MiniPCs are aimed only at digital TVs, they are cheaper than TV Boxes. You can buy Android TV in MiniPC format from $70. There are also cheaper models, but these will be extremely weak hardware capabilities. This may not affect video playback, but if you want to play some Android game, the money saved will be remembered as wasted nerves.
Android TV Box will cost $20-25 more than MiniPC with approximately the same hardware characteristics.
