SmartTube

SmartTube is a free, open-source media client built specifically for Android TVs and TV boxes. It gives you a TV-optimized interface for browsing and playing content from public sources, without the ads or telemetry baked into official apps. It's aimed at people running Android TV, Google TV, Fire TV, NVIDIA Shield, or generic Android TV boxes who want a cleaner, more configurable viewing experience.

The project is a one-person hobby effort (with community translation help), distributed via F-Droid and GitHub releases rather than the Play Store or Amazon Appstore. It explicitly does not run on phones or tablets, and it does not work on non-Android smart TV platforms like Tizen or webOS.

Key features

• Clean interface: a distraction-free browsing and playback UI with no ad clutter.
• SponsorBlock integration: automatically skip sponsor segments, intros, outros, and other categories using the crowdsourced SponsorBlock database (submission of new segments isn't supported, since TV remotes aren't precise enough for that).
• High-quality playback: support for 8K resolution, 60fps video, and HDR, subject to your device's hardware capabilities.
• Adjustable playback speed: change speed mid-video via an on-screen control, remembered across sessions.
• Live chat viewing: watch live chat alongside live streams.
• Customizable buttons: remap or configure playback controls to taste.
• No Google Services dependency: works on devices without Google Play Services installed.
• Casting support: link a phone's app to the TV manually (no automatic same-network discovery, unlike official apps).
• Picture-in-Picture: play video in a floating window while navigating elsewhere on the device.
• Built-in updater: checks for and installs new versions with a changelog, no app store required.

Ideal use cases

SmartTube is a good fit if you run an Android-based TV device (Android TV, Google TV, Fire TV pre-Vega OS, NVIDIA Shield, Chromecast with Google TV, or a generic Android TV box) and want more control over playback: sponsor skipping, adjustable speed, HDR/8K/60fps support, and a lighter interface than stock apps provide.

It also suits privacy-conscious users who don't want to depend on Google Services being installed, and people on older hardware, since it supports Android 4.3 and up.

It is not a fit if you're looking for a phone or tablet app; SmartTube isn't optimized for those and offers no support there. It also won't help on non-Android smart TV operating systems (Tizen, webOS, Apple TV, or the newer Fire TV Vega OS devices released after October 2025). Voice search and casting reliability can lag behind official apps depending on the device, and comment functionality is described as unstable.

Installation

Do not install SmartTube from app stores or random APK sites; it isn't officially published anywhere except F-Droid and GitHub releases. There's a beta channel (faster features/fixes) and a stable channel.

Common installation paths on the TV device itself:

• Install the Downloader by AFTVnews app on the TV, then enter kutt.to/stn_beta or kutt.to/stn_stable as the download URL.
• Transfer the APK from a phone or computer using a file-transfer app (e.g. Send Files to TV).
• Copy the APK to a USB stick and open it with a file manager app (e.g. FX File Explorer or X-plore); the built-in Android file manager won't work.
• Sideload via ADB if you're comfortable with command-line tooling.

Chromecast with Google TV requires enabling Developer Options and toggling "Unknown sources" for your chosen installer app before sideloading works. Xiaomi devices with Chinese firmware may block beta installs; use the stable release or international firmware instead.

The app has a built-in updater that checks for new versions after launch, so you only need to sideload once.

To build from source:

git clone https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTube.git
cd SmartTube
git submodule update --init
adb connect <device_ip_address>
gradlew clean installStstableDebug

Note: the build requires OpenJDK 14 or older; newer JDKs can cause crashes.