Android TV image for Vero 4K

It would be awesome to be able to run Android TV on my Vero 4K. The hardware should be perfect for that.

We will likely have an Android image in the future but it won’t be Android TV based. The Vero 4K is an OSMC device rather than another Android box.

Sam

Is this actually in the road-map (post-Leia maybe)?

Yes.

2 Likes

Is there some demo image of android for vero4k? I would be glad to test it. :slight_smile:

Not at this time

1 Like

I’d be happy not to have and android image and the focus put on osmc. If I wanted android I would have bought one of the million other android tv boxes

1 Like

Now that Netflix will be available on Kodi/osmc, I don’t see the need to go Android TV. Are there any other Apps osmc needs?

Netflix is currently almost useless at resolutions above 720p. I don’t know if an Android version could handle that differently? If so, that would be a strong argument for it.

Also, the UI on some Android apps is nicer than the corresponding Kodi plug-in.

Doesn’t any Android box that wants to include the proper Widevine L1 DRM for the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime have to certified by Google, and if it’s not then the resolution is limited anyway. I don’t think Google charge for certification but that raises the question would they certify a box as open as the Vero?

Besides the point I paid the premium price for my Vero 4k+ for the excellent Kodi support and think that’s where development should be focused. If I’d wanted an Android box then there are thousands of others to choose from, all of which have the same problem, no Widevine certification.

I guess in 2018 using the Netflix addon that comes with your smart TV is probably the best way to go anyway. Just a few days ago a friend of mine brought a new Sony flagship OLED and once you connect it to the internet and update the plugins it plays netflix in 4k with HDR without issues.

But for all of us with older TVs getting Netflix to play on the vero at 1080p would be wonderful.

Well, it’s certainly not going to get certified for Netflix while running OSMC. Android, I don’t know about.

That’s an entirely valid perspective. But, at the same time, if the Vero 4K could be used as a commercial-streaming-service player (supporting 4K HDR), that jumps it into a very different marketplace, where it can go head to head with devices from Roku, Amazon, Google and Apple. There are some big sales opportunities, there.

Obviously, that all depends on being able to use hardware acceleration on 4K Netflix, Amazon, etc. Without that, it’s probably not worth the effort.

Not for those of us with video processors.

Getting Atmos audio out of that setup can be a little tricky, too.

It won’t.

We can get certified to do 1080p under Android, but switching is a bit cumbersome, which is why we didn’t do it. For 4K; you need Netflix’s blessing which is vary and few between in terms of supported devices. This would require us to lock down bootloader and OS (so no OSMC).

We are still working on 1080p support for Netflix, Amazon

Sam