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I've been using this for a couple of years now, and it's utterly fantastic. I highly recommend it. I honestly have a hard time imagining using YouTube without
by shiroiushi 2y ago
I've been using this for a couple of years now, and it's utterly fantastic. I highly recommend it. I honestly have a hard time imagining using YouTube without it, because without it (or something similar that can be installed on a TV), I'd have to find videos I want to watch on my PC, download them manually with yt-dlp, and then copy them to a USB stick or put them someplace where I could watch them with Jellyfin, just so I can watch them on the TV.
As the warning says, you need to install it directly from the github site. There's a helpful how-to that details how to do this on a typical Android TV using the "Downloader" app, listed as the "easiest" method here. It's really not hard, but obviously more work than just installing an app from the Play Store.
- happyopossum 2y ago> because without it (or something similar that can be installed on a TV), I'd have to find videos I want to watch on my PC, download them manually with yt-dlp, and then copy them to a USB stick or put them someplace Where in your scenario are AirPlay and ChromeCast? Or just yt-dl and plex? All of which seem waaaaaay easier than your song and dance
- shiroiushi 2y agoAirPlay is Apple-only, so that's a no-go. ChromeCast I don't know much about (edit: it appears to be a dongle device you have to buy, and they're discontinued now), but the whole point of SmartTube is that you don't need to mess around with other devices; you just do everything from the TV and its remote control. Yeah, if SmartTube didn't exist (and other similar apps, I think NewPipe is similar), then I'd have to resort to some crazy stuff. I think I did mention yt-dlp and Jellyfin before. But still, that's a big pain: I'd have to go to my PC to do that stuff, then go back to the couch to watch it on the TV. With SmartTube, I don't have to do all that.
- m4rtink 2y agoChromecast is not discontinued - it runs Android TV & I run Smart Tube on it. Also a new Chromecast device was released just a couple weeks ago (I have the previous one).
- shiroiushi 2y agoAccording to Wikipedia, Chromecast has been discontinued, but replaced by something else called "Google TV Streamer". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromecast https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromecast
- gnabgib 2y agoChromecast the device is discontinued. Chromecast the protocol lives on. Confusingly it was first named Google cast (2013-2016), then renamed "Chromecast" or "Chromecast built in" (most brands just using the first label), but due to the device's retirement this year, google has reverted the protocol name to "Google Cast" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Cast https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Cast
- m4rtink 2y agoIndeed, they did rename it: https://store.google.com/intl/en/ideas/articles/google-tv-streamer/ https://store.google.com/intl/en/ideas/articles/google-tv-st... Lol, did not realize that so far they renamed it - looks like just an updated chromecast with the USB-C dock I'm using with it built in.
- grujicd 2y agoChromecast is already built into all(?) Android TVs, no need for separate device. It has to be on the same network as your phone or PC, and then you should see a "cast" icon when you play video.
- ryukoposting 2y agoI just hit the "cast" button in the YouTube app, and my TV and stereo receiver switch on by themselves, my Google TV box opens the YouTube app by itself, and the video on my phone starts playing on my TV. I'd love to have greater control over the software stack on my TV, but what you're describing seems awfully overwrought.
- shiroiushi 2y agoYour solution sounds like you have to watch ads. No thanks. SmartTube lets you watch YouTube without the ads or sponsor segments, and without messing with other devices. You just start the app, and use the TV remote control to navigate and select and play videos.
- SoftTalker 2y agoNo ads with YuuTube Premium.
- mouse_ 2y agoI will not be extorted by a rectangle lol
- 1oooqooq 2y agoto watch video my friends uploaded and marked no monetization even. google is ruthless now.
- sadeshmukh 2y agoVideos that they pay hosting for?
- emptiestplace 2y agoWe are talking about YouTube Premium.
- fracus 2y agoI love it too. I just wish it was also available on Android mobile.
- shiroiushi 2y agoI can see why the developer doesn't bother: the UI would need to be very different. SmartTube is meant for use on TVs, not on touchscreens, so it has no touch UI at all and is designed for use with a remote control. There's some other apps that basically do the same thing, but on Android mobile, such as ReVanced I think.
- takeda 2y agoReVanced is patched up original Youtube (which has among other things the benefits of not showing ads), but the equivalent to SmartTube would be NewPipe, which is a new YouTube replacement app.
- willywanker 2y agoIt would not - NewPipe and its derivatives don't support Youtube accounts unlike SmartTube. With SmartTube (and Revanced, on Android mobiles) you can sign into Youtube and use your playlists, likes, comments etc.
- takeda 2y agoOk I did not know that. I need to check, but I don't think I signed in my SmartTube, I don't see a good reason for it.
- fracus 2y agoRevanced is a pain in the ass to install.
- mrandish 2y agoI use Revanced Extended on Android mobile. It took about ten minutes to set up the first time and has worked flawlessly since.
- gbraad 2y agomany TV boxes come with it 'cheap' preinstalled, like the slimboxtv firmware. still, remove this or go with an AOSP/stock TV firmware and install it yourself.
- gbraad 2y agomeant to say: cheap TV boxes. anyway, only install from a reliable source
- mrandish 2y ago> I honestly have a hard time imagining using YouTube without it I agree and would go further to the extent I simply will not ever use YT without SmartTube on any of my TVs. For desktop I get similar functionality in Firefox with the Nova YouTube UserScript (which hosts dozens of user-created modules able to modify every aspect of YT) and on Android mobile I use ReVanced Extended. And it's not just removing the ads and commercials, which I could (mostly) get with a YT subscription. It's that even with the subscription, YT's entire site, interface and interaction model is now so completely enshittified, it's a miserable, frustrating experience. I've used YT since months after it was launched and until I ran Nova YouTube and allowed it to "restore" the YT interface back to what it was a decade or so ago, even I didn't realize how YT has gradually 'boiled the frog' by introducing hundreds of small, anti-user regressions one at a time over the years. It was literally shocking.