SmartTube (Android TV) 30.56

Important Announcement
Friends, it seems that my digital signature has been exposed. This signature protects the app from fake and malicious updates, so there is a risk that someone may try to release counterfeit versions under my name.
To completely eliminate any threats, I’ve decided to stop using the current signature and switch to a new one. Because of this, the app’s identifier will also change. You don’t need to delete the old app (but it will no longer receive updates) — the new one will install as a separate app and will need to be configured again.
Thank you for your understanding and attention to security.

Video codecs are the algorithms used for video compression.

* Examples taken from the video-only track at 1080p @ 25fps for this video: Dua Lipa - New Rules (Official Music Video)

At the same resolution, a lower bitrate is better! YouTube explicitly targets the same quality regardless of the codec. Older codecs have a higher bitrate only because they are less efficient. On Youtube, you do not get better quality by simply choosing a higher bitrate. Newer codecs have a better compression = lower bitrate = use less bandwidth = save the environment. This is a feature, not a bug. You should use the newest codec that works smoothly on your device, not the least efficient one. AVC usually has the highest bitrate. This is bad, not good.

Currently, there is no automatic mode based on your bandwidth. But you can configure a default video preset yourself under settings > video player > video presets. The first option ("none") will remember your last selection within the video player. Any other preset is used initially for each video; if the selected profile is not available, the next best available option is used. You can still override the profile on each video individually within the player.

To decide the optional resolution / video quality for you, you need to consider a few limiting factors:

Generally 60fps is an improvement, but if you personally don't notice (or mind) the difference, you can save bandwidth (and the environment) by not choosing 60fps.

HDR works only if your hardware supports it . It's a complicated mess.

If HDR videos look looked dim or washed out, then check this article . If HDR is not working , it's probably not this app's fault. You might need to search on the web for "HDR" and your device name for any help.

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You may view the LICENSE in which this software is provided to you here .

A: Try to switch to encrypted DNS like NextDNS. You can set-up such DNS either automatically or manually. To automatic set-up you can use the Intra apk at fdroid and the "AutoStart - No root" apk to make it autolaunch after every TV restart. For manual set-up use this guide .

A: They're some reports that the latest update for "Google app for Android TV" could cause this bug. Deleting the update should fix the problem.

A: Because AV01 is very new, most TVs and TV boxes not not offer hardware support and cannot play AV01 at all .

If your device has hardware support for a codec, videos using that codec should play smoothly. High resolutions might also be slow in VP9 on cheap TV boxes that don't officially support 4k. Your device probably can play VP9 videos even without hardware support, however this requires a powerful CPU to run smoothly. Fixing AV01 without hardware support is technically possible, but currently not planned and probably not efficient enough.

A: Compared to SmartTube's UI, Stock Youtube and YT Kids are far ahead. However, we'd need someone who's skilled and willing to dedicate enough time and energy into making it. And into maintaining it longterm (incl. new features, bug fixes). All of this for free. If you are / got someone like that, please help. Not to mention that SmartTube follows Google's official template & recommendations for Android TV apps. It's Google's fault that the template is somewhat ugly. 😂

A: It can be, but it takes someone to do it, similar to the above FAQ-entry. SmartTube is following Google's officially recommended design/template for TV apps and is using the official, preinstalled Android TV keyboard. Sadly, Google did a really bad job regarding the search page and keyboard. Maybe a future SmartTube update can add an embedded keyboard, similar to the original YouTube or other major Android TV apps. Maybe it can improve the looks to be as good or better than in the official YouTube app. But for now, it is the way it is due to lack of time and due to Google's official recommendations being bad.

A: No, this only works on Android devices. If you look at an Android TV's product page, it usually says clearly that it's based on Android. The app cannot easily be ported over to other plattforms and we have no plans to even try. Please do not ask . Instead, you can connect a separate TV stick or TV box to your TV.

A: Big No . This app is not for smartphones, we offer zero support for that.

You can cast videos from your smartphone to a TV / TV box running SmartTube, though. Just use the official YouTube app or ReVanced , see the casting section for more information.

There will not be a phone version. You can use ReVanced , Pure Tuber , NewPipe , or NewPipe x SponsorBlock instead. Please go to their respective support chats for help.

Yes... maybe.. Requirements:

Some users reported great success (incl. on a car entertainment system ). Please share your success stories with us.

A: please wait 5 seconds for the video to play. If that doesn't help, press the play button. Some users reported, that this issue only appears when they have a USB audio device attached or if their disk storage is full.

A. Press the "HQ"-button in the bottom-left, select video formats and select anything other than AV01. AV01 is not supported on most devices (apparently including yours), so select VP9 instead. See the section on video codecs for more information.

A: Right, that's currently a bug.

A: Please read the Casting section.

A: Your IP address range might be temporaily/permanently blocked by YouTube from watching videos if you not signed in to your account.

A: The issue might not be specific to SmartTube, as other unofficial YouTube apps also report this issue. It seems uncommon nowadays, but was very present in the 2nd quarter of 2021. Some users or devices seem to be more affected then others. The official YouTube app & website are apparently only rarely affected. The root cause of the issue is currently unclear, but it appears to be a server-side thing on YouTube's end. Possibly, YouTube is discriminating 3rd party apps.

For now, try to see if it helps to:

A: Do not worry, the debug information is incorrect. SmartTube works fine even above 1080p and you should be able to see that, when you play a video in 4k or UHD. Also do not worry if it says "720p" and you have a 1080p display.

A: It does (by default). If you set a video profile under settings, that acts as a maximum for automatic selection. Check if you configured a video profile, you can unset it by choosing "none".

Please do not confuse quality with bitrate . See the section on video codecs for more information.

A: SmartTube automatically select the highest available quality for your video, up to a maximum resolution that you can set in the settings under "video profile". If available, SmartTube will pick the selected video profile, or otherwise the next best one available will be used. You can still always change the video profile while watching videos.

A: This is planned, but not available yet (sorry 🙇‍♀️). However, you can set a maximum resolution to something that should work for your bandwidth. See above for details.

A: SmartTube has a feature called SponsorBlock . You can select categories should be skipped, if any. See the SponsorBlock section for more details.

A: You can switch between different autoplay-modes using the loop-button 🔁

A: Recommended videos are defined by YouTube and not by the app, we cannot change the algorithm. They are based on your country, which you can change in the settings. If you are logged in, they are based on your watch history, user profile data, and whatever else Google might use. If you are not logged in, you are like in "incognito mode", so your watch history does not influence your recommendations. Maybe a future version will add optional user profiling without logging in.

A: Yes, HDR works if your hardware supports it. The NVIDIA Shield does not. See the section on HDR for more information.

A: These updates change a lot of code, trying to fix bugs that only affect a few users/devices. Only the affected users should update. For anyone else, there is nothing to gain from updating; however there is the chance of causing new bugs. Do not worry if you updated anyways.

A: We currently cannot fix this, sorry.

A: "Auto Frame Rate". It adjusts the refresh rate of your TV to match the content you're watching. It can slightly improve the smoothness, but the difference is very small; most people barely notice it. It does not work well on every hardware. If you don't know what it does and don't want to test it out yourself, you can safely keep it off.

Recommendation: You can turn it on to see if it works on your device; if it causes issues (or if you don't care to test), turn it off .

A: The higher your buffer, the more of a video will be preloaded ahead of your current position. A low buffer might minimally reduce your bandwidth usage, if you often close videos before they end. A high buffer can smooth out network issues and prevent the video from pausing to buffer. A higher buffer increases RAM usage, however this shouldn't be an issue.

Recommendation: high .

A: No, when you seek back (e.g. jump back 5 seconds), SmartTube will have to rebuffer. This might be improved in a future update.

A: That's a firmware or Android issue. If you are using a custom rom, maybe that rom is buggy. Because this issue is nearly impossible for the developer to debug, we cannot help you, sorry. You can try the usual workarounds: rebooting, clearing cache, reinstalling the app, or factory resetting the device.

A: not yet

A: not with SmartTube

A: no, this is technically not possible. Only the preinstalled app manager (usually Google PlayStore, Amazon AppStore, etc) has the required permission. All other apps, incl. SmartTube can only show open installation prompt. A workaround using root would be possible, but hasn't been implemented yet.

A: no, this is not possible. SmartTube does not have any code to display ads. Adding this functionality would actually take time and effort, which is instead spent on adding useful features and fixing bugs.