SmartTube [YouTube For Smart TV]
Quote from Mrr Zed0 on March 9, 2025, 6:03 amSmartTube is an advanced player for Android TVs and TV boxes, free & open source. You can play content from different public sources.
Features: no ads ‧ SponsorBlock ‧ adjustable playback speed ‧ 8k support ‧ 60fps ‧ HDR ‧ read live chat ‧ customizable buttons ‧ no Google Services ‧ helpful international community
Disadvantages: no support for phones and tablets, no comments stability, voice search and casting support might be worse than in the official apps, depending on your device; give it a try!
Do you have any question? Ctrl+F or ⌘F this readme first!
Features
Adblocking
SmartTube does not show any ad banners, preroll ads or ad intermissions. It not just tries to prevent them, it is literally programmed to be completely unable to display any ads, so YouTube cannot slip anything in. This also means you cannot allow ads or whitelist channels. Some YouTube channels include sponsored messages in their videos, these can also be skipped, see SponsorBlock below.
SponsorBlock
SmartTube includes a SponsorBlock integration. From the SponsorBlock website:
SponsorBlock is an open-source crowdsourced browser extension and open API for skipping sponsor segments in YouTube videos. […] the extension automatically skips sponsors it knows about using a privacy preserving query system. It also supports skipping other categories, such as intros, outros and reminders to subscribe [and non-music parts in music videos].
You can select which categories you want to skip in the settings. Unlike the browser addon, in SmartTube you cannot submit new segments (TVs and TV remotes aren’t great devices for such precise operations). Note that SponsorBlock is a free and voluntary project based on user submissions, so don’t expect it to 100% work every time. Sometimes, sponsor segments are not yet submitted to the database, sometimes the SponsorBlock servers are offline/overloaded.
Casting
To cast videos from your phone (or other devices), you must link that device to your TV. Unlike the original YouTube app, SmartTube does not automatically show up when you are in the same wifi network. How to link your smartphone and TV:
open SmartTube and go to settings go to “Remote control” (2nd option) open your YouTube app on your phone, go to settings > General > watch on TV click on connect using TV-code and enter the code from your TV Screenshot guide
Due to technical limitations, you need to open the app on the TV before casting; SmartTube cannot automatically wake up the TV.
Picture-in-Picture (PiP)
SmartTube supports playing videos in PiP mode. This needs to be enabled under Settings > General > Background playback > Picture in picture. The video will go into PiP mode when you press home while playing a video, and also when you press back if enabled in Settings > General > Background playback (activation).
Download:
https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTube/releases
SmartTube is an advanced player for Android TVs and TV boxes, free & open source. You can play content from different public sources.
Features: no ads ‧ SponsorBlock ‧ adjustable playback speed ‧ 8k support ‧ 60fps ‧ HDR ‧ read live chat ‧ customizable buttons ‧ no Google Services ‧ helpful international community
Disadvantages: no support for phones and tablets, no comments stability, voice search and casting support might be worse than in the official apps, depending on your device; give it a try!
Do you have any question? Ctrl+F or ⌘F this readme first!
Features
Adblocking
SmartTube does not show any ad banners, preroll ads or ad intermissions. It not just tries to prevent them, it is literally programmed to be completely unable to display any ads, so YouTube cannot slip anything in. This also means you cannot allow ads or whitelist channels. Some YouTube channels include sponsored messages in their videos, these can also be skipped, see SponsorBlock below.
SponsorBlock
SmartTube includes a SponsorBlock integration. From the SponsorBlock website:
SponsorBlock is an open-source crowdsourced browser extension and open API for skipping sponsor segments in YouTube videos. […] the extension automatically skips sponsors it knows about using a privacy preserving query system. It also supports skipping other categories, such as intros, outros and reminders to subscribe [and non-music parts in music videos].
You can select which categories you want to skip in the settings. Unlike the browser addon, in SmartTube you cannot submit new segments (TVs and TV remotes aren’t great devices for such precise operations). Note that SponsorBlock is a free and voluntary project based on user submissions, so don’t expect it to 100% work every time. Sometimes, sponsor segments are not yet submitted to the database, sometimes the SponsorBlock servers are offline/overloaded.
Casting
To cast videos from your phone (or other devices), you must link that device to your TV. Unlike the original YouTube app, SmartTube does not automatically show up when you are in the same wifi network. How to link your smartphone and TV:
open SmartTube and go to settings go to “Remote control” (2nd option) open your YouTube app on your phone, go to settings > General > watch on TV click on connect using TV-code and enter the code from your TV Screenshot guide
Due to technical limitations, you need to open the app on the TV before casting; SmartTube cannot automatically wake up the TV.
Picture-in-Picture (PiP)
SmartTube supports playing videos in PiP mode. This needs to be enabled under Settings > General > Background playback > Picture in picture. The video will go into PiP mode when you press home while playing a video, and also when you press back if enabled in Settings > General > Background playback (activation).
Download: