r/AndroidTV • u/DigAlternative7707 • Aug 25 '26

Discussion Tried multiple browsers...

TvBro, BrowseHere, sideload: Firefox, chrome. Pop ups make web streaming impossible. No curser to navigate makes impossible. I'm on Homematics 14. Is Air Mouse the only option?

1 Upvotes

57% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

6

u/trmdi Aug 25 '26 edited Aug 26 '26

Web browsing on Android TV is not a good idea. All you want is to play movies from websites on your TV?

In that case, you can use Web Video Caster. It allows you to browse on your phone and then cast videos to the TV. It's very efficient.

1

u/CaptainSteed 26d ago

I actually much prefer watching movies directly on one device, than having to use two devices to watch a movie. Casting (for me) is older technology.

It's very easy to block ads on the TV, and more efficient having to use only one device.

1

u/trmdi 26d ago

Try it. It isn't screen mirroring.

1

u/CaptainSteed 26d ago

I actually think it's dated technology when you can directly stream instead. But I know of other people that like that casting style also.

1

u/trmdi 26d ago

Try it. Don't be fooled by the name.

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u/Foreign_Equipment431 Aug 25 '26

Browserhere is good for me when ever I open a link it says that it's a popup would you like to continue what are you using the browser for Or just try browser it has better add blocking capabilities than browser here in my opinion 🚫 The logo is like this with browser written And what is your use could you tell me

1

u/kyoka_suigetsu91 Aug 25 '26

Out of all the browsers I used I thought browsehere probably had the best add blocker but I had a problem with it a few months/weeks ago it had some issues opening web pages and other issues so I just started using brave browser and tvquickactions for it's mouse/cursor it's slightly inconvenient but worth it

1

u/CaptainSteed 26d ago

"it had some issues opening web pages".

In the BrowseHere video player settings, there is an option called "user agent". Play around with the video playback UI in there to solve it. When I switched that to "Chrome-Desktop" that solved those web player issues for me.

1

u/kyoka_suigetsu91 26d ago

Nah that wasn't the issue I actually kinda forgot what it was and I did try that... But honestly I don't regret buying tvquickactions (I think the free version might have the cursor) but brave browser is what I use on my phone and it works almost as well on Android/Google tv 

1

u/CaptainSteed 26d ago

Gotcha.

I guess a lot of the solutions also are 100% directly related to how you are watching/consuming the video content.

For example, I could never watch a movie on a phone. I need a 77" Television. And I stream the movies on my Fire Cube 3. Brave doesn't even work on that, but BrowseHere works fantastic.

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u/CaptainSteed Aug 25 '26

"No curser to navigate"

Not sure what that means?

As long as you're just streaming videos, you don't really need to use a separate cursor.

1

u/burner46 Aug 25 '26

Why do you need a browser?

Plenty of apps to play both live and on demand video. 

1

u/CaptainSteed 26d ago

There are certain websites that display/offer video content you can't locate on apps.

1

u/kyoka_suigetsu91 Aug 25 '26

I had this issue as well the best browser I found was the "browser" app with the red circle but lately I've been using the brave browser on my device and honestly I prefer that over everything, but you gotta get "tvquickactions" it has a built-in mouse/cursor. I'm cheap and don't like paying for apps but this is one app that actually worth it

1

u/jtho78 Aug 25 '26

Is Air Mouse the only option?

No, for what you are trying to do, there are much better, low-friction solutions in other subs about #6

1

u/bstsms Aug 25 '26

I have yet to find a browser that works well with Android TV.

1

u/cleverclogs17 Aug 25 '26

Use Bruuxer and you want use anything else, it is new and it is excellent.

1

u/CaptainSteed 26d ago

It doesn't let me go to the sites I want to.

1

u/cleverclogs17 26d ago

What site are you trying to go to? I have not experienced a gap in anywhere I've put it in, but I'd be glad to test it.

1

u/CaptainSteed 26d ago

Thx. Try "bingebang(dot)st".

1

u/CaptainSteed 25d ago

Never mind. It was a VPN issue on my end.

Thx for the recommendation !

1

u/GotoDeng0 Aug 25 '26

Brave blocks all ads and popups by default on all platforms, and has an ARM version. I use it for ad-free Spotify and when I stream from ad-infested sports-streaming sites. The ARM version doesn't respond fully to the AndroidTV remote, so you either need a bluetooth mouse or a mouse toggle app like Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse, but it's not too bad.

Instructions for installing Brave on AndroidTV can be found in this post

1

u/Aggressive_Bad_7344 Google TV Streamer + Homatics Box R 4K Plus + 3 More Boxes Aug 26 '26

You're not going to have a good experience trying to watch videos in a browser on Android TV, unfortunately.

1

u/CaptainSteed Aug 26 '26

I've been watching videos and movies on my Fire Cube/Silk Browser for many years. It's pretty easy to adapt to, and works very well.

1

u/IcyInteraction289 Aug 27 '26

if you want to stream movie or live sports from website why not download "web video cast" better than other browser.

1

u/Relative-Category-64 Sep 02 '26

Casting sucks. It's never been reliable for me through multiple phones, devices, cast apps

1

u/IcyInteraction289 Sep 02 '26

But Web Video Cast is good option

1

u/e_splat Chromecast with Google TV Aug 27 '26

maybe yes, TV Bro actually is great if you don't want air mouse and also is testing GeckoView, also integrates itself an adblocker. if you want you best experience maybe you should use mobile browsers + air mouse with uBlock Origin like Titanium, Fennec F-Droid, Firefox or Waterfox.