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How to make a smart TV with Android!

AndiNovember 8, 2012

The latest ‘must have’ home and family gadget is the internet connected smart TV with Android. Keep reading to learn how you can make a smart TV with Android to entertain you and your family this winter without breaking the bank!

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Flatscreen TV’s

Just a few years ago flatscreen TV’s were expensive luxury items only the lucky few could afford, but as technology has evolved you can now pick up a high quality TV for as little as a few hundred pounds!

Not a cheap no brand model either! For example UK store Argos sell Sony TV’s at great prices, and you need only to click here for a HD Panasonic TV pretty much anyone can afford!

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Making a smart TV with Android

When choosing a TV to convert to a smart TV with Android you need to make sure of a few things.

Resolution: Check the resolution of the TV to ensure that text is easy to read. Once your TV is an Android TV you will be able to browse the web so a screen which displays crisp, easy to read text is a must.
HDMI: to connect an Android stick to.
USB: to power the Android stick.

HDMI Android on a stick

Now you know that your TV is suitable to be converted in to an Android smart TV we can go about choosing the device which will bring Android to your living room.

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There are a number of devices on the market which are capable of turning your TV in to a smart TV, all of them are usually cheap and are usually a similar size to a USB thumb drive.

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Features to look out for are:

USB: to connect a wired Keyboard or mouse
Wi-Fi: so that you can connect to your router.
SD card reader: to store Android apps and games
Bluetooth: so you can use a wireless mouse or keyboard
Dual-core: for faster performance and video decoding
RAM: at least 1GB

How to turn your TV in to a smart TV with Android

So you have your TV and you have chosen the most suitable Android stick now here is how you connect the two:

Connect the Android stick to the HDMI on your TV.
Using the supplied cable connect the power port to one of the USB’s on the back of your TV. This will provide the stick with power.
Turn on your TV and navigate to the HDMI or Aux channel.
You should be greeted with Android booting up.
Once on you can use a wired USB mouse to set up any Bluetooth devices, or you can use the wired mouse to use Android as it is.
You should now be able to download apps and games from the Google Play store (once logged in), browse the web and even watch YouTube all from your TV!

Now that you have a smart TV with Android how will you use it? Let us know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: We may be compensated by some of the companies whose products we talk about, but our articles and reviews are always our honest opinions. For more details, you can check out our editorial guidelines and learn about how we use affiliate links.

About the author
Andi

Bastien
November 8, 2012
Great ! All I need is a cheap but good TV . I heard about this kind of Android TV before, sold a couple overseas, there are a really good (and cheap) alternative to Android TV such as Lenovo.

Boris
November 8, 2012
The software on some of these devices is really bad. I bought the MK808 as soon as it came out and there were major software shortcomings. You can download and install are software updates with some fixes but these are not necessarily plug-and-play devices.
I recommend checking reviews on forums from people who own the device before buying one.
Martin
November 8, 2012
What’s the name of the android-on-a-stick usb in that picture again?
JaySea
November 8, 2012
There’s not only USB key to smart a TV I’m using an android tv box Geniatech ATV3000 and it has a HDD rack that is perfect to ctock movies, music, pictures etc and this kind of box have more flexibility than USB key because of more USB port and output features for sound etc

Guest
November 8, 2012
Great ! All I need is a cheap but good TV . I heard about this kind of Android TV before, sold a couple overseas, there are a really good (and cheap) alternative to Android TV such as Lenovo.

Guest
November 8, 2012
The software on some of these devices is really bad. I bought the MK808 as soon as it came out and there were major software shortcomings. You can download and install are software updates with some fixes but these are not necessarily plug-and-play devices.
I recommend checking reviews on forums from people who own the device before buying one.
Guest
November 8, 2012
What’s the name of the android-on-a-stick usb in that picture again?
Guest
November 9, 2012
There’s not only USB key to smart a TV I’m using an android tv box Geniatech ATV3000 and it has a HDD rack that is perfect to ctock movies, music, pictures etc and this kind of box have more flexibility than USB key because of more USB port and output features for sound etc

zopper
November 9, 2012
Isnt a better solution to have tablet with android/usb/hdmi and not waste money for these android sticks
- phil
  November 9, 2012
  A nice tablets with similar specs is at least 2x or 3x the price of these stick.

phil
November 9, 2012
I ordered an mk808 last week for 68$ (free shipping), I should get it in few weeks (shipping from china is pretty slow). I read somewhere about an updated ROM that fixes all the bugs & problems with original ROM. Just google for it , you will find it.
I read a lot about those sticks and the one that you need to avoid seems to be the 35$ MK802 which overheat and have poor wi-fi.
You can find many models of these stick but if you pay attention at most of them you’ll find out that there is 5 or 6 differents models that comes back under differents names.
As for storage, they all accept external hard drive (up to 1TB for most of them) if you plug them through an AC powered usb hub.
Most of them accept fly mouses that runs on 2.4GHz. Some of them have a mini keyboard on it so it can be an alternative to the full size keyboard on your knees.
Another option seems to be an app for you Android phone called Droidmote, which I haven’t tested…
There’s many others TV boxes that are full size devices for those who have more rooms. They all have more USB port and some have YPbPr Video out, RCA A/V out, and even Optical audio out. You’ll need to pay up to 140 for some of these devices but it’ still cheap for all the possibilities it gives.
I stopped my choice to the MK808 because of the 1.2Ghz Rockchip RK3066 dual core CPU, Quad core Mali-400 GPU; 1GB RAM /8GB storage(extend to 32gb with microSD); double WiFi antennas. It scores 7250 on Antutu benchmark and it runs Jelly Bean.
I’ll give you more news once received and tested.
Guest
November 9, 2012
Isnt a better solution to have tablet with android/usb/hdmi and not waste money for these android sticks
- Guest
  November 10, 2012
  A nice tablets with similar specs is at least 2x or 3x the price of these stick.

Guest
November 10, 2012
I ordered an mk808 last week for 68$ (free shipping), I should get it in few weeks (shipping from china is pretty slow). I read somewhere about an updated ROM that fixes all the bugs & problems with original ROM. Just google for it , you will find it.
I read a lot about those sticks and the one that you need to avoid seems to be the 35$ MK802 which overheat and have poor wi-fi.
You can find many models of these stick but if you pay attention at most of them you’ll find out that there is 5 or 6 differents models that comes back under differents names.
As for storage, they all accept external hard drive (up to 1TB for most of them) if you plug them through an AC powered usb hub.
Most of them accept fly mouses that runs on 2.4GHz. Some of them have a mini keyboard on it so it can be an alternative to the full size keyboard on your knees.
Another option seems to be an app for you Android phone called Droidmote, which I haven’t tested…
There’s many others TV boxes that are full size devices for those who have more rooms. They all have more USB port and some have YPbPr Video out, RCA A/V out, and even Optical audio out. You’ll need to pay up to 140 for some of these devices but it’ still cheap for all the possibilities it gives.
I stopped my choice to the MK808 because of the 1.2Ghz Rockchip RK3066 dual core CPU, Quad core Mali-400 GPU; 1GB RAM /8GB storage(extend to 32gb with microSD); double WiFi antennas. It scores 7250 on Antutu benchmark and it runs Jelly Bean.
I’ll give you more news once received and tested.

Roshan
November 12, 2012
What a brilliant way for make a DIY smart TV. Now the only question is how can I get a remote to work with these features on Android instead of a mouse?
- phil
  November 12, 2012
  There is many flymouse that have some remote fonctions . Search flymouse on google and find one that suit your needs
Guest
November 12, 2012
What a brilliant way for make a DIY smart TV. Now the only question is how can I get a remote to work with these features on Android instead of a mouse?
- Guest
  November 12, 2012
  There is many flymouse that have some remote fonctions . Search flymouse on google and find one that suit your needs