Posts tagged Android
PermalinkShowing 6 posts tagged Android
- YouTube is shoving 90+ second ads onto smart TVs, so here's a bunch of free open-source YouTube alternative apps to use instead
11 min read
YouTube has been on a mission to force it's users to watch more frequent and longer ads, while also making the experience worse for users that try to use adblockers, to push them onto YouTube Premium. So how about we just say no and start using one of the many free, open-source and privacy-friendly alternatives instead.
- Using a Google TV streaming device with Tailscale to remotely stream my Plex library while on vacation
10 min read
I have a Plex Pass subscription, but unfortunately Plex's built-in remote access won't work behind CGNAT, so I use Tailscale to securely access my Plex library and entire home network when I'm not home. Aside from streaming music or video from my phone or tablet at work, I've also started taking a Google TV stick on vacation with me, and with the Tailscale and Plex apps I can stream my library of movies, TV shows and music from anywhere that has a TV and Wi-Fi.
- Setup X-plore File Manager on Android to transfer files to an SMB share
4 min read
I've wrote before about file managers for Android before, recently I found X-plore which makes it very easy to transfer files back and forth between Android and SMB network shares, once you understand how the UI works. Here's to connect X-plore to an SMB network share so you can transfer files between devices.
- Set up PhotoSync app to backup photos from your phone to an SMB share on your home server
3 min read
Google Photos began limiting free storage back in 2021, limiting you to 15 GB of storage when uploading photos in their original size uncompressed. Rather than wait and see if I hit the cap, I decided to try replacing Google Photos with a self-hosted solution. Here's how I did it.
- How to use Solid Explorer app to access SMB network shares from an Android device
5 min read
There are many File Managers/File Explorers on the Google Play Store, but I wanted to easily access the Samba share on my server while on my home network. Solid Explorer is the solution I went with and it works well, so here is a quick guide to setting it up.
- Sideload the DirecTV Stream app on Sony Bravia TV with Android TV
4 min read
I have a Sony Bravia 4K TV and it is awesome. It has built-in Android TV so you can use Android apps on your TV, but not every app is available, and one of those is DirecTV Stream -- necessary to view live TV from my cable provider, AT&T, without need for a separate set-top box. So here's how to sideload the DirecTV Stream app on Sony Bravia TVs without using the Google Play Store.