SmartTube v31.94 (Youtube/ad-free/TV)

SmartTube is an advanced ad-free Youtube video player for Android TVs and TV boxes, free & open source, You can watch youtube videos free of ads on your Android TV/ TV box.

✅ 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!

The app has a built-in updater. You only need to follow the installation procedure once. A few seconds after launching SmartTube, it will notify you if there is any update and also show a changelog. You can disable automatic update checks or manually update in the settings under “about”.

If the installation fails, either your disk space is full or the update didn’t download correctly; clear up space and try updating again (Settings > About > Check for updates).

SmartTube requires Android 4.3 or above. It does not work on non-Android devices (incl. LG or Samsung TVs). On unsupported TVs, you can use a TV stick or TV box. Though this app technically runs on smartphones and tablets, it is not optimized for such and offers no official support!

It has been successfully tested on TVs, TV boxes and TV sticks that are based on Android, including:

• Android TVs & Google TVs (e.g. Philips, Sony)
• Chromecast with Google TV & TVs with Chromecast built-in
• Amazon FireTV stick (all generations)
• NVIDIA Shield
• TV boxes running Android (many cheap chinese no-name boxes)
• Xiaomi Mi Box

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.

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.

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:

1. open SmartTube and go to settings
2. go to “Remote control” (2nd option)
3. open your YouTube app on your phone, go to settings > General > watch on TV
4. 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.

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).

You can adjust the playback speed pressing the speed-indicator icon (gauge) in the top row of the player. This is remembered across videos. Some speeds may case frame drops, this is a known issue.

To enable global voice search, an additional app must be installed alongside SmartTube. This bridge app can intercept the System’s attempts to open the original YouTube app and open SmartTube instead. For this to work, you must uninstall the original YouTube app. We know this sucks, but you can always reinstall it if you change your mind. The bridge app will not show up in your launcher and you cannot launch it directly; it is only used internally by the system’s voice search. On some devices, you need to explicitly say “Youtube” when searching (e.g. say “youtube cute cats” instead of just “cute cats”).

On Amazon Fire TV:

1. uninstall the original YouTube app (no root required)
2. download and install the Amazon Bridge SmartTube app: https://kutt.it/stn_bridge_amazon (e.g. via Downloader by AFTVnews)

On Google Chromecast with Google TV:

1. uninstall the original YouTube app (no root required)
2. download and install the ATV Bridge SmartTube app: https://kutt.it/stn_bridge_atv (e.g. via Downloader by AFTVnews)

On all other Android devices, sadly root is required to enable this:

1. root your device (search for a guide for your specific device)
2. uninstall the official YouTube app using root (adb shell pm uninstall com.google.android.youtube.tv)
3. download and install the ATV Bridge SmartTube app: https://kutt.it/stn_bridge_atv (e.g. via Downloader by AFTVnews)

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:

• it is an Android device
• it has a large screen
• it has a TV remote, controller, or keyboard Touch input and is not supported. Mouse/touchpad scrolling neither. You cannot properly use SmartTube with only touch or mouse input.

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: 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:

• reduce the resolution (or chance it back)
• change the video format to AVC
• increase the buffer in the settings
• hit the back button and try playing the video again

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.

 

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