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Comment by matt_heimer | Hacker News Reader

I have Sony Bravia TV that has Android TV so I went looking for the docs to confirm you can enable developer mode, access adb, and sideload apps. While looking at the docs I discovered I can load HTML5 apps from USB! I never knew that but I'm going to do some experimentation in the near future.

https://pro-bravia.sony.net/develop/app/getting-started/inde...

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It’s difficult to do better than Sony for an Android TV. Their Android build is one of the most junk-free out there. The newer ones can also use their internal speakers as a center channel when external stereo speakers are hooked up (giving dialogue a boost) which is pretty cool.

I use mine as a dumb TV but the built-in smarts are serviceable.

There is also a Sony Bravia integration for Home Assistant (using the REST API that's in almost all Bravia TVs).

https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/braviatv/

YMMV. it's never worked well for me. works great for the first week, then it stops connecting or i suddenly have several zombie bravia devices, all of which aren't connected.

best thing i ever did with my bravia was install a custom launcher via adb to finally rid myself of the endless ads, upsetting news, and terrible suggestions constantly shoved in my face without my consent. nice to be able to uninstall the misc bloat that you can't get to with the gui and just have a simple interface. all i want is to access jellyfin and maybe one or two other apps. much better all around experience now.

here's a nice reference for a lot of the stuff installed on bravia that you can elect to remove via adb:

https://github.com/therealhoodboy/skinny-bravia

OMG! thank you! I was unaware this was possible. I can't stand the fact that my expensive TV came with ads built-in. I use it in "only apps mode" so at least the only ad id showed is the top third of the screen one, but not the "recommended" content tiles. I'll do this instead once I go back home

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