After years of annoying workarounds, limitations, and frustrations, the Channel 4 streaming app is finally coming to Android TV.
The Channel 4 app, originally branded 4OD, has always been available on Android phones and tablets, but was sadly missing from Android TV systems, which didn’t have a native app for streaming content from the UK service. Ta.
To access Channel 4 content on Chromecast or Android TV systems, you must use a third-party app or utilize the casting feature from the mobile app. This initially worked well and was a nice stopgap, but over the last few years casting from Channel 4 applications has become riddled with problems, disconnections, and an overall bad experience.
The only dedicated app for TV systems is limited to Amazon Fire TV devices. Fire TV hardware runs a forked version of Android, so this native application technically Although it is a full-fledged Android TV application, there is no way to get it via the Google Play Store. Sideloading is possible, but comes with problems and incompatibilities.
Over the past few days, the Channel 4 app has been quietly added to the library of apps you can install on Android and Google TV devices, including Chromecast, Google TV Streamer, and Nvidia Shield TV. The UI is identical to the app on Kindle Fire TV devices, suggesting this is just a clean port. You can stream live content when available, making it easier to participate in live events and content.
What’s interesting is that when you open an application on Google TV Streamer, the frame rate drops to the European 50Hz standard instead of the 60Hz on your TV or Android TV system. This is likely to be in accordance with UK broadcasting standards, with UK networks preferring 25fps. Channel 4’s support page also makes no mention of Android TV at this early stage.
Channel 4 is not yet visible in the new Channels panel, but this change means it may join this section in the coming weeks as there are native applications to stream from. . Yes, the official Channel 4 application for Android TV and Google TV devices is finally here. You can download it directly to your device via Google Play Store.
Thanks Ben!
Android TV details:
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