topic Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!? in Android TV

How really slow is Android TV?!?

rooobb — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 08:13:45 GMT

I was really so sick about reading complain about "how bad is Android TV" and as matter of fact "how sloooow is it" that I decided to spend few minutes to record the main operation done on my TV (or at least the ones I use more): I don't feel they are so sllw at all!

I would like that someone could make the same recording with a different TV set just to compare how much Tizen, WebOS or Firefox are really Faster.

Please do not blame the image quality of my TV: I did not spent time setting correctly the camera (a Sony CX280 obviously ) so the autofocus was not able to adapt rapidly to the different lights on TV at each moment. I can assure image quality is really wonderful!!

Updated on Oct 2nd 2019: Oreo version

Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!?

rooobb — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 07:44:51 GMT

Some technical data:

TV set : KD-55A1
OS: Android TV Nougat v6.2671 (EU version)
The audio is not internal speaker but an HTCT350 connected via HDMIARC
Internet connection: 100 mbps
LAN connection: wired via TPlink 600mbps powrlink
NAS: WD mycloud
DLNA server: Imac w serviio

Main operations;

startup of the tv
DVBT channel change just after starup
various way to change the DBVT channel (Guide, discovery)
Home menu navigation
Netflix 4K HDR streaming
Audio button up/down while streaming
Amazon 4K HDR streaming
Youtube startup and 4K streaming
Video local 4K streaming via DLNA
Archos Player local 4K streaming via DLNA

Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!?

Kuschelmonschter — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 08:43:42 GMT

4-5s channel switching time is very slow in my opinion. I switch encrypted HD channels in a bit over a second via Digital Devices Cine S2 over network.

Yes, Sony TVs are acceptably fast after a full reboot when all startup processes have finished their work. Having run some apps, played some videos, having been in standby, the TV quickly becomes slower and slower. Then you suddenly wait several seconds for the discover menu to appear.

Still waiting for Nougat as Sony delayed the release for my 2016 model. So I can only comment on Marshmallow. MediaTek Processor in newer models isn't any faster though.

Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!?

kinggo01 — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 08:57:51 GMT

I have zero issues with the performance of the menu and such things. I have issues with non working things on the "smart" side of the TV. I almost never use the TV as a TV. For all I care, they can make one without tuners and other crap, just monitor with their picture processing and I would gladly buy one. Netflix is the only part of the OTB experience that I rarely use and that is OK.

What's the point of Gameloft shop at prominent place in home screen considering that they have such a demanding game that can't work on any ATV platform SONY pushed out so far?

Why do we want backup? Because every answer here is to reset the TV. And it's no fun to set up everything again and again. And if you have something that can't be backed up with google play/games than it's lost.

As you sad, built in video player is nowhere near any 3rd party one, the worst thing is lack of folder tree support (it is or at leas was there on non android sets) so indexing takes forever and you end up with total mess. So is it so unreasonable to ask for proper pass through for 3rd party video apps.

What's wrong with having ability to write to USB? Now we have to plug disk to PC to delete something. How is that "smart"?

And so on......

I get that 95%+ of people just look at this sets as TV and they don't care but what about the rest of us? If we don't complain thing will never change. Not that it makes any difference if we do. But at least people here should not be OK with the lack of missing features or non working ones. I can plug some NUC or shield TV or like you Apple TV and be done with it but the thing is that I don't expect wonders from this TV platform. And I still can't avoid the Android TV platform. I know that it's not Shield or NUC and I don't care that it doesn't run latest Need for speed or Asphalt or....... But the thing is that there are stuff that don't need 364 2.5GHz cores and 128GB of RAM to work but are essential to smart experience and should be there. So I just want things that this underpowered SoC can do. Nothing else.

And the latest and upcoming MTK SoC isn't really any better than the first one from 2015. Sure, they added some pure TV related stuff like DV, HDR, 4k....... but from a pure OS point of view it's the same crap. 50€ phones have better HW than 5k€ TV.

Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!?

rooobb — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 09:12:05 GMT

It is not lightning fast but comparable with other sets I saw. Channel change was made just after tv switch on. Not from a deep sleep (it was switched off some 20 minutes earlier). Not a full reboot in a month or so (here you have to take my word). Performance are quite stable .

Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!?

Kuschelmonschter — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 09:25:07 GMT

How much did you debloat the TV? From the video one can see the missing featured apps shelf. So this is not the out-of-the-box experience. Keep in mind that most users are not as technical as you are.

Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!?

rooobb — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 09:39:06 GMT

Ok but if you are a demanding user you should have also more resources a openness

Video via usb is a nightmare that can I agree but why use usb for large archive directly on the tv? Via Dina serviio provide for free climbing of the file folder the app doesn't scan the content and is fast and you can add/delete whatever you want directly on the pc . However if you still don't like it as my daughter you can use archos that support passthrough of the audio (Ok dangerous as kushcelmonster will add )

Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!?

rooobb — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 09:42:05 GMT

A little....disabled notification from Sony shelf (not for all user to be able to do) and disabled most of the notification from app (standard feature). I tried but not applied to this set developer options and shortened time for animation to 0.5

Samba disabled. Nothing else that I can remember

Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!?

Itom86 — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 12:41:02 GMT

Yes, there is not much problem with the speed according your video. But for the people like me, who like to cut off electricity most of the time, when the devices are not in use, things can be more painful.

Like the longer than a minute startup time. The first time when I hit the HOME button it takes 15-20 seconds to actually get there or the ACTION MENU, which is even worse.

Luckily, after a good 3-5 minutes everything is as fast as it is in your video.

I have an XD83 model, latest firmware and most of the notifications disabled.

It is just a big joke, that my 10 years old pc is quicker after the first startup, than my tv.

Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!?

rooobb — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 13:28:01 GMT

@Itom86 really there was a lot of discussion about cutting off or not the power to TVs (not only the Sony Android ones). Sony still recommend not do it, and I agree not only for the sake of speed. But it you chose to do it (I guess for saving useless power from being consumed) I agree it is far too slow compared with other platforms. But it is not the way it is designed.

Another point that I have to concede to @Kuschelmonschter is that your XD83 has the same exactly SoC/RAM etc. supporting Android TV than mine more more expensive A1... and it can be embarassing ... but again the difference for me in a TV HW is the panel/video electronics and my gosh it cannot be reproduced by the camera but the OLED panel is simply gorgeous!!

Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!?

Itom86 — Sun, 11 Feb 2018 15:14:29 GMT

Yes, probably this is a bad habit, developed over the years. I do cut the power off every device in the house, I always have. No, not the fridge

Don`t get me wrong, regarding picture quality Sony does amazing job. I would choose Sony over any other manufacturers. I`m sure your tv performs much better than mine, but there is not much to compare (different price range and panel type).

As it mentioned before, where Sony fails is the other half... the smart platform. They really need to put themselves together and improve their tellys, othervise they will kill their tv department. Or just sell their technology to competitors who knows how to build televisions properly

Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!?

sergio_sch — Sat, 24 Feb 2018 12:34:06 GMT

Debate on cutting power is clear for me. I always cut the power like @Itom86, to eveyrthing I can with the button from schuko multi plug. There are many reasons that some might not feel important, but there are storms, there is strange activity that has been showed from the TV when it is in standby, and there is the electricity bill that in some regions is especialy expensive over the year, by leaving everything in standby.

Plus, the 55XD93 has the recognised factory fault in the power adapter, we have that pacticular fault covered by warranty until 2021 but who wants his TV out to the repair service for unknown amount of time?

As for the speed, I don't bother much about booting time or even channel switching delay, but find unacceptable the crap of perfomance from network adapter as has been analysed in many threads, Amazon video app stutters, lack of bluetooth A2DP profile to pair headsets, problems with USB storage, etc etc...

I don't think we need to show how fast it can be in some particular scenearios, we all know how good is picture quality and what are the goods of our Sony ATVs. That will never hide the unacceptable fails that stand forever in such expensive smart TVs.... it's like saying that a car is great because its sound system and confort is great, but it breaks down and fails to run over 100 kmh on fast auto routes

Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!?

rooobb — Sat, 24 Feb 2018 13:50:06 GMT

@sergio_sch the goal of my post was completely the opposite of your comment. I wanted to stop about abstract complains and talk about hard fact on the topic of Android speed.

You take another step towards generic complains completely OT on this thread.

But going back to what you wrote i completely disagree on each and every assumption (not facts) you made

we all know how good is picture quality and what are the goods of our Sony ATVs. That will never hide the unacceptable fails that stand forever in such expensive smart TVs.... it's like saying that a car is great because its sound system and confort is great, but it breaks down and fails to run over 100 kmh on fast auto routes

Picture quality is the main feature of a TV set so how can you compare this with the sound system of a car?!?! While you consider bt support like the engine of a Ferrari?!?

but find unacceptable the crap of perfomance from network adapter as has been analysed in many threads, Amazon video app stutters, lack of bluetooth A2DP profile to pair headsets, problems with USB storage,

Network adapter is completely fine for the scope of the tv you'll never need a gigabit Connection to stream video on your tv. In the video you can see the performance of my set streaming 4k hdr video via Netflix or Amazon, 4k video from tv and a 4k clip of a movie encoded in hevc with a bitstream of 50 Mbps. If you mind about streaming a full uhd blueray streaming encoded at 128Mbps (assuming it exists) you may reach the limit of the network bandwidth of the tv but let me tell you you should be crazy not to use a uhd player to do it.

Bluetooth a2dp support is included in the tv set that declare this as a feature including my A1. If you don't have it you never paid for it

Problems with usb storage?!? Which problem with which usb storage?!? Even on my Dell PC i can claim i have sometimes Problems with some usb storage! !!

Amazon Video stutter is true i show it also in my footage . I show you that it does it only on first run. The app is not the best (compared to Netflix i.e.) But works. And it is developed by Amazon. So again this is the Ferrari engine clipped at 100km/h?

Debate on cutting power is clear for me.

Good for you for me it is not. It Could be more of a philosophic discussion i do not want to engage but Just keep in mind that switching on and off a multiplug you may endanger your tv much more than a storm. And you are doing this every day to save 0,00x watt consumption.

Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!?

sergio_sch — Sat, 24 Feb 2018 14:26:46 GMT

The forum is full of posts with complaints about perfomance, network speed and problems. Some are just a cry but many people has used his time to analyze speeds and problems, understand and documented them here. It seems that many of the long bug and problem list that have been corrected in the firmware upgrades are discovered by users and not by developers, you should not understimate consumers' feedback and frustration. I talked about those problems. You laugh about my comment about bluetooth... which is basically just for the voice commands from the remote control but not for the most used function in other branches older TVs: watch TV at night with wireless standard A2DP headsets. You name all this abstract complains....

You are right my comparison gone too far, but hey, not so far. Well one thing is clear, I had too high expectations on a €1500+ 2016 Smart TV Android 2nd Generation, and as far I have seen, I'm not the only one to feel that disappointed.

I'm happy for you for being satisfied with your purchase.

Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!?

rooobb — Sat, 24 Feb 2018 16:08:38 GMT

Sorry i was not laughing at you but really a bit angry .

I spent a lot of my free time to help other people problems and i am sick at whom Just seems to complain because other said something is not working.

Regarding bt headphone i did not say they are non useful. I Just said on my tv they work because it is advertised to do it your tv no. Said so you are full of alternatives let alone connecting a long cable there is plenty of bt or even better WiFi repeater. And Please try to stop also this mood regarding how many money you spent on a set: i paid 1000 euro on my old kdl32w4000 in 2008 32" ccfl retro fullhd not a hint of smart feature.

And Please again there are a lot of posts regarding measures on tv network speed done by really smart and experienced technicians but again they are Just an exercise. In real world: do YOU have any problem in streaming YOUR content?

Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!?

Itom86 — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 19:37:35 GMT

Yes, I think this has gone too far from the original subject. Maybe the Ferrari example wasn't the most suitable, but something similar would work.

Your right, this is a TV, the picture quality is the most important. However, you shouldn't forget that this is the smart generation. Since we were forced to buy a smart TV, we can expect, that it's work as it supposed to. I'm talking about the promised YouTube HDR, the non existing BBC iPlayer UHD support or in your case, that funny Dolby Vision update.

So let's just say, a Sony android TV is similar to "fine dining". It may look stunning, but if it doesn't taste as good as it looks, it doesn't worth the price.

Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!?

kayrune — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 21:07:43 GMT

This video in no way represent the experience I have with my 2015 x85 series tv. When I turn on the tv for the first time of the day it takes a good 5-10 seconds before any input is stutter free. Hitting the home button will usually take a good 20 seconds to populate the screen. Changing volume I can go from 40 to 0 before the volume ui is displayed. Amazon prime playback is stuttering 90% of time from start and also if I change volume or bring up a menu. Opening the tv-guide will change the channel !!! And if I exit the tvguide it changes back to the channel I was watching. I have also taken steps that are supposed to make the TV faster, like removing elements from home screen etc..

Maybe nougat is better, but my guess is we will never get that update.

Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!?

sergio_sch — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 23:04:02 GMT

@rooobb I recommend you to read this

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EPzlq_ipIPMCDoMqMgDl0IuKmTsMoZHeKKwE_zxbFUk/pub#h.fxw7s4fm9fdv

It will help you understand my

comments.

What I constantly suffer and can second:

-Problems with audio passthrough if not using stock video app. API is broken. SPMC works as alternative to Kodi and passthrough OK if you launch the app from an AC3 broadcasting DTV channel.

-Random buffering and stutters sometimes even with low bitrate streaming because TV network adapters bottleneck with its bad socket. Often just a TV reboot fixes. Still max real throughput never gets raw theoretically transfer rates because bottleneck when video streaming. So big HEVC or 60 fps files are out of range although the bitrate is well under 100 Mbps.

-youtube stutters videos at 60fps. No option to run at slower fps

-amazon Video... Stutters

You say those things are not Smart TV basic function expected to operate correctly??

You say that hardware powering off at night is worse than a storm. Now I do laugh. You state that because of a possible temporary file being corrupted ? because the factory fault in the power adapters that makes me feel it will broke sooner or later, mayve out of warranty?? Ahhg if Sony knows it is defective, they should have already sent a fixed power adapter to every faulty unit owner.

Our comments are not off topics. You opened a post to say how nice ATV runs. You should not get angry at us by giving opposite opinions. It is us that feel fool and frustrated. I don't enjoy at all. I normally enjoy running new last gen shoppings. Lucky you that your scope of use and scenario results in a great experience with your Sony ATV.

I really don't want to offend anybody and ask you to understand that I'm just another disappointed user, navigating the forum daily hoping to read good news that never arrive.

Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!?

rooobb — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 05:27:01 GMT

@sergio_sch the goal of this thread is about android tv speed.

Did I say that it is bug free? No

Did I say you are not free to complain regarding your own experience? No

You have all the community to do so and a specific thread regarding the whole history of bugs on android tv.

I just asked to report your own experience and not the ones written by others. I read all the posts of @Kuschelmonschter and as far as I discussed a lot with him I really appreciate his competencies.

Coming back to your comments (for the last time since none is related to android tv speed)

Problems with audio passthrough if not using stock video app. API is broken.

Video works and this is supplied with your tv by Sony. Other apps may not work (archos do) . It is still far more than any other platform in my opinion. You can have yours

So big HEVC or 60 fps files are out of range although the bitrate is well under 100 Mbps.

I show to you all my tv playing smoothly 4k hevc movies (none will be at 60fps ever) 50 mbps stream . Show me which movies do not work on your and be sure to have a good network setup. And not fake jellyfish test file.

youtube stutters videos at 60fps. No option to run at slower fps

Never noticed any stutters on YouTube. My own video is taken at 50fps. Do you mean it stutters converting from 60 to 50 fps? And how many video you enjoy on YouTube shot at 60fps?

amazon Video... Stutters

I show you on my video that first video run on Amazon stutter the second no. Is it annoying? Yes. Is it a big problem? No. At least for me.

You say that hardware powering off at night is worse than a storm. Now I do laugh. You state that because of a possible temporary file being corrupted ?

I never ever laugh at anybody. You should know that switching on and off a maybe poor quality multiplug can send pick voltage to your devices that may damage it . And I said is philosophic because none demonstrates if it is better having your electrical device always powered or having it switching on and off every day. Sony tells you not to switch it off you may chose what to do with your own equipment.

Again I do not want to make you happy at all costs. It was just a suggestion: enjoy your tv. Every time I watch a movie in 4k hdr on my a1 oled tv I never once think about oh my god how could it be better if it runs on tizen.

Rif.: How really slow is Android TV?!?

rooobb — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 05:30:08 GMT

@kayrune i do not have an atv1 set like your so i do not have a solution for you. If you feel like exchanging your experience with others with the same platform you may take a video with the same operation and post it here. Be sure you reset to factory your tv so you can be sure it is clean.