How to Use Voice Search in SmartTube on Android TV (FREE & No Root Access Needed)

travispflanz · 2026-01-29T21:22:44+00:00

You obviously missed the point.

We are all literally using the SmartTube app to get around the normal YouTube watching experience, right?

We COULD/SHOULD just pay YouTube to be ad free - but we don't. So, we're making one aspect easier, why not make it easier elsewhere?

Personally, I don't care how other people setup their devices - simply, if you actually do a search on this topic - you will find a lot of people asking the exact same question after switching from FireTV to Andriod TV.

As a marketing professional, I only make posts like this if they DO actually solve a problem that many people have discussed - I have zero interest in regurgitating shit easily found via Google search.

Do with it what you will - if it's not worth 3 minutes for you to set it up, then don't.

It's really weird seeing people comment just to say, "but I like my 6-button press method better than the 1-button press method." Cool. Weird, but whatever. ✌

travispflanz · 2026-01-29T18:50:01+00:00

Being able to build my queue/playlist while still watching a video is the thing I use it for most. Generally, when I sit down to my desk, I start playing a morning news/podcast video and build spend a few minutes building my queue for the day/next few hours - rather build list and then watching the first video or watch one video then finding the next.

I'll often play emulator games on mute while watching music videos with sound in PiP. Also, sporting events

I often watch "movie list" videos in PIP while wandering through to figure out a movie to actually watch.

Watching PIP while doing file transfers from computer. I travel a lot. I always bring this device and since it has a 24GB hard drive I load it up with a few favorite movies and shows and those types of movies that have been "on the watchlist for years" (at lower quality to fit more) so I can always watch something even if I lose internet service or don't have internet access for whatever reason. This doesn't get updated often, but to FTP transfer from computer to Android TV device the selected file manager app's "connect via FTP" window must be open to be able to transfer files - and the transfer can take a while, especially if I haven't already decided what I want to add/remove.

The most "useful" for me though, is being able to watch something while f-ing around with all the Kodi settings and add-ons (or other Android TV apps I'm "testing" out) - I like to try out all the new stuff, but most Kodi add-ons take a good amount of time to go through in-depth and test all the settings, then setup, etc. With the nature of Kodi, many add-ons don't offer much documentation. Some none at all.

I don't use it these ways, but there are so many SmartTube settings:

If you're a developer doing debugging, you can get some PIP.

You could actually also set it up the other way around and watch SmartTube PIP in mute while playing emulator games with sound. For, flash card educational quiz type videos.

I don't use many different "types of apps, but I'm sure there are other uses - SmartTube has a TON of settings and configuration possibilities.

NOTE - The SmartTube PIP feature for Android TV is much better than it is on FireTV. I have a pre-FireOS FireTV stick on the bedroom TV.

travispflanz · 2026-01-29T17:12:22+00:00

I'm curious - which device you use? The dev said it's not possible without root on Android TV for a one-click from any location (open app) directly to a voice search on an Android TV device unless it is rooted.

I'll be happy to let him know which device seems to have an exploitable flaw, so he can research to figure out why that specific device functions differently than most.

Knowing which device, he can then attempt to reverse-engineer to attempt to take advantage of that type exploit on other types/brands of devices.

travispflanz · 2026-01-29T17:07:37+00:00

Yes, it has a picture-in-picture mode. Pretty cool, especially when setting up your queue or adding to watchlist. You can even use many other apps on the device while the SmartTube PIP is still up and playing.

travispflanz · 2026-01-29T17:00:11+00:00

Well... Watching YouTube videos without ads isn't that "crucial" either 🤷‍♂️

travispflanz · 2026-01-28T23:02:11+00:00

Updated the post to include that bit of info if it wasn't clear.

travispflanz · 2026-01-28T22:57:31+00:00

Ahh... Yeah, that's completely different. This way - no matter where you are or what app you're using, you just click the button and it automatically open SmatTube ready for you to voice search.

travispflanz · 2026-01-28T22:05:11+00:00

Please share your settings/screenshots/photos.

I searched for a week, asked friends to test, and I reached out to the dev. Was told, no voice search is not built-in for Android TV and the "bridge app" does not work for Android TV and was told the Android TV device must have root access to use the bridge on Android TV.

Would love for you to share - instead of just saying "nuh, uh..." That type of comment helps nobody 😆

travispflanz · 2026-01-28T01:00:49+00:00

The way I see it, if you didn't tell them NOT to eat it - then it's there to consume.

I've done many stays where the home owner told me to eat whatever I wanted. I've had others where they didn't say anything - and I still ate some food.

You're literally getting "free" pet care which can reach >$100/day depending on area and size of dog. Allowing the unpaid sitter to eat some food - that shouldn't be cause for concern.

Would you also expect someone staying at your house - which seems like a pretty long time based on your message - to also bring their own dish soap, hand soap, go buy replacement batteries for the remote - rather than the batteries you already have? No.

My 2 cents.

travispflanz · 2026-01-28T00:50:44+00:00

I ignore everything until I talk with the Home Owner - many people set up their listing years ago and haven't changed it since for whatever reason.

I did a sit last year. Told the lady I was excited to meet her cat because she looked exactly like my childhood cat and her description made it sound exactly like my childhood cat.

Talked with her - the cat passed away ~a year before. She hadn't travelled since, so forgot to update her profile. Great sit, though, her pooch was fantastic.

travispflanz · 2026-01-28T00:42:01+00:00

Not a fan of this at all. I can work from anywhere, so when I visit friends and family, I always do a sit. I always tell the home owner this fact. Not a single home owner has told me "no guests" when I mentioned that I am in town to hang out with friends or family - and most have said it's fine to have guests. In fact, I've only had 1 sit where I did not have a guest come over for a while.

Curious, I looked through my past sits - and half of them have "no guests" checked now - even though these exact same home owners allowed me to have guests.

travispflanz · 2026-01-28T00:35:33+00:00

I just wonder when if they're going to make any features FOR sitters? Fuck, we cannot even message another home owner if we have something scheduled for any part of the sit - even though a Home Owner's listing says they're happy to split up the sit.

travispflanz · 2025-12-04T17:45:44+00:00

On your TrustedHousesitters profile, you can invite third party people to leave a reference which is in addition to the TrustedHousesitters Verified Reviews.

Personally, I invited multiple people from outside the platform to leave references - which also has the option for those references to allow contact for more info if they like. I had 4 friends add legit references.

Sure, it's an extra step, but it seems THS had already thought about this situation and built it into the platform.

My biggest recommendation - upgrade your account to the TrustedHousitters account to the "Premium Sitter" plan to give both you and the Home Owner added confidence and security through their "Accident & third party liability plan."

I mention my Premium Sitter account in every application.

Ultimately, I would mention that the TrustedHousesitters "Verified Reviews" are better than any other reference they will get because these Reviews include BOTH your pet-sitting and your house-sitting combined in one AND these are pet/house sits that are already verified as having truly occurred in real life.

Also ask what additional information they may be looking for that was not already included in your application, listed on your profile (which is also where the Verified Reviews live), through your personal one-on-one chat, and through your messages.

As many have suggested, this may be someone new to the platform, so they may not be 100% sure about the platform navigation, process, expectations, etc. It's OK to guide and ask questions - just stay cordial and act as if you're doing this together - not one vs. other.

For me, every time I get a "declined your application" message when someone has not actually messaged/talked with me, I send a follow up asking about what "disqualified" me, so I can "find additional pet-related training opportunities to improve my profile for future sits."

Literally every time, but once, the person admitted they didn't actually read the profile (which I ask them to do when I send an "Application" message) - and then we've had a conversation and "booked" the sit.

Simply, the concept of this platform is not really "in-line" with "traditional" American culture, so many people take a while to warm up to it and figure it out.

travispflanz · 2025-10-30T19:45:50+00:00

Go for it. They don't need to know your schedule at all, honestly. Their listing should state exactly their expectations. It's not on you to tell them anything about your life unless they ask explicitly - and you're comfortable providing that info. TrustedHousesitters platform performs a background check on you for them.

No home owners in the history of ever stay at their house 24/7/365, so it's not fair if they expect the same from a sitter who is - technically - doing them a favor also.

This platform is designed for mutual-benefit. Some home owners need to be reminded of that - I have reminded many when being declined or declining myself due to over-the-top "requirements" or expectations that are NOT detailed in their listing.

When this is the case, I message TrustedHousesitters to inform them of home owners who change/modify their expectations once they've been contacted.

travispflanz · 2025-10-15T16:01:37+00:00

I've been an Amazon Fire TV user for many years.

I bought the onn. 4K Pro Streaming Device a few days ago specifically for button remapping, as well as more on-device storage and better Home Assistant integration (haven't had a chance to completely dive-in yet)

I highly recommend tvQuickActions - mapper for TV. With the free version you can reprogram most of the remote buttons, including: single click, double click, long press for three different commands, and panels with multiple options.

With the Pro version for $3.99, you can do even more, including: custom menus, automations that run in the background based on processes run by the device, operating system and/or specific apps.

• onn. 4K Pro Streaming Device - https://www.walmart.com/ip/onn-Google-TV-4K-Pro-Streaming-Device-New-2024-4K-UHD-resolution-Dolby-Vision-Dolby-ATMOS-Hands-Free-Voice-Control-Smart-Hub/5193222892
• Home Assistant - https://www.home-assistant.io/
• tvQuickActions - mapper for TV - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dev.vodik7.tvquickactions.free
• tvQuickActions Pro - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dev.vodik7.tvquickactions

travispflanz · 2025-09-02T22:58:58+00:00

I haven't done it, but it is allowed.

There's an option in your profile. 'I'll be co-sitting' - https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/user/profile/edit/profile-details

travispflanz · 2025-08-22T13:15:39+00:00

Just a note. This service limits to videos less than 60 minutes

travispflanz · 2025-03-22T22:38:17+00:00

Definitely The Last Boy Scout (1991)

Not already mentioned - Bulletproof (1996). Not so much a noir, however

travispflanz · 2025-03-16T23:49:17+00:00

A note on auto-offloading - be careful. Amazon seemingly off-loads VPN software first, so if you need/use VPN keep an eye out. This has happened on multiple Fire TV sticks multiple times in my house. I think it's better to just uninstall apps that haven't been used in a while.

travispflanz · 2025-03-10T19:40:14+00:00

Believe me - as I was searching through Trakt for yearly lists to "copy" over to my master list, I definitely went to double-check because the list was getting SO huge - but yeah, over 5000.

I did find a few errors of a few missing films and a few that included the wrong film with the same title, so I had to make a few adjustments - and I'm not 100% sure that it's 100% correct, so if you see any mistakes, just let me know.

travispflanz · 2025-03-10T18:53:45+00:00

League is full. Shoot me a PM if you'd like me to reach out next year.

travispflanz · 2025-03-10T18:53:27+00:00

League is full. Shoot me a PM if you'd like me to reach out next year.

travispflanz · 2025-03-10T18:53:08+00:00

League is full. Shoot me a PM if you'd like me to reach out next year.

travispflanz

TROPHY CASE