so I own a Vu 43 inch 4K Android tv which never got any update since 4.3.3. The company launched the same model with same exact spec this year except HDR, Nougat and google assistant build in. Is there any way I can upgrade it to at least Android M to support kodi.
I have a sony tv with android os built in and while they have been updating it, the tv processor is just weak as hell and can barely run it. I now have a shield tv hooked up and use it for everything, but any sort of box you can plug into the tv to use instead of it is the way to go.
No
I own a Sharp Aquos. Im still on lollipop. YTTV doesn't work and Hulu is still on the previous shit interface and not the current buttery interface.
Android TV TV isn't work doing...box only for Android TV.
The most important factors in any Android media player are:
The power of the GPU to hardware decode video AND draw the user interface quickly on screen. That will give you a responsive setup.
The after sales support for very important Bug busting Firmware and Google OS updates. Each Google OS update bring further code optimizations for low powered hardware.
The only decent GPU package in TV's running the Oreo Android TV OS is the powerful ARM Mali G71 in the new, expensive Sony Master Series TV's.
If you are the demanding type that only wants Android TV on a TV, nothing else comes close.
People that want bang for the buck are better off picking a cheaper TV brand with a great display panel and using a NVIDA Shield with it.
That then covers points 1) and 2) for the forceable future.
BTW: best bang for the back for Kodi is the cheap AMLogic S9xx devices running LibreELEC or CoreELEC Kodi using a wireless remote. Both those will run an optimised, bug busted Kodi better than any Android media player.
Welcome to the wonderful world that everyone who buys a TV with ATV built in is eventually going to experience (remember those dreadful TV/DVD combos back in the day? Exactly!) having dead tech that's a lightweight security breach (hacker backdoor?) stuck in your now basically useless monitor.
Exactly why I've been telling everyone (I know) not to buy them for years now since they initially came to market.
I have a Vu too. Happened with the model I own too. I have the one with Nougat, they have since launched one with Oreo. They do this with every model, will re-release instead of sending updates.
Edit : I stand corrected, they have apparently released an update around 2 months back. But Netflix stopped working.