I actually saved money by getting an LG tv and a shield than getting a Sony Android TV...
It's not only Sony.
4K HiSense Android TV's running Oreo have also blocked Kodi installs.
There is a workaround however for both:
https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=336272&pid=2801511#pid2801511
Use a USB stick and the XPlore Android TV App to install.
How Google allows this App install - Blacklist Bullshit needs to be questioned as well.
So much for an "Open" Android TV Oreo OS.
Then they wont get my monies.....
Shame...
Will Sony stop their older TVs from working with Kodi with a future update?
The error they are getting is -506.
This could happen if Sony's ROM had installed Kodi (for testing), and then uninstalled it. The cache/data folders are still there and lingering under a different user ID. It could also have been installed on a test user which no longer exists on the Android system.
You'd have to rename the package to get it to work because you're trying to install the APK again under a different user.
Or they blocked it, but it'd be weird to use -506 to accomplish this.
Edit:
/**
* Installation return code: this is passed in the {@link PackageInstaller#EXTRA_LEGACY_STATUS}
* if the requested shared user does not exist.
*
* @hide
*/
@SystemApi public static final int INSTALL_FAILED_NO_SHARED_USER = -6;
Punish them. Don't buy their products. The company once called the internet as cancer.
Fine with me. I will never buy another smart TV anyway. I prefer Nvidia shield on a dumb TV and less security risk.
They aren't blocking anything... Why does kodi 17 install fine? Same package name..
Sony actively promote kodi for its televisions in advertising materials
use spmc (free) or mrmc (paid) instead
Very curious are there examples of this being done with any other apps as well?
I heard of carriers blocking other people's apps from the play store but not oems.
Do you install Kodi on your TV?
not right but you're much better off using a separate stb anyways
This is why you do not use Smart TV apps
The good news is that it can be bypassed.
Sorta makes sense, Sony's studio division has a lot to lose from keeping Kodi around. Yet another reason I'm glad I went with Philips instead.
I installed it like a week or so ago on my x900f. Haven't really used it tbh. Was planning to use it but I'm seriously worried and paranoid about privacy etc.
Also I discovered windows is able to just stream content to my TV (right click, cast to device).. which is nice for the shows I cant stream anywhere legally so I'm kinda forced to pirate them. Putting then on a stick / drive etc is a hassle
Wonder if side loading popcorn time will work. Don't use it anymore. Also concerned about privacy but still.
The fact that I'm logged into my TV with my Google account kinda makes me paranoid. Sony doesn't have monthly security updates etc so I just don't trust it.
Anyway... this is yet another reason that's making me really regret not buying a Samsung q7fn instead. On top of when I bought it a x930e was 400 euro more expensive 2 weeks later I'm seeing a x930e for the same fucking price I got my TV for.
The TV is great in many ways. But the fucking blooming drives me crazy. I didnt expect it to be this bad on top of that black uniformity on my screen seems to be completely shite. Whenever there is a black background on anything there I'd am massive amount of blooming. The black bars while watching a movie regularly go from black to dark grayish. It doesn't even make sense..sometimes there is a small highlight and 1/4the the black seems to get blooming!
This is esp bad during DOBLY stuff.. don't fucking get me started with the dobly. Cant even turn that crap off without using a cheaper plan on Netflix which also.means no 4k. By now I fucking hate dobly. The only way its watchable with most content is with a max gamma, black levels set to high. Sometimes even max high adv contrast enhancer. And that list seems to make the blooming even more apparent. Couple that with the fact that many Netflix shows are dark AF it just looks washed out and fully with constant extremely distracting blooming.
The sad part is that I can't send it back where i live. Seriously consider selling the TV for a 100 or so euros cheaper than I bought it at trying to find a q7fn deal or something..but that's going to cost me 200/300 euro extra (selling the TV at a loss and buying the slightly more expensive q7fn)
I'm also pretty sure those mother fuckers sold me a refurbished one. All the stickers etc were there and everything was on its packaging correctly sealed etc. But the foam in the box was broken like it had been opened before and repackaged.
For a 1100 eur. This has been a pretty big disappointment so far. The q7fn might be slightly less accurate. But every time I watch this TV I wonder if I made a mistake not buying that instead
Yet another reason why you don't buy TV's with ATV (or anything) built in.
I banned Sony products from my house 17 years ago and haven't regretted it. No one should ever buy anything they make.
And that’s what you get for buying a tv with a smart os
I'm 65 years old and just want to remind those that may not be in the know...
Sony has stolen USA technology such as our original television technology, radar technology, and on and on. It's a sad situation and unfortunate that they (Japan & China) have taken over our market in electronics technology that leaves us all with very few USA products.
Google needs to be held accountable for providing a so called open O/S to these thieves and then allow them to selectively block Playstore apps that meet the standards set forth for developers. Kodi 18 now uses Google code in the Android version for Google Assistant.
Sad situation for Kodi and those users that only stream local content!
I will continue to not buy their products and use a dumb TV and Nvidia Shield.
It's a Japanese brand, the Japanese are well known to be anti-consumer.
Kodi is in Play Store. Are manufacturers allowed by Google to block arbitrary applications from the Store?