Is there a way just to watch the movies on my computer from my android TV? I know I can do things like turn screen mirroring on at my PC or something like that, but I'd like to be able to just play a movie from the android TV without having to get up and go over to my desktop.
Any ideas? Thanks!!
Install Plex server on your desktop, load in the movies, and the Plex client on your android. You will likely need to reorganize your folders so that Plex will recognize them. This worked well for me. It was still a little flaky but not bad.
Another option is to try and use a DLNA server on Windows and a DLNA client like VLC on your Android TV. I could never get this to work right.
It would be simplest to mount the hard drive directly on the raspberry pi and then play from there (again with Plex or VLC).
You could use VLC
Shared folders in windows
Check out Plex.
Right click on a folder in Windows, select properties. Click on Sharing, then advanced Sharing. Checkmark "Share this folder", then permissions (read access only for everyone). Then click OK.
On your media player, using VLC you can browse to this folder under LAN, or in Kodi you can add this as a server. All this runs in the background of Windows, doesn't tax it too much. Running Plex, Emby, Jellyfin, etc, will run in the background and require more resources which slow your computer down, which is why people buy a separate PC dedicating to running those programs.
That is not an official Android TV device. That's a hacked version of software installed on a non-certified device. You can do google searches for how to use your Raspberry PI but this subreddit is for official Android TV devices.
easiest would be emby as for your non certified device you might not get plex (ATv) for free.
Plex. 100% it's got a small curve to setup, like declaring your movie/tv library folders. But if you've labelled things logically it'll just work like magic.
It's like having Netflix inside your home.
Create a share on the pc. Install Kodi on the Android TV and add the windows share via smb. Watch away...