install android on laptop - help

Tr1pp · 18 Aug 2016 at 22:15

so im getting a new laptop and have the idea of using my old laptop as a media box to replace my girlfriends apple tv3.

i like the simple UI of the atv3 and want a similar setup but i dont think i can really achieve that on a windows 10 UI but I have a HUGE library of of high bitrate blu ray films on my media server that i cannot play through the apple tv.

Im wanting to install android so I can have a simple, clean UI, like most media boxes, with all the apps like netflix, hulu hbo NOW but also able to have plex (for my media library) and chrome so i can browse.

I know i could spend 100$ on a roku or similar but i dont think it would be able to handle the quality of my media files...and i like to tinker with the equipment I have.

what im asking is has anyone had any experience installing android onto a laptop or desktop as the main OS. ive read a bit about it but theres not a lot out there really.

all help appreciated

Orcvader · 18 Aug 2016 at 23:24

This is what you want: http://www.android-x86.org/

Some things may not fully work due to lack of drivers. Whether it will run fine on your laptop or not, you'll need to test it out yourself.

There's also Remix OS based on Android x86 which you can have a go as well, basically a more desktop friendly version of Android: http://www.jide.com/remixos-for-pc

For both you basically burn the ISO to a disk or create a bootable USB, and then boot to it and follow the instructions, it's a bit similar to Windows' installation.

ED209 · 19 Aug 2016 at 08:12

you could always set them up on a VM (virtual Machine) first before doing anything to see which one you like best.

Tr1pp · 19 Aug 2016 at 18:30

thats great, thanks for the help

whiskycycle · 19 Aug 2016 at 23:31

The people who make RemixOS have hired one of the key Android X86 people, so it's only going to get better... I've ran it on a couple of machines and it's pretty decent to be honest, cheap/smallish SSD and an old laptop and you've got yourself a damn decent machine.

Seemed to run pretty much everything I threw at it, and if I didn't have Pixel C and a Chromebook, I'd have this on a laptop in place of some flavour of Linux, as it seemed enough.

Not sure how it would handle streaming chunky BR files, as I use Plex server and a mixture of a Chromecast hanging off an HDMI port on an amp and Fire boxes off the other tellys in the house. Chromecast handles pretty much all the multichannel audio fine as well.

Remix OS 3.0 will also cohabit with a Windows installation without knacking bootloaders etc. and can be uninstalled and removed without fully wiping the base OS, so you've at least a way to try without throwing the baby and the bathwater out (although backup backup backup etc before trying).