Aerial TV
pengchujin/aerial-tvReviewed by AI
What it does
An Android TV home screen for China-market televisions, boxes and projectors (Xiaomi, TCL, Skyworth, Hisense, Sony and others). It shows your apps, folders, HDMI inputs, wallpapers and aerial screensavers instead of the maker's recommendation feed. There is no desktop version: you install an APK on the TV. To make it take over the home button you turn on ADB debugging on the TV and run several commands from a computer; a USB-drive install works but usually leaves the original launcher in charge. Android 5.0+, with a Lite test build for 4.0-4.4.
How easy it is to install
D · terminal, several tools or a specific graphics card
It only runs on Android TV, so no desktop platform gets a grade. Getting it to actually replace the home screen is D-level work: unlock developer mode on the TV (the steps differ per brand), turn on ADB, then run commands such as `adb connect`, `adb install -r` and four permission commands from a computer; the README's recommended shortcut is to hand those steps to an AI agent that can run commands for you.
Coming soon: install in 1 click with the RepoPicks app.
Numbers on GitHub
- Stars
- 8,325on Oct 31, 2026
- Downloads
- 79,32142,337 this week
- Growth
- +3,213stars in 6 days
Stars over time
Facts
- Runs on
- —
- You need to install
- Other tools
- Disk space
- not determined
- Accounts or keys
- None
- Cost
- Free · MIT license, no paid tier mentioned.
- License
- MIT (Permissive)
- Can replace
- Launcher
- Last update
- Oct 31, 2026
Risk signals (7)
- AttentionVery new repository with many stars
8330 stars in 11 days
automatic check
- Attentionneeds powerful android permissions
The manual install grants `android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS`, a notification listener (`app.orchard.tv/app.orchard.tv.guard.RevivalListener`) and `SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW`, plus an accessibility service used to switch back whenever the stock launcher appears; the README states the service "只看哪个窗口在前台，不读屏幕内容" (only checks which window is in front, does not read screen content), which cannot be confirmed without inspecting the code.
AI review
- Attentionleaves adb debugging open
The documented one-line install is `curl -fsSL https://aerial.qust.me/install.sh | KEEP_ADB=1 TV=192.168.1.20 bash`, and the FAQ explains `KEEP_ADB=1` makes Aerial switch ADB back on after standby "方便以后升级" (to make upgrades easier), which keeps the TV's debugging port reachable on the local network.
AI review
- Infoinstall script and apk from owner website
The APKs and scripts are fetched from the author's own domain (`https://aerial.qust.me/download/aerial-standard.apk`, `https://aerial.qust.me/install.sh`, `tools/report.sh`, `tools/selftest.sh`) rather than from the GitHub release files, and the GitHub releases list no binaries.
AI review
- Infothird party video content
The licence section states: "航拍影片版权归 Apple，由 Apple 的服务器直接播放" (the aerial films are copyrighted by Apple and streamed straight from Apple's servers) and that the project "与 Apple、小米、TCL 等公司无关" (is not connected with Apple, Xiaomi, TCL or other companies).
AI review
- Infomany tv models not supported
The project's own compatibility table marks several models with ❌, for example FFALCON 75S78A Plus ("固件约每分钟清掉无障碍，主页键接管不了") and Skyworth 7T641/75A6E on Android 13 ("黑屏，或拿不到焦点被系统结束"), and says LG webOS, Samsung Tizen and Huawei HarmonyOS screens are not supported at all.
AI review
- Infovery fast release pace
69 GitHub releases since the repository was created on 2026-10-20, with v1.74, v1.75 and v1.76 all dated 2026-10-31.
AI review
Evidence is shown in its original language.
What Radar could not check
- Whether it takes over the home button on your exact TV model and firmware
- What the accessibility service and notification listener actually read, since that needs reading the code
- Whether the APK on the author's website matches the source in this repository
- Whether the TV maker's next firmware update breaks or removes it