If you’ve got an old PC biting the dust, the setup can be put to good utility, converting it into a smart TV. Yes, you can do that – virtually turn your old PC into an Android TV thanks to a modified open-source software. It also comes in handy for monitors connected to a PC running on Intel or AMD processors which basically covers the whole spectrum of possibility.
The software is dubbed Android TV x86 and it’s your best bet to get a nice multimedia experience with the apps, games or other entertaining content right on your PC connected to the big screen. The software is developed by XDA Senior Member [AmznUser444 Dev], and for starters, the application runs on Android 9 Pie.
The minimum requirements for the software to work are quite low, so you shouldn’t have any trouble making it work on modern day PCs. Even old PCs will make the cut as it requires only 1.2 GHz dual-core 64-bit capable processor having 64MB of video memory from either Intel/NVIDIA/AMD GPU. You should not have any trouble making the LAN, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connect – given that the ROM has the roots in Android-x86 project and the Google apps are pre-included.
That said, there are some things that need to be considered before installation, since the software is pretty new and has some known bugs. First up, HD content from Netflix/Amazon Prime Videos will now work for now as Widevine L1 certification is still absent.
Secondly, the Chromecast also doesn’t work without having DRM support at this time, even though it is built-into the app. One also needs to consider that Netflix is only working in mobile version, so if you do watch a lot of content from the service, this workaround won’t be as beneficial for you.