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Android TV app On Google Play

AskIT TV for Emby Server

A fast Android TV and Google TV client for your own Emby server.

Built for the big screen and the remote. AskIT TV connects directly to your Emby server (an active Emby server is required) and plays 4K HDR video, syncs subtitles line by line, lets you time song lyrics with one tap, and exposes every setting you need. Free, with no ads and no tracking.

Get it on Google Play Support the app
  • Requires an Emby server
  • Free, no ads, no tracking
  • About 4 MB
AskIT TV for Emby Server home screen
Free and clean
No ads, no tracking, no telemetry
Emby server
Connects directly to your server
Sync by line
Millisecond subtitle alignment
1-tap lyrics
Time lyrics from the remote

Features

Fixes for the things that annoy movie and music fans

Out-of-sync subtitles and missing lyrics, solved from the sofa in a click or two.

AskIT TV video player with Sync by Line subtitle controls

Subtitles

Sync subtitles by line, in one click

No more nudging a delay slider back and forth. With Sync by line, subtitle timing takes one press:

  • Pick the spoken line. Open the timing menu to see every subtitle cue with its exact timestamp (01:23.450).
  • No maths. When an actor speaks a line, select it with your remote. The player calculates the offset and shifts every subtitle into place.
  • Fine-tune. A "Sync to dialogue" button and step offsets (-1.0s, -0.25s, +0.25s, +1.0s) adjust timing with immediate feedback. Vocal Clarity Boost lifts speech by up to +12 dB.
AskIT TV music player with synchronized lyrics

Music

Create synchronized lyrics with one tap per line

Have unsynced lyrics for a song? AskIT TV turns your TV into a lyric editor that produces karaoke-style synced lyrics:

  • One press per line. Switch to Live Sync and press the remote's centre button (or tap the screen) as the artist sings the first word of each line.
  • Automatic advance. Each press stamps the exact millisecond and moves the cursor to the next line, so you just keep tapping to the rhythm.
  • Natural lead-in. Show each line a split second before the vocal so you can read and sing along.
  • Lossless playback. FLAC and ALAC engine with background playback.
AskIT TV living room experience

Living room

Fluid D-pad navigation and Continue Watching

Built natively in Jetpack Compose for TV with sub-16 ms response times. No web wrapper and no sluggish pointer: looping rows, clear focus outlines, Continue Watching shelves, library filters, accent themes and quick actions make large libraries easy to browse.

AskIT TV discography and offline media view

Offline

Offline playback with full metadata and artwork

Download whole series, movies, audiobooks, podcasts or lossless discographies in their original format, with backdrops, cast, chapters and synopses. Everything works without an internet connection. Downloads show live speed and ETA, and can go to USB drives or microSD cards.

Configuration

Every setting you can change

From colour themes and dialogue boost to storage migration and decoder fallbacks.

Visual themes and layout

Tailor the 10-foot interface to your living room.

  • Accent colour. Gold, Teal, Emerald, or a custom hue and lightness.
  • Focus cursor. Subtle infill or high-contrast border for clear remote targeting.
  • Poster overlay. Adjust the dark overlay for readable text over posters.
  • Clock and battery. Status indicators on tablet and phone (hidden on TV).
  • Continue Watching. Start playback straight away or open the series details.

Sound and dialogue clarity

Hear whispers over explosions with built-in audio processing.

  • Vocal Clarity Boost. Lifts speech out of music and effects by up to +12.0 dB.
  • Night mode. Compresses loud spikes for late-night viewing.
  • Volume normalisation. Removes sudden jumps between shows and channels.
  • Default channels. Stereo or multichannel surround for video and music.
  • Auto-play next episode. With an optional countdown.

Subtitles and lyrics

Typography controls and dialogue alignment tools.

  • Sync by line. Select the spoken cue to align subtitles to the millisecond.
  • Sync to dialogue. Quick nudge controls with live preview.
  • Lyric lead-in. Highlight lyrics slightly ahead of the vocal.
  • Live lyric sync. One tap per line, with automatic advance.
  • Font and background. Text size, outline contrast and background box.

Storage and downloads

Control where media is stored and how the cache is organised.

  • Storage location. Internal flash, USB drive or microSD card.
  • Space check. See download size against free space before starting.
  • Migration. Move downloads between drives with a progress bar.
  • Repair cache. Find and fix moved or mislabelled offline files.
  • Clean up. Remove leftover folders and orphaned files in one click.

Hardware and codecs

Inspect your TV's decoders and install software fallbacks.

  • Decoder audit. Chip capabilities, screen resolution and 10-bit HEVC support.
  • Codec packs. Optional ~12 MB packs for older devices without hardware decoders.
  • Software fallback. Routes 10-bit HDR video to FFmpeg when hardware falls short.
  • Status readout. Turns green when every decoder is ready for 4K.

Music preferences

Bit-perfect streaming and tidy multi-disc albums.

  • Prefer lossless. FLAC or ALAC over MP3 when both exist.
  • Discography order. Oldest-to-newest or newest-to-oldest in one click.
  • Add all to queue. Queue a whole discography or multi-disc album.
  • Now Playing card. Control audio and see album art on the Android TV home screen.

Specifications

Requirements and compatibility

Application ID
com.askit.tvPackage identifier on Google Play and Android TV.
Server
Emby server connectionRequires an active connection to your self-hosted or remote Emby server (Emby 4.7+ recommended).
Price and privacy
Free, no ads, no trackingNo ads, analytics or telemetry. Connects directly to your own server.
Availability
Google Play StoreFor Android TV and Google TV devices.
Android
Android 7.0 to 16API level 24 to 36. Works on older TV boxes and is optimised for current Google TV devices.
Video
4K HEVC, H.264, VP9, AV18-bit and 10-bit HDR, with NextLib FFmpeg software fallback when hardware decoders are missing.
Audio
FLAC, ALAC, MP3, AC3, DTSMultichannel pass-through, night mode and Vocal Clarity Boost (+12 dB).
Size
About 4.0 MB

Get started

Up and running in three steps

  1. 01

    Install from Google Play

    Search for "AskIT TV for Emby Server" in the Google Play Store on your Android TV or Google TV device. Updates install automatically.

    Open in Google Play
  2. 02

    Connect your server

    Launch the app, discover or enter your local or remote Emby server address, and sign in. Your libraries appear straight away over a direct, secure connection.

  3. 03

    Support the project

    AskIT TV is free, with no ads and no tracking. A one-off or monthly donation supports development and gets you a shout-out in the app.

    Support and shout-out

Comparison

AskIT TV vs other ways to watch Emby on Android TV

There are three common alternatives: the official Emby app, Kodi with the Emby add-on, and Jellyfin. Here is how they differ.

AskIT TV vs other ways to watch Emby on Android TV
Compared onAskIT TVIndependent Emby clientEmby for Android TVOfficial appKodi + Emby add-onMedia centerJellyfin for Android TVDifferent server
Works with Emby ServerYes, built for itYes, official clientYes, through the Emby for Kodi add-onNo: needs a Jellyfin server
PriceFreeFree to install; full playback needs Emby Premiere or an unlock, depending on versionFree and open sourceFree and open source
Fixing subtitle timingFrom the sofaSync by line: pick the spoken line, every cue shiftsOffset controls vary by versionManual offset sliderOffset controls vary by version
Creating synced lyricsTap along on the remote, one press per lineNo tap-to-sync editorNo built-in tap-to-sync editorNo tap-to-sync editor
Missing hardware codecsOlder TV boxesOptional FFmpeg codec packs on the deviceFalls back to server transcodingKodi's own FFmpeg-based playerFalls back to server transcoding
Set-upInstall, enter the server, sign inInstall, enter the server, sign inInstall Kodi, add the repository and add-on, sync the libraryRequires migrating to Jellyfin
Ads and trackingNo ads, analytics or telemetryNo adsNo adsNo ads

Based on public app listings and project documentation, checked October 2026. Terms change, especially the official app's licensing, so check each listing on Google Play. Emby is a trademark of Emby LLC, Kodi of the Kodi Foundation and Jellyfin of its project; AskIT TV is not affiliated with any of them.

Buyer's guide

Which Emby app should you use on your TV?

All four are good at something. Pick the one that matches how you watch.

Choose AskIT TV if…

You want a fast, free client and you care about subtitles and music.

  • Subtitles. You watch foreign films or rips with drifting subtitles and want to fix them with the remote.
  • Music. You have a lossless music library and want synced lyrics, even for songs that never had them.
  • Offline. You take downloads on holiday on a USB drive or microSD card.

Choose the official Emby app if…

You want the client made by the Emby team.

  • Live TV. You use Emby's Live TV and DVR features.
  • Premiere. You already pay for Emby Premiere and want features as soon as Emby ships them.

Choose Kodi if…

You already live in Kodi.

  • Customisation. You want skins, add-ons and full control over the interface.
  • Mixed sources. Your Emby library is only one of several sources you play.

Choose Jellyfin if…

You run, or plan to move to, a Jellyfin server.

  • Open source server. You want a fully open-source server and client stack. Jellyfin clients do not connect to Emby servers.

Use cases

Made for these evenings

Foreign films with drifting subtitles

Select the line an actor just spoke and every subtitle snaps into place, without leaving the sofa.

Karaoke from your own library

Tap along once and any song with plain lyrics becomes a synced, sing-along track.

Lossless music on the big screen

FLAC and ALAC playback, whole discographies in order, and a Now Playing card on the TV home screen.

Holidays and holiday homes

Download series and films with artwork to a USB drive or microSD card and watch with no internet.

Audiobooks and podcasts

Chapters and progress kept, online or offline, on TV, tablet and phone.

Older TV boxes

Runs from Android 7.0, with optional codec packs when the hardware cannot decode 10-bit HEVC.

Guides

Guides

Guide

How to fix out-of-sync subtitles on Android TV

Why subtitles drift, how to tell which kind of drift you have, and how to fix it from the remote in a few seconds.

Read

FAQ

Questions about AskIT TV

Do I need an Emby server to use AskIT TV?

Yes. AskIT TV is a client: it connects to your own self-hosted or remote Emby server (Emby 4.7+ recommended) and plays the libraries on it. It is an independent app, not affiliated with Emby LLC.

Is AskIT TV free?

Yes. It is free, with no ads, no analytics and no telemetry. Development is funded by voluntary one-off or monthly donations.

How do I fix out-of-sync subtitles on Android TV?

Open the timing menu, wait for an actor to speak a line and select that line with your remote. Sync by line calculates the offset and shifts every subtitle into place. Step offsets of ±0.25 s and ±1.0 s handle fine-tuning.

Which devices and Android versions are supported?

Android TV and Google TV devices, plus Android phones and tablets, running Android 7.0 to 16 (API level 24 to 36).

Which video and audio formats does it play?

4K HEVC, H.264, VP9 and AV1 video, including 8-bit and 10-bit HDR, with an FFmpeg software fallback when hardware decoders are missing. Audio covers FLAC, ALAC, MP3, AC3 and DTS with multichannel pass-through.

Is AskIT TV the same as the official Emby app?

No. It is an independent, unofficial client from AskIT that connects to Emby servers. The official Emby for Android TV app is made by Emby LLC; you can install both side by side.

Does AskIT TV work with Jellyfin or Plex?

No. It is built for the Emby server API only.

Can I watch downloads offline?

Yes. Download series, movies, audiobooks, podcasts or lossless albums in their original format, with artwork and metadata, to internal storage, a USB drive or a microSD card.

Keep AskIT TV free

No ads, no tracking, no analytics. Built only on official AndroidX and Media3 frameworks. If the app is useful to you, a donation keeps it maintained.

Support AskIT TV Get it on Google Play

Need a custom Android TV app? AskIT builds video streaming apps, automation tools and the systems behind them.

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