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Freeing the Screensaver: 4K Anime Art on Google TV

My TV spends more time idle than playing content. And every idle minute, Google TV shows me the same curated AI art or Google Photos memories — things I did not choose, do not control, and cannot change.

I wanted my own screensaver. 4K anime art from Wallhaven, video loops from MoeWalls — playing on my TV, not streamed from a cloud service I never asked for.1

Aerial Views screensaver on Google TV

The Problem

Since Android TV 12, Google TV devices have locked down the screensaver selection. The Settings UI no longer lists third-party screensaver apps. You get Ambient Mode — Google Photos, AI art, or a black screen. That is it.

The change affected every Google TV device: Chromecast with Google TV, Google TV Streamer, and built-in Google TV on Sony, TCL, and Philips TVs.

The Solution

Aerial Views is an open-source screensaver app that supports 4K HDR videos, local photos, and media from USB/Samba/WebDAV. It is on the Play Store, but Google TV hides it from the launcher. You install it anyway via ADB and force the system to use it.

The full pipeline:

graph LR
    subgraph "MacBook"
        ADB[ADB via brew]
        APK[Aerial Views APK]
        MEDIA[4K PNG + MP4 Files]
    end

    subgraph "Google TV"
        INSTALL[Sideloaded App]
        STORE[/sdcard/AerialViews/]
        DREAM[Screensaver Service]
    end

    subgraph "Sources"
        WH[Wallhaven<br/>3840x2160 PNG]
        MW[MoeWalls<br/>4K MP4]
    end

    ADB --> INSTALL
    ADB --> MEDIA
    MEDIA --> STORE
    APK --> INSTALL
    INSTALL --> DREAM
    STORE --> DREAM
    WH -.-> MEDIA
    MW -.-> MEDIA

1. Enable Developer Options on the TV

Settings → Device Preferences → About → Build → click 7 times
Settings → System → Developer options → USB debugging → ON

Note down the TV's IP address: Settings → Network → Wi-Fi → IP address.

2. Install ADB

brew install android-platform-tools
adb version

3. Connect to the TV

adb connect <TV_IP>:5555

If the connection is refused (common on Android 14+ Chromecast with Google TV):

  1. Go to Developer options → Wireless debugging on the TV
  2. Select Pair device with pairing code
  3. Run the pair command shown on TV, then connect:
adb pair <IP>:<PORT>   # enter the 6-digit code
adb connect <IP>:<PORT>

4. Download and Install Aerial Views

curl -LO https://github.com/theothernt/AerialViews/releases/download/1.8.2/aerial-views-1.8.2.apk
adb install aerial-views-1.8.2.apk

5. Set It as the System Screensaver

This is the critical step — it bypasses Google TV's UI lock:

adb shell settings put secure screensaver_components \
  com.neilturner.aerialviews/.ui.screensaver.DreamActivity

# Verify
adb shell settings get secure screensaver_components
# Expected: com.neilturner.aerialviews/.ui.screensaver.DreamActivity

6. Push Your Own Media

# Create a folder on the TV
adb shell mkdir -p /sdcard/AerialViews

# Push 4K images and videos
adb push ~/Downloads/wallhaven/*.png /sdcard/AerialViews/
adb push ~/Downloads/moewall/*.mp4 /sdcard/AerialViews/

# Verify
adb shell find /sdcard/AerialViews -type f

7. Configure Aerial Views on the TV

Open the Aerial Views app from the app drawer and configure:

  1. Sources → Local storage
  2. Mode: Folder access
  3. Path: /AerialViews

  4. Ensure only one volume is selected

  5. Playlist — disable ALL online sources (Apple, Amazon, Jetson Creative, Robin Fourcade). Enable only Local storage

  6. Set Media type: Mixed or Photos only

  7. Adjust Photo duration to your preference

  8. Overlays (optional) — clock, date, location

  9. Back → Test screensaver to preview

Where to Find 4K Anime Media

Google TV is 16:9 4K, so aim for 3840×2160 content:

Site Type Notes
Wallhaven Images 4K PNG, best for anime art, bans AI art
DesktopHut Video loops Free 4K MP4, anime/gaming/nature
MoeWalls Video loops Anime-focused 4K MP4/WEBM, free
Pixabay Videos 15K+ free backgrounds, 4K, royalty-free

The Current Setup

My TV now cycles through a mix of 4K Wallhaven images and a video loop from MoeWalls — about 151 MB of local content that plays regardless of internet connectivity.

/sdcard/AerialViews/
├── wallhaven-je86dy_3840x2160.png
├── wallhaven-d86o9g_3840x2160.png
├── wallhaven-6llg7q_3840x2160.png
├── ...                # 8 more images
└── moewalls/
    └── cat-in-the-swamp-moewalls-com.mp4

Quick Reference

Action Command
Connect adb connect <IP>:5555
Pair (if needed) adb pair <IP>:<PORT>
Install APK adb install app.apk
Push files adb push <local> <remote>
Set screensaver adb shell settings put secure screensaver_components com.neilturner.aerialviews/.ui.screensaver.DreamActivity
Restore default adb shell settings put secure screensaver_components com.google.android.apps.tv.dreamx/.service.Backdrop
Change idle timeout adb shell settings put system screen_off_timeout 300000

The fix took 15 minutes. Most of that was downloading wallpapers. The TV sits idle, and now it shows exactly what I want — no cloud, no AI, no algorithm.

  1. Image credits and attribution — please contact if anything needs updating. ↩