TMPlayer

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Telegram videos on Android TV

Telegram has no app for televisions, and its phone app is no fun with a remote. TMPlayer is a free, unofficial player that signs in to your own account and plays the videos in your chats on the big screen.

Show me the steps Download TMPlayer

What you need

You need

  • An Android TV or Google TV on Android 8.0 or above: a Chromecast with Google TV, a Mi TV Stick, an NVIDIA Shield, or a television with Android TV built in.
  • Your Telegram account, signed in on a phone, to scan the QR code once.
  • A network connection. Wi-Fi is fine; videos stream while they download.

You do not need

  • A bot, a server or a paid plan. TMPlayer talks to Telegram directly, as you.
  • To move any files. The videos stay in your chats.
  • A computer, unless you prefer to install with adb.

Four steps

You do the first three once. After that it opens like any other TV app.

  1. Check the television

    Open Settings, Device Preferences, About and look for the Android version. 8.0 or above works. Google TV devices all qualify.

  2. Install TMPlayer

    The Play Store on a TV does not carry TMPlayer, so it is installed from the APK. The easiest way needs only the remote: install the free Downloader app from the Play Store, allow it to install apps, and open tmplayer.org/download in it.

    Prefer a phone or a computer? The install guide covers Send files to TV and adb as well.

  3. Sign in with a QR code

    Open TMPlayer. It shows a QR code: in Telegram on your phone, Settings, Devices, Link Desktop Device, and scan it. This is Telegram's own sign-in for a new device, the same one Telegram Desktop uses.

  4. Pick a chat and press play

    Your chats, channels and saved messages appear in a rail on the left, and their videos as a grid of tiles. Press OK on one and it starts within seconds, downloading while you watch.

Worth knowing

Subtitles and audio tracks

MKV, MP4, AVI and TS play with their subtitles and every audio track. What plays.

Series play on

When an episode ends, the next one starts after a short countdown you can stop.

Slow connection?

Turn on the mode that downloads the whole video first, then plays it without a single pause.

More help

Questions about privacy and what the app can see are answered in the questions and on the security page. On a Fire TV? Read the Fire TV guide.