Guide · Updated September 2026
How do I sell Android TV boxes that arrive ready for a hotel?
A generic Android box is a commodity; a box that arrives ready for a property is not. TV Box Tools is the free, Apache-2.0 provisioning tool behind Hotel TV: a CLI (tvlm) and an MCP server that discover, check, install and hand over a box the same way every time. You sell the hardware and the setup at your price; the property pays for Hotel TV itself — free for its first year, then $1 a month or $10 a year per property, as listed on hoteltvapp.com.
The model, in one table
- You: source the boxes, provision them in batches, sell hardware + setup at your margin. No licence from us needed — the tool is Apache-2.0.
- The property: owns its hoteltvapp.com dashboard and its Hotel TV subscription, and can manage rooms without you.
- Us: we make the tool (free, open source) and Hotel TV (the property's subscription). We do not take a cut of your hardware or setup price.
Provision a batch
- Do one box by handRun the app, pick the property path, watch what it does: install Hotel TV (SHA-256 checked), hand the box to the app as its owner, show the 8-digit room-link code.
- Script it with the CLIThe same steps are commands: tvlm discover, check, install, provision, link, test, report — with --json output for your own tooling. One script per batch, every box identical.
- Or let an AI agent drive itThe MCP server exposes the same engine to Claude Code, ChatGPT or Gemini, behind the same command gate: reads run, changes ask, dangerous commands are refused. Every box ends with a session report.
The product to sell: a Room Hub, not a TV box
Priced as a streaming box, a $100 device loses to a $20 stick. Priced as the room's brain, it wins: it revives the property's old Samsung and LG TVs (the box does everything, the TV becomes a screen), it ends the two-remote mess over HDMI-CEC, and it arrives with Hotel TV provisioned — welcome screen, room link, kiosk, dashboard. A host already pays far more than that for a smart lock alone; a box that removes guest complaints is an easy hundred.
The line that lands with hosts: it costs about one night's booking, once, per room — and it answers “what's the Wi-Fi?” and “which remote do I press?” forever. Sell per property, not per room: a pack of five amortises your labour, the shipping and the marketplace fees, and matches how a host actually buys.
Hardware checklist before you commit to a batch
- Widevine L1, verified on a sample — many no-name boxes claim L1 and deliver L3, which means Netflix in SD and a wave of returns. Test one before you buy fifty.
- 4 GB RAM / 32 GB storage and a current SoC: the box runs kiosk duty 24/7 — heat and lag are what reviews punish.
- A Bluetooth remote (not infrared-only) with CEC power/volume, so the guest holds exactly one remote.
- Ethernet if the property's Wi-Fi is weak — a wired box streams when the walls do not cooperate.
The red lines
- The tool installs Hotel TV and nothing else. It will not pre-load streaming apps, accounts or content — a box sold “fully loaded” with content is a legal problem, not a configuration, and we want no part of it.
- No revenue promises from us: what a property pays is public, and what you charge for hardware and setup is your business.
- The names and logos (TV Box Tools, Hotel TV, Smartago) are trademarks — say “ships with Hotel TV”, do not present the box as made by us.
Questions
Do I need a licence or a partner agreement?
No. The tool is Apache-2.0; provisioning boxes and charging for your work is exactly what the licence allows. Trademark rules are in TRADEMARKS.md in the repository.
Who pays for Hotel TV — me or the property?
The property, directly, from its own hoteltvapp.com account. You never sit in the middle of the subscription, so a box you sold keeps working whether or not you do.
Which boxes should I buy?
Any Android TV 7+ or Google TV box with enough storage for the property's apps. We do not endorse specific models; the tool's check step tells you if a box is suitable before you commit to a batch.
Where do I get support?
support@smartago.net — same address as everyone. For the CLI and MCP specifics, the repository's docs/ai-agents.md is the reference.