Movies, Shows & Rentals on Your Android

The 60-Second Version

If you only remember a handful of things from this guide, make it these.

• The Google TV app gathers your films, shows, and rentals into one place on your phone.
• Renting a film is cheaper but temporary; buying it means you keep it for good.
• You can watch right on the phone, or send the picture up to your big television.
• Turn on subtitles — the words along the bottom — any time you want to read along.
• Only rent or buy through the official Google TV app, never from a link in an email.

Meet the Google TV App

The Google TV app is where films and shows live on your Android phone. It is an app on your phone, not the television set in your living room, and it is marked with a colorful little play-button icon.

When it opens, you will see rows of films and shows to explore, along with anything you have already rented, bought, or started watching. Along the bottom are a few buttons to move between sections. Do not worry about learning every corner at once. The next pages take you through the parts that matter.

• Look on your home screen for the app named Google TV.
• If you cannot spot it, swipe up from the bottom to see all your apps, or pull down and type Google TV in the search box.
• Tap the icon to open it.
• It uses the same Google account you already use for the Play Store, so you are usually signed in already.

What the App Gathers Together

The clever thing about the Google TV app is that it pulls a great deal into one place, so you are not forever hopping between different apps to find what you want.

Rather than remembering which app a particular show lives in, you can often start it right from the Google TV app. It becomes a single front door to most of your watching. Some services still keep to their own separate apps, and that is fine, but a great many now tuck neatly into this one place.

• Films you have rented or bought from Google.
• Many of your streaming services, so their shows appear alongside everything else.
• A Watchlist, where you can save things to enjoy later.
• A Continue watching row that remembers what you had started.

Renting a Movie, and How Long It Lasts

Renting is the wallet-friendly way to watch a film you only want to see once. You pay a small sum, watch it, and it quietly disappears afterward. There is nothing to cancel and nothing to clutter up your phone.

Once you rent a film, you generally have thirty days to begin watching it. But the moment you press play, a shorter window opens, commonly forty-eight hours, during which you can watch it as many times as you like. After that time is up, the rental ends on its own. So it is best to rent when you are ready to settle in.

• Find the film you want in the Google TV app and tap it.
• If it can be rented, you will see a Rent button with the price on it.
• Tap Rent, then confirm — usually with your fingerprint, your face, or your Google password.
• The film is yours to start watching straight away.

Buying a Movie or Show to Keep

Buying costs more than renting, but the film or show is then yours to keep and watch as often as you please, for as long as you own the account. It is the right choice for a favorite you will return to again and again.

A simple rule: rent a film you only want to see once, and buy the ones you will watch time and again — a beloved classic, a favorite the grandchildren always ask for. Buying a whole television series often works out kinder than buying each episode, if you plan to keep it.

• Open the film or show in the Google TV app and tap it.
• Look for a Buy button with the price — it sits near the Rent button when both are offered.
• Tap Buy and confirm with your fingerprint, face, or Google password.
• It is added to your library, ready whenever you want it.

Finding Something to Watch

Half the pleasure is browsing, but when you know what you are after, the app can take you straight to it. There are two easy ways: searching and browsing.

If you are not sure what you fancy, simply scroll through the rows on the main screen — new releases, popular picks, and films grouped by mood or kind, like comedies or classics. It is a gentle way to stumble onto something you would never have thought to search for.

• Tap the Search button, usually a little magnifying glass at the top or bottom.
• Type the name of a film, a show, or even an actor.
• Tap the result you want to see what is on offer and how to watch it.

Where Your Streaming Subscriptions Show Up

Many people pay a monthly fee for a streaming service or two. The good news is that a number of these appear right inside the Google TV app, so their shows sit alongside everything else.

It is worth keeping a clear head about which services you subscribe to, since each is a monthly cost. You can see subscriptions you bought through your phone in the Play Store: tap your picture in the corner, then Payments and subscriptions. It is a tidy list of what you pay for and when each renews.

• Some services can be linked to the Google TV app, so their shows appear in one place.
• When you pick one of their shows, it plays without an extra charge — you have already paid your monthly fee.
• Other services keep to their own separate app, which you open on its own.
• Either way, the fee is the same monthly amount you already agreed to.

Your Watchlist: Save It for Later

When you come across something you would like to watch another time, you do not have to trust your memory. The Google TV app has a Watchlist, a little to-watch list that keeps itself in order.

Whenever a friend recommends a film, search for it and add it to your Watchlist straight away. Then, on a quiet evening, you have a ready-made list of good things waiting, with no need to rack your brain for what to put on. It even works across your phone, your tablet, and a Google TV on your television, so a film you save on one shows up on the others.

• Open any film or show and look for a Watchlist button, often a bookmark or a plus sign.
• Tap it, and the film is tucked into your Watchlist for later.
• Find your Watchlist among the buttons along the bottom or in the Library area.
• Tap anything in your Watchlist when you are ready to watch it.

Continue Watching: Never Lose Your Place

One of the friendliest touches is a row called Continue watching. It quietly remembers what you have been watching and where you left off, so picking a show back up is a single tap.

Because your place is kept with your Google account, you can start a film on your phone in the waiting room and pick it up that evening on the big television, right where you paused. There is nothing to set up. It simply remembers, so you never have to hunt for your spot again.

• Start a film or show, and it appears in your Continue watching row automatically.
• Stop partway through, and it remembers the exact spot for when you return.
• Finish an episode of a series, and the next one is lined up and waiting.
• Tap anything in the row to carry straight on from where you were.

Watching on the Phone with Headphones

Sometimes the phone itself is exactly the right screen — in bed, in a waiting room, or beside someone who is sleeping. With a pair of headphones or earbuds, the sound is clear and private, just for you.

Tap the screen and you can pause, jump back a little to catch a line you missed, or turn on subtitles. To adjust the volume, use the buttons on the side of the phone. If you set the phone in a little stand, you can watch comfortably without holding it the whole time.

• Open the film or show and tap the play button.
• Turn the phone on its side, so the picture fills the screen the wide way.
• Put in your headphones or earbuds for clear, private sound.
• Tap the screen once to bring up the controls; tap again to tuck them away.

Getting Around the Playback Controls

Once a film is playing, a few simple controls let you pause, jump back to catch a line, or skip ahead. They tuck themselves away while you watch and reappear with a tap.

If you miss a bit of dialogue, do not worry. A quick tap of the back-arrow replays the last few seconds, and you can do it as often as you like. The sliding bar lets you skip past a slow patch or return to a favorite scene. Nothing you tap here can harm the film or your phone.

• Tap the screen once to bring the controls up; tap again to hide them.
• Tap the pause button to stop, and the same button to carry on.
• Tap the little back-arrow, or double-tap the left side, to jump back a few seconds.
• Slide the bar along the bottom to move to an earlier or later part.

Casting the Movie to the Big TV

Watching on the phone is grand, but for a proper film night nothing beats the big television. Your Android phone can send the picture and sound up to many modern TVs through a feature called casting.

Once it is playing on the TV, your phone becomes the remote — pause, play, and adjust the volume from your hand. Casting works with TVs that have Chromecast built in, and with a small device you can add to any set. If your TV is not on the list, that is a common thing to sort out.

• Make sure your TV and your phone are on the same home internet.
• Start the film on your phone, then tap the screen to show the controls.
• Look for the Cast button — a little screen with curved lines in one corner.
• Tap it, choose your television from the list, and the film jumps to the big screen.

Using a Chromecast or Google TV Device

If casting from your phone feels fiddly, a small gadget makes big-screen watching wonderfully simple. A Google TV Streamer — or an older Chromecast, if you have one — plugs into your television and puts the whole Google TV app right on the big screen, with its own remote.

For anyone who watches on the big television often, the device turns a sometimes-fiddly job into a comfortable, sit-back experience. Everything you have rented or bought is simply there, ready to play with the remote. It is not required — the phone can do the job — but many folks find it makes the whole thing far easier.

• It connects to your TV with a single cable and joins your home internet.
• Your rentals, purchases, and subscriptions appear on the big screen, no phone needed.
• It comes with a small remote for choosing and playing what you want.
• Your phone can still cast films to it whenever you like.

Turning On Captions and Subtitles

Captions, also called subtitles, are the printed words along the bottom of the screen that show what is being said. They are a great help when dialogue is mumbled, the music swells, or you simply want to follow along more easily.

If the caption text is too small or hard to see, you can make it larger and bolder for every app at once. It is in Settings, under Accessibility, then Caption preferences. A little adjustment here can be the difference between squinting and reading comfortably from your chair.

• While the film is playing, tap the screen to bring up the controls.
• Look for a speech-bubble button, often marked with the letters CC.
• Tap it and choose Subtitles or Closed Captions, and pick the language.
• Tap the screen again to tuck the controls away and read along.

Downloading a Movie for a Trip

On a plane, a train, or anywhere without good internet, you can still enjoy a film — if you download it first while you are at home on your own internet. Downloading tucks a copy right onto your phone so it plays without any connection.

Downloads can be large, so do them at home over your own internet the night before, not at the airport. Give it time to finish fully. Once downloaded, the film sits on your phone ready to watch, and you can delete it afterward to free up room.

• While at home on your own internet, open a film you have rented or bought.
• Look for a Download button — a little downward arrow.
• Tap it and wait for the download to finish before you set off.
• On your trip, open the Google TV app, go to your Library, and play it, no internet needed.

Sharing Purchases with the Family Library

If you set up a Google family group, the films and shows you buy can be enjoyed by your loved ones too, and theirs by you — all without buying anything twice. Google calls this the Family Library.

A family group is arranged in the Play Store or your Google account settings, where you invite your family members and turn on Family Library sharing. It takes a few minutes and is well worth it. A film bought by your daughter can then be enjoyed by you, and yours by the grandchildren, with no extra cost.

• You gather a small family group, each with their own Google account.
• Films and shows bought by anyone in the group can be shared with the others.
• Everyone keeps their own private account; only purchases are shared.
• It works across everyone's phones, tablets, and televisions.

Kids' Profiles and Content Controls

When the grandchildren are visiting, it is easy to keep their watching to what is suitable for their age. The Google TV app can show them a special kids' space, and the phone can hold back anything too grown-up.

With a kids' profile or age limits in place, the phone simply will not offer anything above the age you have chosen, so a curious child cannot stumble into a grown-up film. When the grandchildren head home, you can lift the limits again with your PIN, or leave them on. There is no harm either way.

• In the Google TV app, you can set up a kids' profile that shows only child-friendly titles.
• For the whole phone, open Settings and set up Digital Wellbeing and parental controls, or the Family Link app.
• These let you set age limits for films and TV shows.
• Protect the limits with a PIN so they cannot be undone by little fingers.

Spotting Scam Payment Emails

This page may be the most important in the guide. Scammers send fake emails and messages dressed up to look like Google, hoping to frighten you into handing over your details or your money. Knowing their tricks keeps you safe.

• An email or text saying Your Google payment failed, or Your account is on hold.
• A demand that you click a link right now and re-enter your card or password.
• A warning that your account will be closed unless you act at once.
• A receipt for something you never bought, urging you to click to cancel.

A Simple Watch-Anywhere Plan

You do not need every feature at once. Get comfortable watching first, then add a trick or two as you go. Here is a gentle order to follow.

Once watching feels natural, explore the rest — the Family Library with your loved ones, downloading a film for a trip, and setting up controls for the grandchildren. There is no rush. Learn one thing at a time and let it settle before the next. Keep the cheat sheet on the following page nearby.

• Open the Google TV app and browse the rows to see what is on offer.
• Rent one film for the evening and watch it right on the phone.
• Turn on subtitles so you can read along if the dialogue is quiet.
• Try casting a film to the big television.
• Add a few things you fancy to your Watchlist for later.

What's in the 27-page PDF

• The Google TV app and what it gathers (pages 3-4)
• Renting, buying, and finding something to watch (pages 5-7)
• Your subscriptions, watchlist, and keeping your place (pages 8-10)
• Watching on the phone and on the big TV (pages 11-14)
• Captions, downloads for trips, and family sharing (pages 15-17)
• Controls for the grandkids and spotting scams (pages 18-19)
• A simple plan, a cheat sheet, and a word list (pages 20-22)

Why I wrote this

I write these as printable handouts because a guide you can keep in a drawer beats a web page you have to find again. No jargon, no judgment, no rushing. If you'd rather have someone sit beside you and go through it together, that's a flat $99 first visit with the 30-day follow-up included — serving Portage County from Atwater, Ohio. — Bill