Dev Insights regarding Plex for Android TV

Thought I would share this for those not in the Plex Android TV beta. One of the devs popped in to address a few popular concerns:

  • Problem - Lack of TrueHD support.

Answer - Known, we're working with NVIDIA and Google on this.

  • Problem - Lack of media info in preplay screen, i.e. resolution.

Answer - Our designer knows about this and is still trying to identify the best place to add this information.

  • Problem - Lack of considered 'normal' FF / RW

Answer - Agreed, we have already agreed internally the changes we want to make. We just haven't had time to schedule the work.

  • Problem - Pressing the play key (HDMI-CEC, Harmony, Nexus Player remote) does nothing on posters of movies/episodes/tv shows/seasons.

Answer - Known feature that we haven't yet implemented. We should be allowing users to skip preplay pages, etc if they hit a "Play" button. The reason it hasn't been prioritised is that only a few Android TVs actually have a Play button on the remote.

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which box to buy?

[deleted]

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Sideloading Nvidia's 4K Ultra HD VUDU app on Sony Bravia?

As most of you know, VUDU supports 4K Ultra HD playback on the Nvidia Shield TV but not the Sony Bravia (also running AndroidTV.)

I'm wondering if the APK could be sideloaded to work?

I understand VUDU doesn't do HDR10, but does Dolby Vision, and that wouldn't work because the Sony doesn't support it. But what about basic 4K UHD content?

If anyone's tried this, please share your findings. I'm curious to know if it'd work. And here's a free UHD title (and another) for you to test it with. Thanks!

1 Answers

Netflix moving to the end of apps

Hi,

Got an Nvidia shield tv. Noticed the Netflix app was on the "Shield Hub" section. Followed a link on Reddit that told me to turn off notifications for Nvidia Shield Hub and the Netflix icon would then be moved to the "apps" section.

Now when I start up my shield tv, the Netflix app is indeed in the apps banner, but all the way in the end. No matter how much I customize it in the Home Screen settings, whenever I open another app and return, the Netflix app always moves to the end. A bit frustrating as I'd like to have my kodi and Netflix side by side for easy access.

Any help?

Thanks

4 Answers

Arc Browser (adopted storage) ?

I've heard a lot of people talk about using this as a front end for their own rom collection. I looked at a few YT vids and it looks legit. However on the Google Play store it specifically sais do not install this on adopted storage (something about it deleting UserData on Android; a bug) thing is I'm using a USB thumb drive adopted as internal storage, is it safe to download this or should I wait until they come out with a fix for this :/ and more importantly will they ? It's a shame, if I can't use this are they're any alternatives preferably with a decent UI ?

2 Answers

Nexus Player Rebooting into TWRP Overnight?

My Nexus Player has been rebooting into TWRP every night so far. I haven't had time to sit down and troubleshoot so I just end up hard rebooting it (unplug/replug power brick) before going to work.

I have a hunch that it's being caused by the August security update failing to install (I'm unlocked/custom recovery/rooted) but am unsure. Can anyone confirm if this is the case, and if so, is there a way to defer the update until I have time to manually flash the OTA file?

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(root) How to get Xbox One Bluetooth Controller working natively

By default, the Xbox One bluetooth controller pairs just fine, but the mappings don't work.

The first thing you need to do is get a Windows PC, install the Xbox Accessories app and upgrade the firmware of your controller. You can do the same from an Xbox One console if you have it. Now it will sync properly with your Android device, but the key mappings will be completely wrong.

One way to fix it (if you have root) is to download the attachment here:

https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=219859

And place it in /system/usr/keylayout/

I installed "Minimal ADB and Fastboot" to be able do that.

Enable developer mode on your Android device.

Then enable USB debugging.

At some point when you are doing the next steps,a popup requesting you to allow a device to debug should show up. Let it.

Steps

adb devices
adb shell
su
mount -o rw,remount,rw /system
cp /path/to/my/file /system/usr/keylayout/
chmod 644 /system/usr/keylayout/Vendor_045e_Product_02e0.kl 
reboot

This was the only way I was able to get proper permissions to copy.

ES Explorer root couldn't, neither could Total Commander root.

This worked 100% for me on the Nvidia Shield TV. Tested it myself with Gamestream, Kodi (SPMC) and a couple other games.

7 Answers

I'm looking for a 4K capable Android box that can be rooted

I use Android boxes for digital signage. I need to replace all the ones I have an buy a bunch of new ones over the next few months.

My requirements are:

  • Easily rooted so I can install VNC or other remote control software
  • 4K TV capable
  • Android 5.0 or better

If anyone can point me in the right direction, I'd be appreciative.

9 Answers

Question about performance

[deleted]

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Better remote control for Sony Android TV

Just got a Sony Android TV and the remote is realllllly badly designed.

I know there are tons of apps that can work as a remote but I want a physical remote control with volume, d-pad, and play/pause.

Suggestions?

Edit current remote and what I don't like about it: I currently have the sony rmf-tx200u as my remote. I find that I'm constantly hitting the wrong buttons around the d-pad. And the play-pause buttons are so indifferent that I am constantly hitting the buttons around them as well. I've previously had a Roku3 Remote and loved it, simple and don't need anything more.

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Game Controller (for my Nexus Player) ?

I'm looking to use my nexus player for emulation, and android games, can anyone tell me what are the best game controllers out there that are compatible with the nexus player. It would help if it's something that I can buy up here in Canada, like at EBGames, Best Buy, The Source, etc. I'm not looking to buy online, because I don't have a credit card. Would like it if the game controller was bluetooth but a plug in play is also fine as long as the cord is long enough so I can play from the couch. Anyone had any luck finding a compatible gamepad for the nexus player

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android tv youtube cast started choosing 720p60 or 1080p60 over 30fps videos, but plays them with half speed video and full speed audio.

Any fix for this that anyone knows of, i would not mind if it played a non hd version but it will choose 60fps video over 30fps of similar resolution, but then it cannot play them and i cannot figure out how to make it not try to play them.

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anyone knows how to get playstation now on Sony android tv (X850D) ?

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Poll Results - Should Dark Mode be a standard on Android TV?

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NFL Network and NFL RedZone Launch on Sling TV

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Sony TV cast functionality broken

I just bought a new Sony TV. It's a XBR-X43800D. The Chromecast functionality seems broken. The devices shows up as an option to cast to but when I try to cast to it from my phone it immediately disconnects or tells me "There was a problem connecting to XBR-43X800D. Any ideas? I've updated the cast receiver app on the TV and I've tried disabling and power cycling as well.

Update: I did a factory reset and casting from YouTube and Netflix now work but screen mirroring and Google Music still do not

Update 2: stopped working again

Update 3: should have probably mentioned that I have a standard Chromecast that works 100%

6 Answers

New and have a few questions.

So I've been asking around in other subreddits and doing some research and I have come to the conclusion that I have 2 choices for what I want to do. That is, be able to hook up 2 external HDDs with media content and play them on the TV. Currently have a WD TV Live and its garbage so I'm looking to upgrade.

My current choices are NVidia Shield or building a Raspberry Pi3.

Obviously the NVidia has other bells and whistles but I have some questions.

  • I'm a bit worried about one section of specs. It states that it supports the following formats: MPEG-2/ MPEG-4/ Xvid/ DivX/ WMV9/ ASF/ AVI/ MKV/ MOV/ M2TS/ MPEG-TS/ H.263/ H.264/ H.265/ VC-1/ VP8/ VP9. What about MP4 and M4V? Quite a few of my movies are in these formats.

  • Does the Shield stream better than a Sony Bravia? I know part of the answer depends on my network and internet speeds, but I've found that my newer small Vizio smart TV runs Netflix way faster and with less errors than the older Bravia, so I'm wondering if the Shield would be even better.

  • To do what I want, I'm pretty sure I need to download the Kodi app so I can hook up my 2 hard drives. Simple enough, but I've been told reskinning it is a must. Is that an in-Kodi option or would I need to get a MicroSD card to load options to?

  • Is the Shield Remote really necessary? I'm having a rough time finding out what it really does other than allow voice commands and a headset jack.

  • Are the gaming options really worthwhile? How much extra money are we talking to get a decent game or two?

  • Lastly, is the Shield that much more powerful than the Raspberry as far as processing and memory? Also will either have issues playing "non-perfect" files? I ask because I have files that play perfectly fine on my PC but when I try to play them on the WD TV Live box, it chokes on any tiny bit of bad data. What might be a small blur or stutter on the PC becomes a situation where the WD chokes and kicks you out of the file. You have to restart it and fast forward past the bad sector and then move on. Of course it has a bunch of other bugs to so I chalk it up to not having any process power.

Thanks in advance for any help/advice.

7 Answers

Harmony remote to launch an app like Netflix on Nvidia Shield

Hello,

I just got an Nvidia Shield, and I have the Harmony Smart Keyboard with hub, and hence the Android app too. Is there any way to create an activity called "Watch Netflix" and have it start the TV, start the Shield, and then open Netflix? I don't want to have to scroll down to open it.

Thanks!

8 Answers

Bang & Olufsen Announces BeoVision 14: A New Android TV - Android TV News

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Sling TV Air TV OTA Tuner coming in September.

Found this while looking for OTA solutions

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1269746-REG/sling_211714_airtv.html

Since I Already have Sling TV this will compliment it perfectly. The local channels will be imported if you will into the Sling TV guide. I see a usb port so hopefully that means we can connect a hard drive for dvr funtion.

I think this will be better than HDhomerun because now we won't need to access ota channels from another app. Now if Sling could just integrate live channels it would be perfect.

5 Answers

Having some issues with my first Android TV game, would love some feedback

Hey all,

I have recently ported one of my games (Bit Blaster XL) to Android TV. I have tested thoroughly on the Nexus Player. In my google play developer console everything is set up correctly, and the game supports 38 different android TV devices, including the Razer, Nexus Player and Nvidia shield.

Yet when I am looking at it's play store listing on my desktop, it's showing me as incompatible for all of my devices, including the Asus Nexus Player. I am just wondering if it's just me or if there may be something bigger not working here.

The game should cost $0.99, but here are some codes for if anyone can check and see if it's showing up on their devices.

Thanks for the help, Adam

TCMZ2YRZVG3CBJLSST2V699

VFYY08DQCYS4YM9JYPK6B6Q

S8814MSDLJXDZ59J3JRT3ZJ

WYQP8XSF1ST7EZMJMH2Y906

AW98D7GSUSTMRBCDTSM01RG

AQ51UBM8B51MTLBSUTPGDNH

KCX35FNZD1H0RZB2WALAL9E

GB2VNDHYLLA9LXFA9UVCMU3

PT63XKMD68ZGDT49A5MJYGP

8AFDKH36TNVV5Q0FF9292HU

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[Question] Any app or tweak to AirPlay from iPhone to androidTV?

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Xiamoi Mi Box

Any word on a release date or anything for this? Is it even coming out anymore? I haven't heard mention of it for months now.

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Difference between Netflix phone and TV app

Hi,

Currently im trying to use my old android phone on my TV via MHL Cable as netflix player. Is there a way to get the same netflix interface as on an real android tv with the netflix app?

I tried the apks from here: http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/netflix-inc/netflix-for-android-tv/ But after installing i get no icon and when i try to open the app directly (ES File Explorer Appmanager) nothing happens.

Is the app checking if its running on an "real TV"? mby then there is a way to spoof this...

5 Answers

Is there any way I can turn on my TV using my phone via voice command?

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