Android TV Live Channels

[mvallevand]

Isn't Kodi an option?

Martin

[gEd]

Isn't Kodi an option?

Martin

It is but I didn't really don't want to bloat my TV with kodi when I already have Plex installed for viewing content on the server (and as a true client/server, plex is better suited that kodi on a TV for doing this in my experience).

I might look at the Roku thread as well as I had a good Roku stick installed in my old TV  which I no longer use. The "dream" is to avoiding having to switch interfaces and inputs to access nextpvr in order to keep the user experience as simple as possible.

Subs. android TV app does work on the TV, a bit...

[mvallevand]

Kodi with knewc doesn't require as much space as pvr.nextpvr since it is server driven.  Live Channels has a local database that needs to be synced so adding EPG and recording tables could be a memory concern

Martin

[mvallevand]

I finally figured out how to get my code working on Live Channels on the CCWGTV and another generic Android 10 device, the reference code was missing some needed undocumented initiation values. That is the real trouble with Android coding, the API's change or get deprecated often, and keeping up with a dynamic build process I barely understand is a job in itself

Hearing a few users might be interested added some motivation so I can continue to poke away,

Martin

[mvallevand]

When I was researching the earlier issue I noticed that the Live Channels apk can be sideloaded on the FireTV Stick. So I tested it and it does seems to work the same way as on Android TV. This a bit of a bonus.

Martin

[vitony]

I'd be very interested to see how this works on the Shield

[mvallevand]

I'd be very interested to see how this works on the Shield

So would I but I already spend enough on this hobby to justify buying a Shield.  I will be asking for help testing Live TV on the Shield soon, just to confirm that it will work.

Martin

[mvallevand]

I have auto NextPVR detection and Live TV with EPG pretty much hooked now. Here is a demo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBh8-Q551WY The load from start is pretty fast since it saves the EPG locally.

For this I am using a remote with a numeric pad since scrolling lots of channels can be a pain.

This demo was on a ODroid N2 but it works much the same with the CCWGTV (Chromecast with Google TV), MiBox, and Tivo 4KStream. I did find the Amazon Fire TV4k would lose sound.

So right now I am looking for other Android TV clients like the Shield to see how well the work. PM me your email if you are interested in testing.

Martin

[gEd]

Looks amazing Martin - it's so fast!
So is there a chance this will work on my Android 9 Sony TV? If so, I'm PM you my address.

[mvallevand]

You're right the ExoPlayer client is very fast loading NextPVR URL's In that demo I loaded from 3 different Extras capturing from STB's plus my OTA tuner. Tunng the STB is slow so I didn't show that, but tuning 6.1 is what you should expect from a digital tuner. It is a mix of h264 and MPEG2 HD and SD video with AC3, AAC and MPEG2 audio

The initial EPG load is a slower then you saw in the demo and I have never run it long enough to go through the 12 hour refresh.

You should be ok if you meet these requirements

- Android TV (not Android) I have only test 9 & 10
- Live Channels is pre-installed installed from the Play Store
- you can install from an apk
- install is very early. I used another old open source package called Cumulus TV as a base so it look more like Cumulus TV then a NextPVR client right now

Martin