SageTV MiniClient for Android TV (jvl711)
 

This has morphed from me sharing a fork of the SageTV MiniClient to maintaining and posting releases of Stuckless' original work. I will post APK releases to the GitHub repository. I will also post releases to the Google Play Store and Amazon App Store.

Release Notes

1.10.0 (1/6/2021)
- Upgraded to ExoPlayer 2.16.1
- Made modifications required to support ExoPlayer 2.16.1
- Upgraded to ExoPlayer 2.16.1 version of ExoPlayer FFmpeg extension
- Added new preference screens to allow users to change Container/Codec support
- Completely rearchitected how supported containers/codecs are sent to SageTV
- Started adding support for automated Jenkins build and release

1.9.3 (11/2/2021)
- Updated to 2.15.1 of ExoPlayer and FFmpeg extension
- Cleaned up a number of deprecated calls in ExoPlayer implementation
- Added VP8, VP9, H.263 as valid video codecs
- Removed MPEG4 as a valid codec, because Android TV support is very limited. All non H.264/AVC content will be transcoded

1.9.1 (09/10/2021)
- Fixed issue in PushBufferDataSource that was causing transcoding and live tv transitions to freeze
- Updated build to use local libs directory instead of MavenLocal. Simplify build process for support libraries
- Fixed logic bugs on how to tell SageTV when to transcode/remux
- Moved project to Androidx
- Update GDX library version to 1.9.14
- Update ExoPlayer to 2.14.2
- Multiple build.gradle files cleaned up
- Fixed error generating client ID

1.8.1 (6/18/2021)
- Updated to ExoPlayer 2.14.0
- Updated FFmpeg extension to 2.14.0
- Some minor bug fixes

1.8.0 (5/14/2021) - Brought to you by user cncb
- Support external links to open videos in other apps directly (Netflix/Amazon).
- Allow display of embedded PGS subtitles in ExoPlayer.
- Add option to enable system sleep.

1.7.1 (2/11/2021)
- Redesigned some of the settings screens. Broke out the settings for ExoPlayer and IJKPlayer
- Upgrade to ExoPlayer 2.12.3
- Added additional codecs to the ExoPlayer Codec Debug Screen (DIVX, AC4, OPUS, etc...)
- Removed AVI as a supported container format for ExoPlayer. This should go thru the transcoder

1.7.0 (11/12/2020)
- Playing back active recording TV seeking issue with ExoPlayer: Issue #96
- Frame Advance & Slow Motion Advance enhancement: Issue #91
- Upgrade to ExoPlayer 2.12.1 enhancement: Issue #95
- Full-Screen On Screen Navigation enhancement: Issue #42
- Issue with keyboard and favorites on the FireTV: Issue #92
- Error connecting to server when using fixed Transcoding/Streaming: Issue #97

1.6.3 (2020-10-10)

- Rearchitected how playback position was retrieved. Switched to a UI thread that updates every 500ms.
- Fixed an issue with seeking after resume from pause. The state was not getting properly updated
- Allowing proper seek when playback is paused. Allow the position to get reported to sage server on pause
- Added the blue icons that I made for FireTV to Android project

1.6.2 (2020-9-11)

- Fixed an issue with Android 11 where images were not rendering
- Upgraded ExoPlayer to 2.11.8
- Fixed the volume up/down keys. You need to map them to NONE for them to work properly
- Volume up/down mapped to NONE by default
- Added fixed transcoding settings to allow for HD transcoding from the server to MKV container
- Added the ability for Exoplayer to filter the Video codecs that are not supported. This will allow SageTV to transcode on unsupported formats
NOTE: The fixed transcoding changes need a patched version of Sage.jar to work properly. Hopefully those changes will make it into the next release of SageTV

1.5.2 (2020-7-09)

- Attempted to add a workaround for the FireTV where you can not close the system keyboard. Next/Previous buttons should now close it.

1.5.1 (2020-6-30)

- Update ExoPlayer FFmpeg extension to 2.11.5
- Added a setting for ffmpeg exoplayer extension, to turn it on, off or prefer
- Updated some deprecated code in the constructing on the SimpleExoPlayer instance

1.5.0 (2020-6-26)

- Moving to new Play Store app
- Updated to exoplayer 2.11.5
- Added HEVC codec to list of codecs sent to sage durring connection
- Attempted to clean up the current playback time, and the seek
- Turn off rendering cues if by default
- Add error message toast on ExoPlayer2 Error
- Fixed issues with seeking when using exoplayer and push mediasource
- Added some basic support for subtitles in ExoPlayer
- Fixed a bug where it would not seek to the SageTV supplied start position**Forked the code base from version 1.4.4 (jvl711)**

Download links:

GitHub
Amazon App Store
Google Playstore


If you would like to support my work you can become a supporter here Patreon

This looks really interesting.

What hardware are you running this fork on?

2015 XBR-65X850C Sony Android TV. Works pretty flawlessly.

How do I install it on a ShieldTV, which is running Android TV? Since it isn't in the Play Store, I am not sure how to install it.

Thanks and I appreciate you taking this on!

I am not 100% sure for the shield. but you will need to put the APK file on a USB stick. You will need to allow third party sources to be installed. Use a file explorer app and click on the APK to install it. If you Google how to sideload an app on the shield you will probably get better instructions.

Josh

Can this be sideloaded on my Galaxy smartphone, or a FireTV device? If so, is the user interface able to allow the entering of username/password for remote use while I travel?

It would be great to have this merged into the official version. With so few developers remaining, it’s probably better to consolidate as much as possible.

This solved my audio problems on my HDPVR recordings. Thanks a great deal

I agree. It is much better to have a version that is being maintained.

Thanks!

Added it to the phone, works great. Added it to the FireTV device, set it to Exoplayer, works great. Tried remote, still have that pesky keyboard that can't be navigated when trying to enter Placeshifter user/pass. If you are able to fix that, it would be a huge advancement for remote use.

Thanks for your work on this, Josh.

Installed in FireTV Cube 2 and it works great ... seeking is much better ... with this fork.

The only thing is that the Icon does not appear ... all I see is some default gray box to launch the APK.

+1 :thumbup:

@jvl711

Tested on Various devices ...

FireTV 4K everything works.
Panasonic FireTV everything works
ShieldTV everything works.
FireTV Cube 2 everything works just the Icon doesn't load no big deal.

Thanks for keeping this alive ... SageTV still the best after so many years and contenders.

The easiest way around the keyboard issue is to buy a cheap Bluetooth keyboard and pair it with the Firestick.

The keyboard is the problem. Once it pops up while you are trying to type the username, nothing the user does can make it go away, and it doesn't seem to advance fields.

Anybody else test this with MPEG2 OTA TV Stream? I didn't seem to have any luck with getting EXOPlayer to work for me there but when I switch back to IJK it works same as before.

For keyboard problem this works for me

Launch Sage app
keyboard opens for Username
enter Username
tap Return/Back on phone
keyboard hides
tap Password field
swipe from left side
function overlay appears
tap keyboard icon
keyboard returns
enter Password
tap Return/Back on phone
keyboard hides
tap Login

I added a screen that shows which codecs are available to ExoPlayer in the settings menu. Check to see if your device has MPEG2 codec available. A handful of devices do not have MPEG2. For instance my Pixel phone does not.

In that case you will need to use IJKPlayer. I may look into adding the ability to fallback to IJK when the codec is not supported...

Thanks,
Josh

Thanks for your feedback nyplayer. I will try and load this on my Firestick when I have some time and see if I can reproduce the icon issue. Probably missing a specific icon format/size.

I'm not sure what phone you are using, but whether I try this on my Galaxy Note 8 or my fire stick 4k, the return/back never hides the keyboard. Unless I'm missing something?