Android/AndroidTV Placeshifter client (Discussion)

[Zogg]

Originally Posted by jpwegas

Did you mean "Client" or miniclient here? As the only "full" capital "C" Client is the one on Windows.

If you really were asking about porting the full Client to something other than Intel on Windows - I was curious about the possible options as well and asked here about it but got no responses yet.

--John

I meant the Linux client, but I don't know if it's a "mini" or not. My guess is that the Android miniclient is too tied to the Android platform, so the Linux client would be a better starting point. And then if the result for RPi is a new miniclient that's fine too.

Unfortunately my coding skills are way too out of date or I'd look at it myself. I can futz around with things, but this would be way out of my league.

[Tiki]

Originally Posted by Zogg

I meant the Linux client, but I don't know if it's a "mini" or not. My guess is that the Android miniclient is too tied to the Android platform, so the Linux client would be a better starting point. And then if the result for RPi is a new miniclient that's fine too.

Unfortunately my coding skills are way too out of date or I'd look at it myself. I can futz around with things, but this would be way out of my league.

There is no full Client for Android. It uses the Placeshifter (which is a version of the Mini-Client. The HDx00 extenders are also considered MiniClients, as is the Android MiniClient. The MiniClients rely heavily on the Server to handle many tasks.

The big challenge with supporting a new platform is handling all the playback functions. The Android mini client simply embeds another player (actually two players) written by someone else. I say “simply” but I am sure it was a lot of work to integrate them - and when there are problems with playback, it’s mostly out of the Sage Developer’s hands: he can’t really do much to troubleshoot or fix bugs in those embedded players.

[stuckless]

Getting a MiniClient to work under linux falls into 3 challenges.
1. Getting the UI to render
2. Handling input from a a remote
3. Playing video

The good news is that sagetv does all 3 of these under linux today, but it's not without additional challenges.

While SageTV MiniClient is primarily a Java program, it does depend on a few native libraries and those need to be recompiled for ARM chips. My guess is that getting the UI to render would be fairly easy, since jogl likely has ARM libraries.

Then you'd need to recompile libImageLoader, libjtx, libSage and libswscale for ARM.

Getting video to work would be much harder. The Linux MiniClient uses a custom version of mplayer that it runs as a slave and embeds into the opengl UI. You'd need to recompile that for ARM as well. All the sources for all these things are there in the sagetv codebase.

The Android MiniClient is a rewrite of the MiniClient, but it borrowed ALOT from the original code. The client/server communication code is pretty much lifted directly. The rest of the code is more modular in that it supports a layered approach and you can have different implementations of the UI technology, input control and video technologies. My goal was to, at some point, provide a new version of the miniclient for linux, mac, and windows. In fact in the current android miniclient project today, there is a "desktop" sub project that does everything except for playing video, because I never found a good (and easy) video playback engine. There is even a prototype webgl engine in there as well to render the sagetv UI in a browser webgl canvas.

There is a lot of potential to do some really cool stuff with the miniclient technology, but, sadly, I've been pulled away from this project for far too long, and the longer I get pulled away, the more I realize that I'm likely not coming back any time soon

[davidk21770]

I just got notice that you've updated the git repository -- but you don't appear to have included the apk? Do you plan to add it?

Thank you for working on this!!!

[jvl711]

Originally Posted by davidk21770

I just got notice that you've updated the git repository -- but you don't appear to have included the apk? Do you plan to add it?

Thank you for working on this!!!

Opps... I forgot to do that. I will upload the APK for the release.

Josh

[waylo]

Yes, major kudos for keeping this project alive!!

I noticed the older android SageTV MiniClient on the playstore is not associated with this new update? Meaning, it doesn't show up as an update to that install, and this install doesn't overwrite the old one.

EDIT: Oh, reading changelog, see this happened back in 6/2020.

[davidk21770]

Originally Posted by jvl711

Opps... I forgot to do that. I will upload the APK for the release.

Josh

Thanks!

[VCRUser]

In my new setup I'm trying to link with the miniclient. I have setup login/password on the server, and can enter them in the miniclient. However, it keeps saying they're wrong. I have to either enter the password blind (keyboard covers the field) or use a bluetook keyboard to enter - of course I still can't verify that it records what I'm typing, since it just displays asterisks. No matter what I try, it rejects the password.

I remember having this trouble before (on my server that I'm replacing), but not how I finally fixed it.

[Tiki]

Originally Posted by VCRUser

In my new setup I'm trying to link with the miniclient. I have setup login/password on the server, and can enter them in the miniclient. However, it keeps saying they're wrong. I have to either enter the password blind (keyboard covers the field) or use a bluetook keyboard to enter - of course I still can't verify that it records what I'm typing, since it just displays asterisks. No matter what I try, it rejects the password.

I remember having this trouble before (on my server that I'm replacing), but not how I finally fixed it.

It’s possible you are stuck in numeric text entry mode (so when you try to type a number like 2, it thinks you are entering the letter A; pressing 2 twice quickly gives you B, three times is C, and four times is 2). This is a common problem with typing passwords in certain places in Sage.

[VCRUser]

Originally Posted by Tiki

It’s possible you are stuck in numeric text entry mode (so when you try to type a number like 2, it thinks you are entering the letter A; pressing 2 twice quickly gives you B, three times is C, and four times is 2). This is a common problem with typing passwords in certain places in Sage.

I set up users/passwords via keyboard - it only seems to cycle through letters & numbers if you use the mouse on the displayed keypad (which you'd use with a remote). Just to test that issue, though, I tried setting up a user/password using the on-screen keypad, where I could tell when I was in letters and when in numbers.

I tried something real simple: set a one-character login & password. I set up one that was a lowercase letter, another one a number. Neither work. When I enter into the login field I can see that it's correct. Can't see what's being recorded into the password field on the phone.

I also changed my network settings to:
1. set up a static ip address
2. Mapped a different port to forward (my current to-be-replaced server uses the default) in my router config and in Sage.

No help .

3. Sage's "test placeshifter connection" reports all ok (it also reported all ok before I made the change).
4. Turned off the Windows firewall (no change, so turned it back on - figured that was an easier test for starters than working through a more detailed firewal setup/check).
5. Rebooted phone and server. Again, no help.

Checked & rechecked locator id.

I can login to the old server no problem in locator mode (it remembers the password I got to work on it) or via LAN. I can login to the new server via the LAN. The two servers sit right next to each other and are on the same router & switch. The old one is Win 7 32 and the new one Win 8 64.

As yet another test, I tried setting it up on my "backup" server: Windows 8.1 64 bit, running Sage32. Same problem! This makes me think there is something about Windows 8.1 that needs a tweak - but what??

[TGsell]

Im not an expert but from my own experience I do know that the Jetty Web Server plugin will not work in Sage64 bit (unless someone knows otherwise). I have tried many different approaches with no success and don't know if this is related to your issue but thought I would throw it out there.

[waylo]

I'm running a Sage x64 server and the Jetty web server works fine for me.

[tomdomm]

I updated the Amazon FireTV Stick to latest OS version and installed SageTV MiniClient with 2 different setting pointing to my SageTV V9.2.5.936 server. The miniclient works excellently on the LAN, both WiFi and Eithernet. Connecting from out side of America, can login and get the application screens. Playing any recorded movies or recorded TV show gets a Black screen with no sound.
Streaming apps: HBOMax, Netflix, Prime work with no problem.
I had a Windows 11 computer running Placeshifter V9.2.6.441 working with minor connectivity problems same location 2 months ago.
Major problem it's my Better-Half who is basically a Luddite who is using the FireStick.
What SIMPLE configuration changes can I try to correct playback?

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by tomdomm

I updated the Amazon FireTV Stick to latest OS version and installed SageTV MiniClient with 2 different setting pointing to my SageTV V9.2.5.936 server. The miniclient works excellently on the LAN, both WiFi and Eithernet. Connecting from out side of America, can login and get the application screens. Playing any recorded movies or recorded TV show gets a Black screen with no sound.
Streaming apps: HBOMax, Netflix, Prime work with no problem.
I had a Windows 11 computer running Placeshifter V9.2.6.441 working with minor connectivity problems same location 2 months ago.
Major problem it's my Better-Half who is basically a Luddite who is using the FireStick.
What SIMPLE configuration changes can I try to correct playback?

What are your mini-client settings?

[tomdomm]

What are your mini-client settings?

Default setting, I changed nothing when building the FireStick. Unfortunately the BH has it, and I'm not there.
I thought I tested it by putting a VLN on it and going outside the home LAN to connect back to the server.
The only thing I could get from her was that in Setup the 1st option was checked to use EXOplayer. She could not uncheck it, like I said not very tech oriented.
She has a teen relative who is more techy, so if I had a possible solution she could bribe him to attempt changes.
Is there a way to change setting in the server through client.properties? I did not see use exoplayer when I did a quick scan. And if there what do I change it to?

[sic0048]

Originally Posted by tomdomm

Connecting from out side of America, can login and get the application screens. Playing any recorded movies or recorded TV show gets a Black screen with no sound.

How are you accessing the network from outside of the US? Is it via a locally hosted VPN service on the SageTV network or some other way?

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by tomdomm

What are your mini-client settings?

Default setting, I changed nothing when building the FireStick. Unfortunately the BH has it, and I'm not there.
I thought I tested it by putting a VLN on it and going outside the home LAN to connect back to the server.
The only thing I could get from her was that in Setup the 1st option was checked to use EXOplayer. She could not uncheck it, like I said not very tech oriented.
She has a teen relative who is more techy, so if I had a possible solution she could bribe him to attempt changes.
Is there a way to change setting in the server through client.properties? I did not see use exoplayer when I did a quick scan. And if there what do I change it to?

You could try it in ILKPlayer mode, which is toggled in Android software by hitting on the 'Default Player' heading in 'Settings', which is the first item in Settings.