[Android Mini Client] Integrate with Android TV 'Live Channels'

[dinki]

Stuckless,
Here's a future feature idea:

Android TV has a cool app called Live Channels that integrates installed TV streaming apps into one central 'launcher'. The app also provides a combined EPG. The user can choose a program/stream from the EPG and at that point the associated app is loaded and the selected stream starts. This works great with Pluto Tv as well as some other IPTV app sources.

The appeal of this is having an integrated guide. As a fairly new cord cutter, being able to integrate online streams with SageTV live tv OTA channels is quite appealing. We also subscribe to SlingTV who will hopefully add 'Live Channels' integration. Having SageTV involved allows for all the perks of pause/ff/rew/rec/etc.

I'm not sure what's involved but I would imagine that there's an API available as several apps in the Play Store are capable of hooking into 'Live Channels'. Of course you'd need to add the ability to have Android Mini Client of accepting a request for tuning the channel being sent from 'Live Channels'.

Just something to consider when/if you get bored.

*EDIT* A little more info http://androidtv.news/2016/01/dev-ad...r-app-with-tv/

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by dinki

Stuckless,
Here's a future feature idea:

Android TV has a cool app called Live Channels that integrates installed TV streaming apps into one central 'launcher'. The app also provides a combined EPG. The user can choose a program/stream from the EPG and at that point the associated app is loaded and the selected stream starts. This works great with Pluto Tv as well as some other IPTV app sources.

The appeal of this is having an integrated guide. As a fairly new cord cutter, being able to integrate online streams with SageTV live tv OTA channels is quite appealing. We also subscribe to SlingTV who will hopefully add 'Live Channels' integration. Having SageTV involved allows for all the perks of pause/ff/rew/rec/etc.

I'm not sure what's involved but I would imagine that there's an API available as several apps in the Play Store are capable of hooking into 'Live Channels'. Of course you'd need to add the ability to have Android Mini Client of accepting a request for tuning the channel being sent from 'Live Channels'.

Just something to consider when/if you get bored.

I have looked at the APIs, but to be honest, it had zero appeal to me. Mainly because I can't remember the last time I watched something on Live TV

Personally, I don't mind doing a deeper integration with AndroidTV and SageTV, but not sure I'll focus on LiveTV. I would like to implement the global search, which means that when you search from the the main UI it would search into SageTV. Also might be handy to have recent recordings or recently added movies to the Recommendations bar. Those would more of an interest to me

[dinki]

10-4 and thanks for all you do. Being you've generously made your app OS then perhaps someone may add it down the road.

I was editing my post to add a link when you replied should you ever decide to change your mind! haha

[brewston]

Doesn't necessarily need to be implemented in Android TV. If the Sage server could serve up live channels as m3u8 playlists, you could use this app to plug them in to Live TV app :

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...ch.n.cumulustv

[dinki]

Originally Posted by brewston

Doesn't necessarily need to be implemented in Android TV. If the Sage server could serve up live channels as m3u8 playlists, you could use this app to plug them in to Live TV app :

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...ch.n.cumulustv

I'd be happy to see the addition of http streaming as well but as far as I know this is not an option. Also, I'm pretty sure a playlist would not allow for populating the program guide.

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by brewston

Doesn't necessarily need to be implemented in Android TV. If the Sage server could serve up live channels as m3u8 playlists, you could use this app to plug them in to Live TV app :

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...ch.n.cumulustv

Originally Posted by dinki

I'd be happy to see the addition of http streaming as well but as far as I know this is not an option. Also, I'm pretty sure a playlist would not allow for populating the program guide.

If you've been following the Android MiniClient development, you probably already realize there is quite a bit effort that has gone into video playback. This is work that would also have to be done to support LiveTV outside of the MiniClient. Plus, you'd need to be connected as a "client" to sagetv so that you can tell sagetv to "tune" a channel and then your LiveTV would have to speak the sagetv protocols for video. It's all possible, but, from my point of view, since I stopped watching LiveTV the day I got my first PVR, I don't see any value in doing this outside of the MiniClient. (Even on the MiniClient, I've yet to test LiveTV... I suspect it works, but I have not tested it)

I sort of feel the same way about the Chrome Cast... I have one, and I've played with it, but I don't see much value in it. I've looked at the APIs and most of what is needed, is already done, so it probably wound't take much effort, but I'll probably never do it.

I fully suspect that at some point, someone will do this. And I do think from a coolness factor it would be cool... but I have higher priorities

[dinki]

I've been following since day one I'm in my mid 40's and have grown up with the channel surfing mentality. while we don't solely watch live tv, we do watch it a lot. I guess we like to sample shows we normally wouldn't watch to see if we like them. I know there's IR, but I didn't really care for it much and turned it off long ago. I guess it's just a matter of preference in regards to watching.

In thinking about your response, it seems that the mechanism to do almost everything is already in place in that Nielm's webserver allows for sending a request to a Sage Client to tune a given program (Play on extender/client functionality). I'm guessing what could be done would be to tie into Live Channels with some sort of helper app that would launch the Android Mini Client, wait for it to come online and then send the channel tuning information the same way the webserver does. I'm not asking you to do any of that but it appears that many pieces are already in place. Just brainstorming really.

All of this would really come in handy once SlingTV integrates into Live Channels as they are rumored to be doing. This would allow us Cord Cutters (I guess I'm still semi attached) to integrate the online only cable channels with our SageTV OTA channels into one unified EPG.

[thatdude90210]

I still watch a lot of live tv also. But right now mostly just use the Xfinity Go app (sideloaded) on my FireTV for that. Only issue is that it doesn't have all my stations. But still, sometimes I just leave it streaming while barely watching.

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by dinki

I've been following since day one I'm in my mid 40's and have grown up with the channel surfing mentality. while we don't solely watch live tv, we do watch it a lot. I guess we like to sample shows we normally wouldn't watch to see if we like them. I know there's IR, but I didn't really care for it much and turned it off long ago. I guess it's just a matter of preference in regards to watching.

In thinking about your response, it seems that the mechanism to do almost everything is already in place in that Nielm's webserver allows for sending a request to a Sage Client to tune a given program (Play on extender/client functionality). I'm guessing what could be done would be to tie into Live Channels with some sort of helper app that would launch the Android Mini Client, wait for it to come online and then send the channel tuning information the same way the webserver does. I'm not asking you to do any of that but it appears that many pieces are already in place. Just brainstorming really.

All of this would really come in handy once SlingTV integrates into Live Channels as they are rumored to be doing. This would allow us Cord Cutters (I guess I'm still semi attached) to integrate the online only cable channels with our SageTV OTA channels into one unified EPG.

We're about the same age But, I just got tired of commercials... I see some 1hr shows are only 40mins long (most are 44 or 45), but we seem to keep losing show time to commercial time It's for that reason that I don't watch LiveTV. Even if i do watch a show the same night it airs, I'll wait 20 minutes before watching it,just to skip the commercials.

But all that aside, I do think that for some things like sports, LiveTV is a must (but I don't watch sports either )

This project is a sample of how to build a tuner framework for Android TV.
https://github.com/googlesamples/and...putPlayer.java

The Player, is based on ExoPlayer, which is one of the players that I use as well. It would require some changes, but, the player is really the hardest part of this. The streaming code (wihout a web server) is already there, now, since I built it using the SageTV streaming protocols, and I build the adapters for ExoPlayer and IJKplayer. This is really key, since, doing LiveTV is hard, and the streaming protocols take care of things like allowing the stream to run if you try to seek past the END as it's recording, etc.

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by stuckless

...I just got tired of commercials... I see some 1hr shows are only 40mins long (most are 44 or 45), but we seem to keep losing show time to commercial time It's for that reason that I don't watch LiveTV. Even if i do watch a show the same night it airs, I'll wait 20 minutes before watching it,just to skip the commercials...

Me too. I never watch Live TV any more. Even the news I watch delayed so I can skip the commercials. I'll be 55 in April.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by stuckless

But all that aside, I do think that for some things like sports, LiveTV is a must (but I don't watch sports either )

Almost all of my TV watching is sports (I am watching PGA golf as I type this) but I never watch it live. I watch it in near real-time the way you described how you watch a show after it has started.

[dinki]

We certainly do watch the shows we really follow delayed or after airing, but we do a fair amount of "Let's see what's on" too.