Android TV Support? Release app to Play Store!

[Redth]

I don't know why I haven't seen VMedia before, but I just stumbled upon it recently, and I love the concept. I've been saying for awhile now that I'd love to pay a reasonable price for streaming TV. It's not perfect as there's still a lot of bundling going on but I understand the reasons for that, and the pricing is still compelling enough that I'd like to subscribe.

However, there is one MAJOR issue I have with VMedia right now, and that is the fact that if I want to subscribe I must use your VBox device. Now, judging by the forums, this box is not exactly great. I've had plenty of experience with Android based boxes (I had two HiSense Pulse's, had some Android Sticks, and now have three Nexus Players).

Given that your Live TV offering is really just an app, what are the chances of you putting this app up on the play store, or even just offering it privately to your customers to sideload onto the android devices of their choice? Technically are there any major hurdles to this? (I'm a mobile app developer myself so my guess is no - even the PVR stuff you can probably do nicely in a background Service). Are there any content/licensing road blocks to doing this?

Android TV also has support now for Live TV (http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/10/goo...s-coming-soon/) I'm not sure at how easy they are to work with on integrating this, but apparently it already works or shows up with HDHomeRun VIEW (http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/12...ent-1735540849). In my opinion this would be the *best* way to make VMedia work on a device.

So, bottom line, is there any chance in you guys releasing your Live TV app .apk files so I can run this on my own Android TV Nexus Player devices? Or, is there any chance you'll move toward the "Android TV" platform for your own VBox hardware?

I want to subscribe, but at this point I simply refuse to buy your inferior hardware.

[Redth]

Also, I stumbled across some of the documentation for implementing Android TV's Live TV: https://source.android.com/devices/tv/index.html

I see in another post that Android TV source isn't available yet to set top box providers? I'm hoping it will be soon, but can you comment on if you're thinking of moving to it then when it is?

Finally, if this is all a little ways off, is there any chance at all that you can release the .apk (even if on demand by a customer) so we can run them on our own set top boxes? I'll even buy 1 VBox to satisfy the registration requirements but I just don't want to use the thing... I'd love to be able to sideload the .apk to my own boxes and finally become a subscriber!

[Sarum]

i would love this too, however not sure how soon it would happen, if ever

i can only speculate, but i would say the contracts Vmedia has with various TV providers forbid an app on generic devices, due to security and copyright concerns..

the Vbox is not too bad at all.. it is very fast and apart from some firmware issues in December, 99% of users have experienced next to no problems at all. keep in mind for ever user experiencing problems there are 1000 with flawless service,
The forum is here to help people with problems so it will inherently have more problems shown than anywhere else. in other words.. people come to this forum experiencing problems, very few come to express how well it works

[Redth]

I guess my concern is that even if the VBox is decent, it's still not really what I want compared to my Android TV's... Yes, I could keep those around too, but that just seems silly.

I'd be pretty sad to give up my Android TV version of Plex, Netflix I'm sure would be largely the same, but I'm not even sure I could get Hulu Plus working nicely with the VBox (given it's a grey area for Canadians to begin with).

I think the big issue is there aren't too many companies making Android versions of their apps that work well with a remote that aren't meant for Android TV (which uses the new Leanback interface support libraries - I don't think these would work on Android 4.2). So, if I got a VBox, it's going to be an uphill battle trying to get apps working well on it with a good TV experience. I'm sure if Crave ever gets their act together they'll do an Android TV compatible app, and I'd bet Slingbox will have something for it soon too. The VBox falls into the same category as those Android Sticks... They just end up being a pain to get a really nice experience from.

I'm not surprised there's probably contracts forbidding the app on more generic devices... Maybe though it's worth a shot trying to negotiate compatibility with some devices like the Nexus Player? I figured this would be an issue from preventing you releasing apk's for other devices.

I guess at this point my only hope is that you guys eventually update VBox to be based on the "Android TV" platform.

[Sarum]

making a proper legit Canadian cable TV app with all the channels that are available from all providers,, would be right up Vmedia's ally.. they would do very well, and corner the iptv market in Canada... im sure they have thought about it, and im sure there's big reasons why its not being done

your right, we can only hope

[DM21]

I think from the forum postings I have read, vmedia plans to release 2 new vboxes soon, another dual core then a quad core. Not sure of the specs but I am pretty sure it will be from Geniatech. The newer vbox is basically the ATV1200

[pbeaul]

I'd love to see this, and/or the ability to log into a vmedia portal netflix style and click on a channel to watch via ANY computer/tablet/phone... But I'm sure there are tons of legal road blocks that prevent them from actually making IPTV awesome.

As for the Vbox, I think it's acceptable but certainly not great. It's a little too under powered for certain tasks (web browsing isn't very fun) and the fact that it can't be upgraded beyond android 4.1 kind of sucks. But for its main duties as a setup box it does that fairly well but the interface still needs fine tuning/polish to make it truly shine. I'm looking forward to the next VBox which should be much more powerful and more conducive to actually replacing my media PC.

[Redth]

Ok, I get the content restrictions, that makes sense (well it doesn't but I understand the position VMedia is in and don't blame them for it).

I think the big point that most of you are missing that I'm trying to make is that if VBox continues to run Android which is meant for Tablets or Phones but plugged into a TV, the apps we will be able to load onto it will be those designed for a touch capable device, meaning they aren't going to provide a great user experience on the TV.

For those who don't know, Google has developed a variant of Android specifically for the TV experience called "Android TV". See it here: http://www.android.com/tv/
Android TV is based on Android 5.0 (Lollipop) and basically has a different launcher designed for TV's. Now, it can run pretty much any custom Android app, but Google also has made some UI libraries available to app developers specifically for Android TV which help them create more standardized UI's in their apps (like you'll see in Google's own apps, or even the Plex app tailored for Android TV: https://blog.plex.tv/2014/06/25/plex...ew-android-tv/ ).

So, since Android TV is now the official Android for a device connected to a TV, other companies are going to focus their efforts on creating apps for it. Netflix, Plex, Hulu Plus, Pandora, TuneIn Radio, etc have all created Android TV specific apps. This means they won't be putting effort into making their non-Android TV apps very usable on a TV.

My concern is that if VBox doesn't move to the "Android TV" as a base platform for their hardware, users are going to suffer with apps designed for touch devices, not TV's. So, I'd love to see someone chime in saying that they are going to move VBox to the Android TV platform. I can't imagine this would introduce any new problems with restrictions as they would still have a proprietary box for subscribers, it's just that it would be a different version of the OS running on it. I've offered to place them in touch with someone at Google to get this ball rolling if they don't already have the right contacts.

[binderjeep]

On top of an andriod app, the only thing that is stopping me from buying a Vmedia cable package is the fact i do not want their crappy hardware box. I already have an HTPC hooked up to my TV that i use for most of my TV watching. I use Kodi as my media center, and Vmedia could easily write an app so that we could log into their system and receive the chaneels, there use base would explode. Currently i subscribe to USTVNOW (very similiar to vmedia cable but its US networks), which is integrated with an app inside Kodi and it works great, however i do not get any Canadian content. I would much rather Vmedia's cable package but they have to let us use our own hardware. I dont understand why not, all you need is a username and password to log into an account, i do not see the content privacy concerns.

[pbeaul]

i do not see the content privacy concerns.

I believe the CRTC is the one preventing VMedia from offering IPTV to people outside of their network... No idea what other restrictions might have been placed on them, they might be required to only offer it on their "setup box" and encrypt all the content etc... Utilizing something more ubiquitous like XBMC/Kodi would be ideal if they could make it work.

[Hacksaw2085]

I believe the CRTC is the one preventing VMedia from offering IPTV to people outside of their network... No idea what other restrictions might have been placed on them, they might be required to only offer it on their "setup box" and encrypt all the content etc... Utilizing something more ubiquitous like XBMC/Kodi would be ideal if they could make it work.

I also think it has to do with the content licenses that prevent them from providing content through a publically available app.

[wearysky]

Yeah, if you guys want VMedia on any device or any internet connection, don't bitch at VMedia about it, bitch at the channel owners and the CRTC.

[paul.alfano]

I agree with Redth. I am currently on the fence about subscribing to V-Media. I picked up a VBOX off Kijiji a while ago to test it out at home before subscribing. I found it clumsy. The netflix app loaded very pixilated video. And it needed a mouse to be navigated correctly. Is it just a licensing issue? I doubt VMedia is making much money off the hardware, I'd prefer to get a better box and subscribe.

[wearysky]

I agree with Redth. I am currently on the fence about subscribing to V-Media. I picked up a VBOX off Kijiji a while ago to test it out at home before subscribing. I found it clumsy. The netflix app loaded very pixilated video. And it needed a mouse to be navigated correctly. Is it just a licensing issue? I doubt VMedia is making much money off the hardware, I'd prefer to get a better box and subscribe.

Until they get Android 4.3 or higher onto the box, Netflix is pretty useless on the VBox - no HD support in Android 4.2 or lower, unfortunately. For the mouse navigation issue, they'll probably need to get Android TV support as well.

But yes, I can't see the content providers being eager to allow them to get the TV app onto any device any time soon. "TV on your tablet/cell phone" is too big of a selling feature for Rogers and Bell (who conveniently own many of the big channels), I can't see them wanting to give up that monopoly if they don't have to.

[Redth]

Yeah, if you guys want VMedia on any device or any internet connection, don't bitch at VMedia about it, bitch at the channel owners and the CRTC.

While this is true, I'm ultimately ok with using a VMedia box, IF it runs Android TV.... I think that's the main point now. So, hopefully they decide to move to Android TV as a base platform instead of plain old Android that is not optimized for a TV viewing experience, with 3rd party apps that will never be properly designed for a TV viewing experience. I think Android TV is the only viable solution going forward.