Android MiniClient vs Extenders (HD300, HD200, etc) vs Full Sage Client (Windows)

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by sacrament055

I'm wondering if anyone else is seeing the same sorts of issues I'm seeing with the ShieldTV mini client.

I'm seeing with IJK PLayer occasional slow motion on the video which then catches up (much like when I start watching something). I've seen it crash back to the ShieldTV desktop a couple times.

EXO Player seems to play better except when I try to skip it loses track of the video but audio keeps playing.

I figured I'd check if it's just me so that I can figure out what on my system is causing this or if it's a known issue.

I do not see any problem using my HD300 for playback so I'm assuming my server side setup is ok.

I see the slo-mo in from time to time as well... typically when I see it happen, if I skip/forward back, then it appears to catch up... it's likely a video buffer issue (or lack there of)... ie, the frames are not coming in as fast as they can be played... I don't do any pre-buffering of video mainly so that the skip forward/back is instant.

I don't recall ever having the App crash... but I tend to quit out when I'm not using it (or set the option to close client on application pause in the settings).

EXOPlayer is really just a proof of concept implementation in the MiniClient... it's not good enough to actually handle a variety of media formats (and the quirks that each have), so it's existence is really there in hopes that someday it gets betters. EXOPlayer is a great player, if you have a 1 media format and it never changes, and you control the media format from the start (ie, like a YouTube, etc)... but it's not great for applications like SageTV. Every release, it gets better, so I'm hopeful that one day it will replace IJK, when that happens, I can invest the time to make seeking, etc, work better... just that EXO has some principles that it will refuse to seek media that is deemed not seekable (like ts files), so things tend to fall apart quickly.

[panteragstk]

I see the slow mo thing when skipping as Sean said, but on some rare occasions it will do it at random. Audio plays fine, but video plays slow, then fast to catch up. No more than a few seconds and it happens so little that I don't really pay attention to it.

Pretty positive it has more to do with the video file than the mini client.

[hvymetal]

Does DVD playback only work on SageTV client in windows or also Linux version? Are there any difference between Windows and Linux clients?

[TwistedMelon]

Can anyone comment on why Native Output switching is labeled as "not likely ever" for Android?

Shield TV (don't know about others) supports this, at least for refresh rate, and it's working with Plex*

*there's a bug with Shield TV right now that can prevent this from working on some systems with HDMI 2.x device between Shield and an HDMI/1 TV - but it works connected directly to a HDMI/1 TV or if the TV is HDMI 2.x

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by TwistedMelon

Can anyone comment on why Native Output switching is labeled as "not likely ever" for Android?

Shield TV (don't know about others) supports this, at least for refresh rate, and it's working with Plex*

*there's a bug with Shield TV right now that can prevent this from working on some systems with HDMI 2.x device between Shield and an HDMI/1 TV - but it works connected directly to a HDMI/1 TV or if the TV is HDMI 2.x

As the only developer working on Android MiniClient, I can say with a degree of certainty that it's never likely to happen. And yes, plex can do it, and likely kodi, and (insert player here), but, all of these have something we don't... developers that can do the work.

Now, that being said, if you have the expertise to make this happen and you submit a pull request, it would likely get accepted. I just don't have the expertise, myself, to make it happen

[TwistedMelon]

Understood. It wasn't clear from the comparison table as it seemed you were documenting a device limitation.

So there's no interest from any other SageTV contributors to help work on this? I'll be honest, I've been looking at the Shield only a short time and only because of that did I even learn about this miniplayer. I don't have any other Android devices no inclination to get any in the future, so it's just not something I was aware of.

I can't help but think if more people were aware of the Miniclient that there might be additional interest. It looks like a great project and almost a no-brainer for anyone wanting great PVR support on their Android box. Even for those of us who have multiple HD200/300 it's worth considering replacements.

[trk2]

Originally Posted by stuckless

And yes, plex can do it, and likely kodi, and (insert player here), but, all of these have something we don't... developers that can do the work.

Plex supports a refresh only native output, not sure about Kodi. I don't know of another solution that supports native output switching the way HD300 does. Not saying they don't exist though.

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by TwistedMelon

It looks like a great project and almost a no-brainer for anyone wanting great PVR support on their Android box. Even for those of us who have multiple HD200/300 it's worth considering replacements.

Yeah, I've actually retired all of my HD300s and now use 2 Shieds and MiBox. I tend to like it better than the HD300s, since, the YouTube and Netfix support on Android box is great.

[wayner]

@stuckless - I think you can update the info in post 1 regarding the H.265 playback on the client as that is reported to be working - change from maybe to yes, given the right codecs.

I have bought one MiBox (they are hard to get outside of the US) and it works pretty well with SageTV except that I occasionally have issues with MPEG-2 and you don't have as much functionality on the remote control. For the most part my daughter uses it to watch Youtube and we also have an HD-200 connected to the same TV. One downside to the MiBox is that it doesn't have an ethernet port so you need a good wifi signal.

Regarding the remote on Android boxes - does the client (and MiBox) recognize SkipFwd and SkpFwdx2 commands? If so then I guess I could map the buttons on my Harmony remote.

[crarbo1]

Originally Posted by stuckless

Yeah, I've actually retired all of my HD300s and now use 2 Shieds and MiBox. I tend to like it better than the HD300s, since, the YouTube and Netfix support on Android box is great.

Hate to hijack this thread, but is there someone here that can make a MiniClient Roku app?

Thanks,
Chuck

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by trk2

Plex supports a refresh only native output, not sure about Kodi. I don't know of another solution that supports native output switching the way HD300 does. Not saying they don't exist though.

Kodi's the same way. There was actually a pull request a few years ago to add native resolution switching, but it basically got pushed out by the Kodi Devs because they didn't like the idea (my interpretation).