We recently noted that Android TV could start to play a bigger role in India, and it seems like that has happened with the announcement of Airtel’s Internet TV. It is an Android TV set-top box which supports 4K video at 60 FPS and comes with the company’s television network as an added bonus for […]
Author: Nick Felker
Nick Felker is a student Electrical & Computer Engineering student at Rowan University (C/O 2017) and the student IEEE webmaster. When he's not studying, he is a software developer for the web and Android (Felker Tech). He has several open source projects on GitHub Devices: Moto G-2013 Moto G-2015, Moto 360, Google ADT-1, Nexus 7-2013 (x2), Lenovo Laptop, Custom Desktop. Although he was an intern at Google, the content of this blog is entirely independent and his own thoughts.
Two of Google’s Android TV-related applications, the Remote Control mobile app and the Live Channels app, have received small updates today. Live Channels gets a bump from 1.13.011 to 1.13.015. The remote app also received a trivial change in its version. What’s changed? Not much. The differences in files are minimal. The Live Channels changes […]
Over the weekend, a few users have reported a software update on their devices even if they’re not in the beta program. This is Android version 7.1.2 and the factory image has already been posted. Many of the forward-facing changes seem to affect Android on the phone and tablet, but the changes don’t affect TVs. […]
Wi-Fi has become a rather ubiquitous standard for wireless Internet communication, but it can often be more power-hungry and more complicated to implement than other wireless standards for nearby device communication. For example, using Google Cast may require your phone to message a router which then in turn messages your Android TV. There can be […]
Headlines – TV RSS Reader – Gains More Features in Redesign
Headlines is an RSS and news reader that is designed for TVs. It may sound unusual, but with a large screen the app is able to take full advantage of the space and provide scrolling tickers of information and long lists of information. The app last month received a large redesign that added more features […]
Android TV Grows Bigger in India, JioCinema Launches with TV Support
Googler Marc Bächinger has hinted that Android TV is going to have more influence in India, following in a larger effort to move the country to smartphones with their Android One program. Android TV to become big in India! Lots of partner on it already. Now back home. pic. — Marc Bächinger March 25, […]
Android TVs Gaining Touchscreen Capabilities?
Google’s big developer conference, Google I/O, is not until next month. However, we may already begin to get an idea of what they’re announcing, at least in terms of Android TV. This recently snapped photo at an electronics conference shows the first iteration of Google Touch for Android TV. The long name immediately gives away […]
Interview: Explore the Road Not Taken in this Game
In the rougelike game Road Not Taken, from development studio Spry Fox, you play as a ranger who lives near a small village. Although you are not a traditional townsperson, your skills are often called upon for a variety of services. comes from a poem by Robert Frost. Two roads diverged in a wood, and […]
Mi Box Beta Testers Receiving Nougat, 7.0
A while back, around when the Mi Box was first launched in stores, there was a beta program where some users could test new software updates before they reached everybody. Though the beta test program is now closed, users are now getting an early taste of Android Nougat on their devices with a new update. […]
Interview: ATSC-3 is the Upcoming Standard for Broadcasting
Broadcasters will be seeing a number of technology upgrades as they move from the ATSC-1 standard to ATSC-3, bringing new things like broadband and broadcast joint channels, HDR and 8K broadcast capabilities, and setting up the future of cable television. While we covered a brief summary in an earlier article, I wanted to give readers […]
Cyboid is a New FPS Launching Today on Google Play
Cyboid, from R and R Digital, is an FPS which has been available since late last year on Amazon Fire devices, but today the game is launching on Google Play for tablets and TV. In this article we’ll give you an idea of what the game is like and how you can get started with […]
Tv App Repo Adds “Advanced” Options for Shortcuts
The TV App Repo was published on Google Play not too long ago as a utility for people to generate Leanback Launcher shortcuts from their non-Leanback apps. It has quickly become popular, accumulating over 2000 total installs since being listed. I’m happy to see so many people seeing benefit from this tool. However, since it […]
Android O Beta Announced – System Images Posted Online (Nexus Player Image Available!)
It’s that time of the year again! Google has posted the first details about Android O. What does O stand for? Orange? Oatmeal? Oreo? These are all words. What did they add in? Taking a look at the API details page, there’s actually a lot of new changes. Snoozing notifications! PiP Arguments! Font resources! Adaptive […]
Last week I attended the IEEE Sensor Applications Symposium at Rowan University, an academic conference all about the Internet of Things and sensors. There were presentations on many topics relating to smart sensors, sensor hubs, and different ways to process the data that you collect from these devices. One of the special sessions at the end […]
Since its inception in 2014, users have been able to control their Android TV from their phone using an app. However, over the past week users have been reporting a new app has been updated on their TVs. This app, called the “Android TV Remote Service”, “is the service that allows use of your Android […]
As a child, I like many others wanted to make games. One of the simplest ways to do so was GameMaker, a drag-and-drop tool that didn’t require you to code to make simple games. At the time, you could make simple things like Pong for the PC, but the software has continued to advance to […]
The cordcutting field continues to grow more popular and diverse, and there continue to be news. This is a summary of the big cordcutting news that has happened this week. Boomerang Launches $5 / month streaming service You may know Boomerang as a TV channel where you can watch classic cartoons like Looney Tunes and Tom and […]
Plex is a popular media server that enables users to stream their content from their computer to their TV along with content from certain cloud sources. The company just published a new update to their Android app for phones and TVs that makes a number of performance fixes for Android TV users. It also adds […]
Every month a new update to Android is posted, primarily consisting of security fixes. You can take a look at each month’s security bulletin, published the first Monday of each month. This month, fixes include SSL remote code execution vulnerabilities and in the stock messaging app. These fixes get compiled into a new system image […]
Invesdor, an equity-based crowdfunding platform, bills itself as “[t]he go-to place” for European companies to raise money for their business. Similar to Kickstarter, it follows an “all-or-nothing” model. If a business launches a campaign and they don’t reach their goal, then no money is transferred. It gives the funders some sort of protection in case […]
October 21, 2016 was a big day in the cybersecurity field. The Mirai botnet, taking control of unsecure IoT devices, launched a massive DDoS attack against DynDNS, causing people on the East Coast of the US to have no connection to many websites. I remember having connections all morning until late in the evening. This […]
CNNgo is a way that cable subscribers can continue to watch CNN shows and news on their phones, tablets, and other devices. However, an exclusive report from Variety hints at an upcoming change to the service that should attract more users. The CNNgo app will start showing original shows that will be free for anyone […]
ATSC, the Advanced Television Systems Committee, is an “international, non-profit organization developing voluntary standards for digital television”. Essentially, it’s a working group that sets the standards for media broadcasting and transmission receiving. The first standard, ATSC-1, was used when analog TV transitioned to digital in the United States. This standard included specifications for HDTV. The […]
For the past two months we’ve had this poll sitting on the site about Google Home, a new product by Google that allows users to ask questions and do actions just by voice. The features on the device are continuing to advance and the Google Assistant is coming to other devices like Android TV. The […]
“Indie games!” is a common exclamation from big and small game publishers. Even companies like Nintendo and Microsoft, which have traditionally kept a small pipe for third-party game studios on their consoles, have been welcoming indie developers to build on their platform. At this year’s Game Developers Conference, Microsoft announced loosening restrictions for the Xbox […]
Twitter has continued to boost their live streaming capabilities through their app. In addition to sports like the NFL, they are now partnering with ESL and DreamHack, two major e-sport leagues. As e-sports continue to grow in popularity, having these deals will allow Twitter to continue becoming a major media organization. The deal will include […]
Today is a big day for gaming fans. Nintendo’s new home (and mobile?) console, the Switch, is available to purchase (assuming they don’t sell out). If you were one of the lucky ones who got the console and one of their “Pro Controllers”, you may find your controller getting more use than you expected. The […]
The SPMC app, a fork of Kodi, has been adding Android TV features on top of the regular Kodi application. The app just received an update to version 16.6 which fixes a number of issues and introduces two new features. First is the “Now Playing” card that shows up as the first card in your […]
The idea of a discount is fairly old. When people see things on sale, it gives them an incentive to buy immediately. People like to get deals and bargains. For the merchant, it offers them a chance to attract a larger customer base. App developers have periodically put their paid apps at a lower price […]
For a while rumors have been swarming that YouTube executives were making deals with networks for a sort of over-the-top cable service called Unplugged. This service, which would be $35, would blend together traditional media with original YouTube videos (and YouTube Red content) for a novel experience. Today, YouTube unveiled YouTube TV at an event […]