[Floatplane] Unofficial Roku/tvOS/AndroidTV Channel

[ic3th3gr8t]

6 hours ago, bmlzootown said:

It's... a bit complicated. Since I have no paid developer account, I can't really release it on the app store, so you'd have to sideload it (this video gives a basic gist of how to do so -- older devices connect via USB, newer 4k models can be added wirelessly, should be able to figure that bit out with a quick Google search). The source is up on Github.

 

If you have any issues, let me know. I've only tested on the simulator, so I make no promises that everything will work 100%.

Awesome! Will start researching. Thanks!

[bmlzootown]

Just a slight update (if you can really even call it that): I have yet to figure anything out, and nobody has responded to my thread about live-stream HLS issues on the Roku community forum. I've bumped the post multiple times to no avail.

 

Shamelessly plugging the link here as well, just to get a tad bit more exposure.

 

Edit 2/26/20:

And suddenly... The issue appears to be gone. Nothing has changed on my end, so I'm assuming it was something on the server's end. Hopefully the stream will work fine this Friday, but I should be around to test during that time.

 

Edit 3/16/20:

Another small update: Looks like this might be a bug on Roku's end.

 

That said, now I've started experiencing stuttering on regular videos (though, unlike HLS live streams which tile/etc., it just buffers instead). 

 

Hopefully the next major update will resolve this. 

[bmlzootown]

Reserved

[bmlzootown]

Reserved

[bmlzootown]

Update!

Since the start of the pandemic, things at work have been crazy. I've been wanting to work on this project for a while, but just haven't had the time/energy. Hopefully that'll change... eventually.

 

tvOS

The tvOS port has been added to the OP, and it still seems to work just fine. There's still more features to add, work to be done, of course.

 

Roku

The Roku version, however, has stopped working for me as of the latest Roku OS update. I'm not entirely sure whether it was solely the update, or just something locally, but it refuses to play any FP videos either way. It will act as if it's loading a video, stop about a third of the way through the buffer bar, and then just sit there, loading forever (or, occasionally, it will timeout). This all started just the other day, and no amount of tinkering on my part has resolved the issue. If anyone still watching this has any ideas, I'd greatly appreciate some input!

 

Edit: The issues with the Roku version seem to stem from the latest update, possibly affecting all 4k models. I've submitted an issue with their partner program and am waiting on a reply.

 

 

[bmlzootown]

Roku Client -- Update 1.6.0 is now out.

• I've added the option to change edge CDN servers (main menu, * options, change server). If you were having issues with videos loading (usually either error -2 or seemingly infinite load times), this should hopefully fix that. The default is set to edge03-na, as that seems to be the best server on my end.
• I've also added an update dialog, so that when Hydravion updates, you'll be greeted by a short update summary when you next launch the channel.

 

tvOS Client

• Expired cookies are now handled properly, prompting the user to log back in when necessary.
• Users can now browse back through as many videos as they like (until their device decides they've loaded enough cells, that is). No longer limited to the latest 20 videos.

[bmlzootown]

Roku Client -- Update 1.6.2

 

• Just pushed an update to fix livestreams. Since they usually stream with Twitch(?) as their CDN, I had a workaround setup for that, but apparently said workaround doesn't work for Floatplane's CDN servers. This should fix that, though, but I'll have to re-test once Linus is streaming again to be 100% sure.

 

As far as I'm aware, the tvOS client is still working, but unfortunately I can't test it right now. If anyone notices anything broken, feel free to poke me!

[bmlzootown]

Finally broke down and ordered one of the new Chromecasts with AndroidTV the other day, so I decided to jump into the deep end of the pool once again...

 

https://github.com/bmlzootown/Hydravion-AndroidTV

 

 

[bmlzootown]

5 hours ago, sjddote065 said:

Does it's going to be free or paid or something else?

Everything is free, and the source code is available via Github. To use Hydravion, though, you do need an actual subscription on Floatplane.

[tastytips]

May I ask a dumb question? How do I build an apk from the GitHub? I just got a TCL tv with androidtv and would like to test your app. Thanks!

[bmlzootown]

On 11/22/2020 at 2:32 AM, tastytips said:

May I ask a dumb question? How do I build an apk from the GitHub? I just got a TCL tv with androidtv and would like to test your app. Thanks!

If you're comfortable with opening up an IDE, you can sideload/debug directly from Android Studio. I'd suggest Googling it.

 

That said, I've also uploaded the pre-built/signed APK, if you want to go that route. The easiest way to sideload it, assuming you have an Android phone, would be to use one of the pre-existing apps from the Play Store meant to install APKs to a Firestick/FireTV (Apps2Fire worked just fine last I tested). The more complicated route involves installing ADB tools, enabling debugging, connecting with the TVs IP, and then installing. AndroidPolice has a decent article detailing both of the aforementioned methods (click me).

Edited August 11, 2021 by bmlzootown

[soldier_ph]

Is your Client also available for LG Web OS or are you currently working on one ?

[bmlzootown]

9 hours ago, soldier_ph said:

Is your Client also available for LG Web OS or are you currently working on one ?

Currently, no, however I could look into it more in-depth when I have some time. Seems like WebOS is just that, an OS built around pre-existing web standards. I wonder if loading the Floatplane site itself via iframe would be sufficient. 

[Azerik]

I cannot login for some reason and I've double checked my password repeatedly.

[bmlzootown]

16 hours ago, Azerik said:

I cannot login for some reason and I've double checked my password repeatedly.

Which platform/device are you using? (Roku, tvOS, GoogleTV)

Is 2FA enabled on your account? 

[Azerik]

5 hours ago, bmlzootown said:

Which platform/device are you using? (Roku, tvOS, GoogleTV)

Is 2FA enabled on your account? 

Using the GoogleTV Chromecast, and no 2FA is not enabled.

[bmlzootown]

On 4/8/2021 at 11:37 PM, Azerik said:

Using the GoogleTV Chromecast, and no 2FA is not enabled.

I did some digging and found out that, apparently, their new reCAPTCHA implementation is causing some issues with direct API access. Until they implement the fix, logging in won't work. While a bypass could be implemented, this issue should be temporary (and I'm rather busy at work this weekend), so I won't be looking into such.

 

I will post an update when logins are behaving again. Sorry for the inconvenience! 

[soldier_ph]

On 3/2/2021 at 5:53 PM, bmlzootown said:

Currently, no, however I could look into it more in-depth when I have some time. Seems like WebOS is just that, an OS built around pre-existing web standards. I wonder if loading the Floatplane site itself via iframe would be sufficient. 

That would be greatly appreciated.

[bmlzootown]

On 4/10/2021 at 2:41 PM, soldier_ph said:

That would be greatly appreciated.

I did a simple meta redirect, and it seems to load the site relatively well in the emulator. It's somewhat sluggish, but that's probably because it's running inside said emulator.

 

I've attached the exported IPK itself to this post, in case you're able/willing to sideload it. Let me know how it goes! town.bmlzoo_0.0.1_all.ipk

[bmlzootown]

I'm still having issues with forum notifications on my phone, and I don't typically get notifications for Github until my email client syncs, so I've setup a small Discord server should anyone need help/have feedback. The info is in the OP, should anyone be interested!

[bmlzootown]

Just a quick update -- still haven't heard back from Floatplane staff, but after talking a bit with another developer, I decided to go ahead and support reCAPTCHA-based logins. In the event that they change things back, I'll revert things to the way they were, but as of right now the Roku client supports logins again.

 

That said, I work all day tomorrow, so I probably won't get around to updating the GoogleTV/tvOS ports until then (though I'll try to work on the former before I go to bed). 

[bmlzootown]

Another update -- the Roku client now supports logins without a reCAPTCHA token when using the pre-compiled (uncertified) version, and the source hosted on Github requires a reCAPTCHA token. The difference is due to the implementation of a semi-shady workaround, hence I won't make it public.

 

The GoogleTV port should follow tomorrow, with the source on Github being updated to use the reCAPTCHA token, and the pre-built APK bypassing the need for such.

[Delano.888]

Just found this, installed it, works perfectly!

Wonder why the official crew can't / won't just port it themselves, wouldn't it be doable to port the android app?

 

Anyway, thanks for your work!

 

Edit: aaaaand I broke it. I tried clicking 360p to see the difference, then went to back to clicking 1080p, but it didn't change back, stayed at 360p every time.

So I closed the app and re-opened it.

Now every video I click it opens a black screen with the title, says livestream not found, and leaves the video.

 

Ah well, I had a fun 10 minutes!

 

Edit2: clearing cache didn't fix it, but clearing all data did (and had to re login). I guess I won't touch those 360p and livestream buttons anymore because they're both causing trouble.

[bmlzootown]

18 hours ago, Delano.888 said:

Just found this, installed it, works perfectly!

Wonder why the official crew can't / won't just port it themselves, wouldn't it be doable to port the android app?

 

Anyway, thanks for your work!

 

Edit: aaaaand I broke it. I tried clicking 360p to see the difference, then went to back to clicking 1080p, but it didn't change back, stayed at 360p every time.

So I closed the app and re-opened it.

Now every video I click it opens a black screen with the title, says livestream not found, and leaves the video.

 

Ah well, I had a fun 10 minutes!

 

Edit2: clearing cache didn't fix it, but clearing all data did (and had to re login). I guess I won't touch those 360p and livestream buttons anymore because they're both causing trouble.

I'll look at this when I get home tonight. Sorry about that!

[bmlzootown]

On 6/21/2021 at 4:51 PM, Delano.888 said:

Edit: aaaaand I broke it. I tried clicking 360p to see the difference, then went to back to clicking 1080p, but it didn't change back, stayed at 360p every time.

This should be fixed as of v1.3.1. I had originally set it to replace the default "1080" with whatever resolution the user selected, but if they went to change the resolution again, it would still look for "1080" (which no longer existed as part of the video URL). This was entirely my bad, and I'm surprised that the issue hasn't come up before now, so thanks for pointing it out!

 

On 6/21/2021 at 4:51 PM, Delano.888 said:

So I closed the app and re-opened it.

Now every video I click it opens a black screen with the title, says livestream not found, and leaves the video.

I tried to reproduce this issue to no avail, both before and after the aforementioned fix. If you experience this again, let me know (along with the exact steps you took to cause it).

 

The livestream button in the settings (3rd row, bottom of the screen) are a leftover feature from before I added background livestream checks. I had left this to allow users to manually force-test/-play a stream if necessary in case the livestream check broke. If you attempt to play a livestream when the creator isn't live, it'll present you with the black video screen, followed by the "livestream not found" message, but that should only occur when you've attempted to force-play a stream that isn't live. When a stream is live, it should now show up in the video feed as the first available video (with "LIVE" in the title).