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[Z0001]

Hi

Is anyone using a Shield Pro to play their media with the Android app?

What is this experience like?

Cheers
Z

[rec head]

I have used a Shield for years but rarely bother using MC on it. The controls like FWD have never really worked like other apps. It is frustrating for video. Chromecasting audio works well.

[JimH]

Latest build?

[rec head]

I can check but it should auto update right?

[rec head]

I had to uninstall/reinstall MC on the Shield to get the latest version. The controls are still not the same as most apps. FWD goes forward in 10 second increments. Skip FWD to the next chapter didn't work at all. One big improvement was that when backing out of a movie and returning to it the movie resumed where I left off. Also with my previous version MC would often freeze up if I tried to pause/play or fast forward to far ahead. This current version behaved much better.

For audio I selected a playlist and it began playing but not the song that was shown on the screen and I couldn't figure out how to make the song stop playing. I had to back all the way out to the Shield's main menu and open another app. 

One huge plus of using the Shield vs HTPC is that it will play MKV rips with Dolby Vision as such. As it is I find that using the Shield is fine if you plan on starting a movie and watching it all the way through.

[JimH]

FWD time is programmable in MC, maybe in Android.

We'll take a look at your other suggestions.

[cncb]

FWD goes forward in 10 second increments.

Just to confirm, you are talking about the Android TV playback in JRiver for Android and you would like to be able to change the skip forward amount?

[rec head]

I'm talking about watching MKVs in MC on the Shield with the library loaded from my server PC.

Regular FFD doesn't seek like most apps do. It goes forward in 10 second intervals. Press it too many times and playback freezes.

Skip ahead doesn't seem to do anything. It definitely does not skip to the next chapter.

There doesn't seem to be a good way to get to the halfway point in a movie for example. I have pulled out the Shield's remote to confirm that my Harmony wasn't sending bad commands.

[cncb]

FWD goes forward in 10 second increments. Skip FWD to the next chapter didn't work at all.

The next build will have settable forward/backward amounts.  With next/previous, unfortunately the player used in Android is not aware of chapters.  We could change it to jump 5 minutes or make this settable too.

[rec head]

That's good news. I don't mind the 10 second increments except that it is the only thing available. Your planned changes sound like they will really help out.

Question: If I am using the same library server should I be able to start watching on my PC and then continue from the same spot on the Shield?

[JimH]

When you press the stop button in MC, it sets a bookmark.  If you start the movie again, you will resume from that point.  Pressing stop twice clears the bookmark.  But I don't know if the bookmark is honored on the Shield.