FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The customers who enter the evaluation phase will have 8 hours of remote technical support along with the issue reporting service available free of charge.

Additionaly, our engineers will be glad helping any of the user to solve the issue reported through our internet forum.

Setup

What do I need to get started developing applications based on ANDROID4TV framework?

Follow the Device Setup Guide.

Applications

What is ANDROID4TV v2 app?

ANDROID4TV is the default application for Digital TV based on Android Operating System.
It provides natural integration of DTV into Android user space, placeholder for digital middleware (DVB or ATSC) and API for TV-centric applications.

What is ANDROID4TV framework?

ANDROID4TV framework represents standard set of functions exposed to Android application based on ANDROID4TV framework in order to use DTV functionality.

What is DTV Middleware?

DTV middleware is a software stack that is responsible for all complex handling of data received from hardware and provides TV services to upper layers. DTV middleware does transport stream management and transport stream data extraction (PSI, EIT, SUB, TTX, EPG).

What is Comedia?

ANDROID4TV solution uses Comedia engine as implementation of DTV Middleware made by iWedia. It is a well-tested and widely deployed DTV software stack which supports many advanced features such as PVR, Time-shift, MHEG-5, HbbTV, etc. Comedia 3.0 software stack has been designed to be easily ported on various hardware platforms, and easily integrated into various software frameworks.

Development & Debugging

How to avoid getting the Application not responding dialog?

Generally, the system displays an Application not responding dialog if an application cannot respond to user input. For example, if an application blocks on some I/O operation on the UI thread so the system can't process incoming user input events. In any situation in which your app performs a potentially lengthy operation, you should not perform the work on the UI thread, but instead create a worker thread and do most of the work there. This keeps the UI thread (which drives the user interface event loop) running and prevents the system from concluding that your code has frozen.

Does application based on ANDROID4TV framework need any specific permission to use functionality?

No.

Do I have root rights on the referent platform?

Yes.

Where can I find ANDROID4TV application examples source code?

ANDROID4TV application examples source code

Where can I get the latest updates on ANDROID4TV framework?

ANDROID4TV framework java library

Where can I report technical issues related to DTV functionality?

Free users - ANDROID4TV Forum. ANDROID4TV members - Issue reporting service.

Where can I find IP address of Android virtual machine?

Under Android virtual machine, open Android All apps menu and select Settings option. Under About menu on left-hand side, select Status option. IP address should be displayed in pop-up dialog.

IP address is unavailable.

Check if network cable is plugged in.
Check your Internet connection.

How can I connect to Android virtual machine?

You can connect to Android virtual machine via Android Debug Bridge. ADB tools help.

ADB command is not found.

Check if Android SDK is properly installed. If is not, follow the Device Setup Guide (link). Otherwise, check if SDK's platform-tools path is added to your PATH environment variable.

In Eclipse, Android virtual machine is not listed in the Devices window when I want to run my Android application.

Check if Android VM is running.
Check if Android VM is connected with ADB command adb devices.

If Android VM is not connected with ADB tool, then it will not appear in the Devices window.

Features

PVR

Which memory device does PVR use for recording?

PVR can use internal FLASH memory of the referent platform or external USB memory flash.

Where can I find recorded PVR files?

PVR records can be accessed in multimedia dialog.

Why is there more than one file for PVR record?

There are separate files for metadata and media data.

Does PVR require formatting of USB device?

No, PVR recording does not require formatting USB device.

What file systems does referent platform support?

Referent platform supportsFAT32 and NTFS file system.

Can PVR records be played on any device?

PVR records are scrambled for content protection reasons and can only be played on platform that recorded.

EPG

What is EPG caching?

EPG caching is saving of obtained EPG data in a local database in order to enable quick access to EPG data.

Is EPG caching enabled by default, how to enable/disable it?

Yes, EPG caching is enabled by default and since it is a build time feature it cannot be disabled.

Are EPG events persistent through boot cycle?

No, EPG events are not persistent through boot cycle.

Are reminders and scheduled records persistent through boot cycle?

Yes, reminders and scheduled records are persistent through boot cycle.

EPG is missing for some services.

Check if those services support event information.
Initial collecting of EPG can take up to a minute or two.
Zap to the service that is missing EPG.

ZAPPING

How long should zap last?

Zap usually lasts between 2 and 4 seconds.

Can I turn off curl effect and how?

Yes, curl effect can be turned off from Main Menu -> Settings -> TV Settings -> Picture Settings -> Curl Settings

Zap failed.

Check if coaxial cable is plugged in.
Reboot device in case a crash in software stack had happened.
Perform service installation.

CONTENT LIST

How are service icons obtained?

All service icons are stored in platform memory. There is configuration file which contains pairs of service names and paths to service icons on the platform. The TV application parses this file and loads corresponding service icons.

Are favorite and recent content list persistent over boot cycle?

Yes, all content lists are persistent through boot cycle.

Can I delete content from content list?

Content can be removed from favorite and recent content lists but not from main content list.

SERVICE INSTALLATION

Where can I find parameters for manual scan?

Check with Radio Broadcasting Agency of your country.

Can I stop/abort service installation before it is finished, will it keep scanned services?

Yes, service installation can be aborted by pressing Return button on the RC and previously scanned services will be saved.

Scan won't start.

Check if coaxial cable is plugged in.
Reboot device in case a crash in software stack had happened.

No services scanned.

Check if coaxial cable is plugged in.
Reboot device in case a crash in software stack had happened.

Multimedia

File playback won't start.

Check if platform supports file container and codec.
Reboot device in case a crash in software had happened.

Media files not listed.

Check if platform supports file container and codec.
Reboot device in case a crash in software had happened.

How to share files?

Make sure that DLNA Media Server is started in Main Menu -> Settings -> DLNA. All files on external USB device are automatically shared.

SETTINGS

Are settings persistent through boot cycle?

Yes, all settings are persistent through boot cycle.

How to uninstall Android applications?

Under ANDROID4TV menu, select Settings option and choose Applications item. Under Applications dialog choose application you want to uninstall and select Uninstall option.

How to stop Android application running in background?

Under ANDROID4TV menu, select Settings option and choose Applications item. Under Applications dialog choose application you want to uninstall and select Force stop option.

Misc

What version of Android is Android virtual machine running?

Android 4.2, Jelly Bean.