Android TV - No video/black screen

[bagnaram]

Checklist

• I am able to reproduce the bug with the latest version.
• I made sure that there are no existing issues - open or closed - which I could contribute my information to.
• I have taken the time to fill in all the required details. I understand that the bug report will be dismissed otherwise.
• This issue contains only one bug.
• I have read and understood the contribution guidelines.

Affected version

v0.23.2

Steps to reproduce the bug

1. Select a video and play it

Expected behavior

The video should display in the mini-screen and in fullscreen

Actual behavior

The video is completely black but the audio can be heard.

Screenshots/Screen recordings

See #4842
Exactly the same symptom, but it occurs every video instead of just "next video"

Logs

logcat.txt

Affected Android/Custom ROM version

Android TV 11

Affected device model

Tmobile TVision HUB v2

Additional information

• The issue does not occur when video is set to 3gp format and displays correctly.
• The issue occurred in previous versions of NewPipe occasionally, but now it happens for every video.

[AudricV]

It seems like to be related to media tunneling, as we got several issues with media tunneling on Android TVs. Could you try to install a debug build, such as this one, and see if you disable media tunneling, in the debug settings, that the issue is fixed? Thank you in advance!

[bagnaram]

Thank you. Disabling media tunneling in the debug build solved the video playback issue for me.

[sydpy]

I also had this problem and it was also fixed by disabling media tunneling in the debug build !

What is the reason for this setting not being in the release build ? Is the issue coming from the media tunneling support on Android TV or rather the code path taken when this option is enabled ?

[opusforlife2]

An option to toggle media tunnelling will be part of a future build. The PR is pending.

Edit: That PR is merged and will be in the next release.

[hovercats]

I also have this issue, but only on 1080p videos (doesnt seem to always happen though), and it doesnt appear to happen on 1080p60.
switching to 720p solves the issue for me.

I dont have an android tv per say, but the chromecast with android.

edit: I did some more testing, I get the crash like on #4842, but only if I choose webm or 3gp video, if I use mp4, it just freezes, but the screen doesnt go black for me, it just freezes the first frame.
Seems to crash on 4k aswell though.

[TobiGr]

Please install this APK. Go to settings > video & audio > exoplayer settings and use "disable media tunneling". Try to play a video. If the problem is solved, go to settings > debug and use "Show device id" and post the id here so we can ensure that media tunneling is disabled by default for the device model.

[peat80]

You can add my Sony A90J to that list.
Works fine with media tunneling disabled.
The device id is:

BRAVIA_VH2

[peat80]

Maybe you should also ask in the pinned androidtv issue for device ids. 🤔

#9023

[artubieski]

Hey, thank you for working on this issue! disabling media tunneling worked on my android tv 8 device aswell. here is the device id:
PH7M_EU_5596

[TobiGr]

@artubieski Please uninstall the test APK you installed to get the device id, install the latest APK from #10122 and check if playing videos works out of the box.

[artubieski]

@TobiGr all done, media tunelling was disabled per default and playing in full screen works well! thank you!

[JPluess]

Hey, I compared version 25.1 and version 25.1 debug 10122. I had a hard time finding the download link for apk 10122. After testing it on my Panasonic 4KTV-JUP, I didn't find any issues that were present in the old version. I only tried the default settings without tunneling. Fullscreen and Fullscreen Autoplay are working as expected! Thank you.

[TobiGr]

@JPluess Did you disable tunelling manually? If yes, please install the APk from this comment and tell me your device / model id so I can disable tunneling by default on that model.

[JPluess]

Yes, I used that debug version. By default, the tunneling setting was off (grey). But maybe it was somehow not off since it worked fine. Now, I turned it on (red) and restarted the app. No issues were found. Then, I disabled it again and closed the app again. After reopening, the app crashed when I tried to go fullscreen. So, I enabled the tunneling setting again, and now it works fine. My TV model is TX-50JXW834.

[TobiGr]

Is TX-50JXW834 really the value shown when pressing the button "Show device id"? I've never seen a hyphen in a device id. They are usually replaced by underscores in Android.

[JPluess]

I see, sorry for the confusion, Jupiter

[TobiGr]

OK, test the latest APK from #10122 and check if everything works with default settings.

[ROBYER1]

Device ID BRAVIA_ATV3_4K - fullscreen works with media tunneling disabled. Thanks for the fix!

[j-seeley]

Enabling all 3 of the ExoPlayer settings worked in avoiding full screen crashes. However, now, when switching from small screen to full screen or from full screen to small screen, there is a black screen for 8-9 seconds and an additional 4-5 seconds where the video comes back but is frozen. During this entire delay, the audio plays well. Tried various settings and combos of settings.. Nothing works to fix. This is with 25.2 and the latest debug apks. Using the T95Z Plus TV box with Android 6.

[opusforlife2]

there is a black screen for 8-9 seconds

This is a consequence of the solution, unfortunately, so nothing can be done here. The more powerful your device, the lower this duration will be. Old devices will have to put up with the lag. A simple workaround is to pause before switching to full screen.