Shield, Chromecast · deep links, now playing, cold starts
Android TV and Google TV remote app: deep links and live Now Playing
Android TV and Google TV devices, which include the Nvidia Shield, Chromecast with Google TV and the televisions running the same software, are where MediaPond can currently do the most inside a streaming app, because they accept precise launch instructions and report back what is on screen.*
How MediaPond pairs with an Android TV device
The device shows a six-digit code on the television, you type it into MediaPond, and the two exchange certificates. That is the same trusted-remote handshake the platform uses for its own remotes, so nothing is being worked around and the pairing does not quietly expire.
Everything then runs on your network, so no Google account is added to MediaPond and no button press takes a trip to the internet.
Opening the episode rather than the app
Android TV apps can accept launch instructions with a title attached, which is why deep linking on this platform generally goes further than elsewhere. Apps including Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Max, Crunchyroll, Disney+ and YouTube can be opened on the thing you picked, and cold started where the app would otherwise resume something else.
MediaPond also knows which apps prefer to be reset rather than resumed, which is often the difference between arriving at your episode and arriving at whatever the last person was watching.
Knowing what is on screen
These devices can report what they are playing, so on supported models the Now Playing dock carries the title, the artwork and the position while an app is running, and the transport controls act on it rather than guessing. Where an app reports nothing at all, MediaPond falls back to what it launched so the dock still shows the right title.
That reporting is also what makes the room dock useful from another room, since you can see that the film in the lounge is forty minutes in without walking through the door.
At a glance
What Android TV & Google TV supports
- A full remote with D-pad, back, home, transport keys and power
- Deep links into apps including Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Max, Crunchyroll, Disney+ and YouTube
- Now Playing with title, artwork and position while an app reports its state
- App launch, including cold starts for apps that resume in the wrong place
- Volume routed to the television or to the room’s speakers
- Keyboard text entry for search boxes
Support covers the Android TV and Google TV models and firmware families MediaPond currently works with, under typical home network conditions. Manufacturers can change, restrict or discontinue the interfaces these features rely on, so what a particular unit accepts can change over time.
Which devices count as Android TV or Google TV?
The Nvidia Shield, Chromecast with Google TV, and televisions that run the platform themselves, including most recent Sony Bravia sets. If the device shows a pairing code when you add a remote, MediaPond can usually drive it.
Why do some apps need a cold start?
Because a few streaming apps resume whatever was last open rather than acting on the title you sent. MediaPond restarts those apps instead of resuming them, which is usually the difference between your episode and someone else’s.
Can it wake the device from sleep?
On supported devices, yes, and MediaPond sends the power key these devices respond to rather than the sleep key that quietly does nothing on Android TV.
Also worth reading
- Sony Bravia TVsGoogle TV · wake, power, input, volume, app launch
- Apple TVtvOS · trackpad remote, now playing, seek
- YouTubeYour feed, sent to the room’s signed-in TV app
Devices and services MediaPond supports · How a room comes up · Questions and answers
Not every device or streaming app supports direct launching. MediaPond makes a good-faith, best-effort attempt to open content in the right app, and falls back to opening the app itself where a direct link is not available. Availability varies by device, app, region, and your subscriptions.
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