Google TV · wake, power, input, volume, app launch
Sony Bravia remote app: control your Bravia TV with your phone or tablet
A Bravia is two things at once, a television with a network control interface and, on most recent models, a Google TV device. MediaPond uses both halves, which is part of why a supported Bravia tends to be one of the better behaved screens in the house.*
How MediaPond connects to a Bravia
Bravia televisions keep their network control behind a switch in the set’s own settings. You turn on IP control and authorize MediaPond once, either with a code the television shows on screen or with the key the set generates for you, and from then on the app talks straight to it.
Sony hardware is stricter than most about that first handshake and relaxed about everything after it, so once the set is authorized commands go through without the connection needing to be rebuilt every evening.
The standby problem, handled up front
A Bravia in standby does not idle politely on the network, it leaves it. Nothing can reach the television until it has been woken, which is why many phone remotes appear to fail on the first press of the evening and work perfectly on the second.
MediaPond expects that, so on supported models it sends a wake-over-LAN packet before it tries to say anything else and only then sends the input change or the app launch. From your side that is one tap, with the room coming up in order.
Google TV features on top
Where a Bravia runs Google TV it also picks up what MediaPond does with Google TV devices generally, including deep links into apps such as Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Max, Disney+, Crunchyroll and YouTube, and playback detail in the Now Playing dock with artwork and position.
That combination is the reason a Bravia can be the only box in a room. The television is the display, the streamer and the speaker, and MediaPond drives all three roles from one panel.
At a glance
What Sony Bravia TVs supports
- Wake-over-LAN power on, and power off
- HDMI input switching by name rather than by cycling through them
- Volume and mute, or volume routed to the room’s speakers instead
- App launch, and deep links into a title where the app accepts them
- An adaptive remote with the D-pad, transport, menu and playback keys
- Now Playing with artwork and progress on Google TV models
Support covers the Sony Bravia 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 Bravia models work with MediaPond?
Bravia sets that offer IP control in their network settings, which covers the Android TV and Google TV generations we currently support. Older sets without a network control option cannot be driven over Wi-Fi at all.
Why does my Bravia disappear from the app overnight?
Because it leaves the network in standby. MediaPond expects that and tries a wake-over-LAN packet before sending the first command, so the set is usually back before you notice.
Can it change inputs to my games console?
On supported models, yes. MediaPond switches the television to a named HDMI input, and you can map that input to whatever device is plugged into it so a launch picks the right one.
Also worth reading
- Android TV & Google TVShield, Chromecast · deep links, now playing, cold starts
- LG TVswebOS · wake, power, input, volume, app launch
- Sonos speakersTransport, volume routing, audio format
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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