Database Users

CNN and Xfinity Apps

Just got a new N7 2013 32gb from Best Buy to replace my existing N7 16 gb and while the new one is definitely better in almost every way, the CNN and Xfinity apps do not seem to work at present. None of the videos on CNN or the Live TV feature work, they just say 'Video Not Available' when trying to play a video. Xfinity app also just shows a blank screen when trying to play a video. Both of these apps work fine on the older N7.
Thankfully Netflix seems to work just fine. I came across a few posts on android central about CNN not working with the new N7 too.
Any one else experienced the same or knows a fix for this? This seems to be an app level issue : may be they need to be updated for 4.3 / N7 but if there is workaround, that would be great. The Live TV feature on CNN is particularly useful and would be great to have it back.

sidm2k9 said:
Just got a new N7 2013 32gb from Best Buy to replace my existing N7 16 gb and while the new one is definitely better in almost every way, the CNN and Xfinity apps do not seem to work at present. None of the videos on CNN or the Live TV feature work, they just say 'Video Not Available' when trying to play a video. Xfinity app also just shows a blank screen when trying to play a video. Both of these apps work fine on the older N7.
Thankfully Netflix seems to work just fine. I came across a few posts on android central about CNN not working with the new N7 too.
Any one else experienced the same or knows a fix for this? This seems to be an app level issue : may be they need to be updated for 4.3 / N7 but if there is workaround, that would be great. The Live TV feature on CNN is particularly useful and would be great to have it back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Update: Just downloaded a 720p mkv file and I get no audio using BS Player Pro or ES Video Player on the new nexus but the same files plays back without issue on the older n7. This is disappointing to say the least, looks like some codecs are missing on this new device. To be clear my older N7 was rooted but that was it, everything else was stock. This may be an issue with 4.3 or a S4Pro vs Tegra 3 issue with the S4 missing some audio codec support.
Will have to hang on to the old one for a while it seems as the new one still has kinks that need to be resolved.

I just used the Xfinity app on my unlocked and rooted new Nexus 7. Worked fine for me.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

Xfinity App works fine for me, both downloaded and streamed content. Watch ESPN also worked, but Watch ABC seems to be hit our miss.
CNN App does not work.
Sent from my Nexus 7

Ok, xfinity started working for me after clearing the data and restarting the app, doing the same for CNN did nothing as it still does not work.
This is not something that root and unlocking can fix so not really inclined to do that right now.
The audio on the 720p mkv file so far only works with vplayer , an obscure media player that I found on the play store. Hoping BSPlayer will update their player for Nexus 7 soon.

Ok, so it turned out the latest version of BS Player 1.9.152 removed DTS/AC3 support because of licensing issues with Dolby, so had to manually downgrade to .151 through an apk posted online ( I own the pro license). If anyone uses BSPlayer (best media player in my book) please keep that in mind. So right now the only remaining issue is the CNN app, hope they fix it sooner than the 6 months+ they took to officially support the original N7 and another 3 months before live streaming was added.
Update: The CNN app on the play store states that they are aware of the issues with 4.3 and are working on fix, hope that comes soon.

[Q] No sound for embedded YouTube videos in 4.4 Chrome?

Since updating to 4.4, I'm having an odd problem. When visiting sites in Chrome that have embedded YouTube videos (forums, blogs, etc), I can play the video but no sound comes through. I can open the YT app and play the video normally. I downloaded Dolphin Browser and videos play fine.
I tried switching over to ART and back to Dalvik. Made no difference either way. Also tried clearing default applications in case video playback was somehow tied to an app that wasn't fully 4.4-compatible.
Anyone else having the same problem?
As a side issue - I can't interact with the like/dislike/share icons at the top of the video. Is this also a common thing?

having the same issue: embedded youtube videos on chrome browser does not have audio.
did not update bootloader, sideloaded odexed 4.4

sometimesido said:
having the same issue: embedded youtube videos on chrome browser does not have audio.
did not update bootloader, sideloaded odexed 4.4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I should note that as well - I sideloaded - I did not get OTA.

As an experiment I went ahead and did the nuclear option - restoring to the factory image that just got released. Good news, that did the trick and videos in Chrome are now behaving.
Bad news...now I have to wait for all my apps to restore

Weird. Wiped, updated boot loader, flashed deodexed and now it is working.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app

[Q] Issues Casting to Nexus Player (Starz/Showtime/Sling)

I can cast most things. But Slingbox, Showtime, and Starz are having issues casting to Nexus Player.
The other Chromecasts I have in the house work perfectly fine with these 3 apps. But casting to Nexus Player doesn't work for those apps.
Anyone else having these issues?
Edit: I am using an iPhone 6

I came to post the exact same thing! Showtime and starz both don't cast to nexus player. I tried using different frequencies on wifi and used a USB to ethernet adapter on player until I finally tried the apps to my chromecast with no issues. This is a major bummer! I also noticed that when casting HBO GO voice wasn't in sync with video. Nexus Player is definitely buggy hopefully they push out a bug squashing update soon.

ok. Well at least it's not just me. I posted on google forums as well. Maybe a google employee will see it? Hopefully they know about it.
Are you on android? Don't think it's an OS thing...
I also tried it from starzplay.com to nexus player. That doesn't work either. So I think it is a problem with nexus player casting. Some bug fix is needed.

Funny I have an app that works when casting to a nexus player but not on chromecast. Seems like there is more to the googlecast protocol than I thought. I thought the implementation would be the same on all devices.
Sent from my Nexus 5

I can add casting chrome desktop doesn't work to the Nexus Player either. I get a black screen (just like with showtime app). Again works perfectly fine with chromecast. I hope this gets resolved soon. Another thing I noticed is the HDMI-CEC. I can cast things to the player and it will turn on the player but it doesn't change input if the TV is currently on like the chromecast does.
Devices I've used with same results are Nexus 5 (lollipop), 10(kit kat), and Acer Chromebook 13.

vudu showtime anytime abc all dont work properly, yet android and windows screen mirroring and windows chrome tab casting works much better, i was able to sideload hbogo, maxgo, showtimeanytime, and vudu ....which can all be used with a mouse and keyboard combo like the logitech k400 as long as you have a microusb otg to usb hub

Netflix via Chrome wasn't working for me
I had problems last night getting Netflix to load from my OS X box running Chrome. I clicked the Cast button in Netflix and I just got the spinning/loading icon. I then went to the Chrome Cast Extension, and "no devices found" showed up. When I went to Youtube, the Chrome Cast Extension showed the device.
I haven't tried restarting browser, but just wanted to see if anyone else was having similar issues.

I am also experiencing the same issue with Slingplayer on my iPhone 6. The cast icon appears within the player of the Slingplayer app, and my Nexus Player shows up as the cast device. However, when I select the Nexus Player, I just get an endless spinning/loading icon.

Also having some casting issues!
Previously had a Chromecast and everything I had worked great with it.
With the Nexus Player though, I have two apps that don't even give me the option to cast anymore (Vudu, Disney Movies Anywhere). It is like they don't "see" the Nexus Player as a cast capable device. Every other app I have works fine (Netflix, YouTube, Flixster, Twitch, Google Play Movies, etc).
So is the Googlecast part of the Nexus Player just different enough that apps written specifically for the Chromecast don't work with it or what?

Orbiting234 said:
Also having some casting issues!
So is the Googlecast part of the Nexus Player just different enough that apps written specifically for the Chromecast don't work with it or what?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The guy who developed the Videostream app pretty much said exactly what you said. They are not exactly the same. Unfortunate because I bought the Nexus Player for it's casting feature over Wifi AC and it turns out it doesn't work for the main website I want it to work for.

Solving Google Cast to Nexus Player Issue.
HI there,
Issue: the Chrome cast app in the Google Chrome browser no longer 'finds' the Nexus Player (Windows 8.1).
Fix: 1) Unistall the Chrome cast app in the browser.
2) Navigate to your AppDate file in the Windows user folder (view, shown hidden files etc.)
3) Find and delete the Chrome Cast app data.
4) Reinstall the Chrome Cast app in the browser.
Finding the app data in step 3), above can be a chore, as it will depend on your particular Chrome browser's configuration. You may need to go to other Windows or Google forums to learn how to locate the file.
Cheers.

Nexus Player Cast useless

Hi!
I was going the get me a second Chromecast, but went for the Nexus Player instead.
This was a huge mistake. The cast function is useless. It does not work the same way as the Chromecast.
I have tested HBO Nordic, the picture gets all distorted. Then I tested CanalDigital Go (Norwegian tv distributor), here the audio is out of sync with picture.
Both these apps works great on a Chromecast. The Nexus player is up to date, have tried factory reset
Anyone with similar problems?

Being from Canada i can't test those apps unfortunately. However in my experience, casting to my Nexus Player is MUCH MUCH MUCH better than to my Chromecast. Unfortunately it seems that a lot of people have the same issue as you

I, too, can't speak about the apps OP mentioned. But like koperniczx3, I also find the Nexus Player to work MUCH better than Chromecast.

Exakt same problem with HBO Nordic on Nexus player. Distorted picture every few seconds. I so wish I had bought a second chromecast instead
Works perfekt on chromecast.

Just sideload those apps to the nexus and you wont have to cast.....or load lollirock on it and just install from the playstore
Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

Same issue here, new start-up called "iflix" just available where I live. Able to cast to chromecast, but not available on Nexus Player. Maybe the DRM is why it won't work. Only hope is either dev fix the casting (to nexus player) , or release tv version.

I haven't noticed any major problems with casting to the Nexus Player. The only issue I can think of is that the Chromecast plugin for ES File Explorer doesn't seem to work with the Nexus Player but I've already emailed the app developer about it. Google occasionally releases software updates through Google Play to improve the casting feature on Android TV devices. If you use the Hulu app to cast from your phone or tablet to a Nexus Player with AdAway installed, this actually works surprisingly well because it even skips the video ads.

Nexus Cast not working properly
Svimmel said:
Hi!
I was going the get me a second Chromecast, but went for the Nexus Player instead.
This was a huge mistake. The cast function is useless. It does not work the same way as the Chromecast.
I have tested HBO Nordic, the picture gets all distorted. Then I tested CanalDigital Go (Norwegian tv distributor), here the audio is out of sync with picture.
Both these apps works great on a Chromecast. The Nexus player is up to date, have tried factory reset
Anyone with similar problems?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am having same issue. Casting work well with google products but other apps it works well with chromecast but when I cast from same app to nexus player it doesnt work at all. Example of apps (CTV GO, Lynda, Plualsight) they all work well with chromecast but not with nexus player cast.

Svimmel said:
Hi!
I was going the get me a second Chromecast, but went for the Nexus Player instead.
This was a huge mistake. The cast function is useless. It does not work the same way as the Chromecast.
I have tested HBO Nordic, the picture gets all distorted. Then I tested CanalDigital Go (Norwegian tv distributor), here the audio is out of sync with picture.
Both these apps works great on a Chromecast. The Nexus player is up to date, have tried factory reset
Anyone with similar problems?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only time I have noticed casting to work better on a Chromecast is with casting a screen. The apps I use either work the same, or better on the Nexus Player. But sideloading and having the app on the Nexus Player is so much better than casting anyways. But some people are more technically advanced than others. You have to control these apps with a mouse but to get around that, just use Droidmote. This Nexus Player has been the staple in our living room and we love it.

I have had both a chromecast and nexus player. (currently posting this on my nexus player with a logitech k400 plus) I have found that casting works way better for me on my Nexus Player. On my chromecast it would drop off constantly, and video quality would go down so I would stop and restart the app/video to get it good again. I have had zero problems casting to my Nexus Player. I cast from my Nexus 6. Although I don't cast nearly as much as I use to being HBO GO is now fully supported and available on the App Store. That was the main thing I casted. I still cast Fox Now, Watch ABC, NBC, CBS and FX Now. I never have any issues. It sounds like a problem more so related to the apps you are casting.

Vudu on the Nexus Player

I really like the Nexus Player but I need to be able to use Vudu. I have over 200 movies and if I can't use Vudu then it is not worth it for me.
That being said I have tried sideloading the latest APK from apkmirror.com and it keeps says I need to restart the app 20 seconds into every movie.
Can someone help me find a solution?
Thanks!

Are you downloading the Android TV version from apkmirror? I haven't tried in a while, but I was using the sideloaded apk from my MiBox on my Nexus Player and it was running fine. It also runs fine on the Fire TV. If you can't get it working, there's always casting. Vudu can be cast to the Nexus Player as if it were a chromecast.

Y2Bogus said:
Are you downloading the Android TV version from apkmirror? I haven't tried in a while, but I was using the sideloaded apk from my MiBox on my Nexus Player and it was running fine. It also runs fine on the Fire TV. If you can't get it working, there's always casting. Vudu can be cast to the Nexus Player as if it were a chromecast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After checking again, I can confirm that the most recent vudu for Android TV app crashes about 10 seconds into video on the NP. That's terribly disappointing. The fact that the crash occurs so consistently in the exact same spot leads me to wonder if this isn't an intentional check in the app that causes it to halt on the NP.
I wonder if anyone can look into the app and see what exactly is happening.

Y2Bogus said:
Are you downloading the Android TV version from apkmirror? I haven't tried in a while, but I was using the sideloaded apk from my MiBox on my Nexus Player and it was running fine. It also runs fine on the Fire TV. If you can't get it working, there's always casting. Vudu can be cast to the Nexus Player as if it were a chromecast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What version of the Vudu app did you have on your NP that works? I tried several with no success (see below).
Y2Bogus said:
After checking again, I can confirm that the most recent vudu for Android TV app crashes about 10 seconds into video on the NP. That's terribly disappointing. The fact that the crash occurs so consistently in the exact same spot leads me to wonder if this isn't an intentional check in the app that causes it to halt on the NP.
I wonder if anyone can look into the app and see what exactly is happening.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am seeing the same thing. I went back and installed older versions of the app and it did the same, crashed after a few seconds. Going further back (4.1.10 and 4.1.7) and the app wouldn't even open. Though I never tried before now I thought Vudu did work on the NP at some point (pretty sure someone told me 4.1.7 did).
I guess I have to stick with my Roku for Vudu.

bru20 said:
What version of the Vudu app did you have on your NP that works? I tried several with no success (see below).
I am seeing the same thing. I went back and installed older versions of the app and it did the same, crashed after a few seconds. Going further back (4.1.10 and 4.1.7) and the app wouldn't even open. Though I never tried before now I thought Vudu did work on the NP at some point (pretty sure someone told me 4.1.7 did).
I guess I have to stick with my Roku for Vudu.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to install the APK without any issues on my NP and it showed up as a app on home screen, but I was not able to log in, though I tried several times and was certain I made no mistakes entering my password.

CEG3rd said:
I was able to install the APK without any issues on my NP and it showed up as a app on home screen, but I was not able to log in, though I tried several times and was certain I made no mistakes entering my password.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Recently with the current version? When I did it a few days ago I could log in fine. Just couldn't play anything without it crashing.
Very frustrating that the same apk works on the Amazon Fire TV, Shield, Mii Box and probably many others. But not on Google's own Android TV player. Someone said it was a licensing issue, with Vudu not wanting Google to have it. Didn't make sense to me. If that's the case why would they allow Amazon?

bru20 said:
Recently with the current version? When I did it a few days ago I could log in fine. Just couldn't play anything without it crashing.
Very frustrating that the same apk works on the Amazon Fire TV, Shield, Mii Box and probably many others. But not on Google's own Android TV player. Someone said it was a licensing issue, with Vudu not wanting Google to have it. Didn't make sense to me. If that's the case why would they allow Amazon?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure it's the latest Android TV version. VUDU comes installed on Mi Box and works perfectly. I think I tried installing it on a fire TV box a while back and it failed. , though in my experience Shield, which I can't afford, aside fire TV is the most complete streamer I've used. I have a Roku Ultra and a 1st and 2nd gen fire TV boxes and my first choice is the gen 1 box, because it has optical out. I'm enjoying playing with my NP, but fire TV is reliable and dependable. I tried the Mi Box and at first I thought it might be superior to the NP, but after a few days I decided it is not, except of course for VUDU.

CEG3rd said:
I'm sure it's the latest Android TV version. VUDU comes installed on Mi Box and works perfectly. I think I tried installing it on a fire TV box a while back and it failed. , though in my experience Shield, which I can't afford, aside fire TV is the most complete streamer I've used. I have a Roku Ultra and a 1st and 2nd gen fire TV boxes and my first choice is the gen 1 box, because it has optical out. I'm enjoying playing with my NP, but fire TV is reliable and dependable. I tried the Mi Box and at first I thought it might be superior to the NP, but after a few days I decided it is not, except of course for VUDU.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The current Vudu apk works fine on his Amazon Fire according to a friend but I'm not sure which gen he has. Even though its useless I still have it on the NP and I just logged in fine. Love the irony of the message: "Success! You're now ready to enjoy VUDU on your Android TV device. blah, blah". No I'm not. "Encountered problems during playback. Please restart VUDU and try again."

bru20 said:
The current Vudu apk works fine on his Amazon Fire according to a friend but I'm not sure which gen he has. Even though its useless I still have it on the NP and I just logged in fine. Love the irony of the message: "Success! You're now ready to enjoy VUDU on your Android TV device. blah, blah". No I'm not. "Encountered problems during playback. Please restart VUDU and try again."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting and thanks for the tip. I just used the same APK 4.1.20.46605 to install VUDU on a fire TV and it worked perfectly. Maybe I used the wrong form of APK before.
And ...... was just able to log into VUDU on my NP for some dang reason, but I ran into the same issue of not being to really use it. On both of my fire TV's it works as it should.

I've tested using versions 4.1.13, 4.1.15 and 4.1.20. All install, log in and open fine. I get that same error reported above when I try to stream in HDX quality. However, switching the stream quality to SD works perfectly. Not ideal, but it does work. Does anyone know if perhaps VUDU's HDX quality stream contains a codec or something that's incompatible with the Nexus Player?
Side note, 4.1.20 seems to be a bit glitchy (artifacts during playback), but the previous two mentioned seem to operate perfectly stable (aside from the HDX crash).
Can also confirm every VUDU Android TV .apk version from 4.1.13 and up work fine on my Fire TV Stick 2nd Gen; HDX streams and all.
EDIT: Could it perhaps be that the VUDU Android TV app only comes in an ARM version and may not be optimized for x86 architecture?

Kaiyo Droid said:
I've tested using versions 4.1.13, 4.1.15 and 4.1.20. All install, log in and open fine. I get that same error reported above when I try to stream in HDX quality. However, switching the stream quality to SD works perfectly. Not ideal, but it does work. Does anyone know if perhaps VUDU's HDX quality stream contains a codec or something that's incompatible with the Nexus Player?
Side note, 4.1.20 seems to be a bit glitchy (artifacts during playback), but the previous two mentioned seem to operate perfectly stable (aside from the HDX crash).
Can also confirm every VUDU Android TV .apk version from 4.1.13 and up work fine on my Fire TV Stick 2nd Gen; HDX streams and all.
EDIT: Could it perhaps be that the VUDU Android TV app only comes in an ARM version and may not be optimized for x86 architecture?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just about gave up on this but just installed the latest Vudu Android TV app (4.1.21.51938) and it appears to work on the Nexus Player.
lmk if you or anyone else finds the same.

I'm guessing no one is even interested in this anymore? I didn't use Vudu on the NP in ages but it did previously work with the version above. Unfortunately I had to update and now its back to not working, encounters a problem during playback. Can't even get it to play in SD as it force closes too fast. Sucks that Vudu works on Amazon Fire, Nvidia, etc but not on Nexus Player.

Had to update again (4.45) and now I can't even log in. Such a shame that people can sideload the same apk on Fire TV and it works fine.

The Oct 1st version is working on my NP.

jblaylock said:
The Oct 1st version is working on my NP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
4.2.53.116291? Not for me. Same issue as always, try to play an HDX video and it "encounters problems during playback" and kicks me out. SD appears to play fine, as it previously did. But like before I can only play SD if I own it in SD. Anything HDX theres no way to switch to SD (Watch HDX is the only option). And I wouldn't want to watch in SD anyway.
Do you get HDX to play? If so did you do anything special? So stupid how so many apps don't work on the NP. And now with people's getting bricked for no reason this thing is really useless.

bru20 said:
4.2.53.116291? Not for me. Same issue as always, try to play an HDX video and it "encounters problems during playback" and kicks me out. SD appears to play fine, as it previously did. But like before I can only play SD if I own it in SD. Anything HDX theres no way to switch to SD (Watch HDX is the only option). And I wouldn't want to watch in SD anyway.
Do you get HDX to play? If so did you do anything special? So stupid how so many apps don't work on the NP. And now with people's getting bricked for no reason this thing is really useless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't try any HDX, I'll try that tonight.
Yeah, I hate that Google has abandoned it. I also have a Mi Box and the newer Mi Box S. Those are working great, and I may be replacing the NP soon.

jblaylock said:
I didn't try any HDX, I'll try that tonight.
Yeah, I hate that Google has abandoned it. I also have a Mi Box and the newer Mi Box S. Those are working great, and I may be replacing the NP soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll bet you can't get HDX to work, but lmk either way please.
As for the NP itself I'll pass along what everyone tells me when I say no apps work, "It's not Google's fault, its the app developer's fault, they gave up on it." Whatever the reason, its disappointing.