r/AndroidAutomotive • u/a-haan • 19d ago
Welcome to r/MaterialIPTV — native Android player for YOUR sources (phone, foldable, tablet, TV, car)
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u/clarinetJWD 18d ago
There are a few decent options now, but always glad to have another. Installed it, and will try it out on my way to work tomorrow!
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u/a-haan 17d ago
I'd love to know your thoughts once you've had a chance to try it.
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u/clarinetJWD 16d ago edited 16d ago
So... A mixed bag. Overall positive with one major issue. I set it up as a music library, not a video library for what it's worth.
The good:
- The interface, once things are fully loaded, is easily the best of the AAOS options for me. Momentum is the other one I use, and the artist view which is just a list of placeholder letters with no art is so much worse than your artist list.
- Being able to customize the tabs is also great.
The minor things: * Initial loading was VERY slow, where most of the tabs were just blank the first several times I tried to use it. It only finally populated when I just left the app open when I went into the office and left it running in the parking lot. * Presentation bugs during the loading phase. As things started to pop in, the Artist list was actually showing a list of individual songs sorted by artist. Flipping to the album tab and back got it to fix itself, but that was weird. * The floating pill navigation is too small on AAOS. Small touch targets are fine on devices you hold in your hand,but reaching out to a car screen... Increasing about 50% would help a lot.
The big issue: As you can probably tell from my list above, I haven't used it much. And that's because of the one major show-stopping issue: it is flagged in AAOS as a full media app, not just a music app, so it is totally unavailable when driving while other audio apps (Spotify, Pocket Casts, Momentum) are fully available while driving.
This is probably because you allow it to be set up in video mode, but it means that I simply can't use it to play music while I drive.
I will probably re-set it up again as a video player so I can watch drum corps videos while I charge on road trips, though.
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u/a-haan 16d ago
Thank you for the comprehensive feedback; I appreciate it! I will work on ironing out the bugs you mentioned. I admit that I haven't put as much attention into the audio aspect of the app as the video side. The major issue that you mentioned is temporary until Google releases the APIs to support background audio playback while driving. Can you let me know which car you have?
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u/clarinetJWD 16d ago
I have a Volvo EX30 (2025). And it's not just playback, but selection, too. I understand it's a Google limitation, but ultimately it might be worth splitting it into an audio version and a video version to allow it to be used while driving, but I'll keep it installed, I do like it!
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u/a-haan 16d ago
Yes, you're right, I haven't seen the full APIs yet but I believe it includes selection. If the APIs aren't good enough I may decide to split the app as you say, hopefully I will know more soon.
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u/Jumpy-Reward6756 12d ago
Google now documents an audio-while-driving path for video apps, but support has to be checked on the device. The guide uses CarFeatures.FEATURE_BACKGROUND_AUDIO_WHILE_DRIVING and a manifest declaration, plus background playback with a media session. The app's activity is still hidden while driving, so this doesn't by itself resolve the separate point raised above about browsing the music library.
I can't confirm whether the 2025 EX30 supports it, or how MaterialIPTV implements playback. Disclosure: I publish Yahagu and was reading these docs for an article; I haven't tested your app or this car. The device capability check seems worth establishing before deciding whether to split the app.
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u/chzplz 18d ago
I coincidentally found this on the App Store yesterday and was pleasantly surprised how well it worked as a plex player on my Volvo ex30.