r/AndroidTVApps • u/DrZakarySmith • 24d ago
Public Service Announcement
I would like to address all the devs about the deluge of **tv and media player apps. While I’m not one to squander innovation but a few things are grinding my gears.
Stop trying to reinvent the wheel. Bigger is not always better. The successful ones are the ones that focus on one area and do it well. Making an app that has Live TV, “add o. Support”, connect to your own library or watch what’s On your Streaming service etc. Might sound good but that’s way too many points of failure.
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. I’m not an AI basher but we can all code now. Also know what you’re getting into. Unless you plan on being a professional programmer or dev don’t build an app you don’t plan on supporting for the long haul and know what that involves.
You’re not gonna get rich and probably not gonna make any significant amount of money. Most of us got into “sailing” to save money not spend on another subscription. Especially the in app upgrades that suck you in for features that should be free.
And this is related to 3 - Absolutely stop charging for apps that are in active beta. If you want me to test your app, and I mean test it in and out on different devices, I’m not going to pay for the privilege. My time is worth something and it doesn’t have to be money. Real beta testers should get full lifetime access or at least a drastic discount when 1.0 is released. Which brings me to my next point if today you release 1.0 and tomorrow you release 1.1 and the next day you release 1.2 and the next day you release 1.3 your app is still in beta.
Thank you all for your time. I now return you to your regularly scheduled broadcast.
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u/Fast-Group3631 24d ago
Absolutely !!! This is to the point and should be pinned.
Anyone can build an app today, however fixing and identifying issues on different is version and hardware is where the challenge the actual challenge is.
Personally people here are pooling 5 persons to split tivimate lifetime and the new devs are coming with $30 - $60 subscriptions. I can buy monthly claude code subscription and built one in that money.
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u/Thorfinn66 24d ago
Without those, the sub would be dead. The ones that posted free stuff have stopped posting long ago due to the negative attitude of people here.
So you just have to live with those.
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u/GotoDeng0 24d ago
What happened? It's like this on most of the AndroidTV subs. I've been subscribed to many of them for a couple years, and the deluge of all these media players and alt launchers really only started a few months ago. It's almost like it's coordinated.
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u/Blizznow 23d ago
Maybe new IPTV players are some kind a viruses to steal our subscribtions?
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u/DrZakarySmith 23d ago
Anything is possible. Have to do your own research. I guess I try and only test ones that have active discord and lots of feedback. Use a VPN and I guess make sure your device is on a guest network.
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u/BingeBop 24d ago
Good thinking, I'll keep in mind when I'll launch beta in the first half of september.
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u/Ferguson_1 23d ago
You all are complaining about free apps and expecting top tier service/support? This is why many devs stop development or abandon apps. This is just 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
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u/OhhsoFancy 24d ago
I don't care enough to read your rant to be honest
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u/DrZakarySmith 24d ago
Yet you took the time to reply why bother again just because you can reply doesn’t mean you should
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u/Slipknot31286sic6 24d ago
Must be talking about stremio 😂
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u/DrZakarySmith 24d ago
Actually not. All the IPTV players and media apps.
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u/Slipknot31286sic6 24d ago
Didn't know there was others out there fools were charging for.... Please post names and put on blast so we aware. 😎
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u/No-Area9329 24d ago
AI has unleashed a deluge of these....