VUDU on Android-TV and casting problems with new app / Marshmallow

[nimmzwei]

Hi VUDU-support!

1) Are there any plans to bring VUDU to the android-tv platform. I know there is an app for SONY-TVs (running android-tv), but what about us SHIELD and NEXUS users?

2) My Nexus 6 is on Android Marshmallow (6.0) now and has the latest version of the VUDU app. I experience some (casting) issues with this configuration:

- VUDU app often crashes when relaunching
- Owned movies show option to purchase. You then have to wait 5 - 10 secs and it will recognize you actually own the movie.
- Casting is interrupted every view minutes, when the devices that initiated the casting (my Nexus 6) is sleeping (screen off). If you prevent the device from going into sleep mode by keeping the screen on, casting works without problems. I suspect some new DRM is at work here (due to the HDX on Android thing), checking the license of the file being cast every few minutes. If the device is in sleep mode, this takes too long and casting is interrupted.
I already tried to exclude the VUDU app from Marshmallow's new DOZE-feature, but it doesn't matter. I tested on Chromecast and Chromecast 2nd Gen. Both have the same issues. Please fix this! It is annoying as hell!
- Casting VUDU to SHIELD android TV is buggy as hell. Some movies will have wrong aspect ration (not recognizing anamorphic encoding) and there is a serious av-sync problem.

Any help really welcome!

Thank you!

[jjohns]

Re: VUDU on Android-TV and casting problems with new app / Marshmallow

Hi VUDU-support!

1) Are there any plans to bring VUDU to the android-tv platform. I know there is an app for SONY-TVs (running android-tv), but what about us SHIELD and NEXUS users?

2) My Nexus 6 is on Android Marshmallow (6.0) now and has the latest version of the VUDU app. I experience some (casting) issues with this configuration:

- VUDU app often crashes when relaunching
- Owned movies show option to purchase. You then have to wait 5 - 10 secs and it will recognize you actually own the movie.
- Casting is interrupted every view minutes, when the devices that initiated the casting (my Nexus 6) is sleeping (screen off). If you prevent the device from going into sleep mode by keeping the screen on, casting works without problems. I suspect some new DRM is at work here (due to the HDX on Android thing), checking the license of the file being cast every few minutes. If the device is in sleep mode, this takes too long and casting is interrupted.
I already tried to exclude the VUDU app from Marshmallow's new DOZE-feature, but it doesn't matter. I tested on Chromecast and Chromecast 2nd Gen. Both have the same issues. Please fix this! It is annoying as hell!
- Casting VUDU to SHIELD android TV is buggy as hell. Some movies will have wrong aspect ration (not recognizing anamorphic encoding) and there is a serious av-sync problem.

Any help really welcome!

Thank you!

The first two issues I've been seeing as well.

For the third issue, when you say interrupted do you mean it stops completely or that it temporarily pauses like it's buffering? I experienced frequent buffering/pauses on Saturday, but that issue went away yesterday and casting seems fine for me now (even with my mobile device asleep). I'm using the new 2nd generation Chromecast and Nexus 6 & 7 (both on Marshmallow).

I'm not sure about the Android TV problems (my Nexus Player went into storage once I got the new Chromecast), but I wonder if it's possibly related to this?

http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/10...-apk-download/

[danglin709]

Re: VUDU on Android-TV and casting problems with new app / Marshmallow

The first two issues I've been seeing as well.

For the third issue, when you say interrupted do you mean it stops completely or that it temporarily pauses like it's buffering? I experienced frequent buffering/pauses on Saturday, but that issue went away yesterday and casting seems fine for me now (even with my mobile device asleep). I'm using the new 2nd generation Chromecast and Nexus 6 & 7 (both on Marshmallow).

I'm not sure about the Android TV problems (my Nexus Player went into storage once I got the new Chromecast), but I wonder if it's possibly related to this?

http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/10...-apk-download/

That second issue happens accross most all devices i see it on my Poku 3 and Streaming Stick also i see it on the PC and using PS3 as well

[nimmzwei]

Re: VUDU on Android-TV and casting problems with new app / Marshmallow

@interrupting: The streaming doesn't abord, it just shows the rotating circle as though it was buffering. On the Chromecast 2nd gen it goes away much faster (1 sec) than on the Chromecast 1gen (2-4sec). When the movie resumes playback it has skipped a second or so.

What leads me to believe that this due to drm is the simple fact, that it can be avoided by keeping the source device awake. Also the VUDU app on the Chromecast was very buffer-issue-sensitive in the past. WHEN buffering issues actually occured, after 3 or 4 times it would automatically switch to a lower quality setting. This doesn't happen here.

Only a few weeks back, Google fixed an issue with Google Play Music and Chromecast, where playback on the Chromecast would stop, because the source device lost the connection to the WIFI network (which happens e.g. when the device goes into sleep mode). It could be the same problem, that VUDU is now facing AND / OR new license requirements for HDX playback on Android.
I'll bet the lag with displaying your owned movies is because now the app has to talk to the license server everytime you launch it to ensure everything is legit. While the old one had some kind of security token, that was valid for a very long time, after you logged in.

Concerning the AP article: Yes, I'm aware of that! But thanks!

Concerning the Shield ATV: It doesn't happen with every movie. It seems though, that more recent releases tend not to work, where as titles that have been on VUDU forever, work.
Another "funny" side effect: Not only is the aspect ratio not properly recognized, but the movie runs at 2x or faster with high pitched audio...

[jjohns]

Re: VUDU on Android-TV and casting problems with new app / Marshmallow

@interrupting: The streaming doesn't abord, it just shows the rotating circle as though it was buffering. On the Chromecast 2nd gen it goes away much faster (1 sec) than on the Chromecast 1gen (2-4sec). When the movie resumes playback it has skipped a second or so.

What leads me to believe that this due to drm is the simple fact, that it can be avoided by keeping the source device awake. Also the VUDU app on the Chromecast was very buffer-issue-sensitive in the past. WHEN buffering issues actually occured, after 3 or 4 times it would automatically switch to a lower quality setting. This doesn't happen here.

Ok, yeah this is exactly the same issue I was having on Saturday.

It would appear to depend on the movie or tv show being watched. I watched several things yesterday and didn't experience any significant interruptions and the few times it did buffer the stream degraded to a lower quality as expected.

However, I just tried streaming one of the titles that I was having problems with on Saturday [Batman (1989)] and I'm once again seeing the frequent interruptions and skipping ahead a few seconds when it resumes.

Hopefully we'll get a fix for this before too long. Thanks for the tip about the interruptions not occurring if the screen is kept on! Useful work-around until there's a more permanent fix.

[jjohns]

Re: VUDU on Android-TV and casting problems with new app / Marshmallow

Ok, yeah this is exactly the same issue I was having on Saturday.

It would appear to depend on the movie or tv show being watched. I watched several things yesterday and didn't experience any significant interruptions and the few times it did buffer the stream degraded to a lower quality as expected.

However, I just tried streaming one of the titles that I was having problems with on Saturday [Batman (1989)] and I'm once again seeing the frequent interruptions and skipping ahead a few seconds when it resumes.

Hopefully we'll get a fix for this before too long. Thanks for the tip about the interruptions not occurring if the screen is kept on! Useful work-around until there's a more permanent fix.

Unfortunately, leaving the screen on doesn't appear to be making a difference in my case. I'm still seeing interruptions and skipping on Batman even with my Nexus 6 on the charger with the screen left on.

[nimmzwei]

Re: VUDU on Android-TV and casting problems with new app / Marshmallow

I'll try again today. Perhaps it was just a VERY lucky coincidence?!

Here is another observation:

- Streaming recent releases seems to work much smoother than streaming "old" stuff.
- I tried to watch "Shawshank Redemption" and "Cliffhanger" and both had the interrupt issue.
- "Jurassic World" and "Inside out" on the other hand worked quite well.

This could mean:

- The issues are caused by VUDUs load-balancing. The old stuff just doesn't get the bandwidth / resources it needs

I know its all wild speculation at this point, but I think making people aware of the fact, that there are issues atm is already a good thing.

If you have similar issues, please post here and share your experience!

[jjohns]

Re: VUDU on Android-TV and casting problems with new app / Marshmallow

I'll try again today. Perhaps it was just a VERY lucky coincidence?!

Here is another observation:

- Streaming recent releases seems to work much smoother than streaming "old" stuff.
- I tried to watch "Shawshank Redemption" and "Cliffhanger" and both had the interrupt issue.
- "Jurassic World" and "Inside out" on the other hand worked quite well.

This could mean:

- The issues are caused by VUDUs load-balancing. The old stuff just doesn't get the bandwidth / resources it needs

I know its all wild speculation at this point, but I think making people aware of the fact, that there are issues atm is already a good thing.

If you have similar issues, please post here and share your experience!

Interesting. You may be on to something there!

So far, the only title I had found that streamed smoothly (excluding SD titles, which seem ok) was You Don't Mess With The Zohan (Unrated), which only recently got released in HDX.

I'm testing Inside Out right now and will try Jurassic World afterwards, to see if they play smoothly for me too. I've yet to see any interruptions yet on Inside Out, so looking good!

After that, I'll test some other movies to try and find the most recent release in my collection that exhibits the problem.

[jjohns]

Re: VUDU on Android-TV and casting problems with new app / Marshmallow

Interesting. You may be on to something there!

So far, the only title I had found that streamed smoothly (excluding SD titles, which seem ok) was You Don't Mess With The Zohan (Unrated), which only recently got released in HDX.

I'm testing Inside Out right now and will try Jurassic World afterwards, to see if they play smoothly for me too. I've yet to see any interruptions yet on Inside Out, so looking good!

After that, I'll test some other movies to try and find the most recent release in my collection that exhibits the problem.

Inside Out streamed all the way through for me without interruptions.

I'm still testing, but here's what I've found so far:

The oldest release in my collection that streams smoothly would appear to be the theatrical release of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. I streamed the first 15 minutes of it and saw no interruptions.

The next oldest movies in my collection are The Hunger Games: Mockingjay (Part 1) and Big Hero 6. Both of those movies experienced interruptions within minutes of starting the stream.

[nimmzwei]

Re: VUDU on Android-TV and casting problems with new app / Marshmallow

Thanks jjohns for testing! I'll give Big Hero 6 a go today and tell you what I find.

[Banetbc]

Re: VUDU on Android-TV and casting problems with new app / Marshmallow

While most of this thread has been troubleshooting, I would like to add my voice to requesting a native Android TV app(Nexus Player in particular). It would be nice to have this application directly on the Nexus Player instead of having to worry about potential casting issues (although I'd be fine with the casting working 100% as well).

[nimmzwei]

Re: VUDU on Android-TV and casting problems with new app / Marshmallow

The casting problems with older release still exist. I tried to cast "Jaws" yesterday and had interruptions every 2 min. or so.

@VUDU support: Is this registered as an actual problem? Are you looking into it?

[MaxH]

Re: VUDU on Android-TV and casting problems with new app / Marshmallow

@VUDU support: Is this registered as an actual problem?

Have you filed a ticket?

[jjohns]

Re: VUDU on Android-TV and casting problems with new app / Marshmallow

The casting problems with older release still exist. I tried to cast "Jaws" yesterday and had interruptions every 2 min. or so.

@VUDU support: Is this registered as an actual problem? Are you looking into it?

FWIW, this casting issue appears to affect the iOS app also. I just tried casting an older movie with my iPad and experienced the same frequent interruptions and skipping ahead a few seconds on resume. The problem went away after changing the stream quality to HD instead of HDX. The Android app really needs the ability to change stream quality when casting...

[nimmzwei]

Re: VUDU on Android-TV and casting problems with new app / Marshmallow

I couldn't resist the $14.99 offer on the latest "Terminator" and watched it yesterday. New release = flawless streaming on Chromecast in HDX... do the theory still holds.

I think, that the issues with casting OLDER releases on Chromecast and the issues with casting NEW releases to the NVIDIA Shield are somehow related - both show A/V-sync problems.

@ticket. Thanks for the reminder. Done!