Android TV 3.5.X stability

(Android TV 10 (QTS1.210311.005.7231359); Channels DVR 3.5.0; Google Chromecast with Google TV)

Perhaps it is because I have my main Channels client on external adopted storage, but the 3.5.0 release of Channels for Android TV has been far more unstable than any release I recall. I usually have a full app crash at least once a day (but sometimes as many as 5 or more times). Also, I have noticed that less-than-perfect TVE streams cause more problems than in the past with the video player freezing/crashing. (This is usually caused by missed segments, or timestamp issues at commercial boundaries; but whichever the cause, the effect on the client is worse with the current release version that previous releases.)

Is this a known issue, or is my experience unique? I have submitted diagnostics from the app when I remember, but they don't encompass the full experience. If this is a known-and-addressed issue, I would be willing to put the main device on a beta release of the client until a new stable is available with the fix, but that isn't my first choice. Mostly I'm just curious if I am the only one noticing lack of stability with the current "stable" release.

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The crashes I'm seeing from your user are fixed in the beta AFAICT

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Thanks for the head's up.

The picture-in-picture is problematic and has caused crashes for me on both the beta and non-beta.

Too unreliable and needs usability tweaked to be truly useful so I've disabled for now.

We're releasing 3.5.1 today with the stability fixes.

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While the update seems to have fixed some of the crashes, it has not resolved them all. I am frequently getting crashes that seem to be brought about by the video player trying to recover from decoding errors when there are issues or interruptions with TVE streams.

(I've submitted several crash reports over the past several days when this has occurred, so hopefully some more insight can be gleaned.)

Edit: Also, I'm not sure if it's related, but with 3.5.1, I've noticed the focus bug when paging through the guide has returned. When paging through, sometimes the grid loses focus, and you need to press Back to open the sidebar, and then move Right to bring focus back to the grid

Uploading new beta apk now with a possible fixed based on your diagnostics.

I'll give the beta a try (106.5.2000) to see how it goes.

(Took me experimenting with enabling Developer Mode on the CCGTV in order to allow sideloading apps. I don't know when Google added this restriction, but I don't recall this being the case previously.

As an aside, the new Rearrange mode in On Now is quite "wonky" ... the shaking tiles case the UI to slow, and makes rearranging channels much more annoying than it used to be. I know this is more Apple-like, but I preferred the old method. Also, why does the menu still list Record as the option when all it does is open the Details modal? Shouldn't it be renamed as Details or Info instead?)

After testing with the latest beta, it looks like it's a separate bug, as the guide focus issue still persists.

While some of the issues that led to crashes may have been resolved, it's clear that not all of them have. I'm still experiencing crashes at least once a day it seems, and sometimes much more frequently.

It seems to be when skipping forward or resuming from pause that the crashes occur. However, it's not just the video player that crashes, as it causes the app to restart; I would hope that a simple video player issue would cause the app to return to the previous screen, not fully crash.

After updating to the latest beta, these same issues are still occurring. While sending items to the trash no longer seems to crash the app, the video player still has frequent problems with pause/skipping live streams leading to freezes/crashes.

Please capture and email a bug report to support

https://developer.android.com/studio/debug/bug-report

I just submitted a crash report from within Channels. Next time the crash occurs, I'll grab a bug report and submit it. Thanks for the quick response, Aman.

The crash reports have not been helpful. Hopefully the android bug report shows what's happening.

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