Android Player

It is possible to launch an external Android player (VLC, MX Player & Co.) via a system action (system:tvx:launch or system:tvx:launch:{APP_ID}) and to handle the results (e.g. the last video/audio position) via an application event (app:result). This API is available in Media Station X version 0.1.136 or higher for all Android and FireTV devices.

Note: Please note that iOS devices also support the TVX system actions. However, the syntax for launching external applications is different (e.g. the {APP_ID} part must be replaced with an URL, for Android devices it must be replaced with a package name). Additionally, iOS devices do not support extra data, but it is possible to set a request ID to check if the application could be launched.

Syntax[edit]

{
    "action": "system:tvx:launch:com.example.app",
    "data": {
        "id": "request_id",
        "uri": "http://link.to.media",
        "type": "video/*",
        "component": {
            "package": "com.example.app",
            "class": "com.example.app.player"
        },
        "extra": {
            "extra_string": "Value",        
            "extra_boolean": true,
            "extra_int": 1,
            "extra_long": 1234567890123,
            "extra_double": 1.1,
            "extra_string_array": ["Value 1", "Value 2", "Value 3"],
            "extra_boolean_array": [true, false, true],
            "extra_int_array": [1, 2, 3],
            "extra_long_array": [1234567890123, 1234567890123, 1234567890123],
            "extra_double_array": [1.1, 2.2, 3.3],        
            "extra_uri": {
                "type": "uri",
                "value": "http://link.to.media"
            },
            "extra_string_alt": {
                "type": "string",
                "value": "Value"
            },        
            "extra_boolean_alt": {
                "type": "boolean",
                "value": true
            },
            "extra_byte": {
                "type": "byte",
                "value": 1
            },           
            "extra_short": {
                "type": "short",
                "value": 1
            },            
            "extra_int_alt": {
                "type": "int",
                "value": 1
            },
            "extra_long_alt": {
                "type": "long",
                "value": 1234567890123
            },
            "extra_float": {
                "type": "float",
                "value": 1.1
            },
            "extra_double_alt": {
                "type": "double",
                "value": 1.1
            },
            "extra_string_array_alt": {
                "type": "string",
                "values": ["Value 1", "Value 2", "Value 3"]
            },
            "extra_boolean_array_alt": {
                "type": "boolean",
                "values": [true, false, true]
            },
            "extra_byte_array": {
                "type": "byte",
                "values": [1, 2, 3]
            },           
            "extra_short_array": {
                "type": "short",
                "values": [1, 2, 3]
            },
            "extra_int_array_alt": {
                "type": "int",
                "values": [1, 2, 3]
            },
            "extra_long_array_alt": {
                "type": "long",
                "values": [1234567890123, 1234567890123, 1234567890123]
            },
            "extra_float_array": {
                "type": "float",
                "values": [1.1, 2.2, 3.3]
            },
            "extra_double_array_alt": {
                "type": "double",
                "values": [1.1, 2.2, 3.3]     
            },
            "extra_uri_array": {
                "type": "uri",
                "values": ["http://link.to.media1", "http://link.to.media2", "http://link.to.media3"]
            },
            "extra_string_list": {
                "type": "list:string",
                "values": ["Value 1", "Value 2", "Value 3"]
            },
            "extra_int_list": {
                "type": "list:int",
                "values": [1, 2, 3]
            },
            "extra_uri_list": {
                "type": "list:uri",
                "values": ["http://link.to.media1", "http://link.to.media2", "http://link.to.media3"]
            }
        }
    }
}

Property syntax of launch action data
Property	Type	Default Value	Mandatory	Since Version	Description
`id`	`string`	`null`	No	0.1.136	A custom request ID. Note: This property must be set in order to trigger application result events. Please also note that an application result event is also triggered if the application could not be launched (with result code `0`).
`uri`	`string`	`null`	No	0.1.136	The data URI. Typically, this property is set to a video/audio URL that should be played.
`type`	`string`	`null`	No	0.1.136	The data mime type. Typically, this property is set to `"video/"` or `"audio/"`.
`component`	`object`	`null`	No	0.1.136	The component that should be launched. The object must conain a `package` property (of type `string`) and a `class` property (of type `string`). Typically, this property is not set, because the package is indicated in the action syntax (i.e. the `{APP_ID}` part) and the appropriate component is determined by the system.
`extra`	`object`	`null`	No	0.1.136	The extra data handled by the launched application. Note: Please note that some applications require special data types for the extra data. In such cases, you can use the `type` property to perform the required conversions.

Result[edit]

Note: Please note that for iOS devices, the application result event is directly triggered and the extra property is always null. For Android devices, the application result event is triggered after the launched application is closed (or the application could not be launched).

{
    "event": "app:result",
    "id": "request_id",
    "code": -1,
    "extra": {
        "extra_string": "Value",        
        "extra_boolean": true,
        "extra_int": 1,
        "extra_long": 1234567890123,
        "extra_double": 1.1,
        "extra_string_array": ["Value 1", "Value 2", "Value 3"],
        "extra_boolean_array": [true, false, true],
        "extra_int_array": [1, 2, 3],
        "extra_long_array": [1234567890123, 1234567890123, 1234567890123],
        "extra_double_array": [1.1, 2.2, 3.3],
        "extra_uri": "http://link.to.media",
        "extra_byte": 1,
        "extra_short": 1,
        "extra_float": 1.1,
        "extra_byte_array": [1, 2, 3],
        "extra_short_array": [1, 2, 3],
        "extra_float_array": [1.1, 2.2, 3.3],
        "extra_uri_array": ["http://link.to.media1", "http://link.to.media2", "http://link.to.media3"],
        "extra_string_list": ["Value 1", "Value 2", "Value 3"],
        "extra_int_list": [1, 2, 3],
        "extra_uri_list": ["http://link.to.media1", "http://link.to.media2", "http://link.to.media3"]
    }
}

Property syntax of result event data
Property	Type	Since Version	Description
`event`	`string`	0.1.136	The event type. For application result events, this property is set to `"app:result"`.
`id`	`string`	0.1.136	The request ID.
`code`	`number`	0.1.136	The result code. `-2`: Internal error occurred. `-1`: Operation succeeded. `0`: Operation canceled. `1`: All codes of `1` or higher are application-specific.
`extra`	`object`	0.1.136	The extra data returned by the launched application. Note: Please note that the properties of the extra data are converted to the appropriate JSON types (e.g. byte/short/int/long/float/double values are converted to numbers, URIs are converted to strings, etc.).

Example[edit]

This example uses an interaction plugin to create the content and to handle the application events. Please have a look at this implementation script: https://msx.benzac.de/interaction/js/android.js.

Screenshot[edit]

Example Screenshot (Android Player)

Code[edit]

{
    "reference": "request:interaction:init@http://msx.benzac.de/interaction/android.html",
    "pages": []
}

Demo[edit]

Launch via App: https://msx.benzac.de/?start=content:https://msx.benzac.de/info/xp/data/android_test.json
Launch via Demo Page: https://msx.benzac.de/info/?start=content:https://msx.benzac.de/info/xp/data/android_test.json

Note: This demo will only work properly on a Android or FireTV device with Media Station X 0.1.136 or higher.