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Android TV

Native Obscreen Player app for Android TV devices.

About this platform

Android TV brings the power of Android to large screens. Obscreen Player runs natively on Android TV devices including Nvidia Shield, Xiaomi Mi Box, Chromecast with Google TV and professional Android TV signage displays. The player takes full advantage of the TV-optimized hardware for smooth 4K playback and reliable 24/7 operation.

Technical specifications

Operating SystemAndroid TV 7.0+
RAM2 GB recommended
ResolutionUp to 4K HDR
Storage50 MB free space
DevicesTV boxes, smart TVs, HDMI dongles
OutputHDMI (CEC supported)

How to install

  1. Install from the Play Store: search for Obscreen Player on the Google Play Store on your Android TV device and install it.
  2. Launch and pair: open the app and enter your Obscreen Studio URL. Use the remote to type the URL or scan the pairing QR code from another device.
  3. Assign a playlist: go to your Obscreen dashboard and assign content to the freshly registered screen.
  4. Set as default launcher (optional): make Obscreen Player the default home app so the TV boots straight into your signage content.

Sideloading

If your device cannot access the Play Store (e.g. AOSP boxes), you can sideload the APK from the GitHub releases page using a tool like Downloader or AnExplorer.

Platform features

  • TV-optimized UX: designed for large screens, with smooth transitions and proper aspect-ratio handling.
  • Remote-friendly setup: pair using a TV remote, or scan a QR code from your phone to speed things up.
  • Auto-start: set Obscreen as the default launcher so the device boots directly into signage.
  • Lightweight footprint: minimal resource usage for stable continuous playback.

Host Identification Configuration

To help you identify and locate your device, you can set the following metadata in url's query parameters

Example:

https://<STUDIO_PLAYLIST_URL>/?hostname=My%20Device&icon=auto&longitude=48.8566&latitude=2.3522`

Screen Flags

These are information about the screen resolution and rotation.

bash
rotate=normal # normal, left, right, inverted
resolution=auto # 1920x1080, 1920x1080, 1920x1080, 1920x1080

Name & Icon

bash
hostname="My Device"
icon=auto # any font-awesome icon name (i.e. fa-desktop, fa-laptop, fa-tablet, fa-mobile, fa-tablet-alt, fa-mobile-alt)

Search for icons

You can browse the free icon catalog here.

Positioning

Choose one of the following options from more precise to less precise location:

1. Precise positioning

bash
longitude=
latitude=

2. Structured address-based positioning

bash
street=
city=
state=
country=
postal_code=

3. Query address-based positioning

bash
address_query= # (e.g. "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500")

See more about customizing the player's URL here.