Want to create a media player/browser for Carlinke - Android Apps and Games

I have a Carlinke wi-fi box in my car. It has a USB port. On the USB stick I have audio and video files. On the App store the best app so far to access those files and play them on the car monitors is called 'Airfun'. And it's not that great. I'd like to learn Android app development by creating a much better app, which will:
- access the Carlinke wi-fi hotspot
- have access to the usb stick and files on it
- be able to navigate the files much better than the very limited 'Airfun' (so would like smooth scrolling down files and folders, the ability to sort by filesize, date, name, type etc., and also to search via name etc.)
- play the files back smoothly, no matter what format they are in
- have the ability to control volume (including boosting the standard volume of the file as some are encoded with quite low audio levels), next track, previous track, random play, mute, blank the screen but keep audio (for those music vids with non kidsafe scenes but safe music)
- screen mirror the phone when needed as well (so connect directly to the phone instead).... BONUS, not essential.
At the moment, I know very little of Android app development (just a few video's on the SDK), so if anyone has any suggestions on how this app can be achieved, that would be great
Building on ExoPlayer might be a good place to start:
https://google.github.io/ExoPlayer/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHdODKuaJz4 (Carlinke)
XDA:DevDB Information
Carlinke Media Player, App for all devices (see above for details)
Contributors
_StormZ_
Version Information
Status: Testing
Created 2016-11-08
Last Updated 2016-11-08

Related

[APP][5.0+][v3.8.0.2] BubbleUPnP - UPnP/DLNA/Chromecast Control Point and Renderer

BubbleUPnP on Google Play [current version: 3.8.0.2, released on March 18th 2023]
BubbleUPnP on Amazon appstore [current version: 3.8.0.2, released on March 16th 2023]
BubbleUPnP latest APKs, Google Play version (notably for side-loading on Android TV)
BubbleUPnP latest APK, Amazon appstore version (notably for side-loading on Fire TV)
BubbleUPnP 'Audio Cast' Xposed Module. Only needed on Android < 10. (current version: 1.1, released on April 28th 2021)
BubbleUPnP Server home page (download and documentation) [current version: 0.9-update46, released on February 4th 2023]
BubbleUPnP home page
Stream all your music, videos and photos to various devices in your house:
Chromecast
DLNA TVs
gaming consoles: Xbox, Playstation (from XMB)
UPnP/DLNA renderers: XBMC, WDTV Live, other Android devices, ...
various HiFi gear from Sonos, Denon, Pioneer, Onkyo and many more
local Android playback
BubbleUPnP can access your media from a lot of sources, including:
UPnP/DLNA media servers: most NASes, XBMC, Plex, Twonky, Serviio, Windows Media Player and many more
local media stored on your Android device
cloud media: Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, Google Music, Google+
SMB Shares
WebDAV (ownCloud, NextCloud, webserver...)
media from other apps such as web browsers and file managers, using Share/Send
captured audio from most other apps. Requires Xposed (root)
Shoutcast radio (with XiiaLive)
BubbleUPnP is a versatile app packed with many features for you to discover, some of which are:
extensive Chromecast support: play incompatible Chromecast media with transcoding (*), subtitles, audio/video track selection (*)
fast and secure Internet access to your home media while on the go, from mobile and WiFi networks (*)
playback queue, editable playlists, scrobbling, sleep timer, various shuffle modes
integrated full screen image viewer and controller
media download to your SD Card
...and much more!
(*) Some features are provided by BubbleUPnP Server, an optional software that can be installed on any machine on your local network to provide additional services. To learn more about BubbleUPnP Server, visit https://bubblesoftapps.com.
Some features are restricted and can be unlocked by purchasing the BubbleUPnP License app.
If something is not working, you can record a log file and mail it to me at [email protected]:
- launch the app
- go into More > Gear icon > Control
- Enable "logging to file" (at the end of the page).
- IMPORTANT: Exit the app (More > "X" bottom left icon)
- restart the app
- run the app and trigger the problem to troubleshoot
- exit the app
- email me the files found on internal storage:
On Android 10 and below:
/Android/data/com.bubblesoft.android.bubbleupnp/log.txt
/Android/data/com.bubblesoft.android.bubbleupnp/prev_log.txt
On Android 11 and higher:
/Documents/com.bubblesoft.android.bubbleupnp_log.txt
/Documents/prev_com.bubblesoft.android.bubbleupnp_log.txt (if present)
You can access them with a file manager app and share them to your email app for sending them.
IMPORTANT: Make sure to not restart BubbleUPnP until you have sent or saved the log file as it is overwritten on app startup.
Looks like an awesome app - all the features I want... BUT it is not currently recognizing my Synology NAS (upnp/dlna). Win 7 media player works great.
EDIT - Sorry it did eventually show up. It would be nice to have some asynchronous loading notifications. Also, if I queue up an entire genre, for example, it takes a looong time to load/start playing (thousands of songs). Otherwise looking good.
radeon_x said:
Looks like an awesome app - all the features I want... BUT it is not currently recognizing my Synology NAS (upnp/dlna). Win 7 media player works great.
EDIT - Sorry it did eventually show up. It would be nice to have some asynchronous loading notifications. Also, if I queue up an entire genre, for example, it takes a looong time to load/start playing (thousands of songs). Otherwise looking good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the feedback.
I'll think again about async loading notifications (I suppose you mean loading of folders here), but I do not like the additional clutter they involve.
For the second point, the playlist is not designed to handle thousands of tracks. What what your exact use case ? Doing shuffle on an entire genre ?
--------
I updated the first post with an Android Market link to install the app.
bubbleguuum said:
For the second point, the playlist is not designed to handle thousands of tracks. What what your exact use case ? Doing shuffle on an entire genre ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, exactly. But after using it for a while, I don't mind the delay all that much since it only happens on the initial adding the songs to the playlist. Once the songs are added there are no slowdowns.
No other complaints really - hands down the best functioning and looking UPnP audio player on the market.
excellent app, works great with PS3MediaServer
minor issues:
reports search as not supported but I guess that's a PS3MediaServer problem?
doesn't show any album art
I have a DLNA TV (LG_42LD790) but it doesn't show up as a renderer, only local renderer available
how much are you going to charge for the unlocker?
jonengland said:
excellent app, works great with PS3MediaServer
minor issues:
reports search as not supported but I guess that's a PS3MediaServer problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it doesn't support searching at all.
I tried PS3MediaServer and it is not the best server you can find for audio (only folder browsing, no search, some bugs in returned data).
I found 2 bugs in less than 1h usage
doesn't show any album art
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It likely doesn't expose any album art to the app.
I have a DLNA TV (LG_42LD790) but it doesn't show up as a renderer, only local renderer available
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most DLNA TV are not remotely controllable to push content. You can just browse from their interface to play content.
how much are you going to charge for the unlocker?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Undecided yet but it won't break the bank .
Correction: album art is working ok with ps3mediaserver, think I must have been playing tracks without art, doh!
1: has the potential of being better than upnplay (although the latter is free & ad-free)
2: needs a landscape mode (or use system/sensor detection)
3: exit on back key press
4: ability to add WAN server
5: use built-in player (like you already do for music types) for divx+mp3,x264+aac,mpeg2 files (detect via 4cc and/or extension - avi,divx,mkv,mp4,mpg,mpeg,vob,m2v)
open external player for other file types (mov/qt/rm/ac3); the system, hardware renderer should be able to decode most of the aforementioned files, thus eliminating the need for an additional app expressedly for that purpose (vplayer/mobo etc)
This COULD give you an edge over the other upnp/dlna solutions, since none of them provide this functionality (yet).
My Setup: Twonky Media Server and WD TV Live as Renderer!
This setup works fine with other apps, also on iOS...
BubbleUPNP looks really good, BUT:
- the timeline / song progress bar (dont know how you call it) doesn't work (even if use the setting 'use other...')!
-> so as a result, the next song in the playlist doesnt play
So by now, the app is useless. Would like to use yours, all the others work, but yours seems more smooth and has a better usability.
Looking forward to some updates!
Would def. pay for this if the issue gets fixed!
adwinp said:
1: has the potential of being better than upnplay (although the latter is free & ad-free)
2: needs a landscape mode (or use system/sensor detection)
3: exit on back key press
4: ability to add WAN server
5: use built-in player (like you already do for music types) for divx+mp3,x264+aac,mpeg2 files (detect via 4cc and/or extension - avi,divx,mkv,mp4,mpg,mpeg,vob,m2v)
open external player for other file types (mov/qt/rm/ac3); the system, hardware renderer should be able to decode most of the aforementioned files, thus eliminating the need for an additional app expressedly for that purpose (vplayer/mobo etc)
This COULD give you an edge over the other upnp/dlna solutions, since none of them provide this functionality (yet).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the feedback
2. Not a priority for the initial stable version but in consideration for future versions. Landscape is mostly useful for tablets as it is the natural orientation.
3. You can exit the app via the "Exit" menu action found in the Now Playing tab.
4. definitely on the todo list although probably not in the first stable version
5 in consideration for a future verson
debay said:
My Setup: Twonky Media Server and WD TV Live as Renderer!
This setup works fine with other apps, also on iOS...
BubbleUPNP looks really good, BUT:
- the timeline / song progress bar (dont know how you call it) doesn't work (even if use the setting 'use other...')!
-> so as a result, the next song in the playlist doesnt play
Would def. pay for this if the issue gets fixed!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for reporting, it is a sign that the app has trouble getting timing info from the WD TV Live. There's logging inside the app that should be able to tell why and allow me to fix it. Can you record a log file following the step below, and send me the log to [email protected]:
- launch the app
- go into the Settings page (Menu > Settings) and then in the Advanced Settings section
- check "Enable logging to file".
- IMPORTANT: Exit the app using the "Exit " menu item found in menu of tab "Now Playing"
- restart the app.
- handle the app to trigger the problem
- connect your phone to your PC or MAC and mail me the file /Android/data/com.bubblesoft.android.bubbleupnp/log.txt found on the SD Card
Using as Renderer and Controller on two devices
Hi,
I am using your app to control my old HD2 (CM7) connected to external speakers with my Galaxy S2.
I am having some issues that when I start it up to control the renderer and the renderer have been running for some time, sometimes it will not find/connect to the renderer.
If I restart both apps then they will usually pick up and connect to each other again. I am not sure if this is my HD2 going to sleep in some way that makes it not being visible. But it will still continue to play music from my upnp server (WMP7) though I can't control or add new tracks...
I will put both devices to log when I am home later tonight and send you some log files that hopefully will help.
Thanks for all the hard work!
Cheers
Jonas
jonolo said:
Hi,
If I restart both apps then they will usually pick up and connect to each other again. I am not sure if this is my HD2 going to sleep in some way that makes it not being visible. But it will still continue to play music from my upnp server (WMP7) though I can't control or add new tracks...
Jonas
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just upgraded my SGS from stock 2.2 to CM7 and fixed today a WiFi connectivity issues that is related to sleep mode. It is not CM7 specific but related to how the WiFi chipset operates when going into power save mode.
So look forward to the next beta which should be out soon.
Using WMP as media player
Hi,
I just installed BubbleUPnP, and it looks really great. I already tested a few similar apps (2Player, Andromote, etc) but it's definetely the most impressive and promising one.
I just encounter a small problem when I enqueue a few music files and then launch the playlist. it sends each file to WMP but directly goes to the next one until the last one. So, only the last file is read.
A workaround is to launch the playlist with only 1 item, and then add other items while playing. Don't know if the problem comes from BubbleUPnP or WMP...
Also FYI, my Synology is well recognized, as well as my Samsung LED TV.
[email protected] said:
Hi,
I just encounter a small problem when I enqueue a few music files and then launch the playlist. it sends each file to WMP but directly goes to the next one until the last one. So, only the last file is read.
A workaround is to launch the playlist with only 1 item, and then add other items while playing. Don't know if the problem comes from BubbleUPnP or WMP...
TV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for reporting, I can reproduce this issue so it will likely be fixed in the next beta.
Can you try playing a video on your Samsung TV an tell me if it works ?
I haven't tried it as there is no point, being a BubbleDS user already (and loving it, might I add...feels like a factory app and works far better than anything on the Apple side). But just out of interest, will this be a separate product or will BubbleDS be merged with it?
Sent from my Desire HD
lambomanx1 said:
I haven't tried it as there is no point, being a BubbleDS user already (and loving it, might I add...feels like a factory app and works far better than anything on the Apple side). But just out of interest, will this be a separate product or will BubbleDS be merged with it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BubbleUPnP and BubbleDS will remain separate apps (mostly to avoid to clutter BubbleDS with unneeded stuff).
The next major version of BubbleDS will be updated to use the same codebase than BubbleUPnP, which will bring some fixes and even some new functionnality (Shuffle Library).
As a bonus, BubbleUPnP will be a free app to use for BubbleDS owners, as it will act as an unlocker.
Thanks for the clarification
Sent from my Desire HD
bubbleguuum said:
Can you try playing a video on your Samsung TV an tell me if it works ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I tried. It works like a charm. Furthermore, my TV shows SRT subtitles as if I launched the video from the TV itself.
0.9.9.1 available on the Market.
WDTV Live as a renderer may be partially or totally fixed, needs testing.
Library: fixed "Browse timeout" errors specific to Android 3.0.1+ (tablets)
Library: faster browsing
Library: display spinning wheel while loading folders / searching
Library: browse compatibility fixes with some Media Servers
Library: tweaked album list layout to make more of the album title visible
fixed wifi issue (on some devices) preventing from playback advance in playlist (and possibly other network issues) after screen has turned off
fixed track advance in Playlist not working correctly with WMP and likely other renderers
videos can now be downloaded in the Videos subfolder of the download folder
Now Playing: display container format of videos
Settings: added rate app button, known issues button
obscure crash fixes

TiVo Music Server for Android

I've written a music server for Android. The app is free and in the market. You can find it here: https://market.android.com/details?id=earlmagnus.androidhme
I don't have a lot of options for testing a variety of environments, so if you have trouble with it, please let me know by posting here. I know, for example, there may be a Bonjour/Rendezvous issue with the app and S2s. The TiVo Beacon (UDP Broadcast) is the default in version 1.1, so it should not be an issue for most people.
Here is the description in the market:
Have an Android device with lots of MP3s? Have a TiVo connected to your home sound system? Now you can stream MP3s from your phone or tablet to your TiVo over WiFi.
How it works:
Start the application to start the music server. Shortly after starting, the application will tell you its service has been published and, at that point, "Music on Android Device" should appear in the "Music and Photos" menu of your TiVo, near the bottom. Select that menu item to begin browsing your music.
The top-level directory will show two or three entries. You can browse by Album or by Playlist. On versions of Android that provide Album Artist information -- Gingerbread/2.3.3 and higher -- you can also browse by Artist. You can start playback from the Artist, Album, Playlist, or individual track level. Because the top three entries are "virtual" rather than physical directories, you cannot start playback from there.
The back button will exit the application an shut down the server. If you want to do other things on your device while the server is running, hit the home button. You can return the application to the fore by tapping its icon or its line in the notification area.
The Application interface will display the Album, Artist, Track and Album art for the track being sent to the TiVo. If no album art is available, the "TiVo Guy" will be shown.
The menu button will enable you to set the name of the device that should appear in the TiVo's menu. It will also let you chose the behavior of the server when the TiVo tell it you have left the music interface -- exit or remain running. You have the option of using Beacon or mDNS discovery. Beacon will be more reliable on Android and is the default. If you change preferences, the server will restart.
Clicking ads (and supporting the developer) will not interfere with playback.
Known Issues:
Although Android supports a number of audio formats, the TiVo supports only MP3. Only MP3s will be played.
The MP3s must be on an SD card. Unfortunately, Android makes one choose to fetch music information from internal or external storage. Since internal storage tends to be limited, I use external. If there is demand, I will provide a preference in a later version.
Shuffle is not well supported. The TiVo protocol expects the server to be able to support a repeatable random sequence of tracks and provides a "seed" to facilitate that repeatability. The database used by Android cannot use the seed, so it cannot provide a repeatable random sequence of tracks. As a result, the current implementation is a bit of a hack. I'm working on a solution.
The TiVo sometimes will not properly advance tracks, especially if you have used the channel up/down buttons to advance tracks. This problem exists even when using the official TiVo Desktop. If you have that problem, use the "skip to tick" button (->|)to advance or left-arrow out to the track listing and play from the desired point instead.
Seek has not yet been implemented. Fast forward and rewind are disabled.
Some home networks with multiple routers or range extenders may have "accidental" subnets. If the Android device and the TiVo are on different subnets, they will not find each other.
Be aware:
The server will prevent the device from sleeping as long as it is running. You can shut off the screen, but WiFi and an awake CPU will consume power. If you do shut the screen off, performance of switching between tracks or browsing may be somewhat degraded. You will probably want the device to be docked or otherwise plugged in while running the server.
Implemented the TiVo Beacon as an alternative for Bonjour/Rendezvous. Update is in 1.1
V 1.3: Corrected a wifi lock issue and a lifecycle issue when exiting from the TiVo.

[Q] The features you miss in the TF101 (compared to a notebook)

Hello Guys!
I am planning to get one of the Transformers (probably 32G+dock) and sell my notebook (will still have a desktop computer).
Now, I'm on a performance notebook (with piss-poor battery life), but I do not use it - only for web surfing, chat, watching movies, sending stuff & downloading - and maybe some games (1x a month LOL)
So my question is - what are the features you like or MISS in the Transformer compared to a notebook.
Thank you!
1) Proper browser with adblock.
2) Proper audio player (like Amarok/Clementine/Exaile etc.).
3) USB port for attaching keyboard (I don't have the dock).
Better task swapping(alt+tab) or windowed view.
Text selection. Android NEEDS a better text selection desperately.
Other than that it makes a pretty good laptop replacement for simple things. Using remote desktop to a windows machine, greatly improves #1, and moderately improves #2.
Magnesus said:
1) Proper browser with adblock.
2) Proper audio player (like Amarok/Clementine/Exaile etc.).
3) USB port for attaching keyboard (I don't have the dock).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
firefox is available in android, and you can add the adblock plugin.
also a system-wide adblock via apps.
i have no idea what you would qualify as a "proper" audio player. unless you're refering stictly to that list as "proper", the stock player is also a proper player, as well as plently you'd find in the market.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk
gottahavit said:
Better task swapping(alt+tab) or windowed view.
Text selection. Android NEEDS a better text selection desperately.
Other than that it makes a pretty good laptop replacement for simple things. Using remote desktop to a windows machine, greatly improves #1, and moderately improves #2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alt+tab works with the keyboard dock.
Windowed view won't happen until there is a significant increase in system resources available to these devices. Everything currently runs in full screen because 1GB of RAM is just barely sufficient for most of the current apps, and Android devices don't use swap, which means apps get flushed out of memory if the system starts running low on RAM. Windowed apps would crash or degrade under the current Android memory management scheme, which was instated because phones and tablets are so starved for resources when compared to traditional desktops and laptops.
Text selection requires a long press because click and drag on a touchscreen handles panning. I'm not sure what else you're expecting from text selection when many apps allow you to modify the size of the selection to your heart's content. Those that don't integrate nicely with Android's built-in text selection are the fault of the developers.
Thank you for the replies.
Well, Just as finalhit said - firefox has a plugin, and AFAIK Dolphin Browser, too. And by the way, Ad-free is not working on these devices? Like on my rooted Desire?
Proper audio player - I saw the transformer in action and the stock player is great, also have purchased PowerAMP for my phone and the developer says, it'll work on HC 3.2, too. Will see.
Carrying on with Text Input ~
Android needs to be able to support Rich Text in Browser Email Apps (e.g. Yahoo) and also Copy/Paste text into an Email.
Copy/Paste works in Gmail but not in say Yahoo Mail.
What I miss most, is that the TF does not have a digital audio output via USB.
A notebook can simply be connected with a DAC by USB and I can listen to MP3s over my Hifi system ...
FrankRr said:
What I miss most, is that the TF does not have a digital audio output via USB.
A notebook can simply be connected with a DAC by USB and I can listen to MP3s over my Hifi system ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like that too, I tried plugging my USB SoundBlaster in but nothing happened.
What I miss most is a decent productivity suite, WP & Spreadsheets. I am using the beta of SoftMaker Office & it will do the job when it's released, but at the moment it crashes a lot & isn't mainstream.
Printing isn't that easy either ....
1) Definitely better text selection/manipulation - it works, but it doesn't feel right
2) Right mouse button - yes, it has long press, but it's long press, meaning it's not very fast. Make the right track pad button function the same as long press, and it will feel almost like a notebook.
3) Better file manipulation/transfer speed. Copying and pasting/moving files is a pain and is very very slow. Astro works, but it's nothing compared to the ease of windows/linux.
Android has all the functions I want, a lot of them just don't feel natural, or are cumbersome to use.
I like my TF, but I think it can't replace a notebook, unless we can port windows 7 on it..
mikelt89 said:
I like my TF, but I think it can't replace a notebook, unless we can port windows 7 on it..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Windows 8 might run on it, as it has arm support and the TF meets the minimum requirements that MS has released so far.
cottinghamm said:
What I miss most is a decent productivity suite, WP & Spreadsheets. I am using the beta of SoftMaker Office & it will do the job when it's released, but at the moment it crashes a lot & isn't mainstream.
Printing isn't that easy either ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Documents to Go works well (given the limitations of the input methods, screen size, etc.)
Printign is a major issue. There are paid apps that I hear do printing OK, but they require a server program to run on a computer already connected to the printer. I have yet to find one that works well with a networked printer (either shared through the native Windows functionality or a dedicated print server).
FrankRr said:
What I miss most, is that the TF does not have a digital audio output via USB.
A notebook can simply be connected with a DAC by USB and I can listen to MP3s over my Hifi system ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can indirectly output to a DAC if you use the HDMI port. I have an Asus VH238H monitor that includes a SPDIF out, so I just hook up the Transformer via HDMI and have the monitor output the sound to my DAC.
For printing I use CloudPrint So far it works greatly (home & office) on my Desire - so that won't be a problem.
finalhit said:
firefox is available in android, and you can add the adblock plugin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Firefox for Android is very far from a proper browser (in my opinion, proper browser is for example Google Chrome and desktop Firefox) and it's adblock is far from it's desktop counterpart. Maybe the new version will be better. In my opinion actually Firefox is worst browser for Android (the best being Dolphin Pad).
i have no idea what you would qualify as a "proper" audio player. unless you're refering stictly to that list as "proper", the stock player is also a proper player, as well as plently you'd find in the market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try using Amarok, Clementine, Exile or sth similar (or Foobar if you only have Windows, but it's quite bad looking). I tested most the music players in the market and none of them are even comparable. So I resigned from using Tranformer for listening to music and bought USB sound card for my laptop instead (without it the sound quality of my laptop was... well quite horrible ).
Amarok/Clementine/Exile have clear interface with your files or library on the left (you can use both) and a playlist on the right. You can add tracks to the playlist, remove them, shuffle them, star songs, generate playlists based on the stars, select to repeat a track or repeat the whole playlist, filter the library (for example - you type John and you get all John Williams albums listed), the playlist is created by drag and drop etc. Also they play all music formats (flac, mpc included). If you never used a music player like this - try them, they are really good.
Most (all of them?) players in android market are designed for playing one album at a time (no playlist), have interface more suited for phones than tablets and no ability to use folder view (some can but are regenerating the index every time I unmount my samba share - and it takes ages). If I'm wrong - and there is sth like Amarok on the Market - please tell, I'll buy it in a second.
Magnesus said:
Try using Amarok, Clementine, Exile or sth similar (or Foobar if you only have Windows, but it's quite bad looking). I tested most the music players in the market and none of them are even comparable. So I resigned from using Tranformer for listening to music and bought USB sound card for my laptop instead (without it the sound quality of my laptop was... well quite horrible ).
Amarok/Clementine/Exile have clear interface with your files or library on the left (you can use both) and a playlist on the right. You can add tracks to the playlist, remove them, shuffle them, star songs, generate playlists based on the stars, select to repeat a track or repeat the whole playlist, filter the library (for example - you type John and you get all John Williams albums listed), the playlist is created by drag and drop etc. Also they play all music formats (flac, mpc included). If you never used a music player like this - try them, they are really good.
Most (all of them?) players in android market are designed for playing one album at a time (no playlist), have interface more suited for phones than tablets and no ability to use folder view (some can but are regenerating the index every time I unmount my samba share - and it takes ages). If I'm wrong - and there is sth like Amarok on the Market - please tell, I'll buy it in a second.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just because the default Music player doesn't show the now playing and playlist views on the same page together doesn't mean you don't have such functionality. Remember what you're dealing with here; it's just a 10.1 inch screen. It doesn't take much to clutter the UI with a lot of menu options, especially when all the UI elements have to be doubled and tripled in size in order to be legible on the tiny screen.
Now, as far as the features of the default Music app, there's plenty to keep most listeners happy. Upon starting the app, in the upper left hand corner you have the ability to sort your music collection by New and recent, Albums, Artists, Songs, Playlists, and Genres. On the right, you can Search through all of your music, refining your results by the previously mentioned sort categories. Once you choose a specific artist, for instance, you can tap once on the "All songs" option to play all of the artist's selected music, or you can just select one album of theirs to play, either of these options taking you to a list of songs added to the queue. Long press will allow you to add the selected songs to the playlist of your choice. Once in the now playing queue, you can sort the songs by name or by album, or shuffle the whole thing. Then once you finally play a song, the now playing screen allows for toggling shuffle and advanced repeat functions just like what you're used to with other applications. The default player also supports mp3, ogg, and flac, and probably some other formats that I haven't tried yet. The only thing missing is the ability to "star" your music, which is a feature I always saw as pointless.
Seriously, why would you even bother with third party music apps at this point?
And what about the microSD slot on the tablet? I'm planning to get a 32GB A-DATA - will it work normally like with my Desire?
rtadams89 said:
Documents to Go works well (given the limitations of the input methods, screen size, etc.)
Printign is a major issue. There are paid apps that I hear do printing OK, but they require a server program to run on a computer already connected to the printer. I have yet to find one that works well with a networked printer (either shared through the native Windows functionality or a dedicated print server).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
printing works well for me, but yes, requires a server at this point -- free app: https://market.android.com/search?q=printershare&so=1&c=apps
I do use it as a laptop replacement. I find that 95% of the time I do not need to go back to my laptop; however, I do miss the ability to have more than one app on the screen at once (chatting and browsing at the same time is annoying). I also miss a full office program. I have tried DTG and polaris, and both work quite well by comparison to other office apps, but are not a replacement for MS Office or Libreoffice.
I also have a server in the basement for media serving running ESXi 4.1. I have 2 VMs on it: File/media server running ubuntu 11.04 and a windows VM for running various other things like video transcoding. I would not want to do either of those functions on an android tablet either.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

Tips on making the best of 10GB of storage space when storing music

Tips on making the best of 10GB of storage space when storing music on the HTC One S.
What doesn't work:
1) Dropbox, Google Drive ..... you can store files there but finding and playing them is a bag of hurt because the players are so rudimentary and the music is not cataloged like it is for stock Android player and PowerAMP
2) An OTG USB cable and a 32, 64 or 128GB USB Flash Drive. HTC could have saved this phone for music collections if they had implemented this feature, but they didn't. The microUSB port on the One S doesn't provide power, so for mobile listening of music it really isn't as option even it you hack OTG into your kernel.
3) Wifi based systems. With a bit of effort you could probably get a working system when your phone on your own home network, but chances are you use your phone for music when you are away from home.
The Good News:
The HTC One S has really fast internal memory, a good memory controller and the USB I/O is very fast. If you have a decent computer file transfer very quickly to the phone.
The HTC One S has very good audio quality and a good output.
What You Need
1) Your music collection, most likely quite a bit larger than 10GB
2) Media Monkey Software for your PC computer (http://www.mediamonkey.com) Forget about the HTC Sync software
3) PowerAmp for Android or Stock Android Player (PowerAMP has lyric support and is quite well laid out)
The reason I picked Media Monkey is that it has great cataloging features and a very powerful and customizable file sync with Android devices. My HTC Ones S shows up as a Hero but all the sync functions work. ( I have used this program for years) I am sure most of the other popular player software would work too
What to Do
The nature of the beast is that you are choosing which music to leave behind. If your music isn't cataloged then you can't possibly do this efficiently. This takes a lot of time and is best done as you get new music. You need at least the rating filled in for each track. I also have mood and tempo which really adds to your options. If you don't want to catalog then this advice isn't going to help you so you may as well stop here.
1) Catalog your music in Media Monkey (or other player software)
2) Plug in your HTC One and set to Disk Mode ...... it should show up as a HTC Hero
3) Using Media Monkey, set up a new collection filtered with for tracks having 5 star rating
Presumably you would only want to transfer your best tracks
If you have a smallish collection this may reduce the number of files sufficiently to fit on the HTC One S (skip to 4)
4) Set up another Collection filtered for being added to your library less than 30 days ago
Presumably you would like to listen to your new music
5) Click on the HTC Hero node on the library and select sync options.
6) Select only the above 2 collections for sync
7) Chances are that there are still way too many files to fit into 9GB, so select the option to randomly sync files to your device matching the above filters leaving about 500-1000GB left unused OR just manually pick the artists and albums you want to sync.
8) Autosync the phone (takes about 2 minutes for me)
9) Autosync again once in a while to get a new random set
You could tell Media Monkey to compress the files as they are moved to the player, but this hugely increases the time required for the sync and you may loose album art and lyric support depending on which format you pick.
It is far from a idea solution but it works
Sirandar said:
Tips on making the best of 10GB of storage space when storing music on the HTC One S.
What doesn't work:
1) Dropbox, Google Drive ..... you can store files there but finding and playing them is a bag of hurt because the players are so rudimentary and the music is not cataloged like it is for stock Android player and PowerAMP
2) An OTG USB cable and a 32, 64 or 128GB USB Flash Drive. HTC could have saved this phone for music collections if they had implemented this feature, but they didn't. The microUSB port on the One S doesn't provide power, so for mobile listening of music it really isn't as option even it you hack OTG into your kernel.
3) Wifi based systems. With a bit of effort you could probably get a working system when your phone on your own home network, but chances are you use your phone for music when you are away from home.
The Good News:
The HTC One S has very good audio quality and a good output.
What You Need
1) Your music collection, most likely quite a bit larger than 10GB
2) Media Monkey Software for your PC computer (http://www.mediamonkey.com) Forget about the HTC Sync software
3) PowerAmp for Android or Stock Android Player (PowerAMP has lyric support and is quite well laid out)
The reason I picked Media Monkey is that it has great cataloging features and a very powerful and customizable file sync with Android devices. My HTC Ones S shows up as a Hero but all the sync functions work. ( I have used this program for years) I am sure most of the other popular player software would work too
What to Do
The nature of the beast is that you are choosing which music to leave behind. If your music isn't cataloged then you can't possibly do this efficiently. This takes a lot of time and is best done as you get new music. You need at least the rating filled in for each track. I also have mood and tempo which really adds to your options. If you don't want to catalog then this advice isn't going to help you so you may as well stop here.
1) Catalog your music in Media Monkey (or other player software)
2) Plug in your HTC One and set to Disk Mode ...... it should show up as a HTC Hero
3) Using Media Monkey, set up a new collection filtered with for tracks having 5 star rating
Presumably you would only want to transfer your best tracks
If you have a smallish collection this may reduce the number of files sufficiently to fit on the HTC One S (skip to 4)
4) Set up another Collection filtered for being added to your library less than 30 days ago
Presumably you would like to listen to your new music
5) Click on the HTC Hero node on the library and select sync options.
6) Select only the above 2 collections for sync
7) Chances are that there are still way too many files to fit into 9GB, so select the option to randomly sync files to your device matching the above filters leaving about 500-1000GB left unused OR just manually pick the artists and albums you want to sync.
8) Autosync the phone (takes about 2 minutes for me)
9) Autosync again once in a while to get a new random set
You could tell Media Monkey to compress the files as they are moved to the player, but this hugely increases the time required for the sync and you may loose album art and lyric support depending on which format you pick.
It is far from a idea solution but it works
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Orr you can sync your music to Google Play and stream from there. IF you have the 2GB plan I almost never go over that, plus it only streams it the first play and stays in your cache for replay later. Best Solution for me, at least for Music. After that I have plenty of room for everything else and file With Drop Box and Box and Google Drive.
I usually just convert my files to ~40kbit (VBR quality 0.25) HE-AACv2 files. Unless you really really concentrate, you'll be hard pressed finding any difference between these files and CD quality. And I've got about 6,000 songs in under 7 GB.
I use dbPowerAmp for the conversion, and the Nero AAC codec.
djsubtronic said:
I usually just convert my files to ~40kbit (VBR quality 0.25) HE-AACv2 files. Unless you really really concentrate, you'll be hard pressed finding any difference between these files and CD quality. And I've got about 6,000 songs in under 7 GB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Holy jeebus, 40kbit and you cannot tell the difference? Time for some decent headphones or a hearing check!
edscholl said:
Holy jeebus, 40kbit and you cannot tell the difference? Time for some decent headphones or a hearing check!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, have you even tried HE-AACv2? That codec is pretty legendary. Of course you can tell the difference but it's very barely noticeable. Try it yourself.
djsubtronic said:
Dude, have you even tried HE-AACv2? That codec is pretty legendary. Of course you can tell the difference but it's very barely noticeable. Try it yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. Very f'in noticeably different at 40kbps.

[APP][4.2+]Control your Android's sound volume from a browser (free noads opensource)

Hello everyone,
my application is (and will remain) free, without ads, and open source.
It lets you control the sound volume of an Android device remotely from any other device that has a web browser, Android or not.
Therefore this also includes non-Android devices (such as PC, Mac, iPhone and so on) which thus act as a remote controller.
Both devices must be connected to the same local network (Wifi).
First, I did build that app for myself, because I often use an Android tablet, connected to an audio sound system (HiFi, an old one that does not have a remote controller), to play music, and I wanted to be able to adjust sound remotely from an iPhone, in a simple way. As I did not find a free existing solution, I did it myself. I have chosen a web solution : we can now control volume remotely from any device that has a web browser.
Finally, convinced that this could be useful to someone else, I have made it public :
On Google Play Store : play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tanaka42.webremotevolumecontrol
On GitHub : github.com/tanaka42/androidapp-webremotevolumecontrol
You will find more information and screenshots in above links.
Best regards
tanaka42
My app now has more than 150 users located all around the world, I am very happy

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