An amazing One click - Connect 2 Specific Bluetooth device for A2DP and Phone app:
Bluetooth Pair
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gnssoftworks.bluetoothpair
found it very useful for swapping bluetooth headphones between devices WITHOUT turning off Bluetooth entirely or going into the settings menu.
Example Use Case:
I have one Stereo Bluetooth headset with mic (two profiles - phone and A2DP audio)
I have one Android Phone and one Android Tablet.
Phone Profile is always connected to the Android Phone, but the A2DP audio changes depending on which device you want to listen to music from.
Normally, if you want to listen to audio from the Tablet when your headset's A2DP profile is connected to the phone, you'd have to first go to the settings menu of the phone, and disconnect the A2DP, leaving Phone Profile connected. Then go to the settings menu on your tablet and connect the A2DP only.
Then you'd have to do the opposite if you want to listen to audio from the Phone again.
Takes a long time.
With Bluetooth Pair, you can specifically connect or disconnect to a specific device and specific profile (phone / a2dp) by widgets.
So you won't have to turn off the bluetooth completely on one device just to allow your headset to connect another device. Nor do you need to go into settings anymore.
1.) Just tap on the A2DP device specific widget on the phone to disconnect, the A2DP Profile from the phone
2.) go to the Tablet, and tap on the A2DP device specific widget to connect the A2DP profile of the headset to the Tablet
Two taps!
Would you mind sharing a code snippet on how you achieve this? I've been working on a little program that I intend to use around the house and this is the missing piece that I can't figure out. Basically, I have some NFC tags spread around the house and a receiver app that triggers various actions. One of them enables bluetooth on my device (if off), turns on my home audio receiver (over telnet), connects to the receiver's A2DP device (this is the missing piece), and launches a music app.
I've seen examples where this works using an AIDL method, but from what I've gathered this no longer works under Android 4.2. Does your app work on 4.2? Any hints you can provide?
Thanks!
Brian
I'm not the writer of this app.
You could try contacting them via the email listed on Google Play.
BTW, while you're making your app, please dedicate a thread to it on XDA so we can all beta test and buy it later!
klau1 said:
I'm not the writer of this app.
You could try contacting them via the email listed on Google Play.
BTW, while you're making your app, please dedicate a thread to it on XDA so we can all beta test and buy it later!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, OK. I just assumed this was your app.
After reading the Play Store description more carefully, I don't think this app actually does what I'm trying to do (programmatically establish an A2DP connection). It appears this app enables / disables certain profiles but the actual connection is still handled by the OS.
As far as the app I'm making, I was intending it to just be something for personal use. I'm planning on keeping it very lightweight and tailored specifically to my needs. For it to be used by anyone else they would have to have the same brand of A/V receiver as me (Pioneer) that supports the same telnet commands. Most of the rest of the functionality of the app can be duplicated by using some of the existing NFC apps like NFC Task Launcher. If I ever develop it into something interesting that could be used by a wider audience I probably will post it on XDA for feedback though.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jvckenwood.HID_ThinClient.KWD
Kenwood released this app that will allow head unit control of your smartphone using HDMI and Bluetooth Input connections. Right now, the only supported devices for the S3, S4, Note II and Sony devices.
Is there a root tweak or hack that can be developed that will trick the app so that any device can work with the app?
sshams95 said:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jvckenwood.HID_ThinClient.KWD
Kenwood released this app that will allow head unit control of your smartphone using HDMI and Bluetooth Input connections. Right now, the only supported devices for the S3, S4, Note II and Sony devices.
Is there a root tweak or hack that can be developed that will trick the app so that any device can work with the app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Found this via a random google search. As of now, 02/19/2016 Kenwood has not updated this app to support Android 6 Marshmallow. If you have this app installed on Android 6, it will just force close. I have an idea that it won't work because of the permissions restrictions on the new Android OS. Once Kenwood updates the app to request permissions for us to grant we'll be good again. If you rely heavily on the touch screen options over the MHL/HDMI then stay with Android 5 (lollipop).
I have the following setup in my vehicle and it works quite well:
My Physical setup:
HDMI cable run from back of of my Kenwood to my center console where I have a coupler to plug-in my MHL cable. The idea is to make it easy to plug-in a Miracast device someday. Right now the wireless mirroring is far to buggy and slow, so connecting directly is the only way to go here for me. I cut my Parking SW (switch) greenish wire and wired it into the ground wire (black). This allows me to bypass the restrictions of use while driving and easily control other apps that Kenwood won't otherwise let you run, like Google Maps or a Drive app like HTC Drive. If you choose to NOT bypass then so long as you open WAZE first, you can trick the unit into letting you open other apps, but you can't go the home screen first. You'll have to open the app via recents menu.
My Software setup:
I have a rooted Android device and use an app called "second screen". I have it configured to auto turn off my phone's backlight when I plug-in to the mhl cable. This saves my battery greatly by not having to light up the display. I lose about 1% every 30 minutes or so running waze and Spotify together, very doable. Once I remove the MHL cable everything is back to normal and back-light returns.
Before I bypassed restrictions by moving my parking switch wire to the ground, I was using an android app called "overlays". (still am actually because its awesome) Its free and allows you to put an app shortcut over an running program. You setup a profile per app. For example, in Waze, I put an app overlay for both Spotify and Pandora. All you see are 2 tiny icons, size and placement of your choosing, in the corner of waze. All I have to do is tap it and it opens Spotify. I did the same for Spotify and Pandora and placed tiny app shortcuts to both Waze and Google maps to allow seamless back and forth between apps. Takes a bit to setup, but so worth it in the end.
All in all, it greatly improves enjoyment while driving. The Head units, so far, have far less appealing GUI than your cell phone. Google and Apple do great jobs of making their UI appealing to the masses and there really is no better choice, even the built-in head unit GUI, which I'm happy to bypass and show my phone instead.
About
PodEmu is Android application that allows you to connect your Android device to iPod docking station or your car audio system. PodEmu supports both AiR (Advanced) and Simple modes so you can control your Android music app directly from docking station or from your cars steering wheel. PodEmu uses serial protocol to communicate with iPod docking station so it will work only with "old" 30-pin iPod connectors. Lightning interface is not supported.
PodEmu in action:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Features
No root required
Display track/time information for currently playing song on your car audio system or docking station display.
Control your favourite Android music app (eg. Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Prime Music, Apple Music) directly from car's steering wheel or docking station remote control
Download docking station color image to android device. Car audios usually have this feature.
Support for Bluetooth serial devices. You can assemble the dongle and connect your android completely wirelessly.
Entirely Open Source You can modify and redistribute as long as you comply with GPLv3.
Screenshots
Requirements
- Android device with USB host support (USB host support not required if you are using FT311D or FT312D dongles, or Bluetooth)
- DIY cable or DIY bluetooth dongle. Unfortunately there is no ready-to-use cables available on the market so you need some basic soldering skills to assemble your own cable. Read further for details.
Supported Music Application List
PodEmu will support any music application out of the box if this application properly declares notification in notification/status bar. The table below summarises the behaviour of the applications with which PodMode was tested.
Additionally, please remember, that in order support track/album/artist/playlist/genre navigation fully PodEmu need to have this information provided. Unfortunately there is no way to retrieve this information through the notification bar. In the best case PodEmu is only able to gather information about currently played track, total playlist size and current track position. Therefore PodEmu is trying to mimic the rest of the information for the docking station to be able to operate. Please also note, that each docking station behaves differently and therefore final behaviour will be also different. Feel free to provide feedback with your experience on XDA thread or raise an issue through GitHub issue tracker.
ListSize and ListPosition information is very important to be able to see the total amount of songs in the playlist from the docking station and to be able to select random song from list and jump to it. Whenever this information is missing PodEmu will not know how many songs are in the the current playlist and will not support "jump to" command. In such case you will see one album, that contains 11 songs. Also remember, that even if ListSize information is provided, PodEmu don't know track names "a priori". Therefore, first time you browse them from docking station, you will see titles like "Track XYZ" for all of them. However, once the song is played, its' title is remembered at given position. This list is flushed when total count of song is changed or application is restarted.
For more details about supported apps please visit GitHub project page.
How it works
To work properly PodEmu requires to be connected to your car using two separate channels:
- audio channel (obvious)
- data channel (for control and metadata information)
Audio is transmitted through "classic" analog lines. For metadata serial interface is used. PodEmu will not work with usb/lightning cable, because with such cables all information (including audio) is transmitted digitally and PodEmu is not able to interpret it (plus due to Android architecture it might not be possible to properly recognise the external device and talk to it).
Both channels mentioned above could be connected directly using wires, or bluetooth modules. Below you can find multiple options available to connect your Android device with iPod 30-pins interface.
Audio channel can be connected directly, by wires, or with use of BT module that supports A2DP profile, for example XS3868, RN52, BK8000L.
Data channel could be connected by wires. In this case you will need any USB-to-serial interface like FT232R, FT231X, FT311D, FT312D, PL2303, CP2102, CP2105, CP2108 or CP2110. Alternatively, you can also connect it with any BT module that supports SPP profile (except BLE devices which are too slow). For BT you can use modules like HC05, HC06, RN52.
Obviously you will also need to power all the modules up. There are multiple ways to do it. Below is an example of wiring diagram for XS3868 and HC05 modules that are powered up by LM2596, but you can use any power supply that can provide appropriate voltage and current.
Note for all diagrams below: R1/D1 elements are only required for those cars/docking stations where car or docking station expects the pin 18 to be pulled up to 3.3V by iPod. Otherwise it will not recognise iPod connection. R1 is required to limit the current and D1 is added to protect the dongle (could be omitted to be honest). If you are not sure if you car needs it, it is safe to start without R1/D1 and if car does not recognise connection, then just add it.
Connection diagram: Wired
This is the simplest and the most reliable version of connection.
Supported serial interfaces:
FTDI: FT232R, FT231X, FT311D, FT312D
Prolific: PL2303
SiLabs: CP2102, CP2105, CP2108, CP2110
PodEmu was tested with FT312D, PL2303, FT232R, CP2102. Other chips should also work (as claimed by driver developer), but were never tested with PodEmu.
Connection diagram: Bluetooth with HC-05 and XS3868
Bluetooth setup was tested with HC-05 as serial interface device and XS3868 to stream audio. Connection diagram that was used is the following:
Important notes:
- do not short audio ground (pin 2) with power ground (pins 15 and 16). If you do it, significant noise will appear.
- voltage is set to 3,55V and not to 3,3V. 3.3V is normal operating voltage for HC-05, 3.6V is maximum for HC-05. However 3.6V should be minimum voltage for XS3868. When voltage drops below 3.5V, XS3868 will produce audible warnings. To avoid it, but to stay within HC-05 voltage limits it is recommended to set voltage between 3.5V and 3.6V. There are known cases when slight exceeding 3.6V burned HC-05.
- before using HC-05 it need to be configured. You need to change Baud Rate to 57600 (or whatever rate is required by your car/dock station)
AT+UART=57600,0,0
For details about configuring HC-05 please refer to this manual)
- changing device name is not required, because you can choose the device from paired devices list from the application
- after BT module is configured, you need to manually pair with it. Once paired, start PodEmu, go to settings and select your device from the list of paired devices. Then PodEmu will connect automatically.
- serial interface cable has higher priority to connect, so if it is attached, BT will not connect. Detach the cable first and then restart the app.
Connection diagram: Bluetooth with RN52 (basic)
Setup with RN-52 module is shown below. The big advantage of this module is that it supports both audio and serial profiles, so you don't need to pair your phone with 2 bluetooth modules. Disadvantage is high price (~25 USD).
Note: if you use SparkFun breakout board as depictured above, for some reason they didn't made the pad for AudioGND pin, so you'll need to solder to pin 39 of the module (AGND). This is 6th pin from the topmost right side on the picture above. Luckily there is thick copper area below "SPK_L-" that you can use.
There is minor issue with such connection. Due to the fact that RN-52 is using differential output and we are using only audio positive lines, there are electrical spikes few seconds after audio goes mute. It can be heard as single "clicks" few seconds after going on mute.
Before using RN-52 module you need to program it. It is done by connection GPIO9 pin to ground. Then you can connect module to you computer to standard COM port using UART_TX and UART_RX and program it. Commands you will need:
Code:
su,04 - set baud rate 57600
sd,06 - enable only A2DP and SPP discovery profiles
sk,06 - enable only A2DP and SPP connection profiles
sn,PodEmu - set device name to RN52-PodEmu
ss,0F - set default gain level to maximum
Connection diagram: Bluetooth with RN52 (advanced)
For those who has pcb production skills I recommend to use this schematics. In comparison to previous RN-52 schematics, this implementation uses TPA6112 audio amplifier with differential input. Using this amplifier eliminates "single clicks on mute" issue described in previous section.
Note: Don't forget to setup RN-52 module as described in previous section.
My personal implementation of this dongle looks like this:
Reporting issues and requesting enhancements
Please use "Issues" tab on GitHub to report a problem or request an enhancement. You can also report a problem directly from application. For this, just enable "Enable debug collecting" option in settings, then reproduce the issue, and then use option "Send debug to developer". This will send debug file with all logs from application. Don't worry, it will not collect your personal data. However, while sending, please don't forget to describe the problem you are encounting - otherwise your email will be ignored.
Credits
USB Serial For Android: https://github.com/mik3y/usb-serial-for-android
ByteFIFO class: http://www.java2s.com/Code/Java/Threads/ByteFIFO.htm
Android Developer Icons: http://www.androidicons.com/
Question mark icon: http://www.clipartpanda.com/categories/animated-question-mark-for-powerpoint
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If I can help you test out things, just let me now. Still have to build the cable tho.
Also if it would be possible to build a Bluetooth-only adapter (like Tune2Air), I would be really interested in!
BTW, I'm owning a 2009 BMW 3-series, with iDrive and USB/iPod-Connection (Serial+Analog).
iCstyle said:
Subscribed
If I can help you test out things, just let me now. Still have to build the cable tho.
Also if it would be possible to build a Bluetooth-only adapter (like Tune2Air), I would be really interested in!
BTW, I'm owning a 2009 BMW 3-series, with iDrive and USB/iPod-Connection (Serial+Analog).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great! As soon as you have the cable and do the first tests, please let me know the result. Any help with testing is appreciated!
About BT adapter - this should not be a problem, but BT sound quality sucks so I didn't consider it. However, there are ready to use adapters on the market like this one: http://www.iphonejd.com/iphone_jd/2013/10/review-dockboss-air.html. Before starting this project I ordered one of them (not dockBoss but some other chineese copy) and it didn't work with my car. Maybe you will have more luck.
I will
I don't think BT audio is that bad. I almost don't hear any difference between Tune2Air and AUX (if source media is good quality). And I'm really into good sound quality. Then there's still the option of using a BT module with apt-x codec, which should be good enough
Does dockboss air support AVRCP with id3tags? But even if it does, it will never support browsing playlists I think? And it's boring to use a device which already exists to buy
I know a lot of people who would be interested in such a (Bluetooth) solution, and if it would support of browsing playlists/songs from apps like Google Music, Spotify, etc., that would be so awesome!!! I don't know of any other App which does this...
iCstyle said:
And it's boring to use a device which already exists to buy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, I liked this part of your post the best!
iCstyle said:
Does dockboss air support AVRCP with id3tags? But even if it does, it will never support browsing playlists I think? And it's boring to use a device which already exists to buy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I remember - yes, it supports AVRCP.
iCstyle said:
I know a lot of people who would be interested in such a (Bluetooth) solution, and if it would support of browsing playlists/songs from apps like Google Music, Spotify, etc., that would be so awesome!!! I don't know of any other App which does this...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We can consider building such BT solution as the next step. For now I would like to focus on polishing PodEmu .
I DL'd from the market a few days ago. PodMode didn't quite work for me either, but in all fairness I didn't troubleshoot.
Besides the one problem I posted in the other thread, the display doesn't often update.
If I change the song on the tablet the display continues showing whatever song was playing previously. Changing the track with the car buttons changes the display as it should.
My car is a cheap POS electronic wise so I'm only looking to utilize the display as only the track buttons works.
fr4nk1yn said:
I DL'd from the market a few days ago. PodMode didn't quite work for me either, but in all fairness I didn't troubleshoot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now I am confused. Are you talking about PodMode or PodEmu?
rp9 said:
Now I am confused. Are you talking about PodMode or PodEmu?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PodEmu* is the one not always displaying the correct track.
*Just stating I tried both apps.
fr4nk1yn said:
PodEmu* is the one not always displaying the correct track.
*Just stating I tried both apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok. PodEmu is not pushing song info by itself when it is changed. This behavior is consistent with what real iPod do. Whenever real ipod is connected to the car it's screen is blocked and you cannot control music from ipod, only from car. Anyway I noticed that my car detects song change and "asks" about song details itself. Your car apparently don't. This is why I need more testing on different cars / docks [emoji2]. I'll try to add this feature in the next build.
I just ordered the parts I need for the cable, hope to get them till saturday, then I can start testing
Btw, where are you from?
Bought one of these :http://goo.gl/RNoQop, soldered on a USB cable, reverse the data cables, the app now works great with no configuration.
One note is on my tablet when the serial adapter is first plugged in the on screen prompt has had to be accepted for PodEmu or it doesn't recognize the adapter.
fr4nk1yn said:
Bought one of these :http://goo.gl/RNoQop, soldered on a USB cable, reverse the data cables, the app now works great with no configuration.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great!
fr4nk1yn said:
One note is on my tablet when the serial adapter is first plugged in the on screen prompt has had to be accepted for PodEmu or it doesn't recognize the adapter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is normal android behavior: app is asking permissions to use usb device. If you don't grant, app is not allowed to use the device.
Btw, fr4nk1yn, could you post make and model of your car?
30 pin connector only or USB?
Just wanted to clarify, will this app/DIY cable combo only work on devices with a 30 pin male connector on them, or can I use a 30pin male to USB connector to hook this up to my car stereo?
For example:
Android phone --> PodEmu --> DIY Cable --> 30pin connector --> USB --> Car Stereo
or is this only good for car stereos that have the 30 pin connector built in?
Thanks
TheCrut said:
Just wanted to clarify, will this app/DIY cable combo only work on devices with a 30 pin male connector on them, or can I use a 30pin male to USB connector to hook this up to my car stereo?
For example:
Android phone --> PodEmu --> DIY Cable --> 30pin connector --> USB --> Car Stereo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TheCrut, short answer is "most probably - no".
Long answer: it all depends on what is your 30pin-usb cable. If you are talking about std cable that you use to connect iPod to PC, then the answer is no. However if you have special cable supplied by your car manufacturer it might work. Eg as you might learn from spadival 's thread Hyundai cars has such dongle.
TheCrut said:
Just wanted to clarify, will this app/DIY cable combo only work on devices with a 30 pin male connector on them, or can I use a 30pin male to USB connector to hook this up to my car stereo?
For example:
Android phone --> PodEmu --> DIY Cable --> 30pin connector --> USB --> Car Stereo
or is this only good for car stereos that have the 30 pin connector built in?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your stereo supports an iPod connection by USB you can skip the 30pin connector. You just need to wire the serial wires to the USB data pins.
@rp9 I'm getting weirdness but I'm hoping I solved it.
The app doesn't like when the tablet sleeps and wakes continuously. The track buttons starts changing tracks "randomly". Track forward will cycle between back and forward, switching between the same 2 songs, then it picks a track somewhere in the playlist then operates normally for awhile.
I've started killing PodEmu on suspend which I hope fixes the issue.
-Edit: Hyundais pretty much suck.
I think I've narrowed the issue down to PodEmu being connected to the serial adapter but the "dock" is "disconnected".
fr4nk1yn said:
-Edit: Hyundais pretty much suck.
I think I've narrowed the issue down to PodEmu being connected to the serial adapter but the "dock" is "disconnected".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi fr4nk1yn. I am not sure if I understood correctly your problem. Can you please describe step by step how to reproduce the issue, expected behaviour, observed behaviour. Also without logs I cannot do too much. Please collect and send them to me.
hey, what about hc-05 support?
and thanks ofcourse!
if you need me as a tester for the hc-05 I can help.
rp9 said:
Hi fr4nk1yn. I am not sure if I understood correctly your problem. Can you please describe step by step how to reproduce the issue, expected behaviour, observed behaviour. Also without logs I cannot do too much. Please collect and send them to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll get some logs to you. I don't actually drive the car too much during the week. I'm afraid the logs will be quite large trying to replicate the issue.
I'm not sure what's causing the disconnects.
I'm using Timur's kernel with a N7'13 so when I shut the key off the tablet goes to sleep. Killing PodEmu before sleep made no difference.
Another oddity, that should not be caused by the app but only happens while in use, is Play Music frequently "not being able to play the song".
@rp9 I sent a log. Unfortunately I didn't look beforehand so it has a lot of previous stuff going back to the 31st.
Hopefully the stuff from tonight is of help.
Thanks for the making the app open source. I drive FIAT Punto in India 2013 Model. I would like to understand how this works? My Car supports direct 30 pin USB connection no special cable is needed. Does the app send the audio over usb? I will be glad to help you to test it out with my car.