Live TV App Installation Guide

• 1: Prerequisites
• 2: Security recommendations
• 3: Installation process
• 4: Troubleshooting

1 - Prerequisites

Before you install the Live TV app, make sure that the following prerequisites are met:

• You have the latest version of the Live TV app on your computer. If not, contact your designated company representative and request the latest version.
• You have the Android Debug Bridge (adb) command-line tool installed on your computer. For more information on how to install the adb command-line tool, see https://developer.android.com/tools/releases/platform-tools.
• Your computer and the Android TV box are located on the same network.
• The network stream is connected to the input port of the Android TV box.

2 - Security recommendations

The company recommends the following security measures for the Android TV boxes installed in your environment:

• Updates to the operating system should be installed on the Android TV boxes when they become available from the manufacturer.
• Updates to the Live TV app should be installed on the Android TV boxes when they become available from the company.
• The Android TV boxes should be installed in an isolated network, because the devices themselves do not support authentication, and do not have a firewall embedded.
• The Android TV boxes should only connect to the isolated network through an Ethernet cable and the wireless connection capabilities should be disabled.
• Incoming access to the Android TV boxes should be provided through a jump host, a gateway, or similar technologies.
• Outgoing access from the Android TV boxes to the company's cloud services must be allowed.

3 - Installation process

Enable USB debugging and fetch IP address

Although you connect to the Android TV box over your network, you must enable USB debugging on the Android TV box before you can install the Live TV app through the Android Debug Bridge (adb). Follow these instructions:

1. Using the remote control, go into the Settings on the Android TV box.
2. In Settings, select Device Preferences.
3. In Device Preferences, select About.
4. In About, select Android TV OS build seven times until you see the message You are now a developer! pop up on the screen.
5. Press the back button on the remote to go back to the Device Preferences menu.
6. In Device Preferences, select Developer options.
7. In Developer options, select USB debugging, and then select OK.
8. Press the back button on the remote to go back to the Device Preferences menu.
9. In Device Preferences, select About.
10. In About, select Status.
11. In Status, note down the entry under IP address, for example, 10.200.0.111. The IP address is used in a later stage to connect through adb to the Android TV box over your network.
12. Press the back button on the remote until you exit Settings.

You can now connect to the Android TV box over your network, load the configuration file and install the app.

Upgrade the vendor DTVKit implementation

DTVKit provides an interface that allows live TV applications, such as Live TV app, to scan and show digital TV broadcasts on an Android TV box.

Follow these instructions to upgrade the vendor DTVKit implementation:

1. Download the dtvkitserver package.

2. Enter the following command from the terminal to connect to the Android TV box:

   adb connect <IP address of your Android TV box>
   

   For example:

   > adb connect 10.200.0.111
   connected to 10.200.0.111:5555
   

3. Enter the following command to assume root permissions on the Android TV box:

   adb root
   

4. Enter the following command to make the /system partition on the Android TV box writable:

   adb remount
   

5. Enter the following command to upgrade the vendor DTVKit:

   adb push <local path to dtvkitserver file> /vendor/bin/hw
   

6. Enter the following command to reboot the Android TV box:

   adb reboot
   

7. After the Android TV box has rebooted, reconnect to the device:

   adb connect <IP address of your Android TV box>
   

8. Enter the following command to open an interactive shell on the Android TV box:

   adb shell
   

9. Enter the following command to browse to the vendor DTVKit location:

   cd /vendor/bin/hw
   

10. Enter the following command to verify the version of the new vendor DTVKit:

    file dtvkitserver
    

    The output of this command should be as follows:

    build:dtvkitserver: ELF shared object, 32-bit LSB arm, 
    dynamic (/system/bin/linker), for Android 31, 
    BuildID=8a9e61ee3ce6eda78350b7a0dc44b5f6
    

11. Enter the following command to exit the interactive shell:

    exit
    

12. Enter the following command to disconnect from the Android TV box:

    adb disconnect <IP address of your Android TV box>
    

    For example:

    > adb disconnect 10.200.0.111
    disconnected 10.200.0.111:5555
    

Create and load configuration file

The Live TV app requires a configuration file to be present on the Android TV box to make ad requests for the correct network and region the Android TV box is assigned to. Follow these instructions before installing the Live TV app:

1. Create a plain text file on your computer containing the following information:

   • pid: the Personal IDentifier, which is used to identify the Android TV box to the ad insertion service. The pid must be unique across all the Android TV boxes where you install the Live TV app. We recommend to use a numerical value, for example 0001.
   • channel: the channel that this Android TV is tuned to. The name must match the exact name of the network stream as it is used in the targeting on the ad campaigns.
   • region: the region that this Android TV serves. The name must match the exact name of the region as it is used in the targeting on the ad campaigns.
   • account: the subdomain of your product account.
   • logo_position: the position where the channel logo is shown during ad playback. Possible values are: top-left, top-right, bottom-left, or bottom-right. The default value is top-right.

   For example:

   pid=0001
   channel=channel1
   region=region1
   account=in-rel-demo
   logo_position=bottom-left
   

2. Save the file with the name company.properties.

3. Enter the following command from the terminal to connect to the Android TV box:

   adb connect <IP address of your Android TV box>
   

   For example:

   > adb connect 10.200.0.111
   connected to 10.200.0.111:5555
   

4. Enter the following command to push the configuration file to the Android TV box in the /sdcard/Download/ location:

   adb push <local path to company.properties file> /sdcard/Download/
   

   For example:

   > adb push /Users/XXX/Desktop/box2/company.properties /sdcard/Download/
   /Users/XXX/Desktop/box2/company.properties: 1 file pushed, 0 skipped. 0.0 MB/s (65 bytes in 1.127s)
   

5. Enter the following command to disconnect from the Android TV box:

   adb disconnect <IP address of your Android TV box>
   

   For example:

   > adb disconnect 10.200.0.111
   disconnected 10.200.0.111:5555
   

Install app

In this stage, you install the Live TV app. Follow these instructions:

1. Enter the following command from the terminal to connect to the Android TV box:

   adb connect <IP address of your Android TV box>
   

   For example:

   > adb connect 10.200.0.111
   connected to 10.200.0.111:5555
   

2. Enter the following command to install the Live TV app, and wait until you see the success message:

   adb install -r -g <local path to the Live TV app>
   

   For example:

   > adb install -r -g ~/Desktop/live_0.1.4.apk
   Success
   

   In this command the flags have the following meaning:

   • -r: this flag is used to reinstall an existing app while keeping the data from the previous installation.
   • -g: this flag is used to automatically set all permissions that are needed by the app.

3. Wait for 30 seconds after receiving the Success message on the command line before you continue with the procedure.

4. Enter the following command to disconnect from the Android TV box:

   adb disconnect <IP address of your Android TV box>
   

   For example:

   > adb disconnect 10.200.0.111
   disconnected 10.200.0.111:5555
   

5. Using the remote, browse to the Live TV app, and long press the select button. The context menu appears:

   

6. From the context menu, select Info. The Live TV menu appears:

   

7. In the Live TV menu, check that the version number of the installed app matches the version you installed on the Android TV box through the adb command.

   You may be handling many Android TV boxes, so this verification step is important to ensure you are executing the rest of the procedure on the same device.

   

8. On the remote, press the back button until you are back in the home screen.

Configure app

In this stage, you configure the Live TV app to tune to the correct network. Follow these instructions:

1. Using the remote, browse to the Live TV app and launch it. The Live TV app screen appears:

   

2. Keep clicking on next (>) until the GET STARTED screen appears:

   

3. Select GET STARTED. The Set up your sources screen appears:

   

4. Select DTVKit2. The channel setup screen appears:

   

5. Set up the following fields:

   • Country (Region): select the country or region.
   • Search Mode: select Manual.
   • Channel No.: select the channel to which the app needs to be tuned.
     • Frequency (KHz): the frequency changes according to the selected channel. Do not manually change this setting.
     • SymbolRate: set the symbol rate to align with the symbol rate of your QAM modulator in kilo symbols/second. For example, if the symbol rate is 6,900,000 symbols/second, then SymbolRate needs to be set to 6,900.
   • Mode: select the correct modulator constellation according to the modulator used for the input stream. For example, 64QAM.
   • NIT: select off.
   • Scan Type: select All.
   • Service Type: select All.

6. Select Scan. The screen changes for a brief time to a scanning screen and then returns to the channel setup screen.

7. Verify that S (Strength) and Q (Quality) are both 90% or more on the channel setup screen. If the values are not 90% or more, then adjust SymbolRate to the correct value and select Scan until S and Q are both 90% or more.

8. Using the remote, click the back button to return to the Set up your sources screen.

   

9. Select Done.

10. Press the back button until you are back on the home screen of the Android TV box.

11. Relaunch the Live TV app to verify that the app is correctly set up and you can see the network you have configured.

Disable Developer options

For security reasons, Developer options must be disabled after you have successfully installed and configured the Live TV app. Follow these instructions:

1. Using the remote control, go into the Settings on the Android TV box.
2. In Settings, select Device Preferences.
3. In Device Preferences, select Developer options.
4. In Developer options, next to Enable developer options, select the toggle to disable Developer options.
5. Press the back button until you are back on the home screen of the Android TV box.
6. Relaunch the Live TV app.

4 - Troubleshooting

When something happens to one of your Android TV boxes, it may be necessary to troubleshoot the device. This topic helps you troubleshoot the most common issues.

Disconnected cables

USB to RF/DVB-C cable disconnected

When the USB to RF/DVB-C cable is disconnected from the Android TV box (see connection 1 in the image), then the app loses the tuned channel, and an operator must re-tune the app to the correct channel.

Follow this procedure to solve the issue:

1. Reconnect the USB to RF/DVB-C cable to the Android TV box.
2. Using the remote, from the home screen, browse to Settings > Device Preferences > Restart.
3. Select Restart, and wait for the Android TV box to restart.
4. After the Android TV box has restarted, browse to the Live TV app and launch it.
5. Browse to TV Options > Settings > Channel sources. The Setup your sources screen appears.
6. Continue the channel setup as described in Configure app from step 4.

Modulator disconnected from USB to RF/DVB-C cable

When the modulator is disconnected from the USB to RF/DVB-C cable (see connection 2 in the image), but the USB to RF/DVB-C cable is still connected to the Android TV box, then an operator only needs to reconnect the modulator to the USB to RF/DVB-C cable. The app automatically reconnects to the configured network stream.

Power cable disconnected

When the power cable is disconnected from the Android TV box (see connection 3 in the image), then an operator only needs to reconnect the power cable and relaunch the Live TV app. The app automatically reconnects to the configured network stream.

Replacing an Android TV box

When one of your Android TV boxes stops working, you must replace it with a new one, and you must upload the same configuration file that was present on the Android TV box you are replacing.

Follow the same installation process as described in Installation process, but use the existing configuration file when you execute the steps under Create and load configuration file.