XBMC For Android
We have been keeping a little secret.. the kind that is so much fun to share when the time comes.
Today we announce XBMC for Android. Not a remote, not a thin client; the real deal. No root or jailbreak required. XBMC can be launched as an application on your set-top-box, tablet, phone, or wherever else Android may be found.
The feature-set on Android is the same that you have come to expect from XBMC, no different from its cousin on the desktop. Running your favorite media-center software on small, cheap, embedded hardware is about to become a hassle-free reality. And as Android-based set-top-boxes are becoming more and more ubiquitous, it couldn’t be a better time. In fact, primary development was done on a Pivos XIOS DS set-top-box. And that is no coincidence, you will notice that Pivos is now listed as an official sponsor (more on that later). XBMC is stable and works great there, as well as on various tablets and phones. Though with Android, as many of you probably know, that is only the beginning of the story.
Enjoy the stereotypical dev-shot low-quality demo video. More video, including phone/tablet usage in the next post.
So what’s the catch? None… in time. Currently, for most devices only software decode of audio and video is hooked up. We considered waiting until universal hardware decode was ready before making our announcement, but in the end decided that in the spirit of keeping things open and working with our ever-expanding community, it made sense to open up sooner rather than later. We are confident that an OpenMax-based player (similar to the one used for the Raspberry Pi) will spring up very quickly. That said, software playback of most media plays quite well already.
Though, there is one exception. As Pivos sponsored a large portion of the port, we were able to work with their vendors to achieve buttery-smooth hardware-accelerated playback on the XIOS DS. It remains to be seen if such hardware-specific features will make it into XBMC mainline or exist as patches for vendors to integrate.
While, as you can see in the video, the port is fully usable and lots of fun to play with, it’s not quite ready for prime-time. We will begin releasing apks for interested beta testers in the coming weeks. But for those who are up to the task, as you would expect from XBMC, the source code is available. We have decided not to push to Google Play until we are satisfied that users with all kinds of devices get the same great XBMC experience. We ask that our users stay on the lookout for evil-doers trying to cash in on XBMC’s popularity. If you see anyone masquerading as XBMC, please be sure to let us and Google know about it.
There is also the issue of having a proper UI for small-screen devices. Typically, XBMC skins have been designed for use on a TV, so use on a small phone can be clunky. But there is nothing keeping skinners from creating more functional touch-oriented skins, like the included “Touched” skin from Jezz_X. With the community’s help, we’re sure to have a more refined version available for inclusion by the time we release a stable version.
There are still many details left to iron out, mainly related to the wide variety of Android devices in the wild. We have not yet decided what minimum requirements will be set, due simply to the lack of extensive testing on exotic devices.
As for taking advantage of Android itself, we haven’t even scratched the surface. There are so many interesting features that we could take advantage of: launching apps, location awareness, speech recognition, on and on. Once the core port is finished up, you can bet we’ll be exploring many new avenues.
I could write for days about how the port started, how it was accomplished technically, what tricks were used, etc, but I will save that for a (somewhat more personal) follow-up post. There is much to say about the process that would likely bore most readers, but I will try to answer the questions that come up in the comments as much as possible in that post. The port was a big effort with many contributors, many thanks to Davilla, Memphiz, Phaeodaria, Montellese, Topfs2, and everyone else who was involved.
Full disclosure: I have been working for Pivos for the last few months, where I suggested the port-work and XBMC sponsorship. I hope our users join me in a thanking them for supporting XBMC and allowing me to work on the port (among other things) during the day. Be sure to check out the Pivos forums, where discussions and unofficial builds are bound to spring up quickly.
I have no idea how many of the above people have even downloaded the app. On the Android Play Store there is an XBMC Media Player by Zappo. So I guess that is that. The above details does not tell mee anyhting about Zappo. Anyways, let’s move on -
- For starters it asks me for a mandatory email registration. Huh??? What gives??? And why is Zappo featurning so prominently on the app??? Who is Zappo & what does it have to do with an Open Source project like XBMC?
- If the XBMC app has been an elegant interface on the Xbox, PC, OSX et al, how come it has such a piss poor horrible interface that even veterans have to walk the learning curve?
- Why are irritating ads flashing at the bottom of the screen? If the XBMC/Zappo team believe that the mobile platform should be monetised then please feel free to put up a paid app version that has none of this adware which spectacularly spoils the experience.
- As subjective opinion, I DO NOT see any hint of the XBMC pedigree in this app. I was so excited when I read about it & when I downloaded the app, it’s been nothing short of a crappy experience.
- Oh by the way, I am trying to access content on my XBOX, two PCs & a Mac Mini, all of which have XBMC running & ONLY uses UPnP protocol. Whoa!!! So that means I gotta meta-tag my files et al & then & only then will I be able to access AV content.
- I would have had no grudge or posted a rant about this app if it was a pure Open Source project (case in point the simply most awesome & cool official XBMC remote app). But this is not the case. It is done by Zappos & it is an adware.
- Just one last thing – The app can play video files within the mobile phone. I mean that’s the reason it has got the sobriquet of a “media Center” but then I wonder why am I being asked to select the native player of my phone (Samsung i9100) or an external player. Excuse me, the last time I checked XBMC is a brilliant media player. Or am I missing the picture????
Allow me to conclude my subjective analysis – Apart from the fact that it is a glorified UPnP interface, this app falls of short of everything. This app is an affront to everything that XBMC stands for – An awesome media player that is fortified with beer, tears, inspiration & 99.99% gritty cooding perspiration.
If anyone has taken offence to the above, please mail me by all means on why I am wrong (aarmath@yahoo.com).
Perhaps this is not the XBMC media center for Android at all. I have been a presumptious fool. If that’s the case treat my post as a rant & by all means please flame me :-)
My love affair with XBMC began when it was in the XBMP avatar & the respect that this open source project has garnered is simply astounding with no rivals that i am aware of. I hope the same becomes true for the Mobile version as well.
@Demos
I can only agree with that!
I’m… speechless!!!
Update to my last post:
- The UPnP protocol on the mobile app does not seem to work when browsing my music on the XBOX (shod with the latest XBMC 3.1 ver). I only see an ever perpetual revolving circle icon. How impressive indeed…
OUYA!!!!
Absolutely amasing team!
Big big woot!
I’ll be happy to test it out on my nexu s and transformer pad tf300t when its available.
You guys rock!
@aaron mathias, that’s malware disguising as xbmc. it says very clearly in the article that it it is NOT put on google play yet.
@Aaron Mathias
XBMC Media Player by Zappo is a XBMC remote of sorts (I’ve never tried it, I use our official one), it has nothing to do with our Android port.
Thank you mates (@ Spiff, Spike)!!!
One of those days when it feels good to know you were barking at the wrong tree. Can something be done about getting rid of this malware? Would be happy to help in whatever way i can.
P.S. Pleas treat my rant as a defence to my beloved XBMC…
Semper Fidelis always…
Holy Sh1t!!!!! Jaw drop moment! I only logged on for a look at the forum and there’s this!!! Funnily enough I’m on my Xoom pad!!!! Awesome!
@Aaron are you able to read?
“We have decided not to push to Google Play until we are satisfied that users with all kinds of devices get the same great XBMC experience. “
Well, consider this a flame then, because you must be a complete idiot for writing such a massive post about an app that has completely nothing to do with XBMC :-/
theuni clearly states that the app is not yet available, and for sure not in the Play-store, so why do you go looking for it there?
Jeez, some people… :-(
Oh yes! That is amazing news!
I use Plex, which is based off XBMC, so hopefully soon we can see a port of that.
Also, I would love to watch my MythTV live channels and recordings on my tablet, and this could make it all possible!
Great job!
@Aaron Mathias What part of “We have decided not to push to Google Play until we are satisfied that users with all kinds of devices get the same great XBMC experience. We ask that our users stay on the lookout for evil-doers trying to cash in on XBMC’s popularity. If you see anyone masquerading as XBMC, please be sure to let us and Google know about it.” didn’t you understand?
Hi Fire69,
Yep, I stand guilty as charged.
But I hope that the XBMC could put in a warning for the uninitiated on such malware apps, since the same was not there till about a fortnight or so. Oh the malware the app does share the XBMC logo as well detects XBOX/XBMC servers/renderers creating a flase impression that there is a credible XBMC app on the Play Store.
So yeah, instead of being blissfully ignorant, I decided to write on this malware app. At best, I hope it will create awareness about keeping away from this shitty malware, at worst, I have a troll like you to deal with :-)
So let’s put this away & discuss something constructive.
Wow great news! I was looking for this just a day ago and now here it is on the way, so cool!
Amazing! I was surprised not to hear anything about this for quite some time and love to be surprised there actually has been a LOAD of work. Would love to Beta Test on a few devices like Desire, SIII, Vega and hopefully soon the Pocket TV! Just contact me through email I’ve entered. Thx pplz!
Congratulations and thank you very much!
That picture of Zappy is so funny, haha :D
So this is XBMC ported to Android with NDK to run as NativeActivity?
Great stuff and well done manging to port XBMC without using Java!
Yess! Perfect timing, thank you very much!
Just a thought – suggest it’s made clear right at the get go that it’s not out yet. People, myself included are so excited that they go straight to the android store to download. The fact that it’s not there yet is kind of buried in the body of the article.
That said…. great news! Can’t wait :-)
My thoughts exactly!
@Aaron Mathias
Maybe you should read the post before you comment… Just sayin.
Wow. Thank you.
Been waiting so long for this.
Can;’t wait for hardware acceleration support for the tf101.
Because he only watched the youTube vid….and didn’t read a word of the post … ;)
wow… this is huge :) My PadFone just got a whole lot better :P
Great news guy, thanks for everything!
Now that seems appropriate on the 14th of July & not on the 13th. I am a Samsung Android/Nexus-Google user.
Fuck yeah!!!
This is awesome! Congrats !!
If you guys can get this running on the HP TouchPad’s with CM9, you’ll be heroes!!
I’ve been waiting for this for so long. I’m so happy to see that it’s coming. Gimmie those APKs!
tested on a couple devices with the build from the MK802 guys. HD and SD Both behaved the same way. Regardless, UI looks awesome and is smooth, Video Playback, gonna have to wait for HW Accel.
HP Touchpad on CM9 UI is smooth, video is jittery. Could be crappy WIFI or lack of HW Accel.
Logitech Revue complete fail, app will not even run.
SGS2(Sprint) – Looked great then about 1 min into the video, audio dropped out and video got laggy.
I have an HTC EVO, Samsung Nexus S 4G, and a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 if you need beta testers!
Ouya! Or the higher end nexus Q!!! Mmmm
Will subtitles over hdmi be available in hw decoding mode? Currently none of the Android players offer this feature. When connecting the tablet to the tv the subtitles are displayed only on the tablet screen.
Awesome. Love XBMC on my HTPC. I’d love to Beta test. 2 Revue’s, Asus tf30t Transformer Pad, LTE Galaxy Nexus [Bugless Beast JB].
@Joe
Yeaj Google TV support is greatly needed dont forget the logitech REVUE
Wow! With all the people asking about XBMC for Android you guys did a great job like usual keeping quiet. I’m glad you guys gave Android a try, this definitely gives us more options. Now we just need more Android set-top boxes.
http://www.streamernation.com
Now im even more excited about the Vizio Co-Star.
This is awesome. Great job xbmc team!
THIS IS THE BEST THINK EVER!!!!!
cant wait to try it out!!!!
@MK
Did you read the article? The part where it tells you to get builds?
Very impressive!
Looks like this would be awesome on the Pocket TV too!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/484889112/the-pocket-tv-makes-any-tv-a-smart-tv
Do any of you actually read
“We will begin releasing apks for interested beta testers in the coming weeks. But for those who are up to the task, as you would expect from XBMC, the source code is available”
meaning NO APK yet. if you want it, build it from source yourself
great job on managing the workaround with the NDK guys
Little bit of googling, there are several builds from last night available….Hint….MK802….
I got a galaxy tab 2 7.0 cant wait to see it running xmbc.
It would REALLY be nice if it would work on a TViX Xroid A1!
Will this be ported to OUYA?
MK: Please read the post. “We will begin releasing apks for interested beta testers in the coming weeks.”.
Just curious…the post on the front page stated that the XIOS DS has hardware acceleration for video playback (due to them being sponsors and all)…Since the XIOS DS runs on a Mali 400 GPU does that means that all devices using the Mali 400 GPU will have hardware acceleration out of the box (i.e. AllWinner)?