Navigating Netflix - Apologies if I'm being thick here.

[Scotster]

I can't for the life of me navigate the Netflix app using either the remote or my Wifi keyboard (i8). I was wondering if I was doing something wrong or missed out something obvious. When I click on a show and want to navigate through the episodes of a season I'm presented with a list. I can see the first 8-10 episodes without issue but I have not found a way of scrolling further down the page. The only way I am able to remedy the situation is to open netflix on a-n-other device and then select the episode I want. After 5 minutes I return to the droidbox and I can resume where I am.

This is clearly not ideal though. Any tips?

Thanks

 

[patrico]

Hi
Just saw your post now. There should be two ways to do this with your remote You can keep your finger on the OK button then move the remote up or down. The alternative is to press the Pg+ or Pg- button which should move the list up or down. Hope this helps.
Pat

 

[ChrisM]

@patrico Thanks for the reply there
@Scotster Apologies for this delayed response, I was on holiday. Has the advice above helped you? I've not got a Netflix subscription to test with, otherwise I'd try to replicate the issue. If it helps at all, the Genesis and iStream add-ons in XBMC/Kodi/SPMC tend to have an even wider selection. Stick to the HD streams hosted at VK or Google Video/GV Centre/GVideo and you should fine a smooth viewing experience.

 

[cscolours]

I am experiencing the same problem, the page up/down does not work I am not able to scroll down and to navigate through the list of episodes to select what I want to watch. is there a problem with the Droidbox T8-S as this is the only device that causes me a problem

 

[ChrisM]

Which remote control are you using at the time, and which do you have available there? I remember some apps all updated a while back and navigating without an airmouse/touchpad/normal mouse became impossible. Let me know your setup and which DroidBOX device you have, we'll replicate your set up and investigate.

 

[cscolours]

Thank you for responding I am using
DroidBOX T8-S OpenELEC with standard remote control as well as DroidBOX i8+ High Quality Wireless Mini Keyboard with Touchpad Control and Led-backlit for DroidBOX (2015 model).

neither the remote or wireless keypad is able to navigate correctly..

let me know if you need any further info

 

[ChrisM]

Sorry for the delay @cscolours .

OK, looks like the apps' coders have gone the same way as with iPlayer. Using the navigation/cursor buttons on traditional remote or the i8 confirmed as no longer working. Nothing to be done there, requires the app to be changed, you could try contacting them but phone tablet users probably a higher priority for them.

On the i8+/i8, using the trackpad (and LMB/left mouse button) to drag the episode list out worked, can you try that please?

 

[cscolours]

Thanks SilentlyScreaming

The workaround using the trackpad and mouse has worked for me so I can live with it if/until they change the app.

cheers

 

[Sam W]

I have a Google Nexus Player Android TV box which is running the same Netflix app but the interface is different and the regular remote works to select episodes. Is this because my Nexus Player is Running Android TV and the DroidBOX is not? Isn't there a way for the DroidBOX to tell the apps to use the same interface layout as the Nexus Player?
This is also the same for Plex. When I install Plex, I get the same mobile interface I get on my Android phone and not the TV friendly version I get on my Nexus Player.
In other words. the DroidBOX should report itself a TV device.
Maybe it would be possible to have this as an option somehow so we could choose if we want our devices to be reported as a TV as I know there are some apps that users may want to use that would not run if it was on a TV device.

 

[Sam W]

I found the following setting on XDA. I might play around with it tomorrow, but if anyone has any feedback it would be most welcome.

In BUILD.PROP there is a "ro.build.characteristics" settings and on the nVidia Shield it is set to TV. ie. "ro.build.characteristics=tv".
On the Nexus 9 tablet it reads "ro.build.characteristics=tablet,nosdcard"

I've been trying to find out exactly what this setting does and what options are available but failed so far.

Any developers out there or someone from DroidBOX that might be able to shed some light on this?

 

[ChrisM]

Android TV versions of Netflix and Plex will be quite different. I'd be surprised if Netflix can be grabbed and work well on another Android (not Android TV) device. Worth a try though. If you find the APK file on yuor Nexus Player for any apps you're interested, you could copy them across your home network or with a USB storage device, then open and install them on your DroidBOX.
Just in case you've not dabbled with the build.prop file previously, do be careful with text entered/modified/removed, as incorrect values could lead to it hanging during boot up. Hopefully a factory reset would resolve this, though obviously lose any changes made to the system since it was first turned on.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/explanation-build-prop-values-t3069341 has some explanations, ah, I see "various device characteristics". ShaunMT over at freaktab - http://freaktab.com/member/6564-shaunmt - might be a good source of info or resources for build.prop queries.

 

[Sam W]

Thanks for your reply. One of the reasons I purchased this box over others is that many reviews said how excellent the customer service was form you guys. Fast responses and monitoring of these forums to help to confirm that
Let me correct my previous statement that Neteflix is the same version on all Android devices, as I checked this morning and they are not.
There is a different version on the Google Nexus Player.
I'm sure this is something that you've already looked into as its becoming a complaint in many sites from people with these type of Android boxes.
I had assumed at first that the OS running on these boxes was in fact Android TV, but it appears that it is regular Android. Is that true?
If developers have not specifically coded their apps for the 10 foot interface and change things so a regular cursor control is insufficient to navigate, then isn't their a way to offer the Android TV version of the apps on your app store, or maybe have a section for Android TV (10 foot interface) versions somewhere separate?
OR
Is there a way to alter the apps the Play Store offers to offer the Android TV versions?

 

[ChrisM]

(Yes, correct, we have an Xtreamer device that runs Android TV, but the rest are normal Android).

A lot of the time it can come down to the company (like Netflix) not allowing their leanback/Android TV apps on non-certified hardware. https://devices.netflix.com/en_gb/ shows their approved list. If you aren't a huge company with a lot of $ to spare, your devices are allowed to install the standard Android version of the Netflix application from the Play Store.

You won't find easy official ways to get Android TV versions of applications from official sources. However, with sites like http://www.apkmirror.com/ you can search for APK files to install applications manually.

 

[Sam W]

Just an FYI... I sourced the Android TV version of NetFlix and installed it on the DroidBOX and it would not run saying it was incompatible.