Tag Archives: TV

App Bundles for Google TV and Android TV

Posted by Josh Wentz, Product Management, Google TV

TLDR: Google TV and Android TV will be requiring Android App Bundles that are archivable starting in May 2023 to save storage for users.

Over the past few decades, TV has transformed from linear channel surfing to on-demand content with multi-app experiences. Today, over 10,000 apps are available on Android TV OS. While software has grown exponentially, TV hardware has remained limited in capacity compared to its phone counterparts. In 2022, smartphones often have a minimum storage size of 64GB, but smart TVs have an average of just 8GB. Less storage results in users having to uninstall apps, hindering their overall TV experience. To help with this problem and others, Android introduced App Bundles in Nov 2020.


What are Android App Bundles?

“Android App Bundles” (AABs) are the standard publishing format on Google Play (phones, tablets, TVs, etc) that have replaced “Android Package Kits” (APKs). App Bundles are smaller, faster, fresher, and better than its precursor. Key benefits include:

  1. Smaller Download/Storage Size - App Bundles create an average of 20% total size savings compared to its equivalent APK counterpart by optimizing for each device.
  2. Less Likely to Uninstall - Since App Bundles enables users with the option to archive (which reclaims ~60% of app storage), users can keep these and more apps on their TV despite limited storage. A quick archive/unarchive user interface is built-in to the TV. Developers can also maintain state for a frictionless later return.
  3. Applicable to All Android Surfaces - App Bundles are helpful for all Android surfaces using the Google Play store including TV, phone, tablet, watch, auto, & more.
  4. Streamlined Delivery & Security - For easier delivery, a single artifact with all of your app's code & resources allows Play store to dynamically serve an optimized app for each device configuration. For greater security, developers can also reset the upload key if it’s lost or compromised.

What is new for TV?

With TV storage confined and users having an increasing appetite for more apps, Google TV and Android TV will be requiring App Bundles starting in May 2023. While this provides about 6-months to transition, we estimate that in most cases it will take one engineer about 3-days to migrate an existing TV app from Android Package Kit (APK) to Android App Bundle (AAB). While developers can configure archiving for their mobile apps, TV apps are required to be archivable so that all users and developers can benefit on storage-constrained TVs.

For TV apps not transitioned in time, Google may hide such apps from the TV surface. If you’re working on a brand new TV app, be sure to use Android App Bundles from the start!


How can TV apps transition?

Visit our Developer Guide to learn more about how to migrate to an Android App Bundle (AAB).

All told, App Bundles bring a delightful experience to both you as developers and your users, especially in the living room. Thank you for your partnership in creating immersive content and entertainment experiences for the future of TV.

Building TV Channels

Posted by Josh Gordon, Developer Advocate

Channel surfing is a popular way of watching TV. You pick up the remote, lean back, and flip through channels to see what’s on. On Android TV, app developers can create their own channel-like experiences using the TV Input Framework.

To the user, the channels you create look and feel just like regular TV channel. But behind the scenes, they stream video over the internet. For example, you can create a channel from a video playlist.

Watch this DevByte for an overview of how to build to a channel, and see the sample app and developer training for more info. The sample shows how to work with a variety of media formats, including HLS, MPEG-Dash, and HTTP Progressive.



If you already have an app that streams video, consider also making your content available as a channel. It’s a great opportunity to increase engagement. We’re excited to see what you develop, and look forward to seeing your content on the big screen!

How the Cloud is Transforming TV Across All Screens

This post is part of DoubleClick's Evolution of TV series. In this series we identify the risks and opportunities around 7 dynamics transforming the advertising landscape as TV programming shifts to delivery over the Internet.

Recently, at the National Association for Broadcasters (NAB) Show in Las Vegas, we released the fourth installment of our Evolution of TV series where we explore the impact of the cloud on TV's transformation. The premise of this new whitepaper is that everything we know about TV delivery and viewing is about to change.


Everything from the way we watch TV to how it's distributed is changing. The delivery and production of the TV content we're viewing—and sometimes binge-watching on so many screens—is on the cusp of industry-wide innovation as TV delivery shifts from over the air, satellite, or cable to the internet. To support TV programming over the internet, those responsible for delivering the content—the programmers and distributors—are beginning to migrate their operations to a more flexible, agile environment: the cloud


In short, migrating TV to the cloud not only affords programmers and distributors cost savings and efficiency but also enables innovation that could change TV as we know it today into a far more dynamic, personalized, and addressable medium.


Download the PDF to get the entire scoop on how parallel transformations in other industries show us that the cloud will encourage innovation and necessitate agility for programmers and distributors, as well as create a vastly different viewing experience for users.




Anish Kattukaran,

Product Marketing, DoubleClick Video & Brand Measurement

How the Cloud is Transforming TV Across All Screens

This post is part of DoubleClick's Evolution of TV series. In this series we identify the risks and opportunities around 7 dynamics transforming the advertising landscape as TV programming shifts to delivery over the Internet.

Recently, at the National Association for Broadcasters (NAB) Show in Las Vegas, we released the fourth installment of our Evolution of TV series where we explore the impact of the cloud on TV's transformation. The premise of this new whitepaper is that everything we know about TV delivery and viewing is about to change.


Everything from the way we watch TV to how it's distributed is changing. The delivery and production of the TV content we're viewing—and sometimes binge-watching on so many screens—is on the cusp of industry-wide innovation as TV delivery shifts from over the air, satellite, or cable to the internet. To support TV programming over the internet, those responsible for delivering the content—the programmers and distributors—are beginning to migrate their operations to a more flexible, agile environment: the cloud


In this new whitepaper we explore a few of the cloud migrations happening in specific areas of the TV business like:
  • Subscription services
  • Transcoding and encoding
  • Broadcast automation
  • Stream packaging
  • Signal distribution between partners
  • Signal acquisition between partners
  • Storage and archiving


In short, migrating TV to the cloud not only affords programmers and distributors cost savings and efficiency but also enables innovation that could change TV as we know it today into a far more dynamic, personalized, and addressable medium.


Download the PDF to get the entire scoop on how parallel transformations in other industries show us that the cloud will encourage innovation and necessitate agility for programmers and distributors, as well as create a vastly different viewing experience for users.




Anish Kattukaran,
Product Marketing, DoubleClick Video & Brand Measurement

Join Google & DoubleClick at NAB Show, Monday April 13th at 10:30am PDT

In our Evolution of TV series we've been exploring the 7 dynamics driving TV’s on-going transition to delivery over the internet. In the series we uncover that viewers increasingly want to watch their favorite TV shows anytime, anywhere, and on any screen. Delivering against this cross-screen mix of traditional linear TV and TV over the internet, while making advertising as addressable and measurable as possible, requires both new business models and sophisticated new technology. 

Join Google’s Director of Product Management for Video Advertising, Rany Ng, at NAB Show for some exciting new TV announcements. Rany will take the stage for a keynote speech where she’ll discuss how this new, accelerated viewing model is changing the way that programmers, distributors and publishers deliver and monetize their content across every TV screen.

Following the keynote, Don Norton our Director of Broadcast and Sports Partnerships, will moderate a panel and Q&A session with senior industry thought-leaders from MTV Networks (Viacom), Pelmorex and our own mDialog.

For more details: NAB Show 2015
When: 10:30am, Monday, April 13
Where: Las Vegas Convention Center, Room N239-241
3150 Paradise Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89109

Evolution of TV: Reaching audiences across screens

This post is part of the Evolution of TV series. In this series we identify the risks and opportunities around 7 dynamics transforming the advertising landscape as TV programming shifts to delivery over the Internet.

The lines between TV and the web are blurring, as people increasingly watch TV online on all their devices and watch online video on their TV’s.

In part 1 of our Evolution of TV series, 7 Dynamics Transforming TV (article, PDF of whitepaper), we introduced the increasing shift of TV to delivery over the internet.

The proliferation of screens to “watch TV” on has given Broadcasters increased reach but at the expense of audience fragmentation. In Part 2, Reaching Audiences Across Screens, we discuss how scale, measurement, technology and brand safety come together to address the challenges and create huge opportunities for broadcasters, distributors and advertisers to grow their audiences and increase brand engagement.






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Anish Kattukaran
Product Marketing, DoubleClick Video & Brand Measurement

Evolution of TV: 7 Dynamics Transforming TV

This post is part of the Evolution of TV series. In this series we identify the risks and opportunities around 7 dynamics transforming the advertising landscape as TV programming shifts to delivery over the Internet.

Viewers increasingly want to watch their favorite TV shows anytime, anywhere, and on any screen. There's lots of TV content online, but hitting all three of those checkboxes isn't yet possible for every piece of programming. To do so requires a greater shift to delivering TV programming over the Internet rather than just over the air, satellite, or cable. Sounds simple, right? It's not. It is a massive shift that has game-changing implications for everyone involved.

This shift isn’t just impacting TV programmers and distributors, but also the viewers watching their favorite TV shows and sports teams across every screen, and the advertisers telling their brand stories against that content.

Today we are introducing the first part in a series called the Evolution of TV. In this series, DoubleClick and Google have identified 7 dynamics transforming the advertising landscape as TV programming shifts to delivery over the Internet. These 7 dynamics fall into three key areas:
  • Viewer engagement 
  • Delivery over the Internet and cloud 
  • Advertising 
Download the first part of the series now to learn the risks and opportunities associated with each of the 7 dynamics transforming the TV landscape and driving the shift of the $68 billion TV advertising industry.


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Anish Kattukaran
Marketing, DoubleClick Video

Evolution of TV: 7 Dynamics Transforming TV

This post is part of the Evolution of TV series. In this series we identify the risks and opportunities around 7 dynamics transforming the advertising landscape as TV programming shifts to delivery over the Internet.

Viewers increasingly want to watch their favorite TV shows anytime, anywhere, and on any screen. There's lots of TV content online, but hitting all three of those checkboxes isn't yet possible for every piece of programming. To do so requires a greater shift to delivering TV programming over the Internet rather than just over the air, satellite, or cable. Sounds simple, right? It's not. It is a massive shift that has game-changing implications for everyone involved.

This shift isn’t just impacting TV programmers and distributors, but also the viewers watching their favorite TV shows and sports teams across every screen, and the advertisers telling their brand stories against that content.

Today we are introducing the first part in a series called the Evolution of TV. In this series, DoubleClick and Google have identified 7 dynamics transforming the advertising landscape as TV programming shifts to delivery over the Internet. These 7 dynamics fall into three key areas:
  • Viewer engagement 
  • Delivery over the Internet and cloud 
  • Advertising 
Download the first part of the series now to learn the risks and opportunities associated with each of the 7 dynamics transforming the TV landscape and driving the shift of the $68 billion TV advertising industry.


-
Anish Kattukaran
Marketing, DoubleClick Video

Your Chance to be on TV!

By Tarjei Vassbotn and Dan Galpin, Developer Advocates, Android TV

We’re excited to see the launch of Nexus Player, the first consumer streaming media player running Android TV. Android TV delivers an entertainment experience tailored for users, including movies, shows, games and more.
Now is a great time to develop apps for Android TV that reach a whole new audience.

Starting today, you can publish your apps for Android TV on Google Play, the largest digital store for apps and games. We’ve provided guidance on how to get started building great apps for Android TV in this post.

"Google has done an insanely good job to ease the developer’s task of creating a TV application, mainly thanks to the Leanback support library. It literally takes 2 hours to create a fully working and possibly fancy app, which is awesome."

- Sebastiano Gottardo

A high bar for quality experiences

We want to offer the best possible experience for users to enjoy your apps and games. To make this possible, your Android TV app must meet the basic requirements for usability. When your app meets these requirements, users will be able to discover and download it directly on their Android TV devices.

Even if you have already uploaded your app to the Google Play Developer Console, you will need to add TV graphics and screenshots, and opt-in to distribution on TV on the Pricing & Distribution page. For complete information about the requirements and process of publishing your Android TV app for Google Play, make sure to check out the publishing documentation.

Get started!

With our Leanback Library we’ve made it easy for you to extend your existing app to the TV screen or even build a completely new app for Android TV. For a quick look at the Leanback Library, check out this DevBytes video.

We’ve only begun scratching the surface of what’s possible with this new form factor, and we are very excited to see what you will build, start developing today!

Google Play Services 4.2

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The latest release of Google Play services is now available on Android devices worldwide. It includes the full release of the Google Cast SDK, for developing and publishing Google Cast-ready apps.

You can get started developing today by downloading the Google Play services SDK from the SDK Manager.

Google Cast SDK

The Google Cast SDK makes it easy to bring your content to the TV. There’s no need to create a new app — just incorporate the SDK into your existing mobile and web apps. You are in control of how and when you publish your Google Cast-ready app to users through the Google Cast developer console.

You can find out more about the Cast SDK by reading Ready to Cast on the Google Developers Blog. For complete information about the Cast SDK and how to use the Cast APIs, see the Google Cast developer page.

Google Drive

The Google Drive API introduced in Google Play services 4.1 has graduated from developer preview. The latest version includes refinements to the API as well as improvements for performance and stability.

Google client API

This release introduces a new Google API client that unifies the connection model across Google services. Instead of needing to work with separate client classes for each API you wanted to use, you can now work with a single client API model. This makes it easier to build Google services into your apps and provides a more continuous user experience when you are using multiple services.

For an introduction to the new Google client API and what it means for your app, start by reading New Client API in Google Play Services.

More About Google Play Services

To learn more about Google Play services and the APIs available to you through it, visit the Google Services area of the Android Developers site. Details on the APIs are available in the API reference.

For information about getting started with Google Play services APIs, see Set Up Google Play Services SDK