Mi Box - TVNZ OnDemand and BBC iPlayer

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Mi Box - TVNZ OnDemand and BBC iPlayer - navigation issues

Laksa

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#240973 4-Oct-2018 19:01

Have recently purchased a mi box and installed TVNZ OnDemand and BBC iPlayer via ES Loader - all good there.

Applications launch ok but the issue is that I can't navigate within the application.

Is specific type of remote control required or a remote keyboard?

gbwelly

1243 posts

Uber Geek

#2101709 4-Oct-2018 19:36

Are they android tv versions or are they android versions and expecting touch input?
There is definitely an android tv version of BBC iplayer -I am using it on Shield.

Laksa

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2101815 4-Oct-2018 21:18

No idea android tv or phone/tablet versions.

BBC iPlayer apk I have used is bbc.iplayer.android_4.55.1.1-45510001_minAPI16(armeabi-v7a,x86)(nodpi)_apkmirror.com.apk

Where did you get the apk for your shield?

robjg63

4098 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2101895 5-Oct-2018 07:46

Not really a helpful answer, but it seems very difficult to get the 'right' android apk for various android boxes. I have tried and found the problems you report. I.e. the navigation and display goes all wonky.

I see the mi-box has a USB port. Does navigation work OK with a mouse?

I wonder if rather than side loading, might it be worth trying to set google play to the UK and see what version of iPlayer is offered. If you are mixing up iPlayer and tvnz then you must have some sort of geo-unblocker, so should be able to tweak google play temporarily to think you are in the UK. Then look for iPlayer (and any other UK services that you want). Channel 4 is pretty good.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

steve2222

498 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2101905 5-Oct-2018 08:22

The Shield .apk for BBC does not work on the Mi Box - one box is ARM the other is x86.

You can side load the phone version of BBC iPlayer (normal Android version) but once you have opened the app with the remote, you must then use a mouse for navigation within the app.

I use a wireless mouse using the USB port on the Mi Box.

Works really well - but I agree it is a PITA having to use a mouse as well as the remote. Reality is there are no true Android TV versions for BBC, All 4, ITV, TVNZ, Three etc

robjg63

4098 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2101953 5-Oct-2018 09:37

Doesn't cover any NZ on demand content - but the Amazon Fire TV is very good for UK/USA content. The Apps just work. Everything fits on the screen nicely. The navigation works as it should with the remote.

I tried a couple of android 'tv' boxes and found them very 'clunky' at best. As mentioned above there are often different android versions of the apps - some are better optimised for the target device than others. I tried a few sided loaded apps on the Fire TV and their functionality was pretty patchy.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

beddy

93 posts

Master Geek

#2102021 5-Oct-2018 10:15

To get around the navigation problems with NZ on demand content you can install Kodi and use an addon instead.

It doesn't have the nice UI, just a list of the programs, but it does the job.

burtz

168 posts

Master Geek

#2103375 8-Oct-2018 14:56

beddy:

To get around the navigation problems with NZ on demand content you can install Kodi and use an addon instead.

It doesn't have the nice UI, just a list of the programs, but it does the job.

Can you point to the location of the NZ on demand Kodi apps? I didn't think these had been updated, do they still work?

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beddy

93 posts

Master Geek

#2103494 8-Oct-2018 18:24

burtz:

beddy:

To get around the navigation problems with NZ on demand content you can install Kodi and use an addon instead.

It doesn't have the nice UI, just a list of the programs, but it does the job.

Can you point to the location of the NZ on demand Kodi apps? I didn't think these had been updated, do they still work?

Have a look at Matt Huisman's website.

Laksa

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2104090 9-Oct-2018 19:22

Thanks for all the help and suggestions and I have come up with a solution that covers most of the bases.

My solution has been to side load various apps (TVNZ OnDemand, BBC iPlayer) onto the Sony Bravia Smart TV and use a wireless mouse to control the Apps and to ditch the Mi Box (soon to be appearing on TradeMe).

Access to the side loaded apps is via another App called TVLauncher (as side loaded apps won't appear on home screen).

The only downside with this is that there is no way to pause a program playing in BBC iPlayer (suggestions anyone?).

FYI

The BBC iPlayer in conjunction with ExpressVPN on Mi Box worked fine, however TVNZ OnDemand would stream live programs but not on-demand programs.
Played round with NZ on demand Kodi apps (c/o Matt Huisman) and found that live programs would work fine but on demand wouldn't (issue with wildfire drm? which may be fixed with Kodi v18).
Found one really odd side effect I am still investigating and that is if I use ExpressVPN and BBC iPlayer on the TV the iPlayer works fine. I then shut down iPlayer and VPN and start up Kodi to stream a program from my PC (accessed via samba) - stream is extremely choked and will only sort it self out once I reboot the modem/router (Spark HG659b).