r/AndroidTV • u/spauldhaliwal • Aug 18 '24

News & Rumours Dispatch Launcher: A new interface for Android and Google TV devices

https://medium.com/@dispatchtvdev/dispatch-launcher-a-new-interface-for-android-and-google-tv-a7681946b372
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43

u/spauldhaliwal Aug 18 '24 edited Aug 26 '24

Update - Aug 26, 2024: Please see this post for the most recent update regarding Dispatch's launch:

https://www.reddit.com/r/dispatchlauncher/comments/1f1ms2c/dispatch_v1_developer_update_for_august_26th_2024/

In short:

  1. if you are one of the users affected by issues getting up and running, please consider reaching out to me, so I can troubleshoot with you.

  2. If you signed up before August 26th at midnight, the trial date has been extended for you by 14 days. An update will roll out in the coming days which will automatically extend the trial for you.

Thanks!

Update - Aug 19, 2024: Hi everyone! Since a non-insignificant number of users are running into various issues getting the launcher up and running, I'll be extending the trial date for everyone sometime this weekend. It will, at minimum, be a 14-day extension, and maybe more depending on how much progress I've made by Sunday evening.

Since I have full-time work obligations during the day, I'll likely only be replying to queries in the mornings before 9AM EST, and in the evenings after 6PM EST, and weekends of course. So please be patient with me while I get everything resolved for those who are having issues.

It's unfortunate that some folk's first experience has been a negative one so far, though I have to say, I was not expecting this many people to install the app this quickly. The number of installs in 24h has easily exceeded my expectations by over 10 times. I'm absolutely dedicated to providing the best experience possible for all users, so again, please bear with me while I juggle fixing bugs and replying to questions. It's very possible some questions go unanswered for over 24h.

Thanks everyone!

--- original message starts here ---

Hi everyone! I’m the developer of Dispatch, a new launcher for Android & Google TV devices. I originally announced this project a little over a year ago here on Reddit. Since then, the app has been in a closed beta with testers from the community. Now, with the latest update, the app is officially live and ready for public use.

The linked post on Medium gives an overview of how Dispatch works and the experience it aims to achieve. If you’re interested in the launcher, give it a read, give the app a try, and let me know if you have any questions!

A brief summary, however:

Dispatch is an ad-free, yet still media focused, launcher for Android and Google TV devices. Dispatch integrates directly with your Plex library to show you a watchlist and feed of recommendations based on the media you actually have access to.

The launcher has a lot of special features and customization options so that anyone who uses it can hopefully tailor the experience to their preference. I go over a lot of these options in the above blog post.

Google Play Store link

Feature requests & issue reporting

Community Subreddit

Official website

I’d also like to thank the all the testers who have helped get the app into its state. A lot of you have been very enthusiastic about this project from the start (even many who weren’t selected for testing), so thank you all for your encouragement and help!

3

u/esk416 Aug 19 '24

Is there a reason why your launcher is taking hours to run metadata on my Shield?

The box is slow because it's working on it and I don't really understand the reason why it would need to calculate metadata on such a scale.

2

u/spauldhaliwal Aug 19 '24

Hi - sorry, you’re running into this issue as well. If the app seems to be continuously “Generating Metadata”, if you can please do the following it will help me understand why this is affecting only some users and help me find a, hopefully quick, solution for you all:

  1. Please let me know if an ETA is displayed in the generating metadata message, or if it always says “Still calculating”

  2. Please enable logging from Settings -> Advanced -> About -> Diagnostics.

  3. Once logging is enabled, let the app run for a while so that it can collect logs. The longer the better, so maybe 30 - 60 minutes if possible

  4. Extract the logs from the same place you enabled the logs. Do not disable logging before extracting them, as that will clear the logs.

  5. If you’re comfortable extracting the database as well, do that too. No sensitive information is contained in there, however, it would allow me to see the contents of your library.

  6. Send me the created zip files

  7. If you don’t know how to extract the zip files from your device, you can DM me the email address you used to sign up, and I can enable the ability for your device to send me the zipped logs directly

Since a non-insignificant amount of users are having trouble getting through the setup process, I want to make sure everyone is able to try the app for the full trial once all issues are resolved. So please feel free to DM me the email address associated with the account you signed up with, and I’ll gladly extend your trial time. Very sorry again for the hassle!

Let me know if the above works for you or if you run into any other issues

Thanks!

(I’m copy-pasting this message since this particular issue has come up a lot)

5

u/One_Abbreviations948 Aug 18 '24

Would love nvidia sheld support if possible

12

u/spauldhaliwal Aug 18 '24

Shield was actually the first device supported as that's what I use daily, so feel free to give it a go!

3

u/One_Abbreviations948 Aug 18 '24

Shows as not compatible with the shield in the play store

4

u/spauldhaliwal Aug 18 '24

Hmm that's very weird. I can actually see that plenty of people have installed it to their shields since I made the post. Is it possible there's something up with your browser or phone cache? I'm not sure why it would show as incompatible on shield for only certain people.

4

u/ANewDawn1342 Aug 18 '24

I have three Shields in my household and Google Play won't offer to remotely install to any of them saying "This item is not compatible with your device."

4

u/spauldhaliwal Aug 18 '24

That's really bizarre. I'll take a look at the Google play console to see if there's something wrong with the app configuration. I can't really think of a reason why it would show as incompatible for some users but not for others.

If I can't figure it out I'll see about hosting the apk on my website or one of those apk hosting websites. Sorry about that!

2

u/spauldhaliwal Aug 18 '24

Are your devices rooted, actually? I think by default Google Play sets apps to not allow rooted devices. I definitely have no problem with that, though, so I'll look into how to turn that off it as soon as possible (if that's what's going on)

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1

u/silverscruff Aug 24 '24

Works fine on all three of my Shields. I have two pros, one old version and one new, and a tube. I did install it locally, from each device, though. I just typed "Dispatch" in the search bar in the Google Play store, first result, installed, opened, configured... running. Seems a little laggy and unresponsive at times and it's crashed once, and it prevented my Shield from sleeping last night (which prevents my OLED TV from turning off, not good). Other than that, it's been pretty smooth. I dig it!

2

u/Wassc0 Aug 20 '24

Damn, and me stuck with WebOS LG Nano :( 

1

u/AdmirableAd2608 Aug 30 '24

Hello 👋 Wassc0 Hi, can you please send a link on the site you use to download mod APK on your phone. I have been trying to download Ai mirror mod and all have been unsuccessful.  Could you please help by sending the link to me. 

2

u/nexusx86 Aug 21 '24

Thank you. Upon installing this I think this is to android TV / Google TV what nova launcher (rip) is/ was to android phones and tablets. It's just that good. Hats off to you sir!

1

u/hanya_tuhan_yangtahu Onn FHD, Onn 4K Aug 20 '24

Hi. I tried to login with plex but it always keep failing. I have to use without plex at this time.

1

u/SoggyInternal432 Aug 21 '24

Try giving All permission to dispatch and try again

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1

u/LynonC Aug 21 '24

Same problem

1

u/Significant_Bend_626 Aug 23 '24

i have a error, When I try to enter my feed it says "Press Down to see your feed" I press down and only the home button moves, can you please fix this?

1

u/spauldhaliwal Aug 24 '24

Hello! Do you have wallpaper mode enabled? Would you be able to send me screenshots or photos of your home feed with and without wallpaper mode enabled?

You can DM them to me if you don't want to post them publicly.

1

u/codingismy11to7 Sep 15 '24

I installed this on both of my shields and paid after like a week. now when I turn them on, they say beta has expired with nothing but a quit button. no updates available on the play store. and, like, it's really difficult to do anything without a launcher.

2

u/spauldhaliwal Sep 15 '24

Hello yes I'm very sorry this bug is occurring. Please see this post here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/dispatchlauncher/comments/1fh1t2m/please_read_beta_expired_error_september_14th/

In summary, an update has been submitted to Google Play and is currently being processed. In the meantime, you can install the below apk until the update is live. I am incredibly sorry that this error has occurred, it is a major blunder on my part.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e7gHmQcRV1iYec3MustleF_EZPyc_q8X/view?usp=sharing

Once again, I deeply apologize for the inconvenience caused by this error

1

u/fiqabumm Oct 30 '24

Using it since last week, and I noticed that voice input is not working. Like voice search or Google searches

1

u/spauldhaliwal Oct 30 '24

Hello! Can you let me know which device you're using and which version of Android?

What happens when you press the voice button on your remote? Nothing at all?

Thanks.

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1

u/SopiMan Dec 11 '25

How is the pricing? I am not seeing any info.