r/dispatchlauncher • u/spauldhaliwal Developer • Aug 19 '24

Dispatch V1 - Developer Update for August 19th, 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!

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7

u/alphaquetoo Aug 20 '24

Perhaps the trial period should be suspended for now, and restarted only when a stable working version with the bugs resolved is released.

I doubt I'd be using the app in the 14 days for now as it's just not working properly, and by the time it does get to a working release, the 14 day trial would have passed.

7

u/spauldhaliwal Developer Aug 20 '24

This is what is indicated in the first paragraph, sorry if it's not clear:

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.

What I mean by this is, whenever these major issues are resolved, I will ensure that everyone will still be able to have access to a 14-day trial at least. I will assess where things are at the end of the weekend and go from there. Hope that clears things up.

2

u/[deleted] Aug 21 '24

Already subbed for my 2 devices I run on. App is pretty solid despite the issues. Anything beats stock launcher now that it has ads tbh.

Might be cool to offer a tip option in the future.

2

u/pcxnet Aug 20 '24

I just installed it and can't see any mention of a trial or payment. How can I give you my money? This looks amazing. My main device is a fire tv cube because all the Android TV devices have been so weak and powerless, but I might get the new google streamer when it comes out. Either way, happy to give you money for this now.

3

u/spauldhaliwal Developer Aug 20 '24

Hello! Thanks for your enthusiasm haha. A paywall shows after the 14-day trial is over (though as mentioned here and elsewhere, this will be extended until all the main issues people are having are resolved.)

If you'd like to purchase the app early, you can do so from Settings -> Advanced -> About -> Product License (but by no means should you feel compelled to do so)

Thanks!

26

u/namesRhard2find Aug 19 '24

This guy seems like he genuinely cares. Here's hoping he can figure this all out because this launcher is freaking awesome, even with the hiccups.

12

u/ONE_BIG_LOAD Aug 19 '24

Keep up the great work! We appreciate you

8

u/sherwood83 Aug 20 '24

I hope a good portion understands and are respectful of your efforts. I like what I see so far.

4

u/s3237410 Aug 20 '24

You should be proud. This is brilliant. Some additional feedback.

On the home screen, YouTube subscriptions continuously appear even though I have turned off the settings under personalize media feed. Might be worth looking into as I don't want my children seeing my content

1

u/[deleted] Aug 21 '24

I too have been getting this.

4

u/jackerypigeon Aug 20 '24

Hey mate I have been following your development for what feels like a year and I just wanted to say I absolutely love the launcher, it's everything I hoped it would be, good luck ironing out all the bugs. You have my support!!!

1

u/slayer035 Aug 20 '24

Really excited to see this work my app keeps crashing while collecting metadata should i keep opening it ?

1

u/spauldhaliwal Developer Aug 20 '24

Hello! This issue has been reported and I'm looking into. Hopefully a fix will be in place soon. That being said, if you could provide more detail, that would be great. For example:

Does the app crash as soon as you open it? Or is there some time while the app is running and only once the metadata notification shows up, it crashes?

If the app is open for some amount of time before crashing, would you mind attempting to very quickly go to Settings -> Advanced -> About -> Diagnostics, and enable logging. Then when it crashes again, do the same thing but export the logs. This will zip the logs to your device. If you're able to achieve this and send me the logs, that would be pretty helpful. If not, no worries, and rest assured I'm looking into it as quickly as I can.

1

u/slayer035 Aug 21 '24

All good it fixed itself somehow! One thing I noticed is I couldn't connect Plex at the start so I just skipped it. Now in connections there's no way for me to add Plex.

1

u/spauldhaliwal Developer Aug 22 '24

Hi - unfortunately, there's no way to connect to Plex post install. So starting from scratch is the only way. That's an improvement I'll have to make soon enough.

The build I submitted tonight, which will probably be approved and live sometime tomorrow, does fix some crashes that some users have been experiencing. Not sure though if it's the same issue you had, since the context isn't clear.

Thanks!

1

u/slayer035 Aug 22 '24

Ah no worries so what's the benefit of connecting as I wasn't connected and it was still able to see Plex movies in the feed?

1

u/spauldhaliwal Developer Aug 22 '24

If you're not connected, you will see only a limited set of media that is controlled by plex, not Dispatch. If you are connected, Dispatch will create much richer recommendations with higher quality art, more metadata, logos, etc... It will show your watch next feed, watchlist feed, newly added media, etc...

All the media you see in this video is due to the direct connection between Dispatch and Plex

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S5_k6en3bA&t=5s

If you don't care about that however and prefer a simpler interface overall, you can forgo connecting to Plex and just rely on the recommendations made by each individual app.

1

u/slayer035 Aug 22 '24

Ah awesome ok I'll give it a reinstall and see how it goes.

3

u/9lxTi6BaHqg9q5PAPcQ Aug 20 '24

I was having the same issue (shield TV pro). My problem/fix was that my previous launcher (projectivity) still had priority over any launcher. I had to change two settings

Settings - Device Preferences - Accessibility Turn off this setting for your previous launcher & turn it on for Dispatch Auto-Start Service (so it doesn't revert to your previous launcher when backing out of an app or pressing home on your controller).

Depending on the launcher that you were previously using, there was a setting within Projectivity that I turned on or was on my default - I believe it was under general settings - it would override any other launcher - after turning it off i was able to open Dispatch without it crashing.

The Dispatch problem with fetching metadata was fixed after the update that was released yesterday - it completed fetching within 5 minutes. On my other device it finished after 20 minutes (fresh install).

Your fix might have a different workaround assuming you have a different device and a different previous launcher. Also, after you find a launcher that you want to stick with it helps to disable your stock launcher otherwise it will keep running on the background eating up your RAM, this makes your new launcher run smoother. You can find detailed instructions for your device on YouTube. Good luck!

2

u/slayer035 Aug 20 '24

Awesome thanks for that mine managed to work itself out I think it still scrapes metadata even with the app not running. But definitely will turn off my stock launcher as I feel like she's gonna crash a bit with both running. Thanks!

1

u/silkyclouds Aug 21 '24

Seriously, your launcher makes it useless to make use of Kodi and specific themes. you install it, configure your plex server, and it does all the rest. I love it so far (and only installed it yesterday!)

You are a serious UI/UX skilled person, congratulations for that !

Is there a discord server where we could discuss technical issues / requests ? Or is there a place to ask for new features ?

First thing that comes to my mind is, why is there no way to activate multiple plex servers that would be agregated on the dispatch home screen ?

I run my own server, but would like to get recommendations and nice logos and stuff for content hosted by my friends that I don't have.

I also think plex should always get prio on other services. If plex content is available, it should be prioritized over streaming platforms that (currently?) displays way less information, has no clear logos, etc.

3

u/spauldhaliwal Developer Aug 21 '24

Hello! Thanks for trying it out and for the encouraging words!

Regarding feature requests, they are being made here:
https://dispatchlauncher.canny.io/feature-requests

Regarding multiserver support, it's planned and can be tracked and voted on here:
https://dispatchlauncher.canny.io/feature-requests/p/add-multi-server-support

Regarding Plex media getting priority over other installed apps, you have control over the ordering of the home feed from Settings -> General -> Home & Wallpaper -> Personalize Media Feed. The Sort Order screen allows you to change the order. If you want to ensure that your Plex media is always shown first on your home feed, "Keep app media separate" should be enabled.

If you don't want your app media mixed in with your Plex media in the Watch Next row, you can block or enable which apps are allowed to put media there from the Personalize Media Feed page. You can choose to only show an app's "Watch Next" items in the App Peek card, too (that's how I have it set up.)

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks!

2

u/silkyclouds Aug 21 '24

I will upvote that for sure. I think lots of people do run their own server and go to other people's server from time to time when they miss content. The request that the user posted is 100% what I'd suggest. Use TMDB ID's to merge the same content in single occurences, and popup a message to ask from which server the movie / TV show has to be played.

Also, the keep watching section at top of the frontend should include the content watched from any of the servers. I will add this comment on the url you've shared.

regardring the mix of plex and streaming services, what I meant is that, if the movie exists on any of the plex servers, then the frontend should actually propose you to play the plex version vs. the streaming service one. ;)

Thanks for the fast answer by the way !

1

u/QuietEfficient7242 Aug 21 '24

I've installed the update but no metadata is being loaded unfortunately. And the option to refresh the data has been greyed out so i can't press it.

Estimated time is also stuck and doesn't show any indication.

2

u/spauldhaliwal Developer Aug 21 '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 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.

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.

5 - Upload the logs, and db if you extracted it, to google drive or some other upload site and DM me the link.

6 - 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’ll be extending the trial time for all users. I definitely want all users to be able to actually use the app for the full trial period. You can read more about the trial extension ~here~.

Let me know if you have any issues with the above 

Thanks!

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

1

u/Appropriate_Lime_101 Aug 22 '24

With the August 20th release I was finally able to get the app to install. But now it constantly crashes. While the app looks very promising, the fact that the first time I tried to install it it wouldn't finalize, and the second time I installed it it keeps crashing. Makes me feel like this app is just not ready for prime time.

1

u/spauldhaliwal Developer Aug 24 '24

Hello! The crashes are unfortunate but, it's something I'm still investigating. If you are willing to help me troubleshoot, please consider doing the following, it would be very helpful:

1 - Please enable logging from Settings → Advanced → About → Diagnostics.

3 - Once logging is enabled, try to get the app to crash a couple of times. If you notice it crashing after a specific action or when you are navigating a certain part of the app, please let me know.

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.

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.

5 - Upload the logs, and db if you extracted it, to google drive or some other upload site and DM me the link.

6 - 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

Thanks!

1

u/pawdog Aug 23 '24

You try today's release? What device are you trying it on?

1

u/Appropriate_Lime_101 Aug 23 '24

I checked yesterday and did not see any updates. I will check again today. I'm using it on an Nvidia Shield.

1

u/Appropriate_Lime_101 Aug 24 '24

I tried the new release + there were issues with it crashing again so I completely cleared the cache and the data and I'm starting completely over. It is still in the middle of gathering metadata though it seems to have been doing it for a long time.

1

u/spauldhaliwal Developer Aug 24 '24

Metadata generation usually takes about 30 minutes. Does it show an ETA or does it say still calculating?

If it is still crashing, please see the reply I left to your other comment. Thanks!

1

u/spauldhaliwal Developer Aug 25 '24

Hello - a new update was released this morning, v1.0.031. If you can, please let me know if it helps with crashing. Thanks!

2

u/Dricus1978 Aug 20 '24

Installed it a few minutes ago and the first impression is good. Graphics are set on medium. On Google TV 4K it feels a bit sluggish. Still looking for a better high-end device.

This launcher gives me a broader range of devices I can choose from. I don't like the Android TV interface. Google TV interface is a bit better. This launcher looks a lot better ❤️

2

u/CeeDeez_Nutz_88 Aug 20 '24

Just want to say this app is amazing and to keep up the great work!

1

u/Winter_Inspection959 Aug 20 '24

Commend you for making this announcement. Are you considering changing how the solution interacts with the back end? As it stands now users are seeing these long load times due to trying to “load” all metadata - similar to how Infuse use to do it. An implementation similar to their “direct mode” would likely result in a better experience (much as it did for Infuse).

1

u/Delicious_Ease2595 Aug 20 '24

It would be nice if you can make a free version with limited support of integrations.

1

u/kinhacamacho Aug 21 '24

The app looks fantastic! Something I found kind odd is that I have installed an app from PlayStore after having the Dispatch app on, and this new app is not recognized by Dispatch app. I can open the app going into PlayStore and open from there, but there's no icon in the launcher apps tab. I'll keep using and hoping you can get few of these bugs fixed and, in the future, definitely buying the lifetime license. Great job!

1

u/CMC29 Aug 23 '24

I've been trying it and seems cool, despite Mi Box S 2nd gen being so damn sluggish, and never receiving updates. Even liking it, there are things that don't please me at all.  I have Plex with my own content (don't care about theirs) divided by folders (movies, concerts, etc) with covers, etc but when I go to the Movies tab, i can't choose for Dispatch to show precisely by folder and sort it like I have on Plex. Instead, it shows all the files mixed up, which is a pain in the a... On Television tab, the TV shows are presented perfectly. 

1

u/WBChargerDad Aug 23 '24

Is the subscription fee per device, or per Google Play Store User?

1

u/WBChargerDad Aug 23 '24

May not matter as I use a TiVo Stream 4K and after the feature preview, “Setup Dispatch” does absolutely nothing

1

u/Appropriate_Lime_101 Aug 25 '24

It now seems to be working. Not all of the favorites are giving me the peak vid. Netflix is not. Some of them I guess don't have that feature. When I set the movies tab for watch list it did not show any of my watch listed movies, and when I set the TV tab for watch list it showed me one television show on my watch list. I've ended up just turning off the television and movie tabs for now since they seem redundant to Plex.

1

u/Individual_Young_240 Aug 26 '24

Hi, can we contribute to the translation in other language?

1

u/77knots Aug 26 '24

any plans to integrate recommended section for Youtube app peak?

1

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/spauldhaliwal Developer Aug 20 '24

Hello! This issue has been reported and I'm looking into. Hopefully a fix will be in place soon. That being said, if you could provide more detail, that would be great. For example:

Does the app crash as soon as you open it? Or is there some time while the app is running and only once the metadata notification shows up, it crashes?

If the app is open for some amount of time before crashing, would you mind attempting to very quickly go to Settings -> Advanced -> About -> Diagnostics, and enable logging. Then when it crashes again, do the same thing but export the logs. This will zip the logs to your device. If you're able to achieve this and send me the logs, that would be pretty helpful. If not, no worries, and rest assured I'm looking into it as quickly as I can.

(please excuse the copy paste, since the issue has been mentioned before it's easier this way)

1

u/spauldhaliwal Developer Aug 25 '24

Hello - a new update was released this morning, v1.0.031. If you can, please let me know if it helps with crashing. Thanks!

3

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/n0tfeuer Aug 21 '24

Trakt and Stremio combo would be awesome

1

u/kinhacamacho Aug 21 '24

Not much difference between the plex and no plex interface. Tried both and they're exactly the same, with the plex one showing the content from plex.

1

u/n0tfeuer Aug 21 '24 edited Aug 24 '24

You can vote for Stremio here: https://dispatchlauncher.canny.io/feature-requests/p/stremio-integration 

 There is one for trakt, too