Sony Bravia XBR - no app in goggle play story

Tizen is actually yet another Linux-based OS - Samsung apparently didn't like Android enough or wanted something where they had more control, so they created their own frameworks and such.

Could DirecTV (and AT&T before them) create an Android TV app?  Obviously - people can sideload what they have (the FireTV app) and it works (I don't know if there are hiccups or not).  And they run their own device on Android TV (though their app for that is likely not generic enough to run as is on other Android TV platforms).

So why don't they?  It's a good question.  They actually had an Android TV app at one point, but it was limited to a single vendor's products (LeEco), who left the US market not long after it came out.  (The app became available in May 2017 and it went away in Sept 2017.)  There was a clear implication that there was a business arrangement involved, but even if LeEco owned that app so AT&T couldn't release it for other use, it doesn't explain why they haven't done one since, using a different code base (like their existing Android and FireTV apps).  The only thought I've come up with is that there is a (still in place) contractual restriction or something like that.  But they've never said publicly, and that is the sort of thing that companies generally don't disclose.  I had hoped (not that it impacts me personally) that if there was such a restriction, it impacted AT&T, and once the streaming service was part of a different company, it wouldn't apply.  But it's been 8 months or so since the spin off, which seems long enough for DirecTV to productize and release something they already have in a (at least close to) usable state.  So no clue.

As far as other platforms (like WebOS, XBox, PlayStation) - it's been a long time since a new platform was added.  I don't think AT&T was interested in devoting a lot of resources to the product's development.  There doesn't seem to have been a very clear strategic plan for the service - perhaps due to internal AT&T politics?  In any case, we've seen more enhancement in the product in 6 or so months under DirecTV than in years under AT&T (even if some of those enhancements likely were started under AT&T), so maybe good things will come.  I'd have a list of things (DVR functional enhancements, profiles, editable channel lists, some others) that I would put as higher priority than additional platforms, but given sufficient resources, they could do both.  And they might be working on things - companies generally don't disclose futures (especially in this case, since in the early days AT&T did on a few occasions, and when the promised changes didn't happen or happened much later than expected, it didn't go over well...)

Your first attempt at fixing this should be to clear the Google Play Store and Google Play Services cache. Additionally, you can uninstall and reinstall updates on the Google Play Store. Also, make sure you are running the latest software available for your Android device.

@Jrandomuser   Thank you.  I would think that since 2017, enough had changed, but your explanation makes sense. Even Android TV is gone (technically, since they decided to revamp into Google TV, but I guess not.  And yes, ATT was always seemed to be doing things the hard way.  When I went to U-verse, it was a one way conversion, could never go back off the service for phone or internet at the time.  Not sure what the story is now.

Thanks again for your explanation, probably somewhere in there is what's going on.

Interesting topic

@EmmaBrook There is no application for the Sony Smart TV. Nothing you referenced will help. The OS isn't upheld is the explanation you can not download the application.

Regard:

Condo Lobby

Keep it up

Keep what up?

DirectTV will download with a Firestick on the Bravia.  Just purchase the Amazon HDMI and Firestick and replace the Google HDMI with it.  Works like a charm.

@goodmat 

The same is true for every TV. Heck, a TV from 1990 can be connected to a Fire Stick with AV cables. 

Closing thread. There now is such an app so the thread is obsolete, and it has attracted spam.