[Bug]: Stability issues on "Google Chromecast with Google TV"

[clockwinder]

I have verified that the bug is not already awaiting release

Yes

What was the Problem?

Just tried your ABS fork APK linked here, and I'm so glad you're working on this, I will use it all the time!

• I noticed semi-frequent crashing (and slowdown) while using your ABS version on a "Google Chromecast with Google TV".
• When attempting to add my server address it crashed 3 times.
• After that I can get it to crash if I switch between podcasts somewhat quickly.
• If no action is being taken, it seems to be alright.

Sorry I can't provide useful log info, it's a real pain to get ahold of on a "Google Chromecast with Google TV". But let me know if you have any questions.

Steps to Reproduce the Issue

What was Expected?

Phone Model

Google Chromecast with Google TV

Phone OS

UTTC.250917.004.14193937

Audiobookshelf App Version

Android App - 0.11.0

Installation Source

Other (List in "Additional Notes")

Additional Notes

APK

[bilbospocketses]

Hey @clockwinder, a couple of quick questions so I can dig in a little bit.

Did you have the regular mobile app sideloaded on your ccwgtv 4k before sideloading my version? If so, I am guessing, while more cumbersome to use with a mouse and keyboard, it worked without issue?

Also, pretty sure from your description that "crashing" means fully closed out/disappeared with no error message displayed? I have seen an odd bug on my Google TV Streamer 4K while browsing my book library, where all of a sudden, the app will throw me out of my login, and make me login again (the app is still running, it never closes), but the issue you're experiencing sounds more like "fully closes/disappears"?

And lastly for this round: Does the "crash" happen when you press Home, when the Google Assistant activates, or seemingly at random while using the app?

[clockwinder]

1. Yes
2. Yes, the app closes with no notification
3. a. It's hard to say if the app crashes when pressing home, since this ABS app is slow to start regardless.
   b. The crashes I get while using your app are when it's "under load". As in, when I'm trying to navigate quickly and the app starts slowing down.

[bilbospocketses]

Gotcha, that's great feedback. My test box is the newer Google TV Streamer 4K, which has a stronger chip, so this is a huge help. I need to optimize the code to account for the slower chips, as I never experienced a slowdown on my setup.

Would you be OK with running some Android Debug Bridge (ADB) commands to pull some logging if we need it? Not sure if we will, but I don't want to ask you to do something that's beyond your desires to help! The rabbit hole can go pretty deep sometimes with this stuff!

By the by, is my ATV version taking longer to simply open and load up than the original mobile app was? That's something I will need to resolve if so.

[clockwinder]

I'll definitely consider the ADB if we need, as long as it's well documented and possible on my device. 😃

I perceive that your version is slower to start and connect to the server, but It's been over a year since I used the original ABS app on that device, so I don't have accurate times.

[bilbospocketses]

We definitely had a slow startup scenario with my version of the app. Like you, I hadn't sideloaded the mobile app to my TV in over a year since it was more or less unusable. I tried that tonight, and it loaded in ~9 seconds vs my version taking ~27 seconds.

So, I did a little spelunking (this is my first foray into working with Android apps) and it turns out it was my debug flag being set to true. Since I don't need it in the published releases, I turned it off, and it took the load time down to ~9 seconds, same as the standard mobile app.

This also helped with overall app performance, but not sure if it will fix the crashing issue on your side. There are a few other things I still need to dig into on that front, specifically for the ccwgtv boxes, as they call a lot of invisible backend commands as you're using the device that could be causing the crash, more so than the Google TV Stream.

I'm going to keep this bug report open until we have the crashing resolved.

The version that you want to sideload is 1.0.1. It has a few other enhancements / bug fixes along with the faster loading.

[clockwinder]

The startup is notably faster now. 👍

With v1.0.1 I didn't have a single crash during install, setup, mild testing. So far so good.

[bilbospocketses]

That's great news! Please let me know if it crops up under heavy testing.

[bilbospocketses]

The startup is notably faster now. 👍

With v1.0.1 I didn't have a single crash during install, setup, mild testing. So far so good.

Hi @clockwinder, just wanted to check in and see if you've seen any crashing bugs since the fix last week?

[clockwinder]

Haven't used your fork in a few days, I'll update my issues when I get around to doing some more testing.

[bilbospocketses]

Sounds good, thank you very much.