Playback controls on TV

Video playback is one of the most important features on TV. It's important that video players in apps across Android TV behave the same. Here are the recommendations on how video player controls should work on Android TV.

Summary

Button Action
Center Play or pause
Right single press Forward +N seconds
Left single press Rewind -N seconds
Press and hold right Scrubbing forward
Press and hold left Scrubbing rewind
Up or down Peek information—progress, name, etc.

Play or pause

While a video or audio is playing, pressing the center D-pad button pauses the media that is playing and, if applicable, shows media playback controls like the progress bar and play button.

Illustration of play/pause button
Figure 1. When media is playing, pressing the center D-pad button pauses playback. Pressing the button again resumes playback.

Rewind and fast-forward

Rewind and fast-forward are controlled by pressing the left or right D-pad button when a video or audio is playing or paused. The playing or paused state is maintained when rewinding or fast-forwarding.

Illustration of forward/rewind button
Figure 2. When the left or right D-pad button is pressed once, playback rewinds or fast-forwards by a set number of seconds.

Peek information

Pressing the up or down D-pad button peeks up controls but does not pause the video.

Illustration of peeking information
Figure 3. Users can press the up or down D-pad button to show information about the media without pausing playback.
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