TLDR: I ended up installing Chora, pictured in the thumbnail, which is open-source and works pretty well on TV (and on mobile). Navigation works with remote, and I was able to connect to my music collection quickly. I moved the music collection to Navidrome, and I have noticed that it generally loads and searches my library faster than Jellyfin. It does not have a continuous play/instant playlist (like for example, Tempus on mobile), but otherwise checks most of the boxes.
Original Post:
I have a great music library on my homelab, but I hardly ever listen to it because I mostly listen to music on my TV.
I occasionally use the Jellyfin app, which is the best player I've found for TV, but it is not really built for audio and is cumbersome for searching, on-the-fly playlist, and continuous play.
Other apps I've tried are either worse in terms of features, or an absolute labyrinth to navigate with a remote. Most apps are designed for mobile and are somewhat to completely broken on TV, if they run at all.
I don't mind if the app is not free as long as it works well enough for my family to use it, and it connects to the server. I don't mind migrating my library to another service to get it working well on the TV.
Has anyone found an actually good Android TV app for hosted music?
I’m using Kodi to put on endless playlists. Mostly for our pets when we’re away. It’s nothing fancy, but works fine. “Party Mode” is their on the fly playlist. Once in a genre/artist, you tap left and a small menu shows it. Two clicks and it plays an endless medley of tunes.
@PancakesCantKillMe @gedaliyah Okay, you've piqued my curiosity. What does your playlist for pets look like?
Nothing unusual, really. I typically put on classical music, but oft times am in a hurry and Kodi will sit and churn on a genre, so the quick pick is everything including podcasts. If a podcast is going upon our return, I ask them what they've learned.