The document is a comprehensive guide by Mario Viviani on implementing voice control with the Android Media Session API for Amazon Fire TV. It includes detailed steps for initializing a video player, configuring media session actions, and managing media session lifecycle callbacks. Additionally, it promotes the Fire App Builder as a tool for quickly creating streaming media applications with integrated voice control features.

1. MARIO VIVIANI
E U T E C H N O L O G Y E V A N G E L I S T,
A M A Z O N D I G I T A L A P P S A N D G A M E S S E R V I C E S
@mariuxtheone marioviviani
IMPLEMENTING VOICE CONTROL
WITH THE ANDROID MEDIA SESSION API
ON AMAZON FIRE TV

2. I T ’ S A - M E !
Ma r io V ivia n i
EU Technology Evangelist, Amazon DAGS
@mariuxtheone
Android Developer since 2010
95+ apps published
12,000,000+ downloads
Google Developer Expert 2013-15
Startup Founder, Co-Worker
Speaker at: Droidcon,
Casual Connect, Big Android BBQ,
Google I/O

5. bit.ly/firetvspecs
FullHD
Quad-core CPU 1.3 GHz
1 GB RAM
(up to 1080p,60fps)
WiFi – Bluetooth 4.1
8 GB Internal Storage
(actual formatted capacity will be less)
4K compatible
Quad-core CPU 1.5GHz
2 GB RAM
(up to 2160p, 60fps)
WiFi – Bluetooth 4.1
8 GB Internal Storage
(actual formatted capacity will be less)
HDR10 Support
FIRE TV FIRE TV STICK

6. FIRE TV + ECHO

8. *available in US only

9. INTEGRATING
MEDIA SESSIONS
ON ANDROID

10. S U P P O RT E D V O I C E C O M M A N D S
Command Type Sample Voice Command Description
Play "Alexa, play"
"Alexa, resume"
Plays/Resumes the media.
Pause "Alexa, pause"
"Alexa, stop"
Pauses the media.
Fast-forward "Alexa, fast-forward 30 seconds"
"Alexa, fast-forward"
Fast-forwards the media by the given
duration. If no duration is provided, the
default is 10 seconds.
Rewind "Alexa, rewind 30 seconds"
"Alexa, rewind"
Rewinds the media by the given
duration. If no duration is provided, the
default is 10 seconds.
Next "Alexa, next" Triggers the next command and plays
the next media in the playlist.
Previous "Alexa, previous" Triggers the previous command and
plays the previous media in the playlist.
Restart "Alexa, restart" Seeks back to beginning of the media.

11. MediaSession
onPlay() onPause() onSkipToNext() onSeekTo()
Media Player
…
MediaSession Callbacks

12. MediaSession
onPlay() onPause() onSkipToNext() onSeekTo()
“Alexa, pause”
Media Player
pause()

13. S T E P S TO I M P L E M E N T M E D I A S E S S I O N
1.Initialise Video Player
2.Initialise Media Session
3.Configure Actions
4.Manage Media Session in Activity LifeCycle
5.Set up Media Session Callbacks

14. INITIALISE
VIDEO PLAYER

15. A D D V O I C E C O N T R O L P E R M I S S I O N T O A N D R O I D M A N I F E S T
<uses-permission
android:name="com.amazon.permission.media.session.voicecommandcontrol" />

16. I N I T I A L I S E T H E M E D I A P L AY E R
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
// Set the video player view
setContentView(R.layout.activity_media_session);
mVideo = (VideoView) findViewById(R.id.video_view);
…
}

17. I N I T I A L I S E T H E M E D I A C O N T R O L L E R A N D T H E V I D E O U R I
@Override
protected void onStart() {
super.onStart();
//Initialize the media controller for the video player
final MediaController mediaController = new MediaController(MediaSessionActivity.this);
mediaController.hide();
//Set the URI of the video
mVideo.setMediaController(mediaController);
//Set the URI of the video
mVideo.setVideoURI(“myvideoURL.mp4”);
mVideo.requestFocus();
...

18. INITIALISE
MEDIA SESSION

19. I N I T I A L I S E T H E M E D I A S E S S I O N
mVideo.setOnPreparedListener(new MediaPlayer.OnPreparedListener() {
@Override
public void onPrepared(MediaPlayer mp) {
//Initialize the the media session
mMediaSession = new MediaSession(getApplicationContext(), TAG);
//Assign the Callbacks to the Media Session
mMediaSession.setCallback(getMediaSessionCallback());
//Set the flags that allow the app to take over the remote controls
mMediaSession.setFlags(MediaSession.FLAG_HANDLES_MEDIA_BUTTONS |
MediaSession.FLAG_HANDLES_TRANSPORT_CONTROLS);
...

20. ADD ACTIONS TO
MEDIA SESSION

21. @Override
public void onPrepared(MediaPlayer mp) {
...
PlaybackStateCompat state = new PlaybackStateCompat.Builder()
.setActions(PlaybackState.ACTION_PLAY_PAUSE
| PlaybackState.ACTION_PLAY
| PlaybackState.ACTION_PAUSE
| PlaybackState.ACTION_FAST_FORWARD
| PlaybackState.ACTION_REWIND
| PlaybackState.ACTION_SKIP_TO_NEXT
| PlaybackState.ACTION_SKIP_TO_PREVIOUS)
.setState(PlaybackState.STATE_PLAYING,
mVideo.getCurrentPosition(), 1.0f)
.build();
mMediaSession.setPlaybackState(state);
mMediaSession.setActive(true);
}
C R E AT E A P L AY B A C K S TAT E – A C T I O N S - A C T I VAT E

22. MANAGE
MEDIA SESSION IN
ACTIVITY LIFECYCLE

23. M A N A G E A C T I V I T Y L I F E C Y C L E – O N PA U S E
@Override
protected void onPause() {
// Pause the activity
super.onPause();
// Pause the video player
mPlaybackState = PlaybackState.STATE_PAUSED;
mVideo.pause();
//deactivate the media session
mMediaSession.setActive(false);
mMediaSession.setPlaybackState(new PlaybackState.Builder()
.setState(mPlaybackState, mVideo.getCurrentPosition(),1.0f)
.setActions(getActions())
.build());
}

24. M A N A G E A C T I V I T Y L I F E C Y C L E – O N S TO P
@Override
protected void onStop() {
// Stop the activity
super.onStop();
// Pause the video player
mPlaybackState = PlaybackState.STATE_STOPPED;
mVideo.stopPlayback();
//deactivate the media session
mMediaSession.setActive(false);
mMediaSession.setPlaybackState(new PlaybackState.Builder()
.setState(mPlaybackState, mVideo.getCurrentPosition(),1.0f)
.setActions(getActions())
.build());
}

25. M A N A G E A C T I V I T Y L I F E C Y C L E – O N R E S U M E
@Override
protected void onResume() {
super.onResume();
mMediaSession.setActive(true);
mPlaybackState = PlaybackState.STATE_PLAYING;
mMediaSession.setPlaybackState(new PlaybackState.Builder()
.setState(mPlaybackState, mVideo.getCurrentPosition(),1.0f)
.setActions(getActions())
.build());
mVideo.requestFocus();
mVideo.start();
}

26. M A N A G E A C T I V I T Y L I F E C Y C L E – O N D E S T R O Y
@Override
protected void onDestroy() {
//We release the media session as we’re destroying the Activity
if (mMediaSession != null) {
mMediaSession.release();
mMediaSession = null;
}
super.onDestroy();
}

27. SET MEDIA SESSION
CALLBACKS

28. M E D I A S E S S I O N C A L L B A C K S
private MediaSession.Callback getMediaSessionCallback() {
return new MediaSession.Callback() {
@Override
public void onPlay() { }
@Override
public void onPause() { }
@Override
public void onSeekTo(long pos) { }
@Override
public void onFastForward() { }
@Override
public void onSkipToNext() { }
...

29. M E D I A S E S S I O N C A L L B A C K S - P L AY
private MediaSession.Callback getMediaSessionCallback() {
return new MediaSession.Callback() {
@Override
public void onPlay() {
mPlaybackState = PlaybackState.STATE_PLAYING;
mVideo.start();
updatePlaybackState(mPlaybackState, mVideo.getCurrentPosition(),1.0f );
mMediaController.hide();
}
...

30. M E D I A S E S S I O N C A L L B A C K S - PA U S E
private MediaSession.Callback getMediaSessionCallback() {
return new MediaSession.Callback() {
...
@Override
public void onPause() {
mPlaybackState = PlaybackState.STATE_PAUSED;
mVideo.pause();
updatePlaybackState(mPlaybackState, mVideo.getCurrentPosition(),1.0f );
mMediaController.show();
}
...

31. M E D I A S E S S I O N C A L L B A C K S – S E E K TO
private MediaSession.Callback getMediaSessionCallback() {
return new MediaSession.Callback() {
...
@Override
public void onSeekTo(long pos) {
mPlaybackState = PlaybackState.STATE_BUFFERING;
mVideo.seekTo(mVideo.getCurrentPosition() + (int) pos);
}
...

32. M E D I A S E S S I O N C A L L B A C K S – FA S T F O RWA R D
private MediaSession.Callback getMediaSessionCallback() {
return new MediaSession.Callback() {
...
@Override
public void onFastForward() {
mPlaybackState = PlaybackState.STATE_BUFFERING;
mVideo.seekTo(mVideo.getCurrentPosition() + 10 * 1000);
}
...

33. M E D I A S E S S I O N C A L L B A C K S – S K I P TO N E X T
private MediaSession.Callback getMediaSessionCallback() {
return new MediaSession.Callback() {
...
@Override
public void onSkipToNext() {
mPlaybackState = PlaybackState.STATE_SKIPPING_TO_NEXT;
//Skip to the next video in the playlist
skipToNextVideo();
}
...

34. R E C A P : S T E P S TO I M P L E M E N T M E D I A S E S S I O N
1.Initialise Video Player
2.Initialise Media Session
3.Configure Actions
4.Manage Media Session in Activity LifeCycle
5.Set up Media Session Callbacks

35. BUILDING APPS
FOR TV
IN MINUTES

37. F I R E A P P B U I L D E R
STREAMING MEDIA PLAYERS
Plug and Play template for audio and video
apps. Create an app in less than 1 hour.
E A S Y, FA S T A N D
B E A U T I F U L
Contains modules (plugins) to enable advanced
functionality
Handles JSON feeds, branding and
customisation
Supports Amazon Fire TV family
Fully supports Media Session API + Voice
Controls

39. M O D U L E S
Social logins
In-App Purchasing
& Subscriptions
Ads
Analytics
Media Player AD

40. F I R E A P P B U I L D E R W O R K F L O W
CONFIGURE YOUR
FEED LAUNCH THE APP!
CUSTOMIZE UI &
MODULAR COMPONENTS
SETUP RECIPE FOR
CATEGORIES AND CONTENTS
JSON

41. S TA RT TO D AY !
D O W N L O A D
github.com/amzn/fire-app-builder
D O C U M E N TAT I O N
bit.ly/FireAppBuilderDoc

42. bit.ly/firetvebook
F R E E E B O O K !

43. THANK YOU!
Mario Viviani
@mariuxtheone
@AmazonAppDev
vivianim@amazon.co.uk
developer.amazon.com/appstore
bit.ly/firetvebook