Is Digital Concert Hall app available on Google Play?

[vicw926a4]

I'm considering a move from Google TV to Android TV, but I'm trying to first determine if the Digital Concert Hall app, which has concerts by the Berlin Philharmoniker, is available for install on Android TV, and if available, does it install and run properly?

Whether the app is available, or not, is a deal maker or breaker for me. I'd really appreciate if anyone who is already using the Nexus Player can answer those questions.

 

[B. Diddy]

I'm sorry, I don't have a Nexus Player. But this site (which is in German) says that Digital Concert Hall is available for the Nexus Player: Google Nexus Player

 

[vicw926a4]

I'm sorry, I don't have a Nexus Player. But this site (which is in German) says that Digital Concert Hall is available for the Nexus Player: Google Nexus Player

Thanks for sharing that. It certainly looks promising that the app is probably available for the Nexus Player on Google Play, even though it didn't show on the list when I searched there for Android TV apps, and the the Berlin Phil site doesn't (yet?) show the device on their list of supported hardware. I have also submitted a request for clarification to the help source at DCH, and hopefully they will confirm availability.

I'm hoping that since this is all so new, the documentation hasn't caught up with the current status of the app.

There is also the possibility of differences between regions, of course, but hopefully the U. S. Google Play status for the app is the same as in Germany.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[vicw926a4]

I received a response from the Digital Concert Hall - Help service, to the effect that even though I may not see the Digital Concert Hall app for Android TV when I look for it in Google Play on a browser, on the device itself, it should be available for installation in Google Play.

The word "should" seemed a bit of a waffle, but based on their response, I felt confident enough to go ahead and order the Nexus Player from Amazon.

 

[vicw926a4]

My new Nexus Player arrived this afternoon, and I immediately set it up and searched for the Digital Concert Hall app, which thankfully was there for installation. My initial attempt to use the app was very strange, with it playing short segments of archival material, with very erratic audio and video. That gave me a scare, and I went over to confirm that other apps, like Netflix, would play properly, which they did.

When I went back to try DCH again, and this time registered the device for the app via the laptop, all was well, and I was able to play two full archived concerts flawlessly, so that is a great relief to me.

The supreme test will be with the next live concert next Wednesday. If it handles that OK, I will declare it a success. Somehow the live concerts are more problematic than archived playback on some devices. My Sony NSZ-GS8 consistently play archival material flawlessly, but is consistently worthless playing live concerts, whereas my little LG BP-220 BluRay player always handles both types with no problems. The only downside of the LG unit is that it takes forever for it to get to the app and start playback.

 

[vicw926a4]

We have had good results playing archival concerts for this last week, and finally have an opportunity to check its performance on a LIVE concert today.

Unfortunately, I discovered today, that on LIVE concerts, there seems to be a serious problem. During live concerts, the DCH app on the Nexus Player will not stay active for more than a few seconds, then exits spontaneously. I tried to use it multiple times, and I also reset the Nexus Player, with no improvement.

My alternative path, using an LG BD-220 BluRay player, does stream properly for all live concerts, including the one today.