Android TV Netflix Skill

This skill remotely controls an Android TV device to play Netflix content via ADB.

Prerequisites

If the user has not set up ADB access before, guide them through these steps:

1. Enable Developer Options on the Android TV:

   • Go to Settings → Device Preferences → About and tap Build 7 times.
   • Go back to Settings → Device Preferences → Developer options and enable USB debugging (also called "Network debugging" on some devices).

2. Assign a static IP to the Android TV (either method works):

   • Router-side (recommended): In the router's admin page, find DHCP reservation / static lease settings and bind a fixed IP to the Android TV's MAC address. This requires no changes on the TV itself.
   • TV-side: Go to Settings → Network & Internet → (your Wi-Fi network) → IP settings → Static and assign an address outside the DHCP range.

3. Install ADB on the local machine:

   • macOS: brew install android-platform-tools
   • Linux (Debian/Ubuntu): sudo apt install adb

4. Connect and authorize:

   adb connect <ANDROID_TV_IP>:5555
   

   A prompt will appear on the TV asking to allow USB debugging — the user must confirm on the TV (check "Always allow" to skip this next time). Verify with adb devices — it should show device, not unauthorized.

5. Set the environment variable (optional — defaults to 192.168.125.228):

   export ANDROID_TV_IP="192.168.1.200"
   

Core Workflow

1. Look up the title ID: Use web_search to find the Netflix Title ID for the requested content (typically an 8-digit number, search within the user's region).
2. Ensure ADB connectivity: Verify that adb is connected to the Android TV device.
3. Execute playback: Run scripts/play_netflix.sh <TITLE_ID> for precise deep-link playback.

Tools

• Direct playback script: scripts/play_netflix.sh <ID>
• ADB basic controls (see references/adb-keycodes.md for the full list):
  • Pause / Play: adb shell input keyevent 85
  • Volume up: adb shell input keyevent 24
  • Volume down: adb shell input keyevent 25
  • Home: adb shell input keyevent 3

Troubleshooting

• If Netflix is stuck on the profile selection screen, press Enter to confirm: adb shell input keyevent 66.
• If the video does not auto-play, send a D-pad Center press: adb shell input keyevent 23.