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Prevent Android TV Ambient Mode during an active photo slideshow #2218

Description

@therealmarv

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Use case

I run Aves Libre v1.14.9 on an Nvidia Shield TV Pro for long photo slideshows. After a few minutes, Android TV kicks in Ambient Mode (the old Backdrop) and covers the slideshow.

I don’t want to turn Ambient Mode off system-wide, because I still want it when the TV is actually idle. Aves already keeps the screen awake during video playback, so it would be great if it could do something similar for a slideshow I start myself.

Proposal

Could Aves optionally keep Ambient Mode from starting while a photo slideshow is actively running?

To keep this limited to real “active” content, it should only apply when:

  • the user started the slideshow;
  • it’s playing and advancing on its own;
  • the interval between pictures is max. 30 seconds or less.

A quick look suggests pre-2019 OLEDs ideally refresh every 30 seconds to a minute. A 30-second max keeps images changing often enough to lower burn-in risk; my slideshow is already faster, so that works for me. The limit could be fixed or a setting.

Ambient Mode should be allowed again as soon as the slideshow is paused, finishes, is closed, or Aves leaves the foreground.

Maybe as an opt-in Android TV setting, something like:

Slideshow > Prevent Ambient Mode while playing

Alternatives

Turning Ambient Mode off globally works, but then I lose the normal Android TV screensaver when nothing’s happening.

Using Aves as the system screensaver would replace my current Ambient Mode setup, which I’d rather keep.

Additional context

Android’s docs say FLAG_KEEP_SCREEN_ON can stop Ambient Mode while an active foreground session is running:

https://developer.android.com/training/tv/playback/ambient-mode

System information:

  • Aves version: 1.14.9-libre
  • Device: Nvidia Shield TV Pro

Activity

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