Apps Coubicle TV, if you like gifs/fun videos

[rshev]

Just released Coubicle TV 1.0, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/coubicle-tv/id1350147073?mt=8 (FREE)

If you like gifs (read coub.com, gifs with audio) and would like to have something fun running as a party background on tv, give it a try.

All feedback is welcome here, please let me know what you like and/or hate

 

[Juicy Box]

I downloaded, I haven't had a chance to play around with it, but it looks like pretty nice.

About 50% of my time on YouTube is watching these braindead clips, but the ads have gotten crazy lately.

Maybe Coubicle TV will be good substitute for YouTube for some of my viewing.

 

[rshev]

Glad you did like it! That's the aim of the app to have those clips and no ads. Enjoy

 

[Juicy Box]

I have used it for several hours and I have some thoughts.

Overall, I like it. It is simple, but does basics of what I am looking for.

I love being able to swipe back to an old clip or skip forward past ones that I have seen a hundred times or that bore me.

I like the infinite repeat feature, especially for some videos that deserve to be repeated many times.

But, I hate how the repeat once is a default. It makes sense for some to repeat, but many clips only need to be played once.

Feature request:
An option to browse thumbnails of videos
and
Separate some of them into categories, such as anime, fan service, video games, sports...

If the above was possible, then the ability to filter out certain ones, like I really don't like most of the video game clips.


So, thanks for making this. I have really enjoyed it so far. I am not sure if my feature requests are even possible, but if so, I am sure it would make it an even better experience.

 

[rshev]

Thank you very much for your feedback @vertical smile I'm very glad you're enjoying the app!

I'm still collecting initial feedback and will implement requested features when I'll have some free time.
Your idea with categories selection is quite interesting and would be useful, I'm just trying to think of a good balance between simplicity of use and feature-richness. If you have more ideas, please do let me know

 

[rshev]

Hi guys! Sorry for excavating this post, I've currently got some free time on my hands and was thinking of tackling some things which annoy me most in Coubicle, as I still use it from time to time.

Most annoying thing for me was content which I wouldn't like to see while automatically going through a category, such as anime and gaming clips. Previously it wasn't possible to do using Coub APIs, but another dive these days uncovered that they added some additional tag fields, which could allow to categorize content now. I appreciate it might have annoyed only myself, so I'm trying to think of a way for that to be customizable.

So current roadmap for the update is:
- to add filtering (starting without fancy UI, probably a list of keywords to filter out, to understand how useful this feature would be)
- when clip is paused to add overlay showing clip title and tags, to have a clue for filtering
- rewind clips automatically when swiping back (another annoyance)

Is there anything else you would like to point my attention to? Would you be interested in testing that?

 

[Juicy Box]

Thank you for your app

I use Coubicle TV almost daily, and have really enjoyed it. It is really nice to unwind after work or when I want to put on some mindless videos to enjoy.

I have a question that is more about Coub, not really your apps, but I remember when I first started using Coubicle TV, there was a lot more adult-themed content, but sometime in 2019, it seems like most of the adult content was removed.

Was there some type of crack down on adult-themed content?

- to add filtering (starting without fancy UI, probably a list of keywords to filter out, to understand how useful this feature would be)

Yeah, this would be nice.
This was one of my suggestions back in 2018, although I have used it for so long without a filter that I would be okay if it never happened.

In addition to filtering out content, maybe the filter could also do opposite. For example, select a tag and only play videos with that tag.

- when clip is paused to add overlay showing clip title and tags, to have a clue for filtering

I like this.

- rewind clips automatically when swiping back (another annoyance)

I am unsure what you mean about this one. Do you mean swiping back to restart the current clip playing instead of going to the previous clip?

Is there anything else you would like to point my attention to?

The simplicity of the App is nice, but two features not previously mention come to mind.

1. A clip bookmark - Not sure if this is even possible, and it would make the app more complex, but sometimes I see a clip that I think my wife would like, but sometimes she isn't around to see it. It would be nice to be able to bookmark or save it somehow.

2. A refresh button or auto refresh when the app is being reopened - this isn't that big of a deal, and probably not worth the time, but like I said, I use the app daily. The previews shown are sometimes the same ones from yesterday. They get refreshed or updated when selecting one of the categories and then exiting it, or totally closing the app and opening it again, but maybe if it could automatically update after a certain amount of time, like an hour, or each time the app is open from the background, that would be nice. Definitely not a big deal though.

Would you be interested in testing that?

Sure, let me know.
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But, I hate how the repeat once is a default. It makes sense for some to repeat, but many clips only need to be played once.

I made this comment when I first started using the app, but I think that I have warmed up to the repeat feature. I wouldn't change it.

An option to browse thumbnails of videos

This is still something I wouldn't mind seeing if it was possible.

 

[rshev]

Thank you very much @vertical smile, your feedback really means a lot to me.

Was there some type of crack down on adult-themed content?

Not sure, but I believe so, as I noticed that change as well.

This was one of my suggestions back in 2018, although I have used it for so long without a filter that I would be okay if it never happened.

Yes, I should've given credit to you initially, I remember that suggestion. Anyway, I'm planning to add an opt-out even in the first iteration, so no worries.

I am unsure what you mean about this one. Do you mean swiping back to restart the current clip playing instead of going to the previous clip?

There is a bug currently that sometimes when you swipe forward for the next clip and then swipe to go back to the previous one, it just resumes the previous one from the saved position. It becomes annoying when you're like "oh wait, what was that", you swipe back and that clip has almost ended. I think it should start from the beginning when swiping back. Very minor I think.

1. A clip bookmark - Not sure if this is even possible, and it would make the app more complex, but sometimes I see a clip that I think my wife would like, but sometimes she isn't around to see it. It would be nice to be able to bookmark or save it somehow.

I'm thinking about something similar, but it needs really clever UX for it not to overcomplicate the app, indeed. Definitely not for this upcoming release, as I need not to overstretch the scope, otherwise the release could not happen for a while

2. A refresh button or auto refresh when the app is being reopened - this isn't that big of a deal, and probably not worth the time, but like I said, I use the app daily. The previews shown are sometimes the same ones from yesterday. They get refreshed or updated when selecting one of the categories and then exiting it, or totally closing the app and opening it again, but maybe if it could automatically update after a certain amount of time, like an hour, or each time the app is open from the background, that would be nice. Definitely not a big deal though.

That is a very good spot! I noticed the same but totally forgot to add it to my list. Opening from background/waking up the TV should definitely trigger a refresh. Will try to squeeze it into this release!

I'll drop a TestFlight link as soon as I have some goodies to test!

 

[rshev]

Quick update: TestFlight build went to Apple for review. Hopefully I'll post it for testing next week!
Happy Easter!

 

[rshev]

TestFlight build has been approved by , please test it if you're interested:

TestFlight - Apple

Using TestFlight is a great way to help developers test beta versions of their apps.

testflight.apple.com

What's new:
- added display of clip information when paused
- added filtering of content, accessible from system's Settings-Apps-Coubicle TV
- clip rewinds when swiped back
- categories are refreshed more often in main menu, especially when going from background or waking up a device
- core migrated to RxSwift
- less download parts are mandatory to start playback
- better handling of download failures

Please test everything thoroughly, as there is a lot of core changes, and report all encountered issues.

 

[rshev]

Version 1.9 has been released to the App Store.
Have fun and remember, your feedback is always welcome here. Cheers.

 

[Juicy Box]

Coubicle TV, along with many other apps, have been glitching a lot with tvOS 14.6.

Some of the issues I have been having with Coubicle TV are:

The skipping button sometimes skips a few clips instead of just one at a time.
Sometimes clips won't play at all, it just does an endless skipping glitch.

Closing out the app and starting it doesn't fix it alone, but restarting the ATV and closing the app fixes the issues temporarily, but they comeback often.

I noticed that if I use Coubicle TV, then go to a different app, when I go back to Coubicle, the symptoms start to show.


I love Coubicle TV and use it daily, but the recent tvOS update messed up it and many other apps.

I have a lot of games that I paid for, and that will most likely never be updated again, stop working with tvOS 14.6. Just sucks. I wish I could go back to an earlier tvOS version.

 

[rshev]

Hey @vertical smile, sorry for being late getting back to you.
Honestly speaking, I've read your message a week ago and ran Coubicle a couple of evenings to try and reproduce what you were experiencing, but without much luck. And I'm also running 14.6, however on a non-4K 4th gen Apple TV.

May I ask are you using it on a 4K apple tv? And what's your internet connection's approx speed test results?
Keen to figure out what could be wrong

 

[satcomer]

Coubicle TV, along with many other apps, have been glitching a lot with tvOS 14.6.

Some of the issues I have been having with Coubicle TV are:

The skipping button sometimes skips a few clips instead of just one at a time.
Sometimes clips won't play at all, it just does an endless skipping glitch.

Closing out the app and starting it doesn't fix it alone, but restarting the ATV and closing the app fixes the issues temporarily, but they comeback often.

I noticed that if I use Coubicle TV, then go to a different app, when I go back to Coubicle, the symptoms start to show.


I love Coubicle TV and use it daily, but the recent tvOS update messed up it and many other apps.

I have a lot of games that I paid for, and that will most likely never be updated again, stop working with tvOS 14.6. Just sucks. I wish I could go back to an earlier tvOS version.

You could try tell the developer update his app sense you already paid for it! He/She could have bolted off the Apple development boards!

 

[Juicy Box]

Thank you for getting back to me, I really appreciate it.

I wasn't sure if you even used the Mac Rumors account anymore, and was thinking about sending a message to your twitter, but I don't have a twitter, so I would have had to create a twitter account.

The good news is that Coubicle TV appears to be working fine as of yesterday or the day before.

When I saw that it was working, I was thinking that maybe you updated the app, but I guess that wasn't the case.

I am unsure of what changed, but I think it was something on Apple's side of things, as I had many other apps that stopped working correctly or all together, but I just check a few of them, and they are working again.

I know it wasn't just my Apple TV, as I saw the same issues on my parents Apple TV in a totally different house.

Here are the answers to the questions you asked:

May I ask are you using it on a 4K apple tv?

Yes, on an ATV4K 1st gen

And what's your internet connection's approx speed test results?

This shouldn't be the issue, it is 300Mbps down 350Mbps up.

 

[Juicy Box]

You could try tell the developer update his app sense you already paid for it! He/She could have bolted off the Apple development boards!

Maybe you are confusing this thread with another thread I created about a similar issue with tvOS 14.6:

Many older apps stopped working properly after tvOS 14.6 upgrade.

I recently upgraded to tvOS 14.6 to try to correct a problem I was having, and now many of the games that I have no longer work properly. Anyone else? Some examples are the Remaster Ducktales, Paw Patrol, and some others. I tried redownloading a few of them and restarting the Apple TV...

forums.macrumors.com

But I didn't pay for Coubicle TV. It is free.

I was just hoping that the developer still active and still used his MR account.

There were many apps that I paid for that stopped working when I updated to tvOS 14.6, and I made the above thread about the issue to see if other people were having the same issue, or was it a problem specifically with my ATV.

Many developers have abandon the tvOS platform over the past few years, so many of the apps I use and have purchased haven't been updated in years.



I greatly appreciate @rshev responding to this thread, and looking into the issue. Thank you!

 

[Juicy Box]

It appears that Coub.com will be shutting down the 1April2022.

I am pretty sad about it, as I have enjoyed literal hundreds of hours watching loops over the past few years.

Coubicle TV was a great unwinding app for me after a long day of working.

So much content, but extremely simple to use.

Thanks @rshev for your app and supporting it over the years. Also, thank you for supporting an app on tvOS, as many of developers, especially gaming developers, seemed to have removed or abandon their tvOS version of apps over the last few years.

 

[Juicy Box]

It appears that Coub.com will be shutting down the 1April2022.

I forgot to come back here and say that Coub.com did not shut down, and was bought and saved by an investor.

The new owners are making some changes to the site, one of which removed NSWF category of content, at least the porn stuff, but none of that has effected the Coubicle TV app, at least so far. What ever source the Coubicle TV app uses had the extreme NSFW stuff removed a long time ago.

Anyways, the point is that Coubicle TV still works as good as ever. Check it out if you have not already.