Playback controls on TV

Video playback is one of the most important features on TV. It's important that video players in apps across Android TV behave the same. Here are the recommendations on how video player controls should work on Android TV.

Summary

Button	Action
Center	Play or pause
Right single press	Forward +N seconds
Left single press	Rewind -N seconds
Press and hold right	Scrubbing forward
Press and hold left	Scrubbing rewind
Up or down	Peek information—progress, name, etc.

Play or pause

While a video or audio is playing, pressing the center D-pad button pauses the media that is playing and, if applicable, shows media playback controls like the progress bar and play button.

Illustration of play/pause button — **Figure 1.** When media is playing, pressing the center D-pad button pauses playback. Pressing the button again resumes playback.

Rewind and fast-forward

Rewind and fast-forward are controlled by pressing the left or right D-pad button when a video or audio is playing or paused. The playing or paused state is maintained when rewinding or fast-forwarding.

Illustration of forward/rewind button — **Figure 2.** When the left or right D-pad button is pressed once, playback rewinds or fast-forwards by a set number of seconds.

Peek information

Pressing the up or down D-pad button peeks up controls but does not pause the video.

Illustration of peeking information — **Figure 3.** Users can press the up or down D-pad button to show information about the media without pausing playback.

Ambient mode

Implement a media session