Question for users of Ceton MyMediaCenter Companion (phone)

[DSperber]

I know this may seem off-topic for this EPG123 forum, but I posted my question in what really is the correct "WMC add-ins and 3rd-party apps" forum thread and got no response so I' decided to ask again here. I'm sure there are many Ceton users here, since we all need EPG123. And some very good programmers prowl here as well, who maybe can work some magic.

The problem is that for both me and another WMC user (and perhaps all of us who use this phone app to check on WMC running on our Win7 PCs), our relatively new Samsung phones (S21 Ultra and S24 Ultra) no longer permit the running of Ceton's MyMediaCenter Companion app that has been available and running for a very long time and on many different Samsung phones over the years. The problem is that the Google license for the app has apparently been removed. This seems to have corresponded to Android 14 now utilizing the latest release of OneUI (versions 6.0 and 6.1) on the phones.



I have a Samsung S21 Ultra now running at Android 14 and OneUI 6.0. I believe the phone's been at Android 14 for a while now, but OneUI 6.0 (and the newer 6.1 for newer phones like S24 Ultra which a friend has) are relatively new releases I believe.

In any event MyMediaCenter Companion was certainly still working on my phone I believe no older than around one month ago neighborhood. I distinctly remember checking to set a recording of something while in my car, and it is still in my recent memory.

We all know the app is abandonware, so we're just lucky it's kept running as long as it has. Apparently it is no longer available from Amazon. And now it appears it's been un-licensed from Google.

Interestingly, I tried to reinstall the app by sideloading the APK using ADBLINK2. This time it failed with information saying that the SDK used to package the APK was at version 18, whereas apparently the current minimum level SDK for packaging Google apps (with Android 14? with OneUI 6.0+?) is 23:



I was going to ask if a programmer/developer had the ability to repackage the APK itself, "un-bundling it back to components" and then repackaging it using a new version 23+ of the SDK, thus at least satisfying ADBLINK2. But now that it seems my currently installed and previously working (until very recently) MyMediaCenter Companion phone app can''t even launch properly because it no longer has a valid Google license, it does sadly seem that this app may truly and finally have reached its terminal EOL.

Anybody have thoughts? Is this really the end? At least Win7 and WMC and Ceton InfiniTV cards still work, thanks to Gary and EPG123 and Schedules Direct, hopefully indefinitely?

[DSperber]

Is this really true? Almost 50 views of my post and not one person has a Ceton tuner in their WMC setup, and uses the MyMediaCenter Companion on their phone to talk with the MyMediaCenter Host on the PC so that you can do recordings/guide stuff remotely when out of the house?

That's really all I'm asking first, is if I (and my friend) am alone here with losing this facility with the latest updates to Android 14 and OneUI 6.0? Or are there others experiencing exactly the same EOL on this functionality?

I honestly think we're doomed here, because even if the APK could be re-packaged to use a new SDK of version 23 or newer (as the error message from ADBLINK2 informed) it also seems that the "license" for the app has now been eliminated by Google. The app was previously available for a small fee from Amazon, but no longer. Perhaps this is directly related to the loss of Google license.

So again, anybody else seeing the same symptoms? I'd just feel better if the answer was "yes", and that we're just all one step closer to perhaps actually completely losing a minimally functioning WMC and Win7.

[Kevin Chalet]

I honestly think we're doomed here, because even if the APK could be re-packaged to use a new SDK of version 23 or newer (as the error message from ADBLINK2 informed) it also seems that the "license" for the app has now been eliminated by Google.

It's interesting to note that Ceton massively obfuscated their .NET Framework-based server app to deter folks from trying to tweak it or understand how it works, so it's likely they did something similar with their iOS and Android apps. Trying to reverse-engineer them may not be an easy task

So again, anybody else seeing the same symptoms? I'd just feel better if the answer was "yes", and that we're just all one step closer to perhaps actually completely losing a minimally functioning WMC and Win7.

If you're simply looking for a way to schedule recordings remotely, there are other approaches you can consider:
- Remote Potato: just like Ceton MMC, it's no longer maintained and the Web UI was based on Silverlight (which is dead too ) but it was open-source and has a basic HTML UI that works well for recording things remotely.
- Remote control: you can use WMC's GUI remotely using RDP or third-party software like TeamViewer and use it to schedule new recordings remotely.

Probably not the reply you were looking for, I guess...

[IT Troll]

I do use My Media Center, however I don’t have a Ceton tuner or an Android phone.
It is still working on iPhone but only because a kind soul is signing the app using a developer account.

[DSperber]

Well, I'm still hoping there is at least one other WMC user left who frequents this forum because of EPG123 use and did install My Media Center on the PC and Companion on an Android phone, and can thus verify that it still does or does not work any longer (and also provide details of the phone).

Actually, I must have misunderstood my friend who said MMC was no longer available from Amazon. Turns out it IS STILL AVAILABLE FOR THE SAME $4.99! But that will only get you the installer EXE for the PC host program.

I thought the Companion app for the phone was a regular Android app acquired and installed through the Google Play Store where it definitely is no longer found from "search". And as I've reported, attempting to manually side-load the known latest APK is unsuccessful because it is apparently now too old to be compatible with current Android and OneUI.

But quite remarkably, there is a link on the Amazon page to the Ceton Corp web site. I thought that site disappeared some years ago, but amazingly it is still active right now today! And it even has a copyright note at the bottom of the home page: "Copyright © 2023 Ceton Corporation" which is very surprising. and the site is still seemingly functioning! Huh??


Now as far as actually NEEDING to make use of MMC from my phone, that's actually NOT a critical need. In fact I do have remote access to my WMC machine through both Team Viewer as well as RealVNC. And I have the client phone app for both products installed on my Android phone. Both apps work perfectly on my current version phone, although the size of the phone screen vs. what really would be comfortable making use of WMC through the phone makes it a bit clumsy to use this interface. But it's possible.

However the MMC Companion app on the phone is really a well designed and thought out way to access the basic important task functions of WMC through the limited size phone screen. So while I hardly ever encounter a situation where I'm away from home and suddenly need to set/review a recording, it's just nice to have it available. Like to confirm that I haven't forgotten to advance schedule a recording for a special program that might be on tonight.

Anyway, I fear this is truly no longer available at least on modern Android phones.

[garyan2]

It still works on my S20 with Android 13 and One UI 5.1. Doesn't show images, but still works. Can't help you out to verify with latest phone models and software.

If you purchased MMC through Amazon (like I did), you need to install the Amazon Appstore to load the companion app for the phone. I believe it is no longer on Goggle Play.

[DSperber]

It still works on my S20 with Android 13 and One UI 5.1. Doesn't show images, but still works. Can't help you out to verify with latest phone models and software.

Thank you for this confirmation.

Doing some research it looks like Android 14 and OneUI 6.0 began rolling out to the S21 and newer starting in January here in the US. That's probably right, as it corresponds to my memory about my my most recent use of MMC on my phone while in my car in order to check something.

In my searching I ran across a very useful site from an "influencer" guy who is a super-expert on Samsung phones: SamMobile.com. Could be a very helpful new source of news and deep-dive info about Samsung phones.

I hope somebody else with a newer phone (and thus Android 14 and OneUI 6.0/6.1) chimes in here, just to confirm my own observation. But it does appear MMC is now EOL, and truly is no longer available for use after upgrade to Android 14, even on phones where it used to work with Android 13 and OneUI 5.1.

If you purchased MMC through Amazon (like I did), you need to install the Amazon Appstore to load the companion app for the phone. I believe it is no longer on Goggle Play.

That's the name of the no longer available app? "Amazon Appstore"? You're not talking about "Amazon Shopping" (which I of course already have)? Something different, named "Amazon Appstore"? I don't have an app named "Amazon Appstore" installed on my phone, although I do have "Amazon Shopping".

From what you describe I suspect this "Amazon Appstore" app is probably a phone-based APK app installer, to perform phone-based side-loading of a discrete APK much the same as the ADBLINK2 program does from the PC. But I suspect it could well run into the same incompatibility problem of the very old MMC Companion app, no longer being installable for use with Android 14 OneUI 6.0 no matter what method is attempted.

Nevertheless, I'd like to try it. If you already have "Amazon Appstore" on your own phone, you should be able to extract the APK and save it (and then share it) using a variety of available tools. I just recently installed an app named "Files by Google" (shows up as an icon with the name "Files" but with a familiar Google-family colored logo) when I was wanting to extract my current version of MMC Companion to share with my friend with the S24 Ultra, just in case that might help. There are other similar "app extractor" apps (e.g. APK Extractor, App APK Extractor & Analyzer, etc.).

Anyway, if you have "Amazon Appstore" installed on your phone, could I trouble you to "extract/share" its installer into an APK and make that file available for me? I could then use ADBLINK2 to try and install it on my own S21 Ultra. That itself may fail if it is no longer licensed by Google, hence why it has also disappeared from the Play Store.

But if I can side-load install it on my own S21 Ultra then I could use it on the phone to again try to install the MMC Companion APK on my phone using this phone-method, rather than my already unsuccessful attempt using ADBLINK2 via the PC-method. It may again fail for the same Android 14 incompatibility reason, but at least it would be one more option to at least try.

Thanks.

[DSperber]

Just used another phone app named "APK Analyzer" to get some details on the MMC Companion app. And it definitely shows a "target SDK" of 18, matching what the earlier error message from ADBLINK2 showed as to why it couldn't install the APK on my phone which now has Android 14 OneUI 6.0... and which apparently now requires a minimum target SDK value of 23 to install new apps.



Note that the build date on this 1.3.6.5 final version of Companion has a certificate from Issuer Ceton Corp valid from 8/27/2012 to 1/13/2040. Intended to be "eternal".

[garyan2]

No need to go through so many hoops to install Amazon AppStore.
https://www.howtogeek.com/856663/how-to ... oid-phone/

[DSperber]

Well, that easy method worked successfully, at least as far as getting Amazon Appstore installed on my S21 Ultra. It actually installed quickly and quietly, and I never got any of the several additional interactions shown in the article, that I would need to "allow". Perhaps these settings were already "on" with my own phone.

So I didn't need your APK after all, and didn't need to install it with ADBLINK2. And I now have it on my phone. Thanks for the lead.

Unfortunately, even through the now available Amazon Appstore the MMC Companion app (for Android) is just not available from "search" here. Gone.

And contrary to what I thought I might be able to do the Amazon Appstore isn't a manual APK-installer where I can point to an APK file I've stored on the phone and have Amazon Appstore install it for me. It's just an alternative to Google Play Store, to automatically buy/choose/install apps.

MMC Companion does seem to be gone with Android 14 OneUI 6.0.

[garyan2]

It's still searchable for me ("my media center"). You would think it would still show the results and then tell you it isn't compatible with your device or something.

[DSperber]

Just to provide some "picture's worth 1000 words" closure here to be sure we're not misinterpreting each other's terminology, I actually tried to "start from scratch" yesterday. Beginning at the beginning, I made believe I had never installed the Companion app on my phone.

(1) I believe the PC "host" software was always freely available from the [somehow still up, but only partially operational] Ceton web site:



Unfortunately when I push the "download" button for the Win7 software it fails with a 503 error. Clearly the site is only up in shell form, and is no longer fully operational.



(2) But that's ok. I already have the PC host software installed and operating normally and properly for many many years. So moving on to the MMC Companion app for the phone (which is the real subject of this thread, because it no longer works under Android 14 OneUI 6.0), I went to the Amazon.com site on my PC using Firefox as my browser, and searched for "my media center". It actually DID return a hit through this method, offering me the opportunity to buy it for $4.99 and get it placed in "my cloud", awaiting the next step toward installing it.



I actually have had the Companion installed on my Samsung Galaxy phones starting way back probably from when I still had an S7, and then it automatically migrated when I upgraded to an S10, and then migrated again when I upgraded to my first S21 Ultra (which I returned to Spectrum for a replacement from Verizon), and then migrated again when I upgraded to my second S21 Ultra. The S10 was sent in for trade-in so it is no longer active. But I actually do still have the S7 which I chose to physically keep for possible use as a wifi-only internet-capable device (even though it has no active phone service with Verizon).

I'm guessing that's what Amazon means when they say the MMC Companion app is "compatible with my 2nd Android device and my 4th Android device".

(3) So I pushed the "buy now" button, and sure enough my purchase went through and was confirmed, order details and all.



(4) It wasn't clear exactly what the information box on the right side of the purchase confirmation meant on that "automatic delivery" statement. But I did decide to investigate what their instructions were for "manual installation", so I clicked on that link and got the following elaboration:



So here is my first awareness of what is now know to be "Amazon Appstore" app on my phone, which I had installed the other day when it was first brought up. I don't recall ever knowing about it or using it before. I don't remember how MMC Companion first got installed on my S10 but I don't think it was from "Amazon Appstore". Might have been some different technique many years ago.

[DSperber]

(5) I now think the "automatic delivery" reference to "my cloud" is what the "manual installation" is implying. In other words the purchase of the app places the APK in a downloadable location associated with my Amazon account and accessible by the Amazon Appstore app on the phone, which has the ability to download and install the APK onto that device. So in theory this just purchased app should now appear in the "My apps" tab of Amazon Appstore, ready for me to initiate the installation of it on my phone.

Unfortunately, it does not appear in "My apps".



(6) I then contacted Amazon support. After some discussion with their "back room" coupled with my mention of the fact that the app (which I already had installed on my phone) no longer launched properly under Android 14 OneUI 6.0. And furthermore, in addition the APK itself (which I already had on my PC) could not even be side-loaded onto the phone using ADBLINK2 because "target SDK must now be at least 23" and the final 1.3.6.5 APK was packaged back in 2012-2014 with a target SDK of only 18, it was agreed by all parties that in all likelihood the Amazon Appstore app perhaps had alread discovered for itself that it, too, could not install that app on my phone but that had just been purchased for use on my phone... for the same "app is too old" reason that ADBLINK2 ran into. And this must be the reason for why it doesn't show up in "My apps" ready for download from "my cloud" and installation on my phone.

They then put through a refund of my $4.99 purchase price.

(7) As I posted at the start of this thread, the already installed and fully customized and operational [until perhaps 1-2 months ago when it stopped launching properly] delivers the following error message when I try to open it:



This really is the prime symptom, that Google no longer allows this app to operate... perhaps because it can no longer be installed on phones using the latest Android version.

And if I do push the "buy app" button to see what happens, not much happens:



(8) I think this is simply the end... for MMC Companion running on Android 14 devices.

[DSperber]

Well, I kind of got my historical facts a bit wrong in the back story here.

Turns out I bought my S4 back in summer 2013, upgraded to an S7 in mid-2016, and then to an S10 in mid-2019, and finally to my current S21 in March 2021. And while each of the latter two upgrades required that I return my current phone as a "trade-in" in order to get the large discount from Verizon on the price of the new phone (actually paid out in equal monthly credits over 24 and 30 months, in order to encourage you to stay with Verizon for that entire period until the phone is fully paid off), apparently I decided to keep my S4 in that first upgrade. I guess the price of the S7 was not that high.

Anyway, so what I actually still have in physical form is my current S21 Ultra and my very original S4... which still works perfectly as a wifi-connected internet-only phone device with no SIM card or phone number.

And as it turns out, I did have the MMC Companion app installed and customized and fully operational on this S4, which is running very old Android 5. So based on what Gary said that Companion still works on his S20 running Android 13, I had fully expected that Companion would still work from my S4 running Android 5.

So I charged it up and got it booted. And then I launched MMC Companion. AND IT FAILED EXACTLY THE SAME WAY... "no longer licensed by Google". I again tried to push the "buy from marketplace" button on the error message, and once again this failed. It's simply not available any longer from Google Play Store to obtain.

My guess based on all the evidence seen so far is that it probably had a 10-year license from Google when Ceton released its final 1.3.6.5 version in 2014 (I believe). And that's probably why it is now "expired" here in 2024. Pure speculation of course, but for me its failure to launch on both S21 and S4 doesn't seem related specifically only to Android 14 and OneUI 6. And the info learned yesterday that even though Amazon still mistakenly allows its purchase for $4.99 it cannot be installed by Amazon Appstore on the phone (thus needing a refund of the purchase price).

I don't know how the app could still be working on Gary's S20 with Android 13, if the required Google license for the app is truly now expired as it seems to be. Is this really really true?

Is there not one other EPG123 forum member reading this thread who has a Ceton tuner and had previously been using MMC Companion on their phone, and who can provide their own experience with the app right now today (and specific details about their phone)???

[garyan2]

To clarify. I think it is just no longer available from the Google app store. I had originally purchased MMC from Amazon years ago when I was probably on an S9. I had never installed it on my S20 until earlier this year when someone mentioned it was no longer showing images. Once I installed the Amazon AppStore, I was able to install MMC via Amazon and it worked just fine (just without images).

So this was just a couple months ago, through Amazon, on an S20.

Sent from my SM-G781U1 using Tapatalk

[DSperber]

To clarify. I think it is just no longer available from the Google app store. I had originally purchased MMC from Amazon years ago when I was probably on an S9. I had never installed it on my S20 until earlier this year when someone mentioned it was no longer showing images. Once I installed the Amazon AppStore, I was able to install MMC via Amazon and it worked just fine (just without images).

So this was just a couple months ago, through Amazon, on an S20.

Well, it also worked for me just a couple of months ago. But it's now stopped launching properly, instead producing that error message advising that it is no longer Google licensed:



I had originally thought the timing of this new behavior was quite recent since December or January, and surely must have been connected to the rollout of Android 14 and OneUI 6.0 which also occurred just recently.

But now I'm no longer sure of that. I rather now suspect that the original Ceton Google license for Companion perhaps only had a 10-year lifetime when the final version 1.3.6.5 app was last published back in 2014. And since Ceton is no longer around to re-apply and re-extend the license, coincidentally the 10-year period has only also just recently expired in the past month or two. That's my suspicion now.

So, although I know you said it worked (ignoring the image issue) a few months ago when you finally got around to installing it (to investigate that non-image reported problem) and actually tried it, can I ask that you please try it again now, today. Is it still working today? I suspect its behavior today may not be the same for you as it was several months ago... on the very same phone.

Or does it also now produce the same Google license error message as at least three different phones I know of that previously had perfectly operational Companion now all do (S4 Android 5, S21 Ultra Android 14, S24 Ultra Android 14).

The upshot of this is that unless somebody "adopts" this app, and has the programming skills and tools to unpack the APK (which we do have) back into its installable components, and then re-applies for a new license from Google (asking people to re-pay something for the app again to cover whatever costs of this new Google re-license turn out to be), and then re-package the Companion components with a new metadata that allows it to be installed (i.e. minimal target SDK of 23 in the re-bundled new APK, rather than the current minimal target SDK of 18 as the current 2014 APK shows), and makes available the newly re-packaged APK that has a new active and legal Google license (perhaps for another 10-years), if this doesn't occur then I'm afraid MMC Companion for Ceton/WMC users is truly EOL.

[garyan2]

It still works for me. I checked again when you started this thread. I say you are probably right about it being a OneUI version problem.

[DSperber]

It still works for me.

Hmmm... mystifying.

I checked again when you started this thread. I say you are probably right about it being a OneUI version problem.

But then why would it fail to launch using my old S4, which is still a really old Android 5... which is even before the days of OneUI existing.

I sure wish there were at least one or two other Ceton/WMC people who could contribute a data point to this discussion, for their own Android phone and MMC Companion experience.

Anyway, I'm resolved now to simply have to live without it. It really was a convenience for times like when I was in the car and wanted to check something or set a recording. But when I'm really away for a time I have my laptop with me, and that has remote connectivity to the WMC PC. So I can always do anything I want that way, via "remote connection" to the PC itself.

I will miss MMC Companion. But it's not critical to my continued use of WMC, like EPG123 is critical to my continued use of WMC. And thank you again for that!

[StinkyImp]

I sure wish there were at least one or two other Ceton/WMC people who could contribute a data point to this discussion.

I'm sorry I'm not a Ceton or MMC user so the following is anecdotal.

A few weeks ago my Galaxy updated to Android 14 and UI6. In that time I've noticed some minor annoyances like previous OS menu items are no longer available and some legacy apps have stopped working. In one app the entire menu vanished and it became unusable. My only recourse was to remove it because the dev had abandonded it a few years ago.

[coolviper777]

If you installed MMC from Amazon, and now it's showing the Google license error, then I would suspect you need to uninstall the app from your phone using the phones App Settings.

Then re-install from Amazon app store. I ran into that same issue, and realized I hadn't uninstalled the Google Play version of MMC.

To clarify. I think it is just no longer available from the Google app store. I had originally purchased MMC from Amazon years ago when I was probably on an S9. I had never installed it on my S20 until earlier this year when someone mentioned it was no longer showing images. Once I installed the Amazon AppStore, I was able to install MMC via Amazon and it worked just fine (just without images).

So this was just a couple months ago, through Amazon, on an S20.

Well, it also worked for me just a couple of months ago. But it's now stopped launching properly, instead producing that error message advising that it is no longer Google licensed:



I had originally thought the timing of this new behavior was quite recent since December or January, and surely must have been connected to the rollout of Android 14 and OneUI 6.0 which also occurred just recently.

But now I'm no longer sure of that. I rather now suspect that the original Ceton Google license for Companion perhaps only had a 10-year lifetime when the final version 1.3.6.5 app was last published back in 2014. And since Ceton is no longer around to re-apply and re-extend the license, coincidentally the 10-year period has only also just recently expired in the past month or two. That's my suspicion now.

So, although I know you said it worked (ignoring the image issue) a few months ago when you finally got around to installing it (to investigate that non-image reported problem) and actually tried it, can I ask that you please try it again now, today. Is it still working today? I suspect its behavior today may not be the same for you as it was several months ago... on the very same phone.

Or does it also now produce the same Google license error message as at least three different phones I know of that previously had perfectly operational Companion now all do (S4 Android 5, S21 Ultra Android 14, S24 Ultra Android 14).

The upshot of this is that unless somebody "adopts" this app, and has the programming skills and tools to unpack the APK (which we do have) back into its installable components, and then re-applies for a new license from Google (asking people to re-pay something for the app again to cover whatever costs of this new Google re-license turn out to be), and then re-package the Companion components with a new metadata that allows it to be installed (i.e. minimal target SDK of 23 in the re-bundled new APK, rather than the current minimal target SDK of 18 as the current 2014 APK shows), and makes available the newly re-packaged APK that has a new active and legal Google license (perhaps for another 10-years), if this doesn't occur then I'm afraid MMC Companion for Ceton/WMC users is truly EOL.