Add shortcut for "Pick a favorite"

[sguinetti]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe. I would like an option to see a random favorite channel by pressing the shortcut. It is an alternative option to "Recent", to see some content immediately from a channel that I may like. It is similar to "I'm Feeling Lucky" and encourages the undecided user to choose what to watch.

Describe the solution you'd like Elaborate a shorcut called "Pick a favorite" (or "Select a favorite").

Describe alternatives you've considered It is only a shorcut, it does not imply other options.

Preferably, the icon of this shortcut is a dice.

Additional context See https://github.com/oxyroid/M3UAndroid/issues/44 for context about "Recent"

[oxyroid]

Great idea. I will add it recently.

[sguinetti]

I think that, in addition to the shortcut, a button like the shuffle buttons on music players could also be implemented to enable the "Pick a favorite" feature. This is very useful to pick a favorite in one click. When you want to change a channel, you also have to press the "Pick a favorite" button each time.

This is an example from InnerTune with the dice icon to implement this feature:

I find that if I set my initial screen as "favorite" and have the button, it changes the TikTok-like experience a lot. I start the application, press the button with the dice icon and play if this favorite channel convinces me or I choose another one at random until I find what I like.

P.S.: When I say "music players" I don't just mean Android apps. I also mention iPod Shuffle and its quirk about randomly choosing music tracks.

[oxyroid]

I made a simple one.

[sguinetti]

Thank you for good news. I will test.

[sguinetti]

I like it. The button looks attractive in Favorites. However, when I press the button, the app chooses a channel in general (which I sense to be a bug being in the Favorites screen). I think it should have a button to randomly play from all channels (in From You screen) and a button to randomly play only favorite channels (in Favorites screen).

[oxyroid]

I added an option "Play Randomly Only From Favorite". And there is an issue for now, it maybe try to play a xtream series type channel and we know the series channel cannot be played directly(the episodes loader should be shown via network request, but this case is not suitable for that). I will limit the type of channels played to only live (including m3u) or VOD types.

[sguinetti]

I understand, for me this function works fine.

Two things more:

• Add as shorcut from the launcher (like Recentely shorcut).
• Let play randomly ignore channels hidden by the user ("banned"). I test with Singapore playlist hidding several channels, but this app play these hidded channls.

[sguinetti]

I find another "glitch" if there is no playlist in the app. Instead of a black background, an error message "Cannot play randomly from without playlist added" should appear. This message is similar with the “Add a playlist” button.

https://github.com/oxyroid/M3UAndroid/assets/5572928/5f301792-b2f9-433e-8b50-9b4e273f9f39

[oxyroid]

We should not add too much shortcuts, because some launchers at most show 3 or 4 shortcuts for one application. And I think it is a correct behavior that the player is not playing if there is no streams when we entered it by "play randomly".