This chapter will provide you with the background and understanding of how you can effectively design and customize user interfaces for Android TV. When Google announced the Android TV platform during their Google I/O conference back in 2014, their vision was to create a highly interactive and connected television experience that would leverage and build upon the existing functionality found in the Android platform.

Google also provided consumers with the choice of either purchasing a smart TV with the platform built in, or alternatively adding Android TV to their existing television set by purchasing a stand-alone set-top box, such as the Nexus Q.

Android TV essentially brings apps and functionality that users already enjoy working with on their smaller Android devices, but with the added ability to download Android TV apps from the Google Play Store. It also provides users with a platform that supports Google Cast that will enable...