3 Getting started

Section 3.2 describes getting started as it is deployed today. The sections after it are the target, the screens as they are meant to be, and section 3.7 lists every difference between the two as a numbered change. Only a change the owner has approved is built, one change at a time; anything no change names stays as it is deployed.

The chapter covers the screens before the first title: connecting to a server, signing in, and choosing who's watching. They come before the frame of chapter 2, so they have no top bar, no tabs and no rail.

3.1 Purpose

The phone and TV apps work with any chino server, so a newly installed app knows none. It asks for the server's address, checks it, and signs in there. On a phone or a TV that several people share, each of them signs in once, and the app asks who's watching when it starts.

The web needs no “add a server”: it comes from its own server, the one at its address. It signs in on that server's own sign-in page, which chino doesn't draw, and opens on home. A computer therefore has none of the screens in this chapter, and the figures show the phone app and the TV apps.

Where an app opens depends on what the device has:

The device has	The app opens on
No server	connect to a server (section 3.3)
A server, and no account	sign in (section 3.4)
One account	home (chapter 4)
Two accounts or more	who's watching (section 3.5)
A server that doesn't answer (phone app)	downloads (chapter 13), after who's watching when the phone has several accounts

3.2 As deployed

This section says what the four apps do before the first title as of 6 November 2026: the web as the public demo showed it that day, on the same build as production, and the apps as their code had them that day. The phone app, Android TV and the Samsung TV are described from their code until screenshots of them are taken. The Samsung TV app isn't released yet.

3.2.1 The web

The web has none of this chapter's screens. When nobody is signed in, it shows the chino icon over “Signing you in…” for a moment and goes to the server's sign-in page, which the server draws, not chino. Figure 3.1 shows the demo's.

Figure 3.1: The server's sign-in page, as the web opened it on the demo on 6 November 2026, on a computer, at 1280 × 800.

1. The middle: the server's own page, in the look of the platform the demo runs on, with its mark, “>z”, and its words, “sign in” and “to continue to zaentrum”. Each installation has a sign-in page of its own.
2. Username or email and Password, the fields this sign-in service asks for, with “Remember me”, then sign in and “Forgot password?”.
3. The foot: “zaentrum · demo”, the installation's name.

After the sign-in, the browser comes back to the web, which opens home, whatever page its address named, a title's page from a link too; only a sign-in the server refused later goes back to the page the person was on. A sign-in that fails shows the chino icon over “couldn't sign you in”, the reason by its kind, “Can't reach the sign-in service.”, “The sign-in service didn't accept the request.” or “The sign-in didn't finish.”, then sign in again and home, and the error's own text under details. A sign-in renews itself before it runs out and when the tab is shown again, without a screen. The avatar is the picture the sign-in gives the account, or else the initials, the first letters of the first two words of the name, in capitals, blue on a grey square.

3.2.2 The phone app

Where it opens. Without a server, on connect to a server; with a server and no account signed in, on sign in; with one account, on home; with two or more, on who's watching. The Android app checks the server as it starts: where it doesn't answer, it opens on downloads, after who's watching where there are several accounts. The iOS app doesn't check.

Connect to a server is headed “Connect to your server”, with “Enter the address of your Chino server.” under it. The field has no label and no hint, only the placeholder “https://media.example.com”. Connect turns into Connecting…, greyed, with a spinner under it, while the address is checked, and under it “Recent” lists up to five servers the phone was connected to. From settings the screen is headed “Change server”, with Cancel as a link under the button. A build with a server built in would offer “Use …”; no released build has one. The screen is one column in the middle, at most 480 dp wide, held either way.

The check tries https and then http, and asks three questions: whether the server says it is chino, whether it says where its sign-in is, and whether that sign-in answers. It says: “Couldn't reach that server. Check the address and that it's online.”, “That address responded, but it doesn't look like a Chino server.”, “Server reachable, but it didn't return its configuration (/api/config).”, “Couldn't read the login provider's configuration (OIDC discovery failed).” or “This app connects over HTTPS only; plain http works just for localhost. Use the server's https:// address.” An untrusted certificate reads as no answer.

Sign in is headed “Chino” in blue, with “Movies and series — sign in to media.example.com.”, then Sign in and the link Change server. Before it offers sign in, the app checks the server again, for 4 seconds at most, with a spinner in place of the button. Signing in opens the server's sign-in page in the browser; meanwhile a spinner takes the place of the buttons. A failure shows in red the sign-in service's own description of it, or the app's own words, “authorization failed”, “token exchange failed”, with Try again and Change server.

Who's watching is headed “Who's watching?”, over “Tap to switch. Tap ✕ to remove an account from this phone.” The avatars are squares of 88 dp, the account used last first, with a blue frame round the current one, in a grid of tiles at least 110 dp wide, and from 600 dp wide at least 160 dp. The ✕ is a 28 dp square. Add account turns into Signing in… with a spinner. A switch asks nothing; when the account switched from was casting, the cast stops, with the toast “Stopped casting on Living Room TV.” Removing an account always asks first (chapter 16).

The avatar is a square with the initials in capitals, the first letters of the first two words of the name, on one of twelve colours picked by the email address. Where the account has an email address, the app looks a picture up from an outside service by a hash of it and shows it over the initials.

3.2.3 Android TV

Where it opens. Without a server, on connect to a server; without an account, on sign in; with two accounts or more, on who's watching, every time it starts; with one, on home. It asks the server nothing as it starts.

Connect to a server has the phone app's words in lowercase headings and buttons: “connect to your server”, “Enter the address of your Chino server.”, the placeholder “https://media.example.com”, connect and connecting…, and recent with up to five addresses without their https://. The field has the focus, and OK opens the TV's keyboard, whose go key connects. From settings the screen is headed “change server” and adds cancel. The check asks the phone app's questions, and on a TV also whether the sign-in offers signing in with a code; it says the phone app's first three sentences, “Secure connection failed — the server's certificate isn't trusted.”, and “This server's login provider doesn't support TV sign-in (device flow).”, which it also says when the sign-in doesn't answer.

Sign in is headed “Connect your Chino account”. A picture code on white, 220 dp, stands on the left; on the right “Scan with your phone — or visit:”, the address as the server sends it, with its https://, “and enter this code:”, and the code, one letter to a box; under them “Waiting for confirmation…”. Nothing takes the focus while it waits, and there is no change server. A failure says “The code expired.”, “Sign-in was cancelled.”, “The server ran into a problem.”, “The server didn't accept the sign-in.”, “Can't reach the server.”, “The server's answer couldn't be read.” or “Sign-in failed.”, with try again, which asks for a new code, and under all but the first two the error's code under details.

Who's watching is headed “who's watching?”, over “Long-press an account to remove it.” The avatars are circles of 120 dp, the one used last first and focused; add account, a plus on a square, opens sign in. Holding OK on an account asks “remove account”, with “You'll need to sign in again to use this account on this TV.” and cancel and remove account. The avatar has the phone app's initials, colours and picture from an outside service, in a circle.

3.2.4 Samsung TV

Where it opens. Without a server, on connect to a server; without an active account, on sign in, which asks for a code at once; with one account or more, on the home of the active one. It asks the server nothing as it starts.

Connect to a server has the phone app's heading, sentence and placeholder. The field has no focus as the screen opens; OK on it opens a keyboard of the app's own, titled “Server address”, which covers the screen and types lowercase only, and its done key connects. Connect turns into Connecting… with a spinner, and is dimmed while the field is empty. A list of recent servers and a change server variant are in the code, but neither shows: the app keeps no list, and settings' change server signs out without opening the screen (chapter 16). The check asks Android TV's questions, with time limits of 6 and 8 seconds, and says its sentences but the certificate's; anything else reads as no answer.

Sign in is headed “Sign in”, without a picture code: “On your phone or computer, open”, the address as the server sends it, “and enter this code:”, the code one letter to a box, and “Waiting for you to sign in…”. There is no change server. A failure says “The code expired. Please try again.”, “Sign-in was cancelled.”, “Sign-in failed:” with the sign-in service's error code, or the error's own text, in red, with Try again, which has the focus.

Who's watching is in the code, but nothing opens it. Settings' Switch account lists the accounts over the page instead, the current one marked “current”; OK on one switches to it, and its Add account goes to home without signing in. The avatar is a square with one capital letter, the name's first, dark on blue for every account.

3.2.5 Feature by feature

The table compares the four apps feature by feature. “—” is a feature the app doesn't have.

Feature	Web	Phone app	Android TV	Samsung TV
Without a server	—	connect to a server	connect to a server	connect to a server
With two accounts or more	—	who's watching	who's watching, at every start	the active account's home
A server that doesn't answer at the start	—	Android: downloads; iOS: not checked	not checked	not checked
Connect's heading	—	“Connect to your server”; from settings “Change server”	“connect to your server”; “change server”	“Connect to your server”
The sentence under it	—	“Enter the address of your Chino server.”	the same	the same
The field	—	no label, no hint; the placeholder “https://media.example.com”	the same, with the focus	the same, without the focus
The keyboard	—	the phone's	the TV's; its go key connects	the app's own, lowercase only; done connects
The button	—	Connect, Connecting…, a spinner under it	connect, connecting…	Connect, Connecting… with a spinner
Recent servers	—	“Recent”, up to five	recent, up to five, without https://	never shown
The check	—	is it chino, where is its sign-in, does the sign-in answer	the same, and does it sign in with a code	the same as Android TV, with time limits
Its sentences	—	five, from “Couldn't reach that server. Check the address and that it's online.”	five, with the certificate's and “This server's login provider doesn't support TV sign-in (device flow).”	four: Android TV's but the certificate's
An untrusted certificate	—	reads as no answer	“Secure connection failed — the server's certificate isn't trusted.”	reads as no answer
Signing in	the server's page in the same tab	the server's page in the browser	a code, on another device	a code, on another device
Sign in's heading	—	“Chino” in blue, over “Movies and series — sign in to media.example.com.”	“Connect your Chino account”	“Sign in”
Before sign in	—	the server checked again, 4 s at most, with a spinner	—	—
While it runs	“Signing you in…” under the chino icon	a spinner in place of the buttons	a spinner, then the code	a spinner, then the code
The picture code	—	—	on white, 220 dp	none
The address	—	—	as the server sends it, with https://	as the server sends it
Waiting	—	—	“Waiting for confirmation…”	“Waiting for you to sign in…”
change server on sign in	—	Change server, a link	none	none
A failed sign-in	“couldn't sign you in”, the reason by kind, sign in again · home, details	the service's description in red, Try again · Change server	seven sentences by cause, try again, details	“The code expired. Please try again.”, “Sign-in failed:” and the error's code, Try again
Who's watching's heading	—	“Who's watching?”, over “Tap to switch. Tap ✕ to remove an account from this phone.”	“who's watching?”, over “Long-press an account to remove it.”	not shown
The accounts	—	squares, 88 dp, the current one in a blue frame	circles, 120 dp, the last used focused	a list over settings
Removing an account	—	the ✕, a 28 dp square; it always asks	holding OK; it always asks	—
add account	—	Add account, then Signing in…	add account, to sign in	Add account goes to home without signing in
The avatar	a square: the sign-in's picture, or the initials in capitals, blue on grey	a square: the initials in capitals on one of twelve colours, a picture from an outside service over them	a circle, as the phone app	a square: one capital letter, dark on blue

3.3 Connect to a server

3.3.1 On a phone held upright

Figure 3.2 shows the first screen of a newly installed phone app: one field, one button.

Figure 3.2: Connect to a server, on a phone held upright, at 360 × 780 dp.

1. Server address. The address of the server, as the people who run it gave it out: “media.example.com”. https:// can be left out, and the hint under the field says so. The field has the focus when the screen opens, so the keyboard comes up at once (the figure leaves it out), and the keyboard's go key works like connect.
2. connect checks the address (section 3.3.4). When a chino server answers there, the app keeps it and goes on to sign in (section 3.4).

Under connect, a list headed recent offers the servers this device was connected to before, one press each; a newly installed app has none. Changing the server later, from settings (chapter 16), opens this screen headed change server, with the server connected now in the field and cancel under connect.

3.3.2 On a phone held sideways

Figure 3.3 shows the same screen on a phone held sideways. It has the parts of figure 3.2; the numbers mark what differs.

Figure 3.3: Connect to a server, on a phone held sideways, at 780 × 360 dp.

1. The product's mark and the heading take the left half, so the screen keeps its height for the field.
2. The field, its hint and connect take the right half, with recent under connect where the phone has one; the half scrolls where it is taller than the screen.

With the keyboard up, the field stays in view above it, and the keyboard's go key works like connect.

3.3.3 On a TV

Figure 3.4 shows the same screen on a TV. It has the parts of figure 3.2; the numbers mark what differs.

Figure 3.4: Connect to a server, on a TV, at 960 × 540 dp.

1. The field has the focus when the screen opens. OK opens the TV's keyboard, and its enter key works like connect. Until something is typed, the field shows “media.example.com” in the dim colour of a placeholder, as an example.
2. connect, down from the field. The column keeps to the middle of the screen, well inside the safe area.

3.3.4 The check

connect asks the address three questions, in order: does a chino server answer there; does it say how to sign in; and does its sign-in answer. On a TV the last question is whether its sign-in offers signing in with a code (section 3.4.3). While the check runs, connect is busy and the field waits, as figure 3.11 shows. Until the check passes, nothing changes: on a change of server, the old one stays.

When the check fails, the field says why in place of its hint and keeps the address, so a typing mistake is fixed in place, and connect tries again (figure 3.12). On a TV the focus goes back to the field. The reasons:

What the check finds	The field says
Nothing answers at the address	No server answers at this address.
Something answers, but it isn't a chino server	This address answers, but it isn't a chino server.
The server's certificate isn't trusted, where the app can tell	The server's certificate isn't trusted, so the app won't connect to it.
The server doesn't say how to sign in	The server answered, but didn't say how to sign in.
The server's sign-in doesn't answer	The server's sign-in can't be reached.
On a TV, the server's sign-in offers no code	This server's sign-in doesn't offer signing in on a TV.

When the check passes, the app keeps the server, adds it to recent, and opens sign in: figure 3.5 on a phone, figure 3.7 on a TV. A change of server first asks what chapter 16 describes, where accounts or downloads would go.

3.4 Sign in

3.4.1 On a phone held upright

Figure 3.5 shows sign in on a phone. The app doesn't ask for a password itself: it hands over to the server's own sign-in page in the browser, so the person signs in the way that server is set up for.

Figure 3.5: Sign in, on a phone held upright, at 360 × 780 dp.

1. The server's name is in the heading, so the person sees where they sign in before a page opens. The sentence under it says what happens next.
2. sign in opens the server's sign-in page in the browser, and is busy while the page is open. When the person has signed in, the browser hands back to the app, which opens home (chapter 4) as the new account. When they close the page without signing in, the screen is as it was.
3. change server opens figure 3.2 again, for an address that turned out to be the wrong one. It asks nothing, as nobody is signed in yet.

Before it offers sign in, the app asks the server for its sign-in once more, so that a server whose sign-in changed since it was added is followed. Meanwhile the button is busy, for 4 seconds at most; a server that doesn't answer in that time doesn't hold the sign-in up.

3.4.2 On a phone held sideways

Figure 3.6 shows sign in on a phone held sideways. It has the parts of figure 3.5; the numbers mark what differs.

Figure 3.6: Sign in, on a phone held sideways, at 780 × 360 dp.

1. The heading and its sentence take the left half, under the product's mark.
2. sign in and change server take the right half, level with the heading.

3.4.3 On a TV

A TV has no browser to sign in with, and typing a password with a remote is slow. So the TV shows a code, and the person signs in on their phone or a computer. Figure 3.7 shows it.

Figure 3.7: Sign in with a code, on a TV, at 960 × 540 dp.

1. The picture code. A phone's camera reads it and opens the server's sign-in page with the code already filled in. It is dark on white, as cameras read it best, with a white margin round it.
2. The address, for typing on another device: the page of the server's sign-in that takes codes, without its https://.
3. The code, each letter in a box of its own, large enough to read from across the room.
4. Waiting. The screen moves on by itself once the sign-in is done, to home as the new account. Nothing needs pressing on the TV.
5. change server is the only thing to focus, so it has the focus. When the screen opens from who's watching to add an account (section 3.5), it has no change server, and Back goes back to who's watching.

A code holds as long as the server's sign-in allows. When it runs out, the screen says “The code expired.”, with try again, which asks for a new one.

3.4.4 On the web

The web signs in on the server's own sign-in page, which chino doesn't draw; figure 3.1 shows the demo's. When nobody is signed in, the web goes there by itself, showing only “Signing you in…” on the way, and comes back to the page it left. When the sign-in fails, the web says “couldn't sign you in”, the reason from section 3.8, and offers sign in.

A sign-in that has expired renews itself on every device, without a screen. Only when the server refuses it does the app open sign in again, for the same account, and return to where the person was afterwards (chapter 17).

3.5 Who's watching

A phone or a TV that several people share keeps an account for each of them, so each signs in once. The app asks who's watching when it starts with two accounts or more. On a phone, the account page's switch account opens it too (chapter 16); on a TV, the avatar at the top of the rail (chapter 2). What an account sees is its own: its continue watching, its watchlist, and on a phone its downloads (chapter 13).

3.5.1 On a phone held upright

Figure 3.8 shows who's watching on a phone with three accounts.

Figure 3.8: Who's watching, on a phone held upright, at 360 × 780 dp.

1. An account: its avatar and its name. A tap opens home as that account. The accounts come in the order they were last used, and the one used last has a blue frame round its avatar.
2. ✕ removes the account from this phone, after asking, as chapter 16 describes. It reacts to a touch anywhere in the 48 dp square round it, larger than the square it draws.
3. add account opens the server's sign-in page, as sign in does in figure 3.5. Once the person has signed in, the new account opens home.

A switch asks nothing. When the account switched from is casting, the cast stops and a toast says so (chapter 14).

3.5.2 On a phone held sideways

Figure 3.9 shows who's watching on a phone held sideways. It has the parts of figure 3.8; the numbers mark what differs.

Figure 3.9: Who's watching, on a phone held sideways, at 780 × 360 dp.

1. The accounts in one row, as many as fit, six on a phone held sideways; more go onto a row under it, and the page scrolls.
2. add account, at the end of the accounts, as upright.

3.5.3 On a TV

Figure 3.10 shows who's watching on a TV. It has the parts of figure 3.8; the numbers mark what differs.

Figure 3.10: Who's watching, on a TV, at 960 × 540 dp.

1. The focus starts on the account used last, so the most common choice is one press of OK. Left and right move between the accounts.
2. add account opens sign in with a code, as in figure 3.7.
3. The line under the heading says how to remove an account, because holding OK can't be seen. It opens the same question as the phone's ✕.

3.5.4 The avatar

An account is shown by its avatar everywhere: in the top bar, in the rail, in the avatar's menu and on who's watching. It is a square with the account's initials, the first letters of the first two words of its name, lowercase in the monospace face, dark on one of twelve colours: “Alex Urban” is au, “Anna” is a. The colour comes from the account's email address, or from its name when it has none, the same way in every app, so an account keeps its colour on every device. The avatar shows no picture: no app asks an outside service for one (3.C13).

3.6 Turning the phone

The three screens turn with the phone, and turning it loses nothing: the address typed stays in the field, with the focus and the keyboard; a check that runs goes on; and the browser's sign-in page, while it is open, turns on its own and hands back to the app as upright. Upright, each screen is one column in the middle. Sideways, connect to a server and sign in put the product's mark and the heading in the left half and the rest in the right (figures 3.3 and 3.6), and who's watching puts its accounts in one row (figure 3.9).

3.7 Changes

Every difference between section 3.2 and the target is one change in the table. A change names the apps it is built in, what they do today and the target, with the figure or the section that sets it out; it is built as its row says, and nothing else changes with it. Each change starts as proposed; once the owner approves it, it is built, one change at a time. A target that starts with “Recommended” was an open decision, or takes away something an app has today. The questions before an account is removed or the server changed, and the account page's switch account, belong to chapter 16, and what happens when the server refuses a sign-in later, to chapter 17.

No.	Change	Apps	Today	Target	Status
3.C1	Connect to a server: its words and the field	Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	headed “Connect to your server” (Android TV “connect to your server”), with “Enter the address of your Chino server.” under it; the field without a label and without a hint, the placeholder “https://media.example.com”; on the Samsung TV the field without the focus as the screen opens	figure 3.2: headed connect to a server, with no sentence; the field labelled Server address, with the hint “The app adds https:// when you leave it out.”, focused as the screen opens; on a TV the placeholder “media.example.com” (figure 3.4)	proposed
3.C2	connect busy while the check runs	Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	the button greyed with Connecting… (Android TV connecting…); the phone app's spinner under the buttons, the Samsung TV's in the button	figure 3.11: the field dimmed, connect busy with the design system's square loader before its name, which stays; nothing for the first 0.4 seconds; a second press does nothing	proposed
3.C3	The check's reasons	Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	other sentences, from “Couldn't reach that server. Check the address and that it's online.” to “This server's login provider doesn't support TV sign-in (device flow).” (section 3.2.5); in the phone app and on the Samsung TV an untrusted certificate reads as no answer	the six sentences of the table in section 3.3.4, the certificate's wherever the app can tell	proposed
3.C4	The phone held sideways	Phone app	connect to a server and sign in one column in the middle, at most 480 dp wide, held either way; who's watching's tiles at least 160 dp wide from 600 dp wide	figures 3.3, 3.6 and 3.9: the product's mark and the heading in the left half, the rest in the right; the accounts in one row, as upright, as many as fit (section 3.6)	proposed
3.C5	Samsung TV: recent servers	Samsung TV	the list is in the code, but the app keeps no servers, so it never shows	recent, the servers this TV was connected to before, under connect (section 3.3.1)	proposed
3.C6	Sign in on a phone	Phone app	headed “Chino” in blue, with “Movies and series — sign in to media.example.com.”; a spinner takes the buttons' place while the server is checked again and while the page is open; Change server a link	figure 3.5: headed sign in to media.example.com, with “The server's sign-in page opens in your browser.”; sign in busy, for 4 seconds at most while the server is asked again, and while the page is open; change server a quiet button	proposed
3.C7	Sign in on a TV	Android TV, Samsung TV	Android TV: “Connect your Chino account”, “Scan with your phone — or visit:”, the address with its https://, “and enter this code:”, “Waiting for confirmation…”; nothing to focus. Samsung TV: “Sign in”, no picture code, “On your phone or computer, open”, “and enter this code:”. Neither has change server	figure 3.7: sign in to media.example.com, the picture code, “Scan this with your phone's camera, or open”, the address without https://, “on a phone or a computer and enter”, the code a letter to a box, the loader with “Waiting for you to sign in…”; change server with the focus, except where the screen opened from who's watching	proposed
3.C8	A failed sign-in says why, by cause	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Web: “couldn't sign you in”, the reason, sign in again and home. Phone app: the sign-in service's own description in red, or “authorization failed”, with Try again and Change server. Android TV: seven sentences, try again and details. Samsung TV: “The code expired. Please try again.”, “Sign-in failed:” with the error's code, or the error's own text, with Try again	the reasons of the table in section 3.8: on a phone the error banner of figure 3.13, “Couldn't sign you in.” and the reason, with details holding the service's own error, and sign in to try again; on a TV “couldn't sign you in”, the reason and try again in place of the codes, with the focus; on the web “couldn't sign you in”, the reason and sign in	proposed
3.C9	Web: back to the page the address named	Web	after the first sign-in the web opens home, whatever page its address named, a title's page from a link too; only a sign-in the server refused later goes back to its page	back to the page it left, on every sign-in (section 3.4.4)	proposed
3.C10	Who's watching: its words and the ✕	Phone app, Android TV	Phone app: “Who's watching?” over “Tap to switch. Tap ✕ to remove an account from this phone.”, Add account; the ✕ answers a touch only in its 28 dp square. Android TV: “Long-press an account to remove it.”	figures 3.8 and 3.10: who's watching? alone on a phone, and on a TV over “Hold OK on an account to remove it from this TV.”; add account; the ✕ answers a touch anywhere in the 48 dp square round it	proposed
3.C11	Samsung TV: who's watching	Samsung TV	nothing opens it: with two accounts or more the app opens on the active one's home, and settings' Switch account lists the accounts over the page, its Add account going to home without signing in	figure 3.10, at the start with two accounts or more and from the avatar at the top of the rail (chapter 2); add account opens sign in with a code (figure 3.7)	proposed
3.C12	The avatar's look	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Web: the initials in capitals, blue on grey. Phone app: the initials in capitals on one of twelve colours. Android TV: the same in a circle. Samsung TV: the name's first letter in capitals, dark on blue for every account	section 3.5.4: a square, the initials lowercase in the monospace face, dark on one of twelve colours from the email address, the same way in every app	proposed
3.C13	No picture in the avatar	Web, Phone app, Android TV	Web: the picture the sign-in gives the account. Phone app, Android TV: a picture looked up from an outside service by a hash of the email address, over the initials	Recommended: initials only, so that no app tells an outside service which accounts it has (section 3.5.4)	proposed

3.8 States

Figures 3.2 to 3.10 show the screens at rest. Figures 3.11 to 3.13 show the states in between that matter most.

Figure 3.11: Checking the address, on a phone.

1. The field waits while the check runs, its address dimmed.
2. connect is busy: the design system's square loader before its name, which stays, as loading and progress has it. For the first 0.4 seconds nothing changes; a second press does nothing.

Figure 3.12: No server answers at the address, on a TV.

1. The field keeps the address, with a red edge, and has the focus again, so the typing mistake, here “exmaple”, is fixed in place.
2. The reason, in place of the hint, from the table in section 3.3.4. connect tries again.

Figure 3.13: The sign-in was refused, on a phone.

1. What went wrong, in an error banner over the buttons: “Couldn't sign you in.” and the reason. details opens the sign-in service's own error, for the people who run the server.
2. sign in tries again. Nothing else on the screen changes.

A sign-in that fails says why, by cause, in every app:

Why the sign-in failed	The reason
The sign-in service doesn't answer	Can't reach the sign-in service.
The sign-in service refused the sign-in	The sign-in service didn't accept the request.
The sign-in didn't come back whole	The sign-in didn't finish.
The server refused the sign-in just made	The server didn't accept your sign-in.
The server ran into a problem (TV)	The server ran into a problem.
The code ran out (TV)	The code expired.
The sign-in was turned down on the other device (TV)	Sign-in was cancelled.

State	What the screen shows
Checking the address	Figure 3.11
The check fails	Figure 3.12, with the reason from section 3.3.4
Asking the server for its sign-in, before sign in	sign in is busy, for 4 seconds at most
The browser's sign-in page is open (phone)	sign in is busy
Asking for a code (TV)	Grey blocks in the shape of the picture code and the code
Waiting for the other device (TV)	Figure 3.7: the loader and “Waiting for you to sign in…”
The sign-in failed	Figure 3.13 on a phone. On a TV, “couldn't sign you in”, the reason and try again in place of the codes, with the focus on try again. On the web, “couldn't sign you in”, the reason and sign in
Switching to another account	The account's tile is busy until the switch is done
The phone app can't reach the server	Who's watching works without it, and opens the account's downloads (chapter 13)

3.9 Words

Where	Text
Connect to a server	connect to a server · Server address · The app adds https:// when you leave it out. · connect · recent
The same screen, from settings	change server · cancel
The check	the six reasons in section 3.3.4
Sign in on a phone	sign in to media.example.com · The server's sign-in page opens in your browser. · sign in · change server
Sign in on a TV	sign in to media.example.com · Scan this with your phone's camera, or open · auth.example.com/device · on a phone or a computer and enter · Waiting for you to sign in… · change server · try again
A failed sign-in	Couldn't sign you in. · couldn't sign you in (TV and web) · the seven reasons in section 3.8 · details · sign in · try again (TV)
The web on its way to sign in	Signing you in…
Who's watching	who's watching? · add account · Hold OK on an account to remove it from this TV.
The ✕ on a phone, for screen readers	remove account
An account's tile, for screen readers	its name: Alex Urban