docs: rewrite the README for humans, add the PeerTube logo (#30)

Rewrite the README so it leads with what JTube TV is and who it's for, refresh
the feature list and screenshot captions to match the current UI (three Home
rows, Back opens the sidebar, Subscribe on the channel page), and add the
official PeerTube logo next to the name. Screenshot images are refreshed in a
follow-up.
This commit is contained in:
Jeena 2026-10-15 12:25:49 +00:00
parent f2d63fdb1c
commit a08f3b956c
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@ -4,71 +4,91 @@
<img src="docs/jtube-logo.svg" width="150" alt="The JTube TV logo, a little orange TV" />
</p>
JTube TV is an Android TV app for [PeerTube](https://joinpeertube.org/). It puts
a PeerTube instance on the big screen the way SmartTube puts YouTube there:
browse from the couch, play with the remote, nothing else in the way.
<p align="center">
<em>Watch your PeerTube instance from the couch, with the remote.</em>
</p>
It talks to any PeerTube instance over the
JTube TV is an Android TV app for
<a href="https://joinpeertube.org/"><img src="docs/peertube-logo.svg" width="16" alt="" valign="middle" />&nbsp;PeerTube</a>.
It does for a PeerTube instance what SmartTube does for YouTube: a big-screen,
D-pad-first way to browse your videos, your channels and your watch history and
play them — and nothing else in the way.
It is built for people who self-host their videos on PeerTube and want to watch
them on the TV without a phone, a cast button or a browser. Sign in once with
your PeerTube account and the whole instance is a few clicks away on the remote:
your own uploads (private ones included), the channels you follow, what you were
watching last, and the instance's public videos and search.
It works with any PeerTube instance over the
[REST API](https://docs.joinpeertube.org/api-rest-reference.html). The default
is [tube.jeena.net](https://tube.jeena.net), my own instance, where most videos
are private family uploads. Signing in matters because "My videos" shows them
all, privacy levels included.
in the sign-in screen is [tube.jeena.net](https://tube.jeena.net), the author's
own instance, but you can point it at yours.
## What it looks like
Screenshots come from a demo instance serving real, CC-licensed open-movie
The screenshots use a public demo instance with real, CC-licensed open-movie
content, courtesy of the [Blender Foundation](https://www.blender.org/) movies
and the [A propos de PeerTube](https://framatube.org) channel. All of it plays
and the [A propos de PeerTube](https://framatube.org) channel — all of it plays
in the app.
The home screen. Continue watching picks up at the position the server saved,
new videos first, page after page.
**Home.** Three rows: *Continue watching* picks up each video at the position
the server saved, then the newest local videos, then the newest from the
channels you follow. Scroll right and more load on their own.
<p align="center">
<img src="docs/screenshots/home.png" width="800" alt="Home screen with Continue watching and New videos rows" />
<img src="docs/screenshots/home.png" width="800" alt="Home screen with Continue watching, New local videos and subscriptions rows" />
</p>
A slide-in drawer opens with the left D-pad button. My videos shows your own
uploads, every privacy level included, with a badge on anything not public.
**The menu.** A sidebar slides in — press the left D-pad at the edge of a row,
or just press Back from anywhere in a list. It jumps to Home, My videos,
Channels, Search, Subscriptions and History.
<p align="center">
<img src="docs/screenshots/drawer.png" width="800" alt="Menu drawer with the destinations" />
</p>
**My videos.** Everything you own, every privacy level, with a badge on
anything that isn't public.
<p align="center">
<img src="docs/screenshots/myvideos.png" width="800" alt="My videos grid with Private and Internal badges" />
</p>
Channels, one row per owner, with video and play counts on every card.
**Channels.** One row per owner, with video, subscriber and play counts on
every card. Open a channel for its banner, its stats and all its videos — and a
Subscribe button you can reach with the remote.
<p align="center">
<img src="docs/screenshots/channels.png" width="800" alt="Channels screen with channel cards" />
</p>
The player speaks remote: play and pause, seek back and forward, a seek bar
with position and duration. Watching is reported to the server every 20
seconds, so where you left off survives the app.
**The player** speaks remote: play and pause, seek back and forward, a seek bar
with position and duration, and the video's info, comments and playlists a
button away. Watching is reported to the server every 20 seconds, so where you
left off survives closing the app.
<p align="center">
<img src="docs/screenshots/player.png" width="800" alt="Player with controls, seek bar and title" />
</p>
## What it does in v0.1
## What it does
- Sign in once. The app exchanges your username and password for OAuth tokens
and stores only those, encrypted with the Android Keystore. The password
itself is never kept.
- Home with Continue watching and New videos.
- Browse the instance's public videos, and search them by title.
- My videos: every video you own, private, internal and unlisted included.
- Channels: local channels with their videos, plus your subscriptions and your
server-side watch history.
- Player: HLS, with a progressive MP4 fallback, resume from the saved
position, and watching reports.
- **Sign in once.** The app trades your username and password for OAuth tokens
and keeps only those, encrypted with the Android Keystore. The password is
never stored.
- **Home** with Continue watching, new local videos and new videos from your
subscriptions.
- **Browse and search** the instance's public videos by title.
- **My videos** — every video you own, private, internal and unlisted included.
- **Channels** — local channels with their videos, plus your subscriptions and
your server-side watch history.
- **Subscribe** to and unsubscribe from channels, from the player or a channel
page.
- **Player** — HLS with a progressive MP4 fallback, resume from the saved
position, like/dislike, comments, playlists, and watching reports.
What it deliberately does not do (yet, or ever): uploading, editing,
deleting, managing subscriptions. That's tracked in
[BACKLOG.md](BACKLOG.md).
What it deliberately does not do: uploading, editing or deleting content.
## Build
@ -102,4 +122,6 @@ A single-module app, deliberately small:
## License
JTube TV is free software under [GPL-3.0-or-later](LICENSE).
JTube TV is free software under [GPL-3.0-or-later](LICENSE). The PeerTube logo
is a trademark of [Framasoft](https://framasoft.org/), used here to refer to the
PeerTube project.