Here’s release note of version 3.3.2.
[iOS]：For iPhone version only
[Android]：For Android version only
No Mark：For both version

Changes

• [iOS] Voice setting menu is added.
  You can find the menu from “Config” > “Voice.”
  
  Voice Name: You can set Voice’s language and gender.
  Voice Speed: You can set how fast to read.
  Voice Pitch: You can set Voice’s pitch.
  Note: When you set a voice, a text in the language you selected for TV Friends, “This is a voice of speaking,” will be pronounced. However, there is a case the voice cannot pronounc if the voice cannot speech the application settings’ language (e.g. the case you set Japanese for the application language, but selected English voice). The voice setting itself is still valid, and the voice will speak chat comments if it’s readable for the voice.
• A first boot dialog will be shown to introduce TV Friends on Title Screen.
• A dialog which ask you if you want to set your avatar randomly will be shown if you press OK without selecting any avatar on Avatar Selection Screen.
• An error dialog will be shown if you press OK without selecting all of Country/Region, Area, Channel, and Room.
• Notification Function is added.
  When a match of 2018 FIFA World Cup start soon, a notification will be sent to you.

Bug Fixes

• A bar position of Voice Volume setting in “Text-To Speech” config is fixed.
• In Japanese version, a problem that a button text, “Apply and Quit,” wasn’t translated is fixed.
• A problem that there was a possibility that the application may crush during Twitter authentication.
• A probrem that users could add a space after their handle name is fixed.

Here’s release note of version 3.3.1 including TV Friends iPhone version.
[iPhone]：For iPhone version only
[Android]：For Android version only
No Mark：For both version

Changes

• Changed timing of displaying and Agreeing the End User License Agreement. A check box to agree the EULA is placed on the Title screen. You can read the EULA by tapping “Read End User License Agreement.”
• Deleted birth date input from the Avatar Selection Screen.
• Display setting option is added. Now you can choose “16:9” screen mode or “Full Screen” mode. The default setting for iOS is “Full Screen,” and the one for Android is “16:9.”
  
  To apply the setting, please press “Apply and Quit” button, and then reboot TV Friends. From the next boot, the setting will be applied.
• Added “Speak Names,” option to Text-To Speech dialog. You can set if you want the system to read user names when it speaks user comments.
• 

Here’s release note of version 3.3.0 including TV Friends iPhone version.
[iPhone]：For iPhone version only
[Android]：For Android version only
No Mark：For both version

Changes

• Text-To Speech (TTS) function is added. Now you can “listen” to comments without watching a device screen. Chat comments, Twitter comments, and Voting will be speeched (user names for votes won’t be speeched). While speaking comments, the next coment won’t be displayed.On Android, TV Friends uses a voice (language) and speech speed which is set in “Settings > Language & input > Text-to-speech output.” Menu names might be slightly different OS’s version by version.On iOS, OS’s language and the language’s default voice will be used in normal speech speed. Please be noted that a voice in “Settings > Accessibility > Speech” is not used in TV Friends.
• Setting for Text-To Speech is added
  Please refer help to know how to set TTS.
  
• The following four sound effects are added.
  Crap Cheering
  Let’s go Team!
  Gooooal!
  Ha Ha Ha Ha!
• [iOS] Apple Inc. did not permit 16:9 screen mode on iPad, so full screen mode is applied again to iOS. Because of this change, Title screen’s layout is adjusted.

Bug Fixes

• The problem you will be asked to authorize Twitter again and again everytime you enter a chat room if you cancel Twitter authentication, is fixed.
• The problem a long Twitter user name isn’t fit in a chat dialog is fixed.
• The problem that users cannot authorize Twitter after 2018/06/12 because of Twitter’s security poricy change is fixed.
• [iOS] On iPhone, the problem that an Ad will be overrapped to fotter buttons right after Twitter authentication is fixed.
• [iOS] The problem that text size while inputting was too small is fixed.

Here’s release note of version 3.2.0 including TV Friends iPhone version.
[iPhone]：For iPhone version only
[Android]：For Android version only
No Mark：For both version

Changes

• Supported OS is changed as the followings.
  Android：4.4 and later
  iOS：9.0 and later
• Rooms for FIFA World Cup 2018 are available.
  “2018 FIFA World Cup” is listed in “Country/Region” section on Chat Room Selection screen. You can enter spesific match’s chat room by selecting “Match Group” in “Area,” “Match” in “Channel,” and “Room for the match” in “Room.” (Fans for the opponent team will enter the same chat room.)
  
  In addition, special background image will be shown in Chat Rooms for the World Cup 2018.
  
  The above functions will be disactivated as soon as the World Cup 2018 finishes.
  Please refer the special page for the World Cup 2018.
  (2018/07/17)
  This event is finished on 2018/07/16 JST.
• When you enter a chat room first time, a tutorial dialog will be shown. The dialog will be shown only once.
  
• On devices whose screen’s resolution ratio are not 16:9, TV Friends will be shown in 16:9 format using black area at the right and the left side of the screen.
  
• Now you can reset Twitter account connected to TV Friends. If you open “Config” > “Twitter Cooperation” after you set up your Twitter account, “Reset” button will be appear on the Twitter Cooperation dialog. After you reset Twitter account, It is possible to set up other Twitter account.
  
• [iOS] To adopt iOS11.0, in which Twitter account management manu is deleted, new Twitter account authorization flow, which is the same flow as Android version, is implemented. A Web browser will open to authenticate your Twitter account.
  
  (The screen is Japanese version of Twitter’s authentication screen.)
• [Android] On Android 6.0 and later, Twitter comments’ profile icons will be shown.  On less than Android 6.0, the icons won’t be shown as same as before.

Bug Fixes

• A parcial graphic issue is fixed.

Download pages for TV Friends
＜Android＞


https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tvfriends

＜iOS＞


https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/tv-friends/id1135175091?l=en&ls=1&mt=8

Now TV Friends iPhone version is available!

Here’s release note of version 3.1.0 including TV Friends iPhone version.
[iPhone]：For iPhone version only
[Android]：For Android version only
No Mark：For both version

Changes

• [iPhone] iPhone version is released.
  Features are same as Android version. From now on, the same feature as Android version will be released for iPhone version at the same timing.
  Download page is here.
  
  
  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tv-friends/id1135175091?l=en&ls=1&mt=8
  
• Sticker and Shop menus are deleted.
• Now you can access Help anytime even if you are on the Chat Room screen.
• Help is updated to match to the version 3.1.0.
• On Avatar Selection screen, the birth date field became optional.
• On Avatar Selection screen, gender field is moved to avatar image field.
• Added Black List and Grief Report features.
  By tapping a Ticker Comment or a Chat Comment, a dialog to add a user to your black list and to report  the user to LUXALA will open.
  
  If you report a chat comment, it will be reported to LUXALA, and the report will be investigated.
  If you report a Twitter comment, it will be reported to Twitter.
• In Config menu, “Edit Black List” is added.
  You can delete users from your Black List.
  
• In Config menu, “Contact Us” is added.
  You can report bugs from here.
  If you want to report abusive users, please use a Grief Report system rather than “Contact Us” as the system will collect evidences automatically.

Bug Fixes

• A bug that auto scrolling may stop is fixed.

Known Issues

• [Android] As the application may crash if the application loads and shows Twitter profile icon, the icon won’t be loaded and default Twitter logo will be shown until the crash will be fixed.

Information

• About rating difference between iPhone and Android version.
  TV Friends is rated as +17 on iPhone, and 3+ on Android. This difference is caused by rating policy defference between Apple and Google company. On both platform, all aplication must answer questionaries (like “Does the application contain violent contents?”) to rate properly. As a result of answering the questionaries, TV Friends is rated as 4+ on iPhone and 3+ on Android. However, Apple reviews all applications before their release, and they required to rate TV Friends 17+ as it allows users post comments anonimously. Google’s questionaries excludes User Generated Contents, and TV Friends itself doesn’t contain any problematic contants, the application is rated 3+. To avoid lying to the questionaries, TV Friends remains as 3+ rating on Android platform.
  Please be noted that although ratings on 2 platforms are different as mentioned above, you must be 18 and older to use TV Friends as its End User License Agreement sayas.

After failed to gather budget at INDIEGOGO, development of TV Friends has been freezed. However, TV Friends had a chance to exibit at Contents Tokyo 2016, The 4th Production EXPO (2016/June/29th ~ July/1st).

Official Web Site of Contents Tokyo 2016
http://www.content-tokyo.jp/en/

The 4th Production Expo
http://www.production-expo.jp/en/HOME/
LUXALA’s booth is West 1 hall, Web and Application Zone, Booth No 8-19.

For this EXPO, TV Friends programs are all recreated.
By doing so, TV Friends obtained the following merits:

• Easier to use
• Easier to understand
• Faster on move
• Easier to add more features
• Easier to develop iOS version

For most of you who can not come to Contents Tokyo 2016, you can start using the new TV Friends from today. Please invite your friends and enjoy watching TV together.

Recreating everything means that it is hard to compare with ver. 2.4, but the following are Release Notes.

Changes

• Android 4.0 or higher is required from this version.
• User Interfaces are all replaced. Because of this, a save data for ver 2.4 is no longer usable, and you have to rechoose an avatar, etc.
• On Avatar Screen, “Birth Date” and “Nick Name” are added. “Birth Date” will not be send to other users, and also will not be saved at a server. The information is used only for statistical purpose without specifying you in the future.
• Now selecting Country/Region, Area, Channel, and Room are laced in one screen.
• “Ticker” is deleted from the fotter menu, and “Sticker” and “Shop” menus are added, although these two are disabled in ver. 3.0.0. “Ticker” is moved into “Settings” menu.
• Now you can select if you want to post to Twitter, too, when you input a chat text for TV Friends.
• Paging system for comments is no longer exists, and long text in a dialog is supported.
• As Twitter start supporting longer texts than 140 letters, once TV Friends cut off Twitter comments at 140 length, and asure TV Friends works fine with Twitter’s long texts. Currently, TV Friends supports 44 letters/line x 9 lines = 396 letters, so, we could support longer Twitter comments in the future.
• Scrolling back comments is now supported. If you scroll even a bit, “Back to the Bottom” button will lit. If you want to receive more comments after scrolling,  either you press this button, or scroll to the bottom manually. If your scrolling setting is set to “Manual,” you always have to scroll to the bottom to receive more comments.
  Currently, 50 comments can be seen by scrolling back.
• Unread comments and number of users in the room are moved from ticker comments to the Header UI. In addition, unred TV Friends comment and Twitter ones are now separeted.
• Vote Result Bar Grapg is move to a separated tab. In addition, “7” and “8” are replaced with “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” preset buttons.
• Sound setting is replaced from On and Off menu to Volume slider.
• Now you cannot see Twitter comment until you login to Twitter with your account. Until version 2.4, TV Friends had been using its own account, but this was causing Twitter API Access Limitation, and as a result, frequently TV Friends could not read Twitter comments. By using indivisual user’s account, it will be rare to be hit the limitation.
• Took out SE for “Decide” and “Cancel.” Now only “New Comment” and “New Ticker Comment” will have SEs.

Known Issues

• Help page is still for ver. 2.4. the page will be updated later. End User License Agreement has not been updated.
• Auto scrolling could be stopped wrongly, and messages could be stacked and woun’t shown. In this case, please scroll down a little bit, or reenter the room.

Although server programs and Database are not changeddrastically, this time, I had to recreate the application in 3 months where it took a year last time. It was very challenging project as I had other one man-month task!

I hope more people know about and start using TV Friends by Contents Tokyo 2016.

Changes

• Now supports Saudi Arabia TV Channels. (*)
  (*) Currently, TV Friends does not support Arabian language.  This means that users must agree English End User License Agreement.  In addition, Arabian texts including Twitter comments won’t be displayed properly in TV Friends.

  (*) If you select a language which is not English or a public language of a certain country, the country won’t be displayed on the Country Selection Screen. The language selection screen is shown when you first boot “TV Friends.” You can also change the language from “Settings” menu.

Fixes

• A problem that HTML element characters like “<” are not displayed properly in chat texts is fixed.
• A problem that there is a case that you cannot input a handle name properly is fixed.
• A problem that there is a case that the client may crush when you finish TV Friends on the Avatar Selection Screen.
• A problem that the client crushes when a user input an empty text on the Chat Text Input Screen.
• A problem that the client crushes when a user select a room where there is less amount of available memory.
• A problem that a Client Version Error may be displayed when a user enters a room where there is less amount of available memory.

Changes

• Before the version 2.3, the application starts showing stacked comments immediately to ctach up to the current time when more than 50 comments are stacked.  From the version 2.3, the application do the same when the number becomes 30.
• A process for loading Twitter comment icon bacome lighter to reduce the possibility of crashing the client when there are too many Twitter comments.
• Until today, “#CountryName #CountryName” is used for the World Cup related chat rooms, but it is difficult to avoid the client’s crash because of lack of memory when there are too many Twitter comments in a very short time (especially, in English mode). Therefore, a new hash tag, “#CountryName #CountryName #WorldCup,” is used to reduce the World Cup related comments effectively.

Fixes

• A problem that the client on Android 3.0 or less version may crash when the application is paused on a list (like the Coutry/Region List or the TV Station List) and resumed is fixed.
• A problem that your comment (like a chat comment or a Sound Effect) takes long time to be displayed is fixed.
• A problem that a room entrance comment takes long time to be displayed is fixed.

Changes

• Chat rooms for finished World Cup matches are now disabled and won’t be displayed.
• Increased frequency of withdrawing Twitter comments.  By doing this, computing load will be decreased.

Changes

• In the version 1.8, when extreamly many Twitter comments are posted in a short time, the application starts skipping reading the comments if there are more than 100 stacked comments. From the version 1.9, the application starts skipping reading Twitter comennts if there are more than 20 stacked comments. By doing this, number of comments which will be shown to you will be decreased, but network traffic will be decreased, too, and comments can catch up the current time easier than the previous version.

Fixes

• Fixed a problem that a dialog which says “a probrem occured” may be displayed when you boot the application.