home-assistant/core · error · ValueError

Invalid media type: {media_type}

Error message

Invalid media type: {media_type}

What it means

ValueError('Invalid media type: {media_type}') raised in async_play_media (coordinator.py:378) when media_type is neither MediaType.APP nor MediaType.CHANNEL. Bravia only supports launching apps and tuning channels via play_media; anything else (music, tvshow, url, playlist...) is rejected before any API call.

Source

Thrown at homeassistant/components/braviatv/coordinator.py:378

            await self.client.channel_up()
        else:
            await self.client.next_track()

    @catch_braviatv_errors
    async def async_media_previous_track(self) -> None:
        """Send previous track command."""
        if self.media_content_type == MediaType.CHANNEL:
            await self.client.channel_down()
        else:
            await self.client.previous_track()

    @catch_braviatv_errors
    async def async_play_media(
        self, media_type: MediaType | str, media_id: str, **kwargs: Any
    ) -> None:
        """Play a piece of media."""
        if media_type not in (MediaType.APP, MediaType.CHANNEL):
            raise ValueError(f"Invalid media type: {media_type}")
        await self.async_source_find(media_id, media_type)

    @catch_braviatv_errors
    async def async_select_source(self, source: str) -> None:
        """Set the input source."""
        await self.async_source_find(source, SourceType.INPUT)

    @catch_braviatv_errors
    async def async_send_command(self, command: Iterable[str], repeats: int) -> None:
        """Send command to device."""
        for _ in range(repeats):
            for cmd in command:
                response = await self.client.send_command(cmd)
                if not response:
                    commands = await self.client.get_command_list()
                    commands_keys = ", ".join(commands.keys())
                    # Logging an error instead of raising a ValueError
                    # https://github.com/home-assistant/core/pull/77329#discussion_r955768245

View on GitHub (pinned to 58a3fdb3ea)

Solutions

1. Use media_content_type: app or channel (MediaType.APP / MediaType.CHANNEL).
2. For apps set media_content_id to the app name; for channels to the channel number.
3. For actual media files/streams, use a different integration — Bravia TVs cannot play arbitrary media through this API.
4. Quote the values in YAML so they stay strings.

Example fix

# before
- action: media_player.play_media
  target: {entity_id: media_player.sony_tv}
  data:
    media_content_type: music
    media_content_id: http://stream.mp3
# after
- action: media_player.play_media
  target: {entity_id: media_player.sony_tv}
  data:
    media_content_type: app
    media_content_id: Netflix

from homeassistant.components.media_player import MediaType
if media_type not in (MediaType.APP, MediaType.CHANNEL):
    raise ValueError(f"Bravia supports only app/channel, got {media_type}")

from homeassistant.components.media_player import MediaType

def is_bravia_media_type(media_type: str) -> bool:
    return media_type in (MediaType.APP, MediaType.CHANNEL)

try:
    await coordinator.async_play_media(media_type, media_id)
except ValueError as err:
    if "Invalid media type" in str(err):
        # switch to app/channel semantics or route to another player
        raise

When it happens

Trigger: Calling media_player.play_media with media_content_type like 'music', 'url', 'video', or an arbitrary string. The check `if media_type not in (MediaType.APP, MediaType.CHANNEL)` fires immediately and the decorated method propagates the raw ValueError.

Common situations: Generic cast/play scripts reused from other integrations that assume URL/music playback; YAML with unquoted media_content_type that YAML-parses into a non-string; automations copied from Chromecast/VLC setups.

Related errors

• Not found {source_type}: {query}
• Media not found: {media_content_type} / {media_content_id}
• username_not_normalized
• Operation mode not supported
• Command not found. Exiting sequence

AI-assisted analysis of home-assistant/core@58a3fdb3ea (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2cce11bf1e429f44. Report an issue: GitHub.