home-assistant/core · error · HomeAssistantError

invalid_media_type

invalid_media_type

Error message

Invalid media type: {media_type}

What it means

Raised as HomeAssistantError (translation invalid_media_type) when play_media receives a media_type that is neither CHANNEL, URL, nor APP. The integration supports exactly those three types; anything else is rejected before any device I/O. It is the terminal else-branch of async_play_media.

Source

Thrown at homeassistant/components/androidtv_remote/media_player.py:208

            if not media_id.isnumeric():
                raise HomeAssistantError(
                    translation_domain=DOMAIN,
                    translation_key="invalid_channel",
                    translation_placeholders={"media_id": media_id},
                )
            if self._channel_set_task:
                self._channel_set_task.cancel()
            self._channel_set_task = asyncio.create_task(
                self._send_key_commands(list(media_id))
            )
            await self._channel_set_task
            return

        if media_type in [MediaType.URL, MediaType.APP]:
            self._send_launch_app_command(media_id)
            return

        raise HomeAssistantError(
            translation_domain=DOMAIN,
            translation_key="invalid_media_type",
            translation_placeholders={"media_type": media_type},
        )

    @override
    async def async_browse_media(
        self,
        media_content_type: MediaType | str | None = None,
        media_content_id: str | None = None,
    ) -> BrowseMedia:
        """Browse apps."""
        children = [
            BrowseMedia(
                media_class=MediaClass.APP,
                media_content_type=MediaType.APP,
                media_content_id=app_id,
                title=app.get(CONF_APP_NAME, ""),

View on GitHub (pinned to 58a3fdb3ea)

Solutions

  1. Use media_content_type: channel (numeric), app, or url only.
  2. For content in apps, launch the app with media_type app and the app link.
  3. Adjust the automation/frontend card to not target this entity with unsupported types.

Example fix

// before
action: media_player.play_media
target:
  entity_id: media_player.living_room_tv
data:
  media_content_type: music
  media_content_id: "song.mp3"
// after
action: media_player.play_media
target:
  entity_id: media_player.living_room_tv
data:
  media_content_type: app
  media_content_id: "https://www.youtube.com"
Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

supported = {'channel', 'url', 'app'}
assert media_type in supported, f'unsupported media type {media_type}'

Type guard

def is_supported_media_type(media_type: str) -> bool:
    return media_type in {'channel', 'url', 'app'}

Try / catch

No catch needed; correct the caller to send channel/url/app only.

Prevention

When it happens

Trigger: Calling play_media with media_content_type music, video, tvshow, playlist, etc. — types valid for other media_player integrations but unsupported by androidtv_remote.

Common situations: Generic media-browser scripts, YAML automations copied from another integration, or frontend cards sending standard media types to an Android TV remote entity.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of home-assistant/core@58a3fdb3ea (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c67546a68ccff63f. Report an issue: GitHub.