diff --git a/src/com/limelight/Game.java b/src/com/limelight/Game.java
index b661edf8..9cd58ea1 100644
--- a/src/com/limelight/Game.java
+++ b/src/com/limelight/Game.java
@@ -198,7 +198,16 @@ public class Game extends Activity implements SurfaceHolder.Callback,
 		controllerHandler = new ControllerHandler(conn);
 		
 		decoderRenderer = new ConfigurableDecoderRenderer();
-		decoderRenderer.initializeWithFlags(drFlags);
+		
+		try {
+			decoderRenderer.initializeWithFlags(drFlags);
+		} catch (Exception e) {
+			Dialog.displayDialog(this, "Hardware Decoder Failure",
+					"The hardware decoder failed to initialize. First, try restarting your device."+
+					"If the issue persists, please send an email to the app developer. Forcing software decoding" +
+					"can circumvent this error if needed.", true);
+			return;
+		}
 		
 		SurfaceHolder sh = sv.getHolder();
 		if (stretchToFit || !decoderRenderer.isHardwareAccelerated()) {
@@ -301,7 +310,7 @@ public class Game extends Activity implements SurfaceHolder.Callback,
 			Toast.makeText(this, message, Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
 		}
 		
-		if (LimelightBuildProps.ROOT_BUILD) {
+		if (evdevWatcher != null) {
 			evdevWatcher.shutdown();
 		}
 
diff --git a/src/com/limelight/binding/video/ConfigurableDecoderRenderer.java b/src/com/limelight/binding/video/ConfigurableDecoderRenderer.java
index edc31636..1ee9843b 100644
--- a/src/com/limelight/binding/video/ConfigurableDecoderRenderer.java
+++ b/src/com/limelight/binding/video/ConfigurableDecoderRenderer.java
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ public class ConfigurableDecoderRenderer implements VideoDecoderRenderer {
 		return decoderRenderer.setup(width, height, redrawRate, renderTarget, drFlags);
 	}
 	
-	public void initializeWithFlags(int drFlags) {
+	public void initializeWithFlags(int drFlags) throws Exception {
 		if ((drFlags & VideoDecoderRenderer.FLAG_FORCE_HARDWARE_DECODING) != 0 ||
 				((drFlags & VideoDecoderRenderer.FLAG_FORCE_SOFTWARE_DECODING) == 0 &&
 				MediaCodecDecoderRenderer.findSafeDecoder() != null)) {
diff --git a/src/com/limelight/binding/video/MediaCodecDecoderRenderer.java b/src/com/limelight/binding/video/MediaCodecDecoderRenderer.java
index 2a813aaa..186572cb 100644
--- a/src/com/limelight/binding/video/MediaCodecDecoderRenderer.java
+++ b/src/com/limelight/binding/video/MediaCodecDecoderRenderer.java
@@ -91,7 +91,10 @@ public class MediaCodecDecoderRenderer implements VideoDecoderRenderer {
 		}
 	}
 
-	public static MediaCodecInfo findSafeDecoder() {
+	// We declare this method as explicitly throwing Exception
+	// since some bad decoders can throw IllegalArgumentExceptions unexpectedly
+	// and we want to be sure all callers are handling this possibility
+	public static MediaCodecInfo findSafeDecoder() throws Exception {
 		for (int i = 0; i < MediaCodecList.getCodecCount(); i++) {
 			MediaCodecInfo codecInfo = MediaCodecList.getCodecInfoAt(i);