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 (popcorn not included) quote:Amazon Fire TV is a digital media player and game microconsole developed by Amazon.com. It is designed to stream audio and video content to high definition televisions. The system also allows users to play a range of video games. Fire TV runs on Fire OS 3.0 (Mojito), which is based on Android and is compatible with Android 4.4.2 KitKat, with regard to apps and development. The system runs on a quad-core Qualcomm Krait 1.7GHz processor, with an Adreno 320 GPU, 2GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. The Fire TV offers HDMI and optical audio outputs with support for Dolby Digital Plus and 5.1 surround sound, with 1080p playback. Now in stick form!  (popcorn still not included) quote:NOTICE: You can sideload apps, including XBMC, onto the Fire TV Stick. Let's get to the good stuff first. At the end, I'll highlight some good apps you may have missed, apps coming soon and apps that are missing. Sideloading The thing that really sets the Fire TV apart from every other streaming box is the ability to sideload normal Android apps. It's as simple as going Settings -> System -> Developer Options -> enable ADB Debugging, connecting ADB (tutorial) and installing the apk (tutorial) That sounds difficult! There's a GUI called Amazon FireTV Utility App v0.30 that simplifies that process. Enter your IP address into the program after enabling ADB Debugging on your box and that's it. Now you can easily install APKs or push files to your box. Be careful with the more advanced features if you don't know what you're doing.  What type of apps can I install? Just about any browser including Firefox with Flash, emulators up to the Dreamcast, HBO GO, Dropbox, DISH Anywhere, Spotify, PlayOn, XFINITY TV Go and many more. Most of these require a mouse to navigate. USB There's native support for all sorts of USB things. Keyboard/Mouse (I can confirm the Logitech Unifying Receiver), Xbox 360 controllers (wired or with the dongle), IR receivers like FLIRC, USB hubs.  XBMC Gotham doesn't require a mouse and works perfectly with the included remote. This wiki page has everything you need to know about XBMC on Fire TV including installation, updating, getting it to appear on your home screen, updating the splash image and remapping the remote controls. Only thing it can't play is things encoded with VC-1. Beyond that, it's just like the normal XBMC you know and love including the ability to install any add-on you want. Check out the XBMC thread here for more information. Access XBMC from the main menu There's two ways. You can use Llama to hijack a different app. quote:- Install / side-load Llama. Or you can install an alternate launcher like FiredTVLauncher Adding android apps to XBMC's main page It's possible to jump directly into apps from the main page in XBMC. 1. Download a skin like Amber 2. Add-ons -> Programs -> Android Apps -> Lines button the app you want -> Add to favorites 3. Settings -> Home Menu -> Select an empty slot -> Select the app -> Name it And that's it. Now you can access Netflix or Hulu or any other app you have installed directly from XBMC's page. And pressing the back button at the main screen of that app takes you back to XBMC. Note: this doesn't work for any of the default Amazon apps like Amazon Video or Amazon Music. You'll still have to go to the main menu to access those things. What about root? It's not really worth the cat and mouse game with Amazon to keep root. Amazon's issuing firmware updates that break root and you can potentially run into app issues where the app requires the newest firmware update to run properly. If you want to learn more about root, I'd suggest xda-developers. http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-tv/general Latest firmware The latest firmware is 51.1.4.1_user_514013920. It adds - Prime Music support - Autoplay for Amazon videos (so now it will automatically play the next episode if you're watching a TV series you own or have on Prime) - A dedicated sleep button in the settings Apps Beyond your standard apps (Netflix/Hulu Plus/PBS/YouTube/Crackle/ESPN/etc), here's some standouts you may have missed. - TuneIn Radio. The best online radio service. Access local radio channels or online only ones like SomaFM. - CBS News. Has a free HD 24/7 live stream of CBSN and a VOD section. - Sky News. Has a free HD 24/7 live stream of Sky News and a VOD section. - Red Bull TV. Has a bunch of free original programming including live sports and concert events. - Pluto.TV is basically a curated YouTube/Vimeo program. Includes 100+ channels and a cable guide like system to navigate them. - Smithsonian Channel. Has a number of full episodes plus a handful of clips. Apps coming soon Apps missing The biggest one has to be Vudu. And there's a possibility that we'll never get it considering that WalMart is about to launch their own stick. You can use an app like Flixster to access your Ultraviolet movies but that only supports SD streaming. Call Me Charlie fucked around with this message at 22:15 on Dec 15, 2014 |
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Jun 18, 2014 00:55
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I just bought my dad one of these for Father's Day and I was super excited to bring him up to speed on the future of home entertainment but unfortunately I think he is too engrained in the Cable TV model. I'm kind of jealous now thinking that I should have just kept the drat thing for myself and I would have put a ton more use into it but hopefully he warms up to it. I demoed a unit at Best Buy before picking one up and even when I was setting it up for my dad the Voice Search feature is spot on every single time. The interface is blazing fast. I use my roommate's Apple TV at my apartment and it's such a cumbersome piece of poo poo with an awful interface. The only benefit is that I have a MacBook and iPhone that I stream to the Apple TV so it works out. Anyway, this Amazon Fire TV thing is pretty drat nifty.
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Jun 18, 2014 18:17
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Sideloading apps is really intriguing but god drat you just can't beat the ease (and wife-compatibility) of Chromecast. I'm really glad the thing exists but going back to browsing on my TV with some goofy little remote just isn't going to happen.
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Jun 18, 2014 21:45
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That spring update is going to slowly roll out starting next week. quote:The initial launch — coming within a week — is being described as a "narrow" release to a limited subset of subscribers, with wider availability in the coming weeks. http://www.theverge.com/hd-home/2014/6/19/5818982/amazon-launches-freetime-for-kids-on-fire-tv But it looks like Prime Music and the Games & Fire TV app isn't going to make this update. quote:New Features Call Me Charlie fucked around with this message at 23:17 on Jun 19, 2014 |
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Jun 19, 2014 21:34
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The update started to roll out yesterday. Looks like it didn't patch out the current root. A Prime Video tab has been added above movies. Sections include recently added prime tv recently added prime movies recommended prime tv recommended prime movies hbo on prime instant video prime member exclusives top tv on prime top movies on prime kids tv on prime prime tv genres prime movie genres Freetime tab underneath video library. You have the ability to hide it if you're not interested. Music tab has been added above photos. Gives you access to everything in your Cloud Player. Full voice support. Doesn't include Prime Music content. Every section has a shuffle all songs feature. Settings. Display And Sounds has been moved to it's own section. Parental Controls has a 'create a freetime profile' thing added. Amazon Appstore settings has been added under Applications. You can turn on or off Automatic Updates and In-App Purchases Quiet time finally has an explanation 'Turn on to hide all application notifications' Only issue I've been having is with PleXBMC. Before the update, it was buttery smooth and now it plays for about two minutes before the video starts to chug and desync from the audio. Anybody else having this issue or is it just me? Everything else in XBMC stil works fine beyond that.
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Jun 26, 2014 12:13
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Call Me Charlie posted:Only issue I've been having is with PleXBMC. Before the update, it was buttery smooth and now it plays for about two minutes before the video starts to chug and desync from the audio. Anybody else having this issue or is it just me? Everything else in XBMC stil works fine beyond that. Oddly enough I've been getting the same issue but did NOT update my fireTV. I'm not sure what's up either. I'm considering just grabbing plex again for $5 even though I already own it on the play store and using it instead. e: After trying something else may just be specific videos (that still work fine on other devices). I've noticed that a lot of things are being reported as SD for some reason when they are HD and at least one of those isn't changing the symbol when you play it. That one keeps stuttering after 2ish minutes. e 2: Huh, doesn't work connected by external media either. Maybe something broke with this file for me and this is a completely different problem. Video still works fine on my pc, plex to my phone, and plex to my chromecast though. Must be a specific issue with either the video and xbmc on the firetv or the video and the firetv in general. MagusDraco fucked around with this message at 15:46 on Jun 26, 2014 |
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Jun 26, 2014 14:58
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havenwaters posted:Oddly enough I've been getting the same issue but did NOT update my fireTV. I'm not sure what's up either. I'm considering just grabbing plex again for $5 even though I already own it on the play store and using it instead. The weird thing is that my newest Fire TV, which also got the upgrade, can play all the files with no issue while my old Fire TV can barely get out of the gate. Almost makes me think it's a storage issue since my old one only has about 1.78 GB free while my new one has like 5.3 GB free. Not exactly sure why they would be the case. Maybe XBMC is emulating more storage than is available and it's causing PleXBMC to spaz out? How much free space do you have? I'll keep messing around with it to see if I can figure out what happened.
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Jun 26, 2014 19:11
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Could be a storage thing. I remember getting a "warning, cache full" message the first time I played the problem video. Other new videos I played afterwards still worked fine. Problem video not so much. Of course it could be something dumb like a corrupted header. I need to try the video out on the 4 year old set top box/ps3 to see if it works. You could try out PleXMBC 3.4.6b3. Biggest issue I've heard with that beta on the FireTV is that Now Playing doesn't work with remote Plex Media Servers. Local ones are fine. I think there's a newer PleXMBC Helper that works with the Fire TV as well (haven't tested it yet). https://github.com/hippojay/plugin.video.plexbmc/releases https://github.com/hippojay/script.plexbmc.helper/releases
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Jun 26, 2014 20:09
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I had one for a week or two in May and ended up returning it because it wasn't worth $99 over the Roku that I already have. I didn't like how the UI buried the free Prime movies in the middle of a million not-free movies, and the Plex app was glitchy as hell. Maybe I will try a 2nd-gen one someday. Any chance that using something like XBMC will eventually be possible without having to jump through a bunch of hoops? I'm too old for installing command-line dev tools to make my movies play right.
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Jun 27, 2014 22:18
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withak posted:I had one for a week or two in May and ended up returning it because it wasn't worth $99 over the Roku that I already have. I didn't like how the UI buried the free Prime movies in the middle of a million not-free movies, and the Plex app was glitchy as hell. Jumping through hoops and command-line dev tools is kinda XBMC & Android in a nutshell though. The Prime stuff should be fixed in the update that's rolling out now.
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Jun 27, 2014 22:23
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withak posted:I had one for a week or two in May and ended up returning it because it wasn't worth $99 over the Roku that I already have. I didn't like how the UI buried the free Prime movies in the middle of a million not-free movies, and the Plex app was glitchy as hell. They already pushed that update I told you about which added a Prime Video tab. withak posted:Any chance that using something like XBMC will be possible without having to jump through a bunch of hoops? I'm too old for installing command-line dev tools to make my movies play right. I haven't tried it but some guy at XDA hacked together a GUI for it. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2736774
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Jun 27, 2014 22:27
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Maneki Neko posted:Jumping through hoops and command-line dev tools is kinda XBMC & Android in a nutshell though. Yeah I find these days that if the instructions are more involved than "Plug it in, turn it on, enter the required info" then I'm not interested. I was going to wait the 30 days to see if the promised prime-only update ("this spring") came out before returning, but then Plex turned out to be all glitchy and I was like "gently caress it, I'll try the next-gen one later". I did like the UI a lot better than Roku though. withak fucked around with this message at 22:55 on Jun 27, 2014 |
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Jun 27, 2014 22:51
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Call Me Charlie posted:I haven't tried it but some guy at XDA hacked together a GUI for it. Since I was looking to do a factory refresh anyways, I decided to give this a test run.  Besides looking like it time warped out of 1999, it seems simple enough. I turned on ADB debugging on my Fire TV, entered the Fire TV IP into the program and selected the XBMC apk (Gotham arm) I downloaded. The script opens up command prompt, does all the poo poo you'd normally have to do by hand and pushes it to the Fire TV. Simple enough. It may look like it's frozen but it's a 60 MB file so give it a minute or two. When you see this  It's installed. I don't really care about the splash screen but I figured I tried it. Saved over the included one with http://i59.tinypic.com/2mi409g.png - Installed with no problem. Honestly, XBMC loads so quickly that you'll barely see it. Clicked Install Llama - it worked Didn't know what Llama XBMC config was so I ignored it and used the method on XBMC wiki to redirect Classic TV into launching XBMC. quote:Install / side-load Llama. And that worked. Now every time I click Classic TV, it fires XBMC. No having to dig around in the settings for it. I didn't try 'switch Classic TV icon with XBMC icon' since it requires root but here's what it looks like installed.  - edit I decided to root and it walked me through setting it up. And I replaced the icon. No issues. The whole process seemed brain dead simple. I guess if you're scared of going into the command prompt yourself, this will work for you. And it can sideload any apk, not just XBMC. If you need to push a XBMC repository like PleXBMC, you can use one of the command prompts the program opens. Just type adb push <local pc path to file> <destination path on fire tv> so example adb push C:\Android\FireTV\repositories_installer.zip /sdcard/Download then it's the standard add-ons -> install from zip file -> root filesystem -> sdcard -> downloads to install your zip havenwaters posted:Could be a storage thing. I remember getting a "warning, cache full" message the first time I played the problem video. Other new videos I played afterwards still worked fine. Problem video not so much. Of course it could be something dumb like a corrupted header. I need to try the video out on the 4 year old set top box/ps3 to see if it works. Cache full is normal if you're trying to play a big file. It shouldn't effect playback. I did a factory reset and it fixed my issue. Not sure what the issue was. Without caching my Plex data, which is about a GB, I have 4.36 GB available after reinstalling all my crap. Hopefully after I cache everything, it won't start acting up again. We'll see. Call Me Charlie fucked around with this message at 05:51 on Jun 28, 2014 |
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Jun 28, 2014 05:31
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FireTV with XBMC is absolutely amazing, everyone poo-pooing or thinking its too difficult, you are absolutely missing out.
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Jun 30, 2014 15:56
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I've never used xbmc, only Plex. Since I'm guessing fire TV has no where near enough internal memory to hold a lot of media, are you able to just point to a NAS or computer for media? Or can you attach an external hard drive to it with an OTG cable? Or?
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Jun 30, 2014 16:15
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IuniusBrutus posted:I've never used xbmc, only Plex. Since I'm guessing fire TV has no where near enough internal memory to hold a lot of media, are you able to just point to a NAS or computer for media? Or can you attach an external hard drive to it with an OTG cable? Or? You can setup SMB/NAS shares/other stuff. If you root your Fire TV you can also plug an usb hdd into the slot and use that. You also can use the PleXMBC add-on and launch it from within XBMC to see your plex server's stuff (sorted by folders mainly)
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Jun 30, 2014 16:22
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Exactly what he said. I really don't get why people love all these solutions that require an intermediary server/device (Plex, Chromecast, ect). XBMC is all that put direct. If you have a NAS, great, but if not, just slap an external HDD on there after rooting (rooting it super easy, don't be intimated by it)
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Jun 30, 2014 16:39
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Gozinbulx posted:I really don't get why people love all these solutions that require an intermediary server/device (Plex, Chromecast, ect). XBMC is all that put direct. If you have a NAS, great, but if not, just slap an external HDD on there after rooting (rooting it super easy, don't be intimated by it) I have around 3000 movies in my collection and I already cleaned up all the art/metadata in Plex. I really don't want to start over with XBMC. Plus it's nice to have all that stuff in central location instead of it being by device. PleXBMC has all the same navigation stuff (newly added/newly released/on deck/etc) that Plex has.
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Jun 30, 2014 16:48
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Fair point about now wanting to do it again (although I suspect that Plex named them in such a way that it would be almost seamless for XBMC to scrape it all up correctly...) The centralization part though is achieved the same way with a NAS but whatever. I mean more for the casual cord cutter I guess, I think they are bad suggestions. I have a 1,000+ movies too but I did it in XBMC.
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Jun 30, 2014 17:02
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I think this is the device I've been looking for to replace my WD Live box with WDLX-TV so I'm going to pick one up later today. Ideally I would like it to boot directly to XBMC but have a link to Netflix and Amazon Prime video in the menu. Is that something that is possible at this time?
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Jun 30, 2014 18:54
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Elston Gunn posted:I think this is the device I've been looking for to replace my WD Live box with WDLX-TV so I'm going to pick one up later today. Ideally I would like it to boot directly to XBMC but have a link to Netflix and Amazon Prime video in the menu. Is that something that is possible at this time? Yes sir. Use Llama or Tasker to have it launch straight into XBMC (or now with root, someones actually made an Xposed module to replace your launcher, but thats a bit hardcore) upon launch, then use XBMCs built in "Android app launcher" feature to make to 2 shortcuts to "com.amazon.avod" and the other one and you should be set.
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Jun 30, 2014 19:14
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I'm going to be buying a "dumb" TV here in a few weeks for my computer room. I can't wait to get this becuase I've gotten spoiled with my primary smart TV.
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Jul 1, 2014 04:10
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I have two firetvs, both running xbmc, and they are awesome. I sold my atv2 after getting my first one, because it was that good (and selling one atv2 paid for both firetvs)
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Jul 2, 2014 03:27
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So far I'm really liking this box. Running XBMC on it is a much better experience than the clunky file browser on the WD Live player. I had to restart it twice last night because it seemed to lose it's internet connection and then the Netflix app was crashing whenever I tried to play a video.
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Jul 2, 2014 16:27
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I got the firetv last weekend and it's been pretty good. Pros: -w/ XBMC there is tons of free content, live sports, some tv channels, etc -the device is pretty quick, useful because it crashes often Cons: - XBMC crashes fairly often (every 5 channels or so) - Netflix crashes after XBMC has been running, must force stop XBMC - 4/5 of the most popular streaming channels on XBMC do not work at all on amazon fire It took a few hours to get setup and get the channels I need, but now it's running pretty well and I'll almost certainly be keeping it.
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Jul 2, 2014 16:49
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I'm finding Plex to be a bit cranky with XBMC. Seems like I often have delayed audio on most files I stream from my computer, things that otherwise are perfect through other means like chromecast. Also, any great repositories for someone who has been away from XBMC for a few years? Also trying to find some skins that will be compatible with the fire version of XBMC. Being able to stream the bbc is worth the price of admission alone.
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Jul 3, 2014 09:46
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Anyone have a Harmony remote with the Hub base station, and can comment on how this actually works in practice? I am on the fence on buying a Fire TV and honestly I love the Harmony so much that if I have to have a second remote just for the Fire it'd be a dealbreaker. http://support.myharmony.com/en/article.htm?faqid=s-m-4058
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Jul 3, 2014 14:47
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Is there a known issue w/ running XMBC breaking the built-in video player? If I try to play a Prime movie after using XBMC, every one fails with a generic error. If I force close XBMC, it starts working again. Still love it, though. No regrets at all.
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Jul 4, 2014 02:03
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clockworx posted:Is there a known issue w/ running XMBC breaking the built-in video player? If I try to play a Prime movie after using XBMC, every one fails with a generic error. If I force close XBMC, it starts working again. I'm not a 100% sure why that happens but if you stop the video (not just pause it) and use the exit button on XBMC, you shouldn't run into that issue. I've run into the same thing if I accidentally pause a video and hit the home button to get back to the main menu. bagina posted:Also, any great repositories for someone who has been away from XBMC for a few years? I don't think I can explain why but sportdevil, mashup, and xbmcplus are a good start. Call Me Charlie fucked around with this message at 02:17 on Jul 4, 2014 |
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Jul 4, 2014 02:09
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Gonna repost this question here: I got a fireTV and put XBMC on it and did the llama stuff and its awesome, but whats the best way to get my stuff streaming from my PC to the XBMC? I can use PS3 Media Server, but is there a superior option out there? I have a windows 7 PC. Edit: I am following this guide to setup regular ole windows 7 file sharing using the windows smb option in adding a file source in XBMC : http://wiki.xbmc.org/?title=SMB/Windows Jerkface fucked around with this message at 03:47 on Jul 4, 2014 |
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Jul 4, 2014 03:05
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Jerkface posted:Gonna repost this question here: I got a fireTV and put XBMC on it and did the llama stuff and its awesome, but whats the best way to get my stuff streaming from my PC to the XBMC? I can use PS3 Media Server, but is there a superior option out there? I have a windows 7 PC. You can use plex if you want a central hub for your media. Otherwise, it should be possible to stream stuff direct from your PC to your Fire TV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBGKcLu7aGk
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Jul 4, 2014 03:29
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bagina posted:I'm finding Plex to be a bit cranky with XBMC. Seems like I often have delayed audio on most files I stream from my computer, things that otherwise are perfect through other means like chromecast. I'm using the ace skin on my firetv and I like it a lot, customisable enough but not thousands of options. How are you managing to steam bbc? I can't find a version of iplayer or 4od that will work with a remote even though I'm in the UK. It's pretty much the only thing stopping if from being totally perfect for me. E: Never mind, I've got iplayer working now I'm not trying to use the android apk to do it. Sadly it seems 4oD is doomed as they've encrypted their streams now so you can't use the xbmc addon and the apk doesn't seem to want to play nicely on the firetv at the moment. DJ Burette fucked around with this message at 16:42 on Jul 4, 2014 |
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Jul 4, 2014 13:02
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Call Me Charlie posted:I'm not a 100% sure why that happens but if you stop the video (not just pause it) and use the exit button on XBMC, you shouldn't run into that issue. I've run into the same thing if I accidentally pause a video and hit the home button to get back to the main menu. This is correct. The default keymap that XBMC uses with the FireTV doesn't actually fully "stop" the video and unload the player (I am oversimplifying). I use the alternative keymap from the wiki (http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Alternative_keymaps_for_Fire_TV_remote) - number 3. With that one, pressing "back" on the remote actually issues a stop to XBMC and you shouldn't have any problems. Though I haven't checked in a couple weeks - maybe something changed with a recent build or AFTV firmware update. Try it.
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Jul 4, 2014 17:59
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Is the gradual rollout of 51.1.1 still going on? This seems extremely slow and there's very little info available online. Are there still folks other than me who don't have the update available?
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Jul 8, 2014 19:29
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Are there any torrent clients that can be either side loaded on the Fire TV or installed in XBMC?
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Jul 10, 2014 02:25
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Elston Gunn posted:Are there any torrent clients that can be either side loaded on the Fire TV or installed in XBMC? Presumably anyone what works on any other Android device.
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Jul 10, 2014 03:07
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Gozinbulx posted:Presumably anyone what works on any other Android device. From that thread on XDA that lists all the apps you can sideload Vuze works but causes system lag when in use and uTorrent also works but you need to use orientation manager to force the app to load in landscape mode.
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Jul 10, 2014 03:42
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havenwaters posted:From that thread on XDA that lists all the apps you can sideload Vuze works but causes system lag when in use and uTorrent also works but you need to use orientation manager to force the app to load in landscape mode. For the record, I really don't think a fire TV is the ideal platform for usenet or torrents.
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Jul 10, 2014 04:32
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Gozinbulx posted:For the record, I really don't think a fire TV is the ideal platform for usenet or torrents. I don't think much of anything running Android (not due to running Android, just the types of devices Android typically runs on) is ideal for usenet or torrents, but there's people that torrent things on their phone, so what do I know?
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Jul 10, 2014 14:30
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Any link with "torrent" in the name does not work on my firetv. It does stream flash pretty darn well though.
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Jul 10, 2014 16:21
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