Blocksuter Application Issues with Custom ROM's - HD2 General

Anyone successfully use the Blockbuster on Demand application? I used it to download the two give-aways when I first got the phone (Forest Gump & Ferris Buelers Day off) - But since going to the 23569 May 23 Cookie ROM, I can no longer download anything.
Now I know this is not NRG's issue, and he really shouldn't have to chase solutions for T-Mobile Apps, as there has to be a limit to what he can do, I am just wondering if anyone here has had time to work on this and figured anything out.
I did the forced update from 1.45 to 2.45, with the primary difference being that the earlier version sent you your browser to do the download, and 2.45 does the download within the app. Or should. But in my case, I have had Blockbuster refund the movies, reselected them, re-installed the app, even deleted my account and then created a new account. The tech I worked with was limited to "remove and re-apply" techniques, and we got nowhere.
I currently have two movies in the "Ready to Download" state, and I kept these two specifically because each has one of the two errors I get:
"0x00d2764" - This is known to be a DRM issue, but the only fix is to go to Application data/Microsoft/Media Player/WMDRM and delete all the files in that folder.
Part of the problem on this one was, when I went to check out that folder, I didn't HAVE a WMDRM folder (so of course tried CREATING ONE, but that didn't have any effect. The only file in the Media Player folder was "XMEMediaLibrary.mlb" - I also tried playing with media player, recreating the library etc.
"NullReferenceException" - This was the one I got right away when trying to download on Energy ROM
Anyone have some ideas? I would really like to get this working again, even if the Blockbuster Movies (at least the two freebies I got) were NOT FORMATED for HD2 screen. If you were expecting them to look like the Transformer conversions, you will be woefully disappointed. I mean, this IS a wide screen format (if not 16:9) but you end up with two SUBSTANTIAL black bands Top & Bottom. Ugh.
Okay, so much for delivering content to the "Hardest working Screen in the Movie Business" Who then has a tried and true method for converting Ripped DVDs into our beautiful media device? I don't have the patience to try this and that ripper, this and that converter, get the demos, look at 5 minutes of video, or have a huge watermark all while NOT getting a nice conversion to begin with. What I dream of is a 2-3 step process, not a 8-10 step process, that I have to lord over the whole time. I would GLADLY pay for a properly done ripper/converter so I could simply watch a movie on this device that was made to do just that. Anyone?

Ressurection
^bump^ I need this too. Has anyone gotten this figured out??

Related

SiriusXM Alternative App?

I've tried the C-Apsiro app and it works fine my only complaint is the music is kind of low compared to the windows media player on the phone and the tf3d music player we used to have starplayr as a alternative app but it either discontinued or started charging a fee.
is there a official siriusxm radio app out there? or any alternatives?
i've also tried the siriuswm5 app in the sticky but that doesnt connect on my tp2 and the channel list is out dated. any others?
deadwrong03 said:
I've tried the C-Apsiro app and it works fine my only complaint is the music is kind of low compared to the windows media player on the phone and the tf3d music player we used to have starplayr as a alternative app but it either discontinued or started charging a fee.
is there a official siriusxm radio app out there? or any alternatives?
i've also tried the siriuswm5 app in the sticky but that doesnt connect on my tp2 and the channel list is out dated. any others?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SiriusWM5 might not be connecting today, because no online apps are working now, including the Official Iphone App. It appears Sirius is re-working all of their online content and only the Official Sirius Webpage is running now. I've confirmed that SiriusWM5, C-Aspiro, Iphone and uSirius are not working.
Dwight2001
I have used the SiriusWM5 app for quite sometime. I was not aware of other apps for Sirius out there. Can you post any links? I will search too.
Dwight2001 said:
SiriusWM5 might not be connecting today, because no online apps are working now, including the Official Iphone App. It appears Sirius is re-working all of their online content and only the Official Sirius Webpage is running now. I've confirmed that SiriusWM5, C-Aspiro, Iphone and uSirius are not working.
Dwight2001
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
c aspiro apps works for me im using it right now
sirius wm5
hello, are there any fixes to get siriuswm5 working again?
CONFIRMED: How to get your SIRIUS fix...
I just about started pulling my hair out in clumps, but I finally found a solution.
If you have the iPhone:
Pocket Tunes Radio: http://www.pocket-tunes.com/
** Not sure if it does Stern, but definitely does SiriusXM on the iPhone, no Windows Mobile SiriusXM Support **
If you have a SmartPhone/Windows Mobile (non-touchscreen, including BlackJack II, which I have)
SelectRadio: http://www.selectradio.com/
** Developer released a fix that is essentially a DLL overwrite. This method works! Delivers 32 and 128 streams, Howard is back in my car! DOESN'T REQUIRE CAPTCHA AND SAVES YOUR LOGIN / PASS!!!**
If you have a PPC (or Windows Mobile Touchscreen)
C-ApiSRO: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=26310
** Developer did a 11/16 release that for now fixes the issue **
Of course, you always have the SiriusXM App for the iPhone, but no Howard Stern. I for one am personally highly upset that SiriusXM is making such a stupid move by overlooking cell phone internet users for their service. If they keep trying to sell those stupid radios, it's going to be over for them quickly.
SelectRadio has a 10-Day Trial, then you have to buy. Tewnty-five bucks, but weigh that against what the program can do and that the cheapest SiriusXM radio in the stores is about $60. Not to mention the app uses low resources (infinitely better than the Skyfire workaround) and also does XM and about a bajillion other stations. Well worth $25 to me, especially since my BlackJack II can go from speaker (which is pretty loud) to car casette adapter to headphones to line-in to pretty much any audio system... No Stiletto or portable they make will EVER do all of that.
And for the record, I am in no way affiliated with the maker of any of these apps, I just was freaking out looking for a good solution and finally found a few, including one that has me listening again. I preferred SiriusWM5, but oh well...
At least I'm listening the way I want to.
SelectRadio has a touchscreen version. The C-ApiSRO app is primarily touchscreen. The latest version should be in the post.
I used SelectRadio all the way home on my drive (30+ miles). Worked like a charm. SiriusWM5 was usually 51K bitrate. Got a solid 128K this time .
Give it a whirl. I doubt you'll be let down. The interface is a little clunky at first, but you get used to it pretty quickly.
C-ApiSRO latest is from May of this year. The 11-16 date was in 2008 Been using it for a while w/ no issues, works decent if your connection is good.
~Eric
Oops, I said May, it was March *sigh*
v2.0.5 March 19th 2009, which I think is the only zip. I was using it for the last 6 weeks (including yesterday) with no issues.
~Eric
This goes deeper than we may notice.
I was able to login and start streaming on my desktop today, so online is not an issue.
SiriusWM5 stopped working on my (hacked) Tilt. (I know this is a Rhodium forum, but the app is the same, right?)
I had my laptop tethered thru my Tilt using Internet Sharing. I was not able to get anything streaming thru the tethering.
I was able to access the Sirius player and get things playing through SkyFire though. Clunky, but it did play.
It makes me wonder if they detected the IP as a mobile one and that is also part of the problem, not just the coding of the app?
Mike The Apeman said:
This goes deeper than we may notice.
I was able to login and start streaming on my desktop today, so online is not an issue.
SiriusWM5 stopped working on my (hacked) Tilt. (I know this is a Rhodium forum, but the app is the same, right?)
I had my laptop tethered thru my Tilt using Internet Sharing. I was not able to get anything streaming thru the tethering.
I was able to access the Sirius player and get things playing through SkyFire though. Clunky, but it did play.
It makes me wonder if they detected the IP as a mobile one and that is also part of the problem, not just the coding of the app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. Not unless your cell company is blacklisting the traffic, in which case skyfire would not let you log on. Debunked.
The problem is that the infrastructure of the player is totally different now. It's still using MD5 for encrypting pass to the server, etc. But the stream targets have changed. This was done by XM's dev team. I actually made a phone call to product dev in NY and they confirmed it. They also simply said that 3rd party app support isn't in the cards, and that they are "working on" a player. Whatever, meh.
But anyway, stop trying to use Sirius WM5. Not only is the channel list out of date in the CAB, the code is trying to grab the captcha and stream from the wrong place. SelectRadio works. And, it gives you the 128k stream. If you have a touchscreen device, try C-ApiSRO. Most are reporting success with it.
mlevin77 said:
> C-ApiSRO app is primarily touchscreen. The latest version should be in the
I got an am using v2.0.5. It says connected ok (password etc.) but won't play - says "unable to load channel"; any ideas?
> I used SelectRadio all the way home on my drive (30+ miles).
that one says "no login server or bad login" next to a little green icon of a radio tower, even though I'm using the same username/password that works fine from a desktop browser. It claims it knows what's playing on each one (has a song title scrolling), but no sound coming.
What am I doing wrong?!? Do they have a support link? I can't find one on their website.
thanks,
Mike
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've noticed that sometimes SelectRadio does this, but mainly because the initial connect is timing out. The tower can be red, and I still get it. Just pick another channel, then go back to the channel you want. It will usually work fine after that. I've only had to restart the app once, mainly because AT&T sucks total ass and drops my WAP connection.
Also, make sure you put the username and password for your Sirius account in before you try a channel. Sirius customers that have the premium internet account should hear best of XM channels, but the XM tab will not work. That obviously requires an XM internet account.
Can't use the default file explorer. If you do, the tun.dll you drop in the folder will be named "tun.dll.". It will not get the extension right. I had to install, then browse to the folder using a program called The Tool (http://handheld.softpedia.com/get/Developer-Tools/File-Manager/The-Tool-Smartphone-84530.shtml) and delete the existing dll file. Then, I copy/pasted the new dll file into the folder. Voila, working.
Try that. I had more or less the same problem you are describing. The dll file being in the wrong place was the culprit. Oh, and you may want to install directly to the device instead of an SD card. I think the access time of the SD card can make WinMo progs act wierd sometimes.
The nag screen is a pain, but I plan on purchasing a key tomorrow (payday). SiriusWM5 using Windows Media Player Mobile worked fairly well, but SelectRadio is holding onto the connection a bit better. Either that, or it buffers the stream more. Trust me, I am horrendously picky when it comes to my apps, and this thing will inevitably work for you.
Let me know what happens...
hyde0429 said:
But anyway, stop trying to use Sirius WM5. Not only is the channel list out of date in the CAB, the code is trying to grab the captcha and stream from the wrong place. SelectRadio works. And, it gives you the 128k stream. If you have a touchscreen device, try C-ApiSRO. Most are reporting success with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
C-ApiSRO is broken as well. The only one that seems to be working now is SelectRadio. This is just plain dumb that none of the free apps are working now thanks to a move on the server side at Sirius.
I think CardonWare (SelectRadio dev company) has posted a newly updated version that takes care of the dll issue. You may want to uninstall everything and start over.
I did a TrialPay and chose Rhapsody 14 day trial. Got a key for SelectRadio, then cancelled the Rhapsody trial.
Total cost? ZERO... POINT... ZERO .
Oh, and I have noticed some random errors in grabbing some Sirius channels. E-Street Radio for example can't connect at the moment. Random wierdness. But Howard 100 and most other channels I try are fine. Experiment heavily.
Alright, I have a Sprint Touch Pro 2 and can't for the life of me figure out how to get Sirius or XM working on Select Radio, I continue to receive the 'no connection to stream server' error. Anyone else encounter this and if so, anything you could point me towards?
Thanks!
Thanks all, selectradio is working right now on my sprint touch pro 2, listening to howard right now.
I did have to exit the app and start it again, then enter my user login etc. and it started right up at 128kbs. so far does evrything siriuswm5 did. wish it had a screen toggle on/off feature.
above poster, some screens were slow to load at first when i started clicking to the sirius tab then channel 100, i know i missed the login page and it seemed to freeze after that, i exited then reopened and went slower, now it works on my sprint touch pro 2, hope it helps, should work for you.
Sirius WM6 to the rescue!
works post-sirius-fiddling and no more captcha!
http://forums.geekstoolbox.com/showthread.php?t=25946
Works great. Hey Now!!! Thanks
I have noticed that some of the channels don't work, and some may be missing, apparently because the channels.txt file (in the player's install folder) has dated info in it. This can be fixed by editing that file in pocket word and saving as plain text, of on a PC with notepad and copying back over the original.
As an example, Playboy radio would not work.
If you log in to the Sirius online with a PC and start a channel in the player, the URL for that channel looks like:
. . . .sirius.com/player/listen/play.action?channelKey=playboyradio&genreKey=sirentertainment&categoryKey=cattalk&stopped=no
The section in the channels.txt for Playboy radio looked like this:
99 | Playboy Radio
playboyradio
playboyradio
cattalk
when it SHOULD have looked like:
99 | Playboy Radio
playboyradio
sirentertainment
cattalk
So you can see how you can repair broken or missing channels by first using the Sirius browser radio to get the keys, then edit the file.

A few OmniaII -> Epic 4G transition issues/questions

On balance, my new Epic wins hands-down. I love the device, Android, Linux, and it seems to be a far better gaming platform (a bonus -- not what I bought it for, but I'm having a blast with the portfolio of Gameloft 3D FP games -- amazing!)
However, I am lost on a few things. So, here's a thread to get some help. To start, some video questions:
If there's a media player to handle one's video library, I can't find it. The only way I've found to open and watch local video is to find the file with My Files, and open it there. This brings up the native video player, which is rather limited in features.
Once the video player is up, I can't figure out how to get back to it if I task-switch to something else for a moment. Can easily happen with a phonecall, for example. Sometimes the window "stack" facilitates using the back button to get back to it, but under more circumstances than not, you can't.
This is a real PITA, because I lose my place in the video. I have to re-open it, and seek around to find where I was. Am I missing something here?
I was a major CorePlayer fan on the OmniaII. It had it's own problems (lack of graphics acceleration support, the biggest), but those warts were far outbalanced by the rich featureset. I plan to get CP for my Epic when (if ever) it becomes available, but for now I'd like to get something similar if it's already out there. Any recommendations?
I've read a lot about the "lag fix". Do I need to do that? I've got a very new Epic, running DI18 (a week and a half old).
I fell asleep on my Epic, and now it seems to me the slider rails are "loose". I can skew the screen portion of the phone clockwise and CCW, back and forth, when opening, to as much as +/- 5-10deg. I paid no attention to this earlier, so it may be no different. The slide seems otherwise solid and fine, but for this. Are your Epic's similar?
Sprint bloatware: Is there an easy way to disable much of this (services, etc.)? For example, Amazon MP3, Sprint Nascar, and a dozen or so other services/apps that are started at boot and respawned if killed. I won't ever be using this junk, so I'd rather they not be consuming resources, slowing things down. Do I have to root the phone and manually edit Linux startup files to get rid of this junk?
Thanks for helping out this noob!
Was omnia2 android?
Out the box Epic plays more file types than other non Galaxy S phones. On the market "Rock Player" plays all file types, followed by an xda dev's app "vplayer" I think it is. Other choices inlclude Act 1 Video Player and Meridian.
Instead of "My Files" to browse files to use with default player and other function try one of Astro File Manager(my primary), IO file manager, Androzip and more.
Most problem you may have can be solved in the "Market"
Sent from my "Wheres my 2.2 Epic 4G" using the XDA App
Omnia II! I really wanted this phone when it first came out. Omnia II runs Windows Mobile.
+1 on rockplayer
No lag fix needed on the Epic, there are lots of threads on this.
Not sure how to fix your slept on epic part, you'll have to read up on that.
As far as bloatware, you can follow this thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=780333
Be Careful, if you want to use sprint updates you have to leave certain apps like sprint hotspot, Amazon mp3, etc or else you'll get a validation error when doing updates.
This has become such a pain for me I just leave those apps on the device. There are devs, who have great workarounds too you just have to read up on it.

AmazonMP3 for HD2 WORKS NOW in 3.14 Update -

I am hoping that someone might take a look at extracting the new Amazon MP3 Application from the new T-Mobile Official 3.14.531.1 ROM? The old AmazonMP3.cab thats been around forever never worked: meaning it searched, but would not authenticate an Amazon Account, so you couldn't "buy" songs with it, making it essentially useless. But the new one works splendidly - I installed the Official TMOUS ROM 3.14 just to test this app, and I can say it works well. I was able to register my Amazon account, purchase songs, and they appeared in the Sense Music player right away. This is how a "Media Savvy" device is SUPPOSED to WORK, for cryin out loud!
I tried copying everything over, but never could get it working on my current ROMs - it has parts in it labeled "Resco"??? and I ALMOST got it, but it fails on last step of authentication, even after creating all the Reg keys (well, the ones I could figure out from the Official ROM anyway. Looks like it uses some public key encryption in the transaction, and thats where I got in too deep for my feeble mind.... ANYONE want to take this on? It would be SO NICE to get this one working without (shudder) having to run a stock ROM, LOL!!

Replacing your iPhone with a Samsung Galaxy S2 sync music etc - FULL GUIDE for iOS

Hi all, I love the XDA forum, have been browsing it for years, but this is the first time I thought I could add something and wanted to post!
This may not be perfect and I'm certain some of it is replicating, however
I thought maybe a post that covered everything in one place would help someone like me out there making their first foray into Android. And please no haters, I have taken a significant chunk out my night to share my travels with you.
I have spent the last three days trying to ratify my decision on replacing the iPhone with the SG2. The first night was filled with lot's of appreciative 'oohhs', as I explored everything from the beautiful screen to the plentiful configuration options which was exactly what I was hoping Android would be about.
I then spent the next few days (until now) trying to do things that would have just taken an hour or so to do on my iPhone. Namely syncing contacts, calendar, music, photos and videos. This post is aimed at Mac OS users who are taking one small step at a time to Android / Windows 7 .
Firstly, connectivity: two options. You can either go into Settings->Applications->Development->USB debugging which is used by some synch programs, or more useful Settings->Wireless and Networks->USB Utilities->USB mass storage. You'll need to unplug any cable already in, click on the above, and then plug in your cable. Then click on the button that says 'turn on USB storage'. You should then see the internal storage mounted as a drive on your Macs Finder where you can look through folders etc.
Note that if you have an SD card, this will also get mounted, but as a separate drive. I found it useful to use my Finder to rename both drives so I could always be sure which I was looking at.
Business stuff:
Email: Easy if you have a consumer service such as gmail, yahoo etc. For small business owners like myself, unless you run an Exchange server, first thing you should know is that only IMAP mail will give you 'push' to your phone. POP3 will work but requires manual synch and not the best use of your battery. I use Zen Internet to host my domains in the UK, and they list their IMAP settings which you'll need. Works great, even SSL for secure email. And full push email, for iPhone users, this is the direct replacement for using MobileMe for your work email.
This was the first and consequently easiest thing I did after purchasing that lead me into a somewhat false sense of security at the purchase
Calendar: You'll need to share your iCal with Google. Easy enough, just do a search on Googles help for CalDev and iCal, I can't post the link as a new user
Contacts: If you have a newer Mac OS, you can go straight into Address Book and under preferences, share the book with your Google account. This will also transfer photos for your contacts if you use them which is nice. Note, you need to press the 'Sync now' option in the top right on your Mac screen where the two arrows in a circle are for the sync to happen. If you don't have this icon or it is greyed out, set up iSync in your System Preferences under the Apple logo top left.
If like me, this function didn't work great (seems that ppl have better results importing from Google rather than exporting to Google with this method) you can either download vCards from your existing contact system and import them into your device (after connecting), or import them into Google via a browser connection. They will then sync with you SG2. Note you will NOT get photos from vCards, they are just text. However, the SG2 has a nice facility for adding photos from your photo collection once that is synced.. see below.
Personal Stuff:
Quick preamble, there are LOADS of different syncing softwares out there, most tend to do one thing OK, but no replacement for iTunes and iPhone users will be dissapointed. I downloaded countless types. Doubletwist (DT) as recommended by many on this forum was the way to go for me, although of significant note was the iTunemywalkman app which you have got to love for its simple and effective coding, especially the fast on the fly re-encoding of your music if it is DRM (EDIT: not DRM! see below!) or lossless, or you just want mp3 rather than AAC. You can even set the bit rate, top notch bit of software. It is however focused on music.
However, with a little usage help, DoubleTwist does photos, video and music.
Photos: thought you might like to hear how I deal with this. For those who haven't used DT, it is a one-way sync only of photos e.g. it will put all your iPhoto pics onto your SG2, but won't take photos from it.. - don't worry easy to work around.
On my GS2 I have the 16GB internal and 16GB SD card. I use DT to do my photo sync to get the library onto SGS, then once I have mounted the phone storage and can see it in Finder (as per above), I open iPhoto and import the photos I've taken into my library straight in iPhoto just like any other regular import such as from an email or downloaded jpg. File->Import to Library. Then navigate to your internal storage, and go into the DCIM folder to find your photos.
I then delete all photos from my internal storage on GS2 through Finder. As the DT software will download my library onto my external SD card, I still have all my photos to look at on the phone, but it keeps it on separate storage areas and easy to manage. For me it feels similar to when I would 'delete camera roll' after syncing my iPhone and it is really not a hassle.
Videos you just do the same thing.
Music: Ahhh, music...the biggest pain in the butt. Easy to drag and drop music files and playlists onto your SG2, but for me and many other would result in Unknown Artist, multiple entries for collection CDs and almost worst was complete lack of playlist, despite it being in the storage!!
This is where itunemywalkman comes into its own BTW, as you can send music through grouped by Album, Artist or Playlist (where in the SG2, playlists were listed as albums, partly solved it).
Anywhooo, to ensure you get the best results, I first recommend you go into Settings->Applications->Manage Applications->All and then go to Media Storage. Select 'clear data', this will not delete any existing music (although I recommend you do, except for music purchased on the phone which I would then import into iTunes and then delete from phone). This just deletes the index, which can cause problems in getting the rest to work if you don't.
Then you go into your DT software, and sync your music. Make sure you sync to the right Samsung device listed, again one will be your internal storage and one your external.
It will also re-encode some music for you, but not DRM which you can sort out with paid for apps, or I think burn a CD and then rip mp3. Other threads will explain... pain in the arse considering you 'own' the music. One of the reasons I moved from Apple... Another issue to resolve is the multiple entries per album, this is to do with your iTunes setting, go into all the tracks listed on the album and tick the 'part of a compilation' box and if necessary paste the album name into each track. This will ensure the SG2 will see it as one album despite lots of different artists.
Once you have all the music on the SG2, unmount the storage from Finder by pressing the eject button, and the you can do the same on the phone. It will take a little while for the Media Storage scan to do its thing as it is rebuilding its index.
Then go into the Market, and download a free app called 'MediaFix'. The guy who developed this should be given a Google Knighthood for doing what they seemingly couldn't. It will repair all the missing meta data, such as artist name and album etc... Most importantly for me though, the playlists require the correct meta data and after running this app (it took about 20 seconds to do my whole 8GB catalogue), suddenly all my playlists showed up! Hurrah!!!
One last thing, download from Market 'Cover Art Downloader' to get all your album art back, or at least a fair bit of it. DT has their own version for £2.99 which you'll need if you have lots of covers like me... Cover Art Downloader seems to crash after about 430 new albums discovered!
I should note I use the DT player on my phone too, for some reason the Samsung player still doesn't see my playlists although it does have the track meta-data now.
All with correct info, and the most crucial thing my SG2 needed to do well for me...
DT will keep this sync'd for you, just quickly wipe your Media Storage file before sync and then run MediaFix after. A little painful, but I have noticed in my case anyway that if you don't do this every time your playlists can get a little messed up again missing artist info (even though the songs and albums still have it...)
With this for photos, DT for audio and Google sync for iCal / Address Book I have now got an iPhone replacement. MediaFix from market is essential to get it working properly though (or convert everything into MP3 before syncing, like you need to do for DRM)... this is because music loses meta data with the Android media index, this will also resolve playlists not showing up, which rely on the meta data.
Hope this helps someone.. I have spent days trying to get my (amazing!!) SG2 working. Quite a contrast to when I updated my 2G iPhone to 3G and after a 20 minute synch was basically left with the same phone as before with more memory and slightly faster. A little underwhelming an experience for a new phone (but I can hardly moan at Apple for getting sync so right), the SG2 has been far more exciting and a steep learning curve. . talk about them being at opposite ends of the spectrum.
The SG2 is better hardware, but it takes more effort to get running the synch as well, but nothing good in life comes easy.... I'm quite technical and didn't lose faith, but I have been left far from satisfied with the experience which is such as shame as the hardware is so great. Google will NEVER challenge the iPhone until they sort this. I have to admit, if the iPhone 5 came out looking as amazing as the SG2, I would probably somewhat reluctantly strip off my shame and get back into bed with it - purely because of syncing..
It's hard to believe that the hardware is just so far ahead of the needed unified desktop software written by Google for Android with all Android hardware providers submitting an API into their 'bloatware' (I actually quite like the Samsung TouchWiz).
Sorry for the long post, please let me know if this has helped, it will make the lost 2.5hrs of my Saturday night seem worthwhile..
Peter
MediaMonkey
Hi!
First of all thank you for the post
I just wanted to say that mediamonkey (at least the 4.0.0.1393 build that I'm using on a x64 windows 7 vaio) synchronises your music and playlists to the phone or to the SD card with almost no setup required and I had no problems with the id3 tags or album art until know. I use the stock music player and tunewiki on the phone. I have never tried but it also has options to automatically convert incompatible files, including video...
The only hassle I had was with the genius mixes and I solved it by creating proper playlists using itunes DJ by choosing the genius mixes as sources and importing them to mediamonkey.
By the way I have an unbranded SGS2 with the KE2 stock rom
This seems like a lot of trouble. Do you find it annoying and tedious? I use a MacBook Pro, and am trying to decide between getting the Galaxy S2 this summer and waiting for an iPhone 5. I'm just concerned with how much trouble it will cause me to do simple things (lack of compatibility?) using an android phone with a mac.
Maybe it would be easier if I just ran Windows 7 (already have a license) on bootcamp or say, parallels, when I want to deal with Galaxy S2 things?
All that stuff works fine, but I am all apple and I found two Mac programs to take care of everything I needed.
I used BusyCal for iCal syncing, it works with the new Mobile Me Cloud, so no problem there.
Second I'm using The Missing Sync, this program sync's iTunes music and movies, as well as iPhoto to and from the GS2.
Both these programs cost money but a small price to pay to have them work as well as they do.
Why not use Kies for Mac?
nice posting thompps!
it will for sure help ppl when switching from ios to android.
but is'nt it obvious that syncing between devices of the same manufacturer is more simple then between varous systems?
apple will allways put hurdles in the way when it comes to syncing with other devices, thats the way they keep their customers dependent... (i must confess its not only apples procedure, but they are master in this discipline)
anyway thumbs up for your effort and wish ya fun with your phone!
Yes thanks good post even though Apple is not a product i have ever used .
Should be a sticky for ex IPhone users .
jje
sadly DT on my mac doesn't read my iPhoto library. Missing Sync and FoneSync doesn't see external SD... how can I fix this?
i must say, although i don't have a mac or an iphone, i thank you for your post, i really appreciate when junior members decide to give something back to the community and your guide is well thought out and structured. good work.
thompps said:
Hi all, I love the XDA forum, have been browsing it for years, but this is the first time I thought I could add something and wanted to post!
This may not be perfect and I'm certain some of it is replicating, however
I thought maybe a post that covered everything in one place would help someone like me out there making their first foray into Android. And please no haters, I have taken a significant chunk out my night to share my travels with you.
I have spent the last three days trying to ratify my decision on replacing the iPhone with the SG2. The first night was filled with lot's of appreciative 'oohhs', as I explored everything from the beautiful screen to the plentiful configuration options which was exactly what I was hoping Android would be about.
I then spent the next few days (until now) trying to do things that would have just taken an hour or so to do on my iPhone. Namely syncing contacts, calendar, music, photos and videos. This post is aimed at Mac OS users who are taking one small step at a time to Android / Windows 7 .
Firstly, connectivity: two options. You can either go into Settings->Applications->Development->USB debugging which is used by some synch programs, or more useful Settings->Wireless and Networks->USB Utilities->USB mass storage. You'll need to unplug any cable already in, click on the above, and then plug in your cable. Then click on the button that says 'turn on USB storage'. You should then see the internal storage mounted as a drive on your Macs Finder where you can look through folders etc.
Note that if you have an SD card, this will also get mounted, but as a separate drive. I found it useful to use my Finder to rename both drives so I could always be sure which I was looking at.
Business stuff:
Email: Easy if you have a consumer service such as gmail, yahoo etc. For small business owners like myself, unless you run an Exchange server, first thing you should know is that only IMAP mail will give you 'push' to your phone. POP3 will work but requires manual synch and not the best use of your battery. I use Zen Internet to host my domains in the UK, and they list their IMAP settings which you'll need. Works great, even SSL for secure email. And full push email, for iPhone users, this is the direct replacement for using MobileMe for your work email.
This was the first and consequently easiest thing I did after purchasing that lead me into a somewhat false sense of security at the purchase
Calendar: You'll need to share your iCal with Google. Easy enough, just do a search on Googles help for CalDev and iCal, I can't post the link as a new user
Contacts: If you have a newer Mac OS, you can go straight into Address Book and under preferences, share the book with your Google account. This will also transfer photos for your contacts if you use them which is nice. Note, you need to press the 'Sync now' option in the top right on your Mac screen where the two arrows in a circle are for the sync to happen. If you don't have this icon or it is greyed out, set up iSync in your System Preferences under the Apple logo top left.
If like me, this function didn't work great (seems that ppl have better results importing from Google rather than exporting to Google with this method) you can either download vCards from your existing contact system and import them into your device (after connecting), or import them into Google via a browser connection. They will then sync with you SG2. Note you will NOT get photos from vCards, they are just text. However, the SG2 has a nice facility for adding photos from your photo collection once that is synced.. see below.
Personal Stuff:
Quick preamble, there are LOADS of different syncing softwares out there, most tend to do one thing OK, but no replacement for iTunes and iPhone users will be dissapointed. I downloaded countless types. Doubletwist (DT) as recommended by many on this forum was the way to go for me, although of significant note was the iTunemywalkman app which you have got to love for its simple and effective coding, especially the fast on the fly re-encoding of your music if it is DRM (EDIT: not DRM! see below!) or lossless, or you just want mp3 rather than AAC. You can even set the bit rate, top notch bit of software. It is however focused on music.
However, with a little usage help, DoubleTwist does photos, video and music.
Photos: thought you might like to hear how I deal with this. For those who haven't used DT, it is a one-way sync only of photos e.g. it will put all your iPhoto pics onto your SG2, but won't take photos from it.. - don't worry easy to work around.
On my GS2 I have the 16GB internal and 16GB SD card. I use DT to do my photo sync to get the library onto SGS, then once I have mounted the phone storage and can see it in Finder (as per above), I open iPhoto and import the photos I've taken into my library straight in iPhoto just like any other regular import such as from an email or downloaded jpg. File->Import to Library. Then navigate to your internal storage, and go into the DCIM folder to find your photos.
I then delete all photos from my internal storage on GS2 through Finder. As the DT software will download my library onto my external SD card, I still have all my photos to look at on the phone, but it keeps it on separate storage areas and easy to manage. For me it feels similar to when I would 'delete camera roll' after syncing my iPhone and it is really not a hassle.
Videos you just do the same thing.
Music: Ahhh, music...the biggest pain in the butt. Easy to drag and drop music files and playlists onto your SG2, but for me and many other would result in Unknown Artist, multiple entries for collection CDs and almost worst was complete lack of playlist, despite it being in the storage!!
This is where itunemywalkman comes into its own BTW, as you can send music through grouped by Album, Artist or Playlist (where in the SG2, playlists were listed as albums, partly solved it).
Anywhooo, to ensure you get the best results, I first recommend you go into Settings->Applications->Manage Applications->All and then go to Media Storage. Select 'clear data', this will not delete any existing music (although I recommend you do, except for music purchased on the phone which I would then import into iTunes and then delete from phone). This just deletes the index, which can cause problems in getting the rest to work if you don't.
Then you go into your DT software, and sync your music. Make sure you sync to the right Samsung device listed, again one will be your internal storage and one your external.
It will also re-encode some music for you, but not DRM which you can sort out with paid for apps, or I think burn a CD and then rip mp3. Other threads will explain... pain in the arse considering you 'own' the music. One of the reasons I moved from Apple... Another issue to resolve is the multiple entries per album, this is to do with your iTunes setting, go into all the tracks listed on the album and tick the 'part of a compilation' box and if necessary paste the album name into each track. This will ensure the SG2 will see it as one album despite lots of different artists.
Once you have all the music on the SG2, unmount the storage from Finder by pressing the eject button, and the you can do the same on the phone. It will take a little while for the Media Storage scan to do its thing as it is rebuilding its index.
Then go into the Market, and download a free app called 'MediaFix'. The guy who developed this should be given a Google Knighthood for doing what they seemingly couldn't. It will repair all the missing meta data, such as artist name and album etc... Most importantly for me though, the playlists require the correct meta data and after running this app (it took about 20 seconds to do my whole 8GB catalogue), suddenly all my playlists showed up! Hurrah!!!
One last thing, download from Market 'Cover Art Downloader' to get all your album art back, or at least a fair bit of it. DT has their own version for £2.99 which you'll need if you have lots of covers like me... Cover Art Downloader seems to crash after about 430 new albums discovered!
I should note I use the DT player on my phone too, for some reason the Samsung player still doesn't see my playlists although it does have the track meta-data now.
All with correct info, and the most crucial thing my SG2 needed to do well for me...
DT will keep this sync'd for you, just quickly wipe your Media Storage file before sync and then run MediaFix after. A little painful, but I have noticed in my case anyway that if you don't do this every time your playlists can get a little messed up again missing artist info (even though the songs and albums still have it...)
With this for photos, DT for audio and Google sync for iCal / Address Book I have now got an iPhone replacement. MediaFix from market is essential to get it working properly though (or convert everything into MP3 before syncing, like you need to do for DRM)... this is because music loses meta data with the Android media index, this will also resolve playlists not showing up, which rely on the meta data.
Hope this helps someone.. I have spent days trying to get my (amazing!!) SG2 working. Quite a contrast to when I updated my 2G iPhone to 3G and after a 20 minute synch was basically left with the same phone as before with more memory and slightly faster. A little underwhelming an experience for a new phone (but I can hardly moan at Apple for getting sync so right), the SG2 has been far more exciting and a steep learning curve. . talk about them being at opposite ends of the spectrum.
The SG2 is better hardware, but it takes more effort to get running the synch as well, but nothing good in life comes easy.... I'm quite technical and didn't lose faith, but I have been left far from satisfied with the experience which is such as shame as the hardware is so great. Google will NEVER challenge the iPhone until they sort this. I have to admit, if the iPhone 5 came out looking as amazing as the SG2, I would probably somewhat reluctantly strip off my shame and get back into bed with it - purely because of syncing..
It's hard to believe that the hardware is just so far ahead of the needed unified desktop software written by Google for Android with all Android hardware providers submitting an API into their 'bloatware' (I actually quite like the Samsung TouchWiz).
Sorry for the long post, please let me know if this has helped, it will make the lost 2.5hrs of my Saturday night seem worthwhile..
Peter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi, thanks for the post peter. i have registered on xda today, just so that i could reply to the post. so your saturday night 2.5hrs sacrifice is appreciated!
in south africa contract upgrades are only 24 monthly. i was actually the biggest symbian fan and was very reluctant to move to the iphone 3GS. i was sold. but then i found all the nice apps were paid (something which i am against) and it was either jailbreak the iphone 4 or sg2. obviously if i am posting here, i have gone for the sg2.
i have not fully used the syncing properties on the iphone...and was mislead when the usual "connecting to itunes" states "step 2 of 3 backing up" - i upgraded my software after the pdf loophole was discovered - started with blank apps, lost all my photos etc. the contacts somehow remained.
so here is my question. i dont have an imac, i ahve an ordinary dell laptop. i also use my mobile device (either with cable or bluetooth) as a modem to connect to the internet. (this was one of the features that sold me on iphone - swith internet tethering "on" and you surfing in seconds).
having said that: i mainly need all my contacts to be synced.
the rest i can sacrifice, but pics, texts etc will be nice.
so now that you using the sg2, how is the touch screen sensitivity? messages also in chat form? i didnt understand the part of the blog if it allows for push email notifications? i use gmail.
thanks for post once again and thanks for helping me out on my journey to android...
regards
rava
Thanks for the Herculean effort! Have just made the move myself (Samsung Note) and, being less techie, remain daunted. Any experience with Mark Space syncing tools?

[Q] - Best setup for NP using KODI??

I am setting up a media streaming device for someone who isn't tech savvy but wants to use NP for movies/tv/Netflix.. What are the best basic settings/config for using NP with Kodi and Netflix? They may or may not use external usb or mouse/keyboard.
5.1.1? Android M preview 3?
Rooted?
TWRP?
Custom Rom? CM12 / other??
**UPDATE**
Here is what I did which seems to work great:
- Unlocked Bootloader
- Flashed TWRP
- Flashed 6.0 firmware (fugu) from Google's site
- Kodi installed from google play.
- Used “http://fusion.tvaddons.ag” addon to help with installing/updating streams. Selected "hubwizard" and "addoninstaller" under "start-here" directory to get basic addons/content/features working.
- Saw an issue with constant buffering. Used: Programs > Maintenance Tool > System Tweaks > Zero Cache (Yes when menu popped up). This expands the space where the download is stored, allowing a longer buffer than default. So you can pause a slow loading tv show/movie and let it load so you dont have viewing issues.
- Enabled Autoplay option on Genesis settings which is easier than searching thru the links provided.
- Added the xml file shown here so that I could use the Play/Pause button as a "right-click" option when content isn't playing.
Let me know if there is anything else I can change to make things run smoother. Otherwise, I'm pretty happy with the set up.
didn't see any response so I kept digging and came up with this...
- Using stock 5.1.1 from the standard update. Waiting until M preview is in a more final state.
- Kodi installed from google play.
- Installed “http://fusion.tvaddons.ag” addon to help with installing/updating streams. Help link here.
- Installed Genesis and Phoenix right away for basic content.
- Saw an issue with constant buffering. Used the TV Addon program to "Clear Cache" and enabled "Zero Cache". This expands the space where the download is stored, allowing a longer buffer than default. So you can pause a slow loading tv show/movie and let it load so you dont have viewing issues.
This seemed to get content streaming pretty good, but I could use any additional tips to make it better.
mmgill said:
didn't see any response so I kept digging and came up with this...
- Using stock 5.1.1 from the standard update. Waiting until M preview is in a more final state.
- Kodi installed from google play.
- Installed “http://fusion.tvaddons.ag” addon to help with installing/updating streams. Help link here.
- Installed Genesis and Phoenix right away for basic content.
- Saw an issue with constant buffering. Used the TV Addon program to "Clear Cache" and enabled "Zero Cache". This expands the space where the download is stored, allowing a longer buffer than default. So you can pause a slow loading tv show/movie and let it load so you dont have viewing issues.
This seemed to get content streaming pretty good, but I could use any additional tips to make it better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm currently searching for some options as well. I will let you know what I find.
Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk
I used TVAddons for a long time, on Ouya, an HTPC, and the Nexus Player. But I have recently been using The Beast by Chris B http://chrisbkodi.uk
I installed on my NP with this method: Install Kodi from the Play Store. Go to System>File Manager>Add Source type http://spartanpixel.net/repo click OK
Go to System>Addons>Install From Zip , select repo as the source, then select the zip and click OK. Wait about 10-15 seconds, you should see a message that the wizard has been installed.
Go to Programs, and select the config wizard. You should see the option of installing two different builds: The Beast or Spartan. I have tried both, I don't know what the major differences are other than the skin for Spartan is pretty cool. It's going to take a few minutes to install, so don't worry if it's slow and you will see another install progress bar after the first one finishes. After the entire process is done, you will get a message saying that installation is complete. So click OK, now THIS part is VERY important: The next message will say that you need to force shutdown Kodi, DO NOT click the button saying to go ahead and shut down. You will need to actually pull the power cord out from the back of the Nexus Player, and then plug it back in. Wait for it to boot up, go to Kodi and you should now see The Beast splash video. Everything will be configured for you, but you may want to go in and disable the adult stuff if you dont want it, and get rid of anything else that you dont want. I find some of the IPTV stuff is a little difficult to work with so I dont use much of it.
The only other thing I have done is go into Video settings, and set it to sync to my display refresh rate. You will also want to use ES File Explorer to upload a keymapping xml for the remote. https://www.dropbox.com/s/c1r944j93oj8sq6/nexus_remote.xml?dl=0
mmgill said:
didn't see any response so I kept digging and came up with this...
- Using stock 5.1.1 from the standard update. Waiting until M preview is in a more final state.
- Kodi installed from google play.
- Installed “http://fusion.tvaddons.ag” addon to help with installing/updating streams. Help link here.
- Installed Genesis and Phoenix right away for basic content.
- Saw an issue with constant buffering. Used the TV Addon program to "Clear Cache" and enabled "Zero Cache". This expands the space where the download is stored, allowing a longer buffer than default. So you can pause a slow loading tv show/movie and let it load so you dont have viewing issues.
This seemed to get content streaming pretty good, but I could use any additional tips to make it better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Guys, I follows this and went with the xbmc repo, a lot of the channels are dead.
How do I install Genesis?
Also, how do I undo what I did? Uninstall fusion and start from scratch. I'd like to try some other builds above.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
mmgill said:
I am setting up a media streaming device for someone who isn't tech savvy but wants to use NP for movies/tv/Netflix.. What are the best basic settings/config for using NP with Kodi and Netflix? They may or may not use external usb or mouse/keyboard.
5.1.1? Android M preview 3?
Rooted?
TWRP?
Custom Rom? CM12 / other??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mmgill said:
didn't see any response so I kept digging and came up with this...
- Using stock 5.1.1 from the standard update. Waiting until M preview is in a more final state.
- Kodi installed from google play.
- Installed “http://fusion.tvaddons.ag” addon to help with installing/updating streams. Help link here.
- Installed Genesis and Phoenix right away for basic content.
- Saw an issue with constant buffering. Used the TV Addon program to "Clear Cache" and enabled "Zero Cache". This expands the space where the download is stored, allowing a longer buffer than default. So you can pause a slow loading tv show/movie and let it load so you dont have viewing issues.
This seemed to get content streaming pretty good, but I could use any additional tips to make it better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cadillax02 said:
I'm currently searching for some options as well. I will let you know what I find.
Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wendellc said:
Guys, I follows this and went with the xbmc repo, a lot of the channels are dead.
How do I install Genesis?
Also, how do I undo what I did? Uninstall fusion and start from scratch. I'd like to try some other builds above.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to your Programs section in Kodi, there is a Fresh Start option that the fusion installer should have added. Run that and it should put you back to vanilla Kodi.
If you are able to side load, and you want the TV Addons build, maybe try side loading TVMC you should be able to put the APK on a thumb drive and access via ES File Explorer, be sure to enable Unknown Sources in Android.
One combo that worked well for me was side loading SPMC and then running the fusion installer.
wendellc said:
How do I install Genesis?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Follow the instructions above for Fusion.
Select Lambda repo zip for Genesis
Select XBMChub zip for TVAddons (Phoenix)
Setting up the pirate side of Kodi for somebody else with no knowledge of the world you are getting them into is a bad deal for you. These pirate addons are not for the uninitiated. They are unreliable at best. Make sure you are willing to be their continual tech support. In the past 45 days or so everything mentioned in the thread have undergone some catastrophic failure or complete relaunch. Make sure you teach your friend how this stuff works so there are no unrealistic expectations of availability or reliability.
pawdog said:
Setting up the pirate side of Kodi for somebody else with no knowledge of the world you are getting them into is a bad deal for you. These pirate addons are not for the uninitiated. They are unreliable at best. Make sure you are willing to be their continual tech support. In the past 45 days or so everything mentioned in the thread have undergone some catastrophic failure or complete relaunch. Make sure you teach your friend how this stuff works so there are no unrealistic expectations of availability or reliability.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe with the Live TV feeds they are. But Genesis is fairly rock solid. I can do without the others (for the most part).
Loaded THE BEAST.
I really like the interface (large fonts; cool backdrop images) for KODI.
I just had to turn off every other section but the main MOVIES/SPORTS/LIVE TV sections though because it's so laden with adult content links.
I wish it would come more like stock (without all the adult) and a wizard to add on the adult stuff if people desire.
Otherwise, it has been stable.
The LIVE TV links are still very hit and miss with THE BEAST.
S4F4M said:
Maybe with the Live TV feeds they are. But Genesis is fairly rock solid. I can do without the others (for the most part).
Loaded THE BEAST.
I really like the interface (large fonts; cool backdrop images) for KODI.
I just had to turn off every other section but the main MOVIES/SPORTS/LIVE TV sections though because it's so laden with adult content links.
I wish it would come more like stock (without all the adult) and a wizard to add on the adult stuff if people desire.
Otherwise, it has been stable.
The LIVE TV links are still very hit and miss with THE BEAST.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
still debating on rooting the nexus player, I downloaded the kodi app, and installed kodimaster? (not sure of exact repo) but I did read about the the beast repo being pretty solid as well. I think for the most part I'm happy with the nexus player at $24.98 and the kodi app does pretty much everything I need it to do with movies & shows. I still have more to learn with live tv, nfl network, and what else itll provide
osugsxr said:
still debating on rooting the nexus player, I downloaded the kodi app, and installed kodimaster? (not sure of exact repo) but I did read about the the beast repo being pretty solid as well. I think for the most part I'm happy with the nexus player at $24.98 and the kodi app does pretty much everything I need it to do with movies & shows. I still have more to learn with live tv, nfl network, and what else itll provide
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting is a toss-up.
If you want to keep 5.0, then you need to root.
If you want Marshmallow, then do not root right now.
Root and flashing to older images (if needed for whatever reason) is pretty straight-forward.
Tons of guides on the internet/Youtube.
Live TV is hit or miss.
With movies and shows on Genesis, play is fine unless I pick a bad stream. Then, the data feed is too slow to keep up and the show/movie pauses/buffers.
Last night, though, I wanted to check the score of the game, so I loaded ESPN from cCloudTV. It was buffering every 5 seconds. Basically unwatchable.
Not sure if it was due to the stream (# of people streaming = low data feed) and/or my connection speed (20 mbps). But live TV does not really "buffer" like movies/shows as it is not a DVR, so when it buffers, the live action wants to catch up, so you get skips/stutters, etc.
Likewise, I do not know if I'm missing addons or the streams are not reliable, but channel surfing is not really reliable. I get error messages that I need to check the log.
I got Kodi setup with all the 'free' stuff = thanks to this thread.
I am trying to add my own local content, but when I go to add the SMB share, I can see all the computers on my network, I can select my home server (windows 8.1), but after I select it, I get an error and I cannot connect to the share.
My windows based Kodi setup finds my server just fine and I can add the seperate shares with no issues. Anyone else experience this issue on the NP?
i definitely need to do the play/pause right click mod
I was able to setup a SQL server and one HTPC a firetv and my new nexus player are able to connect. no issues.
I gave up on garbage Kodi, everyone tells me how great it is well, if you mean about 30 minutes searching through dozens and dozens of stupid streams to get one that will actually play and not buffer, then yeah works great. I was told, use autoplay then you won't have that issue, well, I turned on autoplay and stupid POS still didn't work, either the video wouldn't play/buffer/stutter, or it just wouldn't load any streams at all. Also kept getting cache was full errors constantly so I gave up and went back to simple easier torrents.
S4F4M said:
Maybe with the Live TV feeds they are. But Genesis is fairly rock solid. I can do without the others (for the most part).
Loaded THE BEAST.
I really like the interface (large fonts; cool backdrop images) for KODI.
I just had to turn off every other section but the main MOVIES/SPORTS/LIVE TV sections though because it's so laden with adult content links.
I wish it would come more like stock (without all the adult) and a wizard to add on the adult stuff if people desire.
Otherwise, it has been stable.
The LIVE TV links are still very hit and miss with THE BEAST.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Start out with a fresh copy of Kodi 15.2 then add all the sources for repos(srp.nu, tvaddons.ag, etc.). Then install all the repos. And Then install all the add-ons from the repos you just installed. Then load elmerohueso' s repo from fusion so you can use his helix ++ skin (it allows you to use "any" 7 icons under "any" of the main screen sections (pictures,videos,music,..etc). This way you have access to all the addons add-ons you want without any of the stuff you don't.
S4F4M said:
Rooting is a toss-up.
If you want to keep 5.0, then you need to root.
If you want Marshmallow, then do not root right now.
Root and flashing to older images (if needed for whatever reason) is pretty straight-forward.
Tons of guides on the internet/Youtube.
Live TV is hit or miss.
With movies and shows on Genesis, play is fine unless I pick a bad stream. Then, the data feed is too slow to keep up and the show/movie pauses/buffers.
Last night, though, I wanted to check the score of the game, so I loaded ESPN from cCloudTV. It was buffering every 5 seconds. Basically unwatchable.
Not sure if it was due to the stream (# of people streaming = low data feed) and/or my connection speed (20 mbps). But live TV does not really "buffer" like movies/shows as it is not a DVR, so when it buffers, the live action wants to catch up, so you get skips/stutters, etc.
Likewise, I do not know if I'm missing addons or the streams are not reliable, but channel surfing is not really reliable. I get error messages that I need to check the log.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alternatives to ccloud: You need to install dextertv(plays live tv really well even on 3mbs time warner connection but you need to sign in with a valid email- I just use a temp email generator easily found on google search), and UFO stalker clone(youtube kraz inabox) or i4ATV which are both stalker clones and play over 800 channels really well without buffering. Google search, DexterTV, Kraz inabox, newtechevotution, Joenobody010101, husham memar, soloman for awesome turorials on the latest greatest add-ons
Shftup said:
I got Kodi setup with all the 'free' stuff = thanks to this thread.
I am trying to add my own local content, but when I go to add the SMB share, I can see all the computers on my network, I can select my home server (windows 8.1), but after I select it, I get an error and I cannot connect to the share.
My windows based Kodi setup finds my server just fine and I can add the seperate shares with no issues. Anyone else experience this issue on the NP?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get a micro usb to regular usb hub and insert a zip drive with the content you want and then transfer it from the zip drive to kodi by using file explorer you can download from the play store. With the hub you can also install a keyboard/track pad combo like the logitect k400 keyboard (ususally on sale for 19.99) and its makes using/navigating kodi or the nexus player much easier.
ninerpride said:
I gave up on garbage Kodi, everyone tells me how great it is well, if you mean about 30 minutes searching through dozens and dozens of stupid streams to get one that will actually play and not buffer, then yeah works great. I was told, use autoplay then you won't have that issue, well, I turned on autoplay and stupid POS still didn't work, either the video wouldn't play/buffer/stutter, or it just wouldn't load any streams at all. Also kept getting cache was full errors constantly so I gave up and went back to simple easier torrents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disagree about kodi being garbage. It's awesome software. If you were Genesis...make sure to clear cache and sources from within genesis tools section. Autoplay does work but you need to configure the streams you prefer from the information section of genesis. Also make sure you're on version 5.1.4. Some of rhe other great add-ons: phoenix, primewire/one channel, SALTS, projectfreetv, navix, movie night, movied hd, ...etc. With a decent connection all of these addons feature great content and have search functiions to find whatever you're looking for. STAY away from torrents. They provide way less anonymity than you might think...
ninerpride said:
I gave up on garbage Kodi, everyone tells me how great it is well, if you mean about 30 minutes searching through dozens and dozens of stupid streams to get one that will actually play and not buffer, then yeah works great. I was told, use autoplay then you won't have that issue, well, I turned on autoplay and stupid POS still didn't work, either the video wouldn't play/buffer/stutter, or it just wouldn't load any streams at all. Also kept getting cache was full errors constantly so I gave up and went back to simple easier torrents.
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Don't despair. I've some good news for you. Unlike cable companies, which you are obliged to subscribe to if you live in a certain area (Laissez-faire at its best), no one has to use the POS called Kodi. And no one will do bad things to you if you don't. You always have the choice of forking out a hundred bucks or more a month for the rubbish that would stream flawlessly on your tv (Freedom at its best - where you consistently get 15 minutes of consumerism-driven "information" out of a 25-minute program) if you can't stand the minimal work one has to put in for the stuff you get for free and whose content you totally control.
I'm sure the people who designed the POS (your opinion) did the best they could, and do not get justly compensated for it. What you said don't sound really appreciative of it to me.
Maybe can help
I using this ROM pure nexus 6.0 from dhacker29 http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-player/development/rom-pure-nexus-t3260232
As well after all done, download kodi from the play store and them follow this threat http://www.geek.com.do/mejores-fuentes-repositorios-kodi-xbmc/ ah sorry its is Spanish, use Google translate
I just did the whole Kodi install thing with the repos that the kids are selling these days on Ebay for like $80+ installed on a Amazon Firestick. Pretty funny that they are making money off of doing that. I only found out about that from my friend who actually paid $$ for one of those and decided to research it and attempted to do it on my NPlayer.
I agree with @ninerpride somewhat. While I don't think it's Kodi that is "garbage", its more the streams fault. It DOES get annoying attempting to go down the list to try and find a stream that actually plays. @graphdarnell, I concur with you, my Time Warner cable bill is over $100 USD and I get nothing for it. I'm always looking for ways to cut the cord and get out of this because the bill just keeps going up every year.
I heard that Genesis, etc is no longer being supported because the DEV found out about the "hacker kids" selling his work on Ebay pre-loaded onto those Amazon Firesticks. Anyone hear the same? Someone suggested to instead install "SALTS" but while it's much better, it's still annoying trying to find a stream that works.
Using the BEAST build installed from AresWizard.cok.uk/zip and it's been great so far. Phoenix based and most of the content is decent. Live TV is pretty good. Best I've used for KODI so far

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