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Just thought I would throw out there some methods my family uses to keep our kids Kindles active despite its very small memory. We have children 12 and 4, and they love their Kindles.
First our Kindles are rooted and run cm7 w/ ics theme.
We don't use Amazon anything because of root, but we have everything already in place to cover that. We have a Netflix account for video (My 4 year old son loves the plethora of cartoons available) and we use Google's FREE streaming music application.
Now this is pretty basic stuff, and works great where you have WIFI. However what do you do when you are on the road? Our solution is based around our mobile smartphones. My wife and I both have them, and luckily are grandfathered into unlimited data plans. Which is important if you are going to be using them to also support Kindles.
While in the car my wife will support one kindle, and I will support another. Are phones are also rooted and we use two Apps to do this Wifi Tether and Wifi File Explorer. If you are not familiar Wifi Tether will allow your phone to be a mobile hotspot without paying for the extra plan fees. Wifi File Explorer simply allows your device to explored by another device. You also can put this app on the Kindle.
We use the Wifi Tether app to provide internet service to the Kindles allowing them to function fully. Kids can download apps, surf web, netflix, stream music etc.
We use the Wifi File Explorer to take advantage of our phones larger and changeable memory. You can store anything on your phone such as movies not available on netflix, and your kids can then watch them on their kindle. You can buy a large memory card to support this, or even use multiple smaller ones. You would just have to switch them out like you would a cd or dvd.
You of course can place your own movies on a file streaming service. However Wifi File Explorer, and using phones memory doesn't require a signal to work. So if your somewhere where is cell service is weak you may have problems streaming.
I am sure others may have some thoughts or tips for what they do. I just thought I would share ours. Also a verizon 3g signal will support two kindles watching netflix, but it gets pretty choppy. That's why we try to use one kindle per phone. Plus while drive the wife and I are usually using Google Music for ourselves.
I have a HTPC with 16TB of storage. I use Emit to stream video to my Android devices (including 3 Kindle Fire's). It works pretty well with video up to 720p, my wireless infrastructure is 802.11g though.
I use Emit to also stream outside of my local network, my Kindle Fire's while tethered (using ZT-180 Adhoc Switcher & WiFi Tether) to the 4G LTE connection of one of our phones stream video pretty well.
I use File Expert to access SMB shares on my HTPC over WiFi. It works great. I can copy files to/from my HTPC. I can install .apk files over WiFi. I pretty much only use the internal storage of my Kindle File for apps and books. I even copy my ROM backups to my HTPC using File Expert, no reason to keep them on the KF since I can copy them back over if I need to during recovery.
On the road though I have an 80GB iPod Classic connected to the AUX port of the built in DVD player in my truck. It has pretty close to 80GB of childrens content in .mp4 - more than my kids will watch during a single ride anyway.
I'm not a big fan streaming services like Netflix. I rarely use the Amazon instant streaming service on my Kindle Fire (unroot with OTA Rootkeeper) or on the Roku 2 I bought just to stream video from Amazon since it's include with Prime.
I love the Popcorn Hour and Squeezebox remote apps that I side loaded on my KF. The Roku 2 one that I bought (Roku Remote 2.16) is alright, the keyboard is pretty meh and kind of ruins it for me. I guess I'm just not a fan of the Roku 2.
New software updates for the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick have been rolling out since July 1st. I haven't fully analyzed them yet to uncover all the changes, but we do know that apps and games can now be marked as "Favorites" in order to bring them to the front of your app/game list. Full overview of everything that has changed to come. Let us know if you notice any changes yourself.
Fire TV version 51.1.6.0_user_516009820 - Download Link
Fire TV Stick version 54.1.2.0_user_120060220 - Download Link
Attention @rbox
Could you please check if its possible also to set sideloaded apps as favorite? THX in advance.
Still using Anroid 4.2.2 so the update is a major fail. Any updates for the Fire TV that do not run Android 4.4+ will all be failures. Sure they may fix bugs or simplify the default launcher, but til they upgrade to at least Android 4.4 aall updates wil be worthless. They can add all the featurs to the Fire TV that they want, but it will never be as good as it could be unless they ugrade to a newer version of Android. Compatibiity issues are nonsense this day in ag with Android and I am hving several comptibility issues with the Fire TV all because Amazon refuses to upgrade the Fire TV t at lest Android 4.4. A month ago when the news of fire OS 5.0 came out I predicted that the Fire TV would not be running it in ten months and I hve nine months left to prove everone wrong that said I was wrong. Wait and see, nine months from now the Fire tablets and the Fire Phone will be running FireOS 5.0, but the Fire TV will be running either 4.2.2, 4.3 or if a miracle happens it might be running Android 4.4. I love the Fire TV and I am not jumping ship, but the Fire TV can not do what it should be doing if Amazon is not going to upgrade it to Android 4.4 I do not care about root or mods, but I do care about compatibilty issues, and more and more things are becoming incompatible with Android 4.2.2 and 4.3. Come on amazon, step it up and give us what we should've already had six months ago.
Nice update! Really looking forward to the shopping feature. Wonder if this feature will go live on July 15th with "Prime day"?
Looking forward to a flashable version of this.
Calibaan said:
Could you please check if its possible also to set sideloaded apps as favorite? THX in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, only those downloaded from their App Store can be set as favorite.
You go into either "Games" or "Apps" to pick which ones you want to favorite, which brings them to the front of the Recent list in "Home" or the other mentioned sections.
Another change is they've added in the storage bar in Applications > Manage Installed Apps, now sit at the bottom of the screen.
porkenhimer said:
Still using Anroid 4.2.2 so the update is a major fail. Any updates for the Fire TV that do not run Android 4.4+ will all be failures. <snipped>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems a new Fire TV Stick may be on the way running Lollipop 5.1 - http://liliputing.com/2015/07/amazons-next-gen-fire-tv-stick-may-be-coming-soon.html
This one will likely be left in the dark forever run on 4.2.2
Well, here is something...
For the longest time, when I hooked my Fire TV Box via Optical Audio to my Pioneer Elite VSX-21 (circa 1999-2000), SPMC/Kodi set for pass through did give me Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS (and show icons for each speaker). However, with the box set for Dolby Digital over Optical when playing movies from Amazon Instant, Netflix and Plex my Pioneer would always display only Dolby ProLogic (no speaker icons, indicating 2ch audio).
It looks like the v51.1.6.0 fixed that.
Today, playing a movie via Amazon Instant, I noticed Dolby Digital led on the receiver along with icons for each speaker.. Same with Netflix.
Plex however gives me no audio when playing movies from my server, but did give me stereo audio when playing a TV show via CBS channel in Plex.
Gilly10 said:
No, only those downloaded from their App Store can be set as favorite.
You go into either "Games" or "Apps" to pick which ones you want to favorite, which brings them to the front of the Recent list in "Home" or the other mentioned sections.
Another change is they've added in the storage bar in Applications > Manage Installed Apps, now sit at the bottom of the screen.
Seems a new Fire TV Stick may be on the way running Lollipop 5.1 - http://liliputing.com/2015/07/amazons-next-gen-fire-tv-stick-may-be-coming-soon.html
This one will likely be left in the dark forever run on 4.2.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems like just wild guess, and what spoils it is that there would be zero reason to put and accelerometor in an Android stick, which tells me that its not a new fire TV stick. I am sure there will be a new Fire TV stick at some point, but the page you gave the link to is 100% not a new Fire TV stick. You shold never link people to pages with unconfirmed info.
First up, it features WiFi and Bluetooth, but no GPS, compass, accelerometer, light sensor, camera, or SIM card. You’d expect most phones, tablets or other Android devices to have at least a few of those things.
Gilly10 said:
No, only those downloaded from their App Store can be set as favorite.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thx, not really what I hoped for.
porkenhimer said:
Seems like just wild guess, and what spoils it is that there would be zero reason to put and accelerometor in an Android stick, which tells me that its not a new fire TV stick. I am sure there will be a new Fire TV stick at some point, but the page you gave the link to is 100% not a new Fire TV stick. You shold never link people to pages with unconfirmed info.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure what your reading but it states clearly it does NOT have an accelerometer inside, only bluetooth & wifi are ticked, certainly fits the bill of being a Fire TV Stick of some kind going off the other specs (or lack of), guess we'll just have to wait and see...
This is the page the article is about - https://gfxbench.com/device.jsp?benchmark=gfx31&os=Android&api=gl&D=Amazon+AFTS&testgroup=info
Gilly10 said:
Not sure what your reading but it states clearly it does NOT have an accelerometer inside, only bluetooth & wifi are ticked, certainly fits the bill of being a Fire TV Stick of some kind going off the other specs (or lack of), guess we'll just have to wait and see...
This is the page the article is about - https://gfxbench.com/device.jsp?benchmark=gfx31&os=Android&api=gl&D=Amazon+AFTS&testgroup=info
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The specs fit the billing for many devices. Who knows it could be a new type of device, or it could be a tablet. Til there is proof the articles are just people making wild guesses. Like I said, go back and look at all of Amazons tablets and yo will be amazed at the features some of them do not have that almost every tablet mae by other companies do. They even took the gamble of leaving cameras out the first Fire HD tablet. Amazon does strange things with their devices. They have left rear cameras of some of their tablets and said their study shows that people do not use rear cameras on their tablets then released the next tablet with a rear camera. they have left out HDMI ports saying people with tablets barely use them then for some reason released other tabets with HDMI ports. I would not rule out that the device is a tablet at all. Its very likely that it could be a budget tablet. Their newer tablets have been getting more expensive compared to their older ones so it could be a cheap tablet.
jpeg42 said:
First up, it features WiFi and Bluetooth, but no GPS, compass, accelerometer, light sensor, camera, or SIM card. You’d expect most phones, tablets or other Android devices to have at least a few of those things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And what would these sonsors be good for on an mediaplayer device?
GPS? I know where my TV is.
Compass? My TV doesn't change its direction so often.
Accelerometer? I hope it never falls off the wall.
Light Sensor? For a divice without display?
Camera? Would be nice for skype but better use an external one.
SIM card?
So where is the point?
Hmmmm and off topic anyway .. Sorry for that.
Zaaap72 said:
And what would these sonsors be good for on an mediaplayer device?
GPS? I know where my TV is.
Compass? My TV doesn't change its direction so often.
Accelerometer? I hope it never falls off the wall.
Light Sensor? For a divice without display?
Camera? Would be nice for skype but better use an external one.
SIM card?
So where is the point?
Hmmmm and off topic anyway .. Sorry for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, proof that this is likely the next generation FireTV or Stick, and not another phone or tablet from Amazon.
i've been unable to 'adb connect' to my unrooted fire tv box since around the time it received the latest update. i've rebooted several times - computer and fire tv. no luck. can anyone else confirm or deny this with their box? maybe something funky going on with my routers...
Probably you need to re-enable the ADB debugging within the FireTV System > Developer Options.
Calibaan said:
Probably you need to re-enable the ADB debugging within the FireTV System > Developer Options.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks, but i already checked that. i even tried turning it off, restarting, turning it on, restarting again. still can't adb connect to my box.
Probably the IP changed. Had this one time that my router assigned another IP than the regulary IP to the AFTV.
again, thanks for trying. firetv has a static IP. it has not changed. my router shows that the firetv is connected with the IP it is supposed to have. everything on my firetv works. i can't ping the firetv from my computer but maybe that is normal. i never tried before when adb connect was working. i tried doing a port scan from computer using nmap but it doesn't see the firetv at all. i feel like i'm losing my mind.
---------- Post added at 11:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:37 AM ----------
well, i've got adb connect working again. i told firetv to forget the network then i re-added it. this time i didn't specify IP/subnet/etc. i let it get it all from DHCP. now adb connect works. weird.
WORK IN PROGRESS: UPDATING
STOP PRESS: FIRESTARTER 3.0 RELEASED. SANITY RESTORED.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-tv/themes-apps/app-root-home-launcher-replacement-app-t3118135
Before sending your Fire TV/Stick back to Amazon in disgust, beware of its limitations, and try these tips.
Bottom line is it's going to be a solid step up from Fire TV 1. But right now, it has a few issues.
Let's talk about the elephant in the room: the angry reviews. Almost all the complaints are about the glitchy remote (we have a fix), battery cover (sometimes the customer isn't always right), audio issues (Amazon is patching, stay tuned). No question, it's got some bugs out of the gate, but Amazon has responded and hopefully all will be resolved shortly . Enjoy:
http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-DV83YW-Fire-TV/product-reviews/B00U3FPN4U/
Fire TV 2: hardware shortcomings by design that many regard as substandard.
If these are important, you might need to look elsewhere.
1. USB 2.0 not even USB 3.0. USB-C is the new standard appearing on phones and laptops.
2. Ethernet 10/100 not GB.
3. No optical port. Possible solution: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B010JQMHNW/?
4. HDMI 1.4, not HDMI 2.0, limited to 4K at 30fps.
Software bugs and annoyances, most probably due to OS 5, but yet to be confirmed.
Could be fixed either by Amazon or developers.
1. Audio limited to stereo other than for Amazon Prime. Quiet audio.
As promised, Amazon has released a patch (extremely quickly):
“By this coming Monday, October 12th, you will receive an automatic software update that enables Dolby Digital Plus for customers who have a Dolby Digital Plus system (including support for Netflix and Amazon Video). An update for older Dolby Digital systems (not Dolby Digital Plus) will be distributed on November 30th.” -Amazon
Update from AFTVNews:
One of the new device’s largest complaints, a lack of Dolby Digital surround sound support, which has been partially fixed already, stems from changes made to support Netflix. I’m told by my source at Amazon that Netflix gave the Fire TV engineering team a new version of their software at the last minute which required changes to the Fire TV’s software to work correctly. Those changes conflicted with Dolby Digital surround sound support. With not enough time to fix support for both, Amazon was faced with the decision to ship without Netflix or without Dolby Digital surround sound. They chose the latter which, in my opinion, was the right choice.
http://www.aftvnews.com/amazon-is-d...-internal-testing-pool-for-bug-fixing-effort/
2. Fire TV 2 WiFi Remote drops out, glitchy, lags, etc.
Do this when setting up if you're connecting via Ethernet: disconnect your LAN cable, connect to WiFi, reconnect your network cable.
And then do this anytime if your remote becomes laggy: disconnect Ethernet cable, reconnect Ethernet cable.
That should fix it. Really, it's usually that simple.
If not, there could be interference, you could try changing channels or frequency on your router or restrict the available protocols (just N or AC, for example). Let us know if you're still having problems.
3. Highly inconvenient to launch Kodi and other sideloaded apps.
Long story, somewhat shortened: The Fire OS only shows icons for apps obtained from Amazon's App Store. That, unfortunately, doesn't include Kodi, everyone's favourite media player, and about 99% of the reason the AFTV has a cult following. There have been two popular ways to get around Amazon's belligerence: by having Kodi launch as proxy of another app (usually Ikono TV) using Llama; or by employing Firestarter to bind it to the Home button.
Both can be loaded via ADFire.
Unfortunately, Llama no longer works (for this purpose) in OS5/AFTV2, so skip that route and install FireStarter:
ADBFire : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2786505
FireStarter http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-tv/themes-apps/app-root-home-launcher-replacement-app-t3118135
Kodi: http://kodi.tv
I recommend mapping the Home Button single click to Kodi, and the Home button double-click to Amazon Home. Or if you'd prefer to use Firestarter as your home screen, then map it to the double-click. The added bonus to this setup is every time you're in Kodi and hit the Home button inadvertently, instead of losing your **** yet again, it'll just flash in and out of the app and then pause whatever you're watching.
Here's a guide on sideloading to the Fire. Again, I strongly recommend ADBFire:
http://www.aftvnews.com/sideload/
If you have an Android tablet or phone, there are several apps that can push apps across to the Fire, such as Apps2Fire. That way you can download your apps direct from the official Google Play Store. Don't forget they won't automatically update. You'll need to push those updates across as well.
4. Can't connect via ADB to sideload using ADBFire etc since using FireStarter
First up: make sure you have ADB enabled. Settings>System>Developer Options> Both ADB Debugging and Apps from Unknown Sources need to be On.
FireStarter has two methods of intercepting Home button presses: one using ADB, and one not using ADB. The issue that's arisen since the introduction of Fire OS 5 is that the operating system no longer permits parallel ADB connections, so if FireStarter is using it to intercept Home button presses, you won't be able to connect to the Fire TV using ADB, and thus you won't be able to sideload apps and files using ADBFire.
We now have two options:
Option 1 (Firestarter won't use ADB): Open FireStarter, under Settings, uncheck "Home Detection via ADB."
Advantage: You only need ADB enabled to connect with ADBFire. No need to touch FireStarter.
Disadvantage: Only detects your customized Home button choices within the Fire TV's home screen, and not within apps. Pressing Home within Kodi, for example, will return you to the Home screen. Pressing it again will send you back to Kodi (or whatever action you've chosen. A potential advantage is this now gives you three variants of the Home button: a single and double-click from the Home screen; and the traditional Fire TV Home shortcut from within any app.
Option 2: (FireStarter uses ADB): Open FireStarter, check "Home Detection via ADB"
Advantage: FireStarter will now obey your Home button choices (single and double-click) from anywhere.
Disadvantage: You will either need to kill FireStarter (see below) or temporarily revert to Option 1 in order to do your ADB stuff. Note: there's now a handy shortcut direct to the ADB Debugging toggle within FireStarter.
Tip: If you go with Option 2, you can quickly kill FireStarter's grip on ADB by going: Settings>Manage Applications>FireStarter and Force Stop. And then restarting FireStarter or the Device once you've finished your ADB business.
5. External storage limited to disks formatted in FAT32.
There's no reason why Amazon couldn't enable other formats, but there's little incentive to bother. Even Macs don't support NTFS out of the box. Either format your drives in FAT32 (and split larger files if necessary) or move them to a network share. Not hard to work around. Here's a tip:
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-play...b-off-the-fire-tvs-fat32-usb-storage-in-kodi/
6. Difficult to remove battery cover?
No it's not. Slide it back then lift it up. Dead easy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3t1GOCzjzY&
7. Can't move Kodi to external storage.
http://www.aftvnews.com/some-apps-like-kodi-cannot-write-to-external-storage-yet-on-fire-os-5/
Upgrade to Jarvis (still in alpha but perfectly acceptable).
8. LED only glowing when it detects a remote button press
Either a bug or a new way of doing things. Either way, it's not ideal.
9. Can't Chromecast from Android device to Fire TV
Yes, you can cast from Youtube, but nothing else (that I can find). Blame Google for that:
http://www.aftvnews.com/google-has-chromecast-receiver-app-pulled-from-fire-tv-appstore/
You can, however, Airplay to it. Via Kodi is one method, that usually works, but can be flaky sometimes. There are a bunch of apps you can try. Some work better than others. I picked up this one when it was free, it works:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/x9F99-x65B9-x513F-AirReceiver/dp/B00L5HQRGS/
And for those of you with other Amazon devices, there's always Fling:
https://developer.amazon.com/public...g/docs/understanding-the-amazon-fling-service
How about Bluetooth controller frequently loses connection to the AFTV? Mine drops it's connection probably 2 or 3 times every hour.
sudman said:
How about Bluetooth controller frequently loses connection to the AFTV? Mine drops it's connection probably 2 or 3 times every hour.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't the AFTV2 remote Wi-Fi?
I will be watching this thread closely. Thank you for posting.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Free mobile app
list additions
I would add to the list:
Issues with day 1 software update, (several resets, issues to get working)
Wifi remote constantly cuts on/off (taking out batteries seems like temp fix)
Stutters in apps like WatchESPN
Second the dropping of lama/kodi icon support
Despite better hardware, little change in actual performance (yet to be fully seen)
Claude Koch said:
Isn't the AFTV2 remote Wi-Fi?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was under the impression that it was BT same as the original but cant find a definitive answer eitherway. Eitherway the damn thing keeps discontecting!!!! Will be sending mine back if things dont improve fast.
sudman said:
I was under the impression that it was BT same as the original but cant find a definitive answer eitherway. Eitherway the damn thing keeps discontecting!!!! Will be sending mine back if things dont improve fast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.aftvnews.com/list-of-all-fire-tv-and-fire-tv-stick-remote-and-game-controller-specs/
Claude Koch said:
About time we compiled a tally of what's broken, missing or just plain annoying on the new Fire TV, and what's (about to be) broken by the official release of OS 5 on the old Fire TV.
4. More to come.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this. I was criticized elsewhere for bringing up some shortcomings of 2. I am very interested in the gizmo you linked that breaks off the 5.1 via Optical and 2ch mini-jack from the HDMI stream. The product dates back to 2013 which makes me skeptical. I've bought a few of these that did not work. I have 4 port Monoprice HDMI switch that has the 5.1 and 2ch breakout. It disappoints as it is 5.1 OR 2ch, not both. The one's I have had tried similar to your post would pass sound to all six speakers but it was in reality Stereo which will fool some people. The clue for me is, does the blue Dolby light come on? A quick test for DD Plus handling is "House of Cards". If you get a blue light viewing that, it's good to go. It's been almost a year since I last fooled with them so maybe there is something that is NEW and works.
I am still looking for one that really works. The only thing I know that splits off 5.1, for real, is 1's Optical connector.
What's funny is that I pitched my Roku3 over the DD+ impasse. Now Roku4 is coming out and it HAS an optical connector.
I have an Echo/Alexa too and waiting to see how all that works out with my 1 if it does at all. I'm rooted so unless Rbox comes through, I'm out of luck. Right now my Echo is pretty much a party novelty but it can now control my Nest and Insteon devices. Just found the most useful feature is using it as a meat timer.
It's a shame 2 isn't all of 1 but better and more.
I had problems with the connection with my remote too.
Are you used ethernet at the first start to connect with your router? Never set up wifi connection?
Try this
1. disconnect fire tv from ethernet
2. connect fire tv to wifi
3. reconnect the remote to fire tv
4. connect fire tv to ethernet again
for me i think it works... I am not 100% sure because the connection lost was very rare before. but give it a try.. :laugh:
There are huge issues with the WiFi the gain on the 5GHz 802.11ac is terrible in addition to issues above. I sent two of them back. Returning all of them is the only way Amazon will fix this!
I hate to say it, but it's looking like a lemon.
Edit: things are looking much better today.
What is an "Accessory Port". On my 1 I use a little dongle called Flirc to allow my Logitech Harmony One unified remote to control it. Needed it to feed the "Menu" command to 1. I now have a Harmony Ultimate with Hub and just imported the same settings.
I wonder if 2's "Accessory port" will allow a Flirc dongle to support unified IR remotes. Also wonder if it is even necessary with the 2. The Ultimate remote is still totally IR but the Hub is WiFi allowing it to talk to some smart devices. Guess I could test but hate to fix something that ain't broke. That's the main reason I'm afraid of 2. See no benefit except for 4K and I don't have that. My 1 setup works pretty well.
What I want to do is ditch my $160/mo DirecTV bill and replace it with another DVR option. SBC (aka AT&T) ate them and nothing good will come from that. "Repeating" myself, the Tivo Bolt is intriguing. Would replace FireTV and DirecTV. On the other hand, my rooted 1 with Nova Launcher and a Logitech K400 KB is a pretty nice little big screen Android box.
Nothing is just right.
sudman said:
How about Bluetooth controller frequently loses connection to the AFTV? Mine drops it's connection probably 2 or 3 times every hour.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's an abomination. Seems like the wifi keeps dropping out.
Edit: fixed.
Claude Koch said:
It's an abomination. Seems like the wifi keeps dropping out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But it's ON SALE. hurry while the supply lasts. Pulling 2 1/2 Stars. Not good.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U3FPN4U/?tag=aftvndeal-20
The Main Reason AFTV 2 Is Not For Me
Root and Nova Launcher
Claude Koch said:
It's an abomination. Seems like the wifi keeps dropping out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A page back i posted a method to fix that if you are used ethernet cable at the first start o AFTV2.
Try this
1. disconnect fire tv from ethernet
2. connect fire tv to wifi
3. reconnect the remote to fire tv
4. connect fire tv to ethernet again
For me no connection losts between remote control and AFTV2 after a couple of hours.
I know the Apple TV was looming, but I don't get why Amazon felt the need to rush this out so fast. There just really isn't a reason to refresh a video streaming device annually. I understand they wanted to beat Apple to 4K, but looks like it cost them this time. I am sure updates will make it better, but this box might be the dud when we look back and the history of these things. I just hope it doesn't flop so bad they stop future revisions.
MajorWinters said:
A page back i posted a method to fix that if you are used ethernet cable at the first start o AFTV2.
Try this
1. disconnect fire tv from ethernet
2. connect fire tv to wifi
3. reconnect the remote to fire tv
4. connect fire tv to ethernet again
For me no connection losts between remote control and AFTV2 after a couple of hours.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tip. I'm going to let it be for a couple of days, then try your fix. Otherwise, I won't know it it helped.
Been trying to get it to detect the bluetooth remote from my other Fire TV but not having any luck.
EDIT: Great tip, seems to have done the trick! Added to list.
I sent mine back. I can't believe that the newer Fire TV performs much worse than my 1st Gen Fire TV. Here is what I find annoying.
Remote cover is very hard to open. Broke my nail and it took me nearly a half hour to get it open. Once it is open it is much easier after.
Remote freezes and stops responding. Have to take out batteries and put them back in. At first I though the unit froze but my BT keyboard works fine. Had to use that quite often.
Netflix no 5.1 surround sound. Also it takes much longer to get up to 1080p. On my old Fire TV 1080p instantly and if not just restart the stream. On the 2nd gen Fire TV mud quality sub 480p which can take up to 40 seconds or longer to get to 1080p unless I fast forward and rewind the stream but then it ends up ruining what I am watching when there are spoilers in the beginning of the program.
Other third party apps actually run worse. They stutter and skip frames like trying to watch a HD video on a Celeron PC from 2008.
The external storage option is a joke. First thing is they should have included more than 8gb of internal storage because the external microSD is useless. I moved all the apps and games I can to the external storage however most apps and some games still store at least half the data on internal storage so even then I was already running low on space while my 64gb microSD barely used any space.
Box runs much warmer than before and I have it on a cooling pad.
To me the picture quality seems worse. I don't have a 4k TV just 1080p but the picture is much darker and reds look more pixelated.
That is what I can think of off the bat but in the end I ended up sending it back like many others and I see a recall soon from Amazon. They should have never released this thing as the 1st Gen Fire TV was pretty much perfect. Yes it had issues when it first came out mainly the once outdated Netflix app and having to occasionally clear the Amazon video data app when it would not play but otherwise it performed much better than this new thing does.
It's looking like under OS5, external storage is sandboxed as read-only to Kodi. The same seems true of Android TV (Nvidia Shield), so I suppose it's a Lollipop security issue. If I'm right, this means no moving Kodi data/thumbnails to external storage and using the /sdcard/xbmc_env.properties to redirect. Can anyone confirm/disprove this?
So I just ordered a couple Nexus Players and after searching around Google I am not able to see how to get Live TV on the unit without getting the HDHomeRun gadget. I'd be looking to get signal from an OTA Antenna or cable. Right now I have a HTPC with a Ceton PCI tuner. I watch cable TV through my HTPC and WMC, and my OTA Antenna sits in the box at the moment since it really serves no purpose as long as I have cable. I plan to hook up both Nexus Players via ethernet cable to the home network. What are my options to get TV to them? Again, either cable or OTA Antenna signal. Thanks!
Kodi w/ ServerWMC
Yes kodi/serverwmc is one way but you will need to keep your htpc around and turned on.
HDHomerun is the other way that I know works, as that's what I use.
The Tablo network DVR. It is similar to the way the Silicon Dust tuners work but it is a complete DVR, except for the USB hard drive that you need to add. EPG is optional and you can do manual recordings without it if you wish to save on costs. If you prefer to have EPG service it is available for either: lifetime (unlike Tivo it is account based instead device based, you only pay once no matter how many you own); yearly or monthly. Lifetime is $150, yearly is $50, and monthly is $5. There is a 30 Day free trial included when you first activate the Tablo that expires if no subscription is made.
Storage is done by user supplied USB hard drive. The currently supported maximum HDD capacity is 5TB. Flash drives are not compatible. You can use spare desktop and laptop HDDs with certain USB hard drive enclosures, Sayba and Sabrent are known to be compatible. Which ever HDD you go with make sure to go to its maker's website and download whatever tools it has for your drive. Make sure whatever sleep or power down modes are disabled as they can cause disconnects. A new HDD being installed will be formatted causing the loss of all existing data. You can not upload content onto the Tablo to use as a NAS.
All TV, live or recorded is transcoded to H.264 for video and AAC stereo/prologic for sound to support the largest number of devices. Android TV devices are the strongest for Tablo playback on a TV Chromecast and Roku tend to be the weakest in terms of load up times and remote response. Because of the transcoding overhead it can take 6-15 seconds to tune into a new channel depending if you have Enable Fast Live TV Startup enabled or not.
Local streaming is supported out of the box. Out of home streaming requires EPG subscription.
THGDTH said:
Because of the transcoding overhead it can take 6-15 seconds to tune into a new channel depending if you have Enable Fast Live TV Startup enabled or not.
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Click to collapse
That was one of the biggest reasons I ended up selling my Tablo. It takes away from the trigger finger surfing experience.
I ended up getting a HDhomerun Extend and love the idea of a network tuner. I love the quick tuning times in the Google Live Channels app. However, I wish it was more stable. I may have to give InstaTV a try and see if it works better. I am really hoping Silicondust gets their act together with their HDHomerun DVR system and improve the stability of their Android TV app.
Hi all, hopefully I am posting in the right place for this query.
So I bought a T95Z Plus TV BOX Android 12 Allwinner H618 and I thought I was making a decent upgrade from my old R10 box which still works despite being Android 7.1!!! However upon arrival and setup of the T95Z Plus I came unstuck when I could not open PIA VPN app. When I attempt to open the app, it literally tries to open then stops and nothing happens. All this in the blink of an eye. No splash screen, nothing. Just double click the app, brief spin as though it were loading then nothing.
I obviously went into overdrive to find a fix and basically came up with very little to try believing it was PIA app. Initially I read it was some kind of problem with Android 12 and all VPNs however has since been patched. But from what I can see it seems to be the T95plus is the issue.
The advice I have read and tried so far is:
to uninstall the app, reinstall the app.
Try the apk install that can be obtained directly from the PIA website rather than googleplay store
Turn of battery saver mode
Clear Cache of the app
I also tried another VPN, this time a free VPN, however this app opens but just sits trying to connect for ever.
So I am wondering has anyone with the same experience as me, or the knowledge got something for m to try in order to rectify the problem? I would return the box however it took so long to arrive to the UK that I don't think I can return it as it's past 14 days. Stupidly did not anticipate such a problem
If anyone can help I would be very grateful, thank you in advance.
I am compelled to write this before I give a real answer. Allwinner chips are utter garbage and avoid them. The H616 boxes were total garbage and riddle with spyware. You would do well to run a PCAP and see if its calling home like the H616 was.
First off download the APK directly from PIA. Once you have it just click on it. If prompted about install from unknown sources click ok. This will install the app. Don't do anything yet. Go to Settings and just search VPN. It needs to be there because the PIA app requires it to run. It's standard in Android and it should be there. But if the firmware was modified it could disable the feature or remove it as it could prevent the box from calling home.
Here is PIA's own guide on how to do all this.
Basically if its hanging it's because the PIA App isn't seeing the VPN service. I speak from experience since I disabled it once when I didn't haven't clue what the hell I was doing. Since you said a free VPN was having the same issue my suspicion would be the box itself. You can install one of the hidden settings apps and see if you can get to the VPN Setting. If you cannot then you need to just return the box and get a Amlogic or a decent Rockchip. For TV Boxes Allwinner chips are dumpster fires.
I blew my first Amlogic box a few years back before I knew that destroying them is near impossible and I recovered it later. I bought a T95 because it looked great, price was great, and I was clueless. I had nothing but trouble with it for the week or so I fought with it. The nail in the coffin was watching network traffic flowing when none should have been. That's when I ran my own PCAP and saw it was talking to Chinese servers for services I knew weren't in use. This isn't an indictment on Chinese boxes as I have a plethora of them. It's an indictment on the crap quality any of these boxes have. You get what you pay for. I'm a firm believer in cheap and cheerful. Just with AllWinner their reputation is utter garbage in the TV Box market. Most go with Amlogic because you have the most flexibility with them since Amlogic tools are readily available and custom firmware is easily obtained. Rockchip is the next up but the tools are much more limited and there is less options for custom firmware.
My real suggestion is RMA the box if you can. If you can't, eat the loss and buy a Amlogic. You can always look at getting *Elec projects or Armbian or something for the H618 but don't hold your breath as AllWinner isn't wildly supported. Their lack of tools for their chips means no one is inclined to deal with the pain involved for developing for their chips. Plus their habit of gimping chips due to heat throttling means it's inferior in the long run because you will constantly be running throttled as AllWinner chips run hot.
TV Boxes aren't known for their quality cooling already. If you are heavy user you get creative in providing cooling. The easiest is a USB powered fan. Not the best solution since thermal dynamics clearly operate in a parallel dimension in the factories where cheap Android boxes are made. Heat does not rise in that dimension. It sinks. This is why the majority of boxes have holes for heat dissipation at the bottom of the box. So while a USB fan does help, if you want to get wild and crazy check out what some the kids at 4PDA come up with. The easiest option is pop the box, take the board out and go nuts with a drill and a whatever sized bit you feel comfy using. Which means, use common sense. If you want to use a hole saw bit I'm not going to say no. Live your truth and don't let anyone stop you.
Hope this helps you.
PS - I'm far from a new member. Just a serial lurker. I figured consumed enough that I might as well return some of the knowledge I have gathered here and a plethora of other sites. Plus I felt bad for you. I was you with an AllWinner TV Box. I know how frustrating it was.
Hi Spudzz. First off thanks for the reply. Just a little additional info regarding this, but basically last night before your reply I had upgraded the firmware to a more recent version, if not the most recent version and despite install PIA again I got a little further as in the app will open, but it will not allow me to sign into my account.
So yeah, there is definitely something up with these boxes. I tried a free one VPNfast or something and this also failed to connect to a server.
What amazes me with these T95Z plus boxes is they seem very popular. There is a whole other thread on here regarding them indeed that is where I learnt about the different firmware img's. One single post has a guy asking them same thing as me saying he can't open his vpn. But no one replied to him.
Unfortunately I cannot return this box, I don't think I can anyways because it has been past 2 weeks since I got it. I will however lookout now for Amlogic box as you recommend. Do you know if there are Android 12 versions of these kicking around or does it matter if I bought one that is Android 11?
I am coming from using an old S10 Android Tv box that still works to this day. It's Android 7.1 would you believe. The reason I want to switch if every so often I get an app that wont work properly regarding the progress bar. Videos will play but you can't rewind,fastforward, click on the timeline anywhere in the video. The latest app to go was youtube and since I use YouTube a lot I thought I was making a good choice getting a more up to date Android Box with Android 12 installed. So many good reviews on Amazon regarding this box as well. It's crazy. I didn't buy my box from Amazon but I just use that as an example of where some good reviews are.
***edit*** by the way the VPN settings on the T95 I could find, but there weren't many options and I didn't know what to do with those that were there.