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Amazon Fire TV "XBMC"

27K views 134 replies 15 participants last post by  nicholas4569 
#1 ·
Lets put it here guys. Amazon Fire TV will run XBMC. One of the best Streamer I have played with. More testing and opinions to follow.
 
#2 ·
Amazon Fire TV will not allow running XBMC as is. Good thing Amazon has not locked out any user from "Side Loading" and "Rooting" the device. To that end someone has made a great little app that will do the coding and install APK packs with one click. Runs in Windows or Mac. Follow the link. Mod's remove if not ok. I can message the link for those that ask. Post your finding here.

adbFire
 
#10 ·
Pete - how do you get around the apps? are you using the amazon provided remote or a mouse/keyboard?

reason i'm asking, in Showbox, the app acts like it's on a swipe-able phone, meaning i can't go up/down/left/right with amazon's remote. however my logitech allows me to hold down the left mouse button and scroll around.
 
#14 ·
for android users, you can use Yatse after you launch the xbmc app on the FireTv.

one drawback for n00bs, you can't easily access xmbc straight from amazon's interface. you have to go into settings, manage apps, launch XBMC.

probably not a huge issue for the folks on this board (except JC) since we're all pretty tech savvy.
 
#21 ·
Does the fire allow you to create shortcuts to the home screen?

I watched the demo on it, read some reviews, etc. it looks pretty sweet. Won't work here unless I put it on the VPN to the US for a US IP address. That being said, it's a promising option when we move back.
 
#16 ·
if you're already a current amazon prime member, the fire tv is a no brainer. only drawback is it's based on android, so the hd's aren't being recognized, but like pete said, maybe plex will pick it up.

doc if you have questions, you got my email, let me know if i can help.
 
#19 ·
Gotcha. I haven't used a directly connected HD in a while.

Now, the NAS on the other hand...

In any case, that will be my first thing out of the gate, testing it to see if the XBMC app can stream a vid from the NAS in the other room. If it can handle a full HD/7.1/super high bitrate flick (like the last Transformers or The LEGO Movie) then I'll be 95% happy. :cool: [Those two gave the RPi too many hiccups, and were nearly unwatchable with buffering, etc. Had to grab lower quality versions in order for the RPi to process them properly.]
 
#22 ·
i didn't see that option. seemed like all the apps you load, you'd have to go thru the settings - manage apps - launch app to get it to work. i'll play around with it more this week and see if i can find that option. but my quick run thru, i may have missed it.
 
#28 ·
Ok so after a week this is where I stand so far. "PeteRod likes it". Moving within the app is is almost instance paneling. No lag at all. This is not so true when in a App like XBMC. I believe this is a limitation of the XBMC app and not the AFTV. If you are a prime member like me this is a no brainer. The 2nd update fixed the "No Prime Section" complaint. As far as I know and what I have read Amazon is looking to open this to the full Play Store. As of now you still need to "Side Load" app's you can't find within the AFTV OS. Side loading and rooting is easy with the link posted above. Rooting open's this little beast to a whole new world. There are Bluetooth keyboards that work and Amazon also sell's a game controller that work petty well. I myself use a Logitech K400 2.4 GHz keyboard with the builtin touchpad. Find it at Amazon for $25.00 (price drop, I paid $28.00). Now a word of caution, If you are side loading and rooting make sure you finish all and any installs. I had to restore mine after I pulled the plug on a install. Turns out I did not wait long enough to complete the install. No big deal but who wants to redo all the work. By the way there is a XBMC backup tab with the side load app. Maybe I should have used it and save myself from the restore.

More to follow guys. If you go this way please add your input.
 
#29 ·
So am I understanding this in summary:
This is a ful featured device, with Amazon's goodies baked in.
Netflix, huu, and others.
You can also root and sideload other apps, such as XBMC and launch it from within the AFTV interface?
XBMC is complete with add'l plugins, mods, hacks, etc. and is fully functional with mapped drives, NFS connectivity, etc. ?
XBMC is loaded it it's own directory, where I can make mods to specific [XBMC] files?
(advanced settings, custom settings, repos, etc.)
 
#30 ·
yes
don't believe it has netflix, but i didn't really look since i don't have it
yes - specifically the settings - manage apps folder
yes - i've got mashup/navix/sportsdevil/videodevil (that's all Q cares about)
don't know about mapped drives, i had been using a portable hd, and this doesn't do that natively. but PR said he found a solution.
yes - has the same options as xmbc. just make sure you grab the Android xmbc to side load.
 
#31 ·
It's taken me a lot of time, planning and effort to integrate into the NAS setting and use that exclusively, and in particular, the shared library across 4 RPi's. So obviously, if I introduced an AFTV, I'd lose that functionality, but would pick up some other items of interest. Basically the commercial off the shelf look and feel of what RPi has the potential of doing, but never will. (a canned, smooth, slick interface with apps, and such right out of the box)

I may grab one and have it sent over just to tinker with.
RPi
Chromecast
AFTV.
Wheeee!!!!
 
#32 · (Edited)
AFTV has Netflix. Just download it from the app store. No side load required. Plex app will allow streaming your media from Pc's and NAS drives. True 5.1 audio but make sure you enable it within the AFTV sound setting. Runs 1080P MKV, AVI, Mpeg files off your servers without conversion. Also runs the full line of audio files.

More to follw.
 
#35 · (Edited)
Thanks Pete.
I'm familiar with Plex as I played with it a while back, and decided on RPi / XBMC instead.

My biggest issue I'd foresee in switching would be going back to separate libraries.
Meaning, when I stop a show half way through on one RPi, I go to another RPi (differnet room for example), and pick it up where I left off. Episodes are marked the same way. So if I watch 3 epps in the bedroom, those same three epps are marked "watched" when I watch TV on a diff. RPi.

My NAS will run PLex as is it now with its own app. (Asustor).

I'm slightly confused as to why there is any transcoding going on from a NAS server (holding MKV files) to a device connected to it spooling media (RPi, AFTV, etc). The file is decoded at the device, the NAS is simple a storage farm.
 
#38 ·
ok Pete or Doc, dumb question time.

how do i get the correct time in xbmc? i don't see to have the option to change it beyond 12/24 and language. i've tried standard/advanced/expert options and it's not in there like the normal xmbc setting.

currently it's 3 hours behind, so PST.
 
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