I currently use a jailbroken AppleTV 2 for 2 purposes - streaming media off my NAS device through XBMC, and watching Netflix. That is it.
Is XBMC for FireTV yet stable enough to replace my AppleTV? A jailbroken Apple TV 2 still goes for $150-$250 on eBay so I could even turn a profit if I switch to FireTV, plus I would have access to more apps.
Yes it is a complete replacement solution, also you get full 1080p
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martyxng said:
I currently use a jailbroken AppleTV 2 for 2 purposes - streaming media off my NAS device through XBMC, and watching Netflix. That is it.
Is XBMC for FireTV yet stable enough to replace my AppleTV? A jailbroken Apple TV 2 still goes for $150-$250 on eBay so I could even turn a profit if I switch to FireTV, plus I would have access to more apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely. You might also want to look at a blu ray player - many of the smart players can read SMB or NFS shares and have Netflix and other stuff baked in, and then you get a movie and music transport for physical media, too. You do need to shop carefully for them - the codec support in some dvd players isn't great, and some are dlna-only.
The fireTV has pretty good codec support in XBMC, basically as good as the WDTV live plus box it replaces for me - the WD was solid but was never going to get Prime and I wanted the flexibility of having Prime as well.
yes, i sold my apple tv 2.
the atv2 is very low compared to Fire TV
I sold my Jailbroken ATV2 on eBay for about $225 about a month ago and got a FireTV instead. Loving it!
Yep, sold mine also. Realise the value of it now. Far superior. I'm running a heavy skin on XBMC (Aeon Nox 4.1.9) and it zips through everything, no crashes.
Cool. Thanks a lot guys! Looks like there is no reason for me not to sell my Apple TV at a PROFIT after several years, and get a brand new device for FREE! I just ordered a Fire TV.
Yes, I am selling mine having test the Fire TV for a few weeks.
Steve
Hi all,
I got my Amazon Fire TV a few days ago, and have sideloaded XBMC for media playback. Although I was ideally looking to do that via USB, until there's a root method for the latest UK firmware, streaming will have to do, I guess.
However, the issue I am having is with playback quality. I do not know if this is down to XBMC/Kodi or AFTV, but videos are not as smooth and lovely as they are when played directly via my TV's USB port. Even my TV is not as good as my previous device, which was a Sony DVR. It had the MOST wonderful video playback, with beautiful colours, perfect balance and no noise. It failed, so I started using my TV's USB port. Video quality is not as good - it's slightly grainer, a bit overexposed.
I got Amazon Fire TV because I was expecting something better than what my almost 4 year old Samsung TV can do. All those extra bells and whistles are fine, but playback quality is THE most crucial thing for me. I am not an expert, and I do not know if Sony and Samsung have some state-of-the art upscaling, but I'm baffled that a quad-core device with a dedicated GPU is worse than both of them. Playback via XBMC is just a huge let-down.
Am I doing something wrong? Is it supposed to be like this? Am I expecting too much? Are there any settings I can try?
I'd love to hear what you all think!
Lisali said:
Hi all,
I got my Amazon Fire TV a few days ago, and have sideloaded XBMC for media playback. Although I was ideally looking to do that via USB, until there's a root method for the latest UK firmware, streaming will have to do, I guess.
However, the issue I am having is with playback quality. I do not know if this is down to XBMC/Kodi or AFTV, but videos are not as smooth and lovely as they are when played directly via my TV's USB port. Even my TV is not as good as my previous device, which was a Sony DVR. It had the MOST wonderful video playback, with beautiful colours, perfect balance and no noise. It failed, so I started using my TV's USB port. Video quality is not as good - it's slightly grainer, a bit overexposed.
I got Amazon Fire TV because I was expecting something better than what my almost 4 year old Samsung TV can do. All those extra bells and whistles are fine, but playback quality is THE most crucial thing for me. I am not an expert, and I do not know if Sony and Samsung have some state-of-the art upscaling, but I'm baffled that a quad-core device with a dedicated GPU is worse than both of them. Playback via XBMC is just a huge let-down.
Am I doing something wrong? Is it supposed to be like this? Am I expecting too much? Are there any settings I can try?
I'd love to hear what you all think!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Having no idea what you are trying to play, what it's resolution is, what it's codec is, etc, makes it hard for anyone to say. My AFTV (rooted) with Kodi plays videos great. Everything is looking like it should, whether it's old doctor who episodes in divx, latest 720p TV releases, or 1080p movies. Previously I was watching stuff via a computer connected by a dvi- 15p vga connection. Both connections at 1080p on the TV.
And yes it is possible that your TV has a hardware upscaler that does a better job then software. If you usb tv thingy is connecting at a lower resolution then your AFTV then upscaler could play a factor. There is a post about how to change the resolution of what your AFTV connects at.
nyder said:
Having no idea what you are trying to play, what it's resolution is, what it's codec is, etc, makes it hard for anyone to say. My AFTV (rooted) with Kodi plays videos great. Everything is looking like it should, whether it's old doctor who episodes in divx, latest 720p TV releases, or 1080p movies. Previously I was watching stuff via a computer connected by a dvi- 15p vga connection. Both connections at 1080p on the TV.
And yes it is possible that your TV has a hardware upscaler that does a better job then software. If you usb tv thingy is connecting at a lower resolution then your AFTV then upscaler could play a factor. There is a post about how to change the resolution of what your AFTV connects at.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi nyder,
Thanks so much for your response!
I play a variety of files, but mostly mp4 in SD and MKV in 720p. 720p an above looks OK - not as good as the TV's USB or Sony, but the biggest difference is with SD mp4 files. They look noticeably worse - oversaturated, overexposed, blocky, with artefacts.
Thanks for the tip about changing the AFTV resolution. I tried that, but it did not help. Hmm...What can I do now? Shall I try something else or look for another device?
Thank you!
Lisali said:
Hi nyder,
Thanks so much for your response!
I play a variety of files, but mostly mp4 in SD and MKV in 720p. 720p an above looks OK - not as good as the TV's USB or Sony, but the biggest difference is with SD mp4 files. They look noticeably worse - oversaturated, overexposed, blocky, with artefacts.
Thanks for the tip about changing the AFTV resolution. I tried that, but it did not help. Hmm...What can I do now? Shall I try something else or look for another device?
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am new to UK fire tv but I have to say I have tried a few 1080p dd5.1 H264 and so far all looks very nice streaming localy
using xbmc-13.2-Gotham-armeabi-v7a kicked off from newest plex app
madusmacus said:
I am new to UK fire tv but I have to say I have tried a few 1080p dd5.1 H264 and so far all looks very nice streaming localy
using xbmc-13.2-Gotham-armeabi-v7a kicked off from newest plex app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How are you enjoying your device?
Yes - that seems to be the case. 1080p will look fine, but SD files look awful.
Lisali said:
How are you enjoying your device?
Yes - that seems to be the case. 1080p will look fine, but SD files look awful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Took me a few days to get past all the "you cant root this version" nonsense its OK now :¬)
I have firedtv and I used llama to make the old Plex app launch the new Plex app (sideloaded) and
I use air buddy to launch xbms as it detects its sideloaded and gives you a laod button :¬)
Its definatly a mark up from my old jailbroken ATV 2 - (RIP) - :¬)
Only bad thing its for me DD5.1 definatly does NOT WORK over HDMI (Netflix and amazon prime)
Fixed by buying optical cables - it its a real pain duplicating cables - grrr
XBMC of course works over either HDMI or OPTICAL
I am guessing this problem is UK version or a new firmware NERF they have done to ruin peoples life for a laugh and then buy optical cables from amazon :¬):¬):¬).
madusmacus said:
Took me a few days to get past all the "you cant root this version" nonsense its OK now :¬)
I have firedtv and I used llama to make the old Plex app launch the new Plex app (sideloaded) and
I use air buddy to launch xbms as it detects its sideloaded and gives you a laod button :¬)
Its definatly a mark up from my old jailbroken ATV 2 - (RIP) - :¬)
Only bad thing its for me DD5.1 definatly does NOT WORK over HDMI (Netflix and amazon prime)
Fixed by buying optical cables - it its a real pain duplicating cables - grrr
XBMC of course works over either HDMI or OPTICAL
I am guessing this problem is UK version or a new firmware NERF they have done to ruin peoples life for a laugh and then buy optical cables from amazon :¬):¬):¬).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to hear you're enjoying it. I really wanted to use it for USB playback. As the computer is in the same room, I do not want it being on all the time, so I'm a bit annoyed that it can't be rooted to allow for USB playback. I tried XBMC, but SD playback quality is just abysmal, so I'm not sure what to do at this point.
I did not know that 5.1 does not work over HDMI - that's odd, I'll have to try that. Thanks for the heads up!
[/COLOR]
Lisali said:
Good to hear you're enjoying it. I really wanted to use it for USB playback. As the computer is in the same room, I do not want it being on all the time, so I'm a bit annoyed that it can't be rooted to allow for USB playback. I tried XBMC, but SD playback quality is just abysmal, so I'm not sure what to do at this point.
I did not know that 5.1 does not work over HDMI - that's odd, I'll have to try that. Thanks for the heads up!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might want to try "MX Player"(free) for SD or PLEX (but that involves and external server)
I might just be it does not like my HDMI tv or AUDIO
I obviously can be done because XMBC works flawlessly
I am using Amazon HDMI cables too :¬)
:¬( lowest I have gone so far is 720
I was having issues with some of the services I was trying to use on my FTV. Playback would be jerky here and there. I went ahead and disabled mediacodec and everything plays nice and smooth now.
Maybe try that incase it changes the quality as well?
Hello Lisali
the same issue goes for me too.
I am rather disappointed with the picture quality of AFTV. In most of the time, I play 1080p net-downloaded movies and TV shows such as Band of brothers, Dark knight, and etc. The pictures are too blocky and grainy.
I thought it was some kind of limitation of the mobile chip(?) cause I tried MX player for playback which resulted in the same picture quality, but it seems not everybody are having the same issue.
I wonder what the problem is.
Amazon Fire TV intentionally downgrading video playback quality
wonhorang said:
Hello Lisali
the same issue goes for me too.
I am rather disappointed with the picture quality of AFTV. In most of the time, I play 1080p net-downloaded movies and TV shows such as Band of brothers, Dark knight, and etc. The pictures are too blocky and grainy.
I thought it was some kind of limitation of the mobile chip(?) cause I tried MX player for playback which resulted in the same picture quality, but it seems not everybody are having the same issue.
I wonder what the problem is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi - I see, the MX player did not help?
After some thinking, I think this is intentional on Amazon's part. Here's why: The main point of Amazon Fire TV is to promote Amazon services - Prime, App Store, music. When you look at Amazon Prime, you get a lot of content for free, but mostly in SD. Want HD? Pay more. If Amazon started upscaling their SD content, there would be no reason for people to pay to watch HD stuff.
This is quite devious, I must say. SD content = crappy. HD content = better. Pay even more for HD, Amazon makes more money. Devious - yes. Honest and honourable - no.
I and some others use SPMC and it works a lot better than xbmc
Regards
dbaseii said:
I and some others use SPMC and it works a lot better than xbmc
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi - thanks for the response. That sounds good, but how is it at upscaling SD content? If this is a hardware limitation in Amazon Fire TV box, it may not be much better than Kodi. I will give it a go, thanks!
Looking at system info in SPMC it does use all 4 processors.
Other people have used the Ouya version with success.
---------- Post added at 04:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:53 PM ----------
Any of you guys in the UK. Head over to Amazon Fire TV UK group on fb.
if it is so, how come there are guys who are satisfied with the playback quality?
from the reply, i see other guys satisfied with their amazon TV's razor sharp picture quality.
wonhorang said:
if it is so, how come there are guys who are satisfied with the playback quality?
from the reply, i see other guys satisfied with their amazon TV's razor sharp picture quality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They may be playing 1080p content, or are happy with the quality they get. I am not. Amazon Fire TV is NOT razor sharp.
Lisali said:
They may be playing 1080p content, or are happy with the quality they get. I am not. Amazon Fire TV is NOT razor sharp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have gone through a few android boxes including the Minix Neo X8-H. I thought that was a great box. But tha AFTV is better. Handles even the most demanding skins and excellent picture quality. As I said in a previous post I'm using SPMC.
Lisali said:
Hi - I see, the MX player did not help?
After some thinking, I think this is intentional on Amazon's part. Here's why: The main point of Amazon Fire TV is to promote Amazon services - Prime, App Store, music. When you look at Amazon Prime, you get a lot of content for free, but mostly in SD. Want HD? Pay more. If Amazon started upscaling their SD content, there would be no reason for people to pay to watch HD stuff.
This is quite devious, I must say. SD content = crappy. HD content = better. Pay even more for HD, Amazon makes more money. Devious - yes. Honest and honourable - no.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you in the UK as well? I ask as you mention Amazon Prime content being in SD, I only watch HD with my prime membership and i dont pay any extra. Granted i don't even think about looking at anything that would be in SD but everything i am interested in is always available in HD.
My experience is that SD looks like crap on any HD TV no matter how you slice it. Upscaling helps but you can still see the difference very easily
nujackk said:
Are you in the UK as well? I ask as you mention Amazon Prime content being in SD, I only watch HD with my prime membership and i dont pay any extra. Granted i don't even think about looking at anything that would be in SD but everything i am interested in is always available in HD.
My experience is that SD looks like crap on any HD TV no matter how you slice it. Upscaling helps but you can still see the difference very easily
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi - yes, I'm in the UK. Some Prime content is in HD, but not all of it is. A lot of movies, especially older ones, are SD only. Some of them are included in prime as SD, but you have to pay extra for HD. I also watch a lot of my own content, which is not always in HD, and the box seems to degrade, instead of upscale those. It's just odd that my 5 year old TV's built-in USB playback function is so much better at this than Amazon Fire TV, which is a beast of a machine. When it comes to how much better it is, I'd say 20-30% for HD and 50-60% for SD content.
Lisali said:
They may be playing 1080p content, or are happy with the quality they get. I am not. Amazon Fire TV is NOT razor sharp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Completely false. I play US TV shows (typically downscaled HD broadcasts to SD or even 640 x 360) and full HD movies ([email protected]) and I see no real image quality difference compared to my Windows 8.1 HTPC also running XBMC. I usually disable any post-processing in XBMC, in the Windows video driver (if applicable) and on the TV itself.
The claim that Amazon is on purpose degrading the video is also BS IMHO.
How's it going Android community? I purchased an Amazon Fire TV partly to mirror my Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 to my TV. Unfortunately, when I try it doesn't work. Has anyone been able to make this work, and if so, how? Thanks.
It also didn't work with my Nexus 5 at first.
Try in the settings, wifi, advanced to force just the 2,4 ghz band.
This helped me
magdap said:
It also didn't work with my Nexus 5 at first.
Try in the settings, wifi, advanced to force just the 2,4 ghz band.
This helped me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for replying. Are you referring to the wifi settings on the Fire TV, or on the tablet? I looked in the Fire TV settings and didn't an option for it, or on my Galaxy Tab 3 8.0. I think I read that the next big update for the Fire TV will be this month on the 15th.
will4958 said:
Thanks for replying. Are you referring to the wifi settings on the Fire TV, or on the tablet? I looked in the Fire TV settings and didn't an option for it, or on my Galaxy Tab 3 8.0. I think I read that the next big update for the Fire TV will be this month on the 15th.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
on the galaxy tab. settings, wifi, advanced, wifi frequency - only 2.4 ghz. the settings at your device might be different
I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. I have an adapter that connects the tab to my tv via HDMI. The cable on the adapter is very short, so I bought a 15 ft. HDMI cable from Amazon for $15. This allows me to sit on the sofa and use the tablet.
Whatever I'm doing on the tablet shows on the tv. Works fine.
Jacksmyname said:
I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. I have an adapter that connects the tab to my tv via HDMI. The cable on the adapter is very short, so I bought a 15 ft. HDMI cable from Amazon for $15. This allows me to sit on the sofa and use the tablet.
Whatever I'm doing on the tablet shows on the tv. Works fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I know I could've done something like that, but the Amazon Fire TV look so cool, I thought I'd give it a shot. I know in the specifications for the Fire TV on Best Buy's site says you can mirror the Fire HD Tablet to it, but then the Fire TV Stick says you can mirror any Android phone to it. I went for the Fire TV because of it's ability to add external storage, which would let me install more than what the internal storage allows. If the Stick offered the same feature, I would've gone with that. My main purpose for mirroring the tablet is for gaming, and I have a lot of games on the thing, over 50 I think.
will4958 said:
Yeah, I know I could've done something like that, but the Amazon Fire TV look so cool, I thought I'd give it a shot. I know in the specifications for the Fire TV on Best Buy's site says you can mirror the Fire HD Tablet to it, but then the Fire TV Stick says you can mirror any Android phone to it. I went for the Fire TV because of it's ability to add external storage, which would let me install more than what the internal storage allows. If the Stick offered the same feature, I would've gone with that. My main purpose for mirroring the tablet is for gaming, and I have a lot of games on the thing, over 50 I think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Considering how much fun I'm having with the stick version, the box, with it's additional capabilities, I'm sure is even moreso. I bought the stick primarily for Amazon Prime. Any additional apps, etc., are icing on the cake. If all the stick did was play Prime content, I still would have bought it, even at the regular price (got it at Best Buy for $25).The only games I have installed on my tablet right now are solitare, a word game called Jumbline 2, a crosswords game, and a hidden oblects game called The Room. I have a few dozen others on my Amazon cloud but I really don't play them enough to warrant installing them. Movies are my passion (TCM is the most watched channel in our house). As long as the stick continues to play movies from Amazon Prime, and from my PC ( which it does perfectly using Vimu player) I'm a happy camper. But I'm still reading and learning about things that can be done with both the stick version and the box version, so it's very possible I'll buy the box. If I do I'll connect the stick to a second tv.
Happy Gaming!