Develop Bugs

How well does XBMC work on Fire TV

Any problems with it? Is it buggy in any way? I'm looking for a cheap xbmc device but a raspberry pi is too much work.

I am using it and it works amazing well for me. Before I had pivos xios, ouya, MINIX neo x7 and they all their own issues. Finally for TV gives best of all of them. Only con is you have to tinker a bit but it's not too hard.

heyredy141 said:
I am using it and it works amazing well for me. Before I had pivos xios, ouya, MINIX neo x7 and they all their own issues. Finally for TV gives best of all of them. Only con is you have to tinker a bit but it's not too hard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No bugs at all? If I am using XBMC, will I be able to access Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Instant Video? Also, is it easy to unroot and factory reset?

HenryTheUnicorn said:
No bugs at all? If I am using XBMC, will I be able to access Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Instant Video? Also, is it easy to unroot and factory reset?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't go wrong. You don't need to root to install it. See the XBMC wiki or FireTV News. (I can't post urls.)

urls
XBMC Wiki: http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Amazon_Fire_TV
FireTVNews: http://www.firetvnews.com/tag/guide/

jmerrilljr2 said:
You can't go wrong. You don't need to root to install it. See the XBMC wiki or FireTV News. (I can't post urls.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you don't need root, but it would help alot. How well does XBMC work for you?

I would say I works near perfectly for me
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

collindv said:
I would say I works near perfectly for me
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Near perfect? What problems do you have? And I hear that MPEG2 isnt supported, should I be concerned about that?

HenryTheUnicorn said:
you don't need root, but it would help alot. How well does XBMC work for you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No flaws. I'm rooted but root is really not relevant to running XBMC. For years I ran Plex on a MacMini. This is way better. Just to start -- DTS pass-thru.
Sideloading is really easy. So is uninstalling. I can't see a down side here.

HenryTheUnicorn said:
you don't need root, but it would help alot. How well does XBMC work for you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jmerrilljr2 said:
You can't go wrong. You don't need to root to install it. See the XBMC wiki or FireTV News. (I can't post urls.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is all true. However, to get the best possible XBMC experience on the KFTV will require root and to setup an XBMC Launcher (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2790392). This launcher replaces the KFTV launcher while still providing access to it and Amazon Prime. It's literally the best of both worlds.

mjbxx said:
This is all true. However, to get the best possible XBMC experience on the KFTV will require root and to setup an XBMC Launcher (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2790392). This launcher replaces the KFTV launcher while still providing access to it and Amazon Prime. It's literally the best of both worlds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the links. How do I do a factory reset or unroot my device just incase I decide to return it?

HenryTheUnicorn said:
Thank you for the links. How do I do a factory reset or unroot my device just incase I decide to return it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fire TV News (link in a prior post) has guides for all your issues. I would also recommend downloading ADBFire which you can find in the Fire TV Themes and Apps subforum of this forum

Hi.
I've rooted my AFTV and installet XBMC. It works good, but I have some problems.
1) IPTV PVR SIMPLE addon not working. When I whant to play any channel it freezes and can't go back to menu. Only reset helps.
2) Some kind of shifting in rewind when making step forward or backward fo 30 sec. Very long time of buffering.
3) Sleep mode in XBMC not working properly. It reboots AFTV every time, but no sleep.
4) And the biggest problem in Audio. When I use Direct output with ac3, dts, etc the video playback begins to slow.

Madline said:
Hi.
I've rooted my AFTV and installet XBMC. It works good, but I have some problems.
1) IPTV PVR SIMPLE addon not working. When I whant to play any channel it freezes and can't go back to menu. Only reset helps.
2) Some kind of shifting in rewind when making step forward or backward fo 30 sec. Very long time of buffering.
3) Sleep mode in XBMC not working properly. It reboots AFTV every time, but no sleep.
4) And the biggest problem in Audio. When I use Direct output with ac3, dts, etc the video playback begins to slow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. So if I don't use this addon, it won't affect me?
2. What do you mean?
3. Does this fix your problem? http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Amazon_Fire_TV#Sleep_while_XBMC_is_Open_.28Requires_root.29
4. Is there a way for audio and video playback to run smooth without this problem?

HenryTheUnicorn said:
1. So if I don't use this addon, it won't affect me?
2. What do you mean?
3. Does this fix your problem?
4. Is there a way for audio and video playback to run smooth without this problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. May be You know any other way to play IPTV playlist without installing additional server soft (such as Tvheadend)? On my HTPC I use "PVR IPTV Simple Client" and it works perfect. On AFTV it stucks.
2. Fast-forward causes everything to look choppy. I think I should edit advancedsettings.xml
3. I made all steps by this wiki. I've installed this Android Screensaver and it worked normally till today. Now my AFTV every minute reboots instead of sleep mode.
4. Yes. In standart settings it works. Without enable passthrough. But this is not acceptable for me.

Madline said:
1. May be You know any other way to play IPTV playlist without installing additional server soft (such as Tvheadend)? On my HTPC I use "PVR IPTV Simple Client" and it works perfect. On AFTV it stucks.
2. Fast-forward causes everything to look choppy. I think I should edit advancedsettings.xml
3. I made all steps by this wiki. I've installed this Android Screensaver and it worked normally till today. Now my AFTV every minute reboots instead of sleep mode.
4. Yes. In standart settings it works. Without enable passthrough. But this is not acceptable for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Darn. What should I get? Amazon Fire TV or Raspberry Pi?

HenryTheUnicorn said:
Darn. What should I get? Amazon Fire TV or Raspberry Pi?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fire TV and do not look back. Besides, you have a 30 day return period throught Amazon. Try it out and see if you like it. You have absolutely nothing to lose doing so.

HenryTheUnicorn said:
Darn. What should I get? Amazon Fire TV or Raspberry Pi?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had a raspberry pi with raspbmc for over a year. I bought the firetv two weeks ago. While I enjoyed tinkering around with the pi and tweaking it to get the best experience for xbmc, the fire tv is much better. It's just so much more powerful and as a result everything is very smooth, menus, video playback - all of it. In addition, you have the added benefit of having access to netflix and amazon prime which you will not get on raspbmc. Now I have to turn on one less device when I want to watch netflix. Finally, it seems like there are some devs working on unlocking the bootloader - so I would imagine that custom roms can't be far off. So if those things sound good to you, I would highly recommend the FTV.

jmerrilljr2 said:
No flaws. I'm rooted but root is really not relevant to running XBMC. For years I ran Plex on a MacMini. This is way better. Just to start -- DTS pass-thru.
Sideloading is really easy. So is uninstalling. I can't see a down side here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DTS pass-thru is something that I was banging my head against the wall to make it work, then I just saw "advanced settings" on the left bottom of menu just to find out that you need to activate this to have access to audio pass-thru. Then it worked flawlessly.

Spmc
You guys should look into SPMC for an alternative solution to xbmc. Its the same app but custom made that was designed for Ouya.works better on Amzon Fire Tv

XBMC/SPMC/Kodi crashes on Amazon FTV !!! ( Solved )

I have tried Xbmc Gotham, Spmc and Kodi alpha on Amazon Fire TV.
But every time i found the same problem of crashing, i just wonder is it really a problem or just something wrong with my AFTV ?. It happens very often so i can not conclude that when exactly it crashes. Even i have not rooted my device. and nothing is installed except XBMC.
Also somebody would like to answer is there any way to update librtmp without root ?
Any suggestions would be appreciated !
Thank

arif01 said:
I have tried Xbmc Gotham, Spmc and Kodi alpha on Amazon Fire TV.
But every time i found the same problem of crashing, i just wonder is it really a problem or just something wrong with my AFTV ?. It happens very often so i can not conclude that when exactly it crashes. Even i have not rooted my device. and nothing is installed except XBMC.
Also somebody would like to answer is there any way to update librtmp without root ?
Any suggestions would be appreciated !
Thank
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try the KODI forum? Mine crashes every fourth selection, no matter what section or add-on I am in.

What addons do you have enabled?
Sent from my SM-N900A using XDA Free mobile app

captainjapan said:
What addons do you have enabled?
Sent from my SM-N900A using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1Channel
Crackle
ESPN Video
HD-Trailers.com
Icefilms
IGN.com
Revision3
YouTube
Plus WMC.PVR
Doesn't matter which one I'm using, crashes just as I select the fourth video, even when changing channels in PVR.

that is not normal behavior.. I've been running pretty solid since April. You need to produce a log and see what's happening could be so many things.

BigB42078 said:
1Channel
Crackle
ESPN Video
HD-Trailers.com
Icefilms
IGN.com
Revision3
YouTube
Plus WMC.PVR
Doesn't matter which one I'm using, crashes just as I select the fourth video, even when changing channels in PVR.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried running without addons installed? Try only one installed at a single time to root out the cause. I only have Icefilms on two devices and have yet to experience a crash.

Set decoding method to "Hardware accelerated", fixed crashing for me.
Sent from my Nexus 7²

BigB42078 said:
Did you try the KODI forum? Mine crashes every fourth selection, no matter what section or add-on I am in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for late reply as i was on vacation.
NO i haven't tried there, i thought i will get quick response/solution here instead
mastafunk said:
that is not normal behavior.. I've been running pretty solid since April. You need to produce a log and see what's happening could be so many things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
File is attached , if possible please explain me the error information
Now i have removed the file as the problem is solved (23Oct2014)
verboten said:
Have you tried running without addons installed? Try only one installed at a single time to root out the cause. I only have Icefilms on two devices and have yet to experience a crash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have only installed one addon
V8vroom said:
Set decoding method to "Hardware accelerated", fixed crashing for me.
Sent from my Nexus 7²
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By default it is selected
Thanks all for resonses

Now the working/solution part
This solution will ONLY solve problem for those who are using Live tv, (at-least as I do). Both, SPMC and official XBMC crashed on Live tv (or any Live Stream addson) but not when playback from local contents. Now my fire tv runs quit smoothly with no crashed issues.
These are the following steps which needs to be done :
1. Turn off both filters (mediacodec and libstagefright) under hardware acceleration.
(goto System->Settings->Video->Acceleration>disable both filters MediaCodec and Libstagefright)
2. Change hardware acceleration to software. (when there is no filter activated it will automatically work as software, so basically Decoding method can be leave as Hardware accelerated as well)
3. Enable 'Allow multi thread software decoding' (optional if you changed DecMtd to Sofwre)
For those user who are not using LIVE TV but they have the same problem while using any other addson or streaming media from local server.
ONLY turning off Mediacodec could stabilize the system. Also bare in mind everything works fine with software rendering but sometimes cpu can be exhausted so try to put the device in open area where air can easily circulate, haven't notice so much heat but its better to be prepare.
With Mediacodec disabled, it also notices that XBMC runs little slower while watching movies and for example navigating the menus. That could also be cachemembuffersize, if experiences the lagging issue increase the cachemembuffersize.
Now i simply request to our respected developers to make some adjustments/fix to the media library so it can smoothly support Fire TV hardware.
Thanks all folks for helping each other.

arif01 said:
Now the working/solution part
This solution will ONLY solve problem for those who are using Live tv, (at-least as I do). Both, SPMC and official XBMC crashed on Live tv (or any Live Stream addson) but not when playback from local contents. Now my fire tv runs quit smoothly with no crashed issues.
These are the following steps which needs to be done :
1. Turn off both filters (mediacodec and libstagefright) under hardware acceleration.
(goto System->Settings->Video->Acceleration>disable both filters MediaCodec and Libstagefright)
2. Change hardware acceleration to software. (when there is no filter activated it will automatically work as software, so basically Decoding method can be leave as Hardware accelerated as well)
3. Enable 'Allow multi thread software decoding' (optional if you changed DecMtd to Sofwre)
For those user who are not using LIVE TV but they have the same problem while using any other addson or streaming media from local server.
ONLY turning off Mediacodec could stabilize the system. Also bare in mind everything works fine with software rendering but sometimes cpu can be exhausted so try to put the device in open area where air can easily circulate, haven't notice so much heat but its better to be prepare.
With Mediacodec disabled, it also notices that XBMC runs little slower while watching movies and for example navigating the menus. That could also be cachemembuffersize, if experiences the lagging issue increase the cachemembuffersize.
Now i simply request to our respected developers to make some adjustments/fix to the media library so it can smoothly support Fire TV hardware.
Thanks all folks for helping each other.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Changing these settings worked for me too! Only on Live Tv my Premium channels would freeze and just keep playing audio(DIY, Lifetime, History, Animal Planet, Fox News, All HBO, SHOWTIME etc...) BUT now the problem is the picture has a lag to it, without he accelerations enabled they lag, I am using the new fire tv 2015, any other ideas to fix this or is Amazon Fire Tv just no good for Kodi? I will say I tried Kodi 14.2, 15.2, 16, and I have a paid subscription for iptv, my same settings work perfect on my windows machine.
Thanks

Which flavor of xbmc is everyone using?

Just curious what everyone uses and why. I have been using spmc since my first fire tv simply because I noticed a glitch in genesis when I have autoplay turned on it will split the screen into six sections sometimes randomly and I have to reboot. This is really my only reason for not using the standard xbmc gotham I don't really see any advantages or disadvantages other than that.

danknasty said:
Just curious what everyone uses and why. I have been using spmc since my first fire tv simply because I noticed a glitch in genesis when I have autoplay turned on it will split the screen into six sections sometimes randomly and I have to reboot. This is really my only reason for not using the standard xbmc gotham I don't really see any advantages or disadvantages other than that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
XBMC Gotham 13.2 with Amber skin.
I use Amber since I need to have Netflix on the main menu and I like how it can send Movies directly to files (but in library mode.)

I personally have tried lots of nightlies and have stayed at SPMC 13.3.2 version. One below the latest of spmc. Spmc is a variant of xbmc and is made by the devs of xbmc. it has the firetv's power options built in. I like spmc 13.3.2 is because it can play all files well including .ts and also works with elmero's firetv confluence ++ skin well.
The only next version that plays files well is the helix but then helix lacks the confluence ++ skin from elmero. The version of the skin available now for helix has spacing issues with the tiles and the power options are missing. Besides for me helix does not have anything over and above what I have with spmc.
The only one issue I see with spmc 13.3.2 is that it crashes on startup occasionally, but that is not a big issue as I can start it up again with the xbmc icon which has replaced ikono.tv through the lama options on adbfire.
hope this helps.

I've used the last beta of Kodi on my Fire TV Stick and it runs really well. The remote is fully supported.

compacho said:
I've used the last beta of Kodi on my Fire TV Stick and it runs really well. The remote is fully supported.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you use a custom skin with Kodi?

I'm running Helix RC-1 currently and using Aeon Nox 4 (modified for Helix).

unrooted uk box.
Sbmc latest version
confluence custom skin, it is functional, but is easy on remote time...
I don't load xbmc to doddle, I load it for a few items or "slink" back to Prime for music.

SPMC 13.3.2, the only version that works with Live TV (HD channels, TvHeadend backend, no transcoding).

WPeterW said:
SPMC 13.3.2, the only version that works with Live TV (HD channels, TvHeadend backend, no transcoding).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using spmc 13.3.3 running some live tv channels. Using simple pvr is 13.3.2 better for this? Sometimes channels don't work for me.

danknasty said:
I am using spmc 13.3.3 running some live tv channels. Using simple pvr is 13.3.2 better for this? Sometimes channels don't work for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried all flavors, only 13.3.2 runs smooth. Be sure to JUST enable "mediacodec". All HD channels run smooth now.

WPeterW said:
I've tried all flavors, only 13.3.2 runs smooth. Be sure to JUST enable "mediacodec". All HD channels run smooth now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you using actual cable for your pvr or just links online.

TVMC
I'm using TVMC with Aeon Nox skin
It works actually faster and smoother than Gotham/Kodi/XBMC Ouya or SPMC...at least on my fire tv. + it has all addons set up for you
So far so good..

SPMC fails to load
Hello, I have downloaded the latest version from http://spmc.semperpax.com/ and installed but it fails to load. I see a black screen for a while and then goes back to menu. Probably I'm doing something wrong? just got but firetv and still learning some stuff. Thanks

SPMC FTW!!!

We're using Gotham (the updated version - forgot which one) on Confluence skin.

SPMC. Here is my setup for anyone interested.

Ok, so how do I setup live TV on my fire TV?
Sent from my SM-N910V using XDA Free mobile app

navigates said:
I personally have tried lots of nightlies and have stayed at SPMC 13.3.2 version. One below the latest of spmc. Spmc is a variant of xbmc and is made by the devs of xbmc. it has the firetv's power options built in. I like spmc 13.3.2 is because it can play all files well including .ts and also works with elmero's firetv confluence ++ skin well.
The only next version that plays files well is the helix but then helix lacks the confluence ++ skin from elmero. The version of the skin available now for helix has spacing issues with the tiles and the power options are missing. Besides for me helix does not have anything over and above what I have with spmc.
The only one issue I see with spmc 13.3.2 is that it crashes on startup occasionally, but that is not a big issue as I can start it up again with the xbmc icon which has replaced ikono.tv through the lama options on adbfire.
hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you boot directly to xbmc or is at an 'app' on the main screen?
do you have fire tv box or stick?

jeep364 said:
Do you boot directly to xbmc or is at an 'app' on the main screen?
do you have fire tv box or stick?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
spmc is an app. ikono.tv is the sacrificial app with the icon changed. I boot to AFTV and use lama profiles to boot spmc on startup. firetv rooted latest with rbox. I like to have the aftv menu vs direct xbmc

SPMC 13.3.3 with Amber skin. Freaking best setup I've had!
Actually, I regret loading Mucky Ducks Wizard cause it took forever to load. But seems to be good now after I uninstalled half of the add-ons.

Video Issues w/ Side Loaded Kodi

So I decided to pick up AFTV a week ago after reading so many good reviews about the device and how well it runs Kodi, but I am having an issue running certain MKV files with dual audio. When I try to play the videos Kodi either crashes to the FTV menu or restarts the whole device. I tried to disable the accelerators in settings and the video starts to play with stuttering and no audio. Anyone know what could be the cause of this and is there a fix available.
BTW I'm running Helix 14.0

hyelife said:
So I decided to pick up AFTV a week ago after reading so many good reviews about the device and how well it runs Kodi, but I am having an issue running certain MKV files with dual audio. When I try to play the videos Kodi either crashes to the FTV menu or restarts the whole device. I tried to disable the accelerators in settings and the video starts to play with stuttering and no audio. Anyone know what could be the cause of this and is there a fix available.
BTW I'm running Helix 14.0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same issues with both XBMC 13 and 14.. After lots of searching I found
I cant post links yet, but google "Work in Progress - Experimental simple deinterlacing" and you will get the Kodi forum that has an updated kodi for the issue.
Hope this helps

Try SPMC. I had problems of somekind with all versions of XBMC that I have tried on the Fire TV til I installed SPMC. I have not had one problem with SPMC and could instantly tell a difference in the smoothness of streams and video playback.

I think i've tried them all.
porkenhimer said:
Try SPMC. I had problems of somekind with all versions of XBMC that I have tried on the Fire TV til I installed SPMC. I have not had one problem with SPMC and could instantly tell a difference in the smoothness of streams and video playback.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My problem with any version of XBMC whether it be SPMC or KODI is that 720p MPEG-2 always stutters. I've tried everything I think including.
SW only
Listagefright only
Mediacodec only
Listagefright and MediaCodec
SPMC 13.4 & 14.2 (I think these are the final versions i used)
KODI 13.4 & 14.2 & 15.1 (I think those are the final versions)
My next try was going to be to use MX player and the playercorefactory.xml but so far I haven't been able to get that to work. It just flashes really quick and does nothing when I click on a channel.
BTW....I have comcast so everything is in MPEG-2 and I use an HDHOMERUN prime that feeds a windows 7 machine with WMC running serverWMC and Plex (w/ serverWMC plex plugin). I also have an xbox 360 and that works perfectly but the only way I can get fire tv stick to work reliably is by transcoding to h.264. But this adds at least 10 seconds to a channel change and It really complicates the setup and maintenance. I would really like to not have to transcode and use KODI on the firetv stick as my front end. However, without mpeg2 720p support I can't.

Which kodi version recommended for the FTV Stick?

I currently have kodi 14.2 installed, but HD Videos are a little choppy. Definately watchable, but still a little annoying. I don't know where the prolem lies exactly because the CPU is only at about 30% load and there are no dropped and skipped frames.
So i thought maybe someone can recommend a version of kodi that works better on the FTV stick.
Any suggestions?

Try using SPMC 14.2. SPMC is basically tailored to Android devices like the Fire TV and works great.

DaPhinc said:
I currently have kodi 14.2 installed, but HD Videos are a little choppy. Definately watchable, but still a little annoying. I don't know where the prolem lies exactly because the CPU is only at about 30% load and there are no dropped and skipped frames.
So i thought maybe someone can recommend a version of kodi that works better on the FTV stick.
Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its probably the fact your watching 24hz videos at 60hz... huge downfall of the fireTV imo.

Thanks guys. I thought SPMC is specifically for RockChip devices. I will give it a try on my FTV Stick.
And about the 24hz vs. 60 hz thing: Is there a way to circumvent this?

So i installed SPMC today.
Unfortunately the only difference i saw was that it uses more than double the amount of CPU load than official kodi.

DaPhinc said:
So i installed SPMC today.
Unfortunately the only difference i saw was that it uses more than double the amount of CPU load than official kodi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did you try the nightlies of Kodi? I moved out of SPMC back and forth and now am at one of the recent nightlies with my backup which has the root enabled for suspend / etc. I do like Kodi but its getting a little dated and crashes very often. specially when live streaming from a website.

I've been using SPMC 14.2 on my new fire stick without issue and have it on my AFTV also. I've never had any issues with it.

Run any version of Kodi you want for a week to get used to it, then switch to SPMC, the results will be noticed quickly. Thats what I did and within seconds of playing live streams from my favorites list I realized that SPMC was the only version of XBMC/Kodi for Android that played every stream format smoothly. Every version of XBMC/Kodi I have ever used on android never played all stream formats without having some problem on certain formats, except for SPMC.

porkenhimer said:
Run any version of Kodi you want for a week to get used to it, then switch to SPMC, the results will be noticed quickly. Thats what I did and within seconds of playing live streams from my favorites list I realized that SPMC was the only version of XBMC/Kodi for Android that played every stream format smoothly. Every version of XBMC/Kodi I have ever used on android never played all stream formats without having some problem on certain formats, except for SPMC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was precisely my experience when I switched to spmc last summer on aftv. Some said it was placebic because from Gotham on there shouldn't be any real reason spmc runs faster than kodi. But after a couple of weeks I moved back to kodi because I found similar glitches. Maybe I should've given it another try?...probably not for my boxes because they generally run well and its a pain amending file paths for advanced settings among other minor reasons, but you've got me intrigued about using it on the stick. Helix 14.2 isnt running optimally.

KLit75 said:
That was precisely my experience when I switched to spmc last summer on aftv. Some said it was placebic because from Gotham on there shouldn't be any real reason spmc runs faster than kodi. But after a couple of weeks I moved back to kodi because I found similar glitches. Maybe I should've given it another try?...probably not for my boxes because they generally run well and its a pain amending file paths for advanced settings among other minor reasons, but you've got me intrigued about using it on the stick. Helix 14.2 isnt running optimally.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I first tried SPMC, I had the official XBMC installed. I installed SPMC, copied my addons and userdata folders. Then I tried the same exact streams from the same exact favorites.xml and they played so much smoother with SPMC than with the official build. It was very noticable. The official build did not have problems with every stream format, but it did with some, while SPMC has had no problems with any format. I ran them side by side on the same device and SPMC had better results so I ran with it instead of the official build. Like I said the official build is fine too, I just got tired of watching channels that made every movement look robotic and SPMC does not make any streams look robotic so for me its better.

Fire TV user here.
I really don't like SPMC's skip steps feature that it's backported from Isengard. It's even worse in every Isengard build I've tried.
Plus how it exits back to the Amazon home screen if you hold down the back button. That's really annoying.
Helix 14.2 gets my vote.

I've been using TVMC without issue. Wonder if I should make the switch to something else. Not really sure what I'm missing though.

Well I installed SPMC and copy/paste the appropriate folder to keep my settings/add-ons.
Performance seems the same except that now spmc is listed on recent apps.