Develop Bugs

Android Market separation?

Hi,
If someone can explain this to me ...
I found out that there is separation on Android Market, user from certain countries cannot purchase certain apps.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=6046360&postcount=4
Why is that?
So, if I am in the UK, I can only purchase apps that are available ONLY for UK market?
I could not think any single reason of this kind of decision will help the customers and the developers.
Why is it not just ONE SINGLE Android Market for EVERYONE?

Well. Nobody really knows. Its very annoying. Its the same story here in Denmark. No paid apps on non-rootet phones with Market enabler.
HTC and google can not give us an answer to why or when paid apps will be availble for us.

Indeed, this is very annoying and I could not think any benefit of it.
I am just wondering, is there anything like this on iPhone? There is in WM, but I believe Microsoft decided to change that on WP7.
I hope Google will change this decission to make Android more attractive to software developers.

I suspect that the country filtering is present for several reasons.
1. Country specific applications. There is no need for an app that only applies to i.e. the UK to be displayed in Asia or in the US.
2. Copyright and trademark issues. Arrangements needs to be done in each country as laws are different.
3. Localization. I assume that Google does not want to add paid apps support in countries not yet fully localized to the local language. This was the case when Android was initially released. The G1 was released in the UK and in the US, and paid apps did not become avaliable until Android had been localized to for example German or French. Once the translations were complete, paid apps followed shortly after.
While Android is currently localized to several other languages, Norwegian included, these translations are far from complete, and needs some additional work.
Hopefully it should not take so long, but hey, who knows.
I will download the localization strings in a short while, and try to perfect them a bit more. After all, Android is open source.

Actually it does make sense for some application to be available in only one country. To give you an example, why would someone in the UK be interested in an application about traffic in Copenhagen? When a developer publishes his app he can chose to make it available for all countries or just for specific countries. Blackberry App World has something like this and I'm not 100% sure but I think the iphone also.

And what if you want go to Copenhagen?
Are free aps also separated or is it just payed ones?

syd2o2 said:
And what if you want go to Copenhagen?
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Exactly! Also, I don't think copyright would have anything to do with it. AFAIK, it wouldn't matter which country you made your app available to. If it's copyrighted and you disctribute it, you're in trouble.
I can't imagine google getting involved in copyright issues for each and every app. Im pretty sure they would shift liability to the developer/provider in their terms and conditions.

Localisation exists for the following reasons.
1. Language. You can make 1 app that supports all languages, but if there is a lot of text this would cause the app to bloat with unnecessary stuff. simpler to make apps for each language/region.
2. Localisation. The dev may decide there is no point in his app being available outside his particular locale. The first App i noticed this with was to do with the American Presidential elections. Of course I can still see a lot of US specific Transport Apps here in the UK, because the dev has decided it would be worthwile people from other regions having them (holidaymakers for instance).
3. Payment. If you set up an app for worldwide distribution it is priced in your own local currency. If you price an App for a specific region it is priced in that regions currency. This means the price of an app will not fluctuate with exchange rates, which may make people more likely to buy.

I live in Denmark, and as i understand it, the reason why we cannot have the payed apps here are because Google and the telephone companies have not agreed about how the payment modells are to work.
-They both want to big a cut of the cake.

Heh, the funny thing is that Google owns Admob, and their own Adwords service. They essentially makes a lot of money regardless of whether the developer chooses to support it through ads or through direct sales.

I stumbled across this website last night which lists (what looks like) every app on the Android marketplace, along with a QR Code (3D Barcode).
http :// www . cyrket . com
Could this be a workaround to be able to get hold of applications not available in certain countries? It's just that I can't help but notice japanese titles on there with a Yen price next to them.
I've just ordered my Desire today, but have been trying to find out which apps are available - I'm a little annoyed you can't just browse them on the android marketplace website!

Usually the QR code is just for a marketplace search, if it isn't available in your location or phone then you still can't download it.
The only way to bypass this is direct purchase from the developer or downloading the apk to install with an apkinstaller.

Then why there is not any alternative market?
You know, just a website which developer can submit their app there ... accessible via special app from the phone ... do the transaction via web
Like download.com Or cydia for the iPhone?
Microsoft will do it (single unified app market place) with WP7, why not Google? Strange ...

Ah I see, bugger... That's a shame.
Surely it's down to the developer to make it a global rather than a regional app on publishing to the marketplace?

[Q] What Happens To Apps That Disappear From FireTV App Store?

I am quite positive I have posted to the wrong forum. My question has nothing to do with rooting nor side-loading or any of the other wonderful things you are doing here. The problem is, I don't know where else to ask my question and after reading the community guidelines:
XDA-Developers was founded on the simple principle that *sharing is good* and when many people share what they know, everyone benefits. We exist upon this ethos. We respect each other, we share with each other, we do not judge one another, and we help all who ask.
I figured this was probably the best place to ask.
I have created a tool that monitors which apps are officially available for the FireTV. It tells me as soon as something new lands, if something goes on sale, etc. The problem is - sometimes apps that were available disappear.
For instance - Redux TV (ASIN=B00H8X82AC) It was there for a couple of weeks and this morning, it appears to have disappeared completely from the app store (not just FireTV apps). Did anyone have this installed - does it still work - should I continue to list this as a compatible app?
Some of the items that have disappeared are still available on the app store but not Fire TV such as Twitch (ASIN=B007SOQBCM) and Infinite OverDrive (ASIN=B00K32M1TS). Others were flagged/banned such as VeneziaTestApp CIC Sayak June 14 DeviceLaunch Malware Flagged 001 (ASIN=B00L4VKLBM).
Here is one more for safe measure - TubeMusic - Play Billboard top songs on your TV (ASIN=B00KJW667A)
My problem is I don't know if I should continue to list the apps or remove them from my tool since I don't know what happens to them after they are no longer available from the app store (I didn't happen to install any of these apps). Has anyone here installed any of these apps through the app store (not side-loaded) and can tell me if they still function on the FireTV?
Thanks!

MrMC now available

Aftvnews.com said MRMC is now available for the fire tv. Anyone have experience with this Kodi fork? I know it's stripped of add ons. What I want to know is what level of customization does it provide? My big need is a way to separate home vides from movies so that I can have a menu item that only goes to movies and a menu item only to home videos. Aeon nox works great for that in kodi, but mrmc is supported by amazon's App Store and thus will be auto updated. So there's benefits to switching to that if it has the features I need. Anyone worked with it before?

ouradu said:
Aftvnews.com said MRMC is now available for the fire tv. Anyone have experience with this Kodi fork? I know it's stripped of add ons. What I want to know is what level of customization does it provide? My big need is a way to separate home vides from movies so that I can have a menu item that only goes to movies and a menu item only to home videos. Aeon nox works great for that in kodi, but mrmc is supported by amazon's App Store and thus will be auto updated. So there's benefits to switching to that if it has the features I need. Anyone worked with it before?
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No sure why anybody would pay for something that has been crippled & is already free. Might as well buy a car with only one axle then... But if you consider yourself a joke. Then go ahead & buy it.
Looking @ what the self proclaim "developer" posted as the products feature. MRMC is Kodi with less features. Not with more. So take what can be done with Kodi & subtract. That is your answer.
Product Features
supports many popular music/video container/formats. ALL ALREADY DONE BY KODI/SPMC
supports digital audio pass-through. ALL ALREADY DONE BY KODI/SPMC
supports MythTV, HDHomeRun and many other IPTV devices. ALL ALREADY DONE BY KODI/SPMC
internal sqlite or external mysql database for metadata storage. ALL ALREADY DONE BY KODI/SPMC
user addons/plugins are not supported. CRIPPLED ON THIS "BUILD"
Product Description
MrMC is based on an award-winning free and open source (GPLv2) software media center for playing videos, music, and pictures. MrMC, featuring a 10-foot user interface for use with televisions and remote controls. It allows users to play and view most videos, music, and other digital media files from local storage media. ALL ALREADY DONE BY KODI/SPMC
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Click to collapse

ouradu said:
Aftvnews.com said MRMC is now available for the fire tv. Anyone have experience with this Kodi fork? I know it's stripped of add ons. What I want to know is what level of customization does it provide? My big need is a way to separate home vides from movies so that I can have a menu item that only goes to movies and a menu item only to home videos. Aeon nox works great for that in kodi, but mrmc is supported by amazon's App Store and thus will be auto updated. So there's benefits to switching to that if it has the features I need. Anyone worked with it before?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been using it on an Appletv and just used went ahead and got it. Looks the same. Skins are limited: Amber, SiO2, MrMC(looks exactly like confluence) and PM3.HD. PVR clients seem to work. I use HDhomerun PVR client and Simple TV PVR. If all you need is a good external media player, PVR, m3u player and local playback this is fine.
It serves my basic needs. The $7 seems steep unless you figure the auto-update is worth your saved time after a while. But honestly just using adb is so simple.
Edit : PVR for HDhomerun not the official Kodi HDhomerun addon. Still can watch live if not using for recording

goodhur said:
I have been using it on an Appletv and just used went ahead and got it. Looks the same. Skins are limited: Amber, SiO2, MrMC(looks exactly like confluence) and PM3.HD. PVR clients seem to work. I use HDhomerun PVR client and Simple TV PVR. If all you need is a good external media player, PVR, m3u player and local playback this is fine.
It serves my basic needs. The $7 seems steep unless you figure the auto-update is worth your saved time after a while. But honestly just using adb is so simple.
Edit : PVR for HDhomerun not the official Kodi HDhomerun addon. Still can watch live if not using for recording
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Auto-Update - For Kodi & SPMC FireStarter/FireStopper will give you that... Or you can just use ES File Explorer to download & install updates too.
On Apple products I understand the crazy prize & limited featured apps like this because of how close system their app store is. But for Android. It is not a good trend to bring or support such close system apps this way. SPMC took itself off the Amazon Market in solidarity with Kodi. MRMC went the other way. It's funny how MRMC is saying their code has branched for months but there is nothing different from Kodi. It just does less. It doesn't add anything different. Just subtracts. But they are not the same code. All they can say is it's different in the code or under the hood but when you ask for what specific. There is no specifics.

Y314K said:
Auto-Update - For Kodi & SPMC FireStarter/FireStopper will give you that... Or you can just use ES File Explorer to download & install updates too.
On Apple products I understand the crazy prize & limited featured apps like this because of how close system their app store is. But for Android. It is not a good trend to bring or support such close system apps this way. SPMC took itself off the Amazon Market in solidarity with Kodi. MRMC went the other way. It's funny how MRMC is saying their code has branched for months but there is nothing different from Kodi. It just does less. It doesn't add anything different. Just subtracts. But they are not the same code. All they can say is it's different in the code or under the hood but when you ask for what specific. There is no specifics.
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Click to collapse
koying voiced in to give his full support here as well. Not sure why you have your pitchforks out here and on AFTVnews with contempt for this app.
http://www.aftvnews.com/mrmcs-developers-do-not-deserve-the-hate-theyre-receving/
For the record, I totally agree with the content of this article.
FWIW, I considered making SPMC a paying app as well. It’s basically the anticipation of the ****storm Scott is into now that made me cave in (plus the realization that Kodi is just too big to properly support on my own with a day job).
Haters, please move on. Don’t forget Kodi on Android is on life support. Pissing off the couple of devs still supporting it is not a wise move…
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And Nate Thomas gave some input as well:
Davilla is doing a really great job here, actually. He’s taking advantage of an error in the market. On Apple and Fire TV, there’s no way to get Kodi to auto-update and no way to install Kodi directly from the store. So he’s created a version of Kodi that meets the demands of those stores, so that it can be distributed that way. And in the process, he’s creating code that can theoretically make it back upstream to Kodi itself.
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Click to collapse

jpeg42 said:
koying voiced in to give his full support here as well. Not sure why you have your pitchforks out here and on AFTVnews with contempt for this app.
http://www.aftvnews.com/mrmcs-developers-do-not-deserve-the-hate-theyre-receving/
And Nate Thomas gave some input as well:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So no one address what I find to be the biggest fault with this app. So I'll just re-quote myself.
On Apple products I understand the crazy prize & limited featured apps like this because of how close system their app store is. But for Android. It is not a good trend to bring or support such close system apps this way. SPMC took itself off the Amazon Market in solidarity with Kodi. MRMC went the other way. It's funny how MRMC is saying their code has branched for months but there is nothing different from Kodi. It just does less. It doesn't add anything different. Just subtracts. But they are not the same code. All they can say is it's different in the code or under the hood but when you ask for what specific. There is no specifics.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As for SPMC. I would not mind paying one time $10 fee for SPMC AS LONG AS IT WAS FULL ON KODI or KODI+. SPMC adds KODI+ by including Launcher & other options. It adds to the free KODI code. MrMC is only including auto-updates by selling KODI down the river by kowtowing to Amazon's Stores demands. If you don't see how MrMC is doing exactly what Amazon wants & you believe it won't hurt being able to run KODI on AFTV's in the future. Then that's on you.
Developers will always stick up for developers. Hence you have Elias, koying & whoever wanting to get folks to just accept MrMC. They can do what they want & charge what they want. But If I think their choice can affect something I don't want to deteriorate any further, then I'll call them out on it.
MrMC = KODI Minus anything related to legal or illegal add-ons with promises to add some things in the future. It also perpetuates Apple's close apps restrictive system over to Amazon. It eliminates any sliver of a chance of getting KODI back on Amazon's apps echo system.
SPMC = FULL KODI Plus it adds launcher & other fixes & code that did not make it into KODI's current release. THIS IS WORTH paying for to purchase off the Amazon/AFTV Store..

I honestly have no idea what your rant is trying to say it is so all over the place. Bottom line is..... Kodi will NEVER be on the Amazon store. That is Amazon's choice. It is Amazon's device, it is their app store. The obvious business model is to create a platform for people to give them more money via subscription and media sales. They have no interest in selling you a box to do anything you like with. They lock it down for a reason. If you don't like that, buy something else.
In the meantime, you can always sideload Kodi. And even that is likely short lived as there are no developers left at Kodi for the Android port. So you have one team getting back to the heart of what they believe XBMC and Kodi were meant to be, and selling it via a means that allows them to update seamlessly and creates them create some income for their work. Good for them. That is the nature of software development, and open source code. All GPL states is that you give notices where required, and make your usage of the code open source as well. What you do with the product around that, what you charge for it, etc. that is totally up to the developer. This is the very nature of freedom and choice with the license. Amazon included whether you like it or not.
Directly from the license:
When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not
price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you
have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for
this service if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it
if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it
in new free programs; and that you know you can do these things.
........................
For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether
gratis or for a fee, you must give the recipients all the rights that
you have. You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the
source code. And you must show them these terms so they know their
rights.
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If there is no demand for it, then it won't sell and development will likely stop (but they are currently #5 in TV/Movies). And if you don't like what Amazon is doing, don't buy their box and don't support them. Simple as that. This is worth far more than "calling them out" on internet forums.

jpeg42 said:
I honestly have no idea what your rant is trying to say it is so all over the place. Bottom line is..... Kodi will NEVER be on the Amazon store. That is Amazon's choice. It is Amazon's device, it is their app store. The obvious business model is to create a platform for people to give them more money via subscription and media sales. They have no interest in selling you a box to do anything you like with. They lock it down for a reason. If you don't like that, buy something else.
In the meantime, you can always sideload Kodi. And even that is likely short lived as there are no developers left at Kodi for the Android port. So you have one team getting back to the heart of what they believe XBMC and Kodi were meant to be, and selling it via a means that allows them to update seamlessly and creates them create some income for their work. Good for them. That is the nature of software development, and open source code. All GPL states is that you give notices where required, and make your usage of the code open source as well. What you do with the product around that, what you charge for it, etc. that is totally up to the developer. This is the very nature of freedom and choice with the license. Amazon included whether you like it or not.
Directly from the license:
If there is no demand for it, then it won't sell and development will likely stop (but they are currently #5 in TV/Movies). And if you don't like what Amazon is doing, don't buy their box and don't support them. Simple as that. This is worth far more than "calling them out" on internet forums.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I bought my AFTV's KODI was in the Amazon store. The icon would even appear in resents. Amazon decided to kick Kodi out of the store. I have not given up on trying to get it back in the store or to hold Amazon accountable for their choice. Until my FTV's become to old or die I will continue to use what I paid for. And will continue to try even if just by voicing my displeasure to influence it's echo system even if it's by posting in a forum. I have stop myself from buying anymore Amazon devices. I have stopped recommending FTV's & FTVS's too. So I'll do what I'll do.
Yes, anybody can mod/charge for KODI code. Last I checked. That was not part of my argument against MrMC. But thanks for posting something unrelated to my post. You make a great straw men argument. Posting the license was great. To bad I never mention MrMC was violating or doing anything wrong regarding licensing. Straw men up , straw men knocked down. Bravo.
I was very specific what my philosophy is regarding this. But since you don't seem able discern it. Then "que sera, sera".
.
What MrMC is doing is against my philosophy of what I want Android & specifically the FTV's app echo system to be. And I'll continue to "rant" or state what I think. Last I checked, that is how these innerwebs work. People rant & others post rants about the other rant and so forth. Two bad the second rant-ee won't read or understand any specific points for the first rant.

What MrMC is doing is against my philosophy of what I want Android........blah blah blah
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Tuning out right there. It is open source. Feel free to code exactly what you want Android and Kodi to be and share with the rest of us. Oh wait......

jpeg42 said:
Tuning out right there. It is open source. Feel free to code exactly what you want Android and Kodi to be and share with the rest of us. Oh wait......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And once again you completely missed my point. Which is...
MrMC = KODI Minus anything related to legal or illegal add-ons with promises to add some things in the future. It also perpetuates Apple's close apps restrictive system over to Amazon. It eliminates any sliver of a chance of getting KODI back on Amazon's apps echo system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Regardless if I code or not code. Regardless if it's within Kodi's licensing. I still see MrMC choice to bring this over to Amazon as detrimental on this side of the non-Apple pond. MrMC is made for a close system where users take what apples allows them. I don't want to see that expanded on Amazon or Android. This is a very basic philosophy.
Ohh, snap, I don't code. Guess I better not have/share an opinion/philosophy then...

Y314K said:
And once again you completely missed my point. Which is...
Regardless if I code or not code. Regardless if it's within Kodi's licensing. I still see MrMC choice to bring this over to Amazon as detrimental on this side of the non-Apple pond. MrMC is made for a close system where users take what apples allows them. I don't want to see that expanded on Amazon or Android. This is a very basic philosophy.
Ohh, snap, I don't code. Guess I better not have/share an opinion/philosophy then...
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Click to collapse
I don't see your point because Amazon app store for FireTV has not changed since you purchased your device. So you are fighting for something that never existed.
Kodi was NEVER compatible for your FireTV. It might have been in the store for other devices, but you always had to sideload the initial install and updates. They never wanted Kodi (and its streaming feature specifically) to be installed from their official app store on your FireTV to take away from their profits. In fact all stores (amazon, apple and google) filter out whatever they choose. Nothing is open as you want to believe.
And now Amazon allows you to see your sideloaded apps, so it is even a better implementation than what you originally purchased. And if you want to have a version that comes from the store with updates, well, now we have MrMC. So you basically have you want, yet you still feel the need to rant.

jpeg42 said:
I don't see your point because Amazon app store for FireTV has not changed since you purchased your device. So you are fighting for something that never existed.
Kodi was NEVER compatible for your FireTV. It might have been in the store for other devices, but you always had to sideload the initial install and updates. They never wanted Kodi (and its streaming feature specifically) to be installed from their official app store on your FireTV to take away from their profits. In fact all stores (amazon, apple and google) filter out whatever they choose. Nothing is open as you want to believe.
And now Amazon allows you to see your sideloaded apps, so it is even a better implementation than what you originally purchased. And if you want to have a version that comes from the store with updates, well, now we have MrMC. So you basically have you want, yet you still feel the need to rant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So KODI from the Amazon Store was never compatible with the FTV's. It just worked & showed up in resents after sideloading. Then Amazon used some lame excuse to remove it from their store. And in the future when Amazon whitelists Kodi from FTV's or other Amazon devices they will just say. Get the crippled MrMC app if you want Kodi.
Compare to Apple's apps store. Google can be somewhat consider an open system. And Amazon is somewhere in between both. I have a philosophy of encouraging Amazon to aim towards Google's philosophy & farther away from Apple's philosophy. I just checked & Google still has Kodi & SPMC freely available in their store & Google sells media just like Amazon does. Yet what MrMC is expanding is from Apple's side with the removal of code for store approval. Which is legal & within MrMC's prerogative. But it dose not mean I should either support it or be quiet if I disagree.

So the whole reason Kodi was shown the door by Amazon is because of the 3rd party add ons which promote piracy. Kodi WON'T be back on the Amazon store until Kodi removes the piracy aspect. Yes?
MrMC fills this void by removing the piracy aspect and voila, Kodi aka MrMC is back in the app store. Problem solved. Now since Kodi has no Android developer and says it's becoming extinct, you have Android developers working on the MrMC program which may see future development that Kodi may not. As far as charging for it, would you work for free? Neither would I.
As a side benefit (to the tin foil hat wearing crowd) to the people who keep thinking Amazon is going to block side loading of Kodi, well now they have a legitimate solution to this "problem" and they don't have to "worry" about blocking updates.
This seems like a big win win to me.

[APK Request] All4, ITVHub, My5, RTÉ Player, 3Player, and TG4

Could someone please extract the following apps so the community can try to use them on Android TV? Other apps have been extracted and work.
All4, ITVHub, My5, RTÉ Player, 3Player, and TG4.
Depending on your location, UK or Ireland, you may or may not be able to extract all of these due to geo-blocking, but any with which you can help would be greatly appreciated.
Instructions on how to extract the APKs can be found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=64124593&postcount=3
and/or at the following link, skipping the final step 8:
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-transfer-amazon-fire-tv-apps-to-a-fire-tv-stick/

dusf said:
Could someone please extract the following apps so the community can try to use them on Android TV? Other apps have been extracted and work.
All4, ITVHub, My5, RTÉ Player, 3Player, and TG4.
Depending on your location, UK or Ireland, you may or may not be able to extract all of these due to geo-blocking, but any with which you can help would be greatly appreciated.
Instructions on how to extract the APKs can be found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=64124593&postcount=3
and/or at the following link, skipping the final step 8:
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-transfer-amazon-fire-tv-apps-to-a-fire-tv-stick/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i searched for these but couldn't find any, perhaps like you said it's location-based and I'm in the USA.

d3adpool said:
i searched for these but couldn't find any, perhaps like you said it's location-based and I'm in the USA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for your efforts all the same
The first three definitely exist, they are the UK apps, the last three, the Irish apps, I am unsure of.

really need this!!!!

dusf said:
Thank you very much for your efforts all the same
The first three definitely exist, they are the UK apps, the last three, the Irish apps, I am unsure of.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok I did with a little effort manage to download and extract 3 of them from my firetv. 2 of them are attached and there's a link for the My 5 below.
https://mega.nz/#!8IxWEBjC!c88wn4dSoh9C8XaPXB_NTAd6ATNfHb56QXzuzvr1n_I

d3adpool said:
Ok I did with a little effort manage to download and extract 3 of them from my firetv. 2 of them are attached and there's a link for the My 5 below.
https://mega.nz/#!8IxWEBjC!c88wn4dSoh9C8XaPXB_NTAd6ATNfHb56QXzuzvr1n_I
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great, good job, thanks!!
I will try them this morning on Android TV and update this thread!

dusf said:
Great, good job, thanks!!
I will try them this morning on Android TV and update this thread!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool I hope it works out for you

d3adpool said:
Cool I hope it works out for you
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Click to collapse
Okay, so these install fine, but when they launch they give an error about no Amazon App Store found. I first mistakenly downloaded a version of Amazon Underground from Aptpoide, which also crashed after running, but on googling I found an official Amazon link which does work.
After logging into Amazon Underground, the apps no longer gave that error, but instead a new one about not having 'bought' these apps. I then tried to 'buy' them using the Amazon Underground app but they do not appear for me because I am in the Republic of Ireland.
I am sure I can get around this with some VPN trickery, just doing some when on our living room, mounting new TV etc, so have not gotten to it just yet.
In case you are wondering why I did not just set up a VPN in the first place and try to 'buy' the apps with an Android device, that is because I do not think this will give me a version compatible with a remote control, whereas we know the versions you have uploaded is.
I will update thread when I've set up VPN and tried all of this.
Has anyone else had any success?

dusf said:
Okay, so these install fine, but when they launch they give an error about no Amazon App Store found. I first mistakenly downloaded a version of Amazon Underground from Aptpoide, which also crashed after running, but on googling I found an official Amazon link which does work.
After logging into Amazon Underground, the apps no longer gave that error, but instead a new one about not having 'bought' these apps. I then tried to 'buy' them using the Amazon Underground app but they do not appear for me because I am in the Republic of Ireland.
I am sure I can get around this with some VPN trickery, just doing some when on our living room, mounting new TV etc, so have not gotten to it just yet.
In case you are wondering why I did not just set up a VPN in the first place and try to 'buy' the apps with an Android device, that is because I do not think this will give me a version compatible with a remote control, whereas we know the versions you have uploaded is.
I will update thread when I've set up VPN and tried all of this.
Has anyone else had any success?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I figured exactly what you mentioned, it's a shame that we have to sometimes jump thru all these hoops to get things working....keep us updated

..

JJ-KwiK said:
I can try to patch out the Amazon dependencies. It's worked for a few apps that I've dumped from my fire tv to use with my shield.
No promises, but I'll give it a shot.
Sent from my SM-G925W8 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be great too, thanks.
I will still try it from my end.
By the way, which apps have you extracted for your shield already, and is there a centralised place anyone is collating fire extracted apks?

..

JJ-KwiK said:
I've extracted Spotify and WatchESPN. However, official Android TV versions of those apps have since been released. I've also extracted Flappy Birds Family. I don't know of any centralized area where all the exracted FireTV apps are being posted though.
I do have a post on the Wetek forums with Android TV and FireTV app mods, modified to work with regular android.
http://www.wetekforums.com/v/index.php?p=/discussion/27564
Anywho...
Here are the modded APKs. I've removed any Amazon checks. They install fine. I can't check if the video's play as I don't live in the proper geographical area.
All 4 - https://mega.nz/#!K4QlmBTK!PBWAbaGIPFh9Fx92_Oqxv_RKKlpQLtfCyWGX-H6hRpw
Demand 5 - https://mega.nz/#!7pJHmaIR!zfLnhoBG1CeyFpZVHpyjYamADqDq8AYHuLKJlrarZTI
ITV Hub - https://mega.nz/#!C0ZykJSb!IxOYC1w7CLCgkRGshT2VEdZ_j3fBU4BJQLbZsTXkjWg
Please let me know if they work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good work. I have a question: Do you do the reverse of this and remove checks from google play apks? Reason I ask is I've been trying to get Watch NFL network sideloaded on my firetvs, and they install but launching gives a can't launch from phone error and closes out. It works fine on my Minix neo x8 plus.

JJ-KwiK said:
I've extracted Spotify and WatchESPN. However, official Android TV versions of those apps have since been released. I've also extracted Flappy Birds Family. I don't know of any centralized area where all the exracted FireTV apps are being posted though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I have just uninstalled Emma+ and installed Spotify, I was not aware they released a native app.
JJ-KwiK said:
Anywho...
Here are the modded APKs. I've removed any Amazon checks. They install fine. I can't check if the video's play as I don't live in the proper geographical area.
All 4 - https://mega.nz/#!K4QlmBTK!PBWAbaGIPFh9Fx92_Oqxv_RKKlpQLtfCyWGX-H6hRpw
Demand 5 - https://mega.nz/#!7pJHmaIR!zfLnhoBG1CeyFpZVHpyjYamADqDq8AYHuLKJlrarZTI
ITV Hub - https://mega.nz/#!C0ZykJSb!IxOYC1w7CLCgkRGshT2VEdZ_j3fBU4BJQLbZsTXkjWg
Please let me know if they work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice work, thanks! :good:
Okay so I just cleared data, storage, reset defaults and (not sure if necessary since I then...) uninstalled the older versions and reinstalled your uploaded versions.
ITV Hub works perfectly :highfive: only issue I can see with it is that when you press back it displays a dialogoue asking 'Do you want to exit the ITV Hub' with the options Okay and Cancel. Pressing cancel does nothing, not a huge deal just thought I would mention it in case it is a quick fix.
Demand 5 loads their splashscreen, then for an instant a progress disc, and then prints the following error:
Code:
Whoops!
An error has occured and the application will now shut down.
<Exit button>
(FTVD5-500)
All 4 loads their splashscreen, and then the screen goes black and stays black. Please note this is the same behaviour as before you modified it, that is to say, unmodified Demand 5 and ITV Hub did load but gave errors about Amazon Underground, whereas All 4 never got that far.
- d3adpool, do you think it possible the apk you uploaded could have become corrupt, or could we rule that out as if it were we would not even see the All 4 splashscreen?
Is there anything you could try?
JJ-KwiK said:
I do have a post on the Wetek forums with Android TV and FireTV app mods, modified to work with regular android.
http://www.wetekforums.com/v/index.php?p=/discussion/27564.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool, I had a look at the thread and I can see you have been busy - and are taking requests.
If you are able to modify an Android TV app to work on regular Android, does that mean you can also do the reverse? If so could you please modify regular Android versions of RTÉ Player, 3Player, and TG4 so that they will work on Android TV with a remote? 3Player is giving me some bogus error at the moment so I have posted in an Irish forum to see if anyone else is experiencing it, and TG4 only comes up for me on Google Search showing a compatibility issue, and not in Play Store on either of my Android devices, so I have asked about that also, I just want to check they are working okay before I upload them for you. RTÉ Player does work and I have attached it below:

I'm not sure if they got corrupted or not. They did load for me on my ftv. Previous experience with sideloading ftv apps on other android devices tells me that usually it won't work. I have a MXIII and a Minix neo x8plus and on both I've attempted to sideload ftv apps and none of them have actually loaded. Either I would get a parsing error, sitting on a loading screen when trying to play a video, HDCP error (HBOGO), or some other random error. Most times you're better off installing apks from the google play store.

..

JJ-KwiK said:
@d3adpool - Send me the watch NFL apk and I'll see what I can do.
@dusf - I believe there is an issue with the all 4 apk. Hopefully we can find a fresh apk. The demand 5 app works fine on my end, but won't play video due to geographical location. What device are you testing it on?
I can't add remote functionality to touch apps though. Sorry.
Sent from my SM-G925W8 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use an Nvidia Shield Android TV.
Real shame about All4 and Demand 5 not working, but great work with ITV Hub

..

JJ-KwiK said:
@dusf - Hey man, I just tested Demand 5 on my Wetek Core, nVidia Shield TV and Amazon Fire Stick. The app works on all 3 devices. I think the issue may be on your end? Can anyone else confirm if the app works for them? Can you try the updated version I posted below?
I also don't run into the, "press back displays a dialogue asking 'Do you want to exit the ITV Hub' with the options Okay and Cancel. Pressing cancel does nothing", issue. What controller/remote are you testing it with? I tried ITV Hub on my shield with the nVidia controller, nVidia remote and FireTV remote, and all worked fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have all three, Nvidia Controller, Nvidia remote, and Amazon Fire TV Voice remote, so I will try all three again with the updated versions you posted. I also have to Nvidia Shield TVs, so I will try both if they do not work on one.
JJ-KwiK said:
Anywho... Since I tested ITV Hub and Demand 5 on my Android TV, and they both seemed to work fine, I added a banner and the proper intent to the manifest so they now show up in the Leanback Launcher. However, I can't check if videos play because I don't live in the proper geographical area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice, having access to them from the launcher is a nice feature, and it did cross my mind when testing the last time but I was very happy to have ITV Hub in the first place
JJ-KwiK said:
If anyone can get their hands on a clean copy of the All 4 apk, I could try to modify that as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you define clean version? d3adpool has been a great help so far, perhaps if he is still willing, there is something he could do to make sure his version is not dirty?
About not being able to add remote functionality to the regular Android app, RTÉ Player app, is this something that would be possible if someone put enough time into it, or is it just set up in such a way that it would never work? I just know a bit of C and C++ at the moment, but perhaps when I learn a few more languages I could help with this. Would having access to the source code of Samsung Smart TV apps for the same channels help? This is something I could provide. I appreciate they are probably in a completely different language.

JJ-KwiK said:
@dusf - Hey man, I just tested Demand 5 on my Wetek Core, nVidia Shield TV and Amazon Fire Stick. The app works on all 3 devices. I think the issue may be on your end? Can anyone else confirm if the app works for them? Can you try the updated version I posted below?
I also don't run into the, "press back displays a dialogue asking 'Do you want to exit the ITV Hub' with the options Okay and Cancel. Pressing cancel does nothing", issue. What controller/remote are you testing it with? I tried ITV Hub on my shield with the nVidia controller, nVidia remote and FireTV remote, and all worked fine.
Anywho... Since I tested ITV Hub and Demand 5 on my Android TV, and they both seemed to work fine, I added a banner and the proper intent to the manifest so they now show up in the Leanback Launcher. However, I can't check if videos play because I don't live in the proper geographical area.
Amazon dependancies have been removed and the apps have been modified to work on Android TV devices.
ITV Hub -
Demand 5 -
If anyone can get their hands on a clean copy of the All 4 apk, I could try to modify that as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi thanks for sharing those, I tried Demand 5 on my nvidia shield tv, The app works fine apart from when you go to play a video. I just get the loading icon top right spinning continuously.

fire stick 2nd gen - geo restriction

Hi all,
I own a 2nd gen fire stick (purchased when I was living in UK with my still active amazon uk prime account).
Since few months I'm back in Italy where
a. the stick is not sold yet
b. amazon prime video has started one or two months ago
Since the latest update everytime I try to watch amazon I got an geo restriction error even if I try to watch the italian catalogue -got a italian prime subscription too -(netflix is working fine on the same stick).
Is there a way to downgrade the version of the OS and to go back to a previous release?
Thank you all for the support.
Rocket34

Did you solve?
i'm from italy, same problem with an used firestick...

Mee too. I've been struggling with "Network error" for ages. Never solved. I've read you need a US Amazon (mine imported from USA) account or the localized version from where you bought the device to solve. I only have a Prime enabled italian account.

rocket34 said:
Hi all,
I own a 2nd gen fire stick (purchased when I was living in UK with my still active amazon uk prime account).
Since few months I'm back in Italy where
a. the stick is not sold yet
b. amazon prime video has started one or two months ago
Since the latest update everytime I try to watch amazon I got an geo restriction error even if I try to watch the italian catalogue -got a italian prime subscription too -(netflix is working fine on the same stick).
Is there a way to downgrade the version of the OS and to go back to a previous release?
Thank you all for the support.
Rocket34
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's two things you can try
1 - change your device location
This involves logging into your amazon account on a pc and changing your location to Italy
You then need to deregister your firestick on the firestick account page & sign back in again
This will allow you to use the Italian amazon prime video but any UK restricted videos downloaded I believe will only work for 30days from the download date
How to transfer click spoiler
Transfer Your Amazon Account
To transfer your Amazon account from your current Amazon website to your local Amazon website:
Go to Manage your content and devices and click the Settings tab.
Under Country Settings, click Change.
Select or enter your address, and then click Update.
If you are eligible to purchase digital content from another Amazon website, follow the onscreen prompts to learn more about what will happen if you transfer accounts.
When you're ready, select the option to transfer your account to complete the process.
2 - Use a vpn app & set your location to UK to access UK content
Iv not tried either as I'm not a prime member or moved abroad but that's where I would start

TheFixItMan said:
There's two things you can try
1 - change your device location
This involves logging into your amazon account on a pc and changing your location to Italy
You then need to deregister your firestick on the firestick account page & sign back in again
This will allow you to use the Italian amazon prime video but any UK restricted videos downloaded I believe will only work for 30days from the download date
How to transfer click spoiler
Transfer Your Amazon Account
To transfer your Amazon account from your current Amazon website to your local Amazon website:
Go to Manage your content and devices and click the Settings tab.
Under Country Settings, click Change.
Select or enter your address, and then click Update.
If you are eligible to purchase digital content from another Amazon website, follow the onscreen prompts to learn more about what will happen if you transfer accounts.
When you're ready, select the option to transfer your account to complete the process.
2 - Use a vpn app & set your location to UK to access UK content
Iv not tried either as I'm not a prime member or moved abroad but that's where I would start
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry but i think the first method doesn't work, I've tried some days ago...
on my amazon.it (italy user) my country is setted to italy.
deregistered used stick (bought in england), reset it, registered again, but already in homepage I see titles in english...
(please note i want to see italian content)
this morning i bought a new one from amazon.it...

pagatti said:
sorry but i think the first method doesn't work, I've tried some days ago...
on my amazon.it (italy user) my country is setted to italy.
deregistered used stick (bought in england), reset it, registered again, but already in homepage I see titles in english...
(please note i want to see italian content)
this morning i bought a new one from amazon.it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should show content from the country your amazon account & the firestick is registered to
For example I changed the country from UK to America & it allowed me to download American apps like abc nbc but it removes UK apps like BBC Iplayer until I changed it back
If the app itself is different in the country you may also need to remove it & get the local version but I would have thought it would be the same
I would contact amazon for support & clarification on this issue but as you have already bought a new device it will be pre-registered to correct location

TheFixItMan said:
It should show content from the country your amazon account & the firestick is registered to
For example I changed the country from UK to America & it allowed me to download American apps like abc nbc but it removes UK apps like BBC Iplayer until I changed it back
If the app itself is different in the country you may also need to remove it & get the local version but I would have thought it would be the same
I would contact amazon for support & clarification on this issue but as you have already bought a new device it will be pre-registered to correct location
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you're right for the fact that apps (like netflix) works and it download italina version, but the problem is with amazon prime content..
I wrote to amazon (both .it and .uk) and both told me the issue can be solved only buying a new stick.
What it's incredible for me is this country blocking that also on hw and not only on sw. (many companies in EU are now obliged to remove any country blocking...)

pagatti said:
you're right for the fact that apps (like netflix) works and it download italina version, but the problem is with amazon prime content..
I wrote to amazon (both .it and .uk) and both told me the issue can be solved only buying a new stick.
What it's incredible for me is this country blocking that also on hw and not only on sw. (many companies in EU are now obliged to remove any country blocking...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe the prime app is different - only way to tell is to get the Italian version and install it on the UK stick
You would have to remove the UK one or decompile the Italian one & give it a different package name in its manifest & resign it although that may cause issues depending on how the app works
Other than that I don't know what to suggest

TheFixItMan said:
Maybe the prime app is different - only way to tell is to get the Italian version and install it on the UK stick
You would have to remove the UK one or decompile the Italian one & give it a different package name in its manifest & resign it although that may cause issues depending on how the app works
Other than that I don't know what to suggest
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you for your help!
me too think the only solution is to find the italian prime app or flashing the stick like you do with phones...
it's not worthwile.... a new italian one cost 39.99 euros...

can you retrieve the italian apk from a fire tv stick withour root?

puppinoo said:
can you retrieve the italian apk from a fire tv stick withour root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes - via adb
Package name is com.amazon.avod
Easy way is to use the app apps2fire - make sure adb is enabled on both your phone and the firestick via developer options - then just find the app & download it to your phone
You can also install apps that are on your phone to the firestick (either installed on your phone or if you have the apk)
Make sure you also enter your firesticks ip address into the app as well
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mobi.koni.appstofiretv
Of course you can do it manually via adb pull terminal commands on a pc or even an apk extractor app

I dont own an italian version right now. Mine is a US imported Fire TV Stick 2. I was able to retrieve the apk thanks to the advices but I guess it makes no sense to upload it cause it's just a USA apk and not an italian one. As I said earlier it gives me a "NETWORK ERROR" error. Maybe it's important to add that Im using dnsmasq to block domains to avoid updates.
Domains blocked are below. Just to be sure that blocked domains dont create issues with Prime Videos. If needed I can upload the US Prime Video apk.
#Amazon Fire TV updates
#required
address=/amzdigital-a.akamaihd.net/127.0.0.1
address=/amzdigitaldownloads.edgesuite.net/127.0.0.1
#optional
address=/softwareupdates.amazon.com/127.0.0.1
address=/updates.amazon.com/127.0.0.1