[Q] Set standard streaming quality (SD/HD) for volume limited connections? - Fire TV Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi all,
is it possible to set the standard streaming quality (SD/HD) or maybe some lower resolution for prime instand video?
The problem is I have a volume limited LTE connection... While watching prime via browser I'am able to select between SD and HD.
Maybe there is a configuration file!? In the settings I wasn't able to find anything.
Thanks!
PS: my box isn't rooted yet...

no one?

Engelhuber said:
no one?
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Hi,
I think It depends on the concrete app. same thing happened at hulu on fire tv. I asked hulu, they told me the hulu on fire tv would adjust itself automaticly. however It doesn't work.

blackantt said:
Hi,
I think It depends on the concrete app. same thing happened at hulu on fire tv. I asked hulu, they told me the hulu on fire tv would adjust itself automaticly. however It doesn't work.
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Thats what i heared. It adjusts depending on your connection speed. So for the time I'm under my volume limit, the streaming is in HD. This means my volume will be very fast used up. Therefore it would be great to set a fixed streaming quality in SD (or lower) to prevent blowing up my volume.
Maybe QOS in the router could be a solution!? If the router supports QOS you could limit the bandwith for the fire tv...

Related

Low Stream Quality

Has anyone checked the bandwidth used on the fire tv .. especially netflix.
Mine is not working to my satisfaction, netflix on my PC on the same network streams at 3000kbps consistently while on fire tv it stays at 1000kpbs leaving it looking second rate at best.
Is there a trick to make it work or is it just not a very good device for netflix.
jarayn said:
Has anyone checked the bandwidth used on the fire tv .. especially netflix.
Mine is not working to my satisfaction, netflix on my PC on the same network streams at 3000kbps consistently while on fire tv it stays at 1000kpbs leaving it looking second rate at best.
Is there a trick to make it work or is it just not a very good device for netflix.
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You using a netflix app? Maybe it doesn't do the better connection.
For example, the UFC app say it's sending 800kbs streams to my AFTV, but it's not, the crap is so blocky I think I'm watching an illegal streaming of some UFC matches . My guess is that it think since it's a mobile app, no one needs a decent 720p stream, and like the UFC app, I'm getting around a 240p stream, if that.
I assume your AFTV is running a wired internet connection? Like the PC? If not, then you might want to also check that nothing else is using the wifi connection at the same time, because that can mess up wifi speeds.
nyder said:
You using a netflix app? Maybe it doesn't do the better connection.
For example, the UFC app say it's sending 800kbs streams to my AFTV, but it's not, the crap is so blocky I think I'm watching an illegal streaming of some UFC matches . My guess is that it think since it's a mobile app, no one needs a decent 720p stream, and like the UFC app, I'm getting around a 240p stream, if that.
I assume your AFTV is running a wired internet connection? Like the PC? If not, then you might want to also check that nothing else is using the wifi connection at the same time, because that can mess up wifi speeds.
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Thanks, I am using wired connection yeah, same router as PC. Using the netflix app that came with the fire tv.

[Q] Fire TV Stick & playing MKV files

Hi folks
Got a Fire TV Stick there and have XBMC/Kodi sideloaded. I also have a QNAP NAS which is hardwired to my Virgin Superhub 2 router. When I play most of my MKV's, which are stored on the NAS, the playback is kinda sluggish/low frame rate.
Is there anything I can do to sort this for smooth playback? Does the stick just not have the power to play the MKVs? Is it the network?
takkischitt said:
Hi folks
Got a Fire TV Stick there and have XBMC/Kodi sideloaded. I also have a QNAP NAS which is hardwired to my Virgin Superhub 2 router. When I play most of my MKV's, which are stored on the NAS, the playback is kinda sluggish/low frame rate.
Is there anything I can do to sort this for smooth playback? Does the stick just not have the power to play the MKVs? Is it the network?
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Click to collapse
Mine plays mkv from smb shares with no problems. Are these really large files? Id suspect its a network issue. How good is the signal in the room with the stick? Maybe do a speedtest or if possible move the stick to a tv closer to the router.
KLit75 said:
Mine plays mkv from smb shares with no problems. Are these really large files? Id suspect its a network issue. How good is the signal in the room with the stick? Maybe do a speedtest or if possible move the stick to a tv closer to the router.
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They range from 2-4GB in size. The router is right beside the TV, so dont think it would be a range issue. I'll check the router setting this evening to see if I can maybe change the signal frequency to get faster speeds.
But the Fire TV Stick should play MKV files smoothly, even if they're around 4GB?
Press O on a Keyboard in Kodi, while a video is playing to see both the CPU stress (in percentages), as well as the cache fill rate, dropped frames, ...
You guys are all treating this problem like you were banging on a black box. Just use the obvious diagnostic tools baked into the platforms. Act like you weren't part of the Smartphone generation that is seen as being too dumb to do any kind of problem solving using diagnostics. Start by RTFM.
harlekinrains said:
Press O on a Keyboard in Kodi, while a video is playing to see both the CPU stress (in percentages), as well as the cache fill rate, dropped frames, ...
You guys are all treating this problem like you were banging on a black box. Just use the obvious diagnostic tools baked into the platforms. Act like you weren't part of the Smartphone generation that is seen as being too dumb to do any kind of problem solving using diagnostics. Start by RTFM.
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Click to collapse
This may be dumb, but how do you press O without a keyboard?
The little problems you have to solve...
Because I've leaned myself out of the window in other topics so recently - I'll just name the solution in here -
If you have an Android Phone (or tablet), or an iPhone (or iPad), or access to someone who has - install the FIre TV Remote App (or any similar app) on it and it will provide you with an on screen keyboard that can also be used to send "O" to Kodi.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amazon.storm.lightning.client.aosp&hl=en
In fact - amazon notifies you, that this App exists in the setup process of the Fire TV if I am not mistaken.
If you have only access to a PC, or Mac - there are other solutions out there. Look for them in the Kodi Wiki (xbev).
---------- Post added at 05:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:13 PM ----------
edit: it is even possible to send the O command via adb -
adb shell input text o
Next time, you try to find one of the solutions yourself, promised? Maybe even share them. Like if this place would be something else, different to a consumer product support infrastructure.
harlekinrains said:
The little problems you have to solve...
Because I've leaned myself out of the window in other topics so recently - I'll just name the solution in here -
If you have an Android Phone (or tablet), or an iPhone (or iPad), or access to someone who has - install the FIre TV Remote App (or any similar app) on it and it will provide you with an on screen keyboard that can also be used to send "O" to Kodi.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amazon.storm.lightning.client.aosp&hl=en
In fact - amazon notifies you, that this App exists in the setup process of the Fire TV if I am not mistaken.
If you have only access to a PC, or Mac - there are other solutions out there. Look for them in the Kodi Wiki (xbev).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many thanks for the info. I completely forgot about the app, as I've just been using the remote. I'll give that a whirl later to see what it says.

bt sport app through firestick

Ive managed to sideload the bt sport app onto firestick. Got it working but the stream is all choppy and lagging. The same stream is fine through my tablet. Ive tried changing the display resolution on the firestick that hasnt helped. Any ideas how to fix this?
*****
*
pw007 said:
Ive managed to sideload the bt sport app onto firestick. Got it working but the stream is all choppy and lagging. The same stream is fine through my tablet. Ive tried changing the display resolution on the firestick that hasnt helped. Any ideas how to fix this?
*****
*
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I have a Fire TV 2. My stream isn't choppy, but it's very low quality. I find it better to AirPlay from my MacBook or iPad than to use the BT Sport app, which doesn't seem logical.
re bt sport app through firestick
liam08 said:
I have a Fire TV 2. My stream isn't choppy, but it's very low quality. I find it better to AirPlay from my MacBook or iPad than to use the BT Sport app, which doesn't seem logical.
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I've had similar problems with the BT Sport app, so sometimes we watch some of the live European matches on the BT Sport Showcase Freeview TV channel.

AFTV ver.1 Video Playback micro stutters (local media files over network)

Ok So I have an AFTV ver. 1 Running Fire OS 5.0.5 and Kodi 16.0. and all of my media files will micro stutter (doesn't matter if the file is High Bitrate or not) my settings are as follows:
I have Audio Pass through enabled with Resample rate set to Low (my receiver can handle DD and DTS and the sound comes out as expected)
I have also set in video settings set display to match source refresh rate (i have tried both "Always" and "On Start/Stop")
For the Most Part the video files play fine, but every so often the file will micro stutter. All of my files are h.264 mkv's (either blu-ray rips or HD TV shows) The TV shows seem to do it the worst. I have searched the web for answers and can't figure it out. One theory that I have is that the AFTV can't output and any other refresh rate than 60hz so that is causing a problem with things that were filmed in 23.97fps or 29.97fps. If anyone has any advice for me I would really be thankful.
I may be making a big deal out of nothing, but coming from a WD TV Live box I didn't have any problems like this, don't get me wrong I wont be going back to the WD now that I have the speed of KODI, but I just want to know if its a limitation of the Hardware.
Edit I have come to the acceptance that it is a limit of the hardware. I grabbed my roommates FTV ver 2 (also updated to Fire OS 5.0.5 and running KODI 16.0 and configured it the exact same way) ran the same files and they played flawlessly. Looks like I will be upgrading.
jdawg0024 said:
Ok So I have an AFTV ver. 1 Running Fire OS 5.0.5 and Kodi 16.0. and all of my media files will micro stutter (doesn't matter if the file is High Bitrate or not) my settings are as follows:
I have Audio Pass through enabled with Resample rate set to Low (my receiver can handle DD and DTS and the sound comes out as expected)
I have also set in video settings set display to match source refresh rate (i have tried both "Always" and "On Start/Stop")
For the Most Part the video files play fine, but every so often the file will micro stutter. All of my files are h.264 mkv's (either blu-ray rips or HD TV shows) The TV shows seem to do it the worst. I have searched the web for answers and can't figure it out. One theory that I have is that the AFTV can't output and any other refresh rate than 60hz so that is causing a problem with things that were filmed in 23.97fps or 29.97fps. If anyone has any advice for me I would really be thankful.
I may be making a big deal out of nothing, but coming from a WD TV Live box I didn't have any problems like this, don't get me wrong I wont be going back to the WD now that I have the speed of KODI, but I just want to know if its a limitation of the Hardware.
Edit I have come to the acceptance that it is a limit of the hardware. I grabbed my roommates FTV ver 2 (also updated to Fire OS 5.0.5 and running KODI 16.0 and configured it the exact same way) ran the same files and they played flawlessly. Looks like I will be upgrading.
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Click to collapse
I have the exact same issue running the aftv1, but using plex not kodi. I'll try my aftv2 like you to see if it makes a difference. It shouldn't [emoji2]
Try turning off rate switching. AFAIK Android does not yet support this.
jmerrilljr2 said:
Try turning off rate switching. AFAIK Android does not yet support this.
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I have tried rate switching on and off. Same problem. Doesn't happen on the FTV 2
I have no idea what is going on with your set-up but I can tell you that I have 4 FireTv1 units in my home and I can watch different content from my NAS without any issues at all.
I do not think we should be blaming the hardware......... just saying
bula1ca said:
I have no idea what is going on with your set-up but I can tell you that I have 4 FireTv1 units in my home and I can watch different content from my NAS without any issues at all.
I do not think we should be blaming the hardware....I am just saying
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Would you mind posting your video and audio settings? Also what version Kodi are you running?
jdawg0024 said:
Would you mind posting your video and audio settings? Also what version Kodi are you running?
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I will post them when I get home tonight but honestly I do not remember doing anything special other then install zero cache. BTW have you ever use Raw Maintenance to clean cache etc. I will recommend using it once a week at least. BTW I am on v16 at the moment just updated few days back from v15.2
bula1ca said:
I will post them when I get home tonight but honestly I do not remember doing anything special other then install zero cache. BTW have you ever use Raw Maintenance to clean cache etc. I will recommend using it once a week at least. BTW I am on v16 at the moment just updated few days back from v15.2
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I have zero cached enabled already and I will try to clean the cache
jdawg0024 said:
I have zero cached enabled already and I will try to clean the cache
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Click to collapse
Do a search on youtube on how to install Raw Maintenance, it has three options Clear Cache, Deletes Thumbnails and Purge Packages
bula1ca said:
Do a search on youtube on how to install Raw Maintenance, it has three options Clear Cache, Deletes Thumbnails and Purge Packages
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Click to collapse
All that can be done from the maintenance tool add-on. Under general maintenance.
bula1ca said:
I have no idea what is going on with your set-up but I can tell you that I have 4 FireTv1 units in my home and I can watch different content from my NAS without any issues at all.
I do not think we should be blaming the hardware......... just saying
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about your video encoding settings, what file formats, codecs you use that work well...
Thanks for all of the suggestions, but I have purchased a Fire TV gen 2 and it has fixed all my problems. I have it set up the exact same way as the gen 1 and everything plays great
jdawg0024 said:
Thanks for all of the suggestions, but I have purchased a Fire TV gen 2 and it has fixed all my problems. I have it set up the exact same way as the gen 1 and everything plays great
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Well, you didn't "fix" the problem at all, you circumvented it by buying another piece of hardware [emoji6]
ldeveraux said:
What about your video encoding settings, what file formats, codecs you use that work well...
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Sorry, been busy with my kids for the last few days. I did not change any of the video encoding settings from what I remember.
bula1ca said:
Sorry, been busy with my kids for the last few days. I did not change any of the video encoding settings from what I remember.
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I meant the files you're playing, not the FireTV. I think it may be a combination of video/audio encoding and the FireTV1 not playing well. What container and audio/video codec for your video files? What does MediaInfo output on them? This may be the key to understanding how best to store media for the device...
ldeveraux said:
Well, you didn't "fix" the problem at all, you circumvented it by buying another piece of hardware [emoji6]
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You are correct, I did not fix the problem with my FTV gen 1. Over the past couple of days I had the FTV 1, FTV 2, and the Fire Stick (was setting up the stick for a friend). Both the FTV 1 and Fire Stick showed the same issues while trying to play large bitrate files. They would stutter. (not to the point that the file was unwatchable, but it was bad enough.) The FTV 2 however plays the same video file smoothly.
jdawg0024 said:
You are correct, I did not fix the problem with my FTV gen 1. Over the past couple of days I had the FTV 1, FTV 2, and the Fire Stick (was setting up the stick for a friend). Both the FTV 1 and Fire Stick showed the same issues while trying to play large bitrate files. They would stutter. (not to the point that the file was unwatchable, but it was bad enough.) The FTV 2 however plays the same video file smoothly.
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What about the stick? Is that Stick1 or Stick2? I mean, your results aren't surprising, it would be cool to figure out exactly why.
ldeveraux said:
What about the stick? Is that Stick1 or Stick2? I mean, your results aren't surprising, it would be cool to figure out exactly why.
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It is the firestick 1 and I am not surprised that it had a little stutter problem. I was more surprised about the Fire TV 1 that had a problem. It streams Netflix and Hulu just fine. I know that may be comparing apples to oranges

Getting a FTV Stick 2nd gen soon, some help needed

Hi, I´m purchasing a Fire Tv Stick 2 soon and I´d like to know if it suits my needs.
I plan to use apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Plex and Kodi. I know performance can be disappointing given the hardware but Chromecast got me used to stream my contents from the phone so I wouldn´t suffer AFTV´s interface lag. How does it behave in that regard?
Does Kodi support auto refresh rate? (If I recall correctly from a quick search on google, it worked fine before Fire OS 6)
Thanks
I have been using my firestick gen 2. Unrooted, stock launcher, for about 2 days. I have Kodi, popcorn time, etc. I haven't turned my satellite on since. I haven't noticed lag, but if you plan on streaming it's like Chromecast without casting.
Khan_81 said:
Hi, I´m purchasing a Fire Tv Stick 2 soon and I´d like to know if it suits my needs.
I plan to use apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Plex and Kodi. I know performance can be disappointing given the hardware but Chromecast got me used to stream my contents from the phone so I wouldn´t suffer AFTV´s interface lag. How does it behave in that regard?
Does Kodi support auto refresh rate? (If I recall correctly from a quick search on google, it worked fine before Fire OS 6)
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fire stick doesn't support auto refresh rate switching, so no luck there. Plex works very good, as long as you play only Full HD videos, of course 4k is not supported (Plex automatically transcodes all your streams so you won't have any issue with heavy h265 compression). Of course for the same reason Netflix and Prime Video will work, just remember to always use a wall plug and not the USB port of your TV to power the stick. Kodi is a question marks it's on what you have in your library, of course very high-compressed h265 videos won't play, but for me is has been more than fine so far
mijorus said:
The fire stick doesn't support auto refresh rate switching, so no luck there. Plex works very good, as long as you play only Full HD videos, of course 4k is not supported (Plex automatically transcodes all your streams so you won't have any issue with heavy h265 compression). Of course for the same reason Netflix and Prime Video will work, just remember to always use a wall plug and not the USB port of your TV to power the stick. Kodi is a question marks it's on what you have in your library, of course very high-compressed h265 videos won't play, but for me is has been more than fine so far
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Well, my experience says otherwise, after a week of tinkering. It exceeded my expectations (I expected a laggy interface but it´s smooth most of the time)
Tried with Kodi and SPMC and auto refresh rate works fine and, as far as I know, the cpu should be capable of h265 hardware decoding (basic compression, I guess). Perfect for the streaming friendly content in some Kodi addons.
Pleasantly surprised with this apparently limited hardware, no need for a Nvidia Shield (overkill for my needs)

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