I know Amazon promised HBO Go by the end of the year, but is anyone else slightly annoyed that it isn't available yet? They advertise Fire TV as the device that is ready to take over as your primary streaming device, but how could that be the case without one of the most content rich streaming providers in existence? I have sideloaded the HBO Go android app and it works, but having to use an air mouse is annoying and the video quality is nowhere close to HD. My guess is the average Fire TV user has no idea how to sideload apps and doesn't have an air mouse. That means they would still have to rely on either a Roku, Apple TV, or Chromecast for HBO Go. I feel like Amazon really dropped the ball on this one by forcing users to rely on another streaming device to handle a large portion of content. For a device to truly thrive it needs to be feature rich and idiot proof. We currently have a Fire TV, 2 Fire TV Sticks, a Chromecast, an Apple TV, and a Roku Stick. If any non-techy person asked me which streaming device they should buy I would tell them Roku Stick because it is inexpensive, has every streaming service available, and is idiot proof. /rant
Would also be nice if they had Fxnow on it also with live TV sideloading the apps gets it done but it's not the same
bradwatson said:
I know Amazon promised HBO Go by the end of the year, but is anyone else slightly annoyed that it isn't available yet? They advertise Fire TV as the device that is ready to take over as your primary streaming device, but how could that be the case without one of the most content rich streaming providers in existence? I have sideloaded the HBO Go android app and it works, but having to use an air mouse is annoying and the video quality is nowhere close to HD. My guess is the average Fire TV user has no idea how to sideload apps and doesn't have an air mouse. That means they would still have to rely on either a Roku, Apple TV, or Chromecast for HBO Go. I feel like Amazon really dropped the ball on this one by forcing users to rely on another streaming device to handle a large portion of content. For a device to truly thrive it needs to be feature rich and idiot proof. We currently have a Fire TV, 2 Fire TV Sticks, a Chromecast, an Apple TV, and a Roku Stick. If any non-techy person asked me which streaming device they should buy I would tell them Roku Stick because it is inexpensive, has every streaming service available, and is idiot proof. /rant
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed it IS annoying! They shouldn't have said by the end of the year if they weren't sure...
As for non-techy people, I still tell them apple tv because although roku is better, I believe comcast still doesn't support HBOGO on roku devices. I have one collecting dust and last checked I couldn't get HBOGO. But my atv has had it for awhile now. Got it hooked up in my living room with a rpi openelec--not super fast but still my most stable, low cost xbmc device.
Side loading HBOGO does not get it done. It is impossible to navigate with the remote and needs added peripherals to get it to do anything. Amazon needs to come through with this like yesterday.
Trying to use FXNOW sideload on my Fire tv with a remote mouse app and I can't get it to let me select sign on... Any luck with this?
I bought the Amazon phone partially because of the great price (I was due to renew my prime membership at $99 anyway) and because I am a serious Amazon fan. I switched from an iPhone 5S, where my new favorite feature was Prime Stations. I assumed that the Amazon Fire Phone would support the Amazon Prime Station feature. Well it doesn't. I even used the Mayday feature because I assumed that I had just missed it. They confirmed that the Fire Phone does not support Prime Stations. To make it worse I checked the Google Play store. A standard Android phone CAN download "Amazon Music with Prime Music" that supports Prime Stations. Of course the play stores says that the app is not compatible with my device, great...
I assume that the feature is coming in the near future, but what does that say about Amazon's faith in the Fire Phone? Standard Android phones and iPhones get Prime features before the Amazon Phone. Is this going to be the trend?
Honestly I never noticed that prime stations were missing... I just checked my SGS3 and your right. Kinda a let down but there are many good alternatives out there for the time being.. Though let's be honest I think we all know Amazon doesn't support the fire phone as much as we had hoped. Though the low sales numbers are more than likely to blame. As happy as I am with the current update most of us would have probably expected Lollipop at this point.
Sent from my Amazon Fire Phone using the XDA premium app.
Sxybob said:
I bought the Amazon phone partially because of the great price (I was due to renew my prime membership at $99 anyway) and because I am a serious Amazon fan. I switched from an iPhone 5S, where my new favorite feature was Prime Stations. I assumed that the Amazon Fire Phone would support the Amazon Prime Station feature. Well it doesn't. I even used the Mayday feature because I assumed that I had just missed it. They confirmed that the Fire Phone does not support Prime Stations. To make it worse I checked the Google Play store. A standard Android phone CAN download "Amazon Music with Prime Music" that supports Prime Stations. Of course the play stores says that the app is not compatible with my device, great...
I assume that the feature is coming in the near future, but what does that say about Amazon's faith in the Fire Phone? Standard Android phones and iPhones get Prime features before the Amazon Phone. Is this going to be the trend?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah. I had an iPhone for a bit and I switched over before you could just click a song and listen to it. When I first got my fire phone you still had to add it to the library before listening. That was weird. I don't doubt the update will come soon but I do hate that they don't update the fire phone apps before other apps. They should support their own hardware first!!!
Amazon finally released an update to Prime Music with the Prime Stations function.
I am new to Fire TV and don't currently own one.
Whats the deal with the jailbroken fire tv units being sold on flea bay? Are they a waste of time & money?
They claim to provide live TV channels to replace cable etc.
As far as I know there was never a "jailbreak" for this device.
Only certain software revision Fire TVs can be rooted. The current ones at amazon and best buy cannot. It's really hard to find ones that are rootable. I can sell you mine. Thing is a serious POS. First it's as closed off as an apple product when stock. Which wouldn't be so bad, if it actually functioned. Alas, Netflix cannot play smooth on the device at all. I don't know if intentional that amazon does it so you'd use their services or what. At any rate. Buy the shield TV. It's $100 more, but it's at least powerful enough you shouldn't have an issue. I'm unloading mine asap to buy the shield.
supremekizzle said:
Only certain software revision Fire TVs can be rooted. The current ones at amazon and best buy cannot. It's really hard to find ones that are rootable. I can sell you mine. Thing is a serious POS. First it's as closed off as an apple product when stock. Which wouldn't be so bad, if it actually functioned. Alas, Netflix cannot play smooth on the device at all. I don't know if intentional that amazon does it so you'd use their services or what. At any rate. Buy the shield TV. It's $100 more, but it's at least powerful enough you shouldn't have an issue. I'm unloading mine asap to buy the shield.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's no worse than the kindles, at least towelroot works. If you're so eager to get rid of yours, sell it to him cheap...
ldeveraux said:
It's no worse than the kindles, at least towelroot works. If you're so eager to get rid of yours, sell it to him cheap...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I was implying, but I'm pretty sure xda rules perhibit private sales. This thing has been nothing but frustration. My $25 Chromecast? Plays Netflix flawlessly. There's no reason that this device shouldn't be able to.
supremekizzle said:
That's what I was implying, but I'm pretty sure xda rules perhibit private sales. This thing has been nothing but frustration. My $25 Chromecast? Plays Netflix flawlessly. There's no reason that this device shouldn't be able to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're kidding me right? You can side load kodi (hell...you can side load anything). Can't do that on ATV. Its got much better specs. You can use an external drive. And up until a short time ago it retailed for the same as apple TV. Chromecast? Its like a decent tool but what it is able to do doesn't make up for what ftv stick does and the price is the same.
This thread seems kind of trollish.
supremekizzle said:
That's what I was implying, but I'm pretty sure xda rules perhibit private sales. This thing has been nothing but frustration. My $25 Chromecast? Plays Netflix flawlessly. There's no reason that this device shouldn't be able to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I wasn't agreeing with you[emoji1] . I've had no problems or issues at all with mine, sorry. Everything plays exactly as planned...
KLit75 said:
You're kidding me right? You can side load kodi (hell...you can side load anything). Can't do that on ATV. Its got much better specs. You can use an external drive. And up until a short time ago it retailed for the same as apple TV. Chromecast? Its like a decent tool but what it is able to do doesn't make up for what ftv stick does and the price is the same.
This thread seems kind of trollish.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you really follow. I'm not claiming the Chromecast as being more feature rich or powerful than the FTV. I'm saying that if a $25 device can play Netflix smoothly, it's absurd that the FTV can't. Go ahead and Google "fire TV netflix" and it'll return results from tons of people saying that Netflix playback on the device is crap. Netflix is BY FAR and away the most used streaming service. There shouldn't be problems using it on the FTV, but there are. So let me revise my stance: OP, 'jailbroken' or not, if you plan on using the fire TV for Netflix streaming, seek other options. If you're undeterred from broken Netflix, then rooted FTV's are worth it for the extra functionality. Especially the larger partition HDD, since amazon deemed having larger than 4gb would condone piracy since external HDD are apparently only to be used for apps and games, not your media collection.
supremekizzle said:
I don't think you really follow. I'm not claiming the Chromecast as being more feature rich or powerful than the FTV. I'm saying that if a $25 device can play Netflix smoothly, it's absurd that the FTV can't. Go ahead and Google "fire TV netflix" and it'll return results from tons of people saying that Netflix playback on the device is crap. Netflix is BY FAR and away the most used streaming service. There shouldn't be problems using it on the FTV, but there are. So let me revise my stance: OP, 'jailbroken' or not, if you plan on using the fire TV for Netflix streaming, seek other options. If you're undeterred from broken Netflix, then rooted FTV's are worth it for the extra functionality. Especially the larger partition HDD, since amazon deemed having larger than 4gb would condone piracy since external HDD are apparently only to be used for apps and games, not your media collection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I heard you fine. Your Netflix issues are just like the ones I've documented/complained about in the past year & change. I was focusing on your 1st post where you called AFTV a "POS" then made a reference to chromecast. I've said many times that its a great media device for the price but Netflix not working is unacceptable. Amazon's heard my complaints but unless I want to shell out $200 for nvidia or upgrade to an htpc, I think this is still the best media center for under $100. Even though my laptop had less trouble with Netflix back in like 2006. My apple TV plays Netflix flawlessly and with better resolution but will remain in storage because although amazon is restrictive, apple has no equal in terms of being locked down.
Btw--what do u mean it won't play? Not at all? Or are you often greeted with an "unable to play title"/loads to 99%...which is usually resolved by quitting the app, worse case reboot.
KLit75 said:
I heard you fine. Your Netflix issues are just like the ones I've documented/complained about in the past year & change. I was focusing on your 1st post where you called AFTV a "POS" then made a reference to chromecast. I've said many times that its a great media device for the price but Netflix not working is unacceptable. Amazon's heard my complaints but unless I want to shell out $200 for nvidia or upgrade to an htpc, I think this is still the best media center for under $100. Even though my laptop had less trouble with Netflix back in like 2006. My apple TV plays Netflix flawlessly and with better resolution but will remain in storage because although amazon is restrictive, apple has no equal in terms of being locked down.
Btw--what do u mean it won't play? Not at all? Or are you often greeted with an "unable to play title"/loads to 99%...which is usually resolved by quitting the app, worse case reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok. Glad we're on the same page. I concur that at $100 it's the best option save for Netflix, closed ecosystem, HDD. With the XDA community it had accomplished quite a bit. So I will agree to disagree and retract my POS comment. Yes. Netflix is almost unusable. I get loading to 99% and unable to play, somewhat frequently. However, the worst problem is the video getting all choppy and stuttering while the audio plays fine. Then the video has to speed up to " catch up" to the audio. This happens ALL OF THE TIME. I've cleared cache, rebooted wayyyyy more times than should have been necessary with this thing.
supremekizzle said:
Ok. Glad we're on the same page. I concur that at $100 it's the best option save for Netflix, closed ecosystem, HDD. With the XDA community it had accomplished quite a bit. So I will agree to disagree and retract my POS comment. Yes. Netflix is almost unusable. I get loading to 99% and unable to play, somewhat frequently. However, the worst problem is the video getting all choppy and stuttering while the audio plays fine. Then the video has to speed up to " catch up" to the audio. This happens ALL OF THE TIME. I've cleared cache, rebooted wayyyyy more times than should have been necessary with this thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You ever consider the fact that it may be network handshake issues? Or speed issues? Wireless vs wired? It seems to work fine for me and all the other people that haven't chimed in, there's no reason it shouldn't for you too!
And realistically you can google any device, paired with any problem, and you'll see threads and threads on that topic. Look how many people can't follow simple instructions with towelroot!
Netflix has always worked fine on my Fire TV connected via ethernet and on my Fire Stick connected via 5GHz wireless. Check for interference or a bad ethernet cable. Change your router to use 5GHz instead of 2.4.
Just wondering, is Amazon still planning on making a new Fire Phone?
I doubt it. The app store is lacking in apps and developers, which attracts people to thr device. Without those fundamentals, fire phone 2 will be another failure.
I may be picking up a Fire TV Stick for $30. Are there different versions I should be looking for or make sure it hasn't been updated to a certain FW or Update?
Totally new to this and there really isn't any guides post on the top of the forums that lead to what I'm after.
My intent is to replace Dish in the future and be able to use the stick for viewing any and all channels. I really don't care about streaming from Netflix or Prime since I have several terebytes of movies and shows to catch up on as it is. So just looking to replace current televised tv TBH.
Is there ways to record from these or is it just what ever channel you have it set on your watching live and that's it? (The fiance dvr's a bunch of stuff lol)