Hi all,
I am rooted on version 5.0.4 and I seem to be having a lot of issues with video buffering. no matter what app I use whether Kodi, Prime Video, or streaming from my NAS drive the video seems to buffer a lot. Even from the NAS drive it seems to stop for a second or two on every movie no matter what the format is. Not sure if it has to do with the fact that Fire TV 2 is connected to a powerline adapter. Even though the Fire TV 2 internet speed test is much lower on the powerline adapter than it is connected direct to the router I still get speeds of 16 mbps. I am wondering if it is actually an issue with certain apps on lollipop. Anyone else having weird streaming issues. Also it was the same when I was on rooted 5.0.3.1
Any hints to what it might be would be appreciated. I was hoping streaming would be improved on the Fire TV 2 because of the new hardware specs, but my Fire TV 1 blows it away.
Edit: Did some further tests and it seems this Fire TV 2 does not like the powerline adapter. Connected directly to my router and internet speed tested at 51 mbps which is what it should be. Also tested a few movies and no stuttering or buffering??? weird.
Related
I've had a Chromecast since the device was launched and mirroring was really the one thing I wished that device did. I find that streaming from my phone or tablet to be slow on that, overall, so I was intrigued with the Amazon Fire TV launched and Koush was able to get mirroring to work with very little latency. He praised the Fire TV for being having better streaming quality and capabilities than Chromecast, Roku, or Apple TV, when streaming media from Android devices.
I then saw the YouTube video him using the mirroring features from the app AllCast on his Amazon TV and it looked flawless. He advertised that mirroring was available via the app, but I haven't actually run across anyone that has been able to get this to work using his apps. On top of that, I've had problems with my phone (HTC One) or tablet (Nexus 7 1st Gen) recognizing my Fire TV when connected through my Comcast router. It seems to work via my Amped Wireless Router, but not Comcast, for whatever reason.
Next, streaming seems very poor overall. buffering times are no better than what I was getting with my Chromecast using the AllCast app.
Has anyone had better luck with AllCast and their Fire TV? Has anyone gotten mirroring to work? If so, how?
I've been posting on the Google+ page here and have not had any luck.
https://plus.google.com/110558071969009568835/posts/cbwdhJvg2vk
dmm5157 said:
I've had a Chromecast since the device was launched and mirroring was really the one thing I wished that device did. I find that streaming from my phone or tablet to be slow on that, overall, so I was intrigued with the Amazon Fire TV launched and Koush was able to get mirroring to work with very little latency. He praised the Fire TV for being having better streaming quality and capabilities than Chromecast, Roku, or Apple TV, when streaming media from Android devices.
I then saw the YouTube video him using the mirroring features from the app AllCast on his Amazon TV and it looked flawless. He advertised that mirroring was available via the app, but I haven't actually run across anyone that has been able to get this to work using his apps. On top of that, I've had problems with my phone (HTC One) or tablet (Nexus 7 1st Gen) recognizing my Fire TV when connected through my Comcast router. It seems to work via my Amped Wireless Router, but not Comcast, for whatever reason.
Next, streaming seems very poor overall. buffering times are no better than what I was getting with my Chromecast using the AllCast app.
Has anyone had better luck with AllCast and their Fire TV? Has anyone gotten mirroring to work? If so, how?
I've been posting on the Google+ page here and have not had any luck.
https://plus.google.com/110558071969009568835/posts/cbwdhJvg2vk
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For me it worked right at least sending videos and photos, the connection between my nexus 5 and FTV was quick, but I didn't try the mirror. I'm using for router an asus rt-ac66u and is coneccted wired.
It doesn't work very well for higher quality/HD video streaming - buffer and lag issues. It is good for photos and whatnot though. Using my S4 and the Fire.
2fastkuztoms said:
For me it worked right at least sending videos and photos, the connection between my nexus 5 and FTV was quick, but I didn't try the mirror. I'm using for router an asus rt-ac66u and is coneccted wired.
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I had some major issues when I first got it. Was visiting my in-laws this weekend and bought the Amazon Fire TV to be able to share pictures and videos of our baby with family. I spent 2 hours trying to get my AllCast to recognize the Amazon Fire TV and Allcast app on the device, no luck. didn't work with my Nexus 7 as well. I ended up resorting to uploading my pictures to Amazon Cloud Drive and showed the pictures/vidoes that way. The buffering time was horrible for videos, though.
When we finally got home Sunday night, I tried it on our TV and noticed I had the same issue when connecting to my Comcast router (same one my MIL has at her house). Luckily I have a separate router I use as a Wifi extender, so was able to get it to recognize my Fire TV with that connection.
Overall, I haven't been very impressed with the Fire TV, as compared to my Roku, Chromecast, or my dad's Apple TV. The one "must have" feature I wanted that this one seemed to have, as well as the apps and other features, was mirroring Android. If I'm not able to get that to work similar to how Koush was able to in his YouTube video, I'll probably pack it up and take it back to Best Buy for a return. Bummer, because it is a nice device, just already have too many other devices that do the same thing.
The AllCast app is finally available on Amazon Appstore (with the optional premium in app purchase) to work with AllCast for Fire TV app. Finally I can use my Amazon coins for something other than games!
AllCast and Amazon's version of Youtube have the ability to cast from Android devices to the Fire TV, just like Chromecast. They work great!
I have been using XBMC on my FTV that is hardwired and also have a FireTV Stick connected to 5Ghz band on my router. I was playing a 720p MKV of Interstellar. It would cause the FTV to buffer especially at the scene around 3 minutes where the cornfields are shaking from the winds.
I then play the same file wirelessly on the FireStick and it has no problems playing this same scene.
Is the video processor on the stick better than regular FTV?
I think something is wrong with your fire tv or connection.. I just watch interstellar 1080p 15 gig mkv file without any buffering issues on a wired line.
try switching to wifi.
The fire stick is much much less powerful in video and processor speed.
There are issues with the FireTV hardwired connection that makes it SLOWER than wireless. If you did wireless on your FireTV, it would work better.
Speed tests have consistently showed 5ghz to be faster than wired on my network, but I keep it wired because it's generally stronger with less interference, plus my speeds are more than fast enough for 1080p.
I'd try different Ethernet cables (simplest solution first.) I did that and found a discrepancy of over 20 Mbps.
Sizzlechest said:
There are issues with the FireTV hardwired connection that makes it SLOWER than wireless. If you did wireless on your FireTV, it would work better.
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OMG Thanks! I didn't every think to try the wireless on my FTV. This fixed the buffering on Intersellar MKV I was getting when I was hardwired.
That is so weird that the hardwired connection is slower than wireless?
How did you find out about FTV being slower hard wired?
yazyazoo said:
OMG Thanks! I didn't every think to try the wireless on my FTV. This fixed the buffering on Intersellar MKV I was getting when I was hardwired.
That is so weird that the hardwired connection is slower than wireless?
How did you find out about FTV being slower hard wired?
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It's been a known issue, but it's not totally common knowledge. There's other tidbits like you should probably use SPMC vs. Kodi and how to create an advancedsettings.xml that can improve performance, too.
Sizzlechest said:
There are issues with the FireTV hardwired connection that makes it SLOWER than wireless. If you did wireless on your FireTV, it would work better.
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My testing has shown the opposite. On multiple different network setups in different locations. In some network setups that could possibly be true. But I wouldn't attribute it to the FireTV.
Wow, I never heard of wired ethernet performance issues. Good to know if I ever run into issues, and good to know if I upgrade my wifi I can reliably wifi stream everything I already do. Personal experience with live TV through XBMC (MythTV + HDHomeRun backend), my hardwired FTV is flawless, but my older 802.11n 2.4Ghz connected FTV stick has buffering/stuttering issues with some of the stations. Not a true comparison to a 1080p H.264 mkv, but it sounds like if I buy a new 5ghz wifi router I might be able to get live tv working better on my stick.
Never used this on the FireTV/SPMC, but works very well @ OpenELEC:
http://kodi.wiki/view/HOW-TO:Modify_the_video_cache
I just said cache _any_ source to RAM, like 150MB (watch out as 150MB cache means *3 = 450MB RAM usage) and never had any issues after that, even on an unstable connection. You can also set how aggressive the cache should work etc, very handy tool.
I may have a bad Fire TV 2. Playback of any video stutters no matter what source I'm playing from. I thought it was only when streaming movies so I tested it by putting a few movies on the thumb drive attached to the Fire TV 2 (its a very fast ultra thumb drive) even those movies stutter. It doesn't seem to matter what the format is either. Even Netflix movies stutter. There is about a second or two pause all through the movie. Restarting the Fire TV doesn't help either. I'm not sure what else to try before accepting that the box is the problem. I'm rooted on 5.0.4. I will update to 5.0.5 and see if that helps but does anyone have any ideas what else I can check to identify the cause. It's really driving me crazy.
Thanks
dk1keith said:
I may have a bad Fire TV 2. Playback of any video stutters no matter what source I'm playing from. I thought it was only when streaming movies so I tested it by putting a few movies on the thumb drive attached to the Fire TV 2 (its a very fast ultra thumb drive) even those movies stutter. It doesn't seem to matter what the format is either. Even Netflix movies stutter. There is about a second or two pause all through the movie. Restarting the Fire TV doesn't help either. I'm not sure what else to try before accepting that the box is the problem. I'm rooted on 5.0.4. I will update to 5.0.5 and see if that helps but does anyone have any ideas what else I can check to identify the cause. It's really driving me crazy.
Thanks
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I'd contact amazon or just exchange it wherever you bought it. Do you have anything connected to the usb port that might interfere? Other than that I'm not sure what you'd do especially since it seems you've ruled out network issues.
KLit75 said:
I'd contact amazon or just exchange it wherever you bought it. Do you have anything connected to the usb port that might interfere? Other than that I'm not sure what you'd do especially since it seems you've ruled out network issues.
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The only things connected to the usb port is a non powered usb hub with my k400 wifi dongle and the usb thumb drive. I would really prefer to not have to exchange it since it was a gift from my kids. I really don't want the hassle of returning it to amazon and waiting on a new one. Also, after a little further testing, it seems to playback better right after a reboot.... it isn't totally without stutter but not nearly as frequent. could it be a memory issue or something?
dk1keith said:
The only things connected to the usb port is a non powered usb hub with my k400 wifi dongle and the usb thumb drive. I would really prefer to not have to exchange it since it was a gift from my kids. I really don't want the hassle of returning it to amazon and waiting on a new one. Also, after a little further testing, it seems to playback better right after a reboot.... it isn't totally without stutter but not nearly as frequent. could it be a memory issue or something?
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Unplug the wifi dongle. If you cant replicate the issue then that's probably it. Aftv2 uses wifi (same as your keyboard). There could be interference. I know others are using the same keyboard though so youd also need to consider the hub.
I just purchased on Fire TV 2 on Prime Day and have been trying it out as my main streamer. The Roku 3 that I used to use as my primary is now on the bedroom TV. The problem that I'm noticing is that while my wife streams Hulu on the Fire TV I get pretty incredible lag (high latency) while playing Dota 2. This was not an issue with all else being equal when she streamed Hulu on the Roku 3. However, this has always been an issue with streaming Netflix. I can only assume that for whatever reason the Fire TV is hogging much more bandwidth than the Roku 3 did on the same app. Any ideas why this might be? Is there anything that can be done at the device level to try to reduce the amount of bandwidth it saps up? I would appreciate any thoughts on this issue.
Has anybody encountered issues streaming Netflix in 4k in their Fire Tv box 2? I can get Amazon series / shoes. And youtube to stream in 4k. As well as streaming netflix in 4k to my tv from my Xbox and the smart app on the tv. For some reason though it won't stream in 4k fro, the Fire tv box 2. I am running the latest rooted firmware and have ran the last 2 or 3 rooted roms in order of release as well. It appears very close to 4k when streaming but there are noticeable tracers and issues with fast movement that don't occur on the Netflix app in 4k via the other devices. With all said above, that rules out the tv, hdmi cable, port on the tv and even the Netflix app because I uninstalled and reinstalled it. Just curious as to what I'm missing.
Not a lot of us using 4k yet. I keep putting off buying one because I have more then enough Tv's at the moment. And can't justify the expense to myself yet...But as soon as the 70inch craps out I'm all over it