Hi,
I'm having a FireTV1. My main goal is to install something with that multiple smartphones can be used to control youtube streaming on the firetv.
Important is that it should work without having to login to a youtube account on the firetv. Because eg my wife and me having different youtube accounts, both active on the smartphone.
As both of us should be able to stream youtube content to firetv directly, it would be bad if the firetv has to be logged in to one of the accounts. As in this case only one of our smartphones could take control of the firetv.
If there is some app, but that requires installing custom systems like kodi, that would be fine.
I'm a bit lost in the possibilities and would be happy for any advise how to achieve that.
Thanks!
membersound said:
Hi,
I'm having a FireTV1. My main goal is to install something with that multiple smartphones can be used to control youtube streaming on the firetv.
Important is that it should work without having to login to a youtube account on the firetv. Because eg my wife and me having different youtube accounts, both active on the smartphone.
As both of us should be able to stream youtube content to firetv directly, it would be bad if the firetv has to be logged in to one of the accounts. As in this case only one of our smartphones could take control of the firetv.
If there is some app, but that requires installing custom systems like kodi, that would be fine.
I'm a bit lost in the possibilities and would be happy for any advise how to achieve that.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your first issue is there is no YouTube app for FireTV. You can thank the Amazon vs Google war for that. You can only screen mirror Amazon devices to Fire TV devices.
Secondly, what you’re describing would function best using a Google Chromecast, that way anyone on your WiFi, can cast YouTube and many other apps, from their phone to the Chromecast device.
Ok I see. Though our primary use is amazon prime video. So I hoped for having just one player...
So there is no way throwing videos on firetv in any case?
(I'd like to avoid screen mirroring. I tried that multiple times without satisfying results).
membersound said:
Ok I see. Though our primary use is amazon prime video. So I hoped for having just one player...
So there is no way throwing videos on firetv in any case?
(I'd like to avoid screen mirroring. I tried that multiple times without satisfying results).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can have just one player, but the Fire tv devices are cheaply made. I’ve not had great success with them.
Now I’m using Roku, which still will let me do Amazon video. Not sure on screen mirroring but it does have a YouTube app. I’ll have to check if it will support multiple accounts in the app.
Without doing mirroring, I’m not sure what you mean by “throwing” videos on the screen.
You can cast YouTube to the fire stick pretty easily. I followed this guide to set it up. https://youtu.be/Fpjaqw7CAMg
@Jeffro2700 great, thanks! that worked.
so the only tradeoff is that I first have to start the youtube firefox/silk browser page before I can send videos from my phone to firetv, correct?
If you're a Kodi user with an Android phone, I highly recommend installing the youtube addon for kodi, and installing the yatse remote for kodi app. Once you've done that you can use Share > Play on Media Server (an option enabled with a Yatse installation), and it will cast it to the Kodi system the yatse app is currently controlling. Those are the broad strokes. If you want more info, like how to enable youtube videos > 720P/30 in Kodi, let me know.
Alternatively, you could try sideloading the Smart YouTube TV app from here: https://smartyoutubetv.github.io
Related
It would great to sideload the cheapcast app in order to turn the FTV into a remote Google Play Music streamer, and also to send the occasional youtube video over without having to manually search for something with the remote.
floepie said:
It would great to sideload the cheapcast app in order to turn the FTV into a remote Google Play Music streamer, and also to send the occasional youtube video over without having to manually search for something with the remote.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheapcast is pretty much broken since after Google released Chromecast SDK. The Allcast app by koush is supposed to be compatible with FTV.
adfurgerson said:
Cheapcast is pretty much broken since after Google released Chromecast SDK. The Allcast app by koush is supposed to be compatible with FTV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Allcast by koush is already on the Amazon app store, you can install it directly from the fire tv without side loading it, is under entertainment category.
2fastkuztoms said:
Allcast by koush is already on the Amazon app store, you can install it directly from the fire tv without side loading it, is under entertainment category.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you look in playstore it lists ftv as compatible along with chromecast, xbox360, roku , appletv, etc. which would seem to indicate ftv can be used to receive content from another device. Side loading cheapcast would be done in order to receive on ftv also, but OP doesn't mention what device they want to send from.
adfurgerson said:
If you look in playstore it lists ftv as compatible along with chromecast, xbox360, roku , appletv, etc. which would seem to indicate ftv can be used to receive content from another device. Side loading cheapcast would be done in order to receive on ftv also, but OP doesn't mention what device they want to send from.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in the same boat as OP and this thread seems to be going off the rails.
The reason we want CheapCast to work on FireTV is so that we can mirror tabs from a Windows or Mac laptop onto the Fire TV. AllCast does not help here at all.
The question is can you install CheapCast on FireTV and use it to mirror a Chrome tab to the Fire TV from your laptop.
Well, I was hoping that Cheapcast could be run as a service in the background on the FTV to listen for casting requests from the various Android compatible apps just like the CC does. Essentially, it would allow the FTV to become an AppleTV in the iOS world, so that if you send something to the FTV, it would immediately stop whatever it was playing and directly play that which was casted (youtube vids, play music, etc.).
Thats fine but if you had of read the first reply, Cheapcast is practically dead! Google updated the sdk and since then cheapcast has had limited uses, there's a few apps still using the old sdk but as soon as they are updated they will no longer work as well. If chrome tabs are still working they wont for much longer.
The developers own post on the matter
floepie said:
Well, I was hoping that Cheapcast could be run as a service in the background on the FTV to listen for casting requests from the various Android compatible apps just like the CC does. Essentially, it would allow the FTV to become an AppleTV in the iOS world, so that if you send something to the FTV, it would immediately stop whatever it was playing and directly play that which was casted (youtube vids, play music, etc.).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This may be worth a look.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.waxrain.airplayer&hl=en
adfurgerson said:
This may be worth a look.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.waxrain.airplayer&hl=en
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, that won't solve the problem. We want to emulate a Chromecast dongle. This way we can still use the Chromecast features from our phones/tablets.
Chinpokomon said:
Nope, that won't solve the problem. We want to emulate a Chromecast dongle. This way we can still use the Chromecast features from our phones/tablets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep I read that wrong. How bout this?
http://www.droid-life.com/2014/05/1...sic-pictures-and-video-to-any-android-device/
adfurgerson said:
Yep I read that wrong. How bout this?
http://www.droid-life.com/2014/05/1...sic-pictures-and-video-to-any-android-device/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. That's the same problem. With FireTV, you can't use Google services. So there isn't a way to use Play Music, or download apps from the Play Store, or stream movies from Play Movies and TV. Cheapcast looked like a was an app that looked like a Chromecast dongle, so in theory you could install the app on FireTV and have the best of both worlds.
Another 6 months went by, any update? Just got the fire tv stick, it's so cool, runs kodi perfectly. Would be good to have Cheapcast or similar running to imitate a Chromecast...
I get its like Roku, but even.. what does it do? Can you stream local stuff or just things that are offered on the fire platform? Reason Im asking, is that my father is thinking about dumping FIOS. As he never watches "season style shows" He just turns it on to watch something when bored. So something like Fire Tv I think will be cool for him... He wont be playing games, just watching random broadcasts.. He said he liked the Roku and like the 99 cent movie channel.. Does the Fire TV have the same setup as the Roku?
Thanks guys!
Of course, Id be rooting it and downloading that XBMC that I seen. Again I dont know much about it, but it seems like most recommend to do that and root the unit. I seen an OTA blocker too... thanks agian.
mroneeyedboh said:
I get its like Roku, but even.. what does it do? Can you stream local stuff or just things that are offered on the fire platform? Reason Im asking, is that my father is thinking about dumping FIOS. As he never watches "season style shows" He just turns it on to watch something when bored. So something like Fire Tv I think will be cool for him... He wont be playing games, just watching random broadcasts.. He said he liked the Roku and like the 99 cent movie channel.. Does the Fire TV have the same setup as the Roku?
Thanks guys!
Of course, Id be rooting it and downloading that XBMC that I seen. Again I dont know much about it, but it seems like most recommend to do that and root the unit. I seen an OTA blocker too... thanks agian.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Fire TV is primarily a video streaming device. Meaning, it plays videos from the internet. The videos it streams can come from several different sources. Some are free, some cost money per video, and some require a paid monthly subscription which lets you play any videos in the library at no additional cost.
Here are some of the most popular video sources used on the FIre TV:
Amazon Prime Instant Video: This costs $99 a year and allows you to view any number of movies and TV shows in their library. This also comes with other perks from Amazon, like free 2 day shipping on most orders.
Amazon Instant Video: This is Amazon's movie and TV show purchase and rental service. You can buy movies or TV shows individually. Once purchased, you can play them as many times as you want. This it the digital equivalent to buying a DVD/Bluray and putting it on your shelf. This service also allows you to rent movies and TV shows. Renting gives you limited access to a movie or TV show; essentially enough access to watch the video once.
Netflix: For a monthly subscription, you get to watch any and all of the movies and TV shows in their library. The selection is better than Amazon Prime Instant Videos, but it's also more expensive considering there are no additional perks. It's strictly a video streaming service.
Hulu Plus: For a monthly subscription, you get access to their library of TV shows. Generally, TV shows will be available on Hulu Plus before they become available on other services.
Netflix and Hulu require that you install a free app on the Fire TV in order to access their videos. Where as, for Amazon Videos, you have direct access to them form the Fire TV's home screen.
You also have several free video options. These all require individual apps. These are services like YouTube, Pluto.tv, iFood.tv, Smithsonian Channel, Tubi, etc...
Lastly, you can play local videos stored on a PC in the house. This is what XBMC and Plex iare primarily used for.
Thanks. I already have Amazon Prime, so I can tag my dad on to that..
And thanks for the description.
mroneeyedboh said:
Thanks. I already have Amazon Prime, so I can tag my dad on to that..
And thanks for the description.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome. If you already have Amazon Prime, then it seems like the Fire TV is a good option for your dad.
If your dad is not technologically savvy, or you're worried he may be confused with which videos are free (via Prime) and which ones have to be purchased, I would suggest installing rbox's mod which allows you to hide certain menu options. I have a guide here. This will allow you to hide the "Movies" and "TV" sections (where most of the content is not included free with Amazon Prime) and keep the "Prime Video" section (where all of the content is included free with Amazon Prime). You can also hide all the other sections (like, apps, games, photos, etc..) which it sounds like he will never use.
To install rbox's menu hidding mod, you have to be rooted, so be sure not to accidentaly block rooting during the inital setup process of the Fire TV.
Thanks again. If you dont mind, what all would you suggest to do to it when I receive it? Should I install Llama and that XBMC?
Also seems that Roku has more "misc" movie channels for free versus the Amazon Fire.. no?
Awesome summary from AFTVNews....
Want to add a few things:
-- Amazon prime videos (movies/tv shows) load way faster on FTV than on any other platform. I have PS3, Samsung Smart TV and Wii. It is a no contest when it comes to speed. So, if you are going to watch prime content, FTV is a much better option, just for this reason and even if you don't root it or load anything else like XBMC.
-- As mentioned before, you can buy/rent content from Amazon. Do keep in mind that even if you buy, you will only able to watch it as long as your Amazon account is in good standing, as in forever. If Amazon bars your account for any reason, all your buys will go poof.
-- FTV has a voice enabled search and works reasonably well.
-- If you have your cable subscription through a vendor that allows you to stream WatchESPN, you can download the app and watch all content on it through FTV (along with any other ESPN channels you subscribe to). This was the main and only reason I bought FTV (but now I know better to be happy with just ESPN, LOL)
---------- Post added at 11:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:01 PM ----------
mroneeyedboh said:
Thanks again. If you dont mind, what all would you suggest to do to it when I receive it? Should I install Llama and that XBMC?
Also seems that Roku has more "misc" movie channels for free versus the Amazon Fire.. no?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can get all the "free" movie content if you install and use XBMC. Roku might have way higher number of gross apps/feed, but if you are not going to use it, why buy it? And FTV has so much more superior hardware.
---------- Post added at 11:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:03 PM ----------
mroneeyedboh said:
Thanks again. If you dont mind, what all would you suggest to do to it when I receive it? Should I install Llama and that XBMC?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a personal preference, the least modifications you do on FTV, the less the chances of wrecking your FTV. I have accepted the trade off of a few more clicks to run XBMC over changing the launching behavior of my FTV. Just an opinion.
mroneeyedboh said:
Thanks again. If you dont mind, what all would you suggest to do to it when I receive it? Should I install Llama and that XBMC?
Also seems that Roku has more "misc" movie channels for free versus the Amazon Fire.. no?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@dbdoshi added some great points. If you, or a family member has a cable subscription, your content selection increases because of apps like WatchESPN that let you watch for free if you already have a cable subscription with one of their participating providers.
Llama is primarily only used to reduce the number of clicks needed to get to sideloaded apps. I agree with dbdoshi and feel it's not worth the extra complexity just to save a few clicks.
XBMC is primarily useful for local videos on a hard drive or PC. There are some extensions for XBMC which let you stream more content for free, but most people install it to play their own collection of videos.
Lastly, yes, I agree that Roku has a wider selection of content sources than the Fire TV. I don't have much experience with Roku's, so I can't comment about the quality of their selection but it does seem larger.
Let me add a couple points here. First, you can't share Amazon Prime videos, the family share thing only covers the free 2-day shipping. This doesn't mean you can't give out your Amazon login/password, but if that person starts buying movies and such.... Roku has a boatload more apps, something like 1,700, but unless you are looking for some odd niche there really isn't much on Roku that you can't get on FTV. HBOGo being the biggie if you subscribe to HBO. Side-loading XBMC works great, plus gives you access to all the legal and questionable plug-ins. Between the XBMC plugins and the native FTV apps, I doubt there is anything available online you can't get.
I didn't bother rooting my FTV, and for a casual user I wouldn't recommend it. Sure, you can do nice things like change the launcher, customize the menus, or enable USB storage (something I hope Amazon does in a future update), and other things, but you don't need root to side load apps such as XBMC. I'd rather stay current with Amazon's updates and improvements than worry about blocking them or getting caught up in a cat & mouse game of root exploits.
I currently use plex for my media management solution, which is fantastic. I have a quad processor server with 18TB of storage, 12TB usable as its configured for Raid6. I chose plex due to the fact that plexapps are available for my Samsung smart tvs, and for simplicity with my chromecast.
The wife knows my love of tinkering and that I've been eyeballing the AFTV for a while now. Can anyone provide some insight? I'm looking to further enhance my cord-cutting future as we are moving to South Korea next year and will need to rely on my server as well as streaming content for entertainment.
I'm tired of horrible firstrow streams for my football games, as well as UFC matches and indycar/rally races. Are there "alternatives" available with much improved quality?
Anything I should do first to the AFTV? How can I integrate it into my existing content delivery system?
Thanks in advance!
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
cliff p said:
Anything I should do first to the AFTV? How can I integrate it into my existing content delivery system?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Might want to see if you can root the Fire TV before you ever hook it up. This allows for harnessing the power of the device with XBMC and the addons that are available. The How to setup a new Fire TV without blocking Root guide is a great starting point. Otherwise, the Fire TV will primarily be an Amazon centric box. And where is the fun in that?
That was generally the idea (to root the device first before doing anything else with it).
When I first started looking into Media Servers, I worked very little with XBMC. A few friends with Plex suggested it to me, and it seems to fit the bill more for me. With that being said, can XBMC be integrated or coexist with PMS?
EDIT: Disregard the XBMC question, I did a quick search and found that I can install PlexBMC that will work with the PMS backend.
So I've rooted the AFTV, Installed BB and SuperSU, and XBMC. Added a few "add-ons" like 1Chan and some others. Pretty cool little device! Kinda wishing there were more HD capable streams for certain programs, since there isn't much difference streaming the actual website steam via my laptop to my TV via HDMI.
I may put it in my VPN route and see if I can get my NFL games in HD at least.
Quite honestly wondering if it was worth installing Plex on, since my Samsung TV already has Plex and is a bit more seamless. I may use the device in place of the Chromecast dongle I have in the bedroom, though.
Can anyone point me in the right direction for some higher quality feeds, etc?
Almost forgot: Themes for the XBMC? Is it more worthwhile to have XBMC autostart on boot? I don't have a subscription for Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, etc. I use Plex, and use it heavily with Sickbeard/Couchpotato/Headphones/Etc.
THX.
Take a look at the [LAUNCHER] XBMC for Fire TV (Root). This XBMC launcher replaces the Fire TV launcher and at the same time allows access to it if you were to have Amazon content.
mjbxx said:
Take a look at the [LAUNCHER] XBMC for Fire TV (Root). This XBMC launcher replaces the Fire TV launcher and at the same time allows access to it if you were to have Amazon content.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Works great! Thanks!
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
Hello Guys,
I've recently bought a Fire TV box with the original intention of using it to replace my HTPC in the bedroom to run my XBMC and also as a player for my Netflix streaming. It's been running KODI flawlessly. Interestingly, I've been an Amazon customer for close to a decade, yet have never considered joining their Prime membership. After owning the FTV, I looked more into it and finally decided to cancel my Netflix subscription and signed up for Amazon Prime; I figure all the perks included in it is worth the whole deal. Anyways, I've been tinkering around with the Prime Instant Video (PIV) on the FTV the last couple days and notice some inconsistencies between the video libraries in the Amazon page on my browser versus the accessible titles on the FTV app itself. So my question is....are we able to search/browse the whole PIV library from the FTV as we could from the browser? The GUI of the FTV seems to only list out some featured movies or tv shows.
I haven't noticed any differences to be honest. If I see something while browsing online, I use the search function to find it on my FTV later. Or, just add it to my watchlist while in my browser and it shows up on FTV watchlist.
I'm in the UK though, so maybe in your region it's different. If you have any examples, I can check mine to see if it's the same issue. I know Hulu in the US have different streaming rights depending on the platform/app, so may well be the case with Amazon as well, but I would be surprised.
Got here in germany also different lists on the browser and in the AFTV GUI. You have to use the search function to search through the complete list.
esc0rpi0n said:
Got here in germany also different lists on the browser and in the AFTV GUI. You have to use the search function to search through the complete list.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I guess the best method to use is either to search it or just view it on the computer when I have time and save it in the favorites list. Have a good weekend!
So I'm having extreme frustrations with the native Youtube app for my Fire TV Stick. It's often slow, randomly crashes, CONSTANTLY lags without fail, and I can't even use the Amazon Fire TV Android app to type to search. It's just not an overall well done app for the Stick at least. I can't speak about the Fire TV Box, which I might purchase due to some sluggishness with the Stick (i.e. Youtube, Kodi, etc) So, I've tried other alternatives on the Amazon Appstore. Namely OneTube. It works decently, but it doesn't look too pretty, is difficult to find things when I don't know what I want to watch, and no Cast/pair support.
The older Youtube for Google TV works well, but unfortunately, when using the remote, I can't click the search box to search anything lol.
I've used the Youtube for Android TV 1.0.5.5 app(sideloaded) and, minus the regular complaints about the app itself, runs great! No lag, videos work fine, and I can type to search with the Amazon Fire TV app on my phone. Downside is that I can't seem to find a pair device setting in the app itself :/ Now maybe I need to sideload google play services in order to get it to show up? I'm not sure, but I thought that was only necessary if you wanted to sign into your YouTube account.
So my question is are there any alternate YouTube players that work well, or is there a way to pair my device with the new Youtube for Android TV app?
The kodi YouTube app works very well and you could use yatse to cast videos to it.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app