Develop Bugs

[Q] Resolution of Mobile Apps

Okay, hopefully this isn't a stupid question.
I'm wondering about the resolution of mobile apps on the Fire TV.
For example, the WWE Network app. Does it now my screen is at 1080p and I can handle their 720p streams? Or is this something I might want to use a web browser to watch on?
I guess what I'm asking are apps set at a certain screen size, or can they use more screenspace if available? Or does it just depending on the programming of the app?
thanks!

The fire TV will display 1080 natively. However, it depends on the app as well. If the app only displays 720 or lower, that's what you'll ultimately get. If you install xposed framework you can change the resolution of any app, with a mod called application settings

gizzyfin said:
The fire TV will display 1080 natively. However, it depends on the app as well. If the app only displays 720 or lower, that's what you'll ultimately get. If you install xposed framework you can change the resolution of any app, with a mod called application settings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, sweet. Thanks very much, I'll check that out.
Okay, checked it out and can't figure out how to use it. If you click on any of the programs, you can launch it, the settings (which is the same as the APP Settings in the system menu) and play store.
Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong?

XBMC/SPMC/Kodi crashes on Amazon FTV !!! ( Solved )

I have tried Xbmc Gotham, Spmc and Kodi alpha on Amazon Fire TV.
But every time i found the same problem of crashing, i just wonder is it really a problem or just something wrong with my AFTV ?. It happens very often so i can not conclude that when exactly it crashes. Even i have not rooted my device. and nothing is installed except XBMC.
Also somebody would like to answer is there any way to update librtmp without root ?
Any suggestions would be appreciated !
Thank

arif01 said:
I have tried Xbmc Gotham, Spmc and Kodi alpha on Amazon Fire TV.
But every time i found the same problem of crashing, i just wonder is it really a problem or just something wrong with my AFTV ?. It happens very often so i can not conclude that when exactly it crashes. Even i have not rooted my device. and nothing is installed except XBMC.
Also somebody would like to answer is there any way to update librtmp without root ?
Any suggestions would be appreciated !
Thank
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try the KODI forum? Mine crashes every fourth selection, no matter what section or add-on I am in.

What addons do you have enabled?
Sent from my SM-N900A using XDA Free mobile app

captainjapan said:
What addons do you have enabled?
Sent from my SM-N900A using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1Channel
Crackle
ESPN Video
HD-Trailers.com
Icefilms
IGN.com
Revision3
YouTube
Plus WMC.PVR
Doesn't matter which one I'm using, crashes just as I select the fourth video, even when changing channels in PVR.

that is not normal behavior.. I've been running pretty solid since April. You need to produce a log and see what's happening could be so many things.

BigB42078 said:
1Channel
Crackle
ESPN Video
HD-Trailers.com
Icefilms
IGN.com
Revision3
YouTube
Plus WMC.PVR
Doesn't matter which one I'm using, crashes just as I select the fourth video, even when changing channels in PVR.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried running without addons installed? Try only one installed at a single time to root out the cause. I only have Icefilms on two devices and have yet to experience a crash.

Set decoding method to "Hardware accelerated", fixed crashing for me.
Sent from my Nexus 7²

BigB42078 said:
Did you try the KODI forum? Mine crashes every fourth selection, no matter what section or add-on I am in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for late reply as i was on vacation.
NO i haven't tried there, i thought i will get quick response/solution here instead
mastafunk said:
that is not normal behavior.. I've been running pretty solid since April. You need to produce a log and see what's happening could be so many things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
File is attached , if possible please explain me the error information
Now i have removed the file as the problem is solved (23Oct2014)
verboten said:
Have you tried running without addons installed? Try only one installed at a single time to root out the cause. I only have Icefilms on two devices and have yet to experience a crash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have only installed one addon
V8vroom said:
Set decoding method to "Hardware accelerated", fixed crashing for me.
Sent from my Nexus 7²
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By default it is selected
Thanks all for resonses

Now the working/solution part
This solution will ONLY solve problem for those who are using Live tv, (at-least as I do). Both, SPMC and official XBMC crashed on Live tv (or any Live Stream addson) but not when playback from local contents. Now my fire tv runs quit smoothly with no crashed issues.
These are the following steps which needs to be done :
1. Turn off both filters (mediacodec and libstagefright) under hardware acceleration.
(goto System->Settings->Video->Acceleration>disable both filters MediaCodec and Libstagefright)
2. Change hardware acceleration to software. (when there is no filter activated it will automatically work as software, so basically Decoding method can be leave as Hardware accelerated as well)
3. Enable 'Allow multi thread software decoding' (optional if you changed DecMtd to Sofwre)
For those user who are not using LIVE TV but they have the same problem while using any other addson or streaming media from local server.
ONLY turning off Mediacodec could stabilize the system. Also bare in mind everything works fine with software rendering but sometimes cpu can be exhausted so try to put the device in open area where air can easily circulate, haven't notice so much heat but its better to be prepare.
With Mediacodec disabled, it also notices that XBMC runs little slower while watching movies and for example navigating the menus. That could also be cachemembuffersize, if experiences the lagging issue increase the cachemembuffersize.
Now i simply request to our respected developers to make some adjustments/fix to the media library so it can smoothly support Fire TV hardware.
Thanks all folks for helping each other.

arif01 said:
Now the working/solution part
This solution will ONLY solve problem for those who are using Live tv, (at-least as I do). Both, SPMC and official XBMC crashed on Live tv (or any Live Stream addson) but not when playback from local contents. Now my fire tv runs quit smoothly with no crashed issues.
These are the following steps which needs to be done :
1. Turn off both filters (mediacodec and libstagefright) under hardware acceleration.
(goto System->Settings->Video->Acceleration>disable both filters MediaCodec and Libstagefright)
2. Change hardware acceleration to software. (when there is no filter activated it will automatically work as software, so basically Decoding method can be leave as Hardware accelerated as well)
3. Enable 'Allow multi thread software decoding' (optional if you changed DecMtd to Sofwre)
For those user who are not using LIVE TV but they have the same problem while using any other addson or streaming media from local server.
ONLY turning off Mediacodec could stabilize the system. Also bare in mind everything works fine with software rendering but sometimes cpu can be exhausted so try to put the device in open area where air can easily circulate, haven't notice so much heat but its better to be prepare.
With Mediacodec disabled, it also notices that XBMC runs little slower while watching movies and for example navigating the menus. That could also be cachemembuffersize, if experiences the lagging issue increase the cachemembuffersize.
Now i simply request to our respected developers to make some adjustments/fix to the media library so it can smoothly support Fire TV hardware.
Thanks all folks for helping each other.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Changing these settings worked for me too! Only on Live Tv my Premium channels would freeze and just keep playing audio(DIY, Lifetime, History, Animal Planet, Fox News, All HBO, SHOWTIME etc...) BUT now the problem is the picture has a lag to it, without he accelerations enabled they lag, I am using the new fire tv 2015, any other ideas to fix this or is Amazon Fire Tv just no good for Kodi? I will say I tried Kodi 14.2, 15.2, 16, and I have a paid subscription for iptv, my same settings work perfect on my windows machine.
Thanks

AirPlay Mirroring does not work

Hi everyone.
I'm running the latest build of SPMC on my FireTV (not rooted), but when I try mirror my iPad screen to it, nothing happens. The status bar turns blue to indicate mirroring is working, but nothing comes up on SPMC. I've turned on AirPlay in the SPMC settings, so that can't be it. Would really appreciate some help
Thanks

Khaiyan said:
Hi everyone.
I'm running the latest build of SPMC on my FireTV (not rooted), but when I try mirror my iPad screen to it, nothing happens. The status bar turns blue to indicate mirroring is working, but nothing comes up on SPMC. I've turned on AirPlay in the SPMC settings, so that can't be it. Would really appreciate some help
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I understood, airplay has been broken since iOS 7 and Mavericks in XBMC. I'd recommend using an app like Reflector to do airplay- it works flawlessly, but isn't free. You can see a demo of it at the end of my tutorial video here.

Thanks for the help mate. Unfortunately I cannot root my FireTV (UK user here), is that a problem?

Try AirPlay/DLNA Receiver Pro. It works fine on the FireTV. Only crypted streams are not supported.

I am using AirReceiver from the AAS and it works flawless but some Videos from Youtube fail.

I also use AirPlay/dlna receiver pro and it works great!
Youtube doesn't work because it is encrypted but I thinknjts the same with a genuine appletv
If you use the jasmine app on your iPad/iPhone , then youtube will work fine.

Thanks for all the suggestions! Do these apps allow me to AirPlay mirror my iOS screen, or are they only for airplaying multimedia?

Khaiyan said:
Thanks for all the suggestions! Do these apps allow me to AirPlay mirror my iOS screen, or are they only for airplaying multimedia?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The app I mentioned is able to run from startup automatically, doesn't need root and it supports full proper mirroring as well as showing photos/videos
On your iPhone/iPad just select the firetv in the AirPlay section. Once you connect there will be an extra button underneath to turn on mirroring.
Mirroring has lower general image quality so if viewing photos /videos I'd leave mirroring off.

f1ux said:
The app I mentioned is able to run from startup automatically, doesn't need root and it supports full proper mirroring as well as showing photos/videos
On your iPhone/iPad just select the firetv in the AirPlay section. Once you connect there will be an extra button underneath to turn on mirroring.
Mirroring has lower general image quality so if viewing photos /videos I'd leave mirroring off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your help! I'll check it out now

Fire TV 4K stick: auto framerate siwtching only works once :(

Hello,
my new Amazon frie TV stick 4K is attached to a Denon AVR 1912, and this one to a Panasonic LCD TV set. My problem is that I would like the stick to switch the framerate (24Hz, 50Hz, 60Hz, etc.) automatically according to the source framerate automatically, which can be set in the settings menu of fire TV stick accordingl, but the problem is that this setting only works once after it has been selected. If you hibernate the stick and it wakes up again, it will be stuck to 60Hz all the time, no matter what source framerate your video has. It stays that way until you change *something* (no matter what parameter actually) in the fire TV video settings, i.e. switching from "HDR" to "disable HDR", then the auto framerate works again, until you hibernate it the next time, and so on, which is very uconvenient.
You can also see it clearly when you install (sideload) Kodi to the stick, the whitelist of possible resolutions will normally offer a great variety, but when the stick is stuck at 60Hz, also Kodi will only allow this one refresh rate, and the same is true for all other apps on the stick that make use of framerate siwtching.
I have read a lot on the net that some people only have that problem when they are using a AVR (like in my setup), but for some people it also happens with the stick directly attached to their TV. So it seems Amazon devs have completely messed up this essential feature, which I was missing in the previous Fire TV sticks completely. Now I was happy to have that feature just to see that it isn't working properly Very poor performance, Amazon. Anything one can do against it? Any way to create a log and send it to Amazon devs to fix that problem?

Refresh rate is not equal to framerate.
If there is such a dramatic difference using regular pulldown, you might need a new tv.
No media is created with variable refresh rates in mind.

TimmyP said:
Refresh rate is not equal to framerate.
If there is such a dramatic difference using regular pulldown, you might need a new tv.
No media is created with variable refresh rates in mind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, but I think you totally did not understand my post: I am using various apps on the FireTV Stick, i.e. Kodi, using media with various framerates. And there is of course a relationship between the framerate a media was created and a suitable refresh rate which is in the best case the same or an integer factor to the framerate of the video (i.e. if a video was recorded with 25fps, then 50Hz would be a good choice for autoframerate, 60Hz would not be a good choice!). But this is not the point to discuss here.
The point is that the Fire TV Stick can only select an appropriate refresh rate once it has been set in the video options of the stick, as soon as it goes to hibernate once, it will be stuck at that refresh rate, no matter which other media is played. This does not only affect Kodi, it afffects, as I wrote, all the apps on the fire TV stick. And as soon as you select any other option in he video options, it again works - but only once!

It doesn't matter. There is absolutely no point to watching video with a refresh rate lower than the highest you have available.

You need to be sure in kodi settings -> system -> video -> refresh rates You see non standard refresh rates !
I had some problem while connected to AVR 5.1 not showing 50fps or lower
For 4k material auto framrate doesn't work so to have it enable for movie put some small fullhd starter with same fps as 4k movie played. Works for me all the time. I've cuted out 3s clip from my movies via ffmpeg

None of this matters. Any difference you see is completely placebo. There is never a circumstance where you do not want to use the pulldown your tv gives you.
edit: passtrough for everything, as much as possible. Unless there are specific *firetv-software-only needs.

Incompatible sideloaded android app on Shield, how to get it working?

I have sideloaded bunch of android (cellphone apps) apps to my Shield. Sometimes app called "set orientation" is needed. There is one app, that is official IPTV app from my internet provider. I have account for it, but that app is full optimized for cellphones and tablets... it wont boot in shield at all. Shows only white screen and crashes after 5 seconds. Is there some kind a 3rd party addons/apps that could help me with this. That app would be game changer, if i could use it with shield. App is called "Uusi DNA T" (version 1.1.7 is the newest)
Could someone please try tricks to it. Is there possibility to hack that app some way to make it compatible with Shield?

Corsten said:
I have sideloaded bunch of android (cellphone apps) apps to my Shield. Sometimes app called "set orientation" is needed. There is one app, that is official IPTV app from my internet provider. I have account for it, but that app is full optimized for cellphones and tablets... it wont boot in shield at all. Shows only white screen and crashes after 5 seconds. Is there some kind a 3rd party addons/apps that could help me with this. That app would be game changer, if i could use it with shield. App is called "Uusi DNA T" (version 1.1.7 is the newest)
Could someone please try tricks to it. Is there possibility to hack that app some way to make it compatible with Shield?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Without knowing the app or running any logcats to see why why it crashes my best guess would be the app is not designed to run on large screens and has a dpi limit and will crash if you run it on a device that exceeds this limit
You have three options really
See if there's a version with no dpi limit (designed for android tv or firetv for example)
Change the dpi to something lower on the shield (may require root or use of adb & lowering it will effect device resolution)
But the easiest way is to chromecast the app to the shield
If the app itself doesn't support chromecast so you can't cast directly from the app to the tv just cast your entire phone to the tv
Download Google home app and then cast your device to the shield - results may vary based on your phone performance

TheFixItMan said:
Without knowing the app or running any logcats to see why why it crashes my best guess would be the app is not designed to run on large screens and has a dpi limit and will crash if you run it on a device that exceeds this limit
You have three options really
See if there's a version with no dpi limit (designed for android tv or firetv for example)
Change the dpi to something lower on the shield (may require root or use of adb & lowering it will effect device resolution)
But the easiest way is to chromecast the app to the shield
If the app itself doesn't support chromecast so you can't cast directly from the app to the tv just cast your entire phone to the tv
Download Google home app and then cast your device to the shield - results may vary based on your phone performance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for reply. I did contact dev and he sayed that app is compatitle with AndroidTV but there is such strict permissions to distribute IPTV, DVB and OTT material in one app, so it is about that. Google´s platform is rejecting that app to launch i understand. App is working great on iOS and Android. Dev promised to take those permissions to "do list" so meaby that app is going to be AndroidTV compatible in future.

Corsten said:
Thanks for reply. I did contact dev and he sayed that app is compatitle with AndroidTV but there is such strict permissions to distribute IPTV, DVB and OTT material in one app, so it is about that. Google´s platform is rejecting that app to launch i understand. App is working great on iOS and Android. Dev promised to take those permissions to "do list" so meaby that app is going to be AndroidTV compatible in future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looking at it in more detail it looks like it's crashing because it may be using an outdated firebase sdk (or it needs some patch applied) resulting in it not being able to handle the Google play services version on the shield