Amazon Instant kind of working - Shield Android TV Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I sideloaded the new Amazon Instant Thirdpartyclient APK onto my shield. http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/amazon-mobile-llc/instant-video/amazon-video-3-0-63-239301-android-apk-download/
When i first tried it, it shows the same interface as on e.g. my Nexus 7. There are no borders around the currently selected items.
If you try to play a video, it loads a bit and then closes the video and goes back to the main screen.
(I invested this issue by checking the logcat and the problem is, that the app tries to show a xraycard in the navbar and i think androidtv doesnt support a navbar.)
I then looked through the files in the apk a bit and found some folders referencing a television mode (/res/layout-sw540dp-television).
So that lead me to the idea to test it with a different display density. To change that, connect your shield to your pc, enable abd debugging and open a command shell on your pc.
Code:
adb shell
Code:
wm density 321
This will change the interface of the amazon app to be somewhat useable on a tv. you see a border around the currently selected item and video playback is possible (only sd now).
Also you can't choose to play a specific episode of a season because the play-icon is not selectable with the remote or the controller.

thx ist works
but only stereo sound

PeterPan6754 said:
thx ist works
but only stereo sound
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah and only sd-quality... but better than nothing.
maybe now that appletv gets support we will get an androidtv version.

wrote to [email protected] i hope there have an open ear to do this for nvidia shield

Does this have further consequences for other (native Android TV) apps?

Related

(Guide) Use your Ouya for DLNA streaming (Host)

So I am going to be honest. I don't care for my Ouya much. I bought it with the intention of using it as a XBMC machine but it wasn't that good at that. So I bought a ROKU and never used it again. So I was doing some thinking and wondered if I could use it as a DLNA streamer in my house matched up with a 1TB ExtHDD. So here's who you can do it:
What you need:
BubbleUPNP (Licensed copy) ($4.83 in the states, very worth it)
Ouya
Root your Ouya and use the mod found in the Development forum on installing the PlayStore. Download and install the BubbleUPNP app along with the license key copy.
Go into the development settings of your Ouya (Android development settings) and go all the way to the bottom and uncheck the option to not keep apps in memory. You want it to act as a normal android device not the typical Ouya exit and kill it method.
Open bubble and press the (Pause? The button u the middle on the bottom of the controller) to bring up the settings bar.
Enter settings and go into Device Library. Enable the file system setting and set a custom mount point. As my Movies arent in the root you can set the mount point within multiple folders.
Continue to go through the settings and make sure you set the app to:
1- start on boot (in case the Ouya reboots)
2- use "Keep Alive bursts"
3- keep the app alive
Once you have that set you should be able to view it from a ROKU or other DLNA device.
To watch it on a Chromecast use BubbleUPNP on your phone or tablet, set the devices to whatever you called your Ouya share and renderer to your Chromecast. Once you select a video it will play.
This has worked for me for 3 days now with no issues. I have streamed out 3 1080P shows at 1 time to various devices with no buffering or A/V sync issues.
Enjoy!
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk

Airplay fully working and Mirroring too.. AndroidApple Tv allinOne

airplay is working on the fire tv including mirror mode using AirPlay/DLNA Receiver (PRO)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.waxrain.airplaydmr
I PAID FOR IT and then sideloaded it using root uninstaller on my phone to make a backup
launched app and made no changes to the default settings
it works perfect
note
the bbc iplayer works on my ipad too but you must enable mirror mode before playing a video the video then shows fullscreen
some times you may get audio and a black screen found if I hit home on the fire remote and then select airplay/mirror device again on ipad it plays perfect again
this black screen bug only happens in mirror mode a minor problem(just hit home and start again)
android and apple tv rolled in to one for an extra $4.90
So this is for mirroring your iPhone on the screen through the fire TV or can this mirror an android phone through the fire TV also?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
this is for iPhone/ipad ios airplay to the fire tv
not android screen mirroring
but there are some airplay type apps for music like doubletwist on android that could use this setup to play music/photos etc
but the mirroring is only for ios devices
I like this app. The developer is very responsive if there are any problems. He has fixed 2 seperate issues for me, and usually responds quickly. I had installed this app when I first got my FTV. After a few days I started getting error messages because the app wasnt installed through the Google Play store. I emailed the developer and he fixed that for me within a day.
AirBuddy for Airplay - music
Airbuddy from amazon' android appstore works great for music. Upgraded via inapp purchase - I primarily use it for music only.
How are these apps different than AllCast? I know one can cast an iDevice to your FTV but AllCast can do movies, photos & music right?
mikespe said:
How are these apps different than AllCast? I know one can cast an iDevice to your FTV but AllCast can do movies, photos & music right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well being able to use your iOS devices and mirror it on your TV can be very handy. (in example show Safari on the TV).
I downloaded (and paid!) the pro version from the app store, extracted the .apk and sidelined the app on the Fire TV. It works, that's really cool!!
Hi!
Wilhelmus81 said:
Well being able to use your iOS devices and mirror it on your TV can be very handy. (in example show Safari on the TV).
I downloaded (and paid!) the pro version from the app store, extracted the .apk and sidelined the app on the Fire TV. It works, that's really cool!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dear,
Our app has been available on Fire TV app store now. In fact, you can directly purchase it there.
WaxRain said:
Dear,
Our app has been available on Fire TV app store now. In fact, you can directly purchase it there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can attest that it works great and installs painlessly from the Amazon FireTV app store. WaxRain has provided great support on the application.
I can attest that this app is awesome. Works flawlessly 99% of time. BTW, jailbreak your ios device and install movie box. Airplay on fire tv is great. MovieBox blows away XBMC in quality and stability.
Do you know if they make a similar app for android phones. I've tried a bunch and none mirror the screen they just send certain things like music and video
bubble2 said:
airplay is working on the fire tv including mirror mode using AirPlay/DLNA Receiver (PRO)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.waxrain.airplaydmr
I PAID FOR IT and then sideloaded it using root uninstaller on my phone to make a backup
launched app and made no changes to the default settings
it works perfect
note
the bbc iplayer works on my ipad too but you must enable mirror mode before playing a video the video then shows fullscreen
some times you may get audio and a black screen found if I hit home on the fire remote and then select airplay/mirror device again on ipad it plays perfect again
this black screen bug only happens in mirror mode a minor problem(just hit home and start again)
android and apple tv rolled in to one for an extra $4.90
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
based on your experience - thought I would give it a try ...
installed the (lite) version (AirPlay/DLNA Receiver (LITE)) and get this error on the Fire TV screen when I turn on the "Mirroring" option on either my iPad or iPhone
Built-in Firmware Player in your device does not support this format, Error Code: 1-00000002
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm trying to get the XFiinity apps to work - via AirPlay - I've tried using the builtin service on XBMC but for XFinity it doesn't work either.
mirror
toe-rag said:
based on your experience - thought I would give it a try ...
installed the (lite) version (AirPlay/DLNA Receiver (LITE)) and get this error on the Fire TV screen when I turn on the "Mirroring" option on either my iPad or iPhone
Hi, the Lite version does not support airplay mirroring.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
I use thise http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...plugin-20&creativeASIN=B00L5HQRGS]AirReciever
*notice 180 coins back.
It does pretty much every thing you can mirror your ipad screen and the lag is low enough so you can easely play games such as the walking dead episode 1 & 2.and other action adventure games. (the audio latency is set well below 200ms with no problems using the iPad3) besides Airplay it also supports DMR/DNLB, and if you have a MAC you can use it as a extra screen natively. this can also be done on PC using the bit limited AirParrot. And it's developed for aFTV.
mirroring lag
Does any one know if mirroring is going to be improved? There seems to be a lot of lag for games my kids play. I tried both AirPlay/DLNA Receiver (PRO) and AirReceiver but both lag with sonic transformed, bubble guppies and more
realtuxen said:
this can also be done on PC using the bit limited AirParrot. And it's developed for aFTV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you go to the app's website, you can download the "AirPinPCSender" app and install it on your Windows box. I have it on my laptop and it works flawlessly to mirror my laptop to FTV
I just purchased both a
Lenovo Pro Yoga 2
and
Macbook Air 13
Trying to decide which I like better.. while the touch screen is cool and being able to use it as a tablet is fun on the Lenovo - I've had enough wireless connectivity issues that it's been frustrating (not sure if it's windows 8.1 or the card in the computer) - but my old HP stays connected flawlessly so I know it's not the wireless.
I rec'd the Air today - so I'll play with that and make my decision. I already bought and apple TV which works well enough, but the AirParrot app can only mirror the image of the PC and leaves a bar around the entire thing - there's some pretty evident lag as well just browsing.
I originally was going to go w/ the Fire TV and just found out about this app you guys are talking about.
So, essentially I can do a Fire TV (and download the app for airplay?) and download the app to make the apple stream to Fire? I can do both Mirror and 2nd screeN?
Thanks!!
Thank you
Thank you for the idea
Anyone know of a way to mirror an android phone on the fire tv without root? I know AllCast beta can, but iirc you need root and I'm trying to to root my work phone.
Hi folks. For those of you who have this app installed could you please let me know how it good it is at Airplaying video clips captured by the IPHONE / IPAD itself? So I'm not referring to online video (such as iplayer / youtube) being sent to the device, instead I'm asking about video's actually taken on the iphone?
I shelled out for AirReceiver app and although it's good for Airplaying photos and web video content, its crap for video clips cpatured from iphone (LOTS of buffering and really slow).
Also a question for WaxRain, if I pourchase the app, how many devices can I install it on? I myself have 3 FireTVs in my house.
Thanks.

Can I pair my Windows 10 laptop with the Shield for casting video files?

It would be nice to be able to send video files from my laptop to the Shield via Google Cast. I have tried the Chrome extension of course, and it allows you to cast your whole screen but that's extremely quality-degrading for video. I want to cast actual files and nothing else.
I would have assumed there's no built-in compatibility between and Android device and a Window machine, yet when I right-click a video file in Windows Explorer there's an option to "Cast to Device" > "Android_b141". When I select Android_b141 I am asked for a WPS Pin but I've looked on the box and in the manual and there is nothing explicitly given as the WPS Pin. I've tried a few things like serial number etc but with no luck.
Does anyone know if it is possible to get this to work? I would really like to be able to just use this built-in functionality, if it exists. I have tried some third-party workarounds such as Chrome extensions which claim to be able to cast video files, but none work well if at all.
For comparison, on my Android tablet ES File Explorer allows casting of video files with no problem at all. This is the sort of functionality I am after on my laptop.
Thanks in advanced for any help or advice.
BenjiHansell said:
It would be nice to be able to send video files from my laptop to the Shield via Google Cast. I have tried the Chrome extension of course, and it allows you to cast your whole screen but that's extremely quality-degrading for video. I want to cast actual files and nothing else.
I would have assumed there's no built-in compatibility between and Android device and a Window machine, yet when I right-click a video file in Windows Explorer there's an option to "Cast to Device" > "Android_b141". When I select Android_b141 I am asked for a WPS Pin but I've looked on the box and in the manual and there is nothing explicitly given as the WPS Pin. I've tried a few things like serial number etc but with no luck.
Does anyone know if it is possible to get this to work? I would really like to be able to just use this built-in functionality, if it exists. I have tried some third-party workarounds such as Chrome extensions which claim to be able to cast video files, but none work well if at all.
For comparison, on my Android tablet ES File Explorer allows casting of video files with no problem at all. This is the sort of functionality I am after on my laptop.
Thanks in advanced for any help or advice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Plex works just fine
maxal said:
I use Plex works just fine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestion. But Plex is not ideal for me. I used to have a big media library indexed by XBMC (now Kodi) and I also know how smoothly Plex can stream across a network but I don't need a whole media library server-client setup atm, just the ability to cast occasional unorganised video files (not even always TV and movies, sometimes old home videos that are stored on my laptop for example, or something I just pulled off my action cam).
Immediately after making the OP I found an imperfect workaround. Strem.io for Windows allows you to drag and drop any video file and cast via just about any casting protocol. The program is a simplified (but certainly not light-weight) media centre though, so I could do with something lighter. It's made me think that perhaps there are video players out there for Windows which support casting. I'm surprised that VLC doesn't.
Can't you use a windows shared folder? Kodi can read any smb share with ease
Sent from my XT1052 using Tapatalk

New to XDA and the Shield!

Hi everyone, just got done setting up my new Shield TV with Kodi to stream media files from my unRaid NAS! I purchased the Shield because my old WDTV Live was dying and there did not appear to be many options for media boxes that could stream network content without transcoding with Plex or similar. My unRaid server uses a very old Atom CPU and doesn't have the horsepower to transcode 720p video or above.
Setting up Kodi was pretty easy, although it wasn't able to install it from the Play store. I had to go the route of loading the APK from a USB stick. All of my networked media seems to play flawlessly!
So now onto my question, what is everyone using their Shield for? I've got mine in the bedroom and I'm curious to see what else I can do with it. Out of all my Android games (I have a lot because I've gone through 3 android phones and 2 android tablets) only Wayward Souls was available for Android TV. I some experience with PS1 and SNES emulators from my tablet, but it seems the Shield is much more capable.
My general household includes 2 android phones, an android tablet, a gaming PC with an nvidia graphics card, the unraid server, and an HTPC in the living room. Solid AC Wifi connection between the Shield and the rest of the network.
Throw some ideas at me - what else should I do with the Shield?
Welcome.
I'm using my Shield as a main media center hooked up to my TV in the living room.
I do some android gaming sometimes, but there aren't enough titles i like (hoping this will change)
once nop releases the NTFS and samba kernel, i'm planning to use it as a NAS with a 2.5" usb 3.0 hdd connected to it.
RetroboxTV is pretty sweet for game emulation.
We use our Shield as our primary media device. It does everything we want minus native WatchESPN. We have an hdhomerun prime that we use with the Live Channels app for live TV.
We have a 2 TB external HDD hooked up with movies and TV shows that we watch through Kodi.
What else are you looking for?
Sent from my XT1096 using Tapatalk
Get sideload launcher, it will give you a wider range of apps you can run. You can also install amazon underground (first download and install the Chrome .apk to browse to it). IMO, ES file explorer provides a lot of the network search functions that I used to use Kodi for, so that removes some software layers. MXPLayer seems to be the most capable video player I've tested.
Mount as fileshare
xd4d3v said:
Welcome.
I'm using my Shield as a main media center hooked up to my TV in the living room.
I do some android gaming sometimes, but there aren't enough titles i like (hoping this will change)
once nop releases the NTFS and samba kernel, i'm planning to use it as a NAS with a 2.5" usb 3.0 hdd connected to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey can you help me out? I cannot figure out how to mount a network share into the filesystem.. ive tried using cifsmanager and tutorials but to no avail. can you please help?
just ordered my Shield TV
Relatively new here, roamed forums and maybe posted once or twice. Just ordered my NVidia shield tv and cant wait to get my hands on it! One question that I have yet to get a concrete answer to is can you run amazon prime video on it? Currently have an AFTV second gen and love it but always wanted more power out of it. Think im good with the shield tv but I do need to have prime video. Can someone give me a concrete answer? I've read through tons of threads out there and seems some people say you can while I've read others who say its a no go. HELP PLEASE!!!
P.S. thank you in advance!!!!
v-ince said:
Relatively new here, roamed forums and maybe posted once or twice. Just ordered my NVidia shield tv and cant wait to get my hands on it! One question that I have yet to get a concrete answer to is can you run amazon prime video on it? Currently have an AFTV second gen and love it but always wanted more power out of it. Think im good with the shield tv but I do need to have prime video. Can someone give me a concrete answer? I've read through tons of threads out there and seems some people say you can while I've read others who say its a no go. HELP PLEASE!!!
P.S. thank you in advance!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You CAN run prime video. However, the current workaround will not give you you 1080p (or 4K). You'll be limited to 720p. http://forum.xda-developers.com/shield-tv/development/amazon-prime-video-demand-android-tv-t3278778
OK everyone so I've been using my Shield for a bit now and here are my quick thoughts. I haven't rooted or installed ROMs or done anything else. The most complicated thing I've done is put APKs on a flash drive and clicked "OK" in ES File Explorer to install them. I've also had to use a computer with the Play store to install a few games/apps.
1) ES File Explorer is OK but the user interface is very difficult to navigate (not intuitive)
2) Getting a PS1 and SNES emulator up and running were easy
3) Netflix, PBS, and CBS Sports are the only native video streaming apps I can get to work because I have Comcast/Xfinity and they hate Android TV. However, CBS Sports is only clips, not full programming, I find that pretty useless.
4) HBO Go and Showtime Anytime work with built in app casting functionality from my Android phone
5) Fox Sports Go works by casting my phone through Android (not within the app)
6) There are very few games in the Play store that seem to support Shield TV. So far I've only got Wayward Souls and Reaper.
Questions:
1) I've got Retro Arch and Arc Browser installed because I read about them a lot. However, I can't figure out what to actually do with either of those apps.
2) What other Android/play store games?
3) What other video streaming services (I have Comcast/Xfinity)
4) What emulator next? I'm thinking PSP would be good... anything else?
5) Any other apps or cool uses I should look at?
u.of.ipod said:
OK everyone so I've been using my Shield for a bit now and here are my quick thoughts. I haven't rooted or installed ROMs or done anything else. The most complicated thing I've done is put APKs on a flash drive and clicked "OK" in ES File Explorer to install them. I've also had to use a computer with the Play store to install a few games/apps.
1) ES File Explorer is OK but the user interface is very difficult to navigate (not intuitive)
2) Getting a PS1 and SNES emulator up and running were easy
3) Netflix, PBS, and CBS Sports are the only native video streaming apps I can get to work because I have Comcast/Xfinity and they hate Android TV. However, CBS Sports is only clips, not full programming, I find that pretty useless.
4) HBO Go and Showtime Anytime work with built in app casting functionality from my Android phone
5) Fox Sports Go works by casting my phone through Android (not within the app)
6) There are very few games in the Play store that seem to support Shield TV. So far I've only got Wayward Souls and Reaper.
Questions:
1) I've got Retro Arch and Arc Browser installed because I read about them a lot. However, I can't figure out what to actually do with either of those apps.
2) What other Android/play store games?
3) What other video streaming services (I have Comcast/Xfinity)
4) What emulator next? I'm thinking PSP would be good... anything else?
5) Any other apps or cool uses I should look at?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) There is a touchpad on the bottom of the game controller. It's hidden, but if you run your finger over the gray area above the volume control it should respond as a mouse pointer. That should help you navigate some apps easier.
2) Implosion (play store), Sonic CD & Goat Simulator (Chrome.apk -> Amazon underground -> amazon Apps), and some of the more ambitious MMO like War Thunder and Vendetta should work well.
3) HBOGo should work from your phone by casting, as will a lot of other video apps. FoxNow, WatchESPN, NBC, xfinity TV Go are some others I've tested successfully.
4)
5) sideload launcher if you don't already have it. Kodi is good for live TV from external devices (i.e. HDHomeRun Connect), but I've always found its navigation to be more complicated than it needs to be.

Couple of Queries ... Controller and Different VLC Question

Rather than 2 threads thought I'd just put them in both.
If I'm using a different remote (mini keyboard) the ESC works as a back button works with most things but not Chrome or BBC iPlayer ... the right mouse click doesn't work at all bu does with the supplied remote.
Also things like skipping forward or back video 10s ... works in VLC but not iPlayer ... there's no way to do it with the supplied remote either ... can I change any settings so they do??
Totally different query re VLC player as well .... It lists every single video I have ... so many you can't see th wood for the trees, the other Android Box I had used to list the folders instead .... is there any way I can change the view on this.
Not exactly the answer you're looking for , but if you use External Keyboard Helper , and probably other apps , you can easily remap your keyboard to get the missing keys you need.
Any reason to use VLC in particular ? Not sure what you mean by " so many you can't see th wood for the trees". I would suggest Kodi instead, it has many more features and much more support than VLC on android. Kodi for instance will allow you to have the refresh rate of your tv , if it supports it, to match the video's refresh rate (most of the time 24hz for mainstream movies, 30 and 60 for a lot of other video types). It is possible to remap any keys within kodi as well. There are a lot of different skins for Kodi which will help you set that perfect video player to your taste. The library layout is very nice. It will easily let you browse files on your network, easiest way is to mount you network shares in the shield's settings, but you can also go through kodi to find your network shares. I prefer through the shield itself , since I use my shares outside of Kodi (like emulator ROMs). Kodi also support a huge collection of plugins, so many you might never even have to exit Kodi at all.. Kodi also easily supports bitstreaming. I haven't come across a video or audio format that didn't work flawlessly on my shield / receiver setup.
Sorry I couldn't help with your specific questions.
Roamin64 said:
Not exactly the answer you're looking for , but if you use External Keyboard Helper , and probably other apps , you can easily remap your keyboard to get the missing keys you need.
Any reason to use VLC in particular ? Not sure what you mean by " so many you can't see th wood for the trees". I would suggest Kodi instead, it has many more features and much more support than VLC on android. Kodi for instance will allow you to have the refresh rate of your tv , if it supports it, to match the video's refresh rate (most of the time 24hz for mainstream movies, 30 and 60 for a lot of other video types). It is possible to remap any keys within kodi as well. .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll take a look at that .... I guess External keyboard Helper is an APP?????
Sorry I wasn't clear, I used to put series onto one folder which may be a few seasons, older films in another ... basically just breaking them down to make them easier to find by category where as this version of VLC just puts everything into the top folder so it's hundreds of titles to go through unless you scroll down and drill into several different folders which again is a bit of a pain.
I did try Kodi on another box but it didn't have smb2 ?????? apparently ........ (not very techie) which made it complicated to access folders across the network (VLC does it very easily) ... that said with this box I'll probably be using it as the media server and since posting the initial query have just set up and found out how to use Plex and added the different folders to it so may try that for a while and see how I get on with it as an alternative

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