Database Users

Finally! My Amazon Fire TV is complete!

After days of tweaking my brand new Amazon Fire TV to run XBMC. It's finally complete! I just finished installing Google Play Store. I installed a Custom XBMC Gotham 3.2 build. I installed Xbmchub's addons and settings ontop of that. FiredTV launcher. I set XBMC to launch when Amazon Fire TV starts up and by hitting the home button. Custom Splash and Wallpaper backgrounds. I'm so excited!
I'm familiar with XBMC from my pc and my G-Box MX2 android box but I'm loving this new Amazon Fire TV. It took sometime to figure out some stuff because I was not used to using adb and rooting devices so it was new to me.
I might uninstall the FiredTV launch screen. Don't really need it with XBMC starting right up now without having to go through the Amazon menu>Settings>Apps>XBMC.
I was having some buffering issues with running off of wifi so I wired the box last night. Video plays great now with no buffering issues.
Thanks to everyone for all of your hard work in customizing this great little machine!

I read about some people asking about Showbox on Fire TV. I sideloaded the apk for Showbox. The app itself works fine. You need a mouse to use it. Video play isn't working too good. I'm using an external player MX Player.
The app really isn't necessary if you have good add ons for XBMC. It's pretty pointless.
I also sideloaded Vudu onto the Amazon Fire TV. Vudu works great! But only allows you to watch movies in SD quality.
I installed the Chrome Beta web browser from Google Play. This way you can download and install .apks without having to sideload them.
I'm not an expert at this stuff but just sharing my experiences.

bobbym36 said:
After days of tweaking my brand new Amazon Fire TV to run XBMC. It's finally complete! I just finished installing Google Play Store. I installed a Custom XBMC Gotham 3.2 build. I installed Xbmchub's addons and settings ontop of that. FiredTV launcher. I set XBMC to launch when Amazon Fire TV starts up and by hitting the home button. Custom Splash and Wallpaper backgrounds. I'm so excited!
I'm familiar with XBMC from my pc and my G-Box MX2 android box but I'm loving this new Amazon Fire TV. It took sometime to figure out some stuff because I was not used to using adb and rooting devices so it was new to me.
I might uninstall the FiredTV launch screen. Don't really need it with XBMC starting right up now without having to go through the Amazon menu>Settings>Apps>XBMC.
I was having some buffering issues with running off of wifi so I wired the box last night. Video plays great now with no buffering issues.
Thanks to everyone for all of your hard work in customizing this great little machine!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
keep on modifying bro!!
I run tvlauncher, xbmc 13.2, airplay support, allcast installed, firefox, google play, ouya store, modded version of pandora, MLB running through a VPN in Japan so i have no local blackouts and the rest of my apps going through a vpn in europe.

mejdam said:
keep on modifying bro!!
I run tvlauncher, xbmc 13.2, airplay support, allcast installed, firefox, google play, ouya store, modded version of pandora, MLB running through a VPN in Japan so i have no local blackouts and the rest of my apps going through a vpn in europe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am android noob.. which app do you use to have this preferential VPN set.. so that some apps use europe vpn while others japan?

bobbym36 said:
I sideloaded the apk for Showbox. The app itself works fine. You need a mouse to use it. Video play isn't working too good. I'm using an external player MX Player.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use the media player that comes bundled in with EStrongs File Explorer when SB asks which external player to use.. Works perfectly every time.

mkhopper said:
I use the media player that comes bundled in with EStrongs File Explorer when SB asks which external player to use.. Works perfectly every time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ill have to try that. I want to test some emulators next when i get time.

In the midst of tweaking mine I found having moviebox on my ipad and just airplaying it solved all my content needs with nary a tweak. I don't even really need to keep root now.

Great brother...keep it going. I have a question. I am trying to get an app apk working on FireTV but not having any luck. would you know why? It works on tablets and any other android tv box, just not on firetv. let me know if you can help me in anyway. The app is on Google Playstore. It's called YuppTV. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xoom&hl=en

quick question
mejdam said:
keep on modifying bro!!
I run tvlauncher, xbmc 13.2, airplay support, allcast installed, firefox, google play, ouya store, modded version of pandora, MLB running through a VPN in Japan so i have no local blackouts and the rest of my apps going through a vpn in europe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you tell me where you got your modded version of pandora so i could put that on mine as well...

willie2409 said:
Could you tell me where you got your modded version of pandora so i could put that on mine as well...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even better is to put Spotify on it and then use rotation manager to make it play in the right orientation
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spydiko.rotationmanager
and the tablet metrics xposed module to make it play in tablet mode
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/modules/27-tabletmetrics-report-screen-7-v2-2-t2596603

soulassasin187 said:
Great brother...keep it going. I have a question. I am trying to get an app apk working on FireTV but not having any luck. would you know why? It works on tablets and any other android tv box, just not on firetv. let me know if you can help me in* anyway. The app is on Google Playstore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do u have google play store on your fire tv? u trief installing the .apk file? I read that some apps from the play store just arent compatible with the fire tv. Not sure whar else you can do?
I tried to install Pandora as an Xbmc add on but it wouldnt work for me. iheart radio worked fine. Spotigly is a good one.

soulassasin187 said:
Great brother...keep it going. I have a question. I am trying to get an app apk working on FireTV but not having any luck. would you know why? It works on tablets and any other android tv box, just not on firetv. let me know if you can help me in anyway. The app is on Google Playstore. It's called YuppTV. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xoom&hl=en
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Righ now, It's available on Amazon AppStore
http://www.amazon.com/YuppTV-for-fireTV/dp/B00L1C3300/

Thank you. It's a new app posted on 9/8/14. But the problem is that is asks you to activate with a code and I already have a couple of devices activated so I can't activate firetv. Anyway to modify it or install the tablet apk?
Sent from my iPad with XBMC

mejdam said:
keep on modifying bro!!
I run tvlauncher, xbmc 13.2, airplay support, allcast installed, firefox, google play, ouya store, modded version of pandora, MLB running through a VPN in Japan so i have no local blackouts and the rest of my apps going through a vpn in europe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried to load a modded version of Pandora a while back but I remember I had some problem with it. I don't remember if it would force close or if I couldn't get past the login screen.. Could you provide more info on what you have loaded?

Exclusive Fire TV apps on Nexus Player...Need some help experimenting.

Wondering if anyone else is experimenting with this...
I have a fire tv stick and i downloaded some apps that are exclusive to that platform. I did an ADB pull from the fire tv system and installed them on my Nexus Player.
Including the Slingplayer app and some other video apps.
Most of the apps start just fine but fail when trying to start the video. Has me thinking there is some kind of framework that the fire tv has that renders these apps useless on other android devices.
Also may have to do with the fact that it is an Intel chip inside of the Nexus player and Apps coded to work solely on the fire tv devices wont work right since they are coded from snapdragon chips
Anyone know of a way to circumvent these blocks? Any info would be helpful

I've actually been wanting to experiment with this but I don't have a FireTV stick.
I did try to pull some video apps (i.e.-History, A&E, Amazon Instant Video) from my phone. They all installed correctly but, like your issue, they crashed. Makes me think its a library thing or certain missing files as most of those apps work on Lollirock.

Hmm interesting. I don't really want to use lollirock because I really like the UI currently. I can post the Amazon apps here atleast the free ones to see what's different about them.
Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

I agree with you. I actually like the ability to navigate with the remote only. The one app I wish we could find a way to make work in our factory rom is Amazon Instant. It's definitely possible because it works in lollirock.

Sorry folks, but Nexus Player is an intel atom x86 based architecture while the FireTV (and Stick) are ARM based. That means unless the .apk's ship the correct bits for both architectures, you're not going to get the Fire TV apps running on Nexus Player (for example in the case of Sling Player, there are libraries specific to ARM that are included in the .apk on the Fire TV store, but they don't include the x86 version).
I'd love this to work, but in most cases I highly doubt it will.

Redth said:
Sorry folks, but Nexus Player is an intel atom x86 based architecture while the FireTV (and Stick) are ARM based. That means unless the .apk's ship the correct bits for both architectures, you're not going to get the Fire TV apps running on Nexus Player (for example in the case of Sling Player, there are libraries specific to ARM that are included in the .apk on the Fire TV store, but they don't include the x86 version).
I'd love this to work, but in most cases I highly doubt it will.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Redth, although x86 can be a limiting factor, you have to keep in mind that we have "houdini" translator code built into our Nexus Player. Think of houdini as an arm translator to let us run most arm apps on our device. That is why we can successfully sideload so many apps (minus the fact we have to use a keyboard & mouse to operate it). For instance, I have successfully gotten new recently released apps like the Sling TV apk to work that was originally designed for the FireTV. I also have apps like WatchESPN, & USA Network working successfully.
Also, you have to keep in mind that Amazon instant Video is also working on Lollirock, so it definitely is possible & functioning on our device. It just looks like we are missing certain libraries.

@xaudiblex then perhaps the limiting factor is the required libs that the arm built executable uses. I don't remember the exact libs from the FireTV Slingplayer apk, but there were what looked like some .so files built with c/c++ that were linked in and accessed over JNI. I'm guessing the translator can't handle those, and that may be why Slingplayer in particular doesn't work.
It's a shame, I'd love to get slingplayer working!

Redth said:
@xaudiblex then perhaps the limiting factor is the required libs that the arm built executable uses. I don't remember the exact libs from the FireTV Slingplayer apk, but there were what looked like some .so files built with c/c++ that were linked in and accessed over JNI. I'm guessing the translator can't handle those, and that may be why Slingplayer in particular doesn't work.
It's a shame, I'd love to get slingplayer working!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, I had to uninstall Lollirock. If I ever get a chance, I want to check out the differences in the files between stock rom & lollirock. Maybe if we can determine what extra libraries exist that allow those extra apps to work on Lollirock, maybe can transplant those files onto our nexus player.

Where can I find the sling TV .apk from the Fire Tv? I been trying to find it via Google with no luck and I cannot get from the Amazon store because none of my devices are compatible. Thanks!

matb321 said:
Where can I find the sling TV .apk from the Fire Tv? I been trying to find it via Google with no luck and I cannot get from the Amazon store because none of my devices are compatible. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://webapp.movetv.com/player/firetv/sling.apk
Works great on our nexus player too.

Great! Thank you so much! I hope it is better than the generic Android.apk I have side loaded!

matb321 said:
Great! Thank you so much! I hope it is better than the generic Android.apk I have side loaded!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It definitely does. That is the official APK from their website. The remote actually works on it too! If you know how to decompile apks, you can add leanback code to it as well.

Did you ever get the Fire TV Slingplayer app to work? If not does it load and just crash when you try to do something? That is seriously the only thing I need for the Nexus Player for it to be perfect. I have the tablet Slingplayer app but without a mouse it is pretty much good for turning on and turning off not able to change channels with it.

flixster
anybody know where to find the fire tv flixster apk? i cant seem to find it anywhere.

For me at least, the Amazon Fire Sling TV app has worked perfectly. I had it crash on me once several days back but that was it. I have been watching it all day today without any hiccups. The quality of the video has generally been solid.

nksetr said:
anybody know where to find the fire tv flixster apk? i cant seem to find it anywhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I pulled the APK from my FireTV & installed it on the Nexus Player (also tried watch ESPN since it works with remotes). The app starts up fine but it crashes anytime you try to play a video.

xaudiblex said:
I pulled the APK from my FireTV & installed it on the Nexus Player (also tried watch ESPN since it works with remotes). The app starts up fine but it crashes anytime you try to play a video.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the problem with most amazon fire only video apps. There is something in the code that causes them to crash or just simply fail to play video when used on anything else. Atleast the sling.tv app works fine
Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

jerflash said:
That's the problem with most amazon fire only video apps. There is something in the code that causes them to crash or just simply fail to play video when used on anything else. Atleast the sling.tv app works fine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried to compare the Fire TV APK & Google Play APK of WatchESPN (as an example) to see if there is much difference. The structure of the files are substantially different.

xaudiblex said:
For me at least, the Amazon Fire Sling TV app has worked perfectly. I had it crash on me once several days back but that was it. I have been watching it all day today without any hiccups. The quality of the video has generally been solid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you happen to have the apk that works for you?

whyteboyello said:
Do you happen to have the apk that works for you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After the addition of the new channels (History, H2, & etc), the FireTV apk I was using from Amazon kept on crashing. I ended up downloading the apk (downloaded from Google Play store) from my phone & sideloaded it to my Nexus Player. Remote works perfectly fine with it.

Any UK Sony android TV users able to post the BBC apps?

Apparently they've added them in a update, anyone with a UK Sony tv able to pull and post them?

If you're saying that there's a BBC iPlayer app for Android TV that works with a remote, then I too hope that someone fills this request. It would be interesting to try it out on the Nexus Player.

GabbyWC said:
If you're saying that there's a BBC iPlayer app for Android TV that works with a remote, then I too hope that someone fills this request. It would be interesting to try it out on the Nexus Player.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah BBC iPlayer, BBC News and BBC Sports were all on the Sony android tv I tried in John Lewis. Hopefully someone with one can figure it out and post them.

I'm looking for the same thing for the Australian Catch-up TV apps too.
My theory was to try and pull an update from the Sony support web site and extract the apps from there
(e.g. UK: http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/product/KD-55X8505C)
I've only looked briefly, but it's not obvious what the file format is though.
From what I've read, the Sony TVs might use a MediaTek SoC (arm based) whereas the Nexus Player is x86, so I'm unsure if this will even work.

I can help extract from the update pkg, if only i could open the pkg file on my mac... any help here?

andybz said:
I'm looking for the same thing for the Australian Catch-up TV apps too.
My theory was to try and pull an update from the Sony support web site and extract the apps from there
(e.g. UK: http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/product/KD-55X8505C)
I've only looked briefly, but it's not obvious what the file format is though.
From what I've read, the Sony TVs might use a MediaTek SoC (arm based) whereas the Nexus Player is x86, so I'm unsure if this will even work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, There are some 3rd party apps available for ABC, and SBS at this thread http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2447003

I would happily post this and any other UK apps that you guys want, however, I cannot seem to find the iplayer apk or any of the other catchup channel apks. The only one that I can find in relation to catchup services is the youview apk.
It's possible that the youview apk contains all the other catchup apks as the catchup services are integrated into youview.
The only way of using youview is setting it as the default tuner for the TV and it then takes over as the EPG and actual TV watching app.
It's also possible that installing the youview apk will also install the catchup services (iplayer, all4 etc...) and you could choose not to use youview as the main TV tuner but still get the other apps.
Hopefully this all makes sense.
I have looked in system apps and user apps during my search, if there is anywhere else to hunt these apks down in the file system then please point me to it.

Doktaphex said:
I would happily post this and any other UK apps that you guys want, however, I cannot seem to find the iplayer apk or any of the other catchup channel apks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This isn't to do with the Sony apps or the VouView app, but there is also a Nvidia Shield iPlayer apk specifically for Android TV that would probably be better to approach for getting iPlayer working on the Nexus Player.
This obviously doesn't fix the problem of 4OD and the other YouView apps, as they're probably not standalone apps, but at least it's one step closer, and would hopefully get iPlayer working at the very least. The iPlayer app consists of 2 parts, there's the main app which is just iPlayer, and there is an add-on app that adds BBC News & Sports, but it's required you have iPlayer installed to use them. And, of course. Because Nvidia made them, they're probably restricted to the Nvidia Shield, though I don't know as I haven't seen anyone else test them on the Nexus Player yet.
Here's a link to download the latest versions of both the iPlayer and Add-ons apks: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=63331976&postcount=34l=0

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.

Hulu Live TV App

Hello all,
I searched the forums but didn't see much of anything on this.
I am looking to get Hulu live tv working on the Nvidia Shield. I side loaded the regular Hulu app but cannot access many of the menus and the audio is badly out of sync.
Has anyone gotten this to work or have an apk for the FireTV version to try?

I've tried the fire TV app on a mibox. Hulu loads, but when I tried to play something, it errors out

TrendyGuy9 said:
Hello all,
I searched the forums but didn't see much of anything on this.
I am looking to get Hulu live tv working on the Nvidia Shield. I side loaded the regular Hulu app but cannot access many of the menus and the audio is badly out of sync.
Has anyone gotten this to work or have an apk for the FireTV version to try?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I downloaded the apk from APPMIRROR. It works like the tablet and phone apps now but is buggy. Freezes sometimes. Dload it then use file explorer app to finish up the install. Open sideload app and you can view it just like tablet/phone hulu live app. FYI****U NEED THE GAME CONTROLLER ***. Regular remote is almost useless when u sideload it.

I used aptdode and it worked but I updated to 7.2 and that plus sling TV disappeared
I used aptdode and it worked but I updated to 7.2 and that plus sling TV disappeared