Database Users

Orb - Freaking Awesome!

i have no idea if this has been posted before, if so i apologize.
I just thought i'd share a little program i found that i use regularly and love. The best part is that it's free!
basically it allows you to stream any sort of media from your home computer to your phone via internet. I have been able to successfully stream long 2+ hour movies to my phone over the standard EVDO internet on my mogul and it's flawless. I've also been able to stream live NFL games to my phone and watch them while i'm at work. I love it.
Goto www.orb.com and check it out. In order to stream the live tv you'd need to necessary hardware on your home computer, but you can still stream anything else. It's freaking great!

Yep. Just about every Pocket PC forum in existence over the last 2-3 years has had at least SOME post on this.
It also gets mentioned every time someone mentions Slingbox and slingplayer.

do you guys have this problem? i'm able to stream via EVDO, but i cant stream via wifi even though i have a great connection?

I cannot get Orb to load.. it just won't run on my computer at all. Everytime I load it the icon tray goes gray. Any ideas?

If you're having trouble with ORB 2.0 try version 1
Hey Bombz,
I've never had much luck getting ORB 2.0 to work on my Dell 9100 and I've no reason why. I can load up version 1 however and it works like a champ. If you've loaded up version 2 already, I think they have a special uninstaller that you can use to dump it completely before trying version 1.
Good luck,
Rick

anyone having this dish network problem?
For some reason every night my sat. reciever turns off. I have the time out turned off, but it still turns off at night. I have to press select on the reciever, but of course I cannot through orb. Any ideas of how I can work around this?
Jim

I installed Orb about 3 days ago. I love it but it does drain my battery. I had finally learned to fine tune my device so I wouldn't run out of juice before I got home in the evening, but now with orb installed I can barely make it home without a battery warning. Any suggestions? Has anyone tried the extended life battery with their phone? Does it last? Does the phone seem too big? Let me know.
fullajoyy

What is the best setup for using orb:
slingbox version
video card type
Thanks

andason said:
What is the best setup for using orb:
slingbox version
video card type
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're confused about slingbox vs. orb.
Slingbox is a standalone peice of hardware, orb can do the same thing with the right equipment.
You're probably best off going to the orb forums at forums.orb.com, and asking your orb-specific questions there. They're very helpful, and will have more experience and up to date answers than anyone you're likely to find here.

Your absolutely correct on the orb.. i'm not sure what i was thinking..
But what is the best slingbox version to use with pocket pcs? I was just looking at some on ebay and I thought I heard one version works best and I wasn't sure if it was the newest one that worked. : )
Thanks

streaming orb over wifi
@ i2idiniow..
I played around with the wifi net connection settings, specifically the "my network card connects to" and the settings for my particular SSID. it appears setting them in some combination of work and internet allowed me to stream via wifi with the phone off. let me know if you need more specific detail! I LOVE ORB because I can watch my bt downloded episodes of UK only "top gear" & "fifth gear" whenever I want, not to mention any other of the 500gb of tv/vids/music/pics I have. I cat believe the service is free! granted this sort of thing could be done by an individual with VLC and a web server, but orb is so amazingly simple and eloquent!

ppclover said:
For some reason every night my sat. reciever turns off. I have the time out turned off, but it still turns off at night. I have to press select on the reciever, but of course I cannot through orb. Any ideas of how I can work around this?
Jim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im gonna take a wild guess and say you have Dish Network. If so, they supposedly have the receiver go into update mode when inactive for 4 hours which produces the screen you are talking about. you are right, there is no way to press select in orb. you can do it with a slingbox and their software. The only know work around to this that I have seen (search the internet quit a bit on this) is to set the DVR (if you have one) to record like a couple minutes of any random program every 3 hours 59 minutes, this will wake it up. i belive I am correct on this, may vary by receiver model, but from I have seen there is no setting to chnage this on most modern receivers. bummer i know

Is there a way to change the default media player from windows mobile media player or at least a way to change pre amp volume levels (the sound is far too quiet)

Madzilla said:
Is there a way to change the default media player from windows mobile media player or at least a way to change pre amp volume levels (the sound is far too quiet)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Switch to TCPMP, it is MUCH better and after adding the WMV, WMA and flash patches it does everything WMP does better.

How to Access from Mobile end
What is the step by step access from the mobile phone end once the program is installed on the host pc?
CG

curious george said:
What is the step by step access from the mobile phone end once the program is installed on the host pc?
CG
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Point browser at mycast.orb.com and login. Very easy.

TheMostToys said:
Switch to TCPMP, it is MUCH better and after adding the WMV, WMA and flash patches it does everything WMP does better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use that already but orb still opens wm6 player by defualt

Madzilla said:
I use that already but orb still opens wm6 player by defualt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to set the correct file associations. You can do this in the TCPMP settings or in the registry. The windows streaming file type is .asx

I am having the worst time getting orb to work at all, I can view the files, click on the files and they start to play but the buffering happens every 10 seconds it won't play worth a crap. I tried version 1 and it doesn't work. Anyone got any ideas?

Coinstar99 said:
I am having the worst time getting orb to work at all, I can view the files, click on the files and they start to play but the buffering happens every 10 seconds it won't play worth a crap. I tried version 1 and it doesn't work. Anyone got any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having the same problem, sometimes it never buffers and just says "paused".

CS918/MK888/K-R42 Startup/boot problem

Hello,
My MK888 box worked smoothly only for two days. On third day I noticed that device is turned off. It can't boot up now. The PowerLED lights up for 5 seconds and it goes off. The video of this process You can see here: http://www.mediafire.com/watch/gcg1a43k9qceoem/CAM00200_compressed.mp4
Connecting OTG cable causes permanent glow PowerLED, until disconnected. I checked dmesg and it doesn't change when I connect device with OTG cable. Windows doesn't see it either. Connecting it with Recovery button pressed down doesn't help. It has stock rom without any modififcations. Only XBMC installed and some other apps.
Does anyone has any idea how to fix this?
I bought it here: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/TV-B...3188-2GB-RAM-8GB-ROM-CS918-AV/1392309954.html
The seller gave me link to some new firmware and no other info. Only "please download the firmware and install in your computer, and then connect the tv box to the computer, it will flash automatically ".

7ymekk said:
Hello,
My MK888 box worked smoothly only for two days. On third day I noticed that device is turned off. It can't boot up now. The PowerLED lights up for 5 seconds and it goes off. The video of this process You can see here: http://www.mediafire.com/watch/gcg1a43k9qceoem/CAM00200_compressed.mp4
Connecting OTG cable causes permanent glow PowerLED, until disconnected. I checked dmesg and it doesn't change when I connect device with OTG cable. Windows doesn't see it either. Connecting it with Recovery button pressed down doesn't help. It has stock rom without any modififcations. Only XBMC installed and some other apps.
Does anyone has any idea how to fix this?
I bought it here: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/TV-B...3188-2GB-RAM-8GB-ROM-CS918-AV/1392309954.html
The seller gave me link to some new firmware and no other info. Only "please download the firmware and install in your computer, and then connect the tv box to the computer, it will flash automatically ".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Follow his advice, re-install Stock Rom

Hammer_drum said:
Follow his advice, re-install Stock Rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read my post again. Especially these two sentenses:
I checked dmesg and it doesn't change when I connect device with OTG cable. Windows doesn't see it either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"RK3188 (Quad-Core) Firmware Image Flashing: English RKbatch Tool v1.6" from http://www.rockchipfirmware.com/firmware-downloads doesn't see my device.

7ymekk said:
Read my post again. Especially these two sentenses:
"RK3188 (Quad-Core) Firmware Image Flashing: English RKbatch Tool v1.6" from http://www.rockchipfirmware.com/firmware-downloads doesn't see my device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you holding the reset button on the device when connecting to the PC?

Hammer_drum said:
Are you holding the reset button on the device when connecting to the PC?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
from the first post...
Connecting it with Recovery button pressed down doesn't help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

7ymekk said:
from the first post...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like a hardware fault in all honesty.
Mine turns itself off immediately sometimes but not on a consistent basis.
I would tell the seller of the issues about it not detecting, I'd make sure your drivers are up to date though.

The drivers are not an issue as the dmesg (linux tool) shows nothing, like no device is connected. It should show something. I thought that there is some hack for this or possibility to connect with JTAG or something. I will send it back to the seller.

7ymekk said:
The drivers are not an issue as the dmesg (linux tool) shows nothing, like no device is connected. It should show something. I thought that there is some hack for this or possibility to connect with JTAG or something. I will send it back to the seller.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HELLO,
i have exactly the SAME problem as you described with my tv box (i think it is T-R42 because it has bluetooth)
Also i have the stock rom , and also i bought the tv box from an aliexpress seller
Normally i keep it in operation (was about a week i didn't turn off it)
yesterday morning i found it powered off,
and when i try to power on it pressing the button,
the button light stays on for a few seconds, then it (and the device) turns off
Yesterday night i connected the tv box to my pc via otg cable.
When connected to the pc via otg, the light stays on.
Connecting the usb cable to the pc, and pushing the reset button under the tv box, my pc detects rk31sdk device, then asks to install drivers for it
Choosing automatic search of drivers, my pc find drivers for 'MDB device' and istall them... and the process ends correctly
But after a few seconds, windows finds another time the 'new hardware', and asks to install drivers... and so on
(I dont know if in this phase i did some wrong action, this evening i will try to find and install the right drivers...)
Then i downloaded the software for my tv box, including the Rockchip updater (RKAndroidTool.exe) and latest custom rom from wasser (forum freaktab.com) :
http://www.freak-tab.de/wasser/firmware-wasser-1.2.4.zip
Then i lauched the RKAndroidTool:
the first time it didn't find the device, so i tried to disconnect the tv box, reconnect it and press the reset button under the tv box
In that way, the RKAndroidTool detected the device.
I Clicked Erase IDB, and seems it worked find, endings OK
Then i selected all the software : Loader, Parameter, Misc, Kernel, Boot, Recovery, System and clicked 'RUN'
The process started, i saw:
Testing device: OK
Flashing Ram... OK
So i was happy, i thought i solved my problem...
instead i solved nothing, the device still had the same behaviour as before (the same as you described)
So i repeated the process, selecting only one update at a time, (only the Boot , only the Recovery, only the System etc)
The process seems always to work ok, because it ends with OK
But the tv box didn't change behaviour, the same problem remain
I noticed that sometimes during the update process the message 'Found RKAndroid Loader Rock USB' changed to 'NOT FOUND',
so i had to retry pushing the reset button to make it be found
I dont know how RKTool works, i have the suspect that messages tells OK also if it do nothing ...
this evening i will retry, installing the right drivers...

You are a lucky guy. Mine wasn't even detected by my PC. After maaany approaches of powerON+RecoveryButton dmesg showed the new device only once with following issue: "BOS descriptor failed.". The seller told me to send it back for replace, but they will cover only one posting cost. It cost me extra $16

7ymekk said:
You are a lucky guy. Mine wasn't even detected by my PC. After maaany approaches of powerON+RecoveryButton dmesg showed the new device only once with following issue: "BOS descriptor failed.". The seller told me to send it back for replace, but they will cover only one posting cost. It cost me extra $16
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,
i have still to test it,
but perhaps i got the solution for the problem:
a user from freaktab forum suggested me that the problem should be the power adapter:
he suggested me to buy a power adapter 5V , with 2A output minimum
I dont have such power adapter, if you have it, and you have not sent yet the tv box to the supplier, please check this solution and let me know!
Thanks

I saw this solution somewhere in the internet, but unfortunately I checked it with 2.5A adapter...it didn't help. I tested the standard adapter with multimeter and everything appeared to be fine. I already sent my device to the seller. I hope he will replace it.

7ymekk said:
I saw this solution somewhere in the internet, but unfortunately I checked it with 2.5A adapter...it didn't help. I tested the standard adapter with multimeter and everything appeared to be fine. I already sent my device to the seller. I hope he will replace it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i found this thread on freaktab
http://www.freaktab.com/showthread....few-seconds-then-shuts-down-Bad-power-adapter
i will check if this solution will work with my tv box
In the case it doesn't work i think i will have also to send the tv box to the aliexpress seller...
but i dont know how to do it, and how much i have to pay
did you choose DHL shipment, or which other carrier?
I bought my t-r42 on october, now are passed 4 months... i dont know if i still can ask to the seller to replace it...
any suggestion?
Thanks!

I asked him through aliexpress:
Sign In -> My orders -> CHOOSE_YOUR_ORDER -> View Detail
at the bottom of this page I have some sort of chat feature.
DHL is out of the question! They take 20-40$. I sent it with Polish Post.

7ymekk said:
I asked him through aliexpress:
Sign In -> My orders -> CHOOSE_YOUR_ORDER -> View Detail
at the bottom of this page I have some sort of chat feature.
DHL is out of the question! They take 20-40$. I sent it with Polish Post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok thank you,
if the power adapter solution doesn't work i will try to contact the seller
To be honest, i am not very satisfied of this tv box, it didn't work very well
for example i used skype (connecting it to a logitech c270 webcam), and it didnt work well... very often skype crashed, and camera app also had problems...
Perhaps i will ask to the seller if i can buy another model and can get some discount returning my tv box to him...

quad core android tv box Q7
I trie to make update the fimware after 1minute re line and write fails,
i try again an the recovery an the device is not work..
help me please.

Same problem
Did anyone could fix this? I have the same problem, any firmware, even the supposed stock one, fix the problem, the device doesn't boot.
I don't know what happens, it can update the firmware every time I want....

RKbatchtool is better than RKAndroidtool.
connect the box to the PC via OTG but do not connect the power. hold the recovery button and then connect the power cable.
if this still fails then try Maskmode. bit more complex and i would recommend a good read over at freaktab.com first. have to open the box up and short the 8th and 9th Pin on the NAND chip.
similar to this http://www.freaktab.com/showthread.php?1943-NEW-Unbrick-or-fix-NAND-on-the-MK808
and those with a Q7 box. dont use Wassers rom. it will load but bluetooth, wifi and ethernet wont work on it
Freaktab has roms for the q7

I had the same problem, I even brought device to my friend who work in repair shop and he don`t find any technical damage. Then one evening i was watching movie and all the time trying to connect it to pc and reset, and etc. then suddenly blue light start glowing and since then it is working very well, but my pc still dont recognize it

good price for cs918 tv box
Hi dear friend
Pls help to forward the message to the procurement officer.Thanks
^_^
CS918 TV BOX 1G $29 CS918 TV BOX 2G $32
We get your email address and know that you are interest in the tv box.
We would like to introduce our company and products, hope that we may build business cooperation in the future.
We are factory specializing in the manufacture and export of tv box for more than three years.;like hot sales MINIX \ MXQ \MXIII\ CS918 \ M8 \ M8S \ Arabic iptv box .and so on ...
Expressly, our price is very competitive because we are manufactory,
We also can put yourself logo on the tv box,And according to your request to add some design
As a very active manufactures, we often develop new designs , If you have interest in it, it's my pleasure to offer news to you regular.
Best regards
umtron.jack
Skype : um-jack
kik:jack um

CS918S Start up problem
I had same start up problem with my new CS918S TV Box.
contacted Seller and she gave me link to some new firmware and no other info. Only "please download the firmware and install in your computer, and then connect the tv box to the computer, it will flash automatically ".
I downloaded all the upgrade software as mentioned but still not working.
I went to my friend's home who is also using the same TV Box. Tested my TV Box with my friend's HDMI Cable, Power Adapter one by one. Finally, finding out when using my Power Adapter for the 2 TV Boxes they had the same startup problem. But using my friend's power adapter, both are working . Communicated with seller shop: China SmartView Digital Co. Ltd. Aliexpress Store no: 808900. She asked me to mail back to the manufacture direct but she doesn't be responsible for any cost.
I order a new power adapter cable from other supplier at my own cost.

[Official] Fire TV 2 / Fire OS 5 (Fire TV 1) Tips & Complaints Thread

WORK IN PROGRESS: UPDATING
STOP PRESS: FIRESTARTER 3.0 RELEASED. SANITY RESTORED.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-tv/themes-apps/app-root-home-launcher-replacement-app-t3118135
Before sending your Fire TV/Stick back to Amazon in disgust, beware of its limitations, and try these tips.
Bottom line is it's going to be a solid step up from Fire TV 1. But right now, it has a few issues.
Let's talk about the elephant in the room: the angry reviews. Almost all the complaints are about the glitchy remote (we have a fix), battery cover (sometimes the customer isn't always right), audio issues (Amazon is patching, stay tuned). No question, it's got some bugs out of the gate, but Amazon has responded and hopefully all will be resolved shortly . Enjoy:
http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-DV83YW-Fire-TV/product-reviews/B00U3FPN4U/
Fire TV 2: hardware shortcomings by design that many regard as substandard.
If these are important, you might need to look elsewhere.
1. USB 2.0 not even USB 3.0. USB-C is the new standard appearing on phones and laptops.
2. Ethernet 10/100 not GB.
3. No optical port. Possible solution: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B010JQMHNW/?
4. HDMI 1.4, not HDMI 2.0, limited to 4K at 30fps.
Software bugs and annoyances, most probably due to OS 5, but yet to be confirmed.
Could be fixed either by Amazon or developers.
1. Audio limited to stereo other than for Amazon Prime. Quiet audio.
As promised, Amazon has released a patch (extremely quickly):
“By this coming Monday, October 12th, you will receive an automatic software update that enables Dolby Digital Plus for customers who have a Dolby Digital Plus system (including support for Netflix and Amazon Video). An update for older Dolby Digital systems (not Dolby Digital Plus) will be distributed on November 30th.” -Amazon
Update from AFTVNews:
One of the new device’s largest complaints, a lack of Dolby Digital surround sound support, which has been partially fixed already, stems from changes made to support Netflix. I’m told by my source at Amazon that Netflix gave the Fire TV engineering team a new version of their software at the last minute which required changes to the Fire TV’s software to work correctly. Those changes conflicted with Dolby Digital surround sound support. With not enough time to fix support for both, Amazon was faced with the decision to ship without Netflix or without Dolby Digital surround sound. They chose the latter which, in my opinion, was the right choice.
http://www.aftvnews.com/amazon-is-d...-internal-testing-pool-for-bug-fixing-effort/
2. Fire TV 2 WiFi Remote drops out, glitchy, lags, etc.
Do this when setting up if you're connecting via Ethernet: disconnect your LAN cable, connect to WiFi, reconnect your network cable.
And then do this anytime if your remote becomes laggy: disconnect Ethernet cable, reconnect Ethernet cable.
That should fix it. Really, it's usually that simple.
If not, there could be interference, you could try changing channels or frequency on your router or restrict the available protocols (just N or AC, for example). Let us know if you're still having problems.
3. Highly inconvenient to launch Kodi and other sideloaded apps.
Long story, somewhat shortened: The Fire OS only shows icons for apps obtained from Amazon's App Store. That, unfortunately, doesn't include Kodi, everyone's favourite media player, and about 99% of the reason the AFTV has a cult following. There have been two popular ways to get around Amazon's belligerence: by having Kodi launch as proxy of another app (usually Ikono TV) using Llama; or by employing Firestarter to bind it to the Home button.
Both can be loaded via ADFire.
Unfortunately, Llama no longer works (for this purpose) in OS5/AFTV2, so skip that route and install FireStarter:
ADBFire : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2786505
FireStarter http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-tv/themes-apps/app-root-home-launcher-replacement-app-t3118135
Kodi: http://kodi.tv
I recommend mapping the Home Button single click to Kodi, and the Home button double-click to Amazon Home. Or if you'd prefer to use Firestarter as your home screen, then map it to the double-click. The added bonus to this setup is every time you're in Kodi and hit the Home button inadvertently, instead of losing your **** yet again, it'll just flash in and out of the app and then pause whatever you're watching.
Here's a guide on sideloading to the Fire. Again, I strongly recommend ADBFire:
http://www.aftvnews.com/sideload/
If you have an Android tablet or phone, there are several apps that can push apps across to the Fire, such as Apps2Fire. That way you can download your apps direct from the official Google Play Store. Don't forget they won't automatically update. You'll need to push those updates across as well.
4. Can't connect via ADB to sideload using ADBFire etc since using FireStarter
First up: make sure you have ADB enabled. Settings>System>Developer Options> Both ADB Debugging and Apps from Unknown Sources need to be On.
FireStarter has two methods of intercepting Home button presses: one using ADB, and one not using ADB. The issue that's arisen since the introduction of Fire OS 5 is that the operating system no longer permits parallel ADB connections, so if FireStarter is using it to intercept Home button presses, you won't be able to connect to the Fire TV using ADB, and thus you won't be able to sideload apps and files using ADBFire.
We now have two options:
Option 1 (Firestarter won't use ADB): Open FireStarter, under Settings, uncheck "Home Detection via ADB."
Advantage: You only need ADB enabled to connect with ADBFire. No need to touch FireStarter.
Disadvantage: Only detects your customized Home button choices within the Fire TV's home screen, and not within apps. Pressing Home within Kodi, for example, will return you to the Home screen. Pressing it again will send you back to Kodi (or whatever action you've chosen. A potential advantage is this now gives you three variants of the Home button: a single and double-click from the Home screen; and the traditional Fire TV Home shortcut from within any app.
Option 2: (FireStarter uses ADB): Open FireStarter, check "Home Detection via ADB"
Advantage: FireStarter will now obey your Home button choices (single and double-click) from anywhere.
Disadvantage: You will either need to kill FireStarter (see below) or temporarily revert to Option 1 in order to do your ADB stuff. Note: there's now a handy shortcut direct to the ADB Debugging toggle within FireStarter.
Tip: If you go with Option 2, you can quickly kill FireStarter's grip on ADB by going: Settings>Manage Applications>FireStarter and Force Stop. And then restarting FireStarter or the Device once you've finished your ADB business.
5. External storage limited to disks formatted in FAT32.
There's no reason why Amazon couldn't enable other formats, but there's little incentive to bother. Even Macs don't support NTFS out of the box. Either format your drives in FAT32 (and split larger files if necessary) or move them to a network share. Not hard to work around. Here's a tip:
http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-play...b-off-the-fire-tvs-fat32-usb-storage-in-kodi/
6. Difficult to remove battery cover?
No it's not. Slide it back then lift it up. Dead easy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3t1GOCzjzY&
7. Can't move Kodi to external storage.
http://www.aftvnews.com/some-apps-like-kodi-cannot-write-to-external-storage-yet-on-fire-os-5/
Upgrade to Jarvis (still in alpha but perfectly acceptable).
8. LED only glowing when it detects a remote button press
Either a bug or a new way of doing things. Either way, it's not ideal.
9. Can't Chromecast from Android device to Fire TV
Yes, you can cast from Youtube, but nothing else (that I can find). Blame Google for that:
http://www.aftvnews.com/google-has-chromecast-receiver-app-pulled-from-fire-tv-appstore/
You can, however, Airplay to it. Via Kodi is one method, that usually works, but can be flaky sometimes. There are a bunch of apps you can try. Some work better than others. I picked up this one when it was free, it works:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/x9F99-x65B9-x513F-AirReceiver/dp/B00L5HQRGS/
And for those of you with other Amazon devices, there's always Fling:
https://developer.amazon.com/public...g/docs/understanding-the-amazon-fling-service

How about Bluetooth controller frequently loses connection to the AFTV? Mine drops it's connection probably 2 or 3 times every hour.

sudman said:
How about Bluetooth controller frequently loses connection to the AFTV? Mine drops it's connection probably 2 or 3 times every hour.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't the AFTV2 remote Wi-Fi?

I will be watching this thread closely. Thank you for posting.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Free mobile app

list additions
I would add to the list:
Issues with day 1 software update, (several resets, issues to get working)
Wifi remote constantly cuts on/off (taking out batteries seems like temp fix)
Stutters in apps like WatchESPN
Second the dropping of lama/kodi icon support
Despite better hardware, little change in actual performance (yet to be fully seen)

Claude Koch said:
Isn't the AFTV2 remote Wi-Fi?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was under the impression that it was BT same as the original but cant find a definitive answer eitherway. Eitherway the damn thing keeps discontecting!!!! Will be sending mine back if things dont improve fast.

sudman said:
I was under the impression that it was BT same as the original but cant find a definitive answer eitherway. Eitherway the damn thing keeps discontecting!!!! Will be sending mine back if things dont improve fast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.aftvnews.com/list-of-all-fire-tv-and-fire-tv-stick-remote-and-game-controller-specs/

Claude Koch said:
About time we compiled a tally of what's broken, missing or just plain annoying on the new Fire TV, and what's (about to be) broken by the official release of OS 5 on the old Fire TV.
4. More to come.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this. I was criticized elsewhere for bringing up some shortcomings of 2. I am very interested in the gizmo you linked that breaks off the 5.1 via Optical and 2ch mini-jack from the HDMI stream. The product dates back to 2013 which makes me skeptical. I've bought a few of these that did not work. I have 4 port Monoprice HDMI switch that has the 5.1 and 2ch breakout. It disappoints as it is 5.1 OR 2ch, not both. The one's I have had tried similar to your post would pass sound to all six speakers but it was in reality Stereo which will fool some people. The clue for me is, does the blue Dolby light come on? A quick test for DD Plus handling is "House of Cards". If you get a blue light viewing that, it's good to go. It's been almost a year since I last fooled with them so maybe there is something that is NEW and works.
I am still looking for one that really works. The only thing I know that splits off 5.1, for real, is 1's Optical connector.
What's funny is that I pitched my Roku3 over the DD+ impasse. Now Roku4 is coming out and it HAS an optical connector.
I have an Echo/Alexa too and waiting to see how all that works out with my 1 if it does at all. I'm rooted so unless Rbox comes through, I'm out of luck. Right now my Echo is pretty much a party novelty but it can now control my Nest and Insteon devices. Just found the most useful feature is using it as a meat timer.
It's a shame 2 isn't all of 1 but better and more.

I had problems with the connection with my remote too.
Are you used ethernet at the first start to connect with your router? Never set up wifi connection?
Try this
1. disconnect fire tv from ethernet
2. connect fire tv to wifi
3. reconnect the remote to fire tv
4. connect fire tv to ethernet again
for me i think it works... I am not 100% sure because the connection lost was very rare before. but give it a try.. :laugh:

There are huge issues with the WiFi the gain on the 5GHz 802.11ac is terrible in addition to issues above. I sent two of them back. Returning all of them is the only way Amazon will fix this!

I hate to say it, but it's looking like a lemon.
Edit: things are looking much better today.

What is an "Accessory Port". On my 1 I use a little dongle called Flirc to allow my Logitech Harmony One unified remote to control it. Needed it to feed the "Menu" command to 1. I now have a Harmony Ultimate with Hub and just imported the same settings.
I wonder if 2's "Accessory port" will allow a Flirc dongle to support unified IR remotes. Also wonder if it is even necessary with the 2. The Ultimate remote is still totally IR but the Hub is WiFi allowing it to talk to some smart devices. Guess I could test but hate to fix something that ain't broke. That's the main reason I'm afraid of 2. See no benefit except for 4K and I don't have that. My 1 setup works pretty well.
What I want to do is ditch my $160/mo DirecTV bill and replace it with another DVR option. SBC (aka AT&T) ate them and nothing good will come from that. "Repeating" myself, the Tivo Bolt is intriguing. Would replace FireTV and DirecTV. On the other hand, my rooted 1 with Nova Launcher and a Logitech K400 KB is a pretty nice little big screen Android box.
Nothing is just right.

sudman said:
How about Bluetooth controller frequently loses connection to the AFTV? Mine drops it's connection probably 2 or 3 times every hour.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's an abomination. Seems like the wifi keeps dropping out.
Edit: fixed.

Claude Koch said:
It's an abomination. Seems like the wifi keeps dropping out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But it's ON SALE. hurry while the supply lasts. Pulling 2 1/2 Stars. Not good.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U3FPN4U/?tag=aftvndeal-20

The Main Reason AFTV 2 Is Not For Me
Root and Nova Launcher

Claude Koch said:
It's an abomination. Seems like the wifi keeps dropping out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A page back i posted a method to fix that if you are used ethernet cable at the first start o AFTV2.
Try this
1. disconnect fire tv from ethernet
2. connect fire tv to wifi
3. reconnect the remote to fire tv
4. connect fire tv to ethernet again
For me no connection losts between remote control and AFTV2 after a couple of hours.

I know the Apple TV was looming, but I don't get why Amazon felt the need to rush this out so fast. There just really isn't a reason to refresh a video streaming device annually. I understand they wanted to beat Apple to 4K, but looks like it cost them this time. I am sure updates will make it better, but this box might be the dud when we look back and the history of these things. I just hope it doesn't flop so bad they stop future revisions.

MajorWinters said:
A page back i posted a method to fix that if you are used ethernet cable at the first start o AFTV2.
Try this
1. disconnect fire tv from ethernet
2. connect fire tv to wifi
3. reconnect the remote to fire tv
4. connect fire tv to ethernet again
For me no connection losts between remote control and AFTV2 after a couple of hours.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tip. I'm going to let it be for a couple of days, then try your fix. Otherwise, I won't know it it helped.
Been trying to get it to detect the bluetooth remote from my other Fire TV but not having any luck.
EDIT: Great tip, seems to have done the trick! Added to list.

I sent mine back. I can't believe that the newer Fire TV performs much worse than my 1st Gen Fire TV. Here is what I find annoying.
Remote cover is very hard to open. Broke my nail and it took me nearly a half hour to get it open. Once it is open it is much easier after.
Remote freezes and stops responding. Have to take out batteries and put them back in. At first I though the unit froze but my BT keyboard works fine. Had to use that quite often.
Netflix no 5.1 surround sound. Also it takes much longer to get up to 1080p. On my old Fire TV 1080p instantly and if not just restart the stream. On the 2nd gen Fire TV mud quality sub 480p which can take up to 40 seconds or longer to get to 1080p unless I fast forward and rewind the stream but then it ends up ruining what I am watching when there are spoilers in the beginning of the program.
Other third party apps actually run worse. They stutter and skip frames like trying to watch a HD video on a Celeron PC from 2008.
The external storage option is a joke. First thing is they should have included more than 8gb of internal storage because the external microSD is useless. I moved all the apps and games I can to the external storage however most apps and some games still store at least half the data on internal storage so even then I was already running low on space while my 64gb microSD barely used any space.
Box runs much warmer than before and I have it on a cooling pad.
To me the picture quality seems worse. I don't have a 4k TV just 1080p but the picture is much darker and reds look more pixelated.
That is what I can think of off the bat but in the end I ended up sending it back like many others and I see a recall soon from Amazon. They should have never released this thing as the 1st Gen Fire TV was pretty much perfect. Yes it had issues when it first came out mainly the once outdated Netflix app and having to occasionally clear the Amazon video data app when it would not play but otherwise it performed much better than this new thing does.

It's looking like under OS5, external storage is sandboxed as read-only to Kodi. The same seems true of Android TV (Nvidia Shield), so I suppose it's a Lollipop security issue. If I'm right, this means no moving Kodi data/thumbnails to external storage and using the /sdcard/xbmc_env.properties to redirect. Can anyone confirm/disprove this?

UK BBC Iplayer problem

Bought mine on the Prime deal recently at very good price and all seems ok except iplayer runs for about 8 mins then just stops and returns to shield home screen. I have tried unistalling update which is as far as you can go and then updating and makes no difference, I have even sideloaded the standard android app which just stops but not to home screen.
So far it seems to be just this app as I have Amazon video running with no problems as well as Kodi and spmc .
My Fire tv runs iplayer with no problems.
Anyone else in Uk have this problem or anyone any suggestions please.

how long has it been happening for? if it's only been for a day or so, I'd be inclined to suspect that the problem is with the iplayer service, rather than with the app, and it will sort itself out.
I tend to access iplayer through the kodi add-on rather than the app, but the times I have used the app it's worked fine. however, I have very occasionally encountered the same problem you're having over the years, going back to the iplayer add-on for xbmc on the original xbox. it seems to just be a thing that happens sometimes, possibly when lots of people are trying to use it at the same time.

Mr Creosote said:
how long has it been happening for? if it's only been for a day or so, I'd be inclined to suspect that the problem is with the iplayer service, rather than with the app, and it will sort itself out.
I tend to access iplayer through the kodi add-on rather than the app, but the times I have used the app it's worked fine. however, I have very occasionally encountered the same problem you're having over the years, going back to the iplayer add-on for xbmc on the original xbox. it seems to just be a thing that happens sometimes, possibly when lots of people are trying to use it at the same time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for taking the time to respond, seems strange it works prefectly on Fire tv yet even the sideloaded unofficial just freezes at about the same running time ( I have uninstalled that version now as it is no better)
I will contact Nvidia direct as they only seem to reply to praise on twitter.
Anoying as everything else seems ok.

strange. have you tried going into settings>apps, scrolling along to the iplayer app, force closing it, clearing cache and data, then let it reinstall any updates that you removed?

Mr Creosote said:
strange. have you tried going into settings>apps, scrolling along to the iplayer app, force closing it, clearing cache and data, then let it reinstall any updates that you removed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes tried all that and more thats why I posted to see if was just me that was having trouble.

well, I have encountered that problem, but it's only ever been temporary. have you tried the iplayer add-on for kodi/spmc? I think there's a version of it available in the basic kodi add-on repository.
also is it happening with both wired and wireless network connections, or only wireless?

Mr Creosote said:
well, I have encountered that problem, but it's only ever been temporary. have you tried the iplayer add-on for kodi/spmc? I think there's a version of it available in the basic kodi add-on repository.
also is it happening with both wired and wireless network connections, or only wireless?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes I can use kodi/spmc but I would like the working app and as yours is ok it must be something on my system.
It may be wifi as I only use that but everything else runs fine and it seems to be approx 8 to 9 mins then crashes.
Again thanks for suggestions and I will update if I resolve the issue.

wifi seems the likely cause, if everything else is working well. I shall try it myself with my ethernet cable disconnected and see if I have the same problem.
it's possible that iplayer is buffering inconsistently because it's connected through wifi, and it's being too quick to decide that the stream has failed.
I think it's also defaulting to the highest bitrate stream. maybe try going into the iplayer settings and changing the video settings, so it's not trying to stream in full hd.
and just in general, I recommend having a wired connection whenever possible. the less wireless traffic in your house, the better everything works. ethernet cables for static devices, save your wifi for phones and tablets etc.

Contacted customer care and they went through the obvious which I double checked then they came back with....
"Thank you for the update with the requested details, further to isolate the issue if you have remote paired while accessing BBC iplayer then could you please first un-pair the remote and then run BBC iplayer for sometime and check."
To my surprise I unpaired remote and used standard game controller and...................... it works.
I have just asked them why this resolves the issue, I'll post when updated.

lol, fair enough

mezdev said:
Contacted customer care and they went through the obvious which I double checked then they came back with....
"Thank you for the update with the requested details, further to isolate the issue if you have remote paired while accessing BBC iplayer then could you please first un-pair the remote and then run BBC iplayer for sometime and check."
To my surprise I unpaired remote and used standard game controller and...................... it works.
I have just asked them why this resolves the issue, I'll post when updated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you get a response about why the remote issues resolves the problem?
I ask as my parents are using the iPlayer app which since the last update and are facing this issue. Are you saying that using TV remotes with CEC enabled is causing this issue?
They have had the issue on two different types of TV (Panasonic and Samsung).

Mekotronics r58x

Does anyone own any of the Mekotronics android TV products? I was contemplating getting one of these, but I ended up pulling the trigger and getting the r58x. I got the 16\64Gb version that runs well, but I decided to also install an NVME drive just because.
I ended up getting and installing one of these https://www.westerndigital.com/products/internal-drives/wd-blue-sn570-nvme-ssd#WDS500G3B0C.Once I installed in and boot the device, for some reason it doesn't see this storage. I tried it on my computer just to see if it recognizes it and it saw it right away so I'm not sure why this device doesn't see it.
Any thoughts?
Also on another note, I am running Android 12 on the device. I know android 12 doesn't come with the android tv remote services by default, but I'd like to install it so I can use my universal remote on my tv to control it. When I search that in the play store I get a ton of results for "android tv remote services". I'm not sure what I should be installing, and would it work for me to install it on Android 12?
Thanks!

From
m0d hipp¥ said:
Does anyone own any of the Mekotronics android TV products? I was contemplating getting one of these, but I ended up pulling the trigger and getting the r58x. I got the 16\64Gb version that runs well, but I decided to also install an NVME drive just because.
I ended up getting and installing one of these https://www.westerndigital.com/products/internal-drives/wd-blue-sn570-nvme-ssd#WDS500G3B0C.Once I installed in and boot the device, for some reason it doesn't see this storage. I tried it on my computer just to see if it recognizes it and it saw it right away so I'm not sure why this device doesn't see it.
Any thoughts?
Also on another note, I am running Android 12 on the device. I know android 12 doesn't come with the android tv remote services by default, but I'd like to install it so I can use my universal remote on my tv to control it. When I search that in the play store I get a ton of results for "android tv remote services". I'm not sure what I should be installing, and would it work for me to install it on Android 12?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure about the remote, but from my understanding, all these device using the Rockchip 3588 & soc / Mali G610 chipsets are using a "dirty" version of Android TV OS. I have also learned that all of them I have tested do not support Dolby Vision and ATMOS.
Concerning the NVME, Mekotronics has told me this is still an issue. Theyare also still working on getting the UFEI boot working. I wish I could have of more help, hopefully someone else will ring in.
I hope someone can do more with the firmware, as these devices really have some great potential

Thanks for your response. I was playing on with this device for a bit and got most of my questions answered.
Regarding the remote service - this is from Google, but it doesn't seem to be compatible with the mekotronics Android 12 OS.
Regarding the NVME, I needed to format it from my computer first before installing it into the r58x device. After I did that the device recognized the storage no problem, however it can only be used as a secondary storage not primary. That's a big bummer, but since I have 64Gb to work with on the EMMC it's not too bad, and the speed is already really fast. When I contacted Mekotronics support they told me they are working on a way to get the nvme storage to work as a primary at some point.
The other big bummer is the lack of widevine L1, but I will try and play with kodi and see if that could be an option.

I had a followup question. Didn't want to create a new thread, so figured I would stem from this one.
I noticed that Radxa dev team has created an Android 12 img that supports NVME boot. I was curious to see if it would work on my r58x device, and unfortunately it doesn't.
I get a spinor error message, which I'm not quite sure what it means, but I imagine it's because their image file isn't compatible with the rk58x. With this in mind, is there a way to figure out what needs to be changed/updated on the r58x img similarly to what was done on the radxa one so I can get NVME bootable to Android 12 OS?

Have had mine for months and just keep running into road block after road block. I use mine as a plex server. ran the debian image on it for a bit but i cant get plex to see/mount usb nor NAS for some reason. I wish I could just find someone to configure it for me for $. Anyone know of such a service?

Unfortunately I don't know custom services like that, and it doesn't seem too many people have these devices.
I don't run plex on mine, but as far as mounting a drive goes... I'm assuming you mounted it in a regular PM first and then formatted it? I did a quick format in Windows on my nvme drive and then went to drive mgmt to make sure it was online. After I did that I installed it and the device came right up for me on the r58x. You have the option to go into the storage settings from Android --> settings --> storage and then you can format it there and also have the option of moving over everything to that drive to use as a primary storage. You android OS would still run from emmc, but everything else can run from the other drive.
BTW, is the storage issue an issue with plex specifically or does your OS not see the drive either?