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I noticed the other day while Netflix was on there were frequent but very slight lags in video playback. I can't say it's dropping frames because I've seen what that looks like--best I can describe it is the video playback sort of goes into slow motion but only for a split second (happens maybe 1 to 3 times per minute)
At first I thought it was Netflix, notoriously problematic on aftv, but today I noticed it's happening on xbmc. The files are played from my local server.
My other aftv doesn't do this. It's running the same firmware except it's on WiFi while the one with playback issues is hardwired. I bring it up in case someone thinks it's a possible network issue and not aftv related. If so how would you go about troubleshooting? Different Ethernet cable? Or maybe this is software related...any feedback is good especially if you experience similar issues. Thanks.
KLit75 said:
I noticed the other day while Netflix was on there were frequent but very slight lags in video playback. I can't say it's dropping frames because I've seen what that looks like--best I can describe it is the video playback sort of goes into slow motion but only for a split second (happens maybe 1 to 3 times per minute)
At first I thought it was Netflix, notoriously problematic on aftv, but today I noticed it's happening on xbmc. The files are played from my local server.
My other aftv doesn't do this. It's running the same firmware except it's on WiFi while the one with playback issues is hardwired. I bring it up in case someone thinks it's a possible network issue and not aftv related. If so how would you go about troubleshooting? Different Ethernet cable? Or maybe this is software related...any feedback is good especially if you experience similar issues. Thanks.
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Ethernet is always better than wifi. Maybe its trying to cathup to the connection. Do this simple test, reboot and unhook the ethernet cable and try it with wifi and see if it still happpens. Netflix has that thing where they pay ISPs for faster connection so if it does not happen on wifi, I am guessing your ethernet connection is too good for Netflix. I know that sounds weird, but it happens.
porkenhimer said:
Ethernet is always better than wifi. Maybe its trying to cathup to the connection. Do this simple test, reboot and unhook the ethernet cable and try it with wifi and see if it still happpens. Netflix has that thing where they pay ISPs for faster connection so if it does not happen on wifi, I am guessing your ethernet connection is too good for Netflix. I know that sounds weird, but it happens.
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How would Netflix know if you're connected by Ethernet or WiFi?
wellersl said:
How would Netflix know if you're connected by Ethernet or WiFi?
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For one I never said anything about Netflix knowing your connection, but if you wanna get technical, every website you visit knows exactly what kind of connection you are using. Not only do they know what kind of connection you use, but they know exactly who your service provider is, what your IP address is and exactly where you are in the world, within a few feet. Also, an ethernet connection will always be faster and much more stable and consistant than your WiFi connection. Thats why I said his ethernet connection may be making it hard for the stream to catchup, in turn causing glitches in the stream. Maybe you should go back and read my reply again before you make a fool of yourself. Netflix does pay ISPs for faster speeds. They started doing it a couple years ago and it pissed the government off, cause they thought Netflix was gonna charge their customers for the extra speeds, but in the end the government allowed it and now a lot of media streaming sites are doing the same exact thing. For example, they pay a company like Verizon to let let them have direct access to their network which makes Netflix faster for its customers. All the major ISPs are now letting video sites do the same, cause the sites are paying good money to the ISPs to make their sites faster for their customers.
porkenhimer said:
Ethernet is always better than wifi. Maybe its trying to cathup to the connection. Do this simple test, reboot and unhook the ethernet cable and try it with wifi and see if it still happpens. Netflix has that thing where they pay ISPs for faster connection so if it does not happen on wifi, I am guessing your ethernet connection is too good for Netflix. I know that sounds weird, but it happens.
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Had to read it twice but what you're saying actually makes sense. My speeds are very fast. They actually test considerably higher on 5ghz than wired but usually hardwired is better because 1. It only needs to be so fast to stream 2. Less interference when it's wired.
Also, my Dad's speeds are are about 1/10 of what I get yet he streams Netflix flawlessly over WiFi. Taking that into consideration, it does seem logical faster speeds could potentially cause playback issues. But what I don't have the expertise to understand... couldn't the manufacturer of the device have some sort of governor to limit that connection?--using only what's needed for sd 720p 1080 or 4k? I'm just thinking that if what you're saying is true--and I think it might be--a lot of people would report it. Especially those with gigabyte speeds because I'd imagine they'd experience the most severe trouble.
Update--yes. The lag dissapeared when connected to WiFi. Con--When I mount drives with adbFire it only shows up as a smb share when hardwired. I have to put up with the glitch or go back to stickmount and a samba apk. But appreciate the info. Thanks!
Disregard--Double post.
porkenhimer said:
For one I never said anything about Netflix knowing your connection, but if you wanna get technical, every website you visit knows exactly what kind of connection you are using.
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Wow. I meant neither insult nor injury. It was a simple, innocent question. Try not to read a person's tone into what they type. You come across like someone who needs a hug.
Peace.
Stupidly bought a FireTV Stick with the intention of putting it in the offpsrings room so they can watch stuff from my Plex server in their own rooms.
Installed Plex, it wants to activate, £3.99, fair enough, bought it, it then says I can't watch stuff until I activate it, so I try again and it just errors..
Plex forums are about as much use as a fart in a cullender, so ended up here..
Any root or custom ROM options for the stick so it actually becomes useful?
Same LAN network correct?
I've noticed that if Plex uses a WAN address it behaves differently and nags for money. If your on a local network and you've attached to the correct server than you should be good to go.
Maybe you've already done this but make sure you are connected to the correct server and on your local network. And also if the content is HD make sure you are using h.264 encoding. I've noticed the firetv stick struggles with MPEG2 HD.
I've got my Plex server locally with a static as well as the FireTV stick having a static IP, the problem lies in the fact that you cant get Plex to work for more than a minute, says it needs activating, charges you the £3.99 then when you try to play something it again says it needs activating, try to activate it a second time and it errors...
Might have to go down the sideloading Kodi or similar although I would prefer something that just launched straight in rather than having to go into Settings, Apps, Manage Apps then fire kodu up from there, hence the request for some sort of custom ROM...
Trig0r said:
I've got my Plex server locally with a static as well as the FireTV stick having a static IP, the problem lies in the fact that you cant get Plex to work for more than a minute, says it needs activating, charges you the £3.99 then when you try to play something it again says it needs activating, try to activate it a second time and it errors...
Might have to go down the sideloading Kodi or similar although I would prefer something that just launched straight in rather than having to go into Settings, Apps, Manage Apps then fire kodu up from there, hence the request for some sort of custom ROM...
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I've never had that problem, ate you in the uk? Works gangbusters in the us. I'm also plexpass, so maybe that's why...
Trig0r said:
I've got my Plex server locally with a static as well as the FireTV stick having a static IP, the problem lies in the fact that you cant get Plex to work for more than a minute, says it needs activating, charges you the £3.99 then when you try to play something it again says it needs activating, try to activate it a second time and it errors...
Might have to go down the sideloading Kodi or similar although I would prefer something that just launched straight in rather than having to go into Settings, Apps, Manage Apps then fire kodu up from there, hence the request for some sort of custom ROM...
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Click to collapse
I can't say much about plex. I tried it. It was good to very good, depending on my device, but kodi is better in my opinion. However, if that tedious navigation in getting to the app is really your only issue, you can use llama to put it right on the recent section, or boot right to it. Adbfire makes the setup simple. There's also firestarter that allows side loaded apps on the home screen.
I've been using Plex for years and I'm pretty regular on the forums, and I agree, the issue with the repeated activation requirement doesn't seem to fix itself. Here is the most complete thread on the subject (http://forums.plex.tv/discussion/151349/app-already-purchased-but-still-prompting-for-activation/p1), I seem to remember that the main suggestions are (1) do a factory reset on the stick, (2) contact Amazon, and (3) PM one of the Plex devs with your amazon account name and maybe the receipt info from the app purchase (I don't remember the details of that). Like ldeveraux I have a Plexpass membership, that seems to provide the magic to avoid the issue (but I'm not promoting the purchase, the price now is kind of high).
Kodi+PlexBMC+Amber Skin works very well and looks similar to Plex Home Theater, sideloading is pretty easy (http://sideloadfiretv.com/sideload-apps-amazon-fire-tv-windows), and I think it's just a better solution to avoid any issues with surround sound.
Firestarter (http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-tv/themes-apps/app-root-home-launcher-replacement-app-t3118135) is an awesome app to easily access your sideloaded apps.
Ahh, llama might sort me out then if I can boot the stick straight to Kodi/XBMC, dont have a Plexpass here which might be why its working for you guys and not me..
Has anyone actually gotten the FIOS Mobile app installed and working on a fire tv (or preferably stick)? I want a portable device so that I can watch my dvr when on the road. The current version (5.2) won't allow access to shows, the previous version (5.0) won't connect, and the modified version to avoid root didn't work either. I thought @aftvnews might have a post about it, but nothing there. I can't find any solutions through Google either. Anyone have anything?
If anyone cares, the only way to run FIOS Mobile app is to unroot my stick. Root wasn't really necessary, so I did it an it's working now. Stupid Verizon appears to be blocking DVR access if it detects root, which is annoying.
ldeveraux said:
If anyone cares, the only way to run FIOS Mobile app is to unroot my stick. Root wasn't really necessary, so I did it an it's working now. Stupid Verizon appears to be blocking DVR access if it detects root, which is annoying.
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How well does the FiOS Mobile app work on the FireTV? I've considered it, but figure it would be a pain since the app is designed for phones and not devices like FireTV which needs a remote.
RedBullet said:
How well does the FiOS Mobile app work on the FireTV? I've considered it, but figure it would be a pain since the app is designed for phones and not devices like FireTV which needs a remote.
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It works poorly at best, or it did last I checked. That was months ago, and VZ has pushed out a mandatory app update that renders it unusable unless you update. I should try it again though! Also a mouse was required, or an app that turns your remote into a mouse. And it would randomly force close while watching DVR. So really not worth it...
Coincidentally, I was just playing around with the FiOS Mobile app on my FireTV yesterday, since I'm interested in finding a way to stream my FiOS TV channels to my FireTV box in my computer room. I thought I'd share my experience with everyone here.
It's true that with the latest version of the OS and app, it just says it can't run without Google Play Services.
-However-
I side-loaded the v5.8 FiOS Mobile app, signed into my FiOS account, and what do you know, it worked*!
* Ahem. Well, it mostly, sorta works.
First, the app was designed for a touch screen, not the FireTV w/remote. So scrolling means using a BT keyboard w/touch pad, and holding down the "left mouse button" while swiping up on the touch pad. Bit of a pain, but at least I could scroll through the live TV channel list.
Second, not all the live TV channels have the "watch now" button. Remember, this app was primarily meant to be able to control your FiOS DVR, and so it's focus is on being able to get the DVR to record shows.
Third, streaming a live TV channel was...interesting. The video quality starts out very blocky, low-res. But after a few seconds it starts to gradually improve, until it eventually matches what you would normally see via a real decoder box. The HD channels actually looked very good, given a minute to "ramp up". (Oh, and I think I changed the video quality settings to the highest in the app - that may have helped.)
Fourth (and this is the most mysterious part), after some minutes playing around with the app, my network started to have...problems. First the FireTV suddenly said it couldn't access the network (it was attached via a wired ethernet cable). Then the web browser on my PC couldn't access the internet (some sort of DNS issue). I unplugged the power on the FireTV and within seconds my PC browser was all fine again. As a software engineer, I naturally decided to re-test just to see if it would happen again, which it did. Eventually I gave up and uninstalled the FiOS Mobile app.
<sigh>
I'm really hoping that Verizon will release something similar for Android boxes like some other cable systems have done. (e.g. DirecTV Now!) Wouldn't that be nice?
software_samurai said:
Coincidentally, I was just playing around with the FiOS Mobile app on my FireTV yesterday, since I'm interested in finding a way to stream my FiOS TV channels to my FireTV box in my computer room. I thought I'd share my experience with everyone here.
It's true that with the latest version of the OS and app, it just says it can't run without Google Play Services.
-However-
I side-loaded the v5.8 FiOS Mobile app, signed into my FiOS account, and what do you know, it worked*!
* Ahem. Well, it mostly, sorta works.
First, the app was designed for a touch screen, not the FireTV w/remote. So scrolling means using a BT keyboard w/touch pad, and holding down the "left mouse button" while swiping up on the touch pad. Bit of a pain, but at least I could scroll through the live TV channel list.
Second, not all the live TV channels have the "watch now" button. Remember, this app was primarily meant to be able to control your FiOS DVR, and so it's focus is on being able to get the DVR to record shows.
Third, streaming a live TV channel was...interesting. The video quality starts out very blocky, low-res. But after a few seconds it starts to gradually improve, until it eventually matches what you would normally see via a real decoder box. The HD channels actually looked very good, given a minute to "ramp up". (Oh, and I think I changed the video quality settings to the highest in the app - that may have helped.)
Fourth (and this is the most mysterious part), after some minutes playing around with the app, my network started to have...problems. First the FireTV suddenly said it couldn't access the network (it was attached via a wired ethernet cable). Then the web browser on my PC couldn't access the internet (some sort of DNS issue). I unplugged the power on the FireTV and within seconds my PC browser was all fine again. As a software engineer, I naturally decided to re-test just to see if it would happen again, which it did. Eventually I gave up and uninstalled the FiOS Mobile app.
<sigh>
I'm really hoping that Verizon will release something similar for Android boxes like some other cable systems have done. (e.g. DirecTV Now!) Wouldn't that be nice?
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You bumped a 5mo old thread! But I'm OP so here goes...
The app is up to version 5.9 now but was working for me before. Apart from the logistical issues already mentioned, out should play fine. I have to test out 5.9
ldeveraux said:
You bumped a 5mo old thread! But I'm OP so here goes...
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I know, I know. But if I had started a new thread discussing the exact same thing, someone would have undoubtedly taken me to task for duplicating an already existing thread.
ldeveraux said:
The app is up to version 5.9 now but was working for me before. Apart from the logistical issues already mentioned, out should play fine. I have to test out 5.9
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Please do, and let me know if it works for you without Google Play Services. I didn't feel like rooting it and installing it just to get one app to run.
What worried me so much about v5.8 was how it somehow wrecked my home's network somehow. I suspect the app started doing hundreds of DNS lookups which swamped my internet gateway box.
software_samurai said:
I know, I know. But if I had started a new thread discussing the exact same thing, someone would have undoubtedly taken me to task for duplicating an already existing thread.
Please do, and let me know if it works for you without Google Play Services. I didn't feel like rooting it and installing it just to get one app to run.
What worried me so much about v5.8 was how it somehow wrecked my home's network somehow. I suspect the app started doing hundreds of DNS lookups which swamped my internet gateway box.
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5.9 seems to work on my stick. I do have google play services installed on there, but I don't think it's working. The stick is on the newest firmware, so it's definitely not rooted. I don't think you can root on this firmware anyway. Regardless, I was able to watch FIOS on an unrooted stick..
I tried to install Google Play Services from this link:
https://flixed.io/install-google-play-fire-tv-stick/
Got it working with Alexa-enabled stick
Side loaded it onto new non-rooted stick that has alexa remote - not the latest 4K stick.
Followed multiple google hits to get it done. It kept wanting google play services, so i had to side load and start the right google play apks.
Am using an ethernet adapter to get best picture. Wifi was ok but panning shots jumped a bit too much for me.
Lastly, got an OTG cable for a Logitech dongle for a keyboard mouse that works great. Recognized at boot - no config. Mouse mandatory for fios app, keboard arrow & enter key drives stick. Reasonably spouse friendly. Lost my remote - nay not matter now!
I'm posting this because i couldn't find a recent confirmation that fios app works on current fire stick.
Good luck.
Two things for root users to try: There are two XPosed apps you should install. One hides your root status and the other emulates Google Play Services.
I also want to state that I got the latest version of Verizon FiOS Mobile working on a FireTV stick without root. First, I enabled Apps from Unknown Sources and ADB Debugging under Settings-Developer Options. It seems like the FiOS Mobile app requires the Google Play store to be installed, so I found a site with instructions on how to install it and completed that task. I needed to download and install four .apk files. Strangely, I can't seem to launch the Google Play Store on my stick, but the FiOS Mobile app no longer complains that it's missing.. Next, I installed the FiOS Mobile app via APPS2FIRE. That's all I needed to do to get the FiOS Moble app running on my stick.
As another poster noted, the FiOS Mobile app was designed to be used on a touch device, such as a smartphone or tablet. Because of this, you cannot easily navigate the app and do what you want it to do easily using the Fire Stick remote. Someone recommended connecting a bluetooth keyboard and I think that's probably a good suggestion. Instead, I downloaded an app called Mouse Toggle which, when activated, provides a cursor on the screen that you can move around with the Fire Stick remote. I can now select items and enter channel numbers when I previously couldn't do so. It's not a perfect solution, but it gets the job done.
- LKNY
I've been using xda forums for a while now but never registered, now inevitably I have a problem.
Yesterday was asked by a friend if i could put Kodi on a firestick, never done it before but I thought what the hell I'll give it a go, read around and all easy enough. Now I have Kodi installed I've put TVaddons on there and used that to get all the usual stuff, Exodus, Phoenix, SALTS etc they work fine i.e. install and load fine all menus are there but non of them can find any sources, exodus wont even bring up TV or movie lists. like i said I've never done this before but I have Kodi working fine on my computer so thought it wouldn't be any different. I've tried clearing caches and sources, uninstalled reinstalled, downloaded exodus zip file just incase tvaddons was the problem and nothing I'm at a loose end. Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated.
Side note something I may be able to help with, i read recently (on here i think) that the fire stick will auto update on initial setup to the latest OS and to avoid this so you can root or for whatever reason, rather than plugging the stick into the provided power adaptor use one you have laying around or your computer, they don't provide enough power for the stick to be able to update. Hope that helps someone out there.
Are you sure you're connected to internet?
carpenter940 said:
Are you sure you're connected to internet?
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yes I'm definitely connected to the internet haha.
just got a new fire stick and stopped the auto updates just in case it was that but still the addons don't seem to want to work my stick now running OS 5.0.5.1
everything installs fine, internet connections fine, addons go on fine they just dont work fine I'm at a loss
I installed Kodi for the first time the other day. Never used it before, still setting up. But I noticed the first few add ons I tried failed, like Exodus, All In One, DNA TV. None of them work. Figured it was me since I am new to Kodi. I figured it would be easy as installing and using them. Found TV guide. Tried 30 TV stations and none came on. I have a bunch to learn with Kodi. I have stock aftv1, lan connection. So its not just you.
I honestly don't know what was wrong with its but after what felt like a million uninstalls and re-installs i now have 2 working fire sticks with kodi running fine, don't think i will ever get to the bottom of the problem i was having the only thing i can suggest to anyone having similar issues is persistence, just keep reinstalling and eventually it seems to work, the only thing i can possibly think of is my internet connection has been playing up recently so maybe during the set up it disconnected and reconnected without me even noticing and messed up the setup other than that i have no idea.
Basically, Kodi isn't an organization which offers hardware at any level. It is an open source program or project, a group of volunteers who are committed to building a cool video player for various computers and mobile phones on such a large number of stages. It is basically planned to be utilized for video documents put away on your PC. It additionally empowers you to utilize additional items; these are straightforward contents which give you access to a wide range of content online. There are multiple solutions to fix this error.
Solution 1: Updating Graphics Card Drivers and installing DirectX.
Solution 2: Tweaking Kodi itself.
Solution 3: Installing Add-ons manually instead of Builds.
Solution 4: Clearing add-on cache. Solution 5: Using a VPN.
Here is the source link https://appuals.com/fix-kodi-not-working/ to follow and get the detail of each solution.
We have Firestick 4K hooked up to several TVs to use Netflix, HBO, Disney+, and some of those other movie apps, if you know what I mean.
We've been running them for years with zero issues, including IPTV during NFL season.
I thought our internet was acting up because of an issue that appeared about 3 weeks ago. I did all the usual, Cleared Caches, restart devices, hard reboot on devices, changed DNS, etc... Then I switched out our router (Verizon Fios 1 gig), issue still remained.
So the issue is very strange and I'm hoping someone can lead me to a solution.
Suddenly,
Some preview thumbnails will not load on Firestick home screen
A couple of Apps like Disney+ and HBO Max will not load(but Netflix works fine)
SmartTube Apk(no ads) will not load preview thumbnails or videos(but regular YouTube works fine)
My other Movie.TV apks will not load thumbnails or any streams
When I was using WiFi calling on my cell, I kept dropping calls
So we thought it might be a Fire device issue, maybe due to an update but....
My son and my wife both noticed around the same time that the same not loading Thumbnails and videos issues was happening on their Twitter app on their phone while using wi-fi. My son also noticed that a couple other apps like DoorDash wouldn't load either, but all work fine on mobile data.
Other than that internet functions as it should. Our Download and Upload speeds are fine. We can browse websites on our laptops fine. I even just bought tickets on a popular Ticketmaster on sale the other day without issue. My wife and son both work from home remotely, and neither of them have had any daily issues regarding their access for work.
A little more info, when we connect the Fire Devices to our unlimited mobile data via hot spot on our phone, all Firestick and video apps work as they should without issue.
I have been having the same issue. I also have Verizon internet and have also done every possible reset, update or change to the router, with no improvement. For us Paramount Plus, Amazon Music and BET+ are not working, but DirecTV Stream works perfectly. Up until a week or so ago all apps were functioning normally. I'm reaching out to Verizon today, but honestly don't think it has anything to do with the service because all other devices (and we have several) are working properly on the Wi-Fi. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
After some research, I found out the issue.
Verizon(my ISP) is blocking/throttling some streaming apps. We bought a trial for a VPN, used that, and everything worked fine. All issues were resolved.
Thanks for the update!
Just got off the phone with Verizon and they were finally able to fix the issue after I told the rep the Wi-Fi issue was only effected android (Google TV) and android adjacent devices (Amazon Fire TV). He immediately said it was an IPv6 issue, and proceeded to disable the feature. After rebooting the router, all of our devices worked as they had before the issue. He informed me that the feature can be disabled on your own if you log into your router's account via the internet. You can also call Verizon to have them do it.