Amazon Fire TV
Amazon Fire TV | |
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Manufacturer | Amazon.com |
Released | 2014-04-02 (US) |
OS | Fire OS 3.0 "Mojito" (Based on Android) |
CPU | Qualcomm Krait 300, quad-core to 1.7 Ghz |
Storage | 8 GB internal |
RAM | 2 GB RAM |
Display | 1080p |
Graphics | Qualcomm Adreno 320 |
Connectivity | HDMI, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0, Wifi (802.11n), 10/100 Ethernet, Optical audio, CEC |
Dimensions | 115 × 115 × 17.5 mm (4.53 × 4.53 × 0.69 in) |
Devices | Android | Amazon Fire TV |
Amazon Fire TV is an Android-based (Fire OS) set-top-box that contains a very powerful ARM processor (that can even handle some of the more heavy XBMC skins). Fire TV stands above some of the other Android-based offerings due to Amazon's strong product support and because it contains more remote friendly versions of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and other video service clients, making it a good pairing with XBMC.
Builds
Official Builds
XBMC 13.2 Gotham for Android (ARM)
Other builds
- SPMC - SPMC is an experiential fork of XBMC and sometimes contains special fixes that are not yet in the official builds. Users who are unsure of which version to use should normally try out the official XBMC/Kodi builds first and see how it runs, and if they have issues then try SPMC.
Installing
General Steps
- Setup the ADB Utility via OS-specific instructions below, or install the Android SDK for your platform: https://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
- Follow these instructions to connect ADB to your Amazon Fire TV: https://developer.amazon.com/sdk/asb/connect-adb.html
- Follow these instructions to install the XBMC app onto the Fire TV (using the ADB tool): https://developer.amazon.com/sdk/asb/app-install.html
Setup ADB on Your Host
Note: Your host must be connected to the same network as your Fire TV..
Windows
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OS X
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Linux
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Note: Linux adb is a 32-bit dynamically linked program. In order to run under a 64-bit Linux, 32-bit support is required. You may need to install the lib6:i386 (the 32-bit base library support package) depending on your Linux. |
Android
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The ADB utility is built into Android. However, you will need to install a Terminal Emulator app.
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adbFire
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adbFire is a companion program for FireTV and Android XBMC & forks. It allows you to sideload XBMC (and other apps) without the bother of downloading the Android SDK and other tools. Additionally, it allows you to copy files to and from XBMC, backup XBMC, root the FireTV, mount USB drives and more. adbFire for Windows and OS X: http://jocala.com/adbfire.html |
Amazon FireTV Utility App
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A Windows based GUI app to easily sideload your apks to the Amazon FTV. Most of the wiki has been automated into this app so anyone that doesn’t want to mess around with Shell commands will find this helpful. Download website link: http://goo.gl/lUNWaT 1. Unzip the folders to "C:\FTV" 2. Launch app "Amazon FireTV Utility App.exe" Enable USB Debugging on the Fire TV
Install XBMC to the Fire TVNote: If your APK file name contains spaces, make sure you put quotes around it in the adb commands. On OS X and Linux, you may need to prepend
(Note: For Android you need to type in the full path. e.g. >adb install /sdcard/Download/apk-file-name.apk) Launch XBMC on the Fire TV
Note: Users have reported that you can autostart XBMC after boot using an Android automation apps such as Tasker, AutomateIt, or Llama. Alternately, you can use Autopilot to autoboot to XBMC. Launching XBMC from Fire TV Homescreen: You can also have Llama (and probably others) launch XBMC when a native Fire TV app like Flixter is launched from the Fire TV homescreen. Some apps work better than others. Upgrading XBMCXBMC can be upgraded through ADB without losing your settings. To do this, you must use a newer version of the package already installed on the machine.
XBMC will still go through the "first run" screen the first time it is launched but your settings will remain intact. Downgrading XBMCIf you wish to downgrade your version of XBMC (because you installed a test version that didn't work properly, for example) and keep your settings, the following commands will allow you to do so.
If you are downgrading using an Android device, you will need to use the "shell" command.
Root the Fire TVQuick instructions on how to root can be found here: How to Root the Amazon Fire TV. Bypassing Amazon HomeSleep while XBMC is Open (Requires root)By default, the FireTV will not sleep when XBMC is the active application. User elmerohueso has provided a screensaver that will put the FireTV to sleep or log off an XBMC account after a certain amount of time for rooted boxes only. You can download the repo here. In short, you need to adb push the zip file to your FireTV, Install Addon from Zip file, then Get Addons, choose elmerohueso's repo and install the Android Power Options screensaver. Then go to XBMC Settings -> Appearance -> Screensaver and select it as your screensaver. Go to screensaver settings and run the 'Check SU Permissions' and Grant if a popup appears. If you are not rooted this will not work. Then you can modify the settings further. FiredTVLauncherFunction
Downloadhttps://github.com/Redth/FiredTVLauncher Llama (automation) EventsThere are (2) methods below. The first one's goal is to keep access to Amazon content. When pressing Home you need to wait 15s before the screen turns off, which you then press a remote button to turn the FireTV back on which boots into XBMC. The second method's goal is to force you back into XBMC the instant you press the Home button, thus effectively losing the ability to access Amazon content. Semi Bypass
Complete Bypass
Xposed and rbox module (Requires root)So far this is the cleanest method to have XBMC as your launcher on the Fire TV. Function
Prerequisites
Setup
Launch XBMC from an Existing App on the FTV Home ScreenThere is a alternative way to invoke XBMC from the FTV Home Screen using Llama. This method uses a “sacrificial” app that you have installed from Amazon that you will use to access XBMC. The app can be anything you have installed but don’t need to use; however, some apps behave better than others (some apps will enter a loop when exiting XBMC). One app that has been tested and works well for this purpose is “Classic TV”. The advantage of this method is that using the sacrificial app you have Home Screen Access to XBMC and you can exit XBMC to the FTV Home Screen just as you would any other FTV app. Prerequisites
Procedure
Now when you start the “Classic TV” app from the Home Screen, it should automatically open XBMC. Feel free to experiment with other apps from the FTV app store. Just be aware that some will loop back and re-start XBMC when you try and exit XBMC to get back to the FTV Home Screen. Launching Android Apps within XBMC
NOTE: For skins that allow you to add "Favorites" to the main menu, if you add an App to favorites then uninstall that App you should make sure to remove that App from favorites first. If you uninstall an App that you have added to favorites and don't remove it from favorites first it may cause XBMC to crash. If this happens, reinstall the App you uninstalled, then launch XBMC and remove it from favorites. This will stop XBMC from crashing. Copying filesCopy userdata settings (optional)Run XBMC at least once to initialize the userdata folder on the Fire TV
You can use See userdata folder for more information on the contents of the userdata folder. Update Splash Image (optional)Run XBMC at least once to initialize the userdata folder on the Fire TV
For XBMC on Ouya >adb push splash.png /sdcard/Android/data/tv.ouya.xbmc/files/.xbmc/media/splash.png For Gotham >adb push splash.png /sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.xbmc/files/.xbmc/media/splash.png Fire TV splash images:
Note: The "Non-version specific" splashscreens can also be applied using elmerohueso's "XBMC Tweaks for FTV" program addon, which is available from elmerohueso's XBMC repo. ControlsBluetooth remoteTo make the remote work with XBMC's on-screen-keyboard, go to XBMC -> Settings -> System -> Input devices and enable Remote control sends keyboard presses Note: For slightly improved keymaps for the Fire TV remote, see Alternative keymaps for Fire TV remote.
To reboot the Fire TV with the Bluetooth remote, hold Play/Pause (8) and Select (4) for 5 seconds. CECPeople are reporting that the Amazon Fire TV has basic CEC support. USBUSB port allows for various additional remote types, such as FLIRC, various RF dongles, etc. Most of these devices will show up as a keyboard type input. USB Keyboards
USB Infrared RemotesMCE (IR) remote - 2nd generation works. Turn on the Fire TV after plugging in the IR receiver and it should work. You can also use a logitech Harmony remote to work with the IR dongle itself Unbranded MCE remoteTwo versions, the cheaper verson is available online for around 4 dollars - HARMONY:Chinavasion CVSB-983 VRC-1100This remote is available online for about 15 dollars - HARMONY:ortek avr-1100 USB Gamepads
FlircThe rewind, fast forward, and play/pause keys on the Fire TV controller operate the same as a keyboard's media keys. Use the "Media Keys" controller in the Flirc application to set these on your remote. Netflix and Pandora on the Fire TV (and possibly other apps) do pick up the other media keys such as stop. XBMC also picks up these keys. Esc can be used as the back button. Remapping XBMC's back to Esc would be required to use one button for both commands. ≣ Menu (the button to the right of the Windows key on the right side on a keyboard) works as the Fire TV's menu button and does not have the issues Ctrl+Esc has. Ctrl+Esc usually results in duplicate keypresses and will sometimes act as just Esc. At this time the Flirc GUI does not have a button to map "Menu" on the "Full Keyboard" controller, but on the command line Basic example using a Harmony One and Flirc:
<keymap> <global> <keyboard> <key id="61656">ContextMenu</key> <key id="61467">Back</key> <key id="61637">FastForward</key> <key id="61636">Rewind</key> <backspace>PreviousMenu</backspace> </keyboard> </global> <FullscreenVideo> <keyboard> <next_track>StepForward</next_track> <prev_track>StepBack</prev_track> </keyboard> </FullscreenVideo> </keymap> Also note that the Fire TV Home button is a soft key set to F12. Using the "Flirc, XBMC" profile in Harmony is optional. Using it will get you started with XBMC commands faster, but you will probably also need to change some of the keypresses, which can be done without changing profiles. Other bluetooth devicesIt should be possible to pair other bluetooth controllers and remotes to the Fire TV. Most of these devices will show up as a keyboard type input. Bluetooth Gamepads
Uninstall XBMC
Alternatively, you can do the uninstall over ADB with one of the following commands. OUYA adb uninstall tv.ouya.xbmc SPMC adb uninstall com.semperpax.spmc XBMC adb uninstall org.xbmc.xbmc Known issues
Random notesFeel free to place various notes, tips, and links here. As this section of the wiki gets more organized, those notes will be properly sorted. Consider this like a dumping ground for when you're not sure where to put something.
Links
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