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now that FireTV Stick is $25 i wonder is it woth it?
can i load normal XBMC and what stream videos (addons)?
where can i find current working/non-working status?
regards
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I'm curious to know as well.
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I think it is definitely worth it. Yes right now there are some issues but I have faith that these issues will be resolved with either a firmware update or an update to Kodi or SPMC.
Just need to get to the bottom of the video quality issue before it can be fixed.
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For add-ons streaming, yes. For local streaming (ISO's, MKV), unsure. I'm finding most of my full BD rips stuttering, struggling to play over 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz wireless. Will test same files, via wireless, using FTV box and report back. Don't know if the horsepower on the box is making a difference vs. Stick.
[H]i-[d]eft [M]edia [K]een [V]ideosaurus
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Ran some tests... there is a difference between FTV box vs. Stick. Unplugged ethernet from FTV box and connected to 5GHz wi-fi, just as with Stick. Both have SPMC 13.3.3 installed.
For Jellyfish and Birds bitrate tests, box could handle up to 60Mbps (smooth playback), and was just shy of being able to handle 70 (some stuttering and dropped frames). FTV box was using 3 out of its 4 CPU's for these. Played 'Mr. Peabody and Sherman' 3D full BD ISO... smooth playback (in 2D mode, but fine).
Now, went over to FTV Stick. Could not handle either the Jellyfish and Birds 60Mbps files. Stuttered like crazy and dropped frames. CPU1 at around 60-70%, CPU2 at 100%. Tried 'Mr. Peabody and Sherman' ISO... no go, stuttered.
So, I think the FTV box is definitely worth the extra money if you plan to use XBMC and care about local media playback. If most of your movies/TV shows are reencoded MKV's, FTV Stick should be fine, but for 1:1 BD rips, I don't think so.
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thanks!
can you try installing xbmctorrent and see if it's working?
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yes, but only this works on android... on stick, if you have time
cheers
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At $25, it's worth it for the bluetooth remote, USB cord, and USB power adapter. You basically get a free HTPC with it.
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Distance means almost nothing. There's two things happening here that need to be looked at separately:
1) The bottom line speed of the connection, which can be based on a number of factors. So long as a certain threshold of signal is met, distance doesn't' really matter. After that threshold, data doesn't realistically get any "faster". The router plays a role, the number of antennas for both router and stick play a role, the file transfer protocol plays a role, etc. All of this come together for your actual speed of data transfer.
2) What the hardware can playback using hardware video decoding. It sounds like the Jellyfish and Birds tests were using software decoding, which is really not important. Yes, it's great to see when something can be handled in software, but no one would have even bothered with an Android version of XBMC if it wasn't for hardware video decoding. That is the make or break feature. Test files that are outside of what the hardware can decode really isn't an indication of anything because most videos aren't encoded like that.
Eventually, both factors are important since the Stick only has wifi, but there are things that can be done to compensate for the connection speed in many cases.
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I don't know guys. but I have one and I tried all xbmc even spmc and the better that work for me is the alpha 3. Even the pvr simple tv addon works just fine. But I haved in a bedroom and the tv is just 720. It conects with my plex server just fine . So Im happy with it.and I am going to buy more of them.to give as christmas present to my parents.
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Just did some tests. Same spot (router in basement, FTV Stick and box two floors up), both over 5Ghz wi-fi. Have an Asus AC66U router. Tried with 'mediacodec' acceleration enabled & off. Max Stick can handle is less than 30Mbps (as I don't have any test files below this bitrate). Max box can handle is 60Mbps (almost 70, struggles just a bit).
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