[brundon]

delete

[claydavis]

Amazon is making this device as an entry point into their ecosystem to consume Prime content. Anything else they will see as competition, so it is very much against their business interests to enable local storage, external hdd etc.

Remember, they likely lose money on each box sold, its subsidized so you buy their content.

More storage = more games you can buy

Anyway, we'll see, I hope you're wrong. The lack of storage on this device is a real weak point. Meanwhile, for those looking to connect USB storage, consider connecting it to your router as a network drive.

its definetely why i have been reluctant to jump on the fire tv train. i have giftcard money to use, but thats a deal breaker for me. i hope that they just dont update or update it but make it fat32 only or worse only make it available for developers. im sure xda could work around that but amazon doesn seem in a rush to work on this

[ixian]

Great! What are you using for the icon/title of the app in the submitted version, i.e. how will it appear on the home screen?

And once you configure it will clicking the button launch XBMC straight away, or is there always a menu?

Glad to hear it's progressing. I admit I had my doubts, but I also had my hopes Fingers crossed.

I'm using a resized version of elmerohueso's splash image (with permission) that he posted to the wiki page:



However, since I added Ouya support (and it shows up in the Ouya's Play menu even if it's side-loaded), I'm probably going to change the icon to be a bit less device-specific. Whether the name changes depends on how difficult Amazon makes doing that, since I've already submitted the app to the App Store under "XBMC For Fire TV".

If you only have one version of XBMC installed, or if you have multiple versions installed and click the checkbox to specify one of those versions as the default, then the app will launch XBMC straight away. The only times you'll see anything other than XBMC are 1) on first-run, when you'll get a splash screen, and 2) if you have multiple versions of XBMC installed and haven't selected a version to launch automatically.

You can actually download the apk and try it out for yourself, though it won't appear in the Apps menu until it's installed through the App Store.

You can't just do an Ouya icon for the Ouya version? Don't they have their own store? Just curious.

[LRa]

Quick question, if I connect a storage device via NAS, can I copy files from it to the internal storage via xbmc?

[ilovemymac]

Amazon is making this device as an entry point into their ecosystem to consume Prime content. Anything else they will see as competition, so it is very much against their business interests to enable local storage, external hdd etc.

Remember, they likely lose money on each box sold, its subsidized so you buy their content.

More storage = more games you can buy

Anyway, we'll see, I hope you're wrong. The lack of storage on this device is a real weak point. Meanwhile, for those looking to connect USB storage, consider connecting it to your router as a network drive.

its definetely why i have been reluctant to jump on the fire tv train. i have giftcard money to use, but thats a deal breaker for me. i hope that they just dont update or update it but make it fat32 only or worse only make it available for developers. im sure xda could work around that but amazon doesn seem in a rush to work on this

Ouya took 6 months to allow USB storage. I'm sure it's not on amazons 1st list but it will happen because you will need it to off load games. Why do people think you have to be directly connected USB to have storage? Nas works just fine used that for years on my Apple TV 2 no issues

[Knocks]

However, since I added Ouya support (and it shows up in the Ouya's Play menu even if it's side-loaded), I'm probably going to change the icon to be a bit less device-specific. Whether the name changes depends on how difficult Amazon makes doing that, since I've already submitted the app to the App Store under "XBMC For Fire TV".

How about XBMC@Home for the name?

[who.is.matt]

You can't just do an Ouya icon for the Ouya version? Don't they have their own store? Just curious.

Good question. And the answer is... sort of, but not really.

The Ouya does have its own store, but I probably won't be submitting this app to it since (unlike on the Fire TV) it works just fine on the Ouya when side-loaded. Since the only Ouya users who would have need for my app are those who would be side-loading XBMC Gotham, adding a link to my app from the XBMC wiki page for the Ouya would be just as effective as submitting it to the Ouya store.

Icons are mostly inherent to an Android app. So to have different icons, I'd have to actually modify the app to use those different icons, and I don't want to maintain two separate versions that are identical except for the icons.

However, the Ouya uses an icon file specific to the Ouya, and different from those used by any other Android devices. So I could just change that one image and leave the rest as-is. The only problem with that is that the Ouya displays the app title under the icon in the Play menu. So even if I changed that icon on the Ouya, it would still say "XMBC For Fire TV" underneath, which is why I mentioned the possibility of changing the app title. And there's always the possibility that the app might be useful on some other device as well. All of this adds up to "make the app's branding less device-specific". (On the other hand, I really dislike the idea of naming it something blandly generic like "XBMC Launcher".)

Right now, though, I'm putting a self-imposed freeze on any further changes to the app until it's accepted into the Amazon App Store. I have lots of ideas for improvements and modifications, but since the entire purpose of the app is to put an icon for XBMC on the Fire TV's App menu, that has to come first.

---

How about XBMC@Home for the name?

Sounds like something for finding aliens or folding proteins.

[navigates]

I have spent the last few days testing various ways of launching XBMC, with Llama, AutoPilot, and a few other tools. I now have a final configuration that works very well, and definitely much better than any of the solution proposed here and in the wiki. Please replace the wiki instructions with below:

This configuration will:
* automatically start XBMC when the Fire TV boots
* automatically start XBMC when the Fire TV resumes from Standby
* automatically go to Standby after 10 mins of inactivity in XBMC
* automatically go to Standby after 10 mins of inactivity in most apps
* automatically go to Standby after 10s of inactivity in KFTV Launcher

If you exit XBMC, you can either relaunch it through the Settings menu, or wait 10s for the KFTV to go to standby and power it back on.

Download llama from http://kebabapps.blogspot.com (get the engb version without callphone).

Code:

XBMC > System > Settings > System > Power saving
Shutdown function timer = 10 min
Shutdown function = Quit

Create the following Llama events:

Code:

Event     : 10 minutes standby in applications
Condition : Active application = When the current app is not KFTV Launcher
Action    : Change Screen Timeout = 10 minutes

Event     : 10 seconds standby in KTFV Launcher
Condition : Active application = When the current app is KFTV Launcher
Action    : Change Screen Timeout = 10 seconds

Event     : Launch XBMC after 15s in KFTV Launcher
Advanced  : Delay event = enabled
Advanced  : Delay seconds = 15 seconds
Advanced  : Cancel delayed if false = enabled
Condition : Active application = When the current app is KFTV Launcher
Action    : Run Application = XBMC

Event     : Launch XBMC at startup
Condition : Phone reboot = after start up
Action    : Run Application = XBMC

Has anyone tried this? Is there a way to load the profile directly vs creating it?

[arman68]

Cannot get Gotham to work on the firetv. Fresh install. Loads my library, gets through my movies (locked up once). Now locks up on movies. Attempt to play a movie or tv show and locks up. SPMC still works fine. Using mysql on a NAS for my database (same with SPMC). Thumbnails and art stored across network on a NAS (same with SPMC). Config is the same as SPMC it just locks up. I'll sit back on Gotham until the hiccups are sorted out.

(...)

In the log. I can force quit xbmc and relaunch it and refresh again and it works for awhile, but if I try to update the library too many times in a row it logs the above. If it locks up only the menus work, i can't play anything and have to force quit it. Right now I have everything up to date.

I had exactly the same issue with all versions of Gotham since 27/04/2014 (I did not try earlier versions). I tried multiple times, wiping out the application data and dropping the SQL databases (on Synology MariaDB) everytime.

In my case, I think it is a bug related to accessing NFS paths on Synology NAS. It is not specific to the Android builds; the same issue exists with Windows build.

I was previously using Gotham on OpenElec, using the same NFS paths, and had no problem. With the recent builds on the FireTV however, NFS access failed, and I had to add quite a lot of permissions to make it work. Unfortunately, once that was solved, content scanning seems to hang randomly.

The solution is to switch to SMB instead. I know NFS is a bit faster, but to be honest, I have not noticed any difference.

[arman68]

Create the following Llama events:

Has anyone tried this? Is there a way to load the profile directly vs creating it?

There should be import and export options, accessible with the remote menu button. I will check when I get home, and export my config for easier configuration.

It is very easy to enter the settings manually though, and it should take less than 5 minutes (I use a keyboard to type the event names, but it is possible with the remote). You need to navigate to the events tab, and select the + icon in the bottom right. While you are at it, also delete the sample events with a long press on each them, followed by the delete option.

---

Btw, does the fire supports 220 volts?

Yes: I bought 2 Fire TV while on a recent US trip, and I am using them in Europe with a simple plug adapter. There is no need for voltage converter, as the power supply is universal.

[arman68]

Can someone help with how to turn amazon fire tv off from xbmc? timmed switch off maybe?
I've tried quitting it after 10 minutes but then after 10 minutes, xbmc exits and firetv goes to sleep after 30 minutes.
The bad thing here is that after returning the amazon firetv UI is up and u have to navigate to start xbmc again.

Check my llama settings, they should do exactly what you want. However, it will kind of remove access to the Amazon launcher and prime videos, as after 10s of idle time the FireTV will go in standby, or after 15s of active time, it will relaunch XBMC. Those times can easily be adjusted in the llama events configuration to make amazon content more usable.

[GTHolder]

I have spent the last few days testing various ways of launching XBMC, with Llama, AutoPilot, and a few other tools. I now have a final configuration that works very well, and definitely much better than any of the solution proposed here and in the wiki. Please replace the wiki instructions with below:

This configuration will:
* automatically start XBMC when the Fire TV boots
* automatically start XBMC when the Fire TV resumes from Standby
* automatically go to Standby after 10 mins of inactivity in XBMC
* automatically go to Standby after 10 mins of inactivity in most apps
* automatically go to Standby after 10s of inactivity in KFTV Launcher

If you exit XBMC, you can either relaunch it through the Settings menu, or wait 10s for the KFTV to go to standby and power it back on.

Download llama from http://kebabapps.blogspot.com (get the engb version without callphone).

Code:

XBMC > System > Settings > System > Power saving
Shutdown function timer = 10 min
Shutdown function = Quit

Create the following Llama events:

Code:

Event     : 10 minutes standby in applications
Condition : Active application = When the current app is not KFTV Launcher
Action    : Change Screen Timeout = 10 minutes

Event     : 10 seconds standby in KTFV Launcher
Condition : Active application = When the current app is KFTV Launcher
Action    : Change Screen Timeout = 10 seconds

Event     : Launch XBMC after 15s in KFTV Launcher
Advanced  : Delay event = enabled
Advanced  : Delay seconds = 15 seconds
Advanced  : Cancel delayed if false = enabled
Condition : Active application = When the current app is KFTV Launcher
Action    : Run Application = XBMC

Event     : Launch XBMC at startup
Condition : Phone reboot = after start up
Action    : Run Application = XBMC

Has anyone tried this? Is there a way to load the profile directly vs creating it?

Yes this works as advertised, but I decided I may want to actually spend some time in the KFTV launcher (since that is also the amazon video store interface). So I modified event 3's condition to activate on screen shut off and reduced the timer to 10 seconds. That way browsing keeps the screen on, then if I stop, 10 seconds later the screen turns off, and 10 seconds after that it re-starts XBMC.

[tennisbgc]

More storage = more games you can buy

Anyway, we'll see, I hope you're wrong. The lack of storage on this device is a real weak point. Meanwhile, for those looking to connect USB storage, consider connecting it to your router as a network drive.

its definetely why i have been reluctant to jump on the fire tv train. i have giftcard money to use, but thats a deal breaker for me. i hope that they just dont update or update it but make it fat32 only or worse only make it available for developers. im sure xda could work around that but amazon doesn seem in a rush to work on this

Ouya took 6 months to allow USB storage. I'm sure it's not on amazons 1st list but it will happen because you will need it to off load games. Why do people think you have to be directly connected USB to have storage? Nas works just fine used that for years on my Apple TV 2 no issues

not everyone own's a nas.

[who.is.matt]

not everyone own's a nas.

It doesn't have to be actual NAS. Any computer on your local network will do. I personally share my files using NFS from a Linux desktop with LOTS of internal storage (four 2TB drives in a 6TB RAID-5), but a friend of mine stores all of her media on an external hard drive she plugs into her laptop, using SMB to share it on the network (with the reasoning that she's the only one who should be watching her videos, and if she's at home so is her laptop). Another friend uses a Raspberry Pi and a large external hard drive.

The only thing that's different about sharing from another computer versus using NAS is that you need to make sure the computer sharing the media has a static IP on your local network (which you can set either in the computer's network settings or on your router). Otherwise, XBMC might not be able to find it if the IP address changes. With NAS, especially if you're talking about a router that has a USB port for an external hard drive, you don't have to worry about the IP because it will always be the same. But that's really the only difference between NAS and just sharing files from another computer on your local network.

[jtr2006]

Hey guys... Here's an update on the status of my launcher app.

I submitted it to the Amazon App Store yesterday. I got an email today asking me to make a minor change to conform to Amazon's trademark policy. (Turns out if you even mention Amazon or any of its devices or services you have to put in a disclaimer saying that the app wasn't developed by Amazon. I somehow managed to overlook that one sentence on that one page of the dozen or so dealing with requirements and terms for submitting apps.) That issue is hopefully now resolved. I don't foresee any other obstacles in the app getting approved. Not that I saw that one coming, either, but... There's really not much else about the app they could object to.

Also, for any fellow Ouya users out there, I added Ouya support so that it will appear in the Ouya's Play menu. You now have three options for running XBMC on the Ouya without going to the Make menu: the unofficial XBMC For Ouya (missing DTS and AC3 support), Koying's SPMC (which is excellent, but based on Frodo), or using my XBMC For Fire TV launcher with XBMC Gotham (at least as long as you don't mind using something clearly designed for a different device on the Ouya).

Great news! Please let us all know when it becomes available. Thank you for working to make this happen!