Mailing List Archive

On 8/8/23 09:55, James Abernathy wrote:
> I do this so rarely that I forget how. Amazon just reduced their
> FIreTV 4K Max to $25, so I upgraded one of our older ones. It took
> hours mostly because I forgot how.
>
> So I'm going to document it so next time I can find it with a Search
> engine.
>
> Once the FireTV has updated itself to the newest version of patches,
> you need to Turn on Developer mode. You go to My FireTV -> About ->
> Fire TV 4K Max and select it 10 times to enter developer mode.
>
> But then you need to go to the Developer mode setting and turn on
> remote ADB debugging. (I forgot that step for about 1/2 hour and ADB
> couldn't connect)
>
> I assume you have adb downloaded from their website and installed. I
> find that Ubuntu repos don't have the right version.
>
> Get Leanfront from https://dl.orangedox.com/pCBmBm
>
> Do this from a computer that's located where you can see the TV with
> the FireTV working.
>
> Find the IP address of the FireTV from the About -> Networking page.
>
> ./adb connect 192.168.0.218 # or whatever is the Firetv IP
> ./adb install -r <Name of apk file you downloaded from orangedox>
> ./adb kill-server
>
> On your first ./adb connect try, it will say refused, but you need to
> watch the TV screen for a popup to confirm it.
>
> As to mythfrontend for the FireTV, don't try to use it on the MAX. It
> will not play a video correctly. IMHO never try to use mythfrontend
> on any FireTV device. If picture quality is what you want, use Leanfront.
>
> NOW this kicked my butt for a while. Some newer versions of apps,
> particularly Paramount+ will not work if an ad blocker is on your network.
>
> I use Pi-Hole on a RPI3B+ and it helps alot with browsers and phones.
> But it screws up some streaming apps. So I had to add an entry in the
> Client table for each Streaming device and Smart TV to unblock those
> IPs. Now Paramount+ works and no ill effects as far as I can see.
>
I had the same problem with Paramount+.

Another approach, that I use, is to change the DNS settings on the Fire
TV device. There is an option in the network settings to manually set it
up. You will have to set your IP address manually to the one that is
reserved in the router, and set the DNS servers to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.
These are google provided DNS servers.

> JIm A
>
>
All good information. Thank you.

Peter

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Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

Aug 8, 2023, 7:32 AM

Post #3 of 22 (655 views)

On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 10:13?AM Peter Bennett <pb.mythtv@gmail.com> wrote:

>
> On 8/8/23 09:55, James Abernathy wrote:
> > I do this so rarely that I forget how. Amazon just reduced their
> > FIreTV 4K Max to $25, so I upgraded one of our older ones. It took
> > hours mostly because I forgot how.
> >
> > So I'm going to document it so next time I can find it with a Search
> > engine.
> >
> > Once the FireTV has updated itself to the newest version of patches,
> > you need to Turn on Developer mode. You go to My FireTV -> About ->
> > Fire TV 4K Max and select it 10 times to enter developer mode.
> >
> > But then you need to go to the Developer mode setting and turn on
> > remote ADB debugging. (I forgot that step for about 1/2 hour and ADB
> > couldn't connect)
> >
> > I assume you have adb downloaded from their website and installed. I
> > find that Ubuntu repos don't have the right version.
> >
> > Get Leanfront from https://dl.orangedox.com/pCBmBm
> >
> > Do this from a computer that's located where you can see the TV with
> > the FireTV working.
> >
> > Find the IP address of the FireTV from the About -> Networking page.
> >
> > ./adb connect 192.168.0.218 # or whatever is the Firetv IP
> > ./adb install -r <Name of apk file you downloaded from orangedox>
> > ./adb kill-server
> >
> > On your first ./adb connect try, it will say refused, but you need to
> > watch the TV screen for a popup to confirm it.
> >
> > As to mythfrontend for the FireTV, don't try to use it on the MAX. It
> > will not play a video correctly. IMHO never try to use mythfrontend
> > on any FireTV device. If picture quality is what you want, use Leanfront.
> >
> > NOW this kicked my butt for a while. Some newer versions of apps,
> > particularly Paramount+ will not work if an ad blocker is on your
> network.
> >
> > I use Pi-Hole on a RPI3B+ and it helps alot with browsers and phones.
> > But it screws up some streaming apps. So I had to add an entry in the
> > Client table for each Streaming device and Smart TV to unblock those
> > IPs. Now Paramount+ works and no ill effects as far as I can see.
> >
> I had the same problem with Paramount+.
>
> Another approach, that I use, is to change the DNS settings on the Fire
> TV device. There is an option in the network settings to manually set it
> up. You will have to set your IP address manually to the one that is
> reserved in the router, and set the DNS servers to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.
> These are google provided DNS servers.
>
> > JIm A
> >
> >
> All good information. Thank you.
>
> Peter
>

I kept looking for a way to change the FireTV DNS but I kept missing it.

I look some more.

JIm A

Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

pb.mythtv at gmail

Aug 8, 2023, 1:25 PM

Post #4 of 22 (654 views)

On 8/8/23 10:32, James Abernathy wrote:
> I kept looking for a way to change the FireTV DNS but I kept missing it.
>
> I look some more.
>
> JIm A

I have an ethernet adapter on the fire stick. It may be that you can
only do manual setup with a wired connection.

Peter

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Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

Aug 8, 2023, 1:38 PM

Post #5 of 22 (654 views)

On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 4:27?PM Peter Bennett <pb.mythtv@gmail.com> wrote:

>
> On 8/8/23 10:32, James Abernathy wrote:
> > I kept looking for a way to change the FireTV DNS but I kept missing it.
> >
> > I look some more.
> >
> > JIm A
>
> I have an ethernet adapter on the fire stick. It may be that you can
> only do manual setup with a wired connection.
>
> Peter
>

I figured it out using WiFi. Google helped. You go to the MyFireTV ->
About -> Networking and write down all the network settings. Then you go
to Settings -> Networking and forget the AP you are using. Then add it
back, but after you enter the passphrase you do NOT click next. You go to
advanced and reenter all the networking parameters from the About page, but
change the DNS this time to 8.8.8.8, etc.

Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

Aug 8, 2023, 1:43 PM

Post #6 of 22 (654 views)

On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 4:38?PM James Abernathy <jfabernathy@gmail.com>
wrote:

>
>
> On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 4:27?PM Peter Bennett <pb.mythtv@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> On 8/8/23 10:32, James Abernathy wrote:
>> > I kept looking for a way to change the FireTV DNS but I kept missing it.
>> >
>> > I look some more.
>> >
>> > JIm A
>>
>> I have an ethernet adapter on the fire stick. It may be that you can
>> only do manual setup with a wired connection.
>>
>> Peter
>>
>
> I figured it out using WiFi. Google helped. You go to the MyFireTV ->
> About -> Networking and write down all the network settings. Then you go
> to Settings -> Networking and forget the AP you are using. Then add it
> back, but after you enter the passphrase you do NOT click next. You go to
> advanced and reenter all the networking parameters from the About page, but
> change the DNS this time to 8.8.8.8, etc.
>

BTW, with the ethernet adapter I get about 90Mb/s. With wifi6 on the MAX I
get 350Mb/s. Not that that matters, but It's easier for me to switch to a
backup when my main Cable Internet goes out. I have a T-Mobile Home
Internet that uses 5G mobile. It's not great at my home, but at 30Mbs we
can still use it during a failure of the main internet. I use the T-Mobile
box for travel since it's unlimited for $30 a month.

Jim A

Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

sgreene820 at gmail

Aug 8, 2023, 2:02 PM

Post #7 of 22 (654 views)

I'm using a FireCube (last version). The standard mythfrontend plays back
OK, but does drop frames occasionally. Haven't changed my DNS settings. I
use pihole for my PC's but haven't felt the need to mess with DNS on the
Fire devices.

Steve

Steve Greene
(301) 842-8923
historicity.co
An independent archival professional specializing in still photography,
moving images and recorded sound.

On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 4:47?PM James Abernathy <jfabernathy@gmail.com>
wrote:

>
>
> On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 4:38?PM James Abernathy <jfabernathy@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 4:27?PM Peter Bennett <pb.mythtv@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> On 8/8/23 10:32, James Abernathy wrote:
>>> > I kept looking for a way to change the FireTV DNS but I kept missing
>>> it.
>>> >
>>> > I look some more.
>>> >
>>> > JIm A
>>>
>>> I have an ethernet adapter on the fire stick. It may be that you can
>>> only do manual setup with a wired connection.
>>>
>>> Peter
>>>
>>
>> I figured it out using WiFi. Google helped. You go to the MyFireTV ->
>> About -> Networking and write down all the network settings. Then you go
>> to Settings -> Networking and forget the AP you are using. Then add it
>> back, but after you enter the passphrase you do NOT click next. You go to
>> advanced and reenter all the networking parameters from the About page, but
>> change the DNS this time to 8.8.8.8, etc.
>>
>
> BTW, with the ethernet adapter I get about 90Mb/s. With wifi6 on the MAX
> I get 350Mb/s. Not that that matters, but It's easier for me to switch to
> a backup when my main Cable Internet goes out. I have a T-Mobile Home
> Internet that uses 5G mobile. It's not great at my home, but at 30Mbs we
> can still use it during a failure of the main internet. I use the T-Mobile
> box for travel since it's unlimited for $30 a month.
>
> Jim A
>
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users@mythtv.org
> http://lists.mythtv.org/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
> http://wiki.mythtv.org/Mailing_List_etiquette
> MythTV Forums: https://forum.mythtv.org
>

Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

Aug 8, 2023, 2:17 PM

Post #8 of 22 (653 views)

On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 5:05?PM Steve Greene <sgreene820@gmail.com> wrote:

> I'm using a FireCube (last version). The standard mythfrontend plays back
> OK, but does drop frames occasionally. Haven't changed my DNS settings. I
> use pihole for my PC's but haven't felt the need to mess with DNS on the
> Fire devices.
>
> Steve
>
>
Steve Greene
> (301) 842-8923
>

The Pi-Hole DNS is only an issue on Paramount+ for me. No issues on
Leanfront.

Jim A

For me it's easier to solve by leaving FireTV along and just add the
unblock to Pi-hole for the Firetv IP

JIm A

Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

Aug 8, 2023, 3:48 PM

Post #9 of 22 (653 views)

On Tue, Aug 08, 2023 at 09:55:43AM -0400, James Abernathy wrote:
> As to mythfrontend for the FireTV, don't try to use it on the MAX. It will
> not play a video correctly. IMHO never try to use mythfrontend on any
> FireTV device. If picture quality is what you want, use Leanfront.

Please try turning on full, MediaCodec support for playback. The
default is still the half, "decode-only" solution that was needed at
one point because the original developer never finished the MediaCodec
support. You need to change it to the full, decode and render
solution which works pretty well now. The video quality should be as
good as with Leanfront.

I have a FireTV Stick 4k Max that I got a while back for testing and
backup that I never got around to setting up. I just quickly did and
mythfrontend works fine with the suggested change. I tested with
mpeg2, h.264 and h.265 content. The older, FireTV Stick 4k might work
okay too. I'd have to find mine and try it to be sure. Mythfrontend
is probably still too heavyweight, even with the improved, MediaCodec
suport, for older FireTV devices.

David
--
David Engel
david@istwok.net
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Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

gary.buhrmaster at gmail

Aug 8, 2023, 4:29 PM

Post #10 of 22 (653 views)

On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 1:57?PM James Abernathy <jfabernathy@gmail.com> wrote:

> ... Amazon just reduced their FIreTV 4K Max to $25

Rumor is Amazon has a new set
of FireTV devices to be announced
RSN (September 20th is on the
calendar for an Amazon event).
Clearing out the existing stock at a
discount is a time honored tradition
of all retailers before new models.

As with everything FireTV related,
the new models (if announced)
may have issues with existing
applications until those apps are
revised (caveat emptor to the
early purchasers of any new
model).
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Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

Aug 8, 2023, 4:33 PM

Post #11 of 22 (653 views)

On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 6:50?PM David Engel <david@istwok.net> wrote:

> On Tue, Aug 08, 2023 at 09:55:43AM -0400, James Abernathy wrote:
> > As to mythfrontend for the FireTV, don't try to use it on the MAX. It
> will
> > not play a video correctly. IMHO never try to use mythfrontend on any
> > FireTV device. If picture quality is what you want, use Leanfront.
>
> Please try turning on full, MediaCodec support for playback. The
> default is still the half, "decode-only" solution that was needed at
> one point because the original developer never finished the MediaCodec
> support. You need to change it to the full, decode and render
> solution which works pretty well now. The video quality should be as
> good as with Leanfront.
>
> I have a FireTV Stick 4k Max that I got a while back for testing and
> backup that I never got around to setting up. I just quickly did and
> mythfrontend works fine with the suggested change. I tested with
> mpeg2, h.264 and h.265 content. The older, FireTV Stick 4k might work
> okay too. I'd have to find mine and try it to be sure. Mythfrontend
> is probably still too heavyweight, even with the improved, MediaCodec
> suport, for older FireTV devices.
>
> David
> --
> David Engel
> david@istwok.net

I don't know what you did differently from me, but Creating a new profile
called filetv and setting it to Android MediaCodec Acceleration and OpenGL
hardware with 4 CPU and Advanced Audio read ahead to 800 and it still is
awful. Loose audio almost immediately and goes out of sync before that.
Then the video starts playing at about 2x speed.

This is the latest Master prev34 version and the video is either 1080i or
720p mpeg2 USA OTA.

Leanfront is too easy to use and I'll not waste anymore time of
Mythtv-frontend unless it's on an X86

JIm A

Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

Aug 8, 2023, 7:01 PM

Post #12 of 22 (653 views)

On Tue, Aug 08, 2023 at 07:33:11PM -0400, James Abernathy wrote:
> On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 6:50?PM David Engel <david@istwok.net> wrote:
>
> > On Tue, Aug 08, 2023 at 09:55:43AM -0400, James Abernathy wrote:
> > > As to mythfrontend for the FireTV, don't try to use it on the MAX. It
> > will
> > > not play a video correctly. IMHO never try to use mythfrontend on any
> > > FireTV device. If picture quality is what you want, use Leanfront.
> >
> > Please try turning on full, MediaCodec support for playback. The
> > default is still the half, "decode-only" solution that was needed at
> > one point because the original developer never finished the MediaCodec
> > support. You need to change it to the full, decode and render
> > solution which works pretty well now. The video quality should be as
> > good as with Leanfront.
> >
> > I have a FireTV Stick 4k Max that I got a while back for testing and
> > backup that I never got around to setting up. I just quickly did and
> > mythfrontend works fine with the suggested change. I tested with
> > mpeg2, h.264 and h.265 content. The older, FireTV Stick 4k might work
> > okay too. I'd have to find mine and try it to be sure. Mythfrontend
> > is probably still too heavyweight, even with the improved, MediaCodec
> > suport, for older FireTV devices.
> >
> > David
> > --
> > David Engel
> > david@istwok.net
>
>
> I don't know what you did differently from me, but Creating a new profile
> called filetv and setting it to Android MediaCodec Acceleration and OpenGL
> hardware with 4 CPU and Advanced Audio read ahead to 800 and it still is
> awful. Loose audio almost immediately and goes out of sync before that.
> Then the video starts playing at about 2x speed.

I did not mess with the audio to make sure sound came out. I imagine
some tweaking might be needed to get things "perfect" for ones
definition of that. Why do you use such a large read ahead? I know
it's been recommended in the past by some but in my experience that
causes more problems than it solves.

> This is the latest Master prev34 version and the video is either 1080i or
> 720p mpeg2 USA OTA.
>
> Leanfront is too easy to use and I'll not waste anymore time of
> Mythtv-frontend unless it's on an X86

Suit yourself. Personally, I'd rather have the full power of
mythfrontend available. If effort is spent on new frontends, I'd also
prefer it spent on cross platform ones.

David
--
David Engel
david@istwok.net
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Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

Aug 9, 2023, 6:16 AM

Post #13 of 22 (652 views)

On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 10:02?PM David Engel <david@istwok.net> wrote:

> On Tue, Aug 08, 2023 at 07:33:11PM -0400, James Abernathy wrote:
> > On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 6:50?PM David Engel <david@istwok.net> wrote:
> >
> > > On Tue, Aug 08, 2023 at 09:55:43AM -0400, James Abernathy wrote:
> > > > As to mythfrontend for the FireTV, don't try to use it on the MAX. It
> > > will
> > > > not play a video correctly. IMHO never try to use mythfrontend on
> any
> > > > FireTV device. If picture quality is what you want, use Leanfront.
> > >
> > > Please try turning on full, MediaCodec support for playback. The
> > > default is still the half, "decode-only" solution that was needed at
> > > one point because the original developer never finished the MediaCodec
> > > support. You need to change it to the full, decode and render
> > > solution which works pretty well now. The video quality should be as
> > > good as with Leanfront.
> > >
> > > I have a FireTV Stick 4k Max that I got a while back for testing and
> > > backup that I never got around to setting up. I just quickly did and
> > > mythfrontend works fine with the suggested change. I tested with
> > > mpeg2, h.264 and h.265 content. The older, FireTV Stick 4k might work
> > > okay too. I'd have to find mine and try it to be sure. Mythfrontend
> > > is probably still too heavyweight, even with the improved, MediaCodec
> > > suport, for older FireTV devices.
> > >
> > > David
> > > --
> > > David Engel
> > > david@istwok.net
> >
> >
> > I don't know what you did differently from me, but Creating a new profile
> > called filetv and setting it to Android MediaCodec Acceleration and
> OpenGL
> > hardware with 4 CPU and Advanced Audio read ahead to 800 and it still is
> > awful. Loose audio almost immediately and goes out of sync before that.
> > Then the video starts playing at about 2x speed.
>
> I did not mess with the audio to make sure sound came out. I imagine
> some tweaking might be needed to get things "perfect" for ones
> definition of that. Why do you use such a large read ahead? I know
> it's been recommended in the past by some but in my experience that
> causes more problems than it solves.
>
> > This is the latest Master prev34 version and the video is either 1080i or
> > 720p mpeg2 USA OTA.
> >
> > Leanfront is too easy to use and I'll not waste anymore time of
> > Mythtv-frontend unless it's on an X86
>
> Suit yourself. Personally, I'd rather have the full power of
> mythfrontend available. If effort is spent on new frontends, I'd also
> prefer it spent on cross platform ones.
>
> David
> --
> David Engel
> david@istwok.net

I'm going to try to see if you can spot where my settings are wrong. FYI, I
don't have any of these issues on a Standard FireTV 4K, just the MAX
version, which makes no sense,

My Settings:

Audio System:
AudioTrack with Digital Audio Capabilities all checked.
5.1 selected and Upconvert Stereo turned off

Video System:

Playback -> Advanced Playback Settings -> Audio Read ahead: I tried every
hundred number for 100 to 1100 with 900 being the best but if you try to
skip forward one minute with the right arrow on a bluetooth keyboard it
loses audio and the playback data shows the FPS 54-58 on 720P mpeg content.
The right arrow on the FireTV remote seems to not work for skipping like
the right arrow on the BT Keyboard. Even if I leave it playing at some
point the audio drops out and the FPS goes crazy.

Playback current profile is called "fire tv" and has only one entry call
Android MediaCodec Acceleration & OpenGL Hardware:
Video formats: All formats
Decoder: Android MediaCodec Acceleration
Max CPUs: 4
Deblocking filter: checked
Video Renderer OpenGL: Hardware
Video Scaler: default (Bilinear)
Deinterlace quality (single rate): Low Quality
Prefer OpenGL deinterlacers: checked
Prefer Driver deinterlacers: Checked
Same for Double rate.

If I switch to OpenGL software It does better. You can find a setting of
Audio read ahead that works but you still can't skip forward and have the
audio work or the FPS return to normal.

Any Ideas? Keep in mind that this is USA Mpeg2 ATSC 1.0 OTA HD recordings.
either 720P or 1080i

Jim A

Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

Aug 9, 2023, 8:09 AM

Post #14 of 22 (652 views)

On Wed, Aug 09, 2023 at 09:16:50AM -0400, James Abernathy wrote:
> On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 10:02?PM David Engel <david@istwok.net> wrote:
>
> > On Tue, Aug 08, 2023 at 07:33:11PM -0400, James Abernathy wrote:
> > > On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 6:50?PM David Engel <david@istwok.net> wrote:
> > >
> > > > On Tue, Aug 08, 2023 at 09:55:43AM -0400, James Abernathy wrote:
> > > > > As to mythfrontend for the FireTV, don't try to use it on the MAX. It
> > > > will
> > > > > not play a video correctly. IMHO never try to use mythfrontend on
> > any
> > > > > FireTV device. If picture quality is what you want, use Leanfront.
> > > >
> > > > Please try turning on full, MediaCodec support for playback. The
> > > > default is still the half, "decode-only" solution that was needed at
> > > > one point because the original developer never finished the MediaCodec
> > > > support. You need to change it to the full, decode and render
> > > > solution which works pretty well now. The video quality should be as
> > > > good as with Leanfront.
> > > >
> > > > I have a FireTV Stick 4k Max that I got a while back for testing and
> > > > backup that I never got around to setting up. I just quickly did and
> > > > mythfrontend works fine with the suggested change. I tested with
> > > > mpeg2, h.264 and h.265 content. The older, FireTV Stick 4k might work
> > > > okay too. I'd have to find mine and try it to be sure. Mythfrontend
> > > > is probably still too heavyweight, even with the improved, MediaCodec
> > > > suport, for older FireTV devices.
> > > >
> > > > David
> > > > --
> > > > David Engel
> > > > david@istwok.net
> > >
> > >
> > > I don't know what you did differently from me, but Creating a new profile
> > > called filetv and setting it to Android MediaCodec Acceleration and
> > OpenGL
> > > hardware with 4 CPU and Advanced Audio read ahead to 800 and it still is
> > > awful. Loose audio almost immediately and goes out of sync before that.
> > > Then the video starts playing at about 2x speed.
> >
> > I did not mess with the audio to make sure sound came out. I imagine
> > some tweaking might be needed to get things "perfect" for ones
> > definition of that. Why do you use such a large read ahead? I know
> > it's been recommended in the past by some but in my experience that
> > causes more problems than it solves.
> >
> > > This is the latest Master prev34 version and the video is either 1080i or
> > > 720p mpeg2 USA OTA.
> > >
> > > Leanfront is too easy to use and I'll not waste anymore time of
> > > Mythtv-frontend unless it's on an X86
> >
> > Suit yourself. Personally, I'd rather have the full power of
> > mythfrontend available. If effort is spent on new frontends, I'd also
> > prefer it spent on cross platform ones.
> >
> > David
> > --
> > David Engel
> > david@istwok.net
>
>
> I'm going to try to see if you can spot where my settings are wrong. FYI, I
> don't have any of these issues on a Standard FireTV 4K, just the MAX
> version, which makes no sense,
>
> My Settings:
>
> Audio System:
> AudioTrack with Digital Audio Capabilities all checked.
> 5.1 selected and Upconvert Stereo turned off
>
> Video System:
>
> Playback -> Advanced Playback Settings -> Audio Read ahead: I tried every
> hundred number for 100 to 1100 with 900 being the best but if you try to
> skip forward one minute with the right arrow on a bluetooth keyboard it
> loses audio and the playback data shows the FPS 54-58 on 720P mpeg content.
> The right arrow on the FireTV remote seems to not work for skipping like
> the right arrow on the BT Keyboard. Even if I leave it playing at some
> point the audio drops out and the FPS goes crazy.
>
> Playback current profile is called "fire tv" and has only one entry call
> Android MediaCodec Acceleration & OpenGL Hardware:
> Video formats: All formats
> Decoder: Android MediaCodec Acceleration
> Max CPUs: 4
> Deblocking filter: checked
> Video Renderer OpenGL: Hardware
> Video Scaler: default (Bilinear)
> Deinterlace quality (single rate): Low Quality
> Prefer OpenGL deinterlacers: checked
> Prefer Driver deinterlacers: Checked
> Same for Double rate.
>
> If I switch to OpenGL software It does better. You can find a setting of
> Audio read ahead that works but you still can't skip forward and have the
> audio work or the FPS return to normal.
>
> Any Ideas? Keep in mind that this is USA Mpeg2 ATSC 1.0 OTA HD recordings.
> either 720P or 1080i

I suspect all of the problems you (and I too) saw are audio related.
That's an area I have little experience with but will try to dig in
when I can. OpenSLES should be the simpler solution but it didn't
appear to work on the Max with default settings so I switched to
AudioTrack in order to test the video.

David
--
David Engel
david@istwok.net
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users@mythtv.org
http://lists.mythtv.org/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
http://wiki.mythtv.org/Mailing_List_etiquette
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Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

Aug 9, 2023, 2:50 PM

Post #15 of 22 (650 views)

On Wed, Aug 9, 2023 at 11:13?AM David Engel <david@istwok.net> wrote:

> On Wed, Aug 09, 2023 at 09:16:50AM -0400, James Abernathy wrote:
> > On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 10:02?PM David Engel <david@istwok.net> wrote:
> >
> > > On Tue, Aug 08, 2023 at 07:33:11PM -0400, James Abernathy wrote:
> > > > On Tue, Aug 8, 2023 at 6:50?PM David Engel <david@istwok.net> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > On Tue, Aug 08, 2023 at 09:55:43AM -0400, James Abernathy wrote:
> > > > > > As to mythfrontend for the FireTV, don't try to use it on the
> MAX. It
> > > > > will
> > > > > > not play a video correctly. IMHO never try to use mythfrontend
> on
> > > any
> > > > > > FireTV device. If picture quality is what you want, use
> Leanfront.
> > > > >
> > > > > Please try turning on full, MediaCodec support for playback. The
> > > > > default is still the half, "decode-only" solution that was needed
> at
> > > > > one point because the original developer never finished the
> MediaCodec
> > > > > support. You need to change it to the full, decode and render
> > > > > solution which works pretty well now. The video quality should be
> as
> > > > > good as with Leanfront.
> > > > >
> > > > > I have a FireTV Stick 4k Max that I got a while back for testing
> and
> > > > > backup that I never got around to setting up. I just quickly did
> and
> > > > > mythfrontend works fine with the suggested change. I tested with
> > > > > mpeg2, h.264 and h.265 content. The older, FireTV Stick 4k might
> work
> > > > > okay too. I'd have to find mine and try it to be sure.
> Mythfrontend
> > > > > is probably still too heavyweight, even with the improved,
> MediaCodec
> > > > > suport, for older FireTV devices.
> > > > >
> > > > > David
> > > > > --
> > > > > David Engel
> > > > > david@istwok.net
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > I don't know what you did differently from me, but Creating a new
> profile
> > > > called filetv and setting it to Android MediaCodec Acceleration and
> > > OpenGL
> > > > hardware with 4 CPU and Advanced Audio read ahead to 800 and it
> still is
> > > > awful. Loose audio almost immediately and goes out of sync before
> that.
> > > > Then the video starts playing at about 2x speed.
> > >
> > > I did not mess with the audio to make sure sound came out. I imagine
> > > some tweaking might be needed to get things "perfect" for ones
> > > definition of that. Why do you use such a large read ahead? I know
> > > it's been recommended in the past by some but in my experience that
> > > causes more problems than it solves.
> > >
> > > > This is the latest Master prev34 version and the video is either
> 1080i or
> > > > 720p mpeg2 USA OTA.
> > > >
> > > > Leanfront is too easy to use and I'll not waste anymore time of
> > > > Mythtv-frontend unless it's on an X86
> > >
> > > Suit yourself. Personally, I'd rather have the full power of
> > > mythfrontend available. If effort is spent on new frontends, I'd also
> > > prefer it spent on cross platform ones.
> > >
> > > David
> > > --
> > > David Engel
> > > david@istwok.net
> >
> >
> > I'm going to try to see if you can spot where my settings are wrong.
> FYI, I
> > don't have any of these issues on a Standard FireTV 4K, just the MAX
> > version, which makes no sense,
> >
> > My Settings:
> >
> > Audio System:
> > AudioTrack with Digital Audio Capabilities all checked.
> > 5.1 selected and Upconvert Stereo turned off
> >
> > Video System:
> >
> > Playback -> Advanced Playback Settings -> Audio Read ahead: I tried
> every
> > hundred number for 100 to 1100 with 900 being the best but if you try to
> > skip forward one minute with the right arrow on a bluetooth keyboard it
> > loses audio and the playback data shows the FPS 54-58 on 720P mpeg
> content.
> > The right arrow on the FireTV remote seems to not work for skipping like
> > the right arrow on the BT Keyboard. Even if I leave it playing at some
> > point the audio drops out and the FPS goes crazy.
> >
> > Playback current profile is called "fire tv" and has only one entry call
> > Android MediaCodec Acceleration & OpenGL Hardware:
> > Video formats: All formats
> > Decoder: Android MediaCodec Acceleration
> > Max CPUs: 4
> > Deblocking filter: checked
> > Video Renderer OpenGL: Hardware
> > Video Scaler: default (Bilinear)
> > Deinterlace quality (single rate): Low Quality
> > Prefer OpenGL deinterlacers: checked
> > Prefer Driver deinterlacers: Checked
> > Same for Double rate.
> >
> > If I switch to OpenGL software It does better. You can find a setting of
> > Audio read ahead that works but you still can't skip forward and have the
> > audio work or the FPS return to normal.
> >
> > Any Ideas? Keep in mind that this is USA Mpeg2 ATSC 1.0 OTA HD
> recordings.
> > either 720P or 1080i
>
> I suspect all of the problems you (and I too) saw are audio related.
> That's an area I have little experience with but will try to dig in
> when I can. OpenSLES should be the simpler solution but it didn't
> appear to work on the Max with default settings so I switched to
> AudioTrack in order to test the video.
>
> David
> --
> David Engel
> david@istwok.net
>

Good luck on your testing. In the meantime I've rethought my setup. My
main TV in the den is a 65" UHD 4K Sony with Google TV built-in. However
the apps are always worse on the Sony. So I use the FireTV 4K Max for 99%
of my TV watching. It works fine because the FireTV can be set up to
manage the AV Receiver and TV so it's a simple one remote setup.

I also have a Asrock 1165G7 11th gen Core i7 NUC connected to one of the
HDMI ports on the Sony. I can just tell the Alexa on the Firetv remote to
switch to the Media Player (what I call the NUC) and it will switch to the
NUC. The NUC is mainly for playing and testing VM and anything else that
comes to mind.

So I now have the NUC setup with mythfrontend to stream from either of my
backends. The same ones that Leanfront streams from on the FireTV.

So I get around the non-working Android mythfrontend by just using x86_64
Linux mythfrontend on the NUC. Leanfront is not for editing recordings or
triggering backend jobs like comm flag etc. Even if I'm going to use the
new Web App, I'll need a PC with a browser.

I keep the Logi mouse and keyboard on the side table along with the FireTV
remote so it's minimal clutter. It's nice to be able to switch back and
forth with Alexa.

JIm A

Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

Aug 11, 2023, 7:05 AM

Post #16 of 22 (645 views)

On Wed, Aug 9, 2023 at 11:13?AM David Engel <david@istwok.net> wrote:

>
> I suspect all of the problems you (and I too) saw are audio related.
> That's an area I have little experience with but will try to dig in
> when I can. OpenSLES should be the simpler solution but it didn't
> appear to work on the Max with default settings so I switched to
> AudioTrack in order to test the video.
>
> David
> --
> David Engel
> david@istwok.net
>

Your comments about possibly this is really only an Audio problem got me
wondering off in that direction.

I tried OpenSLES and the audio was just a bunch of buzzing but the video
played okay. Next I switched to AudioTrack but with only Stereo. I
unchecked all of the Digital Audio capabilities and set it for Stereo Only.

I then used my FireTV profile that was MediaCodec full decode and 4 CPUs.
I went back to 400ms on Advanced video settings for Audio read ahead.

So now this works. I'm not sure why the MAX can't do 5.1 but regular FireTV
4K can, but at least we know what part of the software is causing the issue.

Jim A

Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

oliver.greg at gmail

Aug 11, 2023, 7:18 AM

Post #17 of 22 (645 views)

On Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 9:07?AM James Abernathy <jfabernathy@gmail.com>
wrote:

>
>
> On Wed, Aug 9, 2023 at 11:13?AM David Engel <david@istwok.net> wrote:
>
>>
>> I suspect all of the problems you (and I too) saw are audio related.
>> That's an area I have little experience with but will try to dig in
>> when I can. OpenSLES should be the simpler solution but it didn't
>> appear to work on the Max with default settings so I switched to
>> AudioTrack in order to test the video.
>>
>> David
>> --
>> David Engel
>> david@istwok.net
>>
>
> Your comments about possibly this is really only an Audio problem got me
> wondering off in that direction.
>
> I tried OpenSLES and the audio was just a bunch of buzzing but the video
> played okay. Next I switched to AudioTrack but with only Stereo. I
> unchecked all of the Digital Audio capabilities and set it for Stereo Only.
>
> I then used my FireTV profile that was MediaCodec full decode and 4 CPUs.
> I went back to 400ms on Advanced video settings for Audio read ahead.
>
> So now this works. I'm not sure why the MAX can't do 5.1 but regular
> FireTV 4K can, but at least we know what part of the software is causing
> the issue.
>
> Jim A
>

From what I remember (haven't used MythTV Frontend on androidTV in a
while), setting read ahead to 100 was best for me. The higher I set it
caused audio/video sync issues as well as artifacts on video.

Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

Aug 11, 2023, 7:44 AM

Post #18 of 22 (645 views)

On Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 10:19?AM Greg Oliver <oliver.greg@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 9:07?AM James Abernathy <jfabernathy@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Aug 9, 2023 at 11:13?AM David Engel <david@istwok.net> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> I suspect all of the problems you (and I too) saw are audio related.
>>> That's an area I have little experience with but will try to dig in
>>> when I can. OpenSLES should be the simpler solution but it didn't
>>> appear to work on the Max with default settings so I switched to
>>> AudioTrack in order to test the video.
>>>
>>> David
>>> --
>>> David Engel
>>> david@istwok.net
>>>
>>
>> Your comments about possibly this is really only an Audio problem got me
>> wondering off in that direction.
>>
>> I tried OpenSLES and the audio was just a bunch of buzzing but the video
>> played okay. Next I switched to AudioTrack but with only Stereo. I
>> unchecked all of the Digital Audio capabilities and set it for Stereo Only.
>>
>> I then used my FireTV profile that was MediaCodec full decode and 4
>> CPUs. I went back to 400ms on Advanced video settings for Audio read ahead.
>>
>> So now this works. I'm not sure why the MAX can't do 5.1 but regular
>> FireTV 4K can, but at least we know what part of the software is causing
>> the issue.
>>
>> Jim A
>>
>
> From what I remember (haven't used MythTV Frontend on androidTV in a
> while), setting read ahead to 100 was best for me. The higher I set it
> caused audio/video sync issues as well as artifacts on video.
>

Thanks, after I turned off 5.1 audio, the read-ahead of 100ms works fine as
you suggest.

Jim A

Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

Aug 11, 2023, 7:58 AM

Post #19 of 22 (645 views)

On Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 10:44?AM James Abernathy <jfabernathy@gmail.com>
wrote:

>
>
> On Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 10:19?AM Greg Oliver <oliver.greg@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 9:07?AM James Abernathy <jfabernathy@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Aug 9, 2023 at 11:13?AM David Engel <david@istwok.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> I suspect all of the problems you (and I too) saw are audio related.
>>>> That's an area I have little experience with but will try to dig in
>>>> when I can. OpenSLES should be the simpler solution but it didn't
>>>> appear to work on the Max with default settings so I switched to
>>>> AudioTrack in order to test the video.
>>>>
>>>> David
>>>> --
>>>> David Engel
>>>> david@istwok.net
>>>>
>>>
>>> Your comments about possibly this is really only an Audio problem got me
>>> wondering off in that direction.
>>>
>>> I tried OpenSLES and the audio was just a bunch of buzzing but the video
>>> played okay. Next I switched to AudioTrack but with only Stereo. I
>>> unchecked all of the Digital Audio capabilities and set it for Stereo Only.
>>>
>>> I then used my FireTV profile that was MediaCodec full decode and 4
>>> CPUs. I went back to 400ms on Advanced video settings for Audio read ahead.
>>>
>>> So now this works. I'm not sure why the MAX can't do 5.1 but regular
>>> FireTV 4K can, but at least we know what part of the software is causing
>>> the issue.
>>>
>>> Jim A
>>>
>>
>> From what I remember (haven't used MythTV Frontend on androidTV in a
>> while), setting read ahead to 100 was best for me. The higher I set it
>> caused audio/video sync issues as well as artifacts on video.
>>
>
> Thanks, after I turned off 5.1 audio, the read-ahead of 100ms works fine
> as you suggest.
>
> Jim A
>

I also noticed that just changing to Stereo is not enough. I had to also
uncheck all of the DIgital Audio Capabilities. Sounds like a bug to me.

I normally use Leanfront except for some things like editing, etc. that
only mythfrontend can do.

Jim A

Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

oliver.greg at gmail

Aug 11, 2023, 11:11 AM

Post #20 of 22 (644 views)

On Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 9:59?AM James Abernathy <jfabernathy@gmail.com>
wrote:

>
>
> On Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 10:44?AM James Abernathy <jfabernathy@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 10:19?AM Greg Oliver <oliver.greg@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 9:07?AM James Abernathy <jfabernathy@gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Aug 9, 2023 at 11:13?AM David Engel <david@istwok.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I suspect all of the problems you (and I too) saw are audio related.
>>>>> That's an area I have little experience with but will try to dig in
>>>>> when I can. OpenSLES should be the simpler solution but it didn't
>>>>> appear to work on the Max with default settings so I switched to
>>>>> AudioTrack in order to test the video.
>>>>>
>>>>> David
>>>>> --
>>>>> David Engel
>>>>> david@istwok.net
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Your comments about possibly this is really only an Audio problem got
>>>> me wondering off in that direction.
>>>>
>>>> I tried OpenSLES and the audio was just a bunch of buzzing but the
>>>> video played okay. Next I switched to AudioTrack but with only Stereo. I
>>>> unchecked all of the Digital Audio capabilities and set it for Stereo Only.
>>>>
>>>> I then used my FireTV profile that was MediaCodec full decode and 4
>>>> CPUs. I went back to 400ms on Advanced video settings for Audio read ahead.
>>>>
>>>> So now this works. I'm not sure why the MAX can't do 5.1 but regular
>>>> FireTV 4K can, but at least we know what part of the software is causing
>>>> the issue.
>>>>
>>>> Jim A
>>>>
>>>
>>> From what I remember (haven't used MythTV Frontend on androidTV in a
>>> while), setting read ahead to 100 was best for me. The higher I set it
>>> caused audio/video sync issues as well as artifacts on video.
>>>
>>
>> Thanks, after I turned off 5.1 audio, the read-ahead of 100ms works fine
>> as you suggest.
>>
>> Jim A
>>
>
> I also noticed that just changing to Stereo is not enough. I had to also
> uncheck all of the DIgital Audio Capabilities. Sounds like a bug to me.
>
> I normally use Leanfront except for some things like editing, etc. that
> only mythfrontend can do.
>
> Jim A
>

Yeah - sorry - I gave away all of my Firesticks. I just had that memory
from the past. Regarding disabling x.1 audio, I never had to do that. I
have 7.1 audio for several years now and that made no difference AFAIC
remember. The buffer setting was misleading for sure - I figured the
higher I set it, the better the playback would be, but it definitely proved
me wrong :)

Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

Aug 11, 2023, 2:49 PM

Post #21 of 22 (642 views)

On Fri, Aug 11, 2023 at 10:05:42AM -0400, James Abernathy wrote:
> On Wed, Aug 9, 2023 at 11:13?AM David Engel <david@istwok.net> wrote:
>
> >
> > I suspect all of the problems you (and I too) saw are audio related.
> > That's an area I have little experience with but will try to dig in
> > when I can. OpenSLES should be the simpler solution but it didn't
> > appear to work on the Max with default settings so I switched to
> > AudioTrack in order to test the video.
> >
> > David
> > --
> > David Engel
> > david@istwok.net
> >
>
> Your comments about possibly this is really only an Audio problem got me
> wondering off in that direction.
>
> I tried OpenSLES and the audio was just a bunch of buzzing but the video
> played okay. Next I switched to AudioTrack but with only Stereo. I
> unchecked all of the Digital Audio capabilities and set it for Stereo Only.
>
> I then used my FireTV profile that was MediaCodec full decode and 4 CPUs.
> I went back to 400ms on Advanced video settings for Audio read ahead.
>
> So now this works. I'm not sure why the MAX can't do 5.1 but regular FireTV
> 4K can, but at least we know what part of the software is causing the issue.

Good spelunking and resulting information. Thanks for continue to dig
into the issue.

David
--
David Engel
david@istwok.net
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users@mythtv.org
http://lists.mythtv.org/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
http://wiki.mythtv.org/Mailing_List_etiquette
MythTV Forums: https://forum.mythtv.org

Re: Setting up Fire TV 4K Max for MythTV and other streaming apps [ In reply to ]

Aug 11, 2023, 2:58 PM

Post #22 of 22 (642 views)