yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
By controlling it at one location I mean just having one device control the volume. I don't want to worry about having to turn up the volume on my FTV and my TV/receiver. When multiple things in the chain can adjust volume, it just gets confusing and muddled (ever had your TV turned way up because the input device's volume was turned way down, just to then switch to another input device and practically blow the speakers?) Also, I do audio-passthrough to my receiver, so adjusting volume on the input device wouldn't have an affect, anyway.

I just use my TV (upstairs) or receiver (downstairs) remote. Don't have any CEC devices upstairs, and have so many downstairs that CEC just throws things off, so I disable it.

From the XBMC wiki: "Volume amplification (dynamic range compression) allows you to adjust how much the audio range is compressed, making the loud and soft sounds closer in volume. This is useful when watching movies with loud sound effects such as explosions at night." Sort of, but not really, like turning up the volume.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] y_boonstra:
The downloadlink V0,6 doesnt seem to work?

it only downloads a file that 600kb and when i side load it it says Norton anti virus??
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
Something is seriously wrong with Dev-Host! I just checked my account and every single APK file link of mine had been renamed "/../../../download/00131/BWU/003910.apk" (that should be an invalid name anyway, as their site blocks slashes in filenames) which confuses their download links.

I think I've fixed the issue for now, but I'll be looking for a new host.

Edit: Until I find a better host, I'll be sharing from my Google drive.

Edit 2: Now live on AndroidFileHost
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] sont77:
Great

I finally got every thing up and running looks great thanks for all the hard work! Gonna to get 2 more tonight!
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] sont77:
youtube apk

hello im trying to install youtube apk can some one please guide i to me
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] dupsatou:
Video Playback issues

So I tried searching this thread as well as others and either I'm not searching for the right thing or I'm just overlooking it. When I first got my AFTV earlier this week the first thing I did was install the official XBMC build on it. It worked perfectly and was playing back wonderfully over wifi from my media server and did live tv playback without issues. I then decided to root, install xposed, and set it up to use this XBMC version for a launcher and somewhere along the lines I started having a bunch of playback issues. I'm not sure if I lost a setting somewhere or what.

Trying to stream Live TV from the backend starts with audio playing and the video jumping all over the place. My backend is ServerWMC with an HDHR-CC. It smooths out after a while but as soon as you change channels its all at it again. Trying to stream an mp4 or mkv from my media server produces similar results. I can't skip around at all or it is painful while you wait for it to try to smooth itself out. I've tried swapping between mediacodec and libstagefright (variations of one on/off and both on/off) with no real change. I've also tried removing this xbmc install and installing 13.2b2 to see if it fixed anything and still have the same issues. I'm about to the point where I'm reconsidering if the Fire is even the right device as I really wanted smooth xbmc playback.

Can anybody give me any suggestions of things to try to improve this? I am over Wifi but the signal is strong and it wasn't an issue on day one so not sure why it would be now. I'm just about at my wits end with this! Anything anybody can suggest is greatly appreciated! TIA!
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] lolwatpear:
how do you get the icons on the bottom like that? Thanks.

edit: nvm figured it out, but I wish the shortcuts would stay on the bottom the whole time instead of just under programs.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
You can place the Android app shortcuts/addons under any category you want. If you also want them under videos, simply also add them to the videos section in the skin settings. Same for the music category.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] lolwatpear:
Thanks it worked.

Two more questions, is there anyway to add volume control through the fire tv remote, preferably universally?

Also, is it possible to somehow now power down the firetv since we have root now?

I'm trying to eliminate the use of my television remote.

edit: One, how do I get the correct time? I see no other options other than the Region saying USA (12h), etc. No timezones.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] dupsatou:
So I solved my problem but not 100% sure why...

Originally installed official XBMC 13.1 linked from FireTV Wiki - playback perfect, no issues

Installed Launcher version from this thread - Problems with playback, especially when starting or skipping forward/backward in videos

Removed Launcher, installed version 13.2b2 from XBMC site - same as Launcher - poor playback issues

What fixed it? I actually tried removing and going back to the original one I installed that worked and it worked again. The only thing that stood out at me was that Mediacodec and libstagefright were both enabled by default. I had tried this on the two others that had issues but it didn't fix it on those so I'm not sure if its a different setting or if there is something actually different about the apk (obviously the 13.2b2 is a different version but it was still the official version).

Thought I'd provide this feedback here in case anybody else ran into this or if it helps anybody else.

Thanks!
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] mjbxx:
The volume amplication, though far from perfect, is a nice addition for volume control of XBMC. I set the volume of my soundbar to lower level and use the volume amplication through the Fire TV remote to raise volume then have the ability to lower it if necessary. It is nice to have a sense of control over volume when using XBMC and only needing the Fire TV remote to do so.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
You can do this automatically via my Android Power Options screensaver or manually with my Confluence++ skin, under the Shutdown Menu (both available in my repo).

As mentioned, Shutdown will reboot the FTV, but Sleep/Suspend works.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] travazz:
Elmerohueso, thank you so much for this. What you've done is absolutely perfect for me. I was wondering if you could help me out please. I'm not very good at coding, so I was wondering if you could add a shortcut to the WWE Network to your repo. It's a native AFTV app, so hopefully that makes it easier for you. Thanks for your time and thanks for all that you've done.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] nooknut:
Me too Thank you!

[MENTION=3244446]elmerohueso[/MENTION], thank you for this wonderful bit of kit. I finally have a true (and highly upgraded) experience to my worn out Boxee Box hardware.

wOOt! FTW!!!
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
I actually just updated my skin to let you add favorites as Home screen shortcuts. So, favorite the app (in the Programs menu), and add it to the Home screen in the skin settings.

Version 2.9 of my skin now allows adding favorites as Home screen shortcuts.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] travazz:
I'll be on the lookout I only see 2.8. Thank you
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Uffe88:
Put android apps where i want

Great thread and Im a huge fan of your work elmerohueso!

At this point Im trying to setup the interface/home screen as i want it to be but i cant... Is it a way to put android apps in another category than favourite?

Im from Sweden and i've been downloading some swedish android apps. I would like to put those android apps in movies, games or in another category than favourite. Would be veeery greatful if any one could help me with this!
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
XBMC should automatically poll all repos for updates periodically (I don't what the default polling interval is), but you can also manually look for updates or refresh my repo.

No, but you can now favorite them and pin them as Home screen shortcuts under whatever category you'd like, with version 2.9 of my Confluence++ skin.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Uffe88:
sub menu

elmerohueso: Is it possible to put andriod apps in another sub menu like movies, games etc? Or do you know another way to do it?

Thank u for a fast reply!
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Epic800:
Resolved issue
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] RVD26:
Just wanted to say how awesome this launcher is. :good:

I was literally banging my head against the wall trying to figure out how to get XBMC as a shortcut and this solves everything!
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] mask2011:
Fixed my own issues
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Uffe88:
I found out how to fix my issue! Just add android apps to favourite then in submenu add a favourite!
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Madline:
Wat skin?
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Tight_wad:
Thanks for your work on this. Mine is working very well.

We normally use the Slide show screensaver to display fanart. Is it possible to alter the Settings>System>Power savings to have Sleep as a choice for the Shut down function so that the Shutdown timer could be used?
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
My skin. Confluence ++, v2.9.

No, sorry. The shutdown states offered under Power Management are controlled at a lower level, within the program itself, and XBMC does not currently have the ability to shutdown or suspend Android devices. However, you could set the shutdown function to Quit, and then utilize the FTV's built-in slideshow screensaver.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] abonet:
Shortcuts Disappeared

Anyone else seen this?

Been running this Launcher for a couple of weeks now with no problems. Yesterday, suddenly, all my shortcuts were gone. It was just a simple matter of re-adding them from the Skin setting, but it was strange.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Tight_wad:
This happened to me also. When I went to watch, I had a blank screen. Hit back button, and box rebooted and shortcuts were gone.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
This is because I changed the addon/shortcut mechanism in my Confluence++ skin to allow adding Favorites as Home screen shortcuts. This was noted in the changelog. Sorry for any inconvenience.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] abonet:
No worries, just glad there's an explanation for it. Thanks for the creating this thing and keeping it going.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] MadFlava:
I cant seem to find the spot to get them to show up again. Anyone shed some light on that?
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] abonet:
Somewhere under Settings->Appearance->Skin:

http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Add-on:Confluence/Settings#Add-on_shortcuts

---------- Post added at 02:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:52 PM ----------

I really like the fact that you're keeping things updated and adding new features, but is there a way for me to control when I want to accept any updates?

It's a little unnerving to have changes appear unceremoniously. Being able to manually apply updates would make me feel better about distinguishing an update from a random, inexplicable behavior change.

Thanks!
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
System > Settings > Addons [press LEFT arrow] (to bring up the sideblade menu), de-select Auto-update.

You can then manually review updates and install them as you desire.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] hildebrau:
I just installed.. I put the Amazon Video favorite shortcut on the confluence++ screen, and the favorite nor the shortcut seem to do anything when it is selected.. I'm still about 18 pages behind on this thread; but is this a known issue?
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
Amazon Video/Music/Appstore are not really their own apps on the FireTV, but are tightly integrated into the KFTV Launcher itself. So, you'd actually need to favorite and launch the KFTV Launcher to access any Amazon content.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] LakersFan_73:
How would one completely uninstall this if it didn't work out for them? Not having any issues, I just want to be sure it's simple enough just in case...
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
Just uninstall XBMC via System > Applications menu in the FTV Launcher like any other app.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] LakersFan_73:
Thanks! Wasn't sure if uninstalling would also reset the home button back to normal...
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Bloodflame:
That's awesome! I want to set mine up the same way, and I'm looking through the XML files but I'm quickly getting confused as to what's what. Would you mind sharing your setup? Just the XML's would be more than enough :D

I'm also thinking of checking the differences in the files, and maybe finding a way to apply them to other skins. I'm currently using Amber and all my apps & addons are bunched together in the Favourites menu. Would be nice to split them up into proper categories.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Nedle:
Have a look at super favourites.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Bloodflame:
Thanks! Just spent the last few minutes playing around with it. Does it's job well, but better integration in the theme would be nice, kinda like how Confluence++ shows them below the categories. At the very least, this does help clean up my favourites, so thanks again :)
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] mjbxx:
Super Favorites?

What is Super Favorites and where do you access it in XBMC?

EDIT: I found the Super Favourites in the XBMC Add-on discussion. Looks interesting and should be quite helpful. Thanks for pointing it out to all here.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Bloodflame:
Thanks! Take your time. I really appreciate it :)

Yeah, it's something I've seen before, but never really tried until now. It took a few minutes to figure out how to use, but once that's figured out, it works nicely. It'll be great for any themes other than Confluence++. In that case, I really like how JJ-KwiK took advantage of theme's categories.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Dhickory:
Sorry if this is OT, but If you don't mind me asking what are you using for "Games"? Are those shortcuts to android apps/emulators or did you use the rom collection browser addon? I've got everything for a Retropie setup, but would love to have everything in one place via XBMC. TIA.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] jakepe:
Hello

Help !

i just opgraded XBMC with gotham 13-2 beta 3 because of the fix of android apps crashing in XBMC

but now i lost the launcher function - anyway to get it back without losing all my settings ?
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
Did it actually delete everything, or did it just reset your skin? If it's the latter, just change the skin back in System > Settings > Appearance.

If it actually deleted everything, then you can grab my repo from the first post and reinstall the Confluence++ skin.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] jakepe:
No everything is still there but it wont launch XBMC on a reboot - and when you press the home button your back to Amazon ... ?
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
That's because the official XBMC releases don't register as Home launchers.

I'm waiting for the final 13.2 release to redo my modified version, but I'll see what I can do when I get some time.

Edit:

Here you go. I've added Home launcher abilities to the XBMC 13.2 beta 3. Please note that I have not changed anything else in it. No tweaks, no addons, nothing. However, you can still download my repo to install my skin, screensaver, and program addon (to change the keymap, splashscreen, etc).

Download: signed-launcher-xbmc-13.2-Gotham_beta3-armeabi-v7a.apk

MD5: a0fda054e1ddb4ac30224e4a283adbef
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] mjbxx:
Wanting to be clear before moving forward with XBMC Launcher 13.2 beta 3. Should I uninstall the XBMC Launcher version 13.1 before installing 13.2?
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
I signed it with the same key, so you should be able to simply install over the top. When doing so, it should keep the Confluence++ skin and Android Power Options screensaver (because the updates for those will remain in your data storage), but you'll lose my repo and the keymap tweaks. So, I recommend reinstalling my repo (from the first post) so you'll keep getting addon updates, and you can grab my "XBMC Tweaks for FTV" addon from there, too, so you can get your keymap and splashscreen back.

Alternatively, you can use the XBMC Backup addon to backup and restore everything.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Uffe88:
Elmerohueso: I like your last update with the shortcuts! Is it possible to rename or add different Buttons on the homescreen? For example rename "Videos" to "Sports"
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
I'll look into it. I think there are some other skins that do it. Adding custom menus wouldn't be an issue, but I'll have to see about controlling their underlying functions.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Uffe88:
Sounds awesome! Is it possible to create menubuttons/rename buttons in a different skin and then use it in your skin?
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] mcsephoenix:
I was thinking the same thing, it would be nice to be able to add a Games Menu too.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
No. Skin settings are always skin-specific.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Bloodflame:
No worries, I'm a patient guy. Super Favourites is working out for now. Maybe I'll check out that other mod you mentioned too. Cheers
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] atconc:
Thanks for this mod, really useful stuff.

I'm having an issue when using XBMC as a launcher directly - I have XBMC setup to use a MySQL database to share the library with the other clients in the house. When XBMC is not running as a launcher this is working great, but when I use this mod to boot straight into XBMC it fails to access the MySQL server and reverts to only letting me use the "files" view. I've done some googling and it seems like there was/is a similar problem with openelec on rasberry pi where it's caused by the mysql connection happening before the network is fully up. I'm guessing that when XBMC is the launcher the same thing is happening here.

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=156246 - this is an example of the issue in openelec.

I'm using wifi and don't really have the option to switch to wired where this box is but could move to a wired connection to test if it would help.

Can anything be done in this build to work around this problem?

Thanks
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Predator04:
How do i get back to stock? When i launch this i just get a black screen. This is after i added the advancesettings and sources.. now i cant do anything on the box... i can do search and everything but thats about it..
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
How to you do "search and everything" if you only get a black screen?

You may have put some bad info in your advancedsettings.xml. Use ADB to delete it, then reboot?
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] tselling:
This modified version of XBMC is great on the Fire TV! But one really important thing is missing for me. Previously on my openelec XBMC PC, I setup the slideshow screensaver to view family pictures after a few minutes of inactivity... and also had XBMC set to suspend (in power menu) after an 90 minutes. I cannot find a way to do this now. There is no suspend option in the power options... it seems that I have to use the Power screensaver to get XBMC to suspend now? and then I lose the slideshow of family pictures that the whole family loves so much. Any thoughts on how to get the same functionality with XBMC on the Fire TV? Thanks for any help with this.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
XBMC does not natively have the ability to control power (reboot, suspend, etc) on Android. I don't think they ever will, because such control requires root. That is why I created the Android Power Control screensaver and also added Android power controls to my Confluence++ skin.

On another note, I've submitted code to Koying (from Team-XBMC) for his fork of XBMC called SPMC, to allow for suspend on Android. The notes say the current build has that ability, but there's a bug in it that was fixed just the other day, so you'd want to wait for the next build.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Predator04:
i got it back by unpluging the ethernet cord. looks like 13.1 does not support advancesettings.xml? every single device i have works but the fire tv. here is my settings. if you can see something wrong with it let me know please. as it works for every other device and pc. Thank you for your help!

Better view of settings here: http://pastebin.com/SBkPPxvS

<advancedsettings> <videodatabase> <type>mysql</type> <host>IPADDRESS</host> <port>3306</port> <user>xbmc</user> <pass>xbmc</pass> <name>xbmc_video</name> </videodatabase> <musicdatabase> <type>mysql</type> <host>IPADDRESS</host> <port>3306</port> <user>xbmc</user> <pass>xbmc</pass> <name>xbmc_music</name> </musicdatabase> <pathsubstitution> <substitute> <from>special://masterprofile/Thumbnails/</from> <to>smb://admin:username/ip/media/Thumbnails/</to> </substitute> </pathsubstitution> </advancedsettings>
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
I've never seen a version that doesn't support advancedsettings.xml. I've used it in 13.0, 13.1, and 13.2 just fine.

Is XBMC possibly starting before your network initializes? I've never had the issue, but I've heard of one case of that happening?

You may want to try commenting out different sections of your advancedsettings.xml and see what happens.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] tselling:
Great, thanks! I will keep an eye on the SPMC build. Does SPMC have launcher capability?
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Predator04:
Not sure. but the firetv is the only one that it doesnt work on. i have it set up on 6 other devices and all work fine. No idea what to change? any help would be awesome. thanks!
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
Yep.

If I were going to make my own fork of XBMC, it'd be SPMC. But since there's already SPMC, I'll likely just submit stuff to that in the future.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Tight_wad:
I have 3 fire tv's and mysql. Advancedsetting.xml works fine. But 1 does suffer from booting or restart and not showing any libraries. If I go to Fire tv home screen and start XBMC from the the apps, comes up fine.

---------- Post added at 01:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:33 PM ----------

Only thing I see here is the use of name not being needed. Here is what the xbmc wiki says about it
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Predator04:
What do you mean by name not needed? Thank you for your help!
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Tight_wad:
This <name>xbmc_video</name> and this <name>xbmc_music</name> are not needed, can actually cause some issues is what the wiki says.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Predator04:
so like this?

http://pastebin.com/2sbg4uG3

thanks for your help!
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] 0xi:
How well does the current build of SPMC work on the FTV?
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] RVD26:
Loving this launcher. Is there a 13.2 stable version of this launcher?

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S5
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] mjbxx:
From [MENTION=3244446]elmerohueso[/MENTION] in the original post.

Update:

For a Home launcher version of XBMC 13.2 beta 3, see post 292.

Edit:

Here you go. I've added Home launcher abilities to the XBMC 13.2 beta 3. Please note that I have not changed anything else in it. No tweaks, no addons, nothing. However, you can still download my repo to install my skin, screensaver, and program addon (to change the keymap, splashscreen, etc).

Download: signed-launcher-xbmc-13.2-Gotham_beta3-armeabi-v7a.apk
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] bruce7373:
Currently I have the latest regular nightly of xbmc installed. If I make a backup, uninstall, then install this one with launcher abilities, can I restore my backup, or will that muck things up? Or could I simply install it via adb using "install -r" (that retains settings, right?).

Also, to get to the Amazon FTV screen, is it just a matter of running it from installed android apps in xbmc?
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] elmerohueso:
That should be fine. You won't be able to install mine over the nightly as the signatures don't match, and you will want to back up you data as the FTV deletes app data automatically when an app is uninstalled. So backup data, uninstall nightly, install mine, restore data.

KFTV Launcher can be launched from the Android Apps section in my Confluence++ skin, or from the program addon shortcut in my repo.