[Fire TV General] xm41907:
I was lucky enough to purchase a rootable Amazon Fire TV and have customized it to be quite the awesome device, thanks in part to the wonderful XDA community for providing all sorts of hacks. I wanted to show off what this little device can do so here is a video showing my setup, including the hardware I use and all the customizations I've done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1nf2ffZT3s

[YOUTUBE]v1nf2ffZT3s[/YOUTUBE]

HARDWARE

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First off, I want to discuss hardware. Here is what I have connected to my FTV.

Insignia Powered USB HUB

(http://www.insigniaproducts.com/products/computer-speakers-accessories/NS-PCH5431.html) - Without a powered USB, I wouldn't be able to do much. This one was cheap at Best Buy and is working flawlessly.

Logitech K700 Wireless Keyboard (http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Wireless-Keyboard-Controller-Google/dp/B004VD4F1W) - I bought this several years ago to use with my old HTPC. It works well with the FTV, but not all the buttons function as it was designed for the Google TV. The keyboard itself works great, as does the trackpad and the navigation controls. This does function in CWM to, so I don't need a wired keyboard.

Motorola Bluetooth Mouse - Just a simple BT mouse that works.

Logitech F710 Game Controller (http://gaming.logitech.com/en-us/product/f710-wireless-gamepad) - I've had this for use on my PC games, but it works well for the FTV. More about game controllers below.

Ouya Game Controller (http://shop.ouya.tv/products/ouya-controller) - This works well with the FTV, both as a controller and as a touchpad. More about game controllers below.

MODIFICATIONS

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I followed many guides on http://www.aftvnews.com/ to modify my FTV and get it to do what I wanted. Here are a few. I won't go into details about them, you can get that on AFTVNews. But I wanted to list what I've done.

Root (http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-root-the-amazon-fire-tv/)

Custom Boot Menu (http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-install-a-kernel-boot-menu-on-the-amazon-fire-tv/)

ClockworkMod (http://www.aftvnews.com/recovery/)

Pre-Rooted Stock Update (http://www.aftvnews.com/roms/)

Customized Menu Items (http://www.aftvnews.com/menu-item-remover-mod-updated-with-51-1-4-0-compatibility/)

Mount System and Data to USB Drive (http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-use-a-usb-drive-as-the-fire-tvs-internal-storage/) - This was a must for me. Once I was able to have virtually unlimited memory, it allowed all the customizations and extras to happen.

APPLICATIONS

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SPMC [XBMC/KODI] (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.semperpax.spmc&hl=en) - An awesome media player with tons of addons. There is plenty of discussion over this on the XDA forums.

Google Play Store Install (http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-install-the-google-play-store-on-the-amazon-fire-tv/)

Google Plays All Apps! (http://www.aftvnews.com/how-to-trick-google-play-store-into-allowing-all-apps/) - Make the FTV more compatible with apps on Google Play

OUYA Framework (http://www.reddit.com/r/ouya/comments/2d6byk/turn_any_device_into_an_ouya_tutorial/) - Turn your FTV into an OUYA.... sort of. Once installed, this sort of messes up the home button, taking you to a messed up OUYA system screen instead of the Amazon Launcher. I found a work around to allow the OUYA games to still function, but not mess up the system. Install this alternative OUYA launcher then disable the OUYA Launcher using Titanum Backup. (http://ouyaforum.com/showthread.php?4436-BAXY-Custom-Launcher).

NOVA Launcher (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teslacoilsw.launcher&hl=en) - My launcher of choice. It works well with the remote.

Wallpaper (http://xdaforums.com/fire-tv/themes-apps/background-t3029985) - The FTV has system wallpaper turned off, making most custom launchers only have a black background. This hack turns it on.

ISSUES

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Game controllers - The short, not all controllers work with all games. This is a hit or miss area with some buttons not working on certain games. One issue I did find was that having my keyboard connected seems to mess up certain games. For example, Shadowngun. When it's connected, the L2 and R2 buttons do not work on either of my controllers. I do not know if this would be the same with the Amazon Controller. If I unplug it and reboot, the L2 and R2 works. My suggestion, if you have a wireless keyboard, test games without it plugged in first. A BT keyboard might not have this issue though.

OUYA - Having the OUYA framework is wonderful for increasing the available games. It's downfall is that it screws up the home button functionality. A work around is to disable the OUYA Launcher using Titanium Backup, and have the alternative OUYA Launcher (BAXY) installed. This gives games access to the OUYA framework without screwing with the default launcher.

I hope this helps people see the capabilities of the Fire TV and unlocks it for those lucky enough to have a rootable FTV. My future goals are to mess with the game controllers to see if I can figure out why some games work and others don't. I want to get an Amazon controller and see how that works with the OUYA framework. unfortunately they're on backorder at the moment.