yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] PartisanEntity:
Same here. I am on stable 15.2 and only want to update to stable releases. I saw the 16.0 update the other day and tried to update to it thinking it was a stable release. Firestarter said it can't parse a package. Now that I checked on the Kodi website, 16.0 is still a development release and currently on beta 1. I too would love to see an option to select/filter what kind of updates Firestarter offers me.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] sphinx02:
Hi everybody,

I can confirm the problem with the latest Kodi release. The problem is, that the App is using following URL to check for Updates:

http://mirrors.kodi.tv/releases/android/arm/

Here it takes the top-most entry which is currently "kodi-16.0-Jarvis_beta1-symbols-armeabi-v7a.tar.bz2". Thiese are only the debug-symbols of the APK file (which is currently the second entry). Of course I should have checked if the entry has the correct ending.. I will fix this as soon as I find the time to..

The bigger problem is, that Kodi has a very bad release and update policy. I can not understand why they are mixing ALPHA's, BETA's, RC's (release candidates) and normal releases in the same folder..

I guess in future I will make a setting for Kodi update-behaviour:

default: only stable releases (exclude releases which contain BETA, ALPHA or RC in the name..)

curious: all releases in http://mirrors.kodi.tv/releases/android/arm/ (of course the top-most entry with .apk file ending)

nightly: all releases in http://mirrors.kodi.tv/nightlies/android/arm/ (also top-most entry with .apk file ending)

The biggest problem is the comparison of the versions as especially for the nightlies, the build-date is not accessible from the installed Kodi version. This means I also have to store the latest installed version of Kodi to decide if there exists a newer version. I guess in future I will only check if the top-most file-name with .apk file ending has changed since the last installation or something like this..

Or does anyone have an idea how I can access the build-date of the currently installed Kodi version?

Best regards

Lukas
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Hamspiced:
can you do exclusions? Like exclude words like Symbols, Beta, etc and move to the next item in the list?

What about wildcards? So have it download "kodi-*.*-*-armeabi-v7a.apk"
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] killerz298:
Same thing happened to me last night which resulted in me ending up here!
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] sphinx02:
v3.2.1

The new version fixes the problems with the Kodi updater and allows to select which Kodi updates are checked / installed. I hope this one works as expected ;)

v3.2.1

Fixed "parse packet error" for Kodi updates

Added setting to decide which Kodi version is installed / updated (stable, beta / rc, nightly)

Hit THANKS button if you like it! :)

Or buy me a cup of coffee, donation-link on GitHub​
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] mtichbon:
Prime Video

Hi, guys,

Love this app - so easy to use and very nice way of getting straight to Kodi.

Quick question re. the Amazon Prime Video icon that can be shown if system apps are ticked; is this non-functional? The Amazon Photos app opens fine but the Video one doesn't do anything when selected.

Do I have to go to the native Fire TV Home to access Prime Video? It's fine if I do, just wanted to check that I wasn't missing something to open a separate menu for videos.

Cheers!

Matt
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] sphinx02:
Yes, the App can not start a seperate Amazon Prime Video app. With the "Show system apps" setting, the App shows all installed apps, even if they have no startable intent. Perhaps I remove this in future as unstartable apps do not make any sense to show up in a launcher app like the App.. Its better placed in a task manager app or something like this..
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] abced123:
Is there anyway to disable auto update feature for both firestarter and kodi ? Please add that feature . :)

I just wanna do manual update whenever I want, esp. with the Kodi.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] sphinx02:
There is no auto update feature for none of both! There is an update notification for the App only which shows up exactly once (selecting yes will update the App, selecting no will block the update notification till the next manual update is done)..
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] theharrymason:
hi, would it be possible to add a feature to dim the custom background by xy amount via the settings menu as an alternative to "background for app names".
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] nixfu:
I would like to request that Firestarter can be set to require pin to open any apps just like the main firetv menu can be setup via parental controls. Right now running firestarter so I can access Kodi, pretty much totally defeats all the parental controls on the fire tv.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Matrix777:
Could use some advice on Fire TV & Firestarter v3.2.1

I currently updated from a firestick to the Fire TV 2 and installed firestarter 3.2.1 & Kodi 15.2. However have 2 issues when clicking on fire home in firestater won't let me go back to main Amazon Window it does nothing. Also voice remote isn't working. It takes me at boot to login registration screen and few seconds later boots right into firestarter.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] sphinx02:
v3.2.2

A little bugfix release, this time the problems with starting leanback-apps on the FireTV 2 are fixed :)

v3.2.2

Fixed wrong app start of apps using the leanback-lib (e.g. MagineTV)

Updated translations

Hit THANKS button if you like it! :)

Or buy me a cup of coffee, donation-link on GitHub​
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] sphinx02:
This kind of makes no sence, as you can then easily add the dim-factor with the image manipulation program of your choice (e.g. GIMP) to the image you are using as background.

This is already on my TODO list but it has no high priority. If someone wants to contribute this, I am happy about any pull-request on GitHub :)

Hm, sounds weird, perhaps you try to uninstall / install the App or clean app-data. As a last step you can try to factory reset your FireTV 2, never heard of similar problems on the FireTV 2 before...

Best regards

Lukas
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] theharrymason:
Thanks for the reply and yes thats how i have been doing it so far, i change my backgrounds a lot and it would be good though if firestarter had the option to do it automatically, it is a really nice effect and makes any wallpaper usable and the app names readable, just like muzei on android. "Background for app names" is a different approach but does not look as good as a dimmed background in my opinion. I hope you can implement this it would make the app perfect.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] jbl0ggs:
I have been reading so much amazing things about firestarter and now I'm ready to dive in. But I have a few questions....

1) Can I install FireStarter using ES File Explorer? If so, are there any guides/tutorials for this?

2) Once FireStarter is Installed, can I then use FireStarter to install TVMC? or do I have to install Kodi then use Fusion Wizard? Any guide/tutorial for this?

Thanks for any help you can provide !!!
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] JeffATL:
I just upgraded from stick to Fire TV 2 over BF. The new Fire lacks optical audio out but I connected it to my stereo receiver using a bluetooth adapter.

The problem is it only plays audio from one output, Is there a way to create a Firestarter shortcut to Blueooth settings b/c it is really cumbersum to disconnect/connect the bluetooth adapter (viewed by Fire as bt headphones)
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] jbl0ggs:
Ok, so what I did was...

1) Installed ES File Explorer

2) Installed Firestarter using ES File Explorer

3) Installed latest stable version of Kodi from FireStarter

4) Used Fusion/Wizard to install popular Add-ons (TVMC)

:)
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] daddymikey1975:
Dumb question.... Are you suggesting that by simply having Firestarter installed, you can use Firestarter to install kodi directly without using any other app or process?

I have kodi saved on my phone and use agk fire to push it to the fire TV stick.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] sphinx02:
From the first page:
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] jbl0ggs:
Yes, once you have installed FireStarter there is an option in FireStarter to "Update Kodi" which will actually install the latest stable version of Kodi even if don't have Kodi installed before so no need to go through any other steps. It's a fantastic option :victory:
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] killerz298:
However, once Kodi is installed he will have to run the config program if he wants to get it set up like TVMC right? Any thought of adding an option which would install Kodi AND set up TVMC? Is that even possible? I installed it prior to you adding this functionality so I'm not sure how it works with FireStarter.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] officiallyme:
Is there any chance of implementing a long back button action?

I have found that kodi sometimes causes issues because it did not seem to always exit cleanly and then videos cannot be played in Netflix or prime. I have to manually force close. Would be cool if this were possible by long pressing the back button, like on mobile phones :)
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] jbl0ggs:
Yes, you then just need to Add Fusion and go through the Wizard. Once you have installed Kodi, Just go through the easy to follow steps in the following link....

http://www.tvaddons.ag/install-addons-kodi/
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] zcwaa22:
Hi is it possible to auto run an app using firestarter ( or any other program) so after the fire tv is turned on an app runs automatically with no user input?

Thanks
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] jordan90210:
I had this problem and fixed it by going to the Settings->Applications->Manage Applications->Firestarter

then I selected 'Clear Data' and FS worked after that.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Adsche123:
Sleep timeout needs improval

Hello,

when I hear a a radio station with TuneIn, FireStarter seems to classify this as inactivity and shuts down after 30 minutes. This would be no problem, if I could deactivate the sleep timeout. But It seems to be mandatory between 1 and 120 minutes. Perhaps You could simply allow zero minutes for infinity or extend the range to more than two hours.

Thanks,

Adsche123
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] daddymikey1975:
When I play tunein or iheart radio, I just stay in the app and it will play all night. The screen eventually times out and foes black but audio still plays. If I press a button on the controller it will wake up the screen.

Are you returning to Firestarter from the app? If so, maybe Firestarter is assuming nothing is going on....
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] sphinx02:
Not possible without root and I wont add any root-only feature..

the App does classify nothing here, the setting you are changing is a standard system-setting which shuts down the FireTV after X minutes of inactivity. the App can only change the time of inactivity, the system process waits till it shuts down the FireTV. If an App shall play even there is no activity, it have to handle it by its own (like e.g. if you have Kodi open, the system will never shut down. Perhaps you also have to leave TuneIn open to let it handle the shut down prevention...

Best regards

Lukas
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] officiallyme:
is this because of the long press or why dies this now need root?

e.g. would 5*home not need root and could be used instead?

or is it the kill command? because that is available from the menu
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Bernie D:
Firestarter works on Nvidia Shield Tv too

It needs some tweaking, i.e. put the power button back in, and instead of Amazon Fire TV names, put in Nvidia Shield TV names, but from the playing around I did with it the potential for something as handy as the way it works for AFTV is there. What remains unique is that this becomes a true alternative homescreen; not merely another launcher.

HAlauncher doesn't let you use it as the home launcher with the new Nvidia Shield TV's, but Firestarter did.

The only real problems were not being able to get to the Shields bottom settings menu and the sleep button. Make a bet those are easy to fix.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Adsche123:
I think I've found the reason: My Samsung TV interrupts the connection to my FireTV stick, FireStarter is innocent ;) I can prevent this behaviour by activating the screensaver of the FireTV stick (slideshow). By the way: The shut down on inactivity after X minutes configuration seems not to be an official system-setting on FireTV stick, at least I haven't found it in any menu.

Thank You

Adsche123
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] sphinx02:
Here a nice solution to install the App without anything else than the FireTV itself, let me know if it works also on your FireTV's!

Happy end of year holidays to everybody :)

NEW: Easy installation in less than 5 minutes with only the FireTV

https://github.com/sphinx02/AppStarter/wiki/Install-AppStarter-and-Kodi-(only-FireTV-needed)

Hit THANKS button if you like it! :)

Or buy me a cup of coffee, donation-link on GitHub​
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] cooltwou:
I have a question about this here is there a way to have the FireStarter icon on the home screen or have it automatically open upto the FireStarter it's self
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] killerz298:
Yes there is. Manually load firestarter and then go into the settings. There is an option to have it automatically start when the fire is launched.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Knatterton79:
No problem, you can set the timeout as follows:

adb shell settings put system screen_off_timeout <Milliseconds>

Update: to check timeout value, replace "put" with "get > adb shell settings get system screen_off_timeout
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] deanr1977:
How's the support going with this app For AFTV2? I own both a AFTV stick gen1 non rooted & a AFTV2 rooted, the difference in the compatibility is a little frustrating but hopefully fingers crossed sometime in the near future it will be more like how it works on the AFTV gen1. Keep up the good work mate ?
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Knatterton79:
Improve discoverability of Kodi Beta Updates

I was amazed by the new Kodi update feature (which by the way worked fine for my upgrade from 15.2 to 16.0 BETA4),

but it was only from my recent reading of the changelog that I discovered FireStarter's ability to update to beta releases of Kodi.

So I would like to suggest some sort of notification in the update section to be added. Like "Sorry, no stable updates available. But if you know what you're doin', I could get you a beta release."

IMHO that would improve discoverability of that great features thus exposing it on a wider audience.

Kudos for this fine piece of code!
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] sgs9:
Never change a running System ;)

google is your friend.

In computing, the term "beta" is used as (usually) the last testing release（or the preview release） in the software release life cycle before the "release" version. Beta versions often have a version number of the form "0.n", (or "build number"). Typically it is the last version before a version of a software is fully released to all its actual customers.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Bernie D:
Firestarter works on Nvidia Shield Tv too

*What do you think sphinx02? Maybe develop a NVidia Shield TV fork for Firestarter?*
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] sphinx02:
Of course it would be nice to have the App on the NVidia Shield TV! I like the idea to have only one version of the App which fits the needs of all platforms (no own fork for every device). This would keep the maintanance of the App more easy. The problem is that I have no NVidia Shield TV and thus it is really hard to develop anything for it.. If you are interested in this development I am happy about any pull request on GitHub!
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] b1nuzz:
Hi,

So i am on my third FTV2 at the moment because I keep sending them back bricked.

I have the unit set up running Firestarter and whenever the HDMI cable is unplugged, I can't get video back. This causes me to have to restart the unit, then it just hangs on the Amazon logo. No reboot etc seems to be able to do anything.

Does anybody have any ideas what it could be? A firestarter thing? FTV2? Seems an odd way to brick a box, but its happened three times now!

TIA.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] sphinx02:
Never heard of something like this before. For me the AFTV 2 works without problems also when unplugging the HDMI cable.. Have you rooted your AFTV 2?
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] b1nuzz:
Not rooted but sideloaded.

I have another one on replacement arriving tomorrow and I have bought another one. Amazon support won't talk to me unless I have a working unit, so I have 2 ready for tomorrow!

I have no idea what can be causing it!
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] deanr1977:
Could it be your TV? Sometimes on my Samsung TV when I first press the button on my remote it changes the station to another hdmi or another channel? Then I have to manually change it back with the TV remote? It may not be bricked but on the wrong station? I have had 4 or 5 fire sticks been used or put on various tvs my house & a AFTV2 which I rooted myself & not one of them has bricked or i had to send back? Plus all have had Firestarter/Kodi & various apps have been sideloaded & even replaced icons with Laima too.

I think you couldn't be that unlucky with 3 units? You must be doing something wrong?
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] b1nuzz:
That's exactly what I'm thinking. But I'm not an idiot, I know tech well.

My set up involves the AFTV2 going to a Denon AVR along with my PVR (Sky)

It's not that it is connected to the wrong channel on the TV, as when it is connected directly to the TV I can see the Amazon logo.

Surely it can't be a problem with unplugging the HDMI Source from the AVR? What about a problem with HDCP when it gets unplugged and causing it to brick?

I need it via the Denon AVR for the surround sound, so that will need to continue to be my normal set up.

If I never unplug the unit, then perhaps the problem won't re-appear, but thats a bit unrealistic. I don't know what would happen if i lost power whilst it was all turned on.. :(
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] deanr1977:
Hmmmm sounds very weird, maybe they sent you reconditioned or faulty units then? If you can see the boot logo it's not a socket or interference problem? Think you need to ask Mr Google & widen your seach for this problem? If that was me & it kept happening I'd ask for my money back from Amazon (I take it you bought it online with them?) & buy a unit from a local retailer like Asda/Tescos (Uk) or Wallmart/Gamestop (USA) then that way you can see if it happens again It must be something to do with your setup surely? That's the only thing I can think of?

When you reset/reboot do you do a reset with the select button & play/pause button held down for about 6seconds? Or just pull the plug? Or do another method?
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] b1nuzz:
I will wait to see what happens with the two that are turning up tomorrow. I'm going to Ring Amazon support and walk through with them the process. I am assuming that the side loading has nothing to do with it.

I have done all those options above for restarting and resetting. Ive also tried attaching a keyboard for recovery mode but can't even get to that.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Necromancyr:
Anyone know of solutions if the FireTV home icon/function aren't visible/there? I tried turning on system apps being shown, but it did nothing and I still can't get into the FireTV interface itself. Settings I can direct launch, but that's about it.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Y314K:
From FireStarter click to the left directional pad until you see the FireStarter Menu. Go to Settings & scroll down to "Hidden Apps". Make sure that "FireTV Settings" & "FireTV Home" are not checked & make sure you go all the way down & click "OK" to save the settings. Then go back to your Apps menu in FireStarter & now you should have your shortcuts back.

If your device is still acting weird. I would recommend a restart. Restart your FTV(S) from the FireTV Settings/System/Restart option that is towards the bottom. If you don't have access to the FireTV Settings right now then unplug the power/usb cable. Wait like 20 seconds and plug the power/usb cable back in. Wait until your FTV(S) has fully booted before you start to move around the menu.
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] bootoo:
kodi has a different ip address than my firetv box

Hi,

Not sure if Firestarter trigger this behaviour but felt it would be best to report it in case it is a bug.

My box currently has an ip address like 192.168.0.x allocated dynamicaly by my router. After installing kodi, i realized i was not able to browse my netwok (samba).

After looking in the network tab, i realized the ip displayed in kodi system settings was 192.168.49.1.

All my nfs share are working fine and i have access to the internet (the kodi plugin update fine).

If anybody has experienced a similar situation, i would be gratefull to hear if you have found a solution.

Best
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] deanr1977:
Are you rooted by any chance? Because after rooting 5.0.3.1 I had similar ip address on one of the screens in firestarter but still could access my files & stuff via adb & everything else
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] sphinx02:
If you have an FireTV 2. Generation (4k) it is normal that there are multiple IP addresses. As the FireTV2 uses a WIFI remote, the FireTV2 also opens a WIFI network for the remote on which the FireTV2 itself is the gateway and thus have the first IP address of the range (in you example 192.168.49.1).

This second IP address should not affect the normal connection via WIFI or LAN at all..
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] bootoo:
Thank you all for the answers....

I am not rooted

I am using the 4k model

It is a bit of a problem as i cannot access my win share as on a different network segment....

I have another 4k firet. That does not have a different ip segment....

Really weird...
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Y314K:
Got to say. This is the best launcher for any FTV(S). So easy to setup & use. Thanks for making this...

I would like to request a couple of options.

1. Can you please add SPMC ( http://spmc.semperpax.com/ ) as an additional/dual option for Kodi under Updates. I myself run two instances of Kodi. One for daily use & one for testing. Having the option to install/update SPMC thru FireStarter would be great. And at the same time having regular Kodi or Beta too. SPMC is a separate fork of Kodi & always gets install on it's own folder so cross installation is not an issue. SPMC comes in three different flavors. Although only two of them are the actual options for FTV(S). APK = Regular & Launcher APK comes with a separate launcher. At the very least we would like installation/upgrade options to the Regular APK. Updates have been slow for SPMC this last few months. But it seems commits are beginning to pick up some.

This dual Kodi/SPMC setup is also great if you want to have a Unlocked/Open Kodi option & one Locked/Hidden kodi option. I don't think you can install a Stable & a Beta&RC versions on the same device. It will either upgrade or downgrade Kodi.

2. Some one else mentioned on another thread they would like .GIF support for backgrounds. Thought I would pass that request over.

Thanks again for the awesome launcher.... Keep up the great work... :good:
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] Tunguska2:
Thanks harlekinrains for your help und your quick reply

I must have missed this part in the settings menu.....but i was pretty sure that i could not set single click action to none....now i'm on v2.3 and everything works just fine....
[Fire TV Themes and Apps] sphinx02:
I have checked what superkoal is doing in AFTV Launcher Helper. As far as I can see, he checks for a given period of time, if amazon-home is coming up instead of the correct app and if so, he starts the correct app again. So he do not block amazon-home for a given time but force the correct app for a given time.. Perhaps I integrate something similar which can be enabled per setting. But this have to be checked carefully as further home-button actions (initiated by the App) have to be blocked during this given watchdog-period..