[Fire TV General] harlekinrains:
Then do so. Name the reason for why you think Kodi 14.2 is "stuttering". Have the overlay open that shows CPU usage, cache usage and the video files codec. Infrequent stuttering sounds like a caching problem. A problem with your local network, your ISP, or the file hosters infrastructure. It also could be a decoding problem, based on bitrate spikes of a file that fails to be compatible with hardware acceleration. Which one is it.

Dont open up new side battles with concepts never touched upon in this thread ("I never said I was useing m3u playlists").

Am I rude - well, yes. Thats because I dont like magical thinking and circumstantial, non evidence based reasoning to take over. I hate the concept of someone faking interest, and others faking expertise - while none of them does any research - and in the end this is held up as a model case for a valid opinion, because of the number of followers of one believe. Again, welcome to crowdsourcing.

The facts are, that SPMC is a fork of Kodi, very closely adhering to the main project, simply to be able to stay current. (One developer, enough said.) With several device specific tweaks - that are considered to be "too specific" (if device a is detected, ...) to be rolled into the main project. It solved two primary problems - first XBMC not being able to get distribution over the Google Play Store (because of the "XBOX" reference in its name), which is now solved by the rebranding to Kodi, and some very specific device optimizations on certain processors, not necessary on either Fire TV. The believe not being able to stay current on certain codecs (?) because you are supporting your own subset of devices with limited capabilities.

None of this is a compelling reason to use it in a FIre TV. So if there is no compelling USP, lets invent our own! Now all of a sudden videos are stuttering on Kodi. No - really, I've seen them!

Then have us reproduce it. Because if it turns out to be a decoding issue on a certain kind of 1080p file, there is no magic that solves that either. Older versions of ffmpeg might mean speed over picture quality to solve an issue. Thats a trade off. If the FIre TV wouldnt be able to run current versions of Kodi (the main development tree of all of those projects), that would be a really valid reason not to promote buying it.

What you are doing is not looking into a problem, but suggesting that your standpoint is right. Thats not enough.

Oh, I know - how rude....

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As for the OP jumping for any reason named not to face that he tried to outsource all research ("I knew one would be more smooth, thats why all the kids are using it, just look at my incorrect poll") - well, that comes with the game we are playing, right? Just make others do what you dont feel like doing. Hope that errors cancel each other out, because of the wisdom of the crowd effect. And even if that is not the case, promote what ever a conceivable majority seems to feel, because those pesky "experts" find it appalling to support your behavior patterns. They even talk about them being a problem. Just rude.

Main point made: The social media generations idea of problem solving, is changing apps out of a top 10 list, whenever they meet something that feels like a problem to them. This is so superficial and random, it hurts. Their main idea of generating information is through outsourcing and exploitation of others. Because thats how social media works. Meaningless likes (fake social proof) become the currency that drives behavior. In sociology we talk about the business models behind it having purpose built gaps, expected to be filled with an idealistic "community" that works for free. Now even individuals are trying to employ this business model, because they see it working well for them. They dont have to do anything. Faking interest in an open discussion is sufficient.

And structurally it really is - just look at this thread.

It just gets a different dynamic, when you voice, that you hate this behavior. Now all of a sudden the OPs are also faced with a social cost. If they are trying to game social behavior, they loose reputation. Thats what "being rude" is for. I hate those guys. I really do. And I will openly voice it.