FireTV

[Draz]

Anyone have it. How good is it. Does it have ESPN3? Anyone use xbmc on it, how smooth is it.

Looking for a device that can can stream espn3 and xbmc smoothly.

[imdaman99]

I have the stick. Pre-ordered it when it was $19. It's good. I don't have an original Prime account so I don't do Amazon video but I sideloaded TVMC on it, it's pretty much an easier version of XBMC. It works, only use it for Sportsdevil and when I'm not feeling like watching games on my laptop.

I use my WatchESPN with my Chromecast, it's just easier that way for me. Haven't tried it on FTV yet. Works well with Chromecast though. It was a steal for $19, get it :cheers:

[Godzuki]

i have fire TV and roku3. can't answer your questions tho since i havn't put xbmc on it its good enough for me without that, and i dont care about espn3.

neatest thing on fire TV is the voice thing, that thing works really good. interface isn't as bad as i had read, i mean as good as roku imo.

i have the box version, not the stick.

[Draz]

Yea I heard the voice search is great. And a few people confirmed watchespn is espn 1/2/3

[FatComputerNerd]

Still happy with my HTPC and xbmc/kodi

[Practice?]

What is better? Fire or Chromecast?

[Draz]

I'm loving my fire tv.

[dazzer87]

What is better? Fire or Chromecast?
After getting FireTv and stick I gave my parents my chromecast. Got sick of using my phone to cast.

[rezznor]

i've had all 3, roku is best

[rezznor]

So no to Chromecast because of the cell phone casting thing. Seems like a hassle.

I'm definitely getting one of these media player devices. Already leaning towards FireTV because Im a Prime member.

Why would Roku be a better option?
chromecast is great for playing your own media but thats about it

[Godzuki]

only thing that really annoys me about fireTV is it doesn't have a lot of app's built in. yeah u can download them but with Roku they have almost eveerything you can just do straight from their main screen. its probably a non issue for most people who put xbmc and stuff on it but i like stuff with the least extra crap i have to do to make it good.

i also thought i'd be able to shop Amazon from FireTV but its only for movies, and the voice thing only works for amazon. altho i really like the voice thing.

[Draz]

This is the first generation firetv isn't it? Give it time. Updates and shit will make it better but it's great as is.

[FatComputerNerd]

only thing that really annoys me about fireTV is it doesn't have a lot of app's built in. yeah u can download them but with Roku they have almost eveerything you can just do straight from their main screen. its probably a non issue for most people who put xbmc and stuff on it but i like stuff with the least extra crap i have to do to make it good.

i also thought i'd be able to shop Amazon from FireTV but its only for movies, and the voice thing only works for amazon. altho i really like the voice thing.


I was not aware the fireTV can run xbmc/kodi

I don't think the Roku can either.

A jail-broken ATV can, as can some of the Google devices out there, but a true HTPC is still your best bet for your "front-end".

[rezznor]

I was not aware the fireTV can run xbmc/kodi

I don't think the Roku can either.

A jail-broken ATV can, as can some of the Google devices out there, but a true HTPC is still your best bet for your "front-end".
roku + plex works great

also, roku has free porn channels :rockon:

[Draz]

Xbmc doesn't work well for me on the FireTV. It buffers a lot. I don't know the solution. It's a common problem for everyone streaming not the FireTV itself.

[FatComputerNerd]

roku + plex works great

also, roku has free porn channels :rockon:

XBMC > Plex

[rezznor]

XBMC > Plex

i thought they quit support for xbmc?

[FatComputerNerd]

i thought they quit support for xbmc?

XBMC is still the way to go. They just changed the name to Kodi is all.

[bigkingsfan]

Xbmc doesn't work well for me on the FireTV. It buffers a lot. I don't know the solution. It's a common problem for everyone streaming not the FireTV itself.

Find out what kind of router you have and the distance between.

[rezznor]

XBMC is still the way to go. They just changed the name to Kodi is all.

thanks i'll look into it. thought about going xbmc but plex just seemed to be the easier route and less technical to set up. it works great so far. what makes xbmc better?

[FatComputerNerd]

thanks i'll look into it. thought about going xbmc but plex just seemed to be the easier route and less technical to set up. it works great so far. what makes xbmc better?

Plex definitely is easier to set up and more user-friendly.

XBMC is much more customizable, you can make it look so many different ways, do so many different things with @dd-ons, and it works great in conjunction with my file organizing/renaming system (Media Companion). XBMC will scrape on it's own but I think MC does a better job, and I don't think XBMC actually moves/renames files and folders for you during scrape the way MC does.

XBMC also has a thriving "community" of users who help others figure things out which is nice. I don't think Plex has that same level of community amongst it's users.

as for streaming...i dunno man. Like he said, maybe you're too far from the router, or should try a different wireless channel. I've never had any buffering issues, not even streaming 1080p over wi-fi. This is using a 5 some-odd year old ion/atom powered netbook as the htpc, while the backend/server (where all my files are) is located on a workstation in the basement. Granted the server is hard-wired into the network, but the HTPC is on wireless...

Don't expect to be able to stream away from home unless you have ridiculous upload speeds, and yeah -- don't even bother with XBMC unless you're pretty tech-savvy and like to tinker.

[Draz]

Have both the roku stick and firetv. Firetv with xbmc(kodi) Helix. Watch anything I want for free. Movies HD. You name it. Live TV. Got it.

Well worth the bread.

[Raymone]

XBMC can't stream remotely. Does it even run on Roku?

Plex is so much better.

[Draz]

What does stream remotely mean? And it isn't on roku only fire tv
Never heard of plex before I'll look into it.

[Raymone]

What does stream remotely mean? And it isn't on roku only fire tv
Never heard of plex before I'll look into it.


Remotely meaning devices outside of your home network. If you're on your phone/tablet/laptop away from home, you can watch all of your media smoothly with Plex. You can also share your libraries with friends and vice versa. They can watch your movies and you can watch theirs, all remotely.

[sixerfan82]

combine this with slingtv and you have a winner

[Draz]

XBMC can't stream remotely. Does it even run on Roku?

Plex is so much better.
I guess it's better if you have movies on your phone but why go through all that trouble when you can stream it directly with kodi.

[imdaman99]

Remotely meaning devices outside of your home network. If you're on your phone/tablet/laptop away from home, you can watch all of your media smoothly with Plex. You can also share your libraries with friends and vice versa. They can watch your movies and you can watch theirs, all remotely.
Plex is nice but you have to keep your server on at all times. That is unnecessary when you can just stream anything you want on XBMC, including live TV. You can live stream games as well.

Currently, I'm trying to figure out how to play games on the Fire TV stick... as in NES/SNES/GENESIS games. Bought a bluetooth controller, and it works with it :pimp:

[Raymone]

I guess it's better if you have movies on your phone but why go through all that trouble when you can stream it directly with kodi.

Stream it directly when you're not on the same network as your server?

It's my understanding that XBMC/Kodi cannot do that. It can only stream within the network. No?

[Raymone]

Plex is nice but you have to keep your server on at all times.

That's kind of the whole point of a server though. I have a media server with like 1500+ movies and 100+ TV shows here at home in LA that basically has 24/7 uptime.

Let's say I want to watch one of my TV shows while I'm traveling.

With Plex: I can stream remotely, no problem. Even if I don't have wifi access, I can lower the bitrate and stream over my cell's data.
XBMC: Nope.

Let's say my aunt in Dallas wants to watch my 1080p bluray of The Hobbit.

Plex: I share my library with her and she can browse and stream any of my movies she'd like.
XBMC: Nope.

[FatComputerNerd]

Stream it directly when you're not on the same network as your server?

It's my understanding that XBMC/Kodi cannot do that. It can only stream within the network. No?

XBMC can stream remotely.

It's not as easy or user=friendly to set up as Plex, but it is doable.

Keep in mind, Plex came from XBMC. XBMC was the original media center for the X-Box back in the day. Plex broke away at some point and started their own thing. There is even a "PlexBMC"...which sort of combines the two.

As I said earlier though...unless you've got ridiculous upload speeds, don't even bother w/ trying to stream you're stuff when away from home.

[FatComputerNerd]

That's kind of the whole point of a server though. I have a media server with like 1500+ movies and 100+ TV shows here at home in LA that basically has 24/7 uptime.

Let's say I want to watch one of my TV shows while I'm traveling.

With Plex: I can stream remotely, no problem. Even if I don't have wifi access, I can lower the bitrate and stream over my cell's data.
XBMC: Nope.

Let's say my aunt in Dallas wants to watch my 1080p bluray of The Hobbit.

Plex: I share my library with her and she can browse and stream any of my movies she'd like.
XBMC: Nope.

Also do-able w/ XBMC/Kodi using a shared sql database. You can probably find all sorts of info on how this works on the XBMC community forums.

[Raymone]

I'll just say this: good luck streaming outside of your local network with XBMC/Kodi or even thinking about transcoding.

[Raymone]

As I said earlier though...unless you've got ridiculous upload speeds, don't even bother w/ trying to stream you're stuff when away from home.

I do it all the time with plex. I try to avoid streaming over data, because that's admittedly too slow, but when I have a wifi connection I can stream any of my media from my home server without problems.

I believe my upload speeds are around 10-15Mb. Not DSL-slow but certainly not the fastest.

[Draz]

That's kind of the whole point of a server though. I have a media server with like 1500+ movies and 100+ TV shows here at home in LA that basically has 24/7 uptime.

Let's say I want to watch one of my TV shows while I'm traveling.

With Plex: I can stream remotely, no problem. Even if I don't have wifi access, I can lower the bitrate and stream over my cell's data.
XBMC: Nope.

Let's say my aunt in Dallas wants to watch my 1080p bluray of The Hobbit.

Plex: I share my library with her and she can browse and stream any of my movies she'd like.
XBMC: Nope.
Some people don't have that though. That's the point of streaming haha. But that's great for a private remote server. You should look into it. I'm watching 720p to 1080p movies instantly. I didn't get it to work before but now that it is working, I'm so happy.

Recently got live TV to work as well.

[Raymone]

Some people don't have that though. That's the point of streaming haha. But that's great for a private remote server. You should look into it. I'm watching 720p to 1080p movies instantly. I didn't get it to work before but now that it is working, I'm so happy.

Recently got live TV to work as well.

I should look into what? I'm describing my current setup. Plex fits my media needs, XBMC doesn't.

I realize not everyone has media collections as large as mine, but there are plenty of people with some amount of movies/shows they've collected over the years. And they'd like to watch their media at home as well as away from home. Plex is better suited for that.

[Raymone]

I set up my Roku. Can watch Amazon Instant Video and Google Play on TV.

How do I watch it on my laptop or android? The Roku app just controls whats on the TV. :confusedshrug:

Roku is a player, not a media source. Download the apps/programs for your sources.

[Raymone]

I did download the Roku app and it's just a remote that controls the Roku player.

Can I watch my channels on roku.com on my android or laptop when I'm on the go?

Depends on the channel. For instance, I believe netflix has apps you can download for android/windows/osx.

[dazzer87]

Got Ooma device today. Activate my new home phone number, which I had so many choices to pick from. Must be the only one in town to have Ooma.

$3.85 a month for landline per Internet gonna awesome. My Time Warner phone number never worked anyway whenever the cable was down.

Im officially full cordcutter now.


ObiTalk & Google number >>>>>>> OoMa........No monthly payment.

[rezznor]

Rezznor hit me up with some Roku private XXX channels. :pimp:
ill do it when i get off work