Amazon Firestick 4K Max for Surround Music

[mandrix]

Jeez... I used to test XBMC software many years ago... It looks like I'm going to have to learn about it all over again

Me as well...it's come a long way since the days of trying to pass mch music was a major pita with XMBC. I gave up on it after much testing. Windows 7 and all the media stuff, well I bought several aftermarket addons and never was really happy with any of it for tv nor music. I even bought a Hauppauge 1212 box to record tv with. Eventually ditched all that for satellite and now ditched that for internet tv with no problem playing reruns so no need to record anymore.
Although not a fan of kodi, it fills a need for a lot of people and it's good to have options.

 

[dabl]

Jeez... I used to test XBMC software many years ago... It looks like I'm going to have to learn about it all over again

Yeah I have to laugh thinking about all the hoops you have to jump through with Kodi to get all the advanced stuff actually working or the confusing as hell interface and behavior at times.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

Yeah I have to laugh thinking about all the hoops you have to jump through with Kodi to get all the advanced stuff actually working or the confusing as hell interface and behavior at times.

I agree that Kodi has its flaws regarding getting some of the advanced stuff to work. But honestly, @HomerJAU has done a great job sorting it out for us.

I don't find the interface confusing at all. What's confusing about it?

I have tried several media players. None of them offered the capability and features I get with Kodi, at least the more recent versions.

 

[HomerJAU]

What's confusing about it?

It’s even more complicated on the Firestick as it’s sold as a self contained streaming device. Users need to install Kodi as a ‘developer’, which allows non App Store app installs.

I couldn’t finish my normal Kodi customisation on the Firestick as Android 11 ‘sandboxes’ the normal Kodi userdata folders (that means Kodi’s config folders are inaccessible to users).

I found how to change the Kodi userdata folder location after a long search and finally asking on the Kodi forum. I will finish that tomorrow, then document to entire process: Installation, configuration/customisation. I plan to upload a Kodi configuration backup for users to restore. Thats easier than doing it all manually.

Like a lot of things, it’s easy when you know how. Many give up if it’s not obvious.

The ‘How To’ should be fairly straight forward to follow (I hope )

 

[LuvMyQuad]

It’s even more complicated on the Firestick as it’s sold as a self contained streaming device. Users need to install Kodi as a ‘developer’, which allows non App Store app installs.

I couldn’t finish my normal Kodi customisation on the Firestick as Android 11 ‘sandboxes’ the normal Kodi userdata folders (that means Kodi’s config folders are inaccessible to users).

I found how to change the Kodi userdata folder location after a long search and finally asking on the Kodi forum. I will finish that tomorrow, then document to entire process: Installation, configuration/customisation. I plan to upload a Kodi configuration backup for users to restore. Thats easier than doing it all manually.

Like a lot of things, it’s easy when you know how. Many give up if it’s not obvious.

The ‘How To’ should be fairly straight forward to follow (I hope )

I know what you are saying. I've done it already on my 1st gen firestick a few years back. Getting to the user data is a PITA. So much so that I haven't upgraded the version since. I'm glad you have an easier solution.

When you finish the tutorial I'll delete the old version and load on a current one.

Note to all, the difficulty only applies to Android/firestick. Windows is a snap.

 

[HomerJAU]

What's confusing about it?

Silly things like the default user mode setting which makes many settings invisible in the UI. For QQ members, you cant set your AVR decoding formats unless the user mode to ‘Expert’. Changing that mode is not obvious. It should be ‘Expert’ on installation. Everything is set to stereo playback with no obvious way to set it otherwise.

Having ‘Set Up Wizard’ type start up screen: Do you have an AVR, Can it decode DTS, Can it Decode TrueHD, how many speakers, where is your media stored etc.

Now a user has to go hunting through all the settings screens to find all that, and more. It’s pretty daunting for a first time user.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

Silly things like the default user mode setting which makes many settings invisible in the UI. For QQ members, you cant set your AVR decoding formats unless the user mode to ‘Expert’. Changing that mode is not obvious. It should be ‘Expert’ on installation. Everything is set to stereo playback with no obvious way to set it otherwise.

Having ‘Set Up Wizard’ type start up screen: Do you have an AVR, Can it decode DTS, Can it Decode TrueHD, how many speakers, where is your media stored etc.

Now a user has to go hunting through all the settings screens to find all that, and more. It’s pretty daunting for a first time user.

Yes, agreed none of that is obvious. But that's mostly in the initial setup. Once that is done the UI isn't confusing to use at all. The thing that bugs me is it sometimes looses the driver assignment (with windows, usually after an update).

 

[OldAsMono]

Yes, agreed none of that is obvious. But that's mostly in the initial setup. Once that is done the UI isn't confusing to use at all. The thing that bugs me is it sometimes looses the driver assignment (with windows, usually after an update).

Ah men to losing driver assignment and others settings after Windows update! Why does even the OS revert back to stereo? As said, once you know what to look for it’s easy. The first many times it’s searching all possible setup options in the app and OS just to get to what you had it set at originally.

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

I'm exhausted already

 

[gwlbe]

I've been using KODI since the modded XBMC days. I have KODI on ATV4k, 4 firesticks 4k, a firecube, and a shield all wired . Like Homer pointed out it plays almost anything you throw at it. The major issue I have with it is when I shuffle with crossfade of MCH FLACs from my NAS, a stutter occurs when the crossfade starts. The only exception is the Firecube handles it. Windows 11 stutters too. I've spend more time trying to address it then I should of (skin changes, crickets from the KODI forums). My experience is over the years the developers are more movie oriented.

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

I've been using KODI since the modded XBMC days. I have KODI on ATV4k, 4 firesticks 4k, a firecube, and a shield all wired . Like Homer pointed out it plays almost anything you throw at it. The major issue I have with it is when I shuffle with crossfade of MCH FLACs from my NAS, a stutter occurs when the crossfade starts. The only exception is the Firecube handles it...

Out of interest... Are you using the new 'Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd gen.), as it's specs are quite similar to the Fire TV Cube (3rd Generation), which was launched back in Oct 2021...

 

[jamesc]

I have both the Amazon Fire TV (the square pendant dongle) and Gen 1 4K stick, both of which support Tidal Atmos, but both stutter, even when used with the wired internet adapter.

Is the new version better? Is an AppleTV stutter-free with Tidal atmos?

I never had any stuttering issues streaming Atmos with the Gen 1 4K stick with either Tidal or Amazon Music. Maybe a wifi issue? Or maybe a factory reset would fix it?

I could see 360RA streams listed on Amazon Music but don't have an AVR capable of decoding that.

 

[HomerJAU]

The major issue I have with it is when I shuffle with crossfade of MCH FLACs from my NAS, a stutter occurs when the crossfade starts.

The simple solution: Don’t use crossfade

That’s not a feature I’ve ever used (or needed).

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

The simple solution: Don’t use crossfade

That’s not a feature I’ve ever used (or needed).

Indeed... It must use quite a bit of memory and processing power!

 

[gwlbe]

I rarely sit and listen to an album, Most of my listening is done in my garage (5.1) or back yard (4.0) while doing something so I shuffle my collection with cross fade similar to the old FM days with life DJs. Gapless plackback rarely works. The stuttering started after Kodi 16. And yes I have tried the latest Firestick 4k. I sideloaded FOOBAR 2K which works with the shield with HDD directly connected, connecting to the NAS with FOOBAR doesn’t work.

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

Before I forget to ask.... Does Kodi support .cue sheet file playback?

 

[gwlbe]

Yes

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

Yes

Nice one.

I back-up all my audio discs along with a .cue sheet navigation file

 

[HomerJAU]

I can confirm adding a USB to 1GBE (1000mbps) Ethernet adapter gives me stutter free 4K UHD playback in Kodi with the Firestick 4K Max when playing from my Synology NAS.

EDIT: I added links to the USB to ethernet adapter I used (based on an internet review) in Post #3 ion this thread

 

[HomerJAU]

For those who maybe interested in trying one of the Firesticks:

• I've now got Kodi fully configured on my 4K Max. This is using the latest Kodi v21 Beta 2 release.
• I've updated my 'QQ Codec' mod to to use the latest Aeon Nox Silvo skin (I'll publish that when v21 is released)
• I've created a Backup of all the set up, skin customisation and add-ons etc. New users can basically copy those to a new stick (not too complex)

Tomorrow I will test restoring the backup on a brand new Firestick 4K max. If that works ok, or id I need to document series of steps to install I'll do that writeup.

By the end of this week I'll upload a 'How To PDF' and the files required to make it as easy as possible for users to set Kodi up on the Firestick.

Amazon have a 30 day return policy so plenty of time to set one up and load your files, have a play and decide if its good for you.

I'll update the Setup Files when Kodi v21 is released, but right now its stable enough for playback.

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Here's what the Kodi 'Now Playing' screen looks like with the QQ Logo mod (The Artist Slideshow changes the fanart picture every 10 seconds) - The codec logo changes based in folder names containing 'Atmos', DVDA, Quad etc