A couple of weeks ago, SPMC, the most popular Kodi fork, added support for 4K playback on the Fire TV 2 with a new 16.5.0 release. However, it was quickly evident that something was wrong because 4K playback was not working for most people. A new 16.5.1 version has just been released that should fix 4K playback on the Fire TV. To install the new version, you can follow my sideloading guide, or just use my Downloader app and enter
@AFTVnews
AFTVnews
Anyway to install while leaving all my current Spmc settings/addons the same?
Installing it over the top won’t affect your existing settings.
Why would anyone bother with this, and not Kodi Krypton outright? I’ll grant you that SuperRepo is pants under Krypton at the moment. But, alas for whatever stupid reasons it seems that a disproportionate number of Add-ons have gotten the ol’ yank, these past couple of weeks. And are now suddenly listed as either broken, or incompatible. Which is on the whole odd, as on such other Systems where it was installed (older MXIII Box), those Add-ons were working just fine.
A quick google brought some information that the Devs were looking to push some kind of advertising pop up thing which apparently can only work over Krypton. This the retreat. Now I’ve been running Krypton for about a week or so, and I have thus far not seen anything like this. Perhaps ’cause I’m rooted, and running AdAway? Or, perhaps they have yet to turn it on? I know not.
What I do know is that running Jarvis at this time is neigh pointless. Yeah you do loose DTS, since that requires a Marshmallow Device. But, really, in a World where One had to ask about anything even being in 4k, I’d have to ask myself is there even anything, besides the odd surprise that’s even in DTS?
Sometimes its just enough that something just works. And, who knows perhaps v17 of SPMC may eventually fix the DTS issue.
You answered your own question Ichijoe, why run this instead of Kodi Kypton? Because you’re one of the people that have a surround sound system that you want DTS.
And reading the forums, it looks like the Kodi team isn’t at all concerned that FireTV users used to have Dolby and DTS, but no longer do. They’re answer, “Yell at your vendor for the chip they use” is essentially “We broke it, but we don’t care because its the users fault for buying that hardware” “Why no, we don’t care that Kodi worked when the user bought the hardware, don’t ask dumb questions”
The clear hostility to the platform is why Koying left the project and restarted SPMC, and what you see with Kodi’s inability to get a basic, basic function of a media player to work is a clear indication of what they lost when he left.
So yes, I expect that Koying will be able to fix the DTS issue by v17.
Unless your someone with a NAS BOX full of RIPs, then you should be looking at some low power (Atom / RasPI), Mini HTPC. Finding anything in DTS on Kodi is like looking for Hens Teeth.
What is more important to me is that I can continue using Ice Films to keep up with my Shows. 99% of which are only in standard DD5.1 (AC-3). Which is otherwise unaffected by the API change. Marshmallow vs. Lollipop, and earlier.
As it is now if you have used Ice Films before on Jarvis. You preety much can not anymore, as the maintainer has effectively yanked back on all versions prior to Krypton. This is also true for most of the hardcore XXX Repos out there too.
So if it has to be a choice of either working Add-ons, or Working DTS. The best answer would of course be. Why not both? But, since we can NOT have both at the moment. I’ll choose the former and move on to Krypton.
You’ll rarely see Elias respond to these concerns. Much of the time it has to do with user settings and beta apps. Whenver updating KODI/SPMC to my Gen 1 Fire TV optical out config, I always enable the last four options on system audio profile settings. A ten second test of a 1080p/DTS 5.1 movie stream worked perfectly well in both SPMC 16.5.0 and Kodi Jarvis.
“Unless your someone with a NAS BOX full of RIPs”
Bingo. All my blu-ray’s are on my network drive in all their hi-def DTS glory. Finding stuff in DTS in Kodi is extremely simple then.
I have no interest in Ice Films or the stuff on the third party repos out there.
Apparently, people use different applications for different things.
Weird…
Don’t install 16.5.1 just yet there have been reports of it non-working with nothing but a black screen and crashing. See issue #570 from SPMC GitHub below.
https://github.com/koying/SPMC/issues
Anecdotal, but sideloading it over Koying’s initial test version of 16.5.1 (which was sideloaded over the release version of 16.5.1) has been completely successful for me on a Fire Gen 2.
No problems with the GUI coming up.
Dolby and DTS passthough works fine.
And 4k switching works great.
So power-users (IOW everyone here, since only people capable of understanding sideloading would even have SPMC on their Fire TV/Stick) needn’t fear 16.5.1. If, for some reason, it doesn’t work, just sideload the previous version.
Isn’t freedom grand? Seriously, you bought this instead of an Apple TV, or even a Roku for a reason. Take advantage of it.
Sigh, per usual, typing faster than I’m thinking: “16.5.1 (which was sideloaded over the release version of 16.5.1)”
is actually: “16.5.1 (which was sideloaded over the release version of 16.5.0)”
As usual, I stand by the point, but I really will I would have nailed the typing accuracy…
Others had the issue too didn’t matter if it was sideloaded over an existing version or fresh sideload.
Issue #570 existed as testers such as myself and others found the bug and reported it. That’s part of what makes this community great and as a result a new nightly resolved it. Thanks again Koying! You rock!
A new build will probably be released this weekend, but in the meantime the below works as myself and others have tested with success.
Test build in response to issue #570
http://download.semperpax.com/spmc/android-arm/SPMC-20161208-c30bf15-rmdroidloader-armeabi-v7a.apk
Nightlys
http://download.semperpax.com/spmc/android-arm/?C=M;O=D
Everyone have great night.
Koyings fix…
https://github.com/koying/SPMC/issues/570#issuecomment-265964572
Download…
http://download.semperpax.com/spmc/android-arm/SPMC-20161208-c30bf15-rmdroidloader-armeabi-v7a.apk
New build “probably” being released this weekend!
https://github.com/koying/SPMC/issues/570#issuecomment-266031182
I tried to install this via downloader but it says error parsin package
AFTV1 here. 16.5.1 enables 24p refresh rate switching, however the video becomes really jerky and unwatchable, even though the tv reports it’s playing at 24p.
Anyone else have this problem?