Amazon has updated the Silk Browser for Fire TV devices to support 4K video playback on YouTube. The new update, carrying version number 68.2.6.3440.85.30, is starting to roll, but the new version appears to only be rolling out to select devices, as it’s not yet available to all Fire TV models. Read more ›
One of the most interesting things to come from Apple’s announcement of their new Apple TV 4K streaming media player is that they’ll now be selling 4K movies in their iTunes Store at the same price as the HD versions, which is $19.99 or less. That’s usually much less than Amazon’s 4K movie prices, which can sometimes even exceed the movie’s 4K Blu-ray price. Pocket Lint notes that Amazon’s 4K movie prices have now decreased, which is likely a response to Apple’s announcement. I haven’t had the chance to verify the new prices myself, but hopefully, this means that 4K content as a whole, across all digital stores, will no longer demand a premium over their pixel-impaired counterparts.
Apple CEO Tim Cook took the stage today at a special event to announce new Apple products. Among them was the announcement of a new Apple TV capable of 4K video playback at 60 frames per second, as well as HDR video. The new Apple TV supports both of the two most popular HDR standards, HDR10 and Dolby Vision. The new hardware looks exactly like the existing Apple TV and uses the same Siri remote. Read more ›
It took a while, but the NVIDIA Shield TV is now able to stream 4K movies and TV shows from Google Play. Google added 4K content to their marketplace when the Chromecast Ultra debuted last year, but strangley, the new Shield TV didn’t launch with access to that library. That misstep has now been corrected, which adds another 4K source to NVIDIA’s lineup. You can also now cast 4K content to the Shield TV.
The most popular Kodi fork, SPMC, has just been updated to version 16.5.0 with a couple great new Fire TV features. First, Fire TV 2 owners will be happy to learn the app now supports native 4K video playback on their device. The update also adds refresh rate sync, which changes the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick video settings to match the frame rate of the file being played. Both of these features were first introduced on the Fire TV by MrMC, another popular Kodi fork. MrMC being open source was likely a big contributing factor to SPMC adding these features.
To install and try SPMC for yourself, you can follow my sideloading guide, or just use my Downloader app and enter
Google will be holding a hardware focused event on October 4th where, among other devices, they will reportedly reveal a 4K capable Chromecast, according to Android Police. Sources say the device will either be called the Chromecast Plus or Chromecast Ultra, but not much else is known. Given the simple and minimalistic nature of the Chromecast, I’d expect it to function identically to the existing Chromecast, but have the horsepower to decode 2160p streaming video.
Google will reportedly also “fully detail” the Google Home speaker, which is their competitor to the Amazon Echo. Additionally, they will reveal two new flagship phones, called the Pixel and Pixel XL, instead of Nexus branded phones like they usually do, and Google’s VR headset, called the Daydream View.
Based on this news of a 4K Chromecast, the likelihood that Amazon will be announcing a 4K Fire TV Stick soon has just shot up from unlikely to pretty likely in my book.
SPMC, one of the most popular Kodi forks, has added support for 4K playback and refresh rate switching on the Amazon Fire TV to a new test version. MrMC was the first to bring these much sought after features to the Fire TV, and now SPMC is following suit. There are still some bugs to workout, but if you’d like to try it out on your own device, you can find the latest test version here. You can install this test version alongside the stable SPMC version, without overriding or effecting an existing SPMC installation, because the two versions have different package names, and will therefore be treated as two different apps by the Fire TV.
When all the bugs are worked out, the final version with 4K and refresh rate switching support on the Fire TV will be version 16.5.0, so keep an eye out for that if you would rather wait for the stable public version. If you have the means, please consider donating to koying, the sole developer of SPMC, to thank him for his continued support of Fire TV devices.
MrMC, the only forked version of Kodi in the official Fire TV appstore, has just been updated to version 2.4 with a bunch of great new features. For starters, MrMC can now run at a resolution of 2160p, making it the first Fire TV app capable of playing local 4K content at full resolution. The update also brings true support for refresh rate switching to the Fire TV for the first time. This is a feature that home theater enthusiasts have been begging for ever since the Fire TV first launched, and even Amazon’s own video player doesn’t support it. With refresh rate switching enabled, MrMC will automatically change the Fire TV’s refresh rate to match the frame rate of the video being played. This greatly reduces or entirely eliminates visual artifacts caused by 3:2 pulldown and screen tearing. As if 4K support and refresh rate switching weren’t enough, the new update also adds a built in Plex client, as well as a LightEffects client to support Ambilight-style LED lighting. Read more ›
Ever since the Fire TV 2 first launched, its 4K capabilities have been limited to video playback. Apps like Netflix display their interface at 1080p to take advantage of the 60fps framerate, which results in a smoother navigation experience, while switching to 4K only when a video is played. This is because 4K output on the Fire TV 2 is limited to 30fps, which could result in a stuttery feeling interface if it were used all the time for an app with many moving elements. It appears that, with the new 5.2.1.0 software update, developers can now choose to display their apps in 4K all the time if they wish. The newly updated YouTube app, which now supports 4K content, is the first Fire TV app to opt for an always-4K approach. Read more ›
UltraFlix has just released their new app for the Amazon Fire TV. The service claims to have the worlds largest library of streaming 4K Ultra HD content. Their content library consists of native digital 4K titles, which they label as “Platinum” titles, film scanned in 4K, which are labeled “Gold”, and 1080p movies upconverted to 4K, which are given a “Silver” designation. Currently, the service only offers rentals, but plans to offer purchases and is considering a Netflix-style subscription model. Rental prices range from $1.99 to $9.99. Purchased content will range from $9.99 to $24.99. The app is only available on the new 4K capable 2nd-generation Fire TV.
It appears UltraFlix does not correctly switch into 2160p resolution when playing 4K content. This means, until the app gets fixed, it only outputs in 1080p. Thanks Vulcan195 for the heads up!
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