Firestick Max?

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JimSoft
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Firestick Max?

Post by JimSoft »

Hi,

I've been looking for a suitable frontend system for my lounge as I'm fed up with a clunky old full sized PC. I want to run the full Mythfrontend as I have not got on with Kodi when I've tried it at various times over the years. I use a backend recording Freeview and Freesat here in England.

From research here I've decided an Nvidia TV shield would be the best option rather than the older Firestick 4K.

Has anyone tested the latest Firestick Max? Which version of TV shield is the best value for Mythtv? They seem to fetch a lot of coin on a well known auction site. I believe the 2019 tube version is not good for some reason.

Thanks for your help, Graham.
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jfabernathy
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Re: Firestick Max?

Post by jfabernathy »

I have both the 2017 Nvidia Shield TV and the new FIreTV 4K Max. I've been spending the last 2 weeks trying to see which I like better.

They are both good at Streaming services and mythtv frontend. Some random thoughts:

1. The Shield TV is way more expensive, 64 bits and faster, but does that really matter to the viewing experince?

2. Since the Shield has ethernet, wifi issues are never a problem. (but I have the ethernet adapter for my FireTV, $15 extra)

3. USB on the Shield helps in file transfer, but I use adb for sideloading so it really only helps for media. It can hurt if executing from the USB so don't load apps there.

4. The Shield has frame rate matching issues that have been a problem for years and they never seem to find a solution. The beta stuff doesn't work. For me that means I can't watch UK produced media smoothly because my TV is at 60Hz.

5. The remote for the Shield TV 2017 version sucks.

6. Other than mythfrontend app start up time I don't see much to criticize about the FireTV 4K Max.

7. Since the FireTV 4K Max is way cheaper, I'd go that way. I'm tired of having to find streaming apps to side load because the service doesn't support Nvidia Shield.

Since I'm on USA OTA 1080i/720p 60/30 fps content, I can only give you opinions about that. Starting next week, I'm going to pull the Shield TV out of my media room and see if I really miss it and just use the FireTV 4K Max.

BTW, my wife uses the FireTV 4K non-max and has no complaints but she does not run Mythfrontend like I do. She uses Leanfront only for mythtv and streaming apps for everything else.
jksj
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Re: Firestick Max?

Post by jksj »

Both the FIreTV 4K Max and the FIreTV 4K but not the FIreTV lite work fine for UK TV.
I also have a Shield Tv and agree with all of jfabernathy points in the previous post.
My Shield tv is the 2019 version and i am sticking with it because I prefer the remote to the Firestick one, which feels very cheap.
The F4k is clearly better value for money though.
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jfabernathy
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Re: Firestick Max?

Post by jfabernathy »

To get around the remote issues I have had for years a Logitech Harmony Smart Hub system and I can make that remote with all it's buttons conform to either the Nvidia Shield TV or the FireTV.

One of the reasons I want to standardize on the FireTV remote, though, is my wife can use it and it does 90% of what you needs for watching TV. I also have a Bluetooth keyboard, old iMac one, paired to the FireTV for extra stuff like editing videos which only I do.

I have a Powerpoint presentation to explain how our media system is hooked up and how to use it but I can't get her to sit through it. :lol:

Jim A
JimSoft
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Re: Firestick Max?

Post by JimSoft »

Thanks for the info, very helpful. I have a few more newbie questions as I've obviously never owned either of these devices.

Is it possible to get either to boot straight to the myth frontend, I have googled the firestick and I see 3rd party loaders are available but I'm not sure how far this can go.

I obviously only intend to use it for mythtv so could this give me a slick system? e.g. could I just turn on my TV, select the relevant HDMI input and begin using the myth FE? Maybe this is answered in the previous question but I guess this is dependent on startup time.

Can I use any old remote? I have bought two fairly generic USB remotes off the bay, they function just fine with my FE/BE and standalone FE boxes running Ubuntu.

At the moment after the advice given here I'm best off with a firestick max and the ethernet adapter.

Thanks again, Graham.
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jfabernathy
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Re: Firestick Max?

Post by jfabernathy »

JimSoft wrote:
Fri Oct 29, 2021 2:56 pm

Is it possible to get either to boot straight to the myth frontend, I have googled the firestick and I see 3rd party loaders are available but I'm not sure how far this can go.

I obviously only intend to use it for mythtv so could this give me a slick system? e.g. could I just turn on my TV, select the relevant HDMI input and begin using the myth FE? Maybe this is answered in the previous question but I guess this is dependent on startup time.
Not my use case, so I can not help you with that.
JimSoft wrote:
Fri Oct 29, 2021 2:56 pm
Can I use any old remote? I have bought two fairly generic USB remotes off the bay, they function just fine with my FE/BE and standalone FE boxes running Ubuntu.
There is no standard USB port on the firestick, so no generic USB remotes. You can pair 3rd party Bluetooth keyboards and remotes.
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paulh
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Re: Firestick Max?

Post by paulh »

It's a while since they used it but when I wanted to setup a simple system for my parents using a cheap Firestick I went down the route of using one of the 3rd party loaders which was a lot simpler for them to use and avoided them seeing the paid for content which Amazon bombard you with on the official loader. It was a little ugly but easy to use. It didn't start the frontend automatically on start but it was only one button click away and it also allowed them to use other stuff like the BBC iPlayer.

In the end we gave up on it it was a pain to maintain and would often revert back to the Amazon loader. I guess they want to sell you their content and don't wont you to use another loader? In the end we use Intel NUC type frontends which are a little more expensive but a lot quicker and can be easily customized to boot straight into your frontend of choice :)

I would say if you do go the Firestick route unless you have very good wifi I would get the wired network adapter otherwise you can run into some problems.
JimSoft
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Re: Firestick Max?

Post by JimSoft »

Thanks for all the input.

Paul, this was just the kind of scenario I was trying to avoid. All I want is a quick and easy full frontend system. I foolishly rushed out and bought a Pi4 without any research and while it's excellent for everything else it's really poor for MythTV. Runs Kodi OK but I just don't like it, who ever thought that interface and general operation was good clearly wasn't on the same page as me. Which NUC did your parents settle on?

Thanks, Graham.
gedakc
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Re: Firestick Max?

Post by gedakc »

Though I have yet to try it myself, there is a promising thread describing good results with Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit and mythtv.

Longer term it looks like the folks are Raspberry Pi Foundation are working towards RPi4 deinterlaced support.
JimSoft
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Re: Firestick Max?

Post by JimSoft »

Jim, I've just seen the thread about your troubles with the Fire TV Cube. Was the only issue you had to do with the zoom function? I know you sent it back for a refund but do you know if that was ever cured?
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jfabernathy
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Re: Firestick Max?

Post by jfabernathy »

JimSoft wrote:
Tue Nov 02, 2021 12:41 pm
Jim, I've just seen the thread about your troubles with the Fire TV Cube. Was the only issue you had to do with the zoom function? I know you sent it back for a refund but do you know if that was ever cured?
That was the only issue I found with Mythtv.. It was a good decision, now that the Max is here.
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