Jump to content
C4 Forums | Control4

PSA: All FireTV's using the Control4 Driver are about to break


msgreenf

Recommended Posts

20 hours ago, alanchow said:

This isn’t entirely true.  Our Kodi full driver supports the irusb however we also have a dedicated IRUSB driver.  The main differences are

• specific amazon fire tv, nvidia shield, Foxtel now, android icons

• we use our own mini driver scheme which also allows for custom ones to be built by anyone

• we have automatic room on / off for audio detection which is extremely useful for things like auto room upon google cast or google home activation.

https://www.chowmainsoft.com/irusb-control4

Well I'm proven wrong 😅

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Replies 95
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Well to anyone considering a Roku as a replacement who hasn't used one before, I can confirm the IP driver works a charm and the channels mini drivers are great (especially the way they come in a channels menu instead of filling up the Watch list like the Fire TV mini drivers did).

However the "prime video" app is disappointing. The interface is super ugly, and loading is much slower than on the Fire TV. Interestingly it has a "prime" category that filters out everything that costs money, which is something the real Fire TV interface has always lacked.

It's a shame because the main Roku interface is lovely. I guess they don't design the apps themselves, or they haven't touched them in a long time.

I am using an old device (2XS) so maybe the new ones are different.

 

Once my flirc arrives I'll probably go back to my gen1 4k Fire TV box.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

49 minutes ago, Gary Leeds UK said:

We have two 1 Gen 4K Boxes how dose the flirc Work ? 

It seems a bit odd at first but once you get your head around it its very simple. You are basically assigning IR codes to operate the Fire TV, since it doesn't have its own.

First you plug the flirc into your computer use their software to choose what device you want to use it with (Fire TV)

You then map some IR commands to each function. Any commands you want. So you could use a TV remote or whatever. You need any device that has all the same commands. An old Apple TV remote at first seems ideal (because then you could use the C4 ATV IR driver) but it isn't quite right because there's no hamburger button or separate back/home. Actually a DVD remote is a good bet.

When it's done, stick the flirc in the back of the Fire TV and whichever remote you used to program will operate it via IR. Good idea to test that.

After that is the C4 part, you would create a driver and learn from that same remote. If you used a remote that already has a C4 driver you could probably skip that, but I prefer to be absolutely sure I'm mapping the right controls to the right places. OH and you'll need to stick an IR bud onto the flirc of course!

 

Sounds long winded, but it's really not. Not the second time, anyway :)

 

Apparently you also need to turn OFF adb debugging in the Fire TV settings.

I hope they haven't cut off this control method too, I haven't seen any reports to suggest so. I know we have a very vocal customer who has one of these running so I think I would have heard by now ;) and a 'true blue' friend of mine says he always uses the flirc method for Fire TVs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, timbooo said:

It seems a bit odd at first but once you get your head around it its very simple. You are basically assigning IR codes to operate the Fire TV, since it doesn't have its own.

First you plug the flirc into your computer use their software to choose what device you want to use it with (Fire TV)

You then map some IR commands to each function. Any commands you want. So you could use a TV remote or whatever. You need any device that has all the same commands. An old Apple TV remote at first seems ideal (because then you could use the C4 ATV IR driver) but it isn't quite right because there's no hamburger button or separate back/home. Actually a DVD remote is a good bet.

When it's done, stick the flirc in the back of the Fire TV and whichever remote you used to program will operate it via IR. Good idea to test that.

After that is the C4 part, you would create a driver and learn from that same remote. If you used a remote that already has a C4 driver you could probably skip that, but I prefer to be absolutely sure I'm mapping the right controls to the right places. OH and you'll need to stick an IR bud onto the flirc of course!

 

Sounds long winded, but it's really not. Not the second time, anyway :)

 

Apparently you also need to turn OFF adb debugging in the Fire TV settings.

I hope they haven't cut off this control method too, I haven't seen any reports to suggest so. I know we have a very vocal customer who has one of these running so I think I would have heard by now ;) and a 'true blue' friend of mine says he always uses the flirc method for Fire TVs.

Cheers, 

Need to have a chat with dealer- We can not make Drivers- Look pretty straight forward thank you 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Gary Leeds UK said:

Cheers, 

Need to have a chat with dealer- We can not make Drivers- Look pretty straight forward thank you 

Then you can do it the other way around. Pick a DVD player driver from the C4 database, add it to the project, call it Amazon Fire. Use the commands from that driver to teach the flirc while it's in your laptop (stick the bud on and press the button flirc setup asks for) then move it to the Fire TV and away you go. I guess still need a dealer unless you've got your hands on composer pro.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/18/2018 at 8:35 PM, Gary Leeds UK said:

We have two 1 Gen 4K Boxes how dose the flirc Work ? 

flirc is like an infra-red controlled version of the videostorm irusb so rather than controlled by IP it is controlled via IR.  Essentially they are both USB-HID based devices with external control.

Note that it is one way control only whereas the IRUSB device provides feedback when audio is detected (useful for automatically turning the room on upon things like Google Cast) and does not provide app based launching.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/19/2018 at 8:24 AM, Gary Leeds UK said:

Cheers, 

Need to have a chat with dealer- We can not make Drivers- Look pretty straight forward thank you 

I just did my FLIRC installation today, I think perhaps I can describe the method a bit better now.

I installed a Sony BDP-S350* driver into the project, and renamed it "Amazon Fire". You can use something else, but I can vouch for this one working well.
Make the relevant connections - the HDMI out and (importantly) the IR.
Glue the IR bud to the FLIRC, and put the FLIRC into a laptop and load up the software.
Turn on the C4 system with the new "Amazon Fire" as the source (which is actually the Sony IR bluray driver).
In the FLIRC software, go through the wizard steps to assign IR codes to the Fire TV functions. Use your SR-260 / 250 for this part, so the buttons will definitely map correctly.
(I chose a bluray driver because it has all the correct buttons)

That's it. Now stick the FLIRC in the back of the Fire TV and it will magically work.

 

 

NB: When the wizard is finished you can actually add extra codes to each command, for example I gave the Fire TV "HOME" command to both the "MENU" and "GUIDE" buttons on the remote. Likewise I set "BACK" to both "CANCEL" and "PREV". To do that, just click on the button in the FLIRC UI and press another button on the remote. It might say "already assigned" just say ok.

edit: and assign both "play" and "pause" buttons to "play" on the fire remote.

 

 

* you won't get a nice Fire TV icon. In theory one could make a new driver with the same codes and a Fire TV icon but I don't use touchscreens so I don't care.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Amazon pushes in phases. So even if you don't see it it may come. What version are you on and what version hardware?

I'm really confused because my FireTV driver is still working and I'm on the latest firmware. 


Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, cdepaola said:

I'm really confused because my FireTV driver is still working and I'm on the latest firmware. 

Are you sure you're actually using the IP driver. If you have a dealer install you might already have a flirc or something.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/27/2018 at 10:39 PM, timbooo said:

Are you sure you're actually using the IP driver. If you have a dealer install you might already have a flirc or something.

I use 4 Amazon Fire TV's (in the UK) and they all stopped working yesterday. Looks like the latest firmware roll-out is somewhat staggered. Found this thread after spending several hours trying to "debug" the issue at home; absolutely furious.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Irusb or roku. If you want to switch to Irusb I can install the driver for you

I use 4 Amazon Fire TV's (in the UK) and they all stopped working yesterday. Looks like the latest firmware roll-out is somewhat staggered. Found this thread after spending several hours trying to "debug" the issue at home; absolutely furious.


Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/27/2018 at 5:39 PM, timbooo said:

Are you sure you're actually using the IP driver. If you have a dealer install you might already have a flirc or something.

It has been a slow rollout based on serial number. I had 2 and both were as up to date as they could be and one was further and broken the other was 1 version back and worked. Got 2 IRUSB's this week and fixed them

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.