Sunday, January 1, 2017

VLC for Fire TV

Amazon Fire TV stick 2016 with VLC

Stream wireless audio/video to TV from computer!
Plays virtually any valid file format!
Excellent quality video, audio, sync, even subtitles!

Several good network video streaming solutions are available (see Wireless HDTV Video) with the primary purpose of delivering content from the Internet, but streaming of local content (cell phone video, camera video, and other files) tends to be more difficult, often involving server software (e.g., Plex) on a computer, a problem for less technical users.

What tends to work better for most people is a TV-centric (client-centric) solution rather than a server-centric solution, where the TV is used to select and play content files. That's now possible with the advent of VLC Media Player for Amazon Fire TV and stick. VLC is an excellent free and open source app that can handle virtually any valid file format.

Installing VLC can be a bit tricky since VLC for Fire is not yet listed in the Amazon Appstore on the new 2016 Amazon Fire TV stick, which means you have to sideload VLC for Android (on which Fire TV is based):
  1. Download the latest ARMv7 of VLC for Android here.
    (Look for small APK package link below Play and Fire buttons.)
  2. Follow the instructions in How to Sideload Fire TV Apps.
    (If you have an Android phone, that method is probably the easiest.)
The second part of the process is to enable file sharing on a Windows and/or Mac computer, and share folders in which you will place files for streaming by VLC on your Fire TV.
To play files from your Fire TV:
  1. Start the VLC app.
  2. Select Browsing.
  3. Select Local Network.
  4. Select source network device (computer, network storage).
  5. Navigate to the audio or video file you want to play.
If you need help, try VLC for Android and Chrome OS Forum.

Tip: Fire TV is a great way to "cut the cord" (cable) with the excellent Sony PlayStation Vue service.
 
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24 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 26, 2017 at 3:14 PM

    Thanks a lot for this post.

    Is there any reason you know of why VLC is not listed in the app store for the 2016 Fire TV Stick? Is it just a matter of the team checking a checkbox in the publish options? Or is Amazon blocking it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John NavasJanuary 26, 2017 at 5:48 PM

      My guess is that the VLC team hasn't yet added it to the list of supported devices, but I don't know that for sure.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousAugust 2, 2017 at 3:34 PM

    When I navigate to where my file are stored, VLC wants UN and PW. When I put them in ... nothing. Goes back to needing UN and PW. Running Mac OSX Server to share the files.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John NavasAugust 2, 2017 at 4:00 PM

      Make your share public (no login). This may help:
      https://computers.tutsplus.com/tutorials/a-beginners-guide-to-os-x-file-sharing--mac-53206

      Delete
    2. AnonymousApril 17, 2018 at 2:10 PM

      Same thing, except I am running Windows 10 home 17.09. Is there an alternative Known solution?

      Delete
    3. John NavasApril 17, 2018 at 3:41 PM

      See http://www.dummies.com/computers/operating-systems/windows-10/how-to-enable-network-discovery-and-configure-sharing-options-in-windows-10/

      Delete
  3. UnknownMarch 7, 2018 at 9:40 AM

    No where to adjust the resolution for live tv

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John NavasMarch 8, 2018 at 7:27 AM

      Resolution is set by negotiation over HDMI automatically, so there's no need for a setting. VLC will then scale video as needed.

      Delete
  4. AnonymousMay 14, 2018 at 1:38 PM

    Struggling to delete files on vlc media player on amazon fire stick. I have tried clearing data from app settings but videos still remain within the app. Need to free space. Can you help?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John NavasMay 15, 2018 at 8:04 AM

      Alas, VLC does not provide a way to delete files.
      If you've saved files to your Fire TV stick that you want to delete, then you need to install and use a file manager.
      ES File Explorer File Manager is one of the most popular, but there are quite a few others.

      Delete
  5. UnknownJanuary 18, 2019 at 7:00 PM

    I am going nuts trying to add my local music drive (on my personal cloud) to the library in VLC for fire (on fire tv gen 2). I have tried every possible format I can think of. Anyone out there know how to do this? What am I missing?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John NavasNovember 2, 2019 at 10:20 AM

      1. What is the "personal Cloud"?
      2. What is the share tech (SMB)?
      3. Can you see and access the share from computers on the network?
      4. Is the share anonymous (no login needed)?
      5. Are VLC and the share on the same network segment?
      What are their addresses?

      Delete
  6. AnonymousNovember 2, 2019 at 9:56 AM

    How do I connect to VLC on firestick using iPhone 11?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John NavasNovember 2, 2019 at 10:33 AM

      What are you trying to do?
      * Control VLC from your phone instead of the remote? Try https://apps.apple.com/us/app/remote-for-fire-stick-tv-app/id1455451935
      * Stream from your phone to VLC? I don't think the iPhone can do network sharing.

      Delete
  7. Talan MannisNovember 11, 2019 at 12:07 AM

    When I go to Local Network, nothing gets loaded. So I got stuck on step 3 regarding playing files on the Fire TV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John NavasNovember 11, 2019 at 7:10 AM

      Sounds like you do not have proper anonymous file sharing enabled. Go back over that part of it, and test it from some other device.

      Delete
  8. AnonymousDecember 2, 2019 at 7:26 AM

    loaded VLC onto my Firestick. Problem is that there is no top bar listing Media Playback audio video etc. How to add these headings? Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John NavasDecember 2, 2019 at 7:54 AM

      Click the "hamburger" menu icon at top left,
      and a menu bar should appear on the left.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousJuly 4, 2023 at 11:52 AM

      There is no hamburger on firestick

      Delete
    3. John NavasJuly 4, 2023 at 4:30 PM

      See https://www.vlchelp.com/android-complete-guide/

      Delete
  9. UnknownJuly 24, 2020 at 6:57 AM

    Do you need a computer to use vlc player?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John NavasJuly 24, 2020 at 9:15 AM

      As this post explains, VLC can run on Fire TV. It can also run on many other platforms: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/

      Delete
  10. AnonymousFebruary 13, 2021 at 4:28 PM

    thanks, this helped me a lot

    ReplyDelete

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