Sunday, December 28, 2014

Ad free Hulu on your FIRE TV!


This does NOT require root, it only uses Amazon officially allowed sideloading!

You need to take a few simple steps, details are below, but I'll give you a quick over-view:
Install a windows program that Google wrote to talk to Android devices (adb.exe)
Use adb to push over Kodi (XBMC) as an Android apk
Use adb to push over the USTV zip file
Follow my previous instructions to configure Kodi (XBMC)

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Follow this guy's instructions to sideload XBMC onto your fire TV
    1. NOTE: he doesn't specify, but you should  download Kodi (XBMC) from here (get the ARM version)
    2. Don't forget to install llamaClassic TV and follow these instructions to put a shortcut to Kodi (XBMC) on your home screen
  2. Download USTV-VoD to your computer. Put it somewhere you'll remember.  
  3. Open up a cmd window and enter these commands (similar to what you did to sideload, but these are 'pushes'). If you have your USTV repository zip in a file path with a space, you'll need to surround that command with quotes:   
    1. adb kill-server
    2. adb start-server
    3. adb connect FireTVIPAddressv 
      1. Example: adb connect 192.168.0.101
    4. adb push "local PC filepath" "Fire TV folder"
      1. Example1 : adb push "c:\users\Hot Mess\ustv-vod.zip" /sdcard/Download
      2. Example 2: adb push c:\downloads\ustv-vod.zip  /sdcard/Download
  4. NOW, follow the instructions on my previous blog post starting on Step 3 to install and configure USTV-VOD!
    1. NOTE: you'll find the zip file you pushed over under "Install from File System / Root Filesystem / SDCARD / Download"

Make it Awesome!

  1. Make a easy shortcut to Kodi (XBMC) (follow these instructions)
  2. Genesis - Kodi Add-on for Movies and much more. Install this repo as a source and add it. Then go to video add ons, all add ons and find Genesis.
  3. SportsDevil - Kodi Add-on for sports. Install this by pushing with adb (as detailed above). Add from zip just like USTV. NOTE: You have to install this zip file twice. The first time it loads some generic item (I missed the name, icon is a box). The second time you install from zip, you see the sports devil. Strange but it's behaved the same way twice for me...
  4. SNES Emulator - get the plus Android version to play Super Nintendo! Sideload just like you did XBMC (I used the app Space Shooter for the dummy shortcut b/c it looks like an old-school game) 

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

New way to watch Ad Free!

So, the original way I posted to do this, Bluecop's Hulu add-on, seems to have died. Hulu has been switching the way they deliver their shows around a bit and there is not really any more active development on Bluecop. So, on to the next solution - USTV-VoD!

USTV-VoD (quite a mouthful) is an aggregator that has links to all the networks and the shows they have online. Using USTV-VoD points your XBMC at the network's shows on their webpages - almost all these show have zero commercials!

Note on setting your Favorites:
Once you've followed the instructions below to install USTV-VoD into XBMC you'll want to configure it with your favorite shows. I used my Hulu queue to figure out what networks my shows were on, then when I found the show just right click on it and Add to USTV-VOD favorites & right click again and Add to Favorites. Once it's in your favorites it's easy to find.

To figure out what network a show is on, click the show's image in your queue. Don't click the play button (click the green areas shown, not the red X).


Installing USTV-VoD 

This process is almost the same as installing Blue Cop, so if you'd followed the old method you're already a pro and this should be cake!
  1. Download and install XBMC.
  2. While this is installing, download USTV-VoD, you'll install it in a bit.
  3. Run XBMC. Go to System/Settings/Add-ons/Install from zip File. Navigate to where you downloaded USTV-VoD. Choose it (repository.xbmcplus.xbmc-plugins-1.2.zip) and it will be unzipped and installed.
  4. Once that is done, enter Get Add-ons (in the Add-ons menu). Choose the xbmcplus Add-on Repository (if nothing shows, right click and choose "Check for updates". Then right click and choose "Force refresh") Choose Video Add-ons. Choose USTV-VoD - click Install. This can take a bit of time b/c it'll download the extension from the repository.
  5. Now you have to make it so that you will have a way to choose USTV-VoD from the home screen. Hit ESC or Backspace till you get to the home screen, then go to System. 
  6. Go to Appearance, on the Skin menu, click settings (2nd one down).
  7. Go to the Add-on section of the skin settings and under home page video submenu click the #1(in my example I used #3) slot and add in USTV-VoD 

  8. Now you should see the USTV-VoD logo on your home page. Enjoy.

Hints:



Tuesday, October 15, 2013

How to watch Hulu without ads


There is a lot of really crappy advice out there to switch out your DNS so you have to sit through 30 seconds of silence while you don't watch Hulu ads. Three things about that advice that are stupid; 1 - your DNS is now altered for EVERYTHING you hit on the internet not just Hulu, 2 - the ads are almost always shorter than 30 seconds so you spend MORE time watching a black screen, and 3 - Hulu doesn't get ad revenue for showing you the ads, making it more likely Hulu goes out of business and we have to go back to trying to find some pirated version of the show that wants to give us a virus...

The real way to watch Hulu without commercials is to use XBMC and Blue Cop. It's a free media center program, orginally made for the XBox but now ported to everything.

So, XBMC is a *bit* hard to understand at first. This is because it's not a program designed to be used with a keyboard and mouse, it's to be used with a remote control. This design works well with a remote but takes a bit of getting used to with a keyboard. Just remember to use Esc and Backspace to back out of wherever you end up :). The other shortcut key you'll want for XBMC is the backslash ( \ ) above the Enter key. That changes from fullscreen to window mode.
  1. Download and install XBMC.
  2. While this is installing, download Blue Cop, you'll install it in a bit.
  3. Run XBMC. Go to System/Settings/Add-ons/Install from zip File. Navigate to where you downloaded Blue Cop. Choose bluecop and it will be unzipped and installed.
  4. Once that is done, enter Get Add-ons (in the Add-ons menu). Choose the Blue Cop Repository/Video Add-ons/Hulu. Choose to install it. This takes a bit of time because it will download the Hulu code.
  5. Once Hulu is installed, choose configure. Make all the commercial options ZERO (like the image). Now, the extension will pre-roll the ads for you, showing the ads as 'viewed' by Hulu's servers so they get credit for displaying the ad to the user (so Hulu gets paid) but you don't have to sit through them. You can also enter your Hulu login details so that you'll be able to see your queue. You can have it remove watched items from your queue if you want from here also.
  6. Now you have to make it so that you will have a way to choose Hulu from the home screen. Hit ESC or Backspace till you get to the home screen, then go to System. 
  7. Go to Appearance, on the Skin menu, click settings (2nd one down).
  8. Go to the Add-on section of the skin settings and under home page video submenu click the #1 slot and add in Hulu.
  9. Now you should see the Hulu logo on your home page. Enjoy.