Files no longer supported on VLC on Firestick

[Panny]

Recent change and cannot say with which version of UMS. I have a Firestick 4k connected to my TV with a fixed IP address using VLC. VLC is now showing empty folders in the UMS directories and seems files like *.mkv are no longer supported, while *.mp4 are. UMS Status tab is showing 'Unknown renderer' with the Firestick 4k IP address. All files accessible and playable via Windows SMB in VLC on the Firestick 4k.

I created a configuration file for the Unknown renderer using the 'Amazon-FireTVStick-VimuPlayer.conf' as a reference (attached), which is then saved in the ProgramData/UMS/renderers folder, however, when restarting UMS, this configuration is not recognised. Not recognised if I place it in the main program renderers folder either.

Can I add the IP address of the Firestick 4k to the attached configuration file (and where) to force the configuration file to apply to that IP address? If yes, where should this configuration file be saved?

Thanks

[mik_s]

Your custom conf would never be used as is has nothing to match to

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RendererName = UnknownRenderer

# ============================================================================
# This renderer has sent the following string/s:
#
# User-Agent: Linux/4.4.120+, UPnP/1.0, Portable SDK for UPnP devices/17.2.0
# Soapaction: "urn:schemas-upnp-org:service:ContentDirectory:1#Browse"
# ============================================================================

UserAgentSearch = 
UserAgentAdditionalHeader = 
UserAgentAdditionalHeaderSearch = 

If you had used the "customise this device" button on the old GUI it should have added "Device = " and the UUID or IP of that renderer to that conf for you to edit.


I don't see anything in your logs about the Firestick. There is something on 192.168.0.5 that cannot be identified, something about Android.

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  User-Agent: Dalvik/2.1.0 (Linux; U; Android 7.1.2; AFTMM Build/NS6711)

The existing Firestick conf looks for GTVMediaPlayer to match on.
If this IP is your Firestick then it might have had its firmware updated so UMS can no longer match it and the conf would need to be updated.

I suggest you delete this conf you made then copy the Amazon-FireTVStick-VimuPlayer.conf to C:\ProgramData\UMS\renderers and rename it.
Edit UserAgentSearch = to something like AFTMM Build, hopefully this is unique enough to only match this stick but would still work if the build number changes on FW update.
You should also change the RendererName to something unique it can stop the WebUI from displaying if there is a duplicate, and you will be able to see if UMS is using your conf.

I don't know if your Firestick is the same version as what this conf was made for so the supported formats may not be the same.
This may require you to do some testing and tweaking yourself to get it working properly so everything it can play natively won't get transcoded.

If this is not the Firestick it may not be on the same subnet of your network so UMS cannot see it.
The only other device I see is a Panasonic TV.

[Panny]

Thanks @mik_s

Tried your suggestion and the configuration file is not picked up, even added 'Device = 192.168.0.5'.

Firestick-4k.conf

(3.7 KiB) Downloaded 910 times

ums_dbg_2026-03-22-10-52.zip

(1.54 MiB) Downloaded 1046 times

If I use the default Amazon profile for unknown renderers (i.e. when detection fails) in 'Settings' then the folders in VLC show all the files but they no longer play and the 'Status' is showing an orange line under the Unknown renderer (192.168.0.5) as though transcoding. Want to upload the debug file showing this but it is too large.

Never mind, will see if older version of UMS works, and if not, just use SMB.

[mik_s]

An older version of UMS would behave the same way. It is the conf that tells UMS what it can play.

If you delete the "UpnpDetailsSearch = GTVMediaPlayer" line it should work.

Having both UserAgentSearch and UpnpDetailsSearch set UMS has to match both too, but that Firestick does not use GTVMediaPlayer in its header it will not match.

When a renderer is undetected it will have some basic support but most videos will be transcoded to allow more devices, especially older ones, to be able to play something.

There is no transcoding profile set so is using the default MPEGPS-MPEG2-AC3. I suggest you use h264 for HD or h265 for 4K
You can set the profile with the option

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TranscodeVideo = 

You will have to try out which one works best for you. The options are in the DefaultRenderer.conf

Trying to transcode 4K takes a lot of processing power so will often fail.
If you have a GPU you can enable GPU acceleration and the acceleration method for h264 and h265 in transcoding and FFmpeg settings.

Ideally though you want to try and avoid transcoding as much as possible.
Since that conf was originally not for the 4k stick you will have to add some more settings to tell UMS it can stream.

Looking at what UMS decides I can see bit depth is one problem

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The video bit depth "10" is not supported for this filetype, or all filetypes

The default resolution is also an issue to for 4K

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Resolution 2160x3840 is too high for this renderer, which supports up to 1920x1080

You should add

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SupportedVideoBitDepths = 8,10,12
MaxVideoWidth = 3840
MaxVideoHeight = 2160

to fix these.

As I am not sure the supported formats in that conf matched your Firestick UMS may still transcode videos that would play natively or try to stream unsupported ones.
To test you should play from the #--TRANSCODE--# folder (you can enable it in settings if hidden) and chose "no transcoding", this will send the video unaltered.
If it plays then you can add that format to the conf, or if it does not then remove it.
It is trial and error and something you have to do yourself. Having a manual that lists what it can play helps too.
If you search the logs for "Final verdict:" when in trace mode and scroll up a little it will tell you why it thinks that video should be streamed or transcoded.

Hopefully not much has changed between the Firestick versions so you may not have to do this.


Another factor is your network speed is too slow for some videos so UMS tries to transcode to reduce the quality so at least it should play.

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Renderer UnknownRenderer has an estimated network speed of 8.596606227039063 Mb/s
File "The Band.mp4" will not be streamed because the bitrate (10243474 b/s) is too high (8000000 b/s).

I assume this is the firestick as it is unknown. There is another unknownRenderer with a speed of 182mb/s which I think is your router.
See if you can improve this. The closer to the router and in line of sight is better for Wifi.
I don't think you can use a wired connection to a Firestick which would be the best option.

[Panny]

Tried the revised configuration file and same issue.

As VLC natively supports all of these file formats, I disabled all transcoding in UMS and now everything works as before, Suspect this will screw up any devices on the local area network that need certain file formats transcoded, but I will deal with that issue later.

Thanks for your help with this.

[mik_s]

You would be better off using a VLC conf instead of the Firestick one. I did not know that the VLC app ran on it.
If the capabilities of that Firestick is the same as desktop VLC then it should work once you change the UserAgentSearch

Maybe this one will work better.

Firestick-4K-VLC.conf

(1.69 KiB) Downloaded 877 times

If that does not work, if you do logs I will be able to see why.

If you disable all transcoding then this would also prevent the web player from working if you ever want to use it.

[Panny]

You would be better off using a VLC conf instead of the Firestick one. I did not know that the VLC app ran on it.
If the capabilities of that Firestick is the same as desktop VLC then it should work once you change the UserAgentSearch

Maybe this one will work better.
Firestick-4K-VLC.conf
If that does not work, if you do logs I will be able to see why.

If you disable all transcoding then this would also prevent the web player from working if you ever want to use it.

Thanks for providing the configuration file (saved in C:\ProgramData\UMS\renderers), however, issue remains. Unknown renderer at 192.168.0.5, and most folders showing as empty on the VLC app on the Firestick (*.mp4 showing but not *.mkv). Transcoding enabled.

[mik_s]

OK I think because it was sending 2 different User-Agent headers only the first one received was being matched but that one is very generic so did not try to use it before.

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User-Agent: Linux/4.4.120+, UPnP/1.0, Portable SDK for UPnP devices/17.2.0
User-Agent: Dalvik/2.1.0 (Linux; U; Android 7.1.2; AFTMM Build/NS6711)

I have added something that should match the first one too but I suspect if it ever has a firmware update this would change and has a possibility of matching other devices too.

Firestick-4K-VLC.conf

(1.72 KiB) Downloaded 980 times

[Panny]

OK I think because it was sending 2 different User-Agent headers only the first one received was being matched but that one is very generic so did not try to use it before.

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User-Agent: Linux/4.4.120+, UPnP/1.0, Portable SDK for UPnP devices/17.2.0
User-Agent: Dalvik/2.1.0 (Linux; U; Android 7.1.2; AFTMM Build/NS6711)

I have added something that should match the first one too but I suspect if it ever has a firmware update this would change and has a possibility of matching other devices too.
Firestick-4K-VLC.conf

That one did the trick, you're a star! Thanks for all your help with this and pointers what to look for if the firmware changes.