Kindle Tips: Tubemate and BSPlayer apps - downloading and playing different types of video. Kindle Fire HD 8.9" with 1920x1200 screen resolution starts shipping today.

Images from Pamukkale - I'll explain why in a bit.

I made some neat discoveries yesterday, thanks to Amazon's allowing Kindle Fire HD owners to install Android apps from "unknown sources" -- meaning sources that are not the Amazon store.
 (AFTER getting files from those other sources, I found that Amazon today has the files I wanted, available again, or finally.)

Allowing installation of apps from other sources is a very cool decision for a shopping store like Amazon's.  Barnes and Noble, while having a good device in the Nook Tablet HD, hampered its tablet enormously by not allowing this capability (unless you 'root' the device, which can brick it unless you know what you're doing) and while holding press conferences saying they're more open than Amazon.  Not.

  The Nook's especially hampered, despite the currently best display on a ~7" tablet, since their app store is  lacking, they're rigid about other app sources, and they also neglected to add a camera for Skype'g, so comparison reviews have tended to ignore the tablet, even though the B&N tablet does include a micro SD card slot.

  However, when you cannot add apps that offer quite a bit, it's a real drawback.  I mention this because people often ask why there are fewer reviews of B&N's good HD tablet.  They also don't yet have a very competitive ecosystem for it (no music and a much more limited video collection).

  And, as one reviewer pointed out today (I'll note a few more, recent comparison reviews soon), no other tablet (except the three Kindle Fires) lets you know what actors are in a current scene when you're watching a movie that's been "X-Rayed" with IMDB information.

About the images above.  They're of an unusual place in Pamukkale, Turkey, which I visited back in 2004, and those are terraced calcium pools or travertines near ancient Hierapolis.  "Pamukkale means "cotton castle" and comes from "pamuk" for cotton and "kale" for castle, which refers to the large white cliff of Pamukkale.  For centuries, the thermal waters there have been considered therapeutic.

The beautiful second image above, from the video, is by Gilbert Jottrand.  This blog entry came about because I came across a Youtube video, by Leen Smit, which used a few of my photos (w/ my OK after I heard the flute-like soundtrack used) as well as increasingly better photos which display after mine -- and the last set, by Gilbert Jottrand, is just breathtaking in the way I remember when there, 8 years ago.  The first photos show what the brown-white 'cliffs' were like when seen from a distance while approaching them, as well as the gorgeous colors of the pools up close.  I decided I'd like to have this video on the Kindle Fire HD tablet.

  With this video, which he made in HD, you can use the gear-wheel at bottom right, to choose 1080p  if you have a fast connection and an HD monitor, and choose the largest rectangle for full-screen.  This ran well on my 24" monitor.  Choosing 720p and the 2nd largest rectangle will be good enough for most.

  If interested in more info on these calcium terraces, I have a page about it at PBase.

Viewing Youtube videos
Earlier, Kindle Fire HD owners had problems viewing some Youtube videos because Adobe no longer supports Flash Player for mobile systems, and especially not for systems on the later "Ice Cream Sandwich" Android operating system version, v4.x ... These include the Kindle Fire HD and the Google Nexus.  Youtube changed something and many files were no longer accessible w/o Adobe Flash Player, for a few days.

    If using Amazon's "Silk" browser with Youtube
With the new tablets and with Amazon's Silk browser: -- Unless you set the browser's "Requested website view" to "Automatic" rather than 'desktop' (although 'desktop' is what most of us prefer to see on a non-phone instead of the ugly, plain mobile website versions that 'automatically mobile' can lead you to), Youtube will often require the Adobe Flash Player which doesn't come with the new tablets due to the Adobe decision.
  So, to be sure Youtube works for you, set the Amazon's Silk browser's WEB menu's setting to "auto" -- then it'll show you an alternate HTML5 page that will run the video.

  (Some of us prefer to use the Dolphin browser along with an older Adobe Flash Player file, to make sure we see flash video on all sites that offer it for Android devices.  The guide to doing that is in this blog article.)

  So, because of the music and the other sets of photos shown, I wanted this on my Kindle Fire HD (KFHD), and found that the Tubemate app (which Amazon had said was UNavailable the last 3 days until TODAY) is at Amazon's app store once again! and does a GREAT job of downloading Youtube videoclips to the KFHD, to play when not connected to the Net.

  If, at the time you look for Tubemate, Amazon's app might not be available (as it was not for the last 3 days), you can try Tubemate's other download-site recommendations page (which is a good list of 3rd party app sites, by the way)  at m.tubemate.net/ -- again, it lists a number of 3rd party sites recommended for downloading apps.  We're really not limited to the Amazon store (though uninformed people on many gadget sites like to say so), though it's become a very good source of tested apps for Amazon's own tablets.  So, I am leaving in, here, this quite confusing info on alternative resources.

  Cautions re 3rd party site files
  I am always careful NOT to download a NEWLY-uploaded app file from any 3rd party site (like 1mobile or Getjar) until I see it hasn't given others problems; I wait for reviews to show up.

  That's to avoid possible viruses or non-compatible apps.  Amazon vets its apps heavily for both reasons, but for that reason they're slow to post and don't have as much.  The Google Market or "Play" has had its share of viruses since they don't go through vetting.  Best to wait and let other people take chances. :-)

  I tend to like www.1mobile.com -- and, as is the usual case, they have a "market" or store of apps you can download to get these apps.  They had too many Tubemate files for some reason, probably because Tubemate makers had a new urgent upload-replacement and were placing the alert everywhere and then various people uploaded it to 1mobile (which eventually clears out duplicates) and so the 1mobile site is not on today's Tubemate's verification list.

  BUT they had the other recommended app I just found and love using during a time when Amazon didn't have it (as mentioned, it's back at Amazon though).  BSPlayer FREE.  When you download it, I think it tells you if it needs an additional 'codec' file for whatever device you might be using, but I didn't need one (from what I remember) for the Kindle Fire HD.

  BSPlayer's own website leads you to Google's Play market, which ignores Kindle Fire users as if we don't exist.  So, during the last few days when Amazon didn't have these files available, I used 1mobile.com for files like  this new v1.5.136 version of BSPlayer, called BSPlayer Free there.

  NOW, it's available at Amazon as well, and that's the one you should use.  It's the same version, v1.5.136 though called "BSPlayer Lite."

Why BSPlayer?
The Kindle Fire's built-in video-player officially plays only mp4 format videos.
  And the Mobo Player which USED to be versatile, cannot handle audio well on many of my camera videos, nor can MXPlayer.  But BSPlayer?  No problem with the many files I've tried.  But I've read that those with "MKV" format files have problems with the audio when using BSPlayer.

   BSPlayer supports:

' avi, divx, flv, mkv, mov, mpg, mts, mp4, m4v, rmvb, wmv, 3gp, mp3, ac3... and streaming content such as RTMP, RTSP, MMS (tcp, http), HTTP Live stream, HTTP.

- Multiple audio streams and subtitles.
- Playlist support and various playback modes.
- Playback media files such as videos and mp3's directly via Wi-Fi from your LAN shared drives/folders (such as external USB drives, Samba (SMB/CIFS) shared drives, PC shared folders, NAS servers (Synology and others)) - no need to convert video files and copy media files to SD card anymore!
- Playback files directly from uncompressed RAR files. '

  It's hardware accelerated and works very well with the Kindle Fire HD (I've not tested it on the original Kindle Fire, but Amazon says that it's compatible).
  CAVEAT:  'Hardware rendering" (the default) works well for KFHD, but you need to change the default to "software" decoding on the original first-generation Kindle Fire, which has a different processor and is not High Definition in screen resolution -- it doesn't handle 720p video resolution well.

  Maybe the flash-player problems with Adobe's dropping support is causing no small frustration to tablet buyers re video in general and is leading Amazon to offer more generally good video player alternatives.

  With BSPlayer you can adjust the brightness with a swipe up or down on the left side and can adjust volume with a swipe up and down on the right side, etc.  It has played everything I've thrown at it, flawlessly,  and gives you a lot of file info too.  No other popular video player I tried could play the files from my varying camera video recorders.  If you have HTC devices, read their support notes though.  It's a good idea no matter what device you have, to read an app's support notes, to save some frustration and time.

  With Tubemate, by the way, you can open the "Downloads" video folder and then run BSPlayer from it, and that gives you a nicer overall file-interface as well.  (With BSPlayer, you're dropped into the file system and would need to find the "Video" folder to see the video files.)  But, as ever, when using ANY app, use the rectangular Menu for it and then look through "Preferences" or "Settings" (or both)  to see what needs to be selected.

With TODAY's duo of apps that have been working really well for me (SO much better than Mobo Player), there's no need to use secondary sites.  They're both at Amazon today, so I won't be giving steps on how to install apps from other sources.  But you should get comfortable with a good file-explorer/manager like ES File Explorer  AND,  if you have trouble finding your install (".apk") files, get the Easy Installer, which automatically hunts those down for you (a must-have app).


Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch Tablet Starts to Ship today.
The $299 model with 16 GB storage and the $369 model with 32 GB storage will start shipping tonight, about 5 days earlier than planned.

The 8.9" tablet has a screen resolution of 1920 x 1200, with 254 pixels per inch, and is "Retina" quality, great for reading and HD video.

Unlike other vendors' tablets this has a direct HDMI-out port to any HDTV;
X-Ray for movies, which shows names of actors in a scene, along with bios,
and dual speakers, one on each side of the device when watching videos, with Dolby Plus feature to increase clarity of speech and very good spatial qualities.  No need for headphones or external speakers to hear the output well.

  Other KFHD 8.9" features:
Front-facing camera for Skype; Text-to-Speech; Dual-band, dual-antenna WiFi reviewed as testing more effective for signal strength

The $499 model with 3G/4G LTE cellular network access will ship sometime NEXT week.
These come with 32GB or 64 GB storage
See NOTES to get more details on these two models.

---

Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

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Kindle Tip: (1) An app to use the Kindle Fire HD front-facing camera + (2) the free way to do it, described earlier

On October 19, I included a tip on how to access and use the Kindle Fire HD's front-facing camera, normally used for video chats with friends and family.

 The above image is for a $1.99 app, HD Camera, which will probably be worth it for those who don't want to deal with working with a computer-style file manager -- but if you do, the access to the camera controls is free.

  Another upside to the app, for novices, is continuing support from the app creator, which I'll say more about below.

What follows next is what I described earlier, for those who missed it buried in a large group of tips that included other features.

  First, a Setting that often must be done before doing any of this
(if the app-install files are not from Amazon, but in this case they are):
  Amazon allows users to choose to install apps from "unknown sources" and you can "enable" that (do this only with files recommended by people you trust) by going to the 'Home' screen and swiping down (lightly pressing and pulling down) from the top of the screen, to see the Quick Settings Menu; then click on "More" at the right, and go down that Settings list to "Device" to Check the box to allow installation of applications from 'unknown sources.'

Q: Why can't I use the front-facing camera for anything but Skype?
A: You can, as some popular apps can use the camera and there is a way to open or activate the camera via the versatile and free file manager app, ES File Explorer


There are many Kindle Fire apps that can use the camera as a secondary function, and Kindle owners have tended to recommend the Evernote or Facebook apps for this.  But that doesn't give you access to the several features and controls that are there.

Here's how to open the camera via ES File Explorer, once you've installed it.

  1.  Press Apps at the top of the Home screen (or find it in your Favorites
       if you made it a fave) and then click on the ES File Explorer to open it.
  2.  In the top row, click on AppMgr.
  3.  In the top row still, click on Category
  4.  Choose System apps button
  5.  Select camera
  6.  Choose Open

  And that's it!

You'll find yourself with a choice of
  1.   PANORAMA mode shooting (Yes! Works nicely too.)
  2.   NORMAL CAMERA shooting, with choice of scenes, exposure compensation,
        and type of white balance
  3.   VIDEO at 480p, 720p (DON'T use the 1080p one, it crashes)
        time lapse intervals; snd type of white balance
        (It can't do actual HD but it's decent.
         You can see his Skype image at the app page.

The camera's better than I had expected.  From what I've seen, it's just something under 1MB pixels but good enough for casual snapshots and videoclips (which are in MP4 format), considering it's a front-facing camera meant mainly for Skype video-chats.

When you're ready to shoot, including making a sweeping panorama, press the round red button.  For videos, it becomes a square red button that you push when ending the video.

After doing a brief videoclip almost in the dark, I tried pressing a button for 'BBC' to see what on earth that was for, and it offered to send my 'report' to the BBC.  Oh, I don't think so.

You can find the resulting photos and videos under ES Explorer's /sdcard/DCIM/Camera folder.

  I personally find it ultra awkward to shoot a scene or subject without being able to view it except to twist myself into a position to see the front of the tablet at the same time or view it while shooting behind me.  :-)  But it's doable if you really want to record the scene.

Front facing cameras are really just made for taking images of yourself for video chatting. But, as mentioned, what you can do is point it over your shoulder and take pictures of things behind you. You'll be able to see the screen as a large viewfinder that way.


IF YOU DO DECIDE TO GET THE APP
If gifting the Kindle Fire HD to someone who doesn't want to go through some of the early steps above, the app may be a relief.  Furthermore, the app maker, DrHenley responds to questions at the HD Camera app page's customer reviews section.

I'm including here the kind of responses he gives to people with questions and problems, and you can decide whether it would be worth getting the app for the ongoing support. (Emphases mine.)

' DrHenley says:
Stephanie, I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. The app uses the built-in camera functionality of the Kindle Fire HD, which are not completely stable, especially with the 1080p.
  I would disable the 1080p mode in the app if I could but that is not possible. If you stick with 720p things will go much more smoothly. When you first open the app, go to the settings menu inside the settings menu, and click on "Restore defaults." That should make the video camera start working again.

Also, I don't think the tablet has an ambient light sensor, so when you have it set to automatic white balance, it can get confused. Try using manual white balance settings and manual brightness settings. It's only a 1 MP camera, so don't expect 5MP performance.

Version 2.0 will bring some added functions, and I am working hard every day on ways to improve the app.

===
DrHenley says:
gracieie, the reason I developed this app in the first place was because I was getting a Kindle Fire HD for my mom, and I wanted her to be able to take pictures on it. It started as a very simple little app, but then I decided to put it on the Amazon App Store for others, and I have spent a lot of time trying to make it better.

Be careful with 1080p video. It can cause problems that I can't do anything about because the camera itself is not really a 1080p camera.

===
DrHenley says:
The pictures and videos go to the standard place: DCIM/Camera on the internal SDCard. You can use a file manager app or the built in "Photos" and "Personal Videos" to manage them. "Photos" is on the Home screen. "Personal Videos" is in the apps list.  Version 2 [of the app], which has been submitted to Amazon for review, will give shortcuts to those apps.

I'm sorry that there is only a front camera, but please don't blame me, I really can't do anything about that :-(

===
DrHenley says:
The pictures and videos are saved in the DCIM/Camera folder on the internal SDCard. If you have a file manager you can browse to it and open them. There is a "Photos" on the home screen. If you open that, the camera pictures will have a preview called "Camera."

Under apps (device) there is a program called "Personal Videos" which is where you manage the videos.

Version 2.0 will have a quick way to get to those apps.

===
DrHenley says:
Susan, the Kindle Fire HD apparently doesn't have an ambient light sensor, so you may have to adjust the brightness manually. Click on the settings and then click on the square icon that has a +/-. You can also go into the Scene menu (SCN) and set it to "Night Mode".

===
DrHenley says:
I figured out the upside down video thing. Apparently you have to shoot videos with the camera at the bottom for them to come out right on a computer. I may have to lock the orientation to prevent that. Another thing to add to version 2.1!

Thanks for bringing that to my attention!

===
DrHenley says:
Version 2.0 already been submitted and does not lock the orientation. I am testing version 2.1 that at the moment does lock it. One thing I added to 2.0 was a contact button. When you get the 2.0 update, send me an email and I'll send you a beta of 2.1 so you can try it out.

===
DrHenley says:
This app simply uses the built in capabilities of the Fire HD. Although you can email a picture directly from the camera app, you really need to exit it to manage the images and videos. To manage still photos, go to "Photos, Camera" from the home screen. To manage videos, go to Apps, Personal Videos. To delete a video, long press the thumbnail and select "delete". '

I do think his ongoing Q&A will make it worthwhile for many.



Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button
Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

Send to Kindle

(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
If interested, you can also follow my add'l blog-related news at Facebook and Twitter
Questions & feedback are welcome in the Comment areas (tho' spam is deleted). Thanks!