Pretty excited to share this. I just got the latest version of the Fire TV cube. This has 2 functions I’m stoked about.
HDMI in and USB
The HDMI in allows me to connect my Roon Core via HDMI and get play back via my TV sounds system (aka HomePods in stereo via Apple TV a ARC function).
Also, I downloaded the Roon Remote APK and installed it. With a USB keyboard with trackpad I was able to click on the onscreen controls and have the Fire TV Cube as a dedicated endpoint and onscreen functions as a remote. Although in a stretched screen.
I tried this with a Fire TV Stick 4K Max. Sideloading was no problem, but using a USB keyboard and mouse would not click the button to agree to the terms and conditions. What was your sequence to advance past this screen?
I have a Bluetooth keyboard/trackpad. Once the Bluetooth receiver was plugged into the USB port a halo circle cursor appeared on screen and allowed me to select/click on the onscreen buttons as per a mobile device.
I’m not sure if there’s away to configure the screen better though as it’s not configured (Roon Remote) for landscape/widescreen.
Congrats and not to spoil the fun, but IMHO using a tablet for control and casting its screen to the TV is superior. One could also connect a BT keyboard/trackpad to the tablet. Gets rid of the stretched screen and avoids having to sideload every update.
Though you can probably play with the screen ratio options in the TV’s settings to avoid the stretching.
Should be doable with the Fire’s “everything but Chromecast” casting implementation as well, after installing one of the FireCast apps on the tablet. (Though which one works well was hit and miss for me when I had the FireTV, so I used a cheap 2nd hand Chromecast dongle for that)
The stretched screen matters not if using a tablet because that is already your control and display. And no casting from the tablet necessary. Streaming directly from the Roon core to the Fire TV using unofficial Chromecast or AirPlay implementation is possible.
However, streaming via RAAT by sideloading the Roon APK and using the Fire TV as a non private zone endpoint is the real goal.
It does matter if you want large output so that other people can see it, for instance. Artist faces and album covers that are stretched wide don’t look so great. (Or generally, why would I cast in the first place if I don’t care about how it looks)
Well you can cast from whatever your preferred input device is. That may be a PC or laptop, too, but on the couch, and in particular when sharing the device between different people, a tablet is great.
Casting/mirroring is a good alternative option. I have now tested it and it’s quite laggy. I have previously tested this on Apple products which wasn’t quite as laggy, but still not ideal.
Using the sideloaded APK gives use of Fire TV Cube 3rd Gen as a work around for any who chose or lack other options.
I personally preferred the option to hook my Core (Ubuntu Desktop) to the HDMi in on the Cube and switch inputs through the Cube remote.
Either options fixes the output to 24/48. Not an issue based on what I wanted to achieve. This is not my main system.
Screen rotation apps didn’t work well, or I didn’t find the correct one.
True, Apple TV is less laggy. Still, it’s a good alternative (and was not that laggy with Chromecast for me, though indeed noticeable), and I’d prefer it over a stretched display. But glad you found what works for you
Dunno about the screen rotation apps in your setup, on the tablet they work well. “Rotation Control” was what I used. You just pick what you want from a menu and it stays that way. Works to fix Roon in portrait or landscape as well, including upside down for instance, at least on the tablet.
I’ll look to acquire a chromecast TV dongle thingy and see. I ditched mine when Google announce they were shutting down the Stadia servers this Jan 18th.
Amazon’s Firecast is crap and I hate that they think they have to fight a pointless fight vs Google on the back of the customer …
I seem to remember that you want a specific generation of Chromecast. I forgot the details, but I have a 3rd gen and I researched it at the time. You can get them for 20 euros on Ebay. (But keep in mind that FireTablet does not work with it)
if I had any, and a bonus 
