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[LIVE] HOW-TO install XBMC Live on Acer Aspire Revo - The Complete Guide for Newbies - Printable Version

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- schneidz - 2009-12-28

this is weird, when i connect my revo to my tv using hdmi, my usb mce remote refuses to work (the red light on the usb receiver stays lit as if a button is being held down). but it works fine when i use vga.

does this happen to anyone else ?; is there a workaround ?


- rchapoteau - 2009-12-28

Cambeln,

I think part of what your experiencing is that running the updater from 9.0.4. I tried that once and it killed everything. The updater only really seems to work with the 9.1.1 beta's.

Perhaps you should just try a barebones install of 9.0.4 first and get that up and running before anything else.


- campbeln - 2009-12-28

rchapoteau Wrote:Cambeln,

I think part of what your experiencing is that running the updater from 9.0.4. I tried that once and it killed everything. The updater only really seems to work with the 9.1.1 beta's.

Perhaps you should just try a barebones install of 9.0.4 first and get that up and running before anything else.

I tried to install these 9.04 releases (the link w- the Nvidia drivers in the ISO on page 1 and from LifeHacker) but I have not done the install with the stock standard 9.04 version, so I will give that a shot. Thanks for the tip! And I will report back =)

It seems I've run into every damned problem possible with this install. How does the Revo normally boot via HDMI? Is the first thing you see the XBMC throbber or what?

Cn


- rchapoteau - 2009-12-28

When I boot with it, it takes a while to synch with HDMI because my projector doesn't support the resolutions the revo initially boots with until its in XBMC. I still have to make some adjustments to get 1080p. Right now I'm only doing 1080i.

Also just a thought, perhaps your tv, or reciver doesn't like the initial resolution the pc is trying to feed it so it stops listening on the port. Then when your pc gives it a signal it can handle its not ready/waiting for the change. Try connecting it all up and turning your revo on with your other equipment off to see what happens. Wait a minute and turn everything else on. (of course I would do that after you tried the stock live 9.0.4 version)


Day 2 Attempt 4 - campbeln - 2009-12-28

Oh just great.

Alright, downloaded 9.04 stock standard version and I get the exact same stupid blinking cursor issue I had with the restrictedDrivers installed versions... off to read even more postings I guess...

Day 2 Attempt 4: FAILURE

Angry

Cn


- rchapoteau - 2009-12-28

Finally got 1080p working. Edited the xorg.conf file by pico. When I tried erasing and copying the enitre file previously it failed. I used these settings listed here.

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=65201&highlight=xorg.conf


Day 2 Attempt 5 & Attempt 6 - campbeln - 2009-12-28

Well, I finally got past the blinking cursor issue (by pressing tab at the Grub menu and modding the command line from "cd quiet splash" to "usb"), got vanilla 9.04 installed updated it, installed the Nvidia drivers and...

drum roll...

NUTIN!

I was able to set the display to 720p in 9.04, but nothing is being pushed out via the fucking hdmi, not a fucking thing... So I tried to update to the newest 190.53 drivers direct from Nvidia, and stupid xbox-live keeps respawning which keeps the Xserver alive which doesn't allow me to update the driver.

I also tried the linked-to modded version with the drivers pre-installed, when I got SquashFS errors...

Day 2, Attempt 5: FAILURE

Day 2, Attempt 6: FAILURE

I really hate this fucking Acer Revo...

Angry

Cn


- campbeln - 2009-12-28

rchapoteau Wrote:When I boot with it, it takes a while to synch with HDMI because my projector doesn't support the resolutions the revo initially boots with until its in XBMC. I still have to make some adjustments to get 1080p. Right now I'm only doing 1080i.

Also just a thought, perhaps your tv, or reciver doesn't like the initial resolution the pc is trying to feed it so it stops listening on the port. Then when your pc gives it a signal it can handle its not ready/waiting for the change. Try connecting it all up and turning your revo on with your other equipment off to see what happens. Wait a minute and turn everything else on. (of course I would do that after you tried the stock live 9.0.4 version)

Thanks, but I've been cycling back through other inputs on the Tv and receiver then back to the Revo in case it didn't push the hdmi until it was fully loaded. I have had it push over hdmi a few times at boot (but only after a reboot) and the Windows install worked with the hdmi just fine, so I don;t think it's the hardware, it's something with the current drivers I think... VERY aggravating!

Glad to hear you got your issue fixed though!

Cn


Day 2, Attempt 6 - campbeln - 2009-12-28

Ok, trying 9.11-b2 as was previously suggested... Common lucky 21st try (yep, about 15 installs yesterday, 6 today...)!

If this fails, Attempt 7 (22) will be with a full install of Ubuntu 9.10 KK and adding XBMC+drivers and if that fails... I think I just may have a $200 paperweight for Xmas...

Rebooting... Config'ing XBMC... Rebooting after config... Giving it 2 minutes to startup before trying the hdmi via the Onkyo... sweet...

Day 2, Attempt 6: FAILURE

...

Cn

PS- well that's new... plugging in the DSub gave me video even though the hdmi was plugged as well, and I could only go 480p... odd...


change resolution error and how do I upgrade the xbmc build on xbmc live? - smoose - 2009-12-28

So I am made the changes Jushi suggested and they worked, but something odd happened when I went to test other resolutions, they screen went black and just briefly flashed and then stayed black and the cycle kept repeating, I restarted and it kept doing the same thing, had to reinstall everything.

Does anyone know how to recover from that, I did test resolution but it never recovered?

Also I am using xbmc live, if I just want to update the xbmc build how do I do that, can I just down load the live version and copy over the xbmc folder via ssh like I used to do with the original xbox? or is there an easier way?

Thanks



junshi Wrote:Hi all, I have been following the tips here to get my revo working.
I have seen many links to other posts, but decided to put together what I did to get my system working.

I have a standard 1GB box, and it plays 1080p fine, no jitter:

IF you follow the OP's guide you should have a live version of xbmc working.

-- to get menu sounds working I created a text file asoundrc.txt, containing:

Code:
pcm.!default {
type plug
slave {
pcm "hdmi"
}
}
-- copied it to my revo using SFTP and renamed it - menu sounds now working.--

Next I tried to copy files to my revo, but SFTP was very slow. Time to install SAMBA and create a windows share.

Boot revo, hit ESC and select XBMC - SAFE MODE
login with username "xbmc"
password - whatever you set when you installed XBMC...

-- first off I updated my install --
Code:
sudo apt-get update
-- and --
Code:
sudo apt-get upgrade
-- Note I left xbmc alone!!! --

-- time to install samba --
Code:
sudo apt-get install samba
-- configure the share --
Code:
sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf
-- in the conf file, set the following --
Code:
workgroup = "<your workgroup name if you have one>"
server string = "xbmc"
netbios name = "xbmc"
-- then at the bottom of the conf file, create your share--
Code:
[xbmc]
comment = XBMC Share
path = /home/xbmc
force user = xbmc
inherit permissions = yes
read only = no
guest ok = Yes
-- This created a share called xbmc in my windows workgroup --

-- now I wanted the system to mount USB drives I connect to my revo --
Code:
sudo apt-get install usbmount
-- By default it only supports a few formats types, so --
Code:
sudo nano /etc/usbmount/usbmount.conf
-- Inside the conf file change the filesystems line to --
Code:
FILESYSTEMS = "ext2 ext3 vfat ntfs"

--Finally to cure the jitter I was getting --
Code:
sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf
-- Following the guide I found, I made the following changes --
-- Note, if your conf file does not have the entry, then ADD it --
-- In the Monitor Section: --
Code:
HorizSync 31.0 - 69.0
VertRefresh 59.0 - 86.0
-- In the Device Section: --
Code:
Option "DynamicTwinView" "False"
Option "TripleBuffer" "True"
-- In the Screen Section: --
Code:
Option "TwinView" "False"
Option "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "True"
-- And finally, add an Extensions Section: --
Code:
Section "Extensions"
Option "Composite" "Disable"
EndSection

-- now to restart --
Code:
sudo reboot

With the above I can push files to the xbmc share at Gbit speeds, or just connect an external NTFS drive with files on. For a test I was able to watch the following with no jitter:
Video 1920x1080 at 22 FPS, 16:9, 18.5 MBit/s
Audio dca, 4800 Hz, 5.1, s16 1536 kb/s (Dolby DTS on my Onkyo)
CPU0 17%, CPU1 14%

TV: 47" Sharp Aquos. Revo connected to Onkyo TX-SR605 reciever, then to the tv, all via HDMI only.

I put this together so I had a place to reference all this, should I need to rebuild! Major thanks to all those people who worked out how to get the above working...



Day 2, Attempt 7 - campbeln - 2009-12-28

Just because I'm bored while KK downloads... I'll try the Lifehacker version of the modded 9.04 (w- drivers), just for shits and giggles...

Installing... copying files... set password... rebooting... setting up the settings... rebooting with hdmi in... no signal... testing the XBox 360 just in case the hdmi cable is broken with all the testing... nope 360 works fine, XBMC is still fucked over hdmi

Day 2, Attempt 7: FAILURE

...

Cn


- campbeln - 2009-12-28

smoose Wrote:So I am made the changes Jushi suggested and they worked, but something odd happened when I went to test other resolutions, they screen went black and just briefly flashed and then stayed black and the cycle kept repeating, I restarted and it kept doing the same thing, had to reinstall everything.

Heh, that was one of the issues I ran into yesterday... no idea which config it was now, but it didn't work for me in the end so I also reinstalled =) Seems I should be a beta tester as i've found most of the bugs with the live CD version...

Cn


- schneidz - 2009-12-28

campbeln Wrote:Just because I'm bored while KK downloads... I'll try the Lifehacker version of the modded 9.04 (w- drivers), just for shits and giggles...

Installing... copying files... set password... rebooting... setting up the settings... rebooting with hdmi in... no signal... testing the XBox 360 just in case the hdmi cable is broken with all the testing... nope 360 works fine, XBMC is still fucked over hdmi

Day 2, Attempt 7: FAILURE

...

Cn
i use the latest stable live-usb version (i thought it came with nvidia drivers) and hdmi works ok for me (my tv says the resolution is set to 1920x1080) except i have this issue:
schneidz Wrote:this is weird, when i connect my revo to my tv using hdmi, my usb mce remote refuses to work (the red light on the usb receiver stays lit as if a button is being held down). but it works fine when i use vga.

does this happen to anyone else ?; is there a workaround ?
maybe if you disconnect everything that is not needed you will find the problem ?


- jonuwz - 2009-12-29

campbeln Wrote:Just because I'm bored while KK downloads... I'll try the Lifehacker version of the modded 9.04 (w- drivers), just for shits and giggles...

Installing... copying files... set password... rebooting... setting up the settings... rebooting with hdmi in... no signal... testing the XBox 360 just in case the hdmi cable is broken with all the testing... nope 360 works fine, XBMC is still fucked over hdmi

Day 2, Attempt 7: FAILURE

...

Cn

When you connect the revo directly to the TV with hdmi, do you see the bios screen ? Some TV's don't do low resolution over hdmi.
If you're also going via an amp and the EDID isn't being read by the revo, then XBMC will default to 640x480, which potentially is a resolution your TV doesn't support over hdmi...

If this is whats happeining, in xorg.conf add this line in the Section "Device" :

Option "IgnoreEDID" "true"

and in Section "Screen", force some resolutions :

SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768" "800x600"
EndSubSection

restart xbmc

sudo service xbmc-live stop
(this is also the command you need to stop xbmc respawning if you upgrade the nvidia drivers)
sudo service xbmc-live start

Same advice applies if you have the same problem in KK

Good luck
John.


- campbeln - 2009-12-29

schneidz Wrote:i use the latest stable live-usb version (i thought it came with nvidia drivers) and hdmi works ok for me (my tv says the resolution is set to 1920x1080) except i have this issue:maybe if you disconnect everything that is not needed you will find the problem ?

What BIOS version do you have (hit DEL at startup and enter the information page)? I've got A1, but the support site has A3 and an A4L(inux) versions available, so I'm going to do BIOS upgrade today and see if that helps.

And which "live-usb stable" version is it you're using? 9.11-repack?

As to the question of low res's and the panel... my Onkyo up/down/cross converts everything to 720p so that shouldn't be the issue. Also, I've gotten low res (ie- the BIOS POST screen) on the panel 3-4 times, but I cannot say if that was thru the Onkyo or direct to the panel (I generally try both before giving up on an attempt) but they were after reboots only (never on an initial load).

Last night I got Ubuntu 9.10 KK on it, installed the Nvidia drivers and even though it reconized the Onkyo as the second monitor, I couldn't get it to push a signal. I used 185.3?, 190.53 and the 195.?? beta versions of the driver with no love.

Now I'm trying to get a XP bootable USB key together (man, that is harder then it should be!?) to get Winblows back on the system. Originally the stock Acer Windows install did successfully push a signal to the panel via hdmi, but in my initial issues getting XBMC installed I blew away that install figuring I'd just reinstall later (one of my MANY mistakes on this project!).

I'm really thinking it's a BIOS version issue at this point, but it worked from Windows originally with this BIOS, but maybe the Linux drivers are assuming a newer version... I donno... I'm a programmer! I don't deal with the hardware stuff =)

Will report back...

Cn