[tswimmer]

Hello community,

i'm pretty new to the RPi. I bought a starter kit consisting of a RPi2 and a 5" Waveshare 800x480 Display with Touchscreen. The main Goal was to try out kodi and a few more things. The kit runs pretty perfect with Raspbian, but when it comes down to Kodi the Installation runs without Problems. But starting kodi results in a flickering Display - any solution available?
Just ask if you Need more Details.

Greetings
tswimmer

[ActionA]

What I'd check first is to make sure it's being provided enough power.

[Ned Scott]

I see this too on a generic eBay display that is 800x480, and just in Kodi. I figure it just needs some other HDMI mode set or something. I can't test it at the moment because I'm soldering a wired connection directly to the HDMI port for a portable game project ;)

[popcornmix]

When running successfully with raspbian, what does "tvservice -s" report? Then when kodi is runnning and flickering what does "tvservice -s" report?

[tswimmer]

ok, I try to provied the Information as good as possible:
@ActionA - as the Display indicates low power with a coloured square in the upper right Corner - and this is never present, i assume that teh power is good enough (5.2V 2A PSU)
@popcornmix - in raspbian the Report is:
state 0x120016 [DVI DMT (87) RGB full 15:9], 800x480 @ 59.00Hz, progressive
while running kodi, i don't get a Shell, but after quiting kodi the result is:
state 0x12001a [HDMI DMT (87) RGB full 15:9], 800x480 @ 59.00Hz, progressive (the Screen is no longer flickering, but it Looks somewhat blurred and Shows pinkish lines on the left and upper border
- i hope this is a step Forward

[popcornmix]

The raspbian/kodi tvservice states look pretty similar.
Can you add "hdmi_drive=2" to the raspbian image and that should make the states match exactly. Then confirm that doesn't cause any issue with raspbian.

[tswimmer]

ok - on adding hdmi_drive=2 to the config.txt the tvservice state is initally the same than after quitting kodi and the pinkish lines are present from start on. But using hdmi_drive=1 leads to a nonflickering kodi! So "you made my day"! I've still to solve Skin and Touchscreen issues, but at least the dsiplay is stable - thanx a lot!

[ActionA]

@ActionA - as the Display indicates low power with a coloured square in the upper right Corner - and this is never present, i assume that teh power is good enough (5.2V 2A PSU)

The colored square would be an indication that the Pi is under powered. This is not what I am referring to. I'm assuming that your display connects to the pi with an HDMI cable for video connection and a USB cable for touch/power? I have a similar screen that when connected to a very early model B is unusable due to flickering if connecting the USB directly to the Pi to power the screen. When I connect the screen's USB to a powered USB hub, the flickering is resolved.

You could try adding max_usb_current=1 to your config.txt


Just a suggestion.

[albertstroh77]

After I ordered my 7" Waveshare touchscreen this thread popped up. Perfect timing for me. It got me very anxious for my screen. Finally got the screen and got a chance to try it out a little last night. Went through all the suggestions here and pretty much have it doing what I want. It looks like it is going to be able to do what I want.

I'm having a little trouble keeping enough power to all the devices. The Pi just doesn't seem to have quite enough power from the USB ports to power the screen. Even with max_usb_current=1. The screen will work when powered by the USB of the Pi, until I launch Kodi. Then it doesn't work. If I then power the screen some where else, kodi shows fine. To make things even more complicated, everything is powered by batteries. If the screen isn't powered by the USB port, the touch screen won't work. I've been thinking of making some kind of battery powered hub to get around this.

Has anyone else here made a project like this or have any other suggestions for me? This computer will have other uses, but kodi will be a crucial part of this device. Does anyone have a hub/battery to recommend to me?

[Ned Scott]

I'm facing the same situation. The screen definitely needs its own power supply. I'm using mine in a portable gaming/HTPC unit, and I'll need at least 2 amps for both Pi and screen.

[albertstroh77]

I think you're right. I'm hoping to power a hub with a battery. I also need Wifi, Bluetooth, GPS and a Hifiberry so I think there are no ifs about it for me. I'll report back with any progress I make. Can I ask what batteries you're using so far? I've been using these phone charger batteries from amazon. They are 10,000 mAh 2.1A out for 14 bucks. You can't really beat that.

I couldn't love Kodi any more that I do. There is no doubt I have a problem. Honored to have a reply from such a big part of Kodi. Keep up the great work. I set a lot of people up with insanely large music/ movies collections with a NAS/server setup. I have never seen anyone that didn't love Kodi. There is no better way to enjoy our media!

[brendansound]

Got the same screen.. its a power issue. Change the USB cable. Can you post a photo of how its rigged up so i can verify?

[albertstroh77]

You are saying you have your 7" waveshare successfully powered from the usb port of your pi? Mine does that until you launch kodi, than it has the standard underpowered issues. I have a usb hub and battery on the way. I assume that will solve my issues. I'll have a chance to play with it later today. I'll try to take a photo then. Thanks.

[brendansound]

No, in the case of mine at least it looks like this:

There is one micro USB that goes between the screen and the Pi (for touch function)
and another micro USB that goes from a micro USB phone charger (5v, 2A) into the screen (to power it)

If you try and power the screen from just the cable between the Pi and the Screen you will burn out the Pi
and cripple its power.

I only know all this because i was going to put it in my car and needed to work out the voltage requirements.. But now
that plan is ditched the Pi is now delivering Kodi to my TV and iv got a different screen with the reverse sensor for my Car.

[albertstroh77]

Ok, now I'm confused. That is exactly the screen I have. Where is the second plug you are referring to? Do I have to solder that one myself? Spent a little time yesterday with it, but this was my first hifiberry and I got side tracked figuring out how to get that light to turn on. My hub and battery should be here Monday but if there is something else I'm missing...