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Full Version: [HOW TO] KODI Linux on Amlogic TV Boxes
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(2014-11-28, 14:04)bobones Wrote: [ -> ]
(2014-11-27, 09:44)raymw Wrote: [ -> ]So I again ask please has anyone here got any idea when we can expect the first Linux XBMC/KODI builds and compiles for these MyGica Enjoy boxes ??

I don't know if you'll ever get Linux based Kodi for the quad core MyGica boxes unless Geniatech themselves develop it as these don't seem to be the boxes favoured by the developers who are doing the porting work.

If you look around you'll see that Stane's AMLinux and Codesnake's OpenELEC releases are all for very specific boards and it's boxes like the M8, MIII, MXQ, TV110 and others that are getting their attention.

I'm still running my Sumvision Cyclone X2 (ATV1200) with Corey's MX Linux 13.2 and it's great, but those boxes are no longer available. Recently, I've bought a few Cyclone X4s which are cheap quad core S805 (£46) and they run Kodi quite well under Android, but you definitely feel Kodi is being bogged down by Android bloat. But today, I flashed a version of OpenELEC/Kodi 14.0-beta3 ported to the TV110 by a Russian developer, Kerber, and man does this box now fly or what! This is now a serious player as a cheap, fast OpenELEC box that you can buy off the shelf from UK high street retailers.

If you want a new box that will run Linux then you probably need to change to a different brand.


Thanks a lot Bobones for the info. I am still getting MyGica ATV1200 boxes okay here as well as 520s too direct form China and AFAIA they are still being produced by Geniatech. I get them in for friends, friends of friends and contacts here but I do not want to openly advertise and sell them here. And yes we all love the ATV1200 with the Linux Gotham 13.2 build as is certainly the best combo yet.

I am making enquires right now, about quad core Linux builds, with Geniatech though my Chinese supplier who has become a bit of a friend and advisor too, but as I pointed out if the Jynxbox Armada Mach 8 is running pure Linux then that is of course a quad core and I believe is also a Geniatech made Amlogic box. Please correct me if I am wrong as I am not 100% on that. If that is definitely the case then that would indicate there is either a Gotham 13.x or KODI 14.x build available for quad core Amlogic based boxes, well we can hope.

Interested to know more about that box you are running with OpenElec. Do not know the TV110 box, will have to look that one up. As I know virtually nothing about OpenElec, may I ask you if it is still basically running XBMC / KODI?? And do you think it is going to be suitable for the completely non techie ordinary users as the Linux XBMC based ATV1200 / 520 boxes are??

Are these TV110 boxes made in China as most of this stuff is? If they are, then I have a very good contact there as I mentioned to you above and I am only virtually next door in Thailand so maybe if suitable I can get those boxes in cheaper direct from there for moving forward with Quad core and KODI 14 with OpenElec. Like you I am keen to try as I find the work interesting in trying to get these boxes flying as best they can with Linux XBMC / KODI
In the UK, we were getting ATV1200s in the form of the Sumvision Cyclone Android X2, and it's these that are no longer available to buy as they've been replaced by the Cyclone X4. You may well still get ATV1200s from Geniatech but they're very old hardware now, and AMLogic has dropped the G02REF board from their latest kernels. (That's one of the reasons why we can get Codesnake's OpenELEC port for the G18REF/MX2, but not for the G02REF).

Just looking at a photo of the Armada Mach 8, it seems to be a version or clone of the ENY/Acemax EM8 (K200 board?) which has an S802 SOC and I don't think Geniatech make this box. The M8 is probably the most cloned box around and it seems quality varies dramatically. To be honest, I am not an expert on all these Android boxes and I'm confused about who makes what and what exactly is the current best although I am hearing good things about the MXIII.

I am not a box shifter or seller: I've purchased a few for my own use and set them up for some friends and colleagues. The boxes I've bought come from a local bricks and mortar PC store that I have used for years and years. Any problems I can just take them back to the shop. No doubt there are better boxes available online, but I have just made do with what they stock, and so far it's been decent stuff.

OpenELEC is basically a minimalist version of Linux designed purely to run XBMC as an appliance. If you can handle MX Linux, you can handle OpenELEC. You switch the box on and within a matter of seconds XMBC/Kodi is on your screen. OpenELEC has some nice features over MX Linux, but to be honest I haven't really explored it in depth: I just did enough to get a wireless connection and that was that. Linux is Linux for the most part so they feel very similar from the command line if you ever log on with PuTTY. OpenELEC appears to be the future of Linux on these AMLogic boxes so picking one that OE works on is the important thing IMO.

The Cyclone X4 box I have is not a TV110 and the circuit board isn't even the same shape, but as far as ROMs go, they seem to be the same which is why the TV110 OE port worked. I have just learned that the same box is available under the name Smartron S805 - god knows who the manufacturer is or what the long term reliability will be like, but I trust Sumvision to have done a bit of homework before picking this one. The MXQ is another S805 box, which seems to be better equipped, having a power button, SPDIF etc. The box I have is pretty basic with just HDMI, 2 USBs, micro SD, no power button and a barely adequate remote so don't take this specific model as a recommendation from me over other boxes that are available.

If you want to try OE then get a box that Codesnake is porting to: even an old dual core MX2 will do the trick, but he's got a beta for the M8 (S05 K200 board) out and says he's working on the MXQ (S805). There are forks of Codesnake's work around by JustMe and Kerber (TV110) for other boxes, but Codesnake is the main man for OE on AML as far as I can tell. You can also try out Stane's AMLinux which is more of a direct descendent of MX Linux for the S802.
Hey many thanks for all that useful info Bobones. Well I am certainly not a box shifter but get many boxes for friends, friends of friends and other contacts and even several to Europe through a friend and contact of mine over there. I just do the techie bit of flashing them, and setting them up so they are fully configured for each end user as I find nearly all folks get really lost at first with XBMC and end up taking weeks trying to get an Android box flashed and configured and often end up bricking them too. So as I love these boxes and have a few myself I do all this for them for little more than a drink and help them out after that if they are stuck. I am basically a retired senior electronics and comms engineer and as you know from chats before I am now 69 years old but going on 18 really :-)

I am not that conversant with Linux OS itself though I did used to work with Unix back in the late 80s and 90s and did do a 5 day engineering level course on Unix and its administration particularly the security aspects, so just need to jog my memory cells and update them for today's incarnations and the Linux GUI we now have. Maybe I will convert my 5 year old Compaq dual core laptop to either latest Linux or even dual boot Win 8 / Linux. So if okay with you I may be asking you for some advice on that if and when I do. Sounds like I need to do this if going to OpenElec XBMC.and also then can get into compiling if my old brain can take it LOL

Just a note that I too have a Sumvision X2 box which was the first of these biger dual core MX boxes I got for testing back late last year and now with Gotham 13.2 and working brilliantly. But I can tell you they are identical to the MyGica 1200 boxes which I now use, just the branding name and some differences with the remotes, though the remotes are interchangeable and have now become very similar. Hardly call them old though as it was only late last year when they first became available for flashing to Linux XBMC Frodo 12.2, 12.3 and finally 12.4 and of course now Linux Gotham 13.1 and 13.2, but I suppose one year is a long time in this market.

So looks like it may be worth me getting a MyGica ATV1800 for testing so will order one next time I order some 1200/520 boxes from my Chinese supplier, but maybe will just order a one off for my experimenting with OpenElec and/or ready for when/if Geniatech or Cronie himself do make Linux builds for these Amlogic quad core boxes. For now though the 1200 and 520 boxes are magic and highly recommended with Linux Gotham 13.2 so for now I remain to be convinced as to the advantages of the new quad core boxes.
Hi Guys, I have been a regular user of XBMC for a few years now and I am constantly in awe of the work you all do. I have recently bought a Sumvision X2 Enclosure model http://www.sumvision.com/product/cyclone...-x-2/#feat which is pretty much the same as the normal X2 but with the ability to house an internal sata drive. I needed something like this as a convenient and simple way to take some of my media collection to my holiday home where I have no network or internet access for streaming, it seemed a neater option than plugging in a separate usb drive.

The unit works reasonably well on the Geniatech build at no.3 on Page 1 and the internal drive is mounted as media as you would expect. However I would dearly love to use the Gotham build at no.1 on page 1 but when I flash this I cannot see the internal hard drive. It seems not to be mounted as far as I can tell (although a regular XBMC/Openelec user I have virtually no Linux knowledge). Having trawled virtually every one of these 60 odd pages I noticed one or two other users mentioned the same problem but no solutions seemed to be forthcoming.

Can anyone help me out or am I destined to remain using the Geniatech Frodo build?
(2014-12-01, 12:21)Kenco Wrote: [ -> ]Hi Guys, I have been a regular user of XBMC for a few years now and I am constantly in awe of the work you all do. I have recently bought a Sumvision X2 Enclosure model http://www.sumvision.com/product/cyclone...-x-2/#feat which is pretty much the same as the normal X2 but with the ability to house an internal sata drive. I needed something like this as a convenient and simple way to take some of my media collection to my holiday home where I have no network or internet access for streaming, it seemed a neater option than plugging in a separate usb drive.

The unit works reasonably well on the Geniatech build at no.3 on Page 1 and the internal drive is mounted as media as you would expect. However I would dearly love to use the Gotham build at no.1 on page 1 but when I flash this I cannot see the internal hard drive. It seems not to be mounted as far as I can tell (although a regular XBMC/Openelec user I have virtually no Linux knowledge). Having trawled virtually every one of these 60 odd pages I noticed one or two other users mentioned the same problem but no solutions seemed to be forthcoming.

Can anyone help me out or am I destined to remain using the Geniatech Frodo build?

The link is similar to the Geniatech ATV3200. Probably made by Geniatech. Is cclonline the cheapest place to get that item? I want to order one. I am in California, USA.

It is rather difficult to say why it is not mounting. Please try mounting the drive via SSH from a computer. Let me know if you need some help doing that. Since the ATV520e did not have the HDD it might not be in the XDA build code.

You may not be doomed to Frodo my friend. Working on a workarounds for this. I will upload a small video demo this.

(2014-11-29, 06:50)raymw Wrote: [ -> ]I am now 69 years old but going on 18 really :-)

Bravo Smile
(2014-12-02, 03:08)xbmcdoc Wrote: [ -> ]The link is similar to the Geniatech ATV3200. Probably made by Geniatech. Is cclonline the cheapest place to get that item? I want to order one. I am in California, USA.

It is rather difficult to say why it is not mounting. Please try mounting the drive via SSH from a computer. Let me know if you need some help doing that. Since the ATV520e did not have the HDD it might not be in the XDA build code.

You may not be doomed to Frodo my friend. Working on a workarounds for this. I will upload a small video demo this.

Thanks for your help xbmcdoc. I'll try to use my very limited knowledge to mount the drive via SSH but I might need guidance on this Blush certainly cclonline seems the cheapest place to get them in the UK and is where I got mine. Currently they only have one in their main stock at 48.60 GBP and 6 being sold as open box or clearance items at 44.60 GBP. The first one I bought had to be returned because of a noisy fan. The replacement has been fine. If you do find a workaround for my problem I shall be forever grateful.

Since writing the above I have tried to mount the drive with SSH but unless I'm completely stupid (quite possible) the drive does not show up with the fdisk -l command. Tried different drives with same result, so I have no idea how to go further
(2014-12-02, 11:16)Kenco Wrote: [ -> ]
(2014-12-02, 03:08)xbmcdoc Wrote: [ -> ]The link is similar to the Geniatech ATV3200. Probably made by Geniatech. Is cclonline the cheapest place to get that item? I want to order one. I am in California, USA.

It is rather difficult to say why it is not mounting. Please try mounting the drive via SSH from a computer. Let me know if you need some help doing that. Since the ATV520e did not have the HDD it might not be in the XDA build code.

You may not be doomed to Frodo my friend. Working on a workarounds for this. I will upload a small video demo this.

Thanks for your help xbmcdoc. I'll try to use my very limited knowledge to mount the drive via SSH but I might need guidance on this Blush certainly cclonline seems the cheapest place to get them in the UK and is where I got mine. Currently they only have one in their main stock at 48.60 GBP and 6 being sold as open box or clearance items at 44.60 GBP. The first one I bought had to be returned because of a noisy fan. The replacement has been fine. If you do find a workaround for my problem I shall be forever grateful.

Since writing the above I have tried to mount the drive with SSH but unless I'm completely stupid (quite possible) the drive does not show up with the fdisk -l command. Tried different drives with same result, so I have no idea how to go further

I don't believe you can get the enclosure to work as the gotham build by codesnake doesn't have the mount info for the enclosure, I did get the enclosure working in Frodo after a little messing with the samba share. but like already mentioned I think it may be a battle that you can't win on gotham.
A long shot perhaps, but what /dev files are used when it's mounted correctly under Geniatech Linux? It may be that you just need to create the same device files using the mknod command then trying mount /dev/sda1 /mnt or whatever.
Good thought bobones. I'll revert back to Geniatech Linux and report back to you
(2014-12-02, 11:16)Kenco Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for your help xbmcdoc. I'll try to use my very limited knowledge to mount the drive via SSH but I might need guidance on this Blush certainly cclonline seems the cheapest place to get them in the UK and is where I got mine. Currently they only have one in their main stock at 48.60 GBP and 6 being sold as open box or clearance items at 44.60 GBP. The first one I bought had to be returned because of a noisy fan. The replacement has been fine. If you do find a workaround for my problem I shall be forever grateful.

Since writing the above I have tried to mount the drive with SSH but unless I'm completely stupid (quite possible) the drive does not show up with the fdisk -l command. Tried different drives with same result, so I have no idea how to go further

Any luck with the mount?

Thanks for the info.

Workaround:
I successfully mounted an external USB under Geniatech Frodo and then I can restarted XBMC in to Gotham 13.2. Works great and is fastest MX box I have ever used since the USERDATA runs off the harddrive. Trying to figure out how this method can be applied to any linux build. That way the user can choose their preferred build. I am still under the Geniatech build as it same come codec I prefer.

Once I figure out how to duplicate my work I will upload the files. Cost me two six-packs of beer to get my friend that knows programming to get this far Smile Will try for another pack for the rest of the coding.
xbmcdoc that sounds like it might be promising. USB drives plugged into the enclosure version already work as expected on the Gotham 13.2 build. It's purely the internal drive that simply fails to be recognised. If you sort it I'll happily fund a six pack or two Smile
(2014-12-03, 21:43)Kenco Wrote: [ -> ]xbmcdoc that sounds like it might be promising. USB drives plugged into the enclosure version already work as expected on the Gotham 13.2 build. It's purely the internal drive that simply fails to be recognised. If you sort it I'll happily fund a six pack or two Smile

HAHAHAA Nice to know.

I'm a little lost. At the moment your on Geniatech build or XDA?
I was on Geniatech Frodo when the internal drive was recognised as normal and then went on to XDA Gotham where I found that the internal drive is no longer visible, although USB drives still work. I am now reverting back to Geniatech temporarily to see what /dev files are used when the internal hdd is correctly mounted so that I can try to answer bobones' question
Any news Kenco? What's the output of the "mount" command from Geniatech Frodo?
Sorry for the delay bobones. SHMBO has had me doing other things such as Christmas shopping! I'll be back to you later on today.