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Geniatech ATV1200 and XBMC hardware decoding - Printable Version

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+---- Thread: Geniatech ATV1200 and XBMC hardware decoding (/showthread.php?tid=150342)



RE: Geniatech ATV1200 and XBMC hardware decoding - htpcforall - 2014-02-28

(2014-02-26, 13:07)linus1 Wrote: Hi all

I brought the Sumvision Cyclone Android X2 last week. I had read mixed reviews having been happy with my previous Sumvision Cyclone MKV, decided to go for it. I want a box only to stream media from my NAS and to use Netflix, and in addition control it wil my Harmony remote.

I spent 2 days getting more and more disappointed with this box. Video playback is fine through the stock mediaplayer app and through XBMC 12.2, but I am frustrated at not being able to use my harmony remote fastforward/rewind/play/pause buttons. To operate these playback functions I have to press menu then navigate left and right to the necessary buttons. I really dont want to use an air remote. I have tried adding devices AVT1200 and Pivos XIOS DS to my harmony remote but the fastforward/rewind/pause/play buttons still do nothing during video playback in mediaplayer or XBMC. I could setup custom sequences but this is not much of a solution.

Today I have changed the firmware from Cyclone Android X2 to Geniatech (v20130805) in the vain hope that would make a difference but it doesnt. I can't believe I'm the only person with an ATV1200/X2 trying to use video playback without an air-remote or USB keyboard. I've done a search of this thread but cant find an answer, does anyone have any ideas or help please? Many thanks

There are many solutions. Remote apps for smart phones. USB RF remotes. Modifying the keyboard.xml to match. Ertain keypresses is very useful see here
http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=HOW-TO:Modify_keyboard.xml

Honestly, if you have up down left right enter back and menu, you should be alright. Enter(ok) will get you to play pause fast. Right 30 seconds forward. Left 30 seconds back. Up 10 minutes forward and down 10 minutes back. Fine rw and ff dont work well in xbmc android and arent really necessary for video.

Have fun


RE: Geniatech ATV1200 and XBMC hardware decoding - linus1 - 2014-03-01

(2014-02-28, 18:36)htpcforall Wrote: There are many solutions. Remote apps for smart phones. USB RF remotes. Modifying the keyboard.xml to match. Ertain keypresses is very useful see here
http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=HOW-TO:Modify_keyboard.xml

Honestly, if you have up down left right enter back and menu, you should be alright. Enter(ok) will get you to play pause fast. Right 30 seconds forward. Left 30 seconds back. Up 10 minutes forward and down 10 minutes back. Fine rw and ff dont work well in xbmc android and arent really necessary for video.

Have fun

Thanks. You're right, and I'm getting there slowly. I really wanted a box that I can control with just my harmony remote, I don't want to use my phone, an air mouse etc. Since posting I have replaced the remote.conf file and I'm using the Pivos remote commands on my harmony. I've discovered as you say, left right up and down give me the 30second/10 minute search either way which is good. The FF and RW buttons now work too, to an extent (the video only fast forwards at double speed, irrespective of the fact the FF graphic will show x2, x4, x8 etc depending on how many times I press FF). I will take a look at the link regarding keyboard.xml, thank you for your response Smile


RE: Geniatech ATV1200 and XBMC hardware decoding - no8080 - 2014-03-02

(2014-02-28, 19:48)davilla Wrote: Video on AMLogic devices is rendered to a separate video plane that XBMC's GLES cannot see. It is behind the GUI.

Thanks for the clarification.


RE: Geniatech ATV1200 and XBMC hardware decoding - superfreak79 - 2014-03-04

I apologize in advance for not reading all 80 pages for this answer.

The problem is strange behaviours and lost settings after reboot. Issues I've seen include: sdcard not mounted; custom remote.conf stopped working; XBMC addons reset to stock; lost Android home screen background; fan art not displaying in XBMC; and having preinstalled apps show up after uninstalling them.

My setup is a generic ATV1200 box that has been flashed with the Geniatech firmware. This box is literally identical to the ATV1200 except it has a layer of proprietary software that I can't access (that's all I'm going to say about the original box and firmware Smile). So I flashed the two Geniatech firmware files from 20130805: 1) SPI and 2) STVMX.

After initial boot-up, I have root (thanks Geniatech) and uninstalled the bloat apps. I reconfigure Android to my liking and setup addons/menus in XBMC. I even remapped the remote to work with Geniatech firmware. Things are going very good for my box... until I reset or power off for a period of time.

I unplugged the box last night and let it sit until this afternoon. Now when I power it up again, the preinstalled apps are coming back again and my XBMC setup is jacked. I even lost the modified remote.conf file (double bummer). The android home screen and wallpaper is still there - but sometimes it isn't. There was another time that my sdcard wasn't mounted after reboot and so I couldnt have any changes to sdcard. That was weird and apps were automatically saving to external sdcard.

I did some reading about the sdcard mount issue and found others using Android who said it could be that cache or partitions need to be wiped post firmware installation. So I now flash firmware and then do wipe/reset from recovery before initial Android boot up. That seems to have solved the sdcard mount problem (I think).

Has anyone seen similar behaviour from other AMLOGIC 8726-MX boxes? Is there an explanation for why this might be occurring? How can I fix these problems?

Thanks in advance and my apologies for double-post across two discussion boards.


RE: Geniatech ATV1200 and XBMC hardware decoding - dgcruzing - 2014-03-05

I have had the same problem but to a less degree and its been discussed here before about lost settings in XBMC on these box's.. Extremely frustrating once you have set up a skin that you like..
I just had this happen after taking the box on a work trip..played around and setup the skin just how I wanted it..
Got home plugged it in and its all gone back to standard..

As to the reset partitions and in your case a full reset of the box..I don't know if Fins ROM might help you there..as he has dealt with that hidden partition and rearranged it somewhat. Maybe have a check of it..

Once I get back to a computer I will look for bears post on the script that auto saves your xbmc settings for you as he had the same problem and got a work around going


RE: Geniatech ATV1200 and XBMC hardware decoding - superfreak79 - 2014-03-05

(2014-03-05, 02:31)dgcruzing Wrote: As to the reset partitions and in your case a full reset of the box..I don't know if Fins ROM might help you there..as he has dealt with that hidden partition and rearranged it somewhat. Maybe have a check of it.

I didn't realize the hidden partition is "a thing". Good to know. Yes, I'll look into it.

(2014-03-05, 02:31)dgcruzing Wrote: Once I get back to a computer I will look for bears post on the script that auto saves your xbmc settings for you as he had the same problem and got a work around going.

Do you mean something different than XBMC Backup?

Thanks.


RE: Geniatech ATV1200 and XBMC hardware decoding - dgcruzing - 2014-03-05

Yes..its a script if I remember correctly...check out this guys posts in this thread.. "thebearnecessit"


RE: Geniatech ATV1200 and XBMC hardware decoding - no8080 - 2014-03-06

I just wanted to follow up an earlier post, todays nightly has sorted the DTS audio passthrough issue and crashing issue.

It still crashes every so often part way through HD mkv files, not very often though, but it is getting better once again with each nightly.

Neil


RE: Geniatech ATV1200 and XBMC hardware decoding - thebearnecessit - 2014-03-06

opening xbmc and finding it siting back at confluence is very annoying. i my case it was happening when either

a) i didn't exit xbmc before powering off the box
b) I didn't wait enough time between seeing the android homescreen and opening xbmc. this was the main cause i think. xbmc needs the sdcard to be ready so that might take 1 seconds or so.

so those are tips on how to avoid the issue in future.

but it still happens to me sometimes. what i found was that the xbmc file called guisettings.xml is crucial.

every time you change skin and change skin settings its all remembered by xbmc in that file. when you open xbmc and see you have lost all your settings, its because the sdcard wasnt ready so xbmc couldnt read the guisettings.xml file so xbmc just makes a blank one.

so the workaround is that everytime you make skin changes you save/copy/backup the guisettings file to somewhere handy. then when you lose all your settings you just close xbmc, copy your backup guisettings file back to the xbmc folder and open xbmc again.

this is a nuisance obviously so i created a script (kind of copied someone elses ideas and adapted hem) that backs up the file.

and i created a script that copies the file back again.

but if you cant find my post on the subject in the thread then let me know and i'll try. in the meantime you can manually do the backing up (file copying and pasting using file explorer)


RE: Geniatech ATV1200 and XBMC hardware decoding - jjhtpc - 2014-03-07

I had run into this a few months back and came up with this solution:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=180691&pid=1579121#pid1579121

I will have to say that I have since moved on to the linux build as I was not really using any of the android functionality, and I have absolutely no problems with the newest geniatech linxu build. In fact buffering/network video stutters/judders that I would see sporadically have disappeared. Additionally I have a W7 server setup with a ceton infinitv 4 cable card and could not get live tv to work on android, but on the linux build I have finally found soft sled.

Either way I hope the info above can help either if you can use the backup script or if you decide to go the linux route (I fully understand that there are some functionalities that android can provide that xbmc cannot).


RE: Geniatech ATV1200 and XBMC hardware decoding - stardust - 2014-03-07

(2014-03-07, 00:11)jjhtpc Wrote: have absolutely no problems with the newest geniatech linxu build.

Could you please point to the download link ?


RE: Geniatech ATV1200 and XBMC hardware decoding - jjhtpc - 2014-03-07

Here you go:

I used the geiatech distro advanced it to the 2014 image.
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=180446&pid=1574359#pid1574359


RE: Geniatech ATV1200 and XBMC hardware decoding - htpcforall - 2014-03-07

(2014-03-04, 23:51)superfreak79 Wrote: I apologize in advance for not reading all 80 pages for this answer.

The problem is strange behaviours and lost settings after reboot. Issues I've seen include: sdcard not mounted; custom remote.conf stopped working; XBMC addons reset to stock; lost Android home screen background; fan art not displaying in XBMC; and having preinstalled apps show up after uninstalling them.

My setup is a generic ATV1200 box that has been flashed with the Geniatech firmware. This box is literally identical to the ATV1200 except it has a layer of proprietary software that I can't access (that's all I'm going to say about the original box and firmware Smile). So I flashed the two Geniatech firmware files from 20130805: 1) SPI and 2) STVMX.

After initial boot-up, I have root (thanks Geniatech) and uninstalled the bloat apps. I reconfigure Android to my liking and setup addons/menus in XBMC. I even remapped the remote to work with Geniatech firmware. Things are going very good for my box... until I reset or power off for a period of time.

I unplugged the box last night and let it sit until this afternoon. Now when I power it up again, the preinstalled apps are coming back again and my XBMC setup is jacked. I even lost the modified remote.conf file (double bummer). The android home screen and wallpaper is still there - but sometimes it isn't. There was another time that my sdcard wasn't mounted after reboot and so I couldnt have any changes to sdcard. That was weird and apps were automatically saving to external sdcard.

I did some reading about the sdcard mount issue and found others using Android who said it could be that cache or partitions need to be wiped post firmware installation. So I now flash firmware and then do wipe/reset from recovery before initial Android boot up. That seems to have solved the sdcard mount problem (I think).

Has anyone seen similar behaviour from other AMLOGIC 8726-MX boxes? Is there an explanation for why this might be occurring? How can I fix these problems?

Thanks in advance and my apologies for double-post across two discussion boards.

I import my 8726-MX units from Geniatech. I had very few problems with 500+ units. While their customer service needs work, the products solid. I have only experienced losing guisettings.xml a few times and I put these things through hardcore testing. I concluded that this only happened when launching XBMC immediatedly after the unit boots. XBMC launches before the xml is read, then writes a new file over the good one on the next exit. Easy solution is to give the unit 5 more seconds to mount and no problem. If it does happen, minimize XBMC, navigate to xml and save it or rename it before wiped out. You can't compare two unit with similar specs from two different manufacturers especially when one's a knock off or clone. These things are already coming from China. Buying from a manufacturer that may have cut a few corners on low quality memory or other other components could lead to lots of problems.

These 3 things should virtually eliminate file loss. 1. Backup your settings. 2. Wait 10 seconds after boot to launch XBMC. 3. Don't turn the box off unless you have to. Put it in stand by.

Hope that helps.


RE: Geniatech ATV1200 and XBMC hardware decoding - jjhtpc - 2014-03-09

(2014-03-07, 23:51)htpcforall Wrote: I import my 8726-MX units from Geniatech. I had very few problems with 500+ units. While their customer service needs work, the products solid. I have only experienced losing guisettings.xml a few times and I put these things through hardcore testing. I concluded that this only happened when launching XBMC immediatedly after the unit boots. XBMC launches before the xml is read, then writes a new file over the good one on the next exit. Easy solution is to give the unit 5 more seconds to mount and no problem. If it does happen, minimize XBMC, navigate to xml and save it or rename it before wiped out. You can't compare two unit with similar specs from two different manufacturers especially when one's a knock off or clone. These things are already coming from China. Buying from a manufacturer that may have cut a few corners on low quality memory or other other components could lead to lots of problems.

These 3 things should virtually eliminate file loss. 1. Backup your settings. 2. Wait 10 seconds after boot to launch XBMC. 3. Don't turn the box off unless you have to. Put it in stand by.

Hope that helps.

While I do agree with you that the products are solid products (I have not heard of too many bad boxes that just don't work), I would completely disagree with you that the lost guisettings only happens to a few people. I just don't think everyone notices it because it is more specific to those that customize and use skins other than confluence.

I agree with you that leaving the box on all the time solves most of the problems, but I know that from time to time I lose power or have to turn the box of for some odd reason. The instructions that I submitted stop you from having to worry about whether or not the box properly loads, which ultimately is what we want a CE type device. This is also why I recommended the linux build as it is basically a CE device. I haven't had a single problem with it. I think the only caveat to that is that you have to have a wired ethernet connection(but I wouldn't ever try to play hd content over wifi anyways).


RE: Geniatech ATV1200 and XBMC hardware decoding - asik1 - 2014-03-13

Hi, I recently got the Geniatech ATV1220 . It suppose to have 1.5Ghz CPU, but never did I saw it goes beyond 1.2.
I use this handy OSD app to monitor whats going on when running XBMC and play videos.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ds.cpuoverlay

So is my device faulty?