[HOW TO] KODI Linux on Amlogic TV Boxes
(2015-05-13, 16:15)redi Wrote: great appreciate the feedback ray. i'll recommend the ATV1220. I assume the wifi will work with ember or mx Linux.

I'm currently on ember 1.0.0 on my ATV520. I also donated, but since I'm on Ethernet only, the update won't work. I'm hesitant to flash to 1.0.1 because I have no issues with 1.0.0 currently. I can't say it works better than the mx Linux 14.1 build that I was on before, but it works just fine anyway.

I haven't seen any updates in awhile on the forums from corey or josh. I'm keeping an eye on xda forums for anything new regarding ember.

Sure Redi WiFI works fine on the ATV1200 and 1220. The only problem box with WiFi incompatibility I know of is the ATV520 because it is the only box I have come across that uses the Broadcom WiFi chip and there are as yet no drivers built into any Linux XBMC/KODI builds since Frodo 12.4 and later. Fine if you use say the old but good Linux Frodo 12.3 with your 520 box, but then you may have a lot of problems with later add-ons that may not work well if at all with that now quite old firmware.

To me I would firmly say it is best to only use the ATV520 boxes with the latest Helix firmware and treat it as a Wired connection ONLY box. They are then a very good and reliable box.. I honestly do not expect at this stage that the Broadcom compatibility issue will ever be fixed now, so best to avoid ATV520 boxes if you want / need WiFi connectivity.

As to EmbER V1.0.0 or 1.0.1 , well I have for now gone back to using only MX Linux Helix 14.2 with Auxbox's excellent compile. Okay it seems from my tests that this still gives me the old usual freezes when the box is idle, and indeed which EmbER has truly fixed. But I have had some significant problems with EmbER that worry me and are listed below :

1. With 1920 X 1080i graphics setting you get a frequent flicker of the screen about every 8 to 12 seconds though not specifically regular. You can see this clearly if you run the full HD test video that a lot of us here use to confirm we are getting true full HD and not up-scaled 720. You can notice it on your home screen too quite clearly on the horizontal menu bar lines. This can be cured I have just discovered by switching to 1080p rather than 1080i . It does not happen though with ANY of the MX Linux builds including the latest Helix 14.2 from Auxbox.

2. I have found with flashing from the native Android firmware to the EmbER V1.0.1 Convert set of files, it so far always ends up bricking the ATV1220 boxes (not tried it on any other G02Ref boxes).. It is a solid bricking too as it does then need the pin shorting method to recover the box and even then it also seems difficult to get it back into MX Linux builds too as the flash process then ends up stuck and will not reboot, seems to need to go back to EmbER V1.0.0 install and even that fails too quite often despite the pin shorting reset.. Anyone here got any clues as to why and has a cure ?? I think it is something to do with the repartitioning and formatting of the NAND that the EmbER Convert files do, but this is only considered guesswork..

3. I have had two bricked boxes back from friends of mine who I set up with EmbER V1.0.0 who then registered and tried to update to V1.0.1 DE and both then ended up with bricked boxes that required them to bring the boxes back to me to unbrick needing the full pin shorting method. On one of my own boxes I have been totally unable to upgrade from V1.0.0 to V1.0.1 as it always says "server busy" after downloading the V1.0.1 DE update files. I have now manually updated to V1.0.1 and that is running well on my EmbER ATV1200 box

4. The subtitle files refuse to download but that is still okay with all the MX Linux builds including Helix 14.2. This can be cured, as somebody else posted, by configuring the subtitles to be stored in a custom location rather than alongside the video file as the default setting. I point mine to store on my 8GB SD card but have to occasionally keep those .srt files cleaned up every now and then, despite those subtitle files being each very small. Does anyone know where I can store them so they are automatically deleted with each reboot ?? Have tried the /root/kodi/ area and sub-folders there but they still do not seem to get auto deleted Sad

5. EmbER seems a little slower overall than using MX Linux equivalent Helix builds.

For those reasons I have now gone back to only using MX Linux builds, (now Helix 14.2), to flash onto the ATV1200/1220 boxes over the top of the bloat ware default Android they are supplied with.. But I will also say positively that once installed OK, and up and running in 1080p, rather then 1080i, then EmbER V1.0.0 and V1.0.1 runs very well indeed and very stable too. I will be glad when these bugs are fully sorted..

I will later today post the above EmbER bugs to the XDA forum to catch the attention of croniccory and Josh5 as I want the EmbER system to succeed as I fully support their fantastic hard work and when the OTA auto firmware update is sorted works I will be more than happy.
Cheers
Raymw
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Messages In This Thread
Falling at the first hurdle - by malcolmbarr - 2014-02-16, 16:17
TVHeadend hangs at channel switch - by vvd214 - 2014-08-29, 09:20
RE: [HOW TO] KODI Linux on Geniatech Devices incl. Helix Builds - by raymw - 2015-05-19, 09:30
. - by jon4248 - 2015-05-23, 17:00
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