S905x support, what is needed?

    English isn't my mother's tongue...

    I own a Mini M8S II and also Raspberrys Pi 2 & 3 with libreELEC.

    I wanted HD Audio pass through and I bought the Mini M8S II (S905X) with high expectations
    but was soon pretty dissapointed with stock firmware unability to render properly any type of HD Audio...

    I couldn't wait anymore for HD Audio pass through... so last week, I bought the Odroid C2 (S905).
    The C2 with LE works like a charm with HD Audio files but lacks the Raspberry Pi ability of multichannel conversion to lossless PCM (C2 converts to DD) in 5.1 FLAC files for instance.

    IMHO, The best overall player including 3D except for 4K is the Pi 3 with LibreELEC but it translates HD Audio to lossless PCM.
    (However, I doubt that it's really lossless because there is a sound difference when listening any HD Audio file and
    switching inputs back and fourth between my Pi 3 and my Odroid C2.
    I didn't test enough to say that the HD Audio sounds better with the C2 but it is for sure louder than the PCM from the Pi 3.)

    Sorry for this long intro...

    I just found out about this thread and installed  kszaq  third version.

    All I have to say is that I'm very impressed!!!

    I installed it on my Mini M8S II with original firmware and everything works like it does with my C2 with LE.
    I tested about 20 HD Audio test files and they all played flawlessly.
    Wired Internet works, USB works and we can wake the device from Off with the original remote etc.

    If I had waited one more week, I wouldn't have needed the Odroid C2.

    Keep the good work!!!!
    Thanks!!!!!

    It's good to see a comparison like this.

    I always hesitate to buy C2 due to already having C1+ and S905X Chinese Android box. But like you, I am now very happy with LE on S905X box.

    Quote from pawnthep


    It's good to see a comparison like this.

    I always hesitate to buy C2 due to already having C1+ and S905X Chinese Android box. But like you, I am now very happy with LE on S905X box.

    I'm hesitating to buy a neobox 95X, I wonder how it can handle DTS, DTS_MA and DTS-ATMO. Also it seems to have no optical output, right? Thanks in advance.

    Hello,

    I've bought Mini N8S II and I'm very disappointed.
    I test 3 version and works ok but every time i start the box i need to use the reset button method?
    It always stop on tty...

    Quote from [email protected]

    I'm hesitating to buy a neobox 95X, I wonder how it can handle DTS, DTS_MA and DTS-ATMO. Also it seems to have no optical output, right? Thanks in advance.


    I can't test with hd-audio because I only use it with TV.

    Please don't get me wrong. I don't think Nexbox is a good buying either. But since I already bought one, so it's good enough that it can get LE installed finally.

    If I didn't buy this, I might have got C2 instead due to many firmwares well supported (Ubuntu, Android, LE etc.)

    Quote from pm_mickey


    Is there any possibility to use AP6255 modules from android stock rom ?

    Sure, the firmware is shared by Amlogic. To make it load while keeping the driver work with other chips, I need an output from the following command: cat /sys/bus/sdio/devices/*/device; cat /sys/bus/sdio/devices/*/vendor

    pawnthep Can you re-confirm that "test3" version does not boot on your box? The best would be if you can re-download that version and test agian:
    LibreELEC-S905.aarch64-7.0-devel-20160825131726-r23297-g5b935ef.img.gz
    I'm asking for this because Pulsar reported that it worked for him on the same box.

    Now that you have Pulsar's build on NAND you can test my builds from SD card without fear of bricking - no toothpicking should be needed.

    If and only if "test3" version doesn't work for you, please try "test4": LibreELEC-S905.aarch64-7.0-devel-20160826080343-r23298-g47a986c.img.gz

    I would prefer if "test3" worked as "test4" has a little hack to probably make it work.

    Quote from kszaq

    Sure, the firmware is shared by Amlogic. To make it load while keeping the driver work with other chips, I need an output from the following command: cat /sys/bus/sdio/devices/*/device; cat /sys/bus/sdio/devices/*/vendor


    Here is output from your s905x-test3 build (from stock android meson1.dtb copied to dtb.img)


    0xa9bf
    0xa9bf
    0xa9bf
    0x02d0
    0x02d0
    0x02d0

    Here is a bluetooth firmware from stock android

    Thanks for the help.

    Quote from kszaq


    pawnthep Can you re-confirm that "test3" version does not boot on your box? The best would be if you can re-download that version and test agian:
    LibreELEC-S905.aarch64-7.0-devel-20160825131726-r23297-g5b935ef.img.gz
    I'm asking for this because Pulsar reported that it worked for him on the same box.

    Now that you have Pulsar's build on NAND you can test my builds from SD card without fear of bricking - no toothpicking should be needed.

    If and only if "test3" version doesn't work for you, please try "test4": LibreELEC-S905.aarch64-7.0-devel-20160826080343-r23298-g47a986c.img.gz

    I would prefer if "test3" worked as "test4" has a little hack to probably make it work.


    kszaq

    I re-downloaded and installed with test3 build. It boots to Kodi finally but with some errors.

    - At initialized process, after about 2 minutes, it stuck at screen filled with many texts ended with error line. (like the one that I reported earlier Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet)
    - After power-off and on again, now it can boot to Kodi with welcome screen.
    - After that sometimes when reboot (or boot after power it offf), it stuck at the same error again. (about 5 out of 10 times that I tried).

    With test4 build, it seems never get to initilaze at all. Only show error line instantly. ("sh: can't access tty....")

    BTW, when boot to Kodi succesfully, everything seems to works OK (eg. wifi 5ghz, bluetooth, original remote, cec.)

    Thanks.

    Edited once, last by pawnthep (August 26, 2016 at 9:07 AM).

    My SD Audio issue is fixed. In fact, it was a misconfiguration on my side. I was ticking the Dolby Digital AC3 Transcoding option. Unchecked that one and now SD and HD Audio is working flawlessly.

    What are the pros and cons of installing the build on NAND?

    Thanks

    koenkooi

    Pretty much identical to the installation instructions included in the s905 release / announcement thread. Extract the contents of the .zip file onto a SD, reboot with the recovery button pressed. I did not have to do the second pass, so it was ready after that.

    Edit: please note, that I have also uploaded the TWRP recovery image, Works great to switch between LE builds and "stock" andorid (via backup / restore)

    Edited once, last by pulsar (August 26, 2016 at 11:30 AM).

    After reading through the thread I'm not clear on which img is working best on the S905X, Pulsar or Kszaq.
    I've got a Mini M8S II. I tried to load 7.0.2.006 numerous times on it yesterday via toothpick and got nothing but a blank screen. I followed the instructions to the letter.
    I don't really care to change the Android ROM at this point and would like to work with LE from an SD boot. Nand flash would be a second choice.
    So at this point which img is working best and most functional? Wifi is not an issue for me.

    Edited once, last by doggyofone (August 26, 2016 at 3:22 PM).

    Quote from doggyofone


    After reading through the thread I'm not clear on which img is working best on the S905X, Pulsar or Kszaq.
    I've got a Mini M8S II. I tried to load 7.0.2.006 numerous times on it yesterday via toothpick and got nothing but a blank screen. I followed the instructions to the letter.
    I don't really care to change the Android ROM at this point and would like to work with LE from an SD boot. Nand flash would be a second choice.
    So at this point which img is working best and most functional? Wifi is not an issue for me.

    Have the Same Android TV Box. @Pulsar's Image works like a charm. Have installed LE on SD card and have been using for the past 24 hrs. Everything works for me except the IR remote that came with the box. But CEC works great with my LG 42" TV (1080p). I cannot vouch for 4K playback. But give this img a go and you won't be disapointed. Wifi works. installed transmission service and it works flawlessly. Both these guys, Pulsar & Kszaq and all the others who contributed to this LE build , I think this is some awesome work. These guys give the chinese boxes a new lease of life. The android 6.0 firmware that comes with these boxes is a nightmare to use.