LE-9.2.6 build for some Amlogic S905, S812 and S805 devices

I tried to find a build solution for my devices to run the current stable version on them, because official support for Amlogic devices ended with version 9.0.2, at least with the old kernels. And the new mainline 5.x kernel still lacks some features to make it suitable for daily use.

After a (very) long time, I managed to get them to work. Some example:

• Mecool KI Pro (S905):
  

• M8S+ (S812):
  

• Mecool KI-Pro with S905D SoC (2G/16G) and a modular integrated DVB-T2/S2 tuner (AVL6862 with Rafael Micro R848/R912) :
  Working services: Network (Gigabit LAN, WiFi 2.4+5 GHz, Bluetooth), amremote (all buttons work), HDMI-CEC, NAND boot (installtointernal), internal tuner (kernel + crazycat_aml).
• MXQ 4K Pro+ with S905X SoC (2G/16G):
  Working services: Network (10/100 LAN, WiFi 2.4+5 GHz, Bluetooth), amremote (all buttons work), HDMI-CEC, NAND boot (installtointernal).

Amlogic S905 images: Index of /S905/

• M8S+ with Amlogic S812 SoC (2G/8G):
  Working services: Network (Gigabit LAN, WiFi 2.4+5 GHz, Bluetooth), amremote (all buttons work), HDMI-CEC, NAND boot (installtointernal).

Amlogic S8X2 images: Index of /S8X2/

• MXQ HD18Q (1G/8G) a.k.a. "all black" versions:
  Working services: Network (10/100 Mbps LAN, Realtek WiFi 2.4 GHz), amremote (all buttons work), HDMI-CEC, NAND boot (installtointernal).
• MXQ m201d (512M/8G) a.k.a. "all black" versions with 512 MB RAM only:
  Working services: Network (10/100 Mbps LAN, Realtek WiFi 2.4 GHz), amremote (all buttons work), HDMI-CEC, NAND boot (installtointernal).

Amlogic S805 images: Index of /S805/

• The remote control configurations are integrated into the image for all devices, so those can be used immediately after the first boot.
• The built-in libreelec packages for the devices are not installed from the official repo, because they are located on an external server.
• Other devices from the same SoC family may work, only the DTB file needs to be replaced.
• It is possible that support for other devices and other Amlogic SoCs (e.g. the original 'S905' without any addition of letters, and maybe S912 as well) can be created from this source, but unfortunately I do not currently have any time and resources to compile code for other Amlogic devices.

• [ALL] slow channel change with 'pvr.iptvsimple'. (Kodi gets 0 fps from streaminfo when starting stream.) Fixed!
• [S8X2/S805] playback freezes when it is stopped or rewind/forward is used, if the playback resolution is the same as the boot screen. Fixed!
• [S8X2/S805] analog audio output (DAO) not working via AV jack. Fixed!
• [S905] playback problems with VC-1 codec. Fixed!
• [S8X2] audio passthrough issues. False positive!
• [S8X2] device with bcm4335b0: the 5 GHz wireless and bluetooth stops working after power off or restart. (AP6330 works normally.)

GitHub - dtechsrv/LibreELEC-AML: 'Just enough OS' for Kodi for some Amlogic TV boxes

• If you find an error in the image, please report it in this thread.
• If you tested an image on a device other than the devices I support and it worked, please indicate it here in the thread as well.
• If you have a device that belongs to the supported SoC family, still feel free to write and I will try to find a working DTB for it.
• If you have usable information for how to troubleshoot known issues, please post in this thread, or start a conversation with me, or send a pull request through GitHub.

Thank you.

Quote from gjstroom

Hi, I was just looking for an updated image for a M8S+.

I installed it and it boots up and works (network/wifi/bluetooth all is present), but when I try to play a video from whatever video addon I only get a spinner.

Looks very promising, hope you can fix the video playback !

It was a clean install or an update?

And which image did you use before?

Okay, that's weird. My old version works, but the new one doesn't.

Can you send me a Kodi log?

Quote from gjstroom

I reinstalled the 9.2 version. Installed the Dumpert addon and played 2 video's. The first one worked, the second one froze kodi.

It seems to have problems stopping video's and starting a new one.

Okay, I guess what the problem might be. After startup, try changing the resolution to 1080p to 720p, and try playing the video and then rewinding or stopping.

If the problem still exists, it will be different than what I'm thinking.

Tomorrow I will try to find a better solution for this problem.

gjstroom

I replaced the buggy initramfs script, so the freeze issue was solved.

The new version has been uploaded to GitHub.

Quote from gjstroom

Thanks, looks like it's fine now !

One more issue, when using the Retrospect add-on no video shows until I pause and play. Any ideas about this ?

Normal video playback from a smb share also works fine.

I'm missing the hdmi audio outputs, only spdif and analog is listed at the audio settings. So can't do audio pass through.

I'm trying to find a solution for online video stream problems (like pvr.iptvsimple), because in Kodi 18.5+ the extraction of stream info has been pretty reworked, and amcodec doesn't really like that. (It reports 0 fps, 0x0 resolution, and it cause other anomalies when starting a live stream.)

The "Default (analog)" seems to be equal to HDMI output, but I don't why. (The analog output has not worked since OpenELEC v6.)

I also use it with this settings and it works properly without passthrough, but I will check the passthrough mode with my TV.

akican

If I remember correctly, we’ve already talked about this in another thread.

Then you wrote that there was a version that worked with wifi, just the power on did not work.

You should copy dtb.img from that version to the SD card and try it out.

gjstroom

I added a couple of fixes, the new version has been uploaded to GitHub, it is available on the releases page. (9.2.6-20210209)

I tried a few previous M8 audio configurations, but none of them changed the situation, only Analog and S/PDIF options are displayed in the ALSA list.

I tried passthrough on M8S+ with basic settings, and my TV recognized Dolby AC3 correctly, but I couldn't try DTS because unfortunately it is not supported on the LG OLED TV.

Another question: What kind of S805 device do you have? Maybe an MXQ-HD18Q (a.k.a. "all black" with 1GB of RAM) or an MXQ-m201d (512MB)?

Quote from gjstroom

My S805 is a M8S. About your 9.02 builds for both M8S and M8S+, they do freeze quite often. Not sure yet when, looks also stopping/starting video related. For the M8S+ the 9.2 build does a better job.

For M8S-S805 (M8Q) devices, I will also be trying to make an image soon, because there is the same problem with the initramfs script.

Quote from Samui

Hi dtech,

your image is working great on my Mecool KII Pro - thank you very much for your work!

Would it be possible for you to compile the makemkv addon to this release.

I connected my external BDROM to the box for use it as BD Player also, but many of my original BDs

are protected.

Display More

Thank you for the feedback. I'm glad it works under KII Pro as well.

I tried to find something meaningful for makemkv, but what I found so far only included PKG_ARCH="x86_64".

Does it work on Amlogic device at all? If you had such an earlier version, I would like a link.