My Old Minix Neo U9-H Can Be Updated?

    A number of years ago, I purchased a Minix Neo U9-H (when I constructed my home theater, 2017 believe). I immediately installed LibreELEC on it (wiped out Android and installed directly on the device) and, until recently, used it as my primary media player for movies stored on my local NAS. I believe I updated the box maybe once a few years ago. It is currently running LibreELEC 8.2.2.3 and Kodi 17.6. Recently I replaced it in my theater setup with a Zidoo Z9X running OSMC but may use the old Minix in another room. A while back I checked the LibreELEC forums and it appeared that there would be no future LibreELEC support for my Amlogic based box. I just visited the forums here after quite a while and was shocked to see that the recently released LibreELEC 11.0 apparently returned support for the Amlogic S912 of my Minix U9-H. I'm excited about the prospect of bringing my old box up to date but have a few questions.

    1) I should download and use the LibreELEC-AMLGX.arm-10.95.0-box.img.gz file for my Minix Neo U9-H box...correct?

    2) After extracting and writing the image to a USB drive with LibreELEC.USB-SD.Creator.Win32, I assume I still need to go into the dtb folder, copy and paste the meson-gxm-minix-neo-u9h.dtb file to the root of the drive, and then rename it dtb.img...correct?

    3) At this point, I believe I have a bootable USB that should boot my device and run the newest version of LibreELEC. Given that my older version of LibreELEC is resident on my device in the eMMC storage, I should unplug power to my Minix, insert the bootable USB, hold down power button, reattach power cable, wait 5 or 6 seconds and take finger off power button. At this point, the box should boot into the new version on the USB...correct?

    4) I understand about not trying to install this new version of LibreELEC internally on the device, so I just leave the USB drive inserted and it will default to the USB boot of the new version unless I remove the USB and then it will boot into older version on eMMC...correct?

    Thank you in advance!

    • Best Answer

    1. Yes

    2. No need to rename, edit uEnv.ini to use the right file. See: https://wiki.libreelec.tv/hardware/amlogic

    3. Right process, but will fail due to #2 being wrong

    4. Once booted from AMLGX the u-boot environment is modifed to find AMLGX boot files, meaning it will no longer find legacy image boot files. However if you remove the USB and repeat the 'toothpick' forced-recovery boot it should then search for and find the legacy image boot scripts and work with content on eMMC again.

    I don't have a U9-H so USB boot isn't tested, but it should be the same as an SD card. If it doesn't work, try different ports, or an SD card.

    Quote from chewitt

    1. Yes

    2. No need to rename, edit uEnv.ini to use the right file. See: https://wiki.libreelec.tv/hardware/amlogic

    3. Right process, but will fail due to #2 being wrong

    4. Once booted from AMLGX the u-boot environment is modifed to find AMLGX boot files, meaning it will no longer find legacy image boot files. However if you remove the USB and repeat the 'toothpick' forced-recovery boot it should then search for and find the legacy image boot scripts and work with content on eMMC again.

    I don't have a U9-H so USB boot isn't tested, but it should be the same as an SD card. If it doesn't work, try different ports, or an SD card.

    Thanks so much for the precise answers. Worked like a charm. Used USB 2.0 drive. Took a while for the partition resizing but was in Kodi in probably 10 minutes start to finish on 1st boot. Just finished initial connection and setup. Shut off box, removed USB drive, turned on and it booted straight into old version on eMMC...no problem. Reinserted and booted from USB back into new version with no issues; boot time of about 2 minutes off USB. Everything looks good at this point.

    One additional "basic" question...how the heck do I change the time zone within Kodi? The time appears to be set at UTC/GMT. I need it set to US EST.

    2 mins boot time sounds terribly slow (should be more like 20 secs). Please share the URL from "pastekodi" over SSH so I can boot logs.

    Kodi Settings > Interface > Regional .. all the format/timezone things are there.

    Quote from chewitt

    2 mins boot time sounds terribly slow (should be more like 20 secs). Please share the URL from "pastekodi" over SSH so I can boot logs.

    Kodi Settings > Interface > Regional .. all the format/timezone things are there.

    Never mind. Turns out that...yeah...it will boot from a USB 2.0 drive, but no one should do that. Painfully slow. Not only the slow initial partition work and actually entering Kodi, but the UI experience was like watching grass grow. It took FOREVER just to add a source folder from my NAS with only about 100 movies in it. Just had time to redo the image onto a 64GB ultra-fast micro SD and it is a whole different experience...in a really good way. With the image on the Micro SD, it did the partitioning and initial boot into Kodi in well less than a minute. 2nd boot in about 20 seconds as you said. Kodi UI appears to be buttery smooth. Adding source folders is also quick. So, if anyone else asks about booting from USB 2.0 instead of Micro SD on a Minix Neo U9-H (heck, probably anything with USB 2.0 only), tell them it is technically possible , but definitely not a good experience. Thanks for info on time zones; can't believe I couldn't find that.

    My Minix Neo U9-H is now running LibreELEC-AMLGX.arm-10.95.0-box.img very well off of an ultra fast Micro SD card. So far, I've only encountered one significant issue. It fails to play any HD audio streams and that is a real deal breaker for me. The Minix box still has the old copy of LibreELEC 8.2.2.3/Kodi 17.6 running from the onboard eMMC so by inserting and removing the SD card with the LibreELEC 10.95.0/Kodi 20, I am able to switch between the 2 versions and do apple to apple comparisons to confirm the issue is not with the hardware or the specific movie file...same physical hardware (Minix Neo U9-H Player -> Denon AVR-X6300H Receiver) playing same mkv file (Alita Battle Angel 4K HDR10 Dolby ATMOS). When running LibreELEC 8.2.2.3/Kodi 17.6 off of the internal eMMC, all formats of lossless audio are handled correctly - Dolby TrueHD, Dolby TrueHD with Dolby ATMOS, DTS-HD Master, and DTS:X (see Old Libreelec image attached). When running the new LibreELEC 10.95.0/Kodi 20 software on the same Minix box, I get no HD audio of any type. The same audio file (in this case it is Dolby TrueHD with Dolby ATMOS) will not play. I have to switch to the Dolby Digital (AC-3) lossy 5.1 audio file to get any sound. This can be seen in the other attached image New Libreelec (small).jpg. All audio settings are the same in the 2 Kodi versions, including allowing Passthrough of all listed types of audio codes. I've tried numerous movie files with HD audio and had the same results. My newer Zidoo Z9X media player with OSMC and connected via HDMI to same Denon receiver also handles all of the HD audio formats with no problem. Anyone have any ideas?

    NOTE: The New Libreelec image shows Blu-Ray as the source but that's only because I switched inputs on the Denon to rule out an issue with the connection and forgot to switch back before taking the photo. The source is the same in both photos, the Minix.

    Can you please share Kodi debug log from the box. Reboot (to clear logs) then play something with HBR audio, and run "pastekodi" from SSH and share the URL. I'd like to see some infos from the log. Thanks.

    Quote from chewitt

    Can you please share Kodi debug log from the box. Reboot (to clear logs) then play something with HBR audio, and run "pastekodi" from SSH and share the URL. I'd like to see some infos from the log. Thanks.

    Here you go.

    http://ix.io/4n6D

    Not sure if it is relevant, but I compared the debug log from the Minix U9-H running LibreELEC 10.95.0/Kodi 20 (the URL attached above) which doesn't pass through HD audio of any type and the debug log from the same Minix box running LibreELEC 8.2.2.3/Kodi 17.6 (which passes all HD audio formats correctly). One thing that jumped out at me right away was that the Enumerated ALSA Devices in the working old system are identified as AML-M8AUDIO. In the LibreELEC 10.95.0/Kodi 20 where the HD audio passthrough doesn't work, the Enumerated ALSA Devices are identified as P230-Q200. Not sure if this is a harmless renaming of the audio device over time or if it is actually misidentifying the audio device in a way that messes things up.

    Edited 4 times, last by Senior Citizen: Additional information. (February 4, 2023 at 8:10 PM).

    There is no driver code in-common between the Legacy image and AMLGX image so there is no value in making comparisons. It's like pointing at a Nissan car and a Ford car and saying .. "they're different" .. because they are.

    I'll add the investigation to my list, but these days Amlogic support is largely a one-man team (and I don't write driver code) so these things take time.

    Quote from chewitt

    There is no driver code in-common between the Legacy image and AMLGX image so there is no value in making comparisons. It's like pointing at a Nissan car and a Ford car and saying .. "they're different" .. because they are.

    I'll add the investigation to my list, but these days Amlogic support is largely a one-man team (and I don't write driver code) so these things take time.

    Figured that was the case with the drivers, but just thought I would mention it. I wouldn't have a Nissan...bought a Datsun 280Z in 1978...loved that car, but never a Nissan. :D

    Thanks for putting this on your list. Good luck!

    Is the U9-H running LE11 capable of 1080p VC1 playback? I have a bunch of these old blu-rays that haven't been reissued in AVC, and a Pi2/3 with the VC1 hw codec enabled has been my only option so far to play them without stutter.

    Quote from sugatam

    Is the U9-H running LE11 capable of 1080p VC1 playback? I have a bunch of these old blu-rays that haven't been reissued in AVC, and a Pi2/3 with the VC1 hw codec enabled has been my only option so far to play them without stutter.

    There's no hardware decoder for VC1 (was on the to-do list but never reached..) but S912 has a reasonably decent CPU so it might be enough to software decode. I don't have any VC1 test media so you'll have to experiment and let us know.

    I was trying to breath the new life to my venerable Minix Neo U9-H with the latest LibreElec. So far the thing was running CoreElec 9.2.8 without problems, so I have good reason to believe that the hardware is fine.

    First thing I noticed when trying to boot LE from an SD card was that in order to be able to switch to the new SD card (by booting while keeping power button) the device had to be shut down properly before. Which is possible either from the native Android or from the CE by using some menu commands, but does not work if I just power cycled the device in sleep mode. I do not remember if it was a normal behavior, but since I did not know (or did not remember) I thought that maybe my SD card install is not correct, or the power button trick did not work anymore - anyway it scared me especially since it started to behave the same way even for the old SD card with CE install.

    The recovery was to remove SD card, boot the original Firmware, use the menu command to shut it down properly then disconnect the power, put the SD card in, push the power button and plug the power.

    The second thing I am not sure was right, while booting the card with LE and still keeping the power button down, it looked like the boot was locked in a loop. The first LE screen showed up, then the screen blacked out, then again as long as I kept the button down. Once I released the button, it showed the LE screen with the text LibreElec and version at the top left corner, then Kodi booting screen showed up and then it got stuck.

    Since I read about some extensive booting time mentioned by OP here, I left it conservatively for maybe 10 minutes, but it did not budge from the Kodi screen.

    The problem is that I do not have the device at my place and have typically just limited time for playing with it, so I need to prepare myself in advance. I have checked the both filesystems on the card (FAT and Ext4) but did not find any log (`.kodi/temp/kodi.log apparently got created but is empty).

    Is there a way to instrument the boot to get any diagnostics either into console or recorded onto SD card?

    Removing "quiet" and adding "ssh" to the APPEND line in uEnv.ini will result in console output on-screen (although it tends to dump text to screen faster than most eyeballs can track anything) and forces SSH to start so if boot has reached userspace (maybe) you might be able to connect to the box and poke around to look for issues. Something else to try is adding "video=HDMI-A-1:1920x1080M@60" (all on the same line) to force DRM output to 1080p; in case it's trying to use a 4K mode and disagreeing with the TV panel in some way.

    chewitt

    Thanks for the tips! It seemed stuck for a long time and the kodi log got created so I would hope it reached userspace (unless the kodi runs in some other mode). The video might be a problem as the TV is an old Panasonic plasma with native res 1280x720 ("HD ready"), it should be able to run Full HD (1920x1080) up to 60Hz but the EDID might not be "up to date".

    Coming to the repetitive reboot with power button down, do you if it is an expected behavior? For example if the power button is mapped to "reset" on LE and activates at the very first moment?

    On CoreElec when booting with the power button down, it flashes the Minix screen shortly but then goes directly into CE boot and remains there until it fully boots, regardless how long I keep the button pressed.

    No idea on the boot/reset issue. You need to force recovery boot if the device has been running CE else the u-boot bootscripts are looking for the wrong files; but your description says you've seen the Kodi home screen which would mean you've gotten beyond that issue and first-booted the box into LE.

    You can use the same video= line but chage the resolution to 720p. Kodi can only handle progressive output so will ignore 1080i resolutions.

    Otherwise it's pretty much impossible to "guess the issue" without UART logs from the box.