[S905W] 720p Resolution Needed

    TL;DR: I think I need to find a way to set kodi's resolution without anything being shown on the screen.

    I can't SSH in until I set up the wifi, but I don't know how to do that without doing so through kodi or SSH.

    Using an ethernet cable to the router didn't work for some reason.


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    I have an x96 mini (s905w) that I want to use with my only TV, which is quite old.

    When I boot the original OS, it shows up on the screen ok, but when booting libreELEC the TV just said it's not compatible. I tried experimenting with connecting a laptop to the TV and that was the same until I changed the resolution to 1280x720, which worked.

    So I've edited uEnv.ini to add video=HDMI-A-1:1280x720@60D to the bootargs. Now the libreELEC splash screen is visible during boot, but after that it switches to saying it's not compatible again. I assume this is when kodi loads, using a higher resolution.

    From reading around, my understanding is that I can't set kodi's resolution on boot with a config file, but I could if I SSH in.

    I can't SSH in without being connected to the network, but I haven't found a way to set up a wifi connection without using the settings in kodi or connmanctl through SSH. A bit of a chicken-and-egg problem, since I only have the one TV.

    I have an ethernet cable to connect to my router, but when I tried that just now the x96 was never given an IP address. The router logs show the cable being connected though. The router is too far from the TV to have it connected while using the ethernet cable, but I can move the TV closer to get this sorted if needed.

    If anyone has any ideas for how to solve this (hopefully I'm missing something), I'd really appreciate it.

    It might be that focusing on getting the ethernet working is the only way, in which case I can post a thread for that specifically if that's more appropriate.

    Adding "ssh" to boot params in uEnv.ini forces SSH to start on boot. Then stop Kodi and use nano to edit guisettings.xml to change any instances of 1080p resolutions in the file to the 720p equivalent (search for 1080) then restart Kodi. NB: If Ethernet is not working you're probably using an incompatible device-tree: although there aren't many to choose from.

    Thank you for the response.

    I had already added ssh to the bootargs, but thank you for mentioning it since I didn't say I had. The problem is that I can't get the device onto the network in order to ssh into it.

    You've made me realise that I may have misunderstood something when reading around about kodi. I was under the impression that editing guisettings.xml manually wouldn't work, but since that's what you're suggesting I've tried editing that file with the SD card mounted on my laptop. Unfortunately, that hasn't made a difference so far.

    The only line I found with 1080 in it (or anything to do with a resolution) was videoscreen.screenmode, with the value 0192001080060.00000pstd.

    I changed that to 0128000720060.00000pstd, but it's still not showing up. Maybe that's not the right value, but I don't know what else to put there.


    While testing this I realised I'd misremembered what the TV displays when the resolution isn't right, it's actually "Mode not supported".


    Ideally I need to find a way to get the device onto the network. I've created a connman service for my wifi, but either I haven't done it right or the wifi isn't working anyway. I'll try the other s905w device trees to see if ethernet works with them (I've been using meson-gxl-s905w-p281.dtb).


    I've realised now I can boot into textmode, but I don't have a keyboard to use. If it comes to it I'll get a cheap usb one somewhere to hopefully skip needing the network if the different device-trees don't help.

    Code
    connmanctl
agent on
scan wifi
services
connect <service>

    Use connmanctl to join a WiFi network ^

    Code
    <advancedsettings version="1.0">
  <!-- enable debug logging -->
  <loglevel hide="false">1</loglevel>
</advancedsettings>

    Then create /storage/.kodi/userdata/advancedsettings.xml with ^ that content and reboot so Kodi is in debug mode. Then run "pastekodi" and share the URL generated so I can see the system log and Kodi log.

    I already knew how to use connmanctl, but thank you for specifying. When I tried the ethernet again it worked, both on the dtb I was originally using and s905w-tx3-mini. No idea why it wasn't connecting before.

    When I tried to connect to the wifi, the scan wifi command failed with this message:

    Quote

    Error /net/connman/technology/wifi: Method "Scan" with signature "" on interface "net.connman.Technology" doesn't exist

    I thought that the wifi was supposed to be working, but when looking again I've found mixed reports of whether the wifi chip (it says sv6051p on it) has working drivers. I really hope there's a way to get the wifi working, I can't really use this device as intended without it.

    It looks like to have both ssh access and the TV connected I'll have to move the TV to the router for further troubleshooting. When I do that I'll get the logs.

    Quote from minime

    I really hope there's a way to get the wifi working

    Not happening. The SSV6501P chip has no driver that works on Amlogic hardware and upstream kernels. Some Armbian devs have wrangled the rather horrific vendor code to use on Rockchip boards, but in the process of simplifying the code for their Rockchip needs they removed support for the Amlogic chip implementation. You'll need to use an external USB dongle for WiFi.

    It took me a while to get around to moving the TV and getting the logs.

    https://paste.libreelec.tv/free-mite.log

    The resolution it selects is definitely not one the TV is capable of, but I still haven't managed to get it working changing the screenmode in guisettings.xml.


    That's good to know about the wifi. Do you think I'm right in believing that an external dongle using an RTL8188 chip should be supported?

    I've just gotten it working...


    It works as long as I plug in the hdmi cable to the device after it's booted. I don't know why that matters, or if that's what's supposed to happen. I seem to have to do that every time, and advice on making it work when already plugged in would be appreciated.


    Now I just need to get the remote working. I'll ask for help on that if I need it (hopefully not)

    Quote from minime

    Do you think I'm right in believing that an external dongle using an RTL8188 chip should be supported?

    It's not the fastest chip, but for connectivity and fiddling it should work fine.

    I can't explain the need to connect HDMI after boot. It's not something I've seen with any of my own test devices.

    For kicks, update to https://chewitt.libreelec.tv/testing/LibreE…ch64-12.0.0.tar. It's unlikely to change anything but you never know what magic newer kernels and such might bring.

    The remote can be gotten working with: https://wiki.libreelec.tv/configuration/…ration-advanced