Posts by wrxtasy

Yes L1 and HDCP 1.x are required for 1080p Android TV Netflix when using Android on the Mecool M8S Pro+ and Pro L, WeTek Play2 / Hub and MINIX U9-H

LE Kodi Leia v18.x can have self installed Widevine L1 binaries which then combine with the Kodi Leia - Netflix or Amazon Video Addons to give you 720p streaming once you Login to those paid for streaming services.

720p is the Max you can use for smooth video playback resolution until code optimisations are done for AML S9xx LE Leia platforms. 1080p currently works but has stuttering video playback.

There is no Hardware decoding of DRM H264 Netflix video streams when using Linux / LibreELEC.

I still prefer to Dual Boot and use an Android TV Netflix App. Much more bling and easier to use Netflix with that App.

The Gigabit LAN - MINIX U9-H has Widevine L1 and HDCP 1.x and gives me 1080p Netflix 5.1 DD+ Audio, and 1080p for other DRM copy protected video streaming Apps when using @JJ-Kwik's pretty decent Android TV ROM. Snappy device with quality Android 6.x 4K HDR capable Firmware.

The MINIX U1 and S912 MINIX U9 have the best thermal cooling vs any other AMLogic devices on the market.

They both have massive heatsinks (see Post #1 of this thread for pictures) and the U9 runs between 15-25 Degrees C cooler than any other AMLogic device I've tested and consequently never gets thermal CPU / GPU throttled or slows down.

No stuffing around with Reset switches on the U1 / U9 either, you simply hold in the main box Power Button for 6 seconds to initiate LE boot for the very first time.

You pay for this sort of quality Hardware Engineering.

BTW I'm NOT noticing - visually - Subtitles and major Frame Skips / Drops with LE Krypton on the S912 U9, although my eyesight is not what it once was. I use subtitles all the time.

The Vero 4K does not seem to run very hot either. Another quality AMLogic device with proper Hardware engineering.

Fastest AML S9xx LE device (no HDR) = ODROID C2 with high quality Samsung 5.1 eMMC flash.

I now have it running stably @ 1.752GHz using the standard heastsink and a minor U-boot code power tweak from Hardkernel.

Basically with AMLogic you generally get what you pay for.

Never seen this blurry picture problem on any AML devices and a variety of TV's and I watch a lot of 1080i25 H264 and 576i25 mpeg2 TV on my 4K TV.

Make sure ALL video Hardware acceleration options are selected to "Always" as well.

Only suggestion I can make is change Kernels by using GDPR-1 's standard Marshmallow one in his 32bit Kodi Krypton/Leia releases for Play2 / Hub.

This is one I prepared earlier for MECOOL boxes, or will likely work on boxes with the same remote:

remote.conf

GDPR-1 this is the patch for re-enabling Live TV Audio passthrough for Krypton at least:

LibreELEC.tv/kodi-le-022-PVR-no-realtime.patch at libreelec-8.2 · kszaq/LibreELEC.tv · GitHub

Quote from adamg

A lot of my time has been spent making community releases, it takes 2-3 hours for LE to compile, then there is testing, debugging, a lot of smoking cigarettes and headaches that also come with it but hey we do it all for nothing =D

LOL

You realise you have now opened a can of Worms labelled "User Expectations" and the little wrigglers are not performing as expected in their "Alpha" state.

Myself and kszaq have been on that Merry Go Round for a while now and are more than happy to let someone else ride the scary AML LE pony for a while !

Quote from kszaq

wrxtasy Can you share the source of your dtb so that I can include it in my builds?

I remember decompiling the U9 Android dtb.img and adding specific patches for the Nougat Kernel compatibility:

This is the likely source: (its been a while since I did any S912 compiling)

LibreELEC.tv/li01-dts-add-minix-u9.patch at master · wrxtasy/LibreELEC.tv · GitHub

For all those having issues...

There has to be a common theme here, as some users are having issues and others none at all.

What Software is everyone using to flash the LE image ?

For example I'm not having issues using a Sandisk Class 10 microSHDC card.

I flashed LE using the Terminal App on a macOS iMac.

And this is the U9 dtb.img I'm using:

dtb.img

And the H96 Pro Plus does not have Widevine L1 & HDCP 1.x needed for 1080p Netflix streaming. It and other copy protected Android Apps will be limited to 480p Max resolution video streaming. But yes it does have Gigabit LAN.

The M8S Pro L already has an inbuilt Android TV Playstore out of the box for direct install of Android TV Apps. There is hardly any need to even install an Android TV ROM for Dual Boot purposes.

The S912's running kszaq's LE are stable enough for a bunch of us to use a daily LE platforms, particularly for the price you can get them for and the pretty snappy performance with working BT & 2.4/5GHz WiFi.

I suspect kszaq has his developers hat on and is being ultra cautious due to the Hybrid GPU video drivers used.

We cannot help with dodgy Kodi addons streaming video from unknown sources. Simply too many variables involved in the video streaming chain that are completely beyond everyone's control.

Complain to the Addon developers.

If local NAS video plays fine that is all we really care about.

Quote from Zorro

I have buy MECOOL M8S Pro+. I would install libreelec. Its possible USB port to boot the box or only sdcard? Thanks

New M8S Pro+ boxes hav no reset button so....

From the S905X Install thread: (you may need to issue a "su" command before reboot update)

• Terminal Emulator: boot to Android, insert SD card/USB drive with LE, install Terminal Emulator app (either from Google Play or APKMirror), run it and type reboot update. Your box should reboot to LE.

Quote from [email protected]

Can anyone share if they have issues when playing a 4K mkv with TrueHD/Atmos soundtrack ? My AVR is TRueHD compliant but if I enable it, the movie stutters. If I disable the TrueHD passthrough the movie plays just fine.

After hours of testing, I thought maybe the 905X box isn't powerfull enough for Atmos.

Any thoughts on that ?

No idea what is going on with the Atmos Audio, but

Regarding " ...UHD.BluRay.REMUX.HDR.HEVC.Atmos.mkv"

It's not the Hardware being powerful enough, it that the Hardware actually has to support HDR and output the correct colorspace.

Have a look at the chart in the...

Choosing a S905 / S905X / S905D / S905W / S912 box guide

And then realise the S905 does not support HDR. All HDR video played on the S905's will output washed out colors.

You need a S905X, S905D or S912.

Quote from kszaq

Remember that although S912 GPU is faster than S905 GPU, its performance is lower because we have to use hybrized Android libs.

Yes I agree.

As an example, my Overclocked ODROID C2 with a S905 is the same speed for Kodi day to day use as LE on the S912 MINIX U9-H.

The S912's GPU should definitely be faster, but those hybrized Android libs definitely constrict performance.

From a AML LE developer, Kodi testing perspective:

The ODROID C2 with eMMC flash storage and Gigabit Ethernet is the fastest non HDR S905 device I have seen, because you can give it a slight tickle and overclock it. Quality internal Hardware components from Hardkernel as well. Cases are a bit shabby, but you can hide the box behind the TV or in a cabinet and use with a Wireless remote anyway.

This is my daily driver / Mini PVR LE device because I have a non HDR 10bit 4K TV.

C2 has the best HDMI-CEC of all the AML S9xx LE devices, because of custom AML LE developer work it has had done to it.

Really reliable setup.

Something like a 83,95 € C2 Kit from http://www.pollin.de is all you need for LE unless you have a massive video library.

A eMMC to MicroSD adapter is needed as well when purchasing Hardkernel eMMC flash modules.

The non HDR S905 MINIX U1 is also another quality piece of Kit. Excellent Wireless A2 remote.

The 4K HDR MINIX U9 with its S912 and Gigabit Ethernet is the fastest S912 LE setup I've tested. Quality, properly engineered hardware. Only thing that lets it down is the new A3 MINIX wireless voice remote that has a minor issue with mini delays waking from its sleep function. The older MINIX A2 lite remote has no such issues, its one of my favourite remotes and its batteries last for a good 6 months or more of demanding use.

There is very little speed wise between these two devices when LibreELEC is running from eMMC flash storage using a Wireless remote.

9 second ODROID C2 LE booting from eMMC is the quickest I've seen.

I do not use WiFi for LE use at all. Everything is hardwired for superior LE Kodi responsiveness and reliability.

RPi3 was old, slower hardware when it was first released with a bunch of carry over limitations from the RPi2.

It has been optimised impressively as far as it will go. RPi's have a modern Linux Kernel compared to AMLogic devices if you need comprehensive external USB connectivity to work out of the box with virtually everything.

Quote from the_bo

Well my Samsung evo+ was working fine up until the 8.1.6 update using the micro SD slot on s912 box.

After 8.1.7 system stuck on read only.

But latest update is working fine if I put the sd card into a usb adapter and run from there.

Looks like the 8.1.7 LE update changed something then for Samsung EVO microSDHC compatibility.

Samsung SD cards are likely fine but S912 LE 8.1.7+ is not. I'm using a Lexar 300x Class 10 U1 microSDHC and that has no issues.

Quote from jsotelo5150

I just tried the 64Gb Samsung EVO plus card that was in my S8 and it didn't work either, here's hoping that the Sandisk works when it gets here on Thursday.

Strange looks like the Samsung EVO+ and the Select microSDHC's have issues with AML S912's for some reason ?

They work on all other AMLogic S8xx/S9xx platforms. Will change my SD card recommendations then.

This works for me, you may have to wait until my AMLogic S905 UHID patches filter thru to various AMLogic platforms first tho:

(especially the ODROID C2 which needs a slight Kernel tweak)

DIY Guide to connecting Wireless Game controllers to LibreELEC (click)

Quote from Raybuntu

Release rb-leia11 · Raybuntu/LibreELEC.tv · GitHub

There are some changes to the otg usb driver. If you experience any "new!" usb issues please speak up.

It should fix Xiaomi BT remotes and PS3 controllers.

Before anyone post back issues that is support for USB connected - PS3 game controllers.

EDIT: Happy days !

The solution to Bluetooth connect the Sony PS3 Dualshocks to AMLogic devices is to:

1) Connect controller via USB cord and then disconnect.

2) Using a remote in LibreELEC Config > Bluetooth settings > Select the PS3 controller > Trust and Connect (NOT Pair)

3) The most important bit - install the PS3 Game controller Addon from the Kodi Repo then.

4) In Kodi Settings > System Settings > Input > Peripherals > Configure Games Controllers > Playstation > Config the controller buttons.

TIP: Use a seperate HDMI CEC or similar remote when selecting the various options you want to configure in the Playstation game controller config.

I believe enabling STANDBY in LE Settings > Bluetooth > PS3 controller

Will save remote / controller battery life.

For info LibreELEC also has built in command line:

bluetoothctl