Posts by shippy

Quote from chewitt

The reason the SSV6051P driver works on the RK BSP kernel (and current Amlogic BSP kernels) has nothing to do with RK having better open-source compatibility. It is simply due to RK using an old kernel. I forget the exact kernel version where things break, but once you move beyond Linux 4.11 or 4.12 there are major crypto API changes and the driver no longer compiles. If you're lucky RK might task one of their internal devs to rewrite it at some point, but IMHO that's a long shot.

The last time I checked for an LE S905/x/w image for a generic box with SSV6051P wifi chipset, c. Sep 2019, the AP mode didn't work.

So is there an LE S905/x/w image version on which the AP mode does work?

I know this is more an LE question, but then it helps to compare with RK image too which works with AP mode.

fabiobassa

Thanks, this is all I needed 😏 I can check Armbian for further developments, as you said.

knaerzche

Thanks here 😊 too. Yes, LE/CE have got the SSV 6051P .so driver but it will only work in WiFi sta mode, which is no big loss as you pointed.

The fact that RK kernel has the SSV driver built in points to RK open source compatibility, and also that this driver is not transferable to Amlogic !

Good luck on your Armbian integration. Looking forward to it !

fabiobassa

1. I was only trying to compare Armbian v LE performance quickly, which is relevant to both forums.

In principle Armbian should be slower than LE, all other things being equal, since LE is a lightweight Kodi JeOS ( just enough OS) by design.

But if you are only streaming at 720p, maybe there isn't much performance difference with 2GB RAM or even 1GB RAM? That was the question.

Above 720p+, you get into all kinds of h264v 265 and GPU/VPU hw acceleration support issues. However if CPU software decoding is good enough for 720p, then Armbian v LE may not be much different in performance, with the standard h264.

2. The other issue, use of SSV6051P RK3229 .so driver for Amlogic S905/x/w is dependent upon respective architectures.

Quote from fabiobassa

good afternoon all

after long journey it seems many efforts are done in merging different studies into one common road of a better usable box

I wrote this ( pardon for cross posting other forum but i see also @knaerzche is trying to do some studies on armbian)

long story LINUX on rk3229 rockchip - TV boxes - Armbian forum

and also tried librelec that is running smoothly even on old devices
hope all of us will produce a good result

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Hi fabiobassa !

I actually quoted this same link of yours on Jan 19 ( see above on same page ...) 😎

So looks like knaerzche is working on integration as he mentioned at the time.

Meanwhile do you have any insights into my #2 and #3 questions in my post with your original link?

Also how does Armbian now work on RK3229 generic boxes?

knaerzche

This project is awesome.

1. Your Armbian recipe sounds intriguing 😏

Better than the Entware hack I suppose.

I found this related thread:

long story LINUX on rk3229 rockchip - TV boxes - Armbian forum

2. Will then there be any performance difference between RK 3229 Armbian and RK 3229 LE for 720p streaming on 1/8 and 2/16GB devices?

Will it be kernel 4.4?

I know mxq project has poo pooed RK3229 but I believe it is a decent chip, with RK putting in more effort than AML to open source code.

3. Good to know about ssv6051P dual mode- WiFi chip still comes in x96 and MXQ models which are popular on the cheap end.

Btw, can your SSV 6051P drivers work for gen S905* LE boxes too? What driver files need be updated via SSH?

knaerzche

Great job! Will have to find my discarded old mxq pro RK3229 boxes now...

Mxq project has a YouTube out saying MAJOR DEVELOPMENT 😂

It is, given the effort. Nobody else wanted to touch it.

1. HDMI/AV auto select is a great feature. Again one other devs ignored.

2. Will the SSV6051P work in both WiFi sta and AP modes? Old chipset, company dead.

3. Any possibility to add a package manager like Entware (Openwrt), opkg ?

Hi All ! 😋

I am back after many months since a summer issue.

Thanks to Christian for fixing my account ID and for helpful notes on vdec issues, and to Oleg ( balbes150) for doing some magic including referral to two of his Armbian threads ( I posted him on his main Armbian thread for S9xxx.)

So I have a tip and many questions, after reading through the last 6 months of this thread and of the above 3 balbes150 Armbian threads:

1. Tips for many (including me) still confused about multiboot, and booting LE balbes builds after CE boot (from SD card or emmc.)

A. Here are the instructions from Post#1 of Oleg's Armbian S9xxx thread, if you are booting a fresh Android Box, i.e., one that hasn't had CE/AE/other distro booted from before:

ARMBIAN for Amlogic S905 and S905X (ver 5.44 =<) - TV boxes - Armbian forum

B. It's not clear to me if the above basic method will work for prior CE/AE boot, which has tripped many.

In this case, you should first follow below instructions to change u-boot (modified by CE/AE) back to the original Android u-boot.

(Thanks ukmark62 !)

This method looks simpler ( correct me) than having to change back to original Android u-boot via using USB Amlogic burn tool on PC that will then install original Android firmware on emmc of the affected Android Box:

Test LibreELEC images with KODI-18 for S9xxx

This method first resets Box to original Android reboot, then you follow partial (A) instructions ( A instructions minus the Update &Backup steps for restoring original Android uboot), in its later steps.

Edit. My concern about A v B is: In B, the (first) reboot occurs once and the box then boots to Android ( then you follow remaining instructions in A.) In the A scenario, there are two reboots ( boot into Android after first reboot?) and the box then boots to LE balbes OS.

It is also true ( from a subsequent @balbes 150 remark on method B) that the files required for B already are all part of the img.gz for LE balbes builds now.

So it appears to me that in both cases (a fresh Android S9xxx box or a CE/AE booted Android S9xxx box), method A should suffice. But I will wait for guidance ...

C. My 2c on why Oleg is using this more complex universal multiboot boot method:

To integrate development of various OSes ( LE versions, Armbian, Debian) and various hardwares ( Amlogic gxl, gxm, gxbb, g12, Rockchip 3288, 33**, Allwinner H series.)

He already is working on a single Armbian image for above hardwares, and might just do so for LE too.

Now my questions !

My use case here is a generic S905/x/w box with 1/8 or 2/16 GB, streaming 720p ( no 1080 p or 4K.)

2. Is LE mainline u-boot the same as above universal multiboot u-boot Oleg is using?

3. Which last kernel version for LE balbes does support emmc install?

4. The balbes Yandex Kodi 18 folder is grayed out.

Can I just use the Kodi 19 builds with the same features and compatible addons support as for Kodi 18, for 720p streaming on a gen S905/x/w box?

If not, where can I find the last LE balbes build for Kodi 18?

I ask because I was informed of video decoding issues with Kodi 19 ( need to be kernel compatible.) But I don't know if this suggestion of switching off hardware acceleration for gxl and g12 boards also affects the gxl variety for 720p streaming.

4a. On p66 of this thread, ukmark62 says that hardware video performance is better on another distro with bespoke kernel (3.14.29 ? 😏.)

Does this apply to 720p or higher res?

5. I am looking for some boot script(s) such that I don't have to go into Kodi menu after boot.

Rather, at boot time, after splash screen etc, the OS should have screen prompt for the user configuring WiFi ( AP mode, or input WiFi sta mode SSID available and password.)

I know some wifi chips like ssv6051P (e.g., on x96) don't work in WiFi AP mode, given old drivers. But Realtek wifi chipsets should.

Also a boot script for switching between HDMI and AV output.

( I am told LE mainline does auto switch, but don't know about LE balbes.)

This way I can SSH later and edit if I need to !

Unluckily I am not a dev/coder, but I can follow instructions and try to emulate someone else's script.

6. Is there a performance/features difference between Armbian Kodi and balbes LE distro for a S905* tv box with 1/8GB ?

How about for 2/16 GB variety for 720p streaming?

I guess the Armbian should be slower, but it'll be nice to hear from someone else.

And yes, Happy Holidays and a great New Year 🎉 2020.

This CE 3.14 vs LE 4.x/5.y really is a *stupid* debate, fueled by some insecure folks !

The comparison is just damn wrong. LE 3.14 also works, if you forget. If balbes150 et al are trying to move the goalposts by experimenting with the new kernel (and calling it *experimental*) we should appreciate these efforts.

Remember all these dev folks are volunteers. They owe you nothing, but you as user owe them a lot !🐵🐵

kszaq

I always mix up VPU and GPU, since VPU terminology is seldom used.

Anyway appreciate your clearing up the HW enabling confusion. ☺

kszaq

Thanks.

1. Yes I do understand Codec Factory is for Android OS only 😃 So basically it just takes out the bad decoders if you can identify them !

2. For 720p streaming, Kodi 18.2 means you have less CPU load given software decoding.

3. Is there a list of AML 3.14 updates for Kodi 18.2? Are they mainly just bug fixes or some streaming improvements too?

One thing I don't understand: Is 720p or below decoding always in CPU ( soft decode) for AML S905/912?

Why waste the GPU as idle?

Why not use hardware decoding for 720p/below too given extra CPU load, or can you set it optionally either way?

Can someone comment on the latest Kodi 18.2 release, in particular the stuff about GLES/AML updates "after years of no love" and the Android Codec Factory settings from xml files?

Kodi "Leia" 18.2 Release | Kodi | Open Source Home Theater Software

1. What impact is on LE kernel 3.14 and 4.x/5.y releases, if any?

2. Do the Codec Factory settings lessen the TV box firmware issues, and somehow make Android on TV boxes better in performance?

Well I actually didn't mind getting kicked out for violating "GDPR rules ( what???)" as 1/76 Members out of a "5000+" community. Presumably for cross forum posting besides my usual bad attitude 😈👹🐵👺

I got better support elsewhere.

balbes150  kszaq

Thanks much for clarification ! I was just worried about moving to 4.x distros like from balbes here.

So I just use S905, X, W with 1/8GB preferably, streaming 720p or sometimes 1080p. Right now S912, S905X2/Y2 are too high tech for me ...what is the point of JeOS if you still need more memory and CPU ?🐵🐵🐵

Maybe the next interesting project would be to dual USB boot a home Openwrt router, the $15-20 AliExpress TPlink variety- should be possible 👺👺 Perhaps it can't do Kodi, but VLC possibly.

Just FYR, this Shippy in comments below is *not* me !

Panfrost is an Open Source Driver for Arm Mali Midgard GPUs

I do have great respect for chewitt and balbes150 plus other contributors in this forum 👻👻

Btw, one question: isn't Lima ready for Mali 400/450 on S905 series Amlogic?

And if you just want to stream 720p how much would the kernel 4.x dev issues affect you for HDMI or AV output?

Quote from chewitt

SSID/passphrase can be set in LE settings. No idea about connman supporting LTE but it's a moot point as LE doesn't build support for anything but wifi and ethernet.

1. I actually tried to reset, but both revert in LE Config 👺👺

Are there any ssh commands you recall?

2. Hmm...I didn't realize that LE will need special LTE setup. Thought that networking is independent.

1. Really interesting...this gives me an idea to re-try fixing the X96mini ssv6051p driver for WiFi tether by reinstalling via

$ modprobe ssv6051p

2. Asked elsewhere, can we change SSID password for the WiFi tether/hotspot?

3. Do you know if Connman supports LTE ( early versions didn't)?

If yes, is there a way to update to that new version?

I have noticed over time some folks talking about using a WiFi USB dongle to connect, in place of internal WiFi.

So I booted up my X96mini S905W 1/8G box with SSV6051P internal WiFi chipset that is giving me trouble with the tether/hotspot feature, but connects OK in station mode.

As aside, my SAMMIX R95S 2/16G box with S905W and RTL8735bs (Wifi N + BT 4.0) chipset works fine in both WiFi station and tether/hotspot (with public Internet access) modes toggled. (I checked specs with the Device Info HW Android app, not the CPU-Z or AIDA64 apps that give incomplete information ! On Amazon this box is claimed to be an S905X, but actually boots from a gxl_p281_2g device tree, as stated by Device Info HW.)

Then attached a generic RTL USB dongle with antenna into a USB port on the TV box, and checked under LE Config> Network. Saw no difference from the original internal WiFi connection. I then rebooted, and still observed the same internal WiFi connection as usual to my home router.

Question: How is the external WiFi dongle configured? Via SSH commands I assume?

Any command set?

Is there a way to use both WiFi chipsets, one for WiFi access and the other for tether/hotspot mode?

Sorry if answered already... couldn't find such link.

Is there an easy way, e.g., SSH commands?