yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Josh.5:
EmbER - Test builds are coming...

Hey everybody,

I'm proud to announce the next generation of Embedded Linux for Amlogic devices.

Corey and I have been working hard over the past few months refining a bunch of really big improments to MX Linux as well as introducing some really cool new features.

What we've ended up with has been dubbed "EmbER" - Embedded Entertainment Rom, and we're sure you are going to love it.

Shortly, we will be posting test releases for some selected boxes. These alpha firmware roms are not finished products, nor are they the complete package of whats to come...

So what kind of new features can you expect with this new firmware?

Without spilling the beans too much:

Kodi 14.0.

Static IP configuration for both wifi and ethernet.

Overclock/CPU adjustment settings.

OTA Updates.

Universal built in backup/restore function - Including restore from "OpenElec" or "XBMC Backup addon" backups.

And a few more surprises still under development.

Watch this thread for the announcement of the test releases.

Josh.5 -- EmbER-Dev

http://tinyhtpc.co.nz | http://ember-dev.com
[Miscellaneous Android Development] jackhill:
Thanks Josh.5

Any chance we can get Kodi 14.1?

Donation sent
[Miscellaneous Android Development] applefag:
OTA updates...... NAILED IT !!!!

Cant wait to try the new builds. Can you confirm this is actually linux kodi and not openelec ?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Josh.5:
Initial releases will be Corey' s unofficial 14.0, patched specifically for amlogic.

I can confirm this is not OpenElec. This is buildroot embedded linux booting straight to Kodi.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] MrBungle67:
I am watching the thread!!! Can't wait for that post that will finally have links! Thanks for the hard work, have been running MXLinux pretty much since I purchased the MX2, and have been using XBMC for many years. Everybody in my house from wife to kids couldn't live without it!! :)
[Miscellaneous Android Development] applefag:
Josh are we down to days or weeks for an alpha release ?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] MrBungle67:
Months...When 15.0 final is out. :p

Ok I shouldn't...sorry! Can't wait for EmbER's first links...
[Miscellaneous Android Development] fragtion:
ETA?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] belliash:
someone said a week or two.... few months ago....
[Miscellaneous Android Development] croniccorey:
Sorry for wait but we had unforseen issues that needed addressing, we are preparing alphas for stvmx(g02ref), g18ref(mx2ref) currently and those will be released very soon on OP, again sorry for the wait and thanks for your patience.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] lexridge:
Has anybody tested this on the G-Box Midnight (v2.2) or the G-Box Slav? I would love to upgrade the OS on these things.

Thanks.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] gorilla p:
I've thought about trying it on my midnight mx2.

I can't believe the poor development that Matricom has put into an item that has sold so many units. For gods sake, I had to tell them it was still set to a conservative governor by default (on a device with no battery). They said they'd fix it, but idk if it happened yet.

My biggest issue is that I like time of the android apps available and Kodi is running well.

Sent from my Nexus 4
[Miscellaneous Android Development] applefag:
very soon very near now ?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] croniccorey:
Starting tonight we are glad to say EmbER v1.0.0 stable will start to roll out rocking Kodi 14.2, thanks for all patience.

Cheers
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Josh.5:
Site is up...

Hey all,

http://EmbER-Dev.com is up.

First download available is STVMX (g02ref). More will follow throughout the next 24 hours.

Enjoy ;)
[Miscellaneous Android Development] dimskom:
Will this work on bluetimes mx5?

It is also g02ref board
[Miscellaneous Android Development] NeBouse:
What does read-only rootfs mean ?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Josh.5:
This means the system partition and all system files are read-only (cannot be edited).

This is especially important for avoiding data corruption during sudden losses of power.

We have separated the /etc folder and kept that writable so the system can still be fully configured if you choose to do so.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] CrazyTSTer:
Does anybody try?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] NeBouse:
Ok, thanks.

Does it affect potential hdd i plug in the box, making them read-only ?

I had that problem in a prior version of MX linux where i couldn't write anything on the sd card or my hdd using filezilla, smb or putty, they were if plugged in the box...

Now how do i update from prior MX linux, without losing everything i have setup ?

I'm actually running a build from the latest MX linux source that was available on github, with Helix included.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] lexi81:
Going to try it tonight, I''m Currently on OpenELEC 5.0.3. I've ran MXLinux since the 0.0.3 release (until OpenELEC got Helix builds) so I guess this will be quite good.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] CrazyTSTer:
I have tried it with my SideWinder4

I have installed EmbEr linux from usb stick. I have changed [MENTION=501635]sdcard[/MENTION]@ to [MENTION=4966735]udis[/MENTION]k@ in [MENTION=378997]factory[/MENTION]_update_param.uml@

Installation has been complete successful and Kodi has been started.

But there is no mouse arrow, and after I have switched SW4 off, and switched it on again, I've got EmbEr logo screen and that's all. Kodi was not loaded. After few minutes nothing has been changed, I have got only EmbEr logo.

Also i can't reinstall EmbEr, because now i can't load system from my usb stick, unplug power cord, hold power button and plug power cord in and continue to hold power button for 10 seconds does not work any more :(

Sometimes EmbER starts, but i can't understand when :( after installation it has been successfully loaded for three times, but mostly i've got only EmbER logo
[Miscellaneous Android Development] lexi81:
I installed EmbER on top of OpenELEC. Restored the OE backup, EmbER says no space to restore but it restored anyway. The time and date don't update and the animated bootlogo is only in top left part of the scheen. After two reboot it hangs al EmbER logo.

Will try again tomorrow with Android to EmbER image.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] ynl078:
HI can you please tell me your software EmbER is compatiable with my amlogic s802 M8 K200 BOX

MANY THANX
[Miscellaneous Android Development] croniccorey:
At this time M8 builds are exclusively made for Armada Mach 8

Cheers
[Miscellaneous Android Development] croniccorey:
please use initial conversion if your not already running a ember build... MX Linux needs conversion aswell.. Were updating stvmx(g02ref) conversion now and mx2ref(g18ref) is good to go.

Cheers
[Miscellaneous Android Development] applefag:
Nice to have a final release will check it out this evening. One thing I noticed was an encrypted root.fs, any reason for this ?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] croniccorey:
Simply to stop modification of system files in the rootfs, /etc is still RW for advanced user customization
[Miscellaneous Android Development] CrazyTSTer:
How to flash original recovery.img back and reinstall EmbER? now i can't boot my device to recovery mode using unplug power cord + plug power cord in + hold power button for 10 seconds

and if it's can help, I've just disassembled my SW4 :))) and found that motherboard model is RM-MPEG-86G VER 1.0 KB-6160
[Miscellaneous Android Development] croniccorey:
Place recovery.img on sdcard and boot recovery, If that does not work use Amlogic recovery SD method... Be careful when flashing unsupported devices as our conversions carry a custom uboot and recovery made for the specific device.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Josh.5:
G02ref conversion zip has been updated on the website. For people converting their g02ref device from anything other than original android, Please re-download and install following the instructions.

Let me know if you continue to have issues
[Miscellaneous Android Development] CrazyTSTer:
I can't boot recover.img from USB or SD card, cause flashed into system memory bootloader runs faster than 10 seconds, so in any case my device boots from system memory, not from external devices. :( Any suggestions?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] lexi81:
That was my plan :) Just thought to check in here to see if there has been an update, good to hear my plan is the way to go :)

I'll report back!

[report]

Allright, I've flashed the conversion zip as by instructions. I could see the boot image wasn't pixelated anymore and the animated bootlogo was fullscreen. So far so good. Restoring settings from OpenELEC during first run wizard doesn't seem to work, so I did that after first run wizard using the settings add-on. It imports all files, after reboot nothing is there though. After every reboot certain add-ons update again and again. So it seems there is something wrong with write permissions.

[/report]
[Miscellaneous Android Development] croniccorey:
Nothing is wrong with write permission, we have not seen any issues like this.. possible it has to do with the OE backup. I will do some tests.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] lexi81:
I just installed OpenELEC again, to be sure I first did the revert to Android image you provided. That didn't work, it just gave me a black screen and no recovery. So I just flashed the OpenELEC 5.0.3. image over it, I've got that restored using my backup now. No settings lost after reboot.

Curious to hear what you've found out.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] chaos72653:
So the issue I'm having is that after every reboot, the first run wizard displays, amd any changes made prior to reboot are gone. I have two of the gbox mx2, and have the same issue on both. I re-ran the update on each twice, and same result. Any ideas?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Josh.5:
Can you list the files that were in the conversion zip that you used? It sounds like it's not flashing correctly

---------- Post added at 10:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:39 AM ----------

If you are having issues, please state the device that you are using and list the contents of the zip file that you extracted onto your SD card.

This will greatly help us figure out the issue you are having..

Thanks
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Josh.5:
[BUG Announcement] - EmbER's "OpenELEC Backups" Restore

It has come to my attention that EmbER's OpenELEC Backup Restore capability has broken in the last build due to our restructure of the underlying filesystem. I have fixed the issue for the next release of EmbER.

My apologies if this has cause any of you inconvenience.

Thanks to those who brought this to my attention.

Josh.5
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Wotzit:
First impressions are encouraging on my Matricom MX2. Excellent work !
[Miscellaneous Android Development] NeBouse:
Hi.

I'm currently running MX Linux on my ATV1200, what are the steps ans required files to upgrade to EmbER ?

Thx.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] croniccorey:
Follow Android to EmbER conversion, you can try to just update but be sure u wipe everything.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] CrazyTSTer:
Sorry for this reply, but I really need help. I have found that sometimes EmbER Linux loads normally, but i can't reproduce steps how to do this. It's look like that it is random behaviour.

So when EmbEr loads normally I have ability to reboot SW4 from Settings application to recovery mode. So i did it. I've got recovery menu, but I can't flash original firmware from it. It's freezes in a half of process :(

Can anybody help me?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] croniccorey:
[MENTION=5898846]CrazyTSTer[/MENTION]

PM me an we can see about adding proper support for your HW.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] CrazyTSTer:
Tnx a lot, will wait, should I give you some additional details about SW4 HW?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] croniccorey:
If you wanna help to get it running then send me a private message so i can give you my skype and we can talk about what needs to be done and if support will be possible.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] dimskom:
Corry,

Any chance for bluetimes mx5?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] johnniegtg:
Ember has revived 5 broken MX for me... Insert happy dance here. ?

Free TV ain't cheap!
[Miscellaneous Android Development] lexi81:
I just updated from OpenELEC 5.0.3 on g18ref to EmbER again using the Android convert image. This time I restored using XBMC backup add-on, everything is fine now.

Things I noticed:

-2D playback of 3D SBS x264 mkv works better, no more green screen flickering (due to different kernel as the OpenELEC builds by Codesnake? )

-playback of 24 hz 720p or 1080p x264 material has some sort of 'stuttering'now and then, it's like the video delays for half a second.

-some 1080p m2ts result in black screen example clip 60mb

My setup is 1080p 24hz output, sync display to video -> which effectly means output almost never has to switch because most material I watch is 24Hz.

All in all a good experience so far, just like the later mx-linux builds were by Corey!(my first post in this topic is dated 28th august 2013 :) ) I'm keeping this for a while to see how it evolves, if I like it I will donate!
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Wotzit:
[MENTION=224216]Corey[/MENTION],

This release is working great so far on the MX2.

Will the splash about the Update server being down ever go away on it's own? (or is it there to annoy folk into donating :laugh:)

I ask, as it prevents the system shutting down (if set to do so when idle). I KNOW that it is at the STARTUP that it appears - but with kids, all scenarios are likely :highfive:
[Miscellaneous Android Development] croniccorey:
Thanks for feedback, We will look into issue.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] cigator:
Hello. I have an android based MX2. I was looking to improve performance. Having read numerous posts. I am not clear what the difference is between Ember and the Codesnake version of OpenElec for the MX2. Can anyone give me a brief answer as to the differences? Thanks.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] kant1988:
I have ATV1200 with remote model KR60. My kr60 not work in EmbER.Maybe EmbER only work with remote model kr34 :(. How I get remote kr60 work in EmbER? Anyone help me!
[Miscellaneous Android Development] lyor:
What are the current changes between openELEC (5.0.3 codesnake) and the EmbER (1.0.0) versions?

It is hard for me to decide which one works better than the other.

I have the CMX g18ref device btw.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] croniccorey:
EmbER is not OpenELEC... We strive to provide stability over cutting edge code... Also we use a buildroot base and different kernels and libplayer library's.... EmbER carry's a custom add-on coded by [MENTION=5804734]Josh.5[/MENTION] to configure system and more similar to OE settings but in no way related.... Also EmbER carry's a custom build of Kodi (different from codesnakes) prepared and maintained by myself for this project.... EmbER formally MX Linux has also bin around a lot longer then the Amlogic OE builds have and is used as a base for most Amlogic Linux OS's i.e. Geniatech, Jynxbox, Tlbb (until OE), Armada and probably more.

Witch is better is really a case of opinion, try both and choose your favorite.

Cheers
[Miscellaneous Android Development] applefag:
couple of questions really, trying to upgrade from an openelec build , tried using straight build and also reverting back to android but cannot get the boxes past the 2nd boot screen with the ember logo.

Also is there a link to where I can compile myself, not saying that anything behind the scene is going on but I would like to know exactly whats being installed on my box. thanks.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] croniccorey:
The Kodi repo is on Github and the we are preparing the GPL release of our Linux for Github aswell.. We retain rights to keep our add-on code private as it is original code written by [MENTION=5804734]Josh.5[/MENTION] and will be released as a prebuilt addon... Also kernels, uboot and amcodec are released as prebuilts as there base code is obtained from Amlogic via. NDA/SLA, GPL versions are downloadable from there site but feature none of our additions....

As for your issues, we've tested the flash extensively and found no issues with converting boxs, if you can provide a uart log that be great.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] applefag:
I managed to get it going using the em6 version. Can you tell me which addon code you or Josh.5 are talking about ? Do you mean the extra add ons installer and settings code or something else ?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] avi1333:
cmx

hello,

i have the CMX(spdif next to the hdmi),

can i flash on it the EMBER MX2 rom?

thank alot about your hard work:)
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Josh.5:
I've currently disabled the cmx download on the website. There was an issue with the bootloader that will mean all people who installed the v1.0.0 EmbER CMX build users will need to flash the conversion rom again for v1.0.1. (More on that once the new version is released)

As for flashing the mx2 firmware on cmx. I don't recommend it. Cmx is actually quite different to mx2 under the hood. You could end up with a box that won't boot.

EmbER v1.0.1 should be out later this week with cmx and tlbbv2 support.

And with that, the first Donor Edition release.

Thanks
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Jon4248:
What is the Donor Edition? I noticed on the homepage there is a donate to unlock EmbER. What would we be unlocking? Keep up the good work btw, I am excited to try TLBB v2 version.

:D
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Josh.5:
Donor Edition (DE) will support ota updating and comes preloaded with a bunch of popular addons, repos and sources.

Also, upcoming features on EmbER-DE include configuration of samba shares, installation of additional servers and a bunch of other cool stuff that I'm currently working on
[Miscellaneous Android Development] kozmo2k4:
Question about the MX2/g18ref build: is the OldMTD/NewMTD layout a non-issue now?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Josh.5:
This isnt an issue. EmbER has its own bootloader and partitions. What is important is that you flash the conversion build when coming from any firmware other than EmbER. And flash the revert to Android firmware before reverting to any non-EmbER firmware.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] kozmo2k4:
Thank you [MENTION=5804734]Josh.5[/MENTION]. That is great news. I have a generic MX2 and could never get it to take the NewMTD and OpenELEC, so I had to stay with MXLinux. Now I can update.

Keep up the good work!
[Miscellaneous Android Development] belliash:
Two questions:

1) Should I use EXTRACTME_EmbER-Amlogic-G02REF-convert_v1.0.0.zip or EXTRACTME_EmbER-Amlogic-G02REF-update_v1.0.0.zip if I got MX Linux flashed already?

2) Could you add pvr-tvh to Kodi? It has replaced pvr.hts in Kodi 15 branch and resolves many problems with using tvheadend as a backend.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] lexi81:
Use the convert package
[Miscellaneous Android Development] kozmo2k4:
This Build rock! Generic MX2 box, flashed over MXLinux using the "convert" package. Kodi/Helix runs smoother than Gotham, and at proper 1080.

Good job guys, and thank you!
[Miscellaneous Android Development] kozmo2k4:
Deleted: Double post...
[Miscellaneous Android Development] batomostar:
MXIII

I found this box on geekbuying: "MXIII Amlogic S802 2.0GHz Quad Core Google Android 4.4.2 Octa Core GPU 4K2K TV BOX 1G/8G Built in XBMC KODI Miracast DLNA OTG - Black" (I'm new user so can't post links) it's 65$. I would like to buy it but only if

it is compatible with any of EmbER images from their download page. I'm currently with ARMedia (from Josh.5) on my CMX and I'm really satisfied with it. Would this be good upgrade?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] lexi81:
Allright, so I did a clean install: wipe data / cache and flash the latest testbuild. Booted XBMC, set video to 1080p 50Hz, set audio to 5.1 with DTS AC3 capable receiver, added video source (NFS share) and started Furious 6 again. Searched for scenes that froze before, still freeze in the same spot over-and-over again.

Where can I put the debuglog?

[EDIT] [MENTION=3484100]croniccorey[/MENTION] I just did a factory reset from recovery again. Then rebooted the device...... it just booted into XBMC again. If I wipe data, isn't it supposed to wipe the firmware? It did wipe my settings though.

I think I'm going to try the MX2 recovery procedure.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] daddylicious:
bluetimes mx5

Hee,

i have the same box, ever had a reply if it works or tested it yourself.

Really want to swap (need :D) android for native linux xbmc.

grtz Daddylicious
[Miscellaneous Android Development] lexi81:
I did the recovery procedure, setup the NFS share again and played a bit of Furious 6 again. Did not get to the part where the video freezes. But I noticed I get framedrops to 21.5 fps. Do you guys have the same issue?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] Vathan:
I just tested the 5 GB copy of FF6 I have "Fast.and.Furious.6-2013-1080p.Full.5.1.WEB-DL-UPiNSMOKE.mkv" and it plays just fine. I do see FPS drop to 21 sometimes, but it has no visible effect on the video displayed. A/V are always in sync no matter if I skip FW or RW.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] croniccorey:
From what i see g02ref uses a different kernel configuration then g18ref/mx2ref and may have other differences, so it wont work probably on top of it wont pass the HW check when you flash.

i will add support in the future for g02ref and atv1200 and possibly more but first i am working on getting it all running properly on the device i can test.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] daddylicious:
well then, i will check in from time to time and se how it progresses.

thx for the quick reply.

grtz daddylicious
[Miscellaneous Android Development] mbtsm:
hi croniccorey

please add arabic subtitle it is not showing in linux or tell me how to fix font i used winscp windows connect ok but cannot change font arabic :crying:

arabic only work with utf-8 i want used normal with ANSI

linux great work with me i cannot back to xbmc android

i hope to help me

thanks croniccorey

sorry my English
[Miscellaneous Android Development] croniccorey:
I'm looking into the issues with some subtitles
[Miscellaneous Android Development] mbtsm:
Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaank you :good:
[Miscellaneous Android Development] lexi81:
There seem to be some box specific issues, I can't seem to get the fix working on mine. Image flashes fine though. Could it be a gpu problem?
[Miscellaneous Android Development] lexi81:
For anyone who wants to send a debuglog to croniccorey, put this in advancedsettings.xml in userdata

<loglevel hide="false">2</loglevel>
[Miscellaneous Android Development] dhead666:
Great work Corey.

I've made quick test with my device, install v0.1.0 and wiped userdata and cache.

720P and 1080P seems to work nicely, but I only played the videos shortly.

High bitrate 1080P doesn't displayed at all (let me know if you need a sample and I'll email you a link).

Tvheadend stream of sd h264 video isn't displayed at all (direct stream, didn't test the pvr client), there's definitely something wrong specific to this build, on M3 device (TLBB) the video does displayed, recorded video from the same source (h264 mkv) played flawlessly (well almost, look below).

I need to test this a little more before sending a debug log.

Another issue that is not specific to this build and seems to affect more devices (and M3 also) is that interlaced video doesn't deinterlaced perfectly, my current guess is that the vpu using bob filter and not weave or blend/combine as with this filter the issue does seen on different players (vlc, xbmc x86_64).

It's the same issue that described at pivos forums (vibrations in static logos, bar and such) and this is definitely not due to wrong deinterlace order.

Again I can supply a sample video to test.
[Miscellaneous Android Development] shivup:
Hey which bugs are still present in this latest 0.10 build?