Creating a Boot Animation for Android Based Systems (specific to the Acer Iconia Tablet)
I have seen requests for a tutorial or some instructions regarding making/building boot animations.. This is a beginning and is in a rough stage of the editing process.. It may take some time to get all the pieces assembled and all the contingencies covered.
Thanks to all the themers, devs, and mods I have worked with and their support in learning and using my my boots in their work..
vache
nitsuj17
gunnermike53
GrainOsand
adrynalyne
and a bunch more that I cannot think of right now
You will need some tools – All that are listed here are free or you already have them:
First off to get your raw material (videos) you will need to get YouTube Downloader.
This will give you the option to pull down videos you may choose to use for your image sources.
Next you will need Free Video to jpg Converter.
This is the best tool (free) to extract individual images from the video that you have.
Some form of picture or image editor will also be needed: gimp, paint, or Photoshop works well.. Gimp is free.
Faststone Image Viewer.
This tool is used to batch change files. This is a nice program because it can rename, rotate, or completely convert whole batches of image files for you.
You may also need a video editing program that is capable of putting captions on the video sequence or can edit longer sequences to shorter or cut and piece them together. Any should work fine. I use MSLIve Movie Maker.. I am sure that there are many more available.
You can also get GifSplitter program to pull animated gif files apart into the respective images then those can be packed into a boot..
You will also need a file zip utility. 7zip works best for me:
This will be needed to package the image files so that they are playable by the device.
You will also need program to edit the desc.txt file.. best program out there is Notepad ++. I do not use any other program so if there is another out there I have not used it. Do not use MSWord or other word processor. It will corrupt the file in a fashion that makes the boot not play.
Once you have your tools you move on to the next step...
Part II - Assembly
Patience is the greatest principle from this point on. Much of this takes time and practice to get all the variables to work the first time. Expect lots of trials and errors.
Step 1:
Download and install all the programs that are listed above.. then go hunting for the video images that you will want to use. Once you find the vid you want to turn into a boot animation you download it using the YouTube downloader.
Step 2:
Once you have the file you can use the Video to jpg Converter to break it into the number of images you desire; or you can put it into your video editor to adjust the length or add a caption.. Keep in mind that when importing process lowers the overall quality of the end image output. It is not really noticeable on a phone but makes many boots on a tablet it can appear grainy.
Things to consider; If you are cutting up a HD video each image will be very large in memory size and you may have to reduce the number of images that you have.. A really good number is ~100. Sometimes a 100 image sequence will 20+ megs in size. There is a trade off with larger numbers of images.. big images means really clear images, awesome colors and great resolution… but – slow load times, animations may start and stop, blackouts or freeze ups. To ensure smooth image flow and good load times I have always tried to keep all my animations under 5 megs. The absolute max on a tablet that will still flow is 9 megs. But this all depends on image color and density, black is always better.
Step 3:
Once you have your images procured you can edit them in batches: use Faststone to change the numbering in batches.. Android OS is nice enough that it will follow the established sequence and will keep playing even if you leave a number out.. You can also do batch changes in file format from jpg to png. This program is nice for this process because it does not degrade the integrity of the image.
I recommend any image editing be done in batches as well.. I use Microsoft Picture editor to select all the images at once and then crop as I need to.. Warning: if you crop either left or right side of the image the corresponding crop has to occur on the opposite side. The same applies to the top and bottom of the image. If you cut 10 pixels off the top you have to cut 10 off the bottom. If the crop is not symmetrical your images will play skewed and you it will look like your boot animation shifted diagonally to one side or the other.. or will not play at all.
If you do not crop in batches it is very time consuming to crop each image.. If you have to color edit or colorize you will have to address each image individually.
Step 4:
When you feel that all your images are completely edited to your liking you can start to assemble the images into the boot animation. The bootanimation.zip file has to contain certain structures: Image Folders and the desc.txt file.
The folders that contain the images; each folder labeled so that when told to play it plays the specific folder first. Then a desc.txt file. This file is the commander for the os/kernel. (more on that later)
If you want to break up the images into different folders this is the time to do it. One folder can be made to be played one time where the next may loop over and over again.. There is no current limit on the number of images in any of the folders. Early phones had caps of about one meg per folder. I have not found this to be the case with any Android system after 2.1.
Folder labeling – really does not matter as long as the desc.txt file contains the direction to that specific folder in it. Almost all boot builders will use ‘part0’, ‘part1’, ‘part2’… etc. as respective names for the folders. It is usually helpful to set up a working folder where your images are located and then drop your images there for editing.. you can then change the name to the desired folder in the boot sequence.
Step 5:
The desc.txt file: This is where most errors take place if they are going to happen to prevent a boot from playing first time. Using Notepad ++ open an existing file from a boot that you have already.. you will notice that there a few lines of code :
Line 1: The first two numbers on line one are the resolution and the third is the frames per second to play the image sequence
Line 2: Left blank. Some boot builders put a blank line in here for unknown reasons. I have found that it is not needed but you can keep it in if you choose.
Line 3: p = play, 1 = number of times to play, 0 = pause in the number of frames/second, part0 = the folder containing the image files chosen for that section. Note: spelling must match identically with the folder name.
Line 4: p = play, 0 = (0 infinite) number of times to play, 0 = pause in the number of frames/second, part1 = the folder containing the image files chosen for that section. Note: spelling must match identically with the folder name.
Line 5: ALWAYS LEFT OPEN. If you do not have an open last line the line preceding it will NOT play work and the boot will stop playing.. or will not play at all.
The desc.txt file for a boot animation that will loop only one folder:
1 1285 805 35
2
3 p 0 0 part0
4
The desc.txt file for a boot animation that will play the first folder one time then loop the second folder:
1 1285 805 35
2
3 p 1 0 part0
4 p 0 0 part1
5
Step 6:
When you have your folders and your desc.txt file assembled you should move all of that to what I call a working folder and then select them using 7zip.. then zip them up… IMPORTANT!!! DO NOT compress the files.. they are to be ‘stored’ – to a file called ‘bootanimation.zip’.. if it is compressed in any fashion it will not work.. You also cannot open the archive and then drag and drop files to it. You must compile the file each time from the folder(s) and the desc.txt file.. and zip it. If you opt to go the drag n drop route it will not work.
Copy over to your device and try it..
Expect many attempts that do not work the first time.... do not give up.
There is an example boot attached.. it is set up to loop only the first folder (part0) - and the the desc.txt file is set to run it correctly.. the part0 folder contains only a few image files. Please feel free to download and use the example for parts.
Part III - Trouble Shooting
Trouble shooting:
Boot plays but is bent/skewed to one side: The images were edited incorrectly when cropped. The crop was not symmetrical. This will also happen if you compress the jpg images too much in a You will need to redo the images from the video sequence then crop and repack.
Boot starts to play then stops and goes to black: make sure that the folder names are the same between the desc.txt file. There may not be a blank line at the end of the desc.txt file. The file sizes may be too big and the files cannot be played. Boots with image files greater than 500K per image will lock up on some devices. You may have to run the video through a converter to get it to a resolution low enough to run on the device without locking it up, bogging down or failing to loop. This is more likely to happen with (HD files); 720 and 1080 files that are directly converted to jpgs and then run as the boot animation.. I do not know why this happens but by running the video through like Windows Live Movie Maker it will allow it to work.. This does not happen to all videos.. If it happens I suggest converting the wmv to an avi and then reprocessing the video to jpgs.
Boot plays but only loops the first folder: the number after the ‘p’ in the second line should be a ‘1’ not a ‘0’.
The boot plays very slow and cannot play all the way through before the device is done booting. Image sizes are too big, or the fps in the first line is too low and you need to raise the number. Reduce the size of the files (compression) – be cautious of this, it has been known to corrupt the images and will cause them to skew/bend or freeze up upon play.
Boot will play then flash and start over – or will loop (as designed) with flashes: Windows image editor side effect. When you are viewing files in the windows picture viewer it will place a hidden file in the folder usually thumbs.db or imagethumb.db or other *.db file. This will cause the boot to flash white as the player tries to play the image sequence. This file must be removed from the folder for your boot to work right – when it is in the ‘stored’ format you can right click then select 7zip in the dropdown go over to open archive and then examine the contents of each folder if you see a *.db file – delete it. That will correct the problem.
Reserved if needed.
Fantastic! I love your work, but wouldn't have known where to start with trying it on my own. This is something I have wanted to do for some time, and now...if I can find the time (!)....this is a start. Thanks!!
Someone should sticky this.
Thanks
wohoooo... and the procedure is so big thanks to you. but i guess i would let you know on the boot animation itself
This looks awesome will definitely give it a shot in my spare time is there any way to get sound boot animation on the iconia or no. Haven't seen any but was just wondering.? lets see if I don't blow up my tablet with my boot animation lmao
KrAsH-SSyKo a500 Minimalist 3.2.1 Netflix update OC 1.5 ghz like a BeAsT
crashpsycho said:
This looks awesome will definitely give it a shot in my spare time is there any way to get sound boot animation on the iconia or no. Haven't seen any but was just wondering.? lets see if I don't blow up my tablet with my boot animation lmao
KrAsH-SSyKo a500 Minimalist 3.2.1 Netflix update OC 1.5 ghz like a BeAsT
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hopes are that it is clear enough for people to have good success with making many boot animations..
Unfortunately boot sounds are not going to work on the Iconia at this point. All of my attempts have failed, and no reports of success in other forums.
do the images have to be in png?
If I download a 720p youtube video & convert, the images are @ 1280x720p,
can I use that resolution for the boot animation & enter the size in the desc.txt?
& when you say max file of 9 Megs.. will it not play if its around 11 megs?
Also: How do you edit the naming of all the images in FASTSTONE? I did each one individually.. Lol! 001,002.. if its up to 100 can the last one be "100"? or does it have to be 0001, 0002, 0100?
I'm just getting a black screen... Frustrating yes! lol..
HD87 said:
do the images have to be in png?
If I download a 720p youtube video & convert, the images are @ 1280x720p,
can I use that resolution for the boot animation & enter the size in the desc.txt?
& when you say max file of 9 Megs.. will it not play if its around 11 megs?
Also: How do you edit the naming of all the images in FASTSTONE? I did each one individually.. Lol! 001,002.. if its up to 100 can the last one be "100"? or does it have to be 0001, 0002, 0100?
I'm just getting a black screen... Frustrating yes! lol..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good deal questions!
The images do not have to be in png format, png will make the images very large in size and the Android system will play either png or jpg... but I do not mix them. I prefer jpg (smaller and they get the job done).
The image resolution that I use (1285 x 805) is the best I have found for the Iconia. If you go smaller you get the weird border artifact.
The file size issue is tricky depending on what video file format you are using. If you download directly and then convert the vid to jpgs.. you will get black screen lock ups (sometimes) - to work around this I have used the YouTube Downloader to convert the video to either WMV or AVI to reduce the data density in the images.. this typically reduces the overall size.
It will play any size (11 meg is getting larger).. the larger the size (of the images) the longer it takes to render the images.. the boot will start and stop and sometimes start then just go black.. I can get some as large as 22 megs to play... it depends on the individual images.
To edit all the names at one time... open Faststone go to the folder that you are going to rename.. Select all the images that need to be renamed: go to Tools - Batch Rename.. the convention I use for renaming is ### this will start with 001... 999.. start it up and you are done.. You can choose to use the four digit extension if you want.
If you are just getting a black screen the first place to check is the desc file.. there may be an error there - easiest fix. You could have a naming convention off (folder names not right or spaces not in the right place).
The next issue may be that 7zip or the other zip utility may have compressed the file.. that will render it unplayable. If both of those are correct you may consider the image sizes.. and go with a lower def file at first to see if it will play..
Let us know how your efforts turn out. I struggled for 3 days on my first boot before it would play correctly.. don't give up.
FYI: There is an irc room on freenode #acer-a500 If anyone is interested in a location to dialog.
So, that means I can use .jpg since it's size is smaller than PNG format.
Will try it after I made some loop images.
Thanks a bunch!
Hi,
How many "parts" can we have? Is it limited to 2 "parts"?
Thanks
verdigny said:
Hi,
How many "parts" can we have? Is it limited to 2 "parts"?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are not limited by "part" folders.. I have used as many as eight in phone boots without complications.
But I don't reboot my tablet enough to really need to mod my boot animation.
How to post new animation
I'm still new here but I did throw together an animation. How to I post it like the ones I've seen here. I have tried to link to the Animated gif I created and put on Mediafire with no luck. And how to I post the link to the finished product?
Great work JaeKar99 !
How do you define the number of frames ?
sometime i see 22 or 30 or 33
TIA
z-control said:
Great work JaeKar99 !
How do you define the number of frames ?
sometime i see 22 or 30 or 33
TIA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is going to be dependent on how long you want the images to run or loop.. For example if you have 150 frames and you want it to run for 10 seconds you set the fps at 15 (or about).
If you want it to run through the folder looping a number of times: for example you may have only one folder (part0) playing over and over - containing 75 images. One may set the frame rate at 25 to play those 75 frames over 3 seconds... then it will start the loop over at the beginning until the tab fully boots.
The faster the frame rate the smoother the animation.. The slower the more stop-action like it may appear.
Hope that helps.
yes of course !
thanks a lot
Thanks, could be very useful
Hey JaeKar99
Thanks for this tutorial......
Decided to give a boot animation a try.
I have a success finally. Was getting pissed off for a while. Those zip files are picky SOBs
Related
This is something I've read people mention but not really address completely and I think it's probably a common issue for n00bs like myself
I have been running at 320 x 240 resolution and really would like to
A Update Google Maps
B Get Google Voice application and their other apps
I understand that the Marketplace looks to make sure you have 320 x 480. So I switched my resolution to this, but the apps still don't show up.
#1 Is this because my google account is flagged as 320 x 240?
#2 How do I resolve this? login to other google account download apps, then switch back to other account?
#3 .apk files don't exist for google proprietary apps do they?
Thank you kindly
I have the full market at qvga. here is what I did:
delete data.img off your storage card and set 320x480 lcd.density 160 in default.txt, start up haret, let it build a new data.img, log into google account, open the market...
Then once you did all that, reboot, change your default.txt to 240x320 lcd.density whatever (I prefer 120), start haret again, go into android, and you should see the full market at low rez.
qwho said:
I have the full market at qvga. here is what I did:
delete data.img off your storage card and set 320x480 lcd.density 160 in default.txt, start up haret, let it build a new data.img, log into google account, open the market...
Then once you did all that, reboot, change your default.txt to 240x320 lcd.density whatever (I prefer 120), start haret again, go into android, and you should see the full market at low rez.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This only works temporarily. After awhile, the market reverts to the stripped down version.
qwho said:
I have the full market at qvga. here is what I did:
delete data.img off your storage card and set 320x480 lcd.density 160 in default.txt, start up haret, let it build a new data.img, log into google account, open the market...
Then once you did all that, reboot, change your default.txt to 240x320 lcd.density whatever (I prefer 120), start haret again, go into android, and you should see the full market at low rez.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks
I tried your suggestion, followed all the steps, rebuilt data.img and booted 320x480 but I still do not see Google Voice, Pandora.
skydirt said:
This only works temporarily. After awhile, the market reverts to the stripped down version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's been a few days... still see google voice, goggles, text editors, file browsers, etc.
I just realized somehow I am still on Google Ion 1.5 are you still able to view the entire marketplace from 1.5?
Resolution trick has worked for me but I'm running Donut 1.6. Google goggles would work alot better for me if the camera took better pictures. My android camera is dark and very grainy. The camera in NFSfan's WM 6.5 rom takes alot better quality pictures. Anyone experience this also?
Goggles came down for me at 320x240, no hacking required. I don't think it has a res tag.
I've got the same issue with the camera - try the very latest kernel from http://it029000.massey.ac.nz/vogue/files/?C=M;O=D - it has has new white balance calculation code that helps the darkness (although not the horrible CCD noise issue).
this has been posted many times in many threads.
NEW: ANDROID MARKET PROBLEM HAS BEEN FIXED, no need to do any of the stuff found below. Newer ROMS will have it installed, but for older ones:
Donut: download this and install the update (see my faq for how to install an update), see this thread.
eclair: get the androidupdate-fullmarketqvga.tar from here, rename androidupdate.tar, and install.
If you boot a donut (or higher) build with anything except 320x480, somehow your account gets marked; the market will only show you a subset of the free applications that are designated to work at the lower resolutions. Even if you switch back to cupcake, no dice, no matter the resolution, no matter if you boot a new data image in cupcake at 320x480.
The resolution is not the whole problem. The problem is using Donut or higher (1.6 and up) with any resolution other than 320x480 (lcd.density actually doesn't matter), at least 320x428 and 240x320 cause the problem in any case. Cupcake and the market does not care about resolution (however, if you lose the market in donut and try going back to cupcake, you will still see a limited market in cupcake - run fix below).
To fix, you have to boot a Donut (or higher) build into a new data.img at 320x480, and sign-in to google services/market. Then you will see all free apps at least.
1. backup your old data.img
2. boot donut (or higher) with a fresh data.img (wipe your old data.img) using resolution of 320x480
3. sign into market
4. switch back to your old data.img and use whatever resolution you like
STEP BY STEP TUTORIALS:
sdcard instructions
nand instructions
the only consistent method that i've found to work is creating an alternate google login...everytime i use my decoy, i have the entire "free" market at my fingertips (no market enabler used) my method:
1. Clear data for Google Apps (settings>applications>manage applications)
2. Clear cache for Market
3. Open Market and create (or login via) a new google account
After that the Market seems to work for me. *Disclaimer* I'm running qvga ATM and this method works but I may have created my "decoy" account in 320x480 (honestly cant remember)
Downside: overwrites your current contact info so you have to resync each change
tatnai said:
this has been posted many times in many threads.
If you boot a donut (or higher) build with anything except 320x480, somehow your account gets marked; the market will only show you a subset of the free applications that are designated to work at the lower resolutions. Even if you switch back to cupcake, no dice, no matter the resolution, no matter if you boot a new data image in cupcake at 320x480.
The resolution is not the whole problem. The problem is using Donut or higher (1.6 and up) with any resolution other than 320x480 (lcd.density actually doesn't matter), at least 320x428 and 240x320 cause the problem in any case. Cupcake and the market does not care about resolution (however, if you lose the market in donut and try going back to cupcake, you will still see a limited market in cupcake - run fix below).
To fix, you have to boot a Donut (or higher) build into a new data.img at 320x480, and sign-in to google services/market. Then you will see all free apps at least.
1. backup your old data.img
2. boot donut (or higher) with a fresh data.img (wipe your old data.img) using resolution of 320x480
3. sign into market
4. switch back to your old data.img and use whatever resolution you like
Note: market enabler (download latest .apk from here) will allow you to see paid apps in the market. to use, install, run, click settings tab, long click on "[us] T-Mobile (T-mobile)", click fake this provider in the popup. then run market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to view all of the apps in the market under the higher resolution, but when I switched back I was no longer able to view them. I think I did the wrong thing to switch back - I installed the lower res version of the ROM.... which was probably too much. I am using SD card. I am not sure how to get back to the resolution I want without a complete re-install.
CasopoliS said:
I was able to view all of the apps in the market under the higher resolution, but when I switched back I was no longer able to view them. I think I did the wrong thing to switch back - I installed the lower res version of the ROM.... which was probably too much. I am using SD card. I am not sure how to get back to the resolution I want without a complete re-install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you are running sd card, you switch your resolution with default.txt. It doesn't matter what version of the rom you install as long as you have it set right in the default.txt (version of the rom probably means there is a different lcd.density set so it looks right at the resolution you choose; lcd.density does not matter for the market, just matters how the screen looks). for a new install you needed to have set the resolution in the default.txt to 320 x 480, then run it, open and sign into the market. then shut down android, change your resolution in the default.txt to 240x320 (if that is what you want), then boot again. In choosing your rom, I would just start with the "resolution" that you want to end up with; it will look really small if you choose the 240x320 one and boot it at 320x480 (because of the lcd.density), but you will be able to sign in and do what you need to do, and it will look right once you go to 240x320.
tatnai said:
if you are running sd card, you switch your resolution with default.txt. It doesn't matter what version of the rom you install as long as you have it set right in the default.txt (version of the rom probably means there is a different lcd.density set so it looks right at the resolution you choose; lcd.density does not matter for the market, just matters how the screen looks). for a new install you needed to have set the resolution in the default.txt to 320 x 480, then run it, open and sign into the market. then shut down android, change your resolution in the default.txt to 240x320 (if that is what you want), then boot again. In choosing your rom, I would just start with the "resolution" that you want to end up with; it will look really small if you choose the 240x320 one and boot it at 320x480 (because of the lcd.density), but you will be able to sign in and do what you need to do, and it will look right once you go to 240x320.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok got it. When I just changed the default.txt and re-booted it did not work (which makes sense based on what you said). My resolution was higher-res, but I could not see the apps. Then I did a fresh install with that default.txt and it worked.
So I guess I will re-install the 240 version with 320 in the default.txt - then once I do that and log into the store, then I will JUST change the default.txt and reboot.
CasopoliS said:
Ok got it. When I just changed the default.txt and re-booted it did not work (which makes sense based on what you said). My resolution was higher-res, but I could not see the apps. Then I did a fresh install with that default.txt and it worked.
So I guess I will re-install the 240 version with 320 in the default.txt - then once I do that and log into the store, then I will JUST change the default.txt and reboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exactly
tatnai said:
exactly
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
worked like a charm
Step-by-step for SD installs:
(if you currently have an Android ROM you might want to backup your apps using ASTRO first)
1. Download the 240x320 ROM that you want to run
2. Make a copy of the default.txt file located in the andboot folder, call it something different like default2.txt
3. Modify the resolution found towards the end of the original default.txt file to 320x480... for Myn's it would be:
Code:
set cmdline "ppp.nostart=0 mddi.width=320 mddi.height=480
4. Don't change anything else in the file
5. Run Haret and hold down the vol up or center d-pad button to enter the menu (the fonts will be small and blurry if you did it correctly).
6. Run a full install of the ROM - hit Quit when done installing to Boot Android - this might take a while. Your screen will be blurry and the calibration will be slightly off. DO NOT CALIBRATE THE SCREEN. Just deal with it, its not bad.
7. Once in Android enter the market and login. Search for "SD Mount" and if you get more than a few results everything worked. If the Dual Mount SD widget shows up, it definitely worked. (that is the one to install if you want to mount your SD card in Android - but you can download it later).
8. Now that you have confirmed it worked, soft-reset into WM
9. View the contents of your SD card and erase your default.txt. Change your copy to be default.txt (i.e. for this example default2.txt -> default.txt).
10. Run Haret and let it boot into Android. Now your resolution will be back to 240 and you will be able to view all the apps in the market.
Dang I just found out that this "hack" only works for a couple of days!? that stinks...
CasopoliS said:
Dang I just found out that this "hack" only works for a couple of days!? that stinks...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thx, will add to FAQs. I have mine going for two weeks now without refreshing it with the above method. plemen released a version of donut just prior to his last one where google voice did not work due to some t-mobile settings. I refreshed my market with that version, and for some reason, I have not reverted in two weeks. working together with plemen to see if we can implement something if it seems to continue to stick for a longer period.
How to "refresh" the market to see 320x480 apps when using 240x320 resolution on NAND
If you already have an existing NAND install: (scroll down for new installs)
1. reboot your phone, and hold down the center d-pad button to enter replimenu (install menu)
2. select "backup /data", then select "yes" to overwrite a previous backup. then wait. it will return you to replimenu when it is done.
3. select "quit". your phone will boot back up.
4. place the phone in bootloader mode by pressing and holding power and camera, while at the same time pressing and releasing the soft reset button
5. flash the latest .nbh for resolution 320x480 (get files, how to flash under before starting). when it reboots the writing will be tiny and a little blurry. enter replimenu again by holding down center d-pad
6. select "wipe /data", then select "yes" in the popup. then wait. it will return you to replimenu when it is done.
7. select "quit". android will boot. everything in android will be a lot smaller, this is because we are now running at 320x480 with an lcd.density of 110 or 120, depending on who's ROM you are using (typically you would use an lcd.density of 160 at this resolution which would make things bigger, but wouldn't fix the fuzziness). that's ok, we're just going to do our business and get out.
8. go through the setup process. if you have a data connection (see notification area for icon), then go ahead and log into google services using the setup wizard. if you don't, then just skip it, and reboot when done with setup to get your data going. open up the market. sign in to google services if you did not already, then click agree. you should see applications for 320x480 now (check pdanet, google listen, pandora, the weather channel).
9. enter bootloader mode (see #4 above). flash the .nbh for 240x320
10. when it reboots, hold down center d-pad to enter replimenu again. now select "restore /data". select "yes" to overwrite the current /data.
11. select "quit". android should boot. check the market, you should have all apps present again, at least for a few days.
If you are installing for the first time, and want all resolution apps at 240x320:
1. follow the steps here to install android to nand. however, instead of flashing the 240x320 .nbh, flash the 320x480 (if you are using a ROM that specifies different versions for different resolutions, it is ok to use a ROM that says 240x320 with a .nbh that is 320x480 - things will just look really small; doing this will save you extra steps later)
2. follow steps 8 through 11 above. you're done.
I have searched, and searched, and searched. Is it possible to change the wallpaper on Android on HD2? I'm using darkstones froyo most recent, and the 7/23 zimg. Everytime i search it always comes up with the obvious, press and hold home, tap wallpapers, etc... but i've copied pictures to my phone, put it in every folder and they never show up. Even when i use a file manager to find my pictures, they show up, but when i tap them. it's just a black screen. Is this one of the bugs/kinks? If so i'd like to know so i can stop fiddling with it...they are .jpg
Thanks in advance
(now watch, someone is gonna search and get it first result)
when the wallpaper app cant find the pictures I want to use I apply them using astro file manager.
If your transferring pictures while in Android' they wont work - while USB mode appears to be working i don't think it can write data to your card correctly so effectively your getting corrupt images.
If you transfer them in Windows before booting into Android you'll have more luck.
Also there's a decent Wallpaper app on the market called Zedge which allows you to download and apply wallpaper direct from the app - highly reccomended.
I got it. Close the thread.
Apparently, all the pictures i uploaded, all transfered over, but they all showed up as 0 bytes, deleted, re-uploaded. Worked. Sorry for the waste of space, shoulda caught it before.
Edit, actually before I go, does anyone know the resolution? 600x800? :x
The best resolution is 960x800
Cheers
Paul
Hi!
I found something weird when I was surfing my images by htc albums … I had faced to this problem, bug, or whatever you call in my computer’s win7 before, but in my HD2 that is really huge! … the problem is that image thumbnails are not updated, means if you have a cropped or edited image, you will see the thumbnail as the original image! … I cannot give you a screenshot of that from my ppc cause the images are something private, a friend sent them to me, and I’ve not checked this problem for other images but I can give you the screenshot (attachment, it is not mine, i have found it as an example) which shows the problem in windows7 pc just to know what I mean!
But as I said, this problem in htc albums is more obvious. Cause I could see the thumbnails showing the original images which for I was not able to see those thumbnails even in win7 pc … in fact I thought they are ok cause they were ok in pc (thumbnail and image were matching each other) but as I brought them in htc album, found out they were cropped!
you can check it if you have some pics which are cropped or edited … put them in a folder in your ppc … go to htc albums, now you can see the thumbnails differ from the original images … to see more original images; click on one of them, try to quickly go to the next images … it will take fraction of a second to load the images so it shows temporarily the thumbnail (which has lower resolution), quickly tap and hold the screen to stop loading image!!! Now you can watch the thumbnail how long you want … holding the screen try to go to the next images (drag the image to the right or left in landscape and up or down in portrait … for a moment release ur finger and quickly tap and hold the other side of the screen by another finger, now you can drag the next thumbnail to the center of the screen without loading) and watch all the cropped or edited images in original type, one by one!
This can be annoying, and for someone like me may be useful!
I wanted to know, how can I have those thumbnail freely?? I mean without trying to watch them like that! I want the thumbnails separately! Any idea?
Sorry if I have not chosen the right place to post my thread!
Thanks for attention!
I can see two causes.
HTC album can have problems with refreshing thumbnails. If the file has same name as some picture which was in the same folder, there could be a problem.
The other cause could be that JPG can have thumbnail inside. Some album software can use this thumbnail, instead of creating it's own. As HTCAlbum is pretty fast in displaying thumbnails, I guess it is the case.
Then it is problem of the editing software. It cropped the image, but left the old thumbnail. Try to safe the image to BMP and then open the BMP and save it to JPG again .. that should remove the inlined thumbnail no matter what.
Dr.Sid said:
I can see two causes.
HTC album can have problems with refreshing thumbnails. If the file has same name as some picture which was in the same folder, there could be a problem.
The other cause could be that JPG can have thumbnail inside. Some album software can use this thumbnail, instead of creating it's own. As HTCAlbum is pretty fast in displaying thumbnails, I guess it is the case.
Then it is problem of the editing software. It cropped the image, but left the old thumbnail. Try to safe the image to BMP and then open the BMP and save it to JPG again .. that should remove the inlined thumbnail no matter what.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for reply!
the images have been cropped by windows xp photo viewer, the crop tool!and have been edited by windows xp paint! i have searched for this problem and found out the other programs like windows7 live photo gallery will cause to this problem!
i said i dont really want to solve this problem, i wanna have these thumbnails separately! ... don't you know where htcalbum saves the thumbnails?? cause windows7 (pc) explorer shows some of the thumbnails (original image) but htcalbum shows almost all the thumbnails in original type!!and even in higher resolution in comparison to pc thumbnails!
in computer, i have tried to refresh the windows thumbnails cache to update them but no use!
anyway, i want to find where those thumbnails are saved in winmo!
seems no one can help!
I found a way to copy big files to your sd card witchout cutting them...The funny part: Archos provides a tool for that on its website to download and its called:ArchosHDVideoTransfer....just download it, select Target first! (SD-Card), select the file over 4 GB and enjoy...might take a while til file is on SD but at least no Cutting and converting needed....
Tell me your opinion on that,
Thx
http://www.archos.com/support/support_tech/updates.html?country=at&lang=de&#firm
here the link, scroll down and download
Yea, but what kind of funky stuff does it have to do to the filesystem to get that to work? I wouldn't trust it to be 100% compatible with every device, at least without knowing how it works.
IIRC this split the file but made it "look" like it was one continous file. Not sure how accurate that is though.
Anybody tested this? I'm not convinced this will work on any other device than the Archos. I think the device has to be aware of whatever "joining" method they are using on the file chunks.
I also doubt it does anything on a FAT level, I suspect it just splits the file and uses a naming scheme or adds some form of metadata file which the Archos uses to jump from one file chunk to the next.
hellcat82 said:
Anybody tested this? I'm not convinced this will work on any other device than the Archos. I think the device has to be aware of whatever "joining" method they are using on the file chunks.
I also doubt it does anything on a FAT level, I suspect it just splits the file and uses a naming scheme or adds some form of metadata file which the Archos uses to jump from one file chunk to the next.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess would be it puts something in the header and/or just before the EOF to tell systems that support it that it's a split file and either the other file names or their positions in the FAT or both.
After updating my tablet to 3.1 OTA, the program Photo Browser 3D does not work anymore. Immediately after update or a factory restore, the program will work fine, but after adding all my photos to the tablet, the program will force close at EVERY start. Basically, it doesnt work at all now.
I have tried factory resetting 5 times now and the same problem happens every time!
Someone on a different forum recommended clearing the cache too, but the option is greyed out under Applications and it says that the cache is 0kb.
Can anyone help me with this issue? I was thinking that something was wrong with the apk, but I cant tell. I was thinking that I either need to reinstall the program using a new apk or that I need to flash the tablet with a fresh copy of 3.1. The firstoption would be easiest, but I cant find a copy of the apk. The second option I am scared to do. I dont know how to do it and I dont know which versions to get (I want to be sure I get one that works in the USA and that it isnt hacked, tweaked, or just a 3.0 version madeto look like 3.1).
If anyone can help me, I would really appreciate it.
Acer Iconia A500 (rooted, but I didnt tamper with system files or apks)
Photo Browser 3D 1.0.00.027
Android 3.1 build 4.010.08_COM_GEN2
Android 3.1 kernel 2.6.36.3
After posting my last message here, my tablet told me I had an update available. UBFORTUNATELY, the stupid problem still exists. The only reason I am typing this folowup message is because the Android build changed.
NEW build: 4.010.10_COM_GEN2
NEW kernel: 2.6.36.3
Same Problem
I have the same problem with 3D Photo Browser.
I use Virtuous_Picasso_v.1.1.0.
Hey spexwood,
here you can give a try.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/23326686/3DPhotoBrowser.apk
I tried the Photo Browser 3d above and I still have the same problem. Any got it to work?
I'm running the stock 3.1 and have no problem using it?
I got the app from the market if that helps.
3Dbrowser force close fixed.
Hi all,
I also had the force close problem with 3Dbrowser.apk. Clearing cache for the app did not work. Reinstalling the app by clicking the icon in the system app folder did not work.
Initially I froze the app, but then I tried the following and it worked:
1) download the full OTA package of the ROM version you're running
2) extract 3Dbrowser.apk
3) using root explorer, rename the original 3Dbrowser.apk in the system app folder to 3Dbrowser.bak or move it to the SD card.
4) copy paste the new apk into that folder.
5) change permissions to match the original permissions
6) reboot.
The original apk was 1,92Mb, the one I replaced was 1,93Mb.
I have about 5 folders with pictures (DCIM, Documents, Downloads, ...) they all work and the app is actually quite nice to show off the Iconia's capabilities.
Hope this helps.
Jod
After a LOT of experimenting and having thisprogram switch between working wonderfully and force closing upon launch, I have come to the conclusion that it is the pictures themselves!
So, the first thing you need to do is to check that none of your pictures (and/or movies) are not corrupted. I found that the best way to do this is to open the Gallery app and browse through all your files. Youcan use the view in which multiple files are displayed as thumbnails (as opposed to a single full sized picture view). If a file is corrupted, then it will not generate a thumbnail for it. Instead, the thumbnail will remain black and when you tap on it, a full size image will not appear. Instead, a message about the image not being able to be shown will be there.
If you find something corrupted, then delete it via the Gallery and try the 3d Browser again.
The second thing I noticed as of 5 minutes ago:
After a long time of no problems, the 3d Browser decided to stop working today, so I did what I just explained about searching for corrupted images... to my surprise, all of myimages were fine.
I once again opened the Gallery app and noticed something odd, but the only way I can explain it is through an example:
So, lets say you only have 3 folders of images: A, B, and DCIM. In Gallery, you will see these folders listed in a 3D-like affect. They will appear with the folder name under the thumbnail(s) followed by the number of pictures in parenthesis (such as "A (10)").
Of all the folder thumbnails, you will see one that contains no name, but only a number within parenthesis. When I entered this album, I noticed some odd stuff. First, it contained a mix of black-only thumbnails (corrupted files) and images I recognized from my collection. Second, if you look at the details of ANY of the files in this gallery, they have no location, no height, and no width. Hesitantly, I decided to delete everything from this gallery (held my finger over the folder in Gallery and once it highlighted green, I tapped the trashcan icon). It didn't affect any of my pictures and the 3d Browser began working immediately!
I guess this collection was some sort of thumbnail collection or something. For whatever reason, it just accumulates waste over time and if an image no longer exists on the tablet, then the thumbnail appears as a corrupted file, which freaks the 3d Browser out.
I'm sorry if all that was a lot to read and absorb, but I think that doing one of these two things is the solution to this annoying issue.
(Post here if you have questions about anything I just said)
This is in regard to Photo Browser 3D FC and the solution(s)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=16211593&postcount=61
same thread as above but as a whole thread instead of a single post...read on further...etc
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=16211593#
UnicornKaz said:
This is in regard to Photo Browser 3D FC and the solution(s)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=16211593&postcount=61
same thread as above but as a whole thread instead of a single post...read on further...etc
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=16211593#
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm... that's basically what I did isnt it?
OK, so someone found a solution then. Awesome!
Too bad I didnt know before wasting months trying to figure this issue out =_=
I thought it was the apk, but after replacing it from several sources, it fixed nothing. Then, I installed a custom rom, which also didnt fix it. It wasnt until last night that I FINALLY got it working right.
Oh well. Problem solved XD
Thanks