Database Users

My EVO is my favorite tablet and laptop... Check the video out!

The quality isnt the best on the video but I had some fun getting a bt keyboard on my HTC EVO and I'm now ditching my really heavy i7 laptop that I bring to school for notes and will start just bringing a small case for my bt keyboard, my notebook and books and the extra battery in case I run out...
I just did this today but used it well with some text editing apps, now I need to find the best one for notes... How I wish I could program so I could put my ideas in practice and make some $$$$
Thanks to all devs that made this happen, its just amazing that I now own a pocket tablet/notebook pc
ggingerbread 6 ROM
Savaged Z 0.2 kernel with HDMI mirroring
well the direct link wont work because its my first post... youtube.com/watch?v=3VGtp9WlZmM

Props on being innovative. In the past I have seen flexible Bluetooth keyboards which are just a big soft pad which may suit your application a little better! Now find a way to support HDMI mirroring and get a small battery powered monitor with HDMI.

Very nice, Been thinking of doing this for a while but havn't been able to decide on a keyboard. Now all you need is adw to lock in landscape.

I got the adw but I locked it in portrait , Im just excited that I wont have to carry a heavy case around and I can use my phone to do pretty much the same work.
Now If I could only use the original apk for quickoffice on CM7 (which I only tried it briefly with no luck) this should be even better.
I know that the keyboard is kind of old news but I'm sure some people werent sure whether they could invest $50-$60 on a Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000 to work on their EVO... By the way, if you do get that, when you pair it with your phone, try entering 1234 on the phone and then typing 1234 (followed by the Enter button) on the keyboard. I got stuck on that for a while
brokenbmx06, HDMI is supported now on cm7

Ideas...
Instead of making it landscape I seem to remember a way for when connected to BT it will open car home. The new car home is customizable, so I figure it would be a lot easier and nicer to do that then the locked in portrait mode. then it will stop as soon as BT is disconnected. And im sure there are better alternatives for the word processing

I saw some awesome 7"-10" monitors online with battery packs for really cheap. Buy an HDMI to DVI adapter and get yourself one. If you have time, skills, and/or patience, you can crate a small case for your monitor with a slot for your EVO, HDMI mirror and voila you now have a 10" monitor and your Bluetooth keyboard.
and with this I am going to go dismantle the 10" monitor I got and get working on something like this. I just need to find a good power source.... xD

I feel that if I have to get a small screen I'd rather buy an android tablet, in fact, I'm saving money to get one but I'm waiting until I find a honeycomb tablet that's a little more settled... There are a bunch coming out, the Optimus 3D one looks cool, but I'm not sure which one to get yet.
By the way, I'm not using CM7 RC4 (Android 2.3.3) with the Savage Zen kernel 1.1.0 (with HDMI mirroring) Very stable and battery is amazing! I can get over 3 days (YES! THREE DAYS!) with little use. I know that because I went away over a weekend and forgot my phone, when I came back it was at 38% at 80 hours without charging. (Seidio 3500mAh battery tho)

Very clever. I've been taking notes just by the phones keyboard, never thought about doing this.

meh, not worth the effort.

Try using android seven with the monitor. Even more of a laptop experience. Change the lcd density as well
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App

spanglmd said:
meh, not worth the effort.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is for me... after I got cm7 RC4, all I had to do is turn my bt keyboard on and pair it... I got over 20 pages of notes from my philosophy of law class in the past couple of weeks, since it all syncs with my dropbox account, not a problem to see all my notes on my computers whenever I need

I can't see your video because I'm on my evo now and yourlink is not clickable and ill never be able to manualy type in the url on my phone.
But I did want to say that I occaionaly flash to cm so i can us my bt keyboard.
I have a stowaway sierra. It's the best kb that I am aware of. It unfolds to about the size of a typical full size laptop kb. I got it on eBay a while back used for about $70. Sometimes they aren't even available, they stopped making them seveal years ago.
It supports SIP and hid. No SIP drivers for android but luckily we have cm bt hid support.
The problem I have with this is that in order for me to have bt hid support I have to deal with cms short comings. I can't deal with crappy GPS or buggy WLAN, or no Sprint visual voicemail. Other wise i would be right there with our guys. Case I take notes and work with documents all day everydAY.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

[Q] Has anyone used the Samsung Galaxy Smart Dock Multimedia Hub

Has anyone used the Samsung Galaxy Smart Dock Multimedia Hub with their Note 3? The dock arrived yesterday along with a BT keyboard and mouse; my VZW Note 3 arrives today (longest wait of my life).
I recently got rid of my desktop computer in lieu of using my Note 3. I know the Note 2 users out there have really liked this dock.
Got it for $70 on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009QW3TBK/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Drstovetop said:
Has anyone used the Samsung Galaxy Smart Dock Multimedia Hub with their Note 3? The dock arrived yesterday along with a BT keyboard and mouse; my VZW Note 3 arrives today (longest wait of my life).
I recently got rid of my desktop computer in lieu of using my Note 3. I know the Note 2 users out there have really liked this dock.
Got it for $70 on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009QW3TBK/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i03?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I use it. A little hard to connect, but it works. I use another stuff, logitech k400 keyboard bt connection. Work like a charm.

Note 2 Smart Dock works with the Note 3
Yes, the Samsung Note 2 smart dock does work with my Note 3. Works perfectly except you still need an app to display the home screen in landscape. Someone put up a youtube video showing that the smart dock working with the Note 3 here:
Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWN43pnkg0s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCPCY9PSfSk
Hope this helps.

Note 2 Dock with S3 Loving it.
I am using it with my S3 I9305, and loving it. Currently hooked to a large screen with speakers via HDMI and set of Logitech wireless keyboard mouse on a single receiver.
Got rid of a desktop as it supports, websurfing, web streaming videos, upnp support, office applications (Perfect for just typing so I can edit format issues later for final draft).
The only drawback is when using excel it has its limits.
Also worth noting, funny enough s3 works better than Note2 as it automatically sets the main screen on Landscape.
I also have a note 2 still wonderful set up but does not support landscape with default settings when displaying main and home screen....thought that was weird but works cool for me as I use it with S3.
Cheers,
JK
ksy77 said:
Yes, the Samsung Note 2 smart dock does work with my Note 3. Works perfectly except you still need an app to display the home screen in landscape. Someone put up a youtube video showing that the smart dock working with the Note 3 here:
Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWN43pnkg0s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCPCY9PSfSk
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
---------- Post added at 11:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:04 PM ----------
Just wanting to know if anyone notices the device heats up really hot?.
Hasn't caused any issues but it is mighty warm when I pick it up after a good use out of it docked.
Just wanting to know if anyone notices the device becoming very very warm when they pick it up after they have used it on the dock?

2 Questions
1.) Is the screen going off automatically as soon as the device is connected to an external screen?
2.) Has anybody tried to play with the Screen Density here? I can imagine that it gives a huge step foward in usability if the density is set lower.

brooon said:
2 Questions
1.) Is the screen going off automatically as soon as the device is connected to an external screen?
2.) Has anybody tried to play with the Screen Density here? I can imagine that it gives a huge step foward in usability if the density is set lower.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes to your question #1, see here:
Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWN43pnkg0s
---------- Post added at 08:28 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:26 AM ----------
akatora1984 said:
I am using it with my S3 I9305, and loving it. Currently hooked to a large screen with speakers via HDMI and set of Logitech wireless keyboard mouse on a single receiver.
Got rid of a desktop as it supports, websurfing, web streaming videos, upnp support, office applications (Perfect for just typing so I can edit format issues later for final draft).
The only drawback is when using excel it has its limits.
Also worth noting, funny enough s3 works better than Note2 as it automatically sets the main screen on Landscape.
I also have a note 2 still wonderful set up but does not support landscape with default settings when displaying main and home screen....thought that was weird but works cool for me as I use it with S3.
Cheers,
JK
---------- Post added at 11:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:04 PM ----------
Just wanting to know if anyone notices the device heats up really hot?.
Hasn't caused any issues but it is mighty warm when I pick it up after a good use out of it docked.
Just wanting to know if anyone notices the device becoming very very warm when they pick it up after they have used it on the dock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, yes, I do notice that it is heating up quite a bit but not so much that it really bothers me...I still think the smart dock is a good accessory for the Note 3. I still need to get a good app launcher though.

Hi everybody,
I just received my samsung smart dock today and was hoping to get it work with my note 3.
I tried to plug 2 western digital hard drives (500Gb for the first and 2Tb for the second), a wired XBOX360 gamepad and 2 mice (a Logitech B110 and a Razer Copperhead) but none of them were recognised by my note 3 (I tried to plug them with or without the secor, separately or together, and rebooted my the device multiple times).
The dock itself is recognised by the device when I pluged it to the sector (the phone switch to the kind of dock view with the calendar) but the only thing I get from my gamepad and mouse was a blinking light.
Am I missing something?
According to the manual, it is normal that I can't access the two hard drives (apparently it can only accept FAT32 drives up to 32Gb) but I should at least be able to get a mouse or a gamepad running.
My phone is not rooted but up to date with last samsung room available (Kernel 3.4.0-2019540 Ver JSS15J.N9005XXUDMJ7).
Thanks for your help,
--
Jeff

Jeff___ said:
Hi everybody,
I just received my samsung smart dock today and was hoping to get it work with my note 3.
I tried to plug 2 western digital hard drives (500Gb for the first and 2Tb for the second), a wired XBOX360 gamepad and 2 mice (a Logitech B110 and a Razer Copperhead) but none of them were recognised by my note 3 (I tried to plug them with or without the secor, separately or together, and rebooted my the device multiple times).
The dock itself is recognised by the device when I pluged it to the sector (the phone switch to the kind of dock view with the calendar) but the only thing I get from my gamepad and mouse was a blinking light.
Am I missing something?
According to the manual, it is normal that I can't access the two hard drives (apparently it can only accept FAT32 drives up to 32Gb) but I should at least be able to get a mouse or a gamepad running.
My phone is not rooted but up to date with last samsung room available (Kernel 3.4.0-2019540 Ver JSS15J.N9005XXUDMJ7).
Thanks for your help,
--
Jeff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Jeff and all,
Me also,
I received this Galaxy Note 2 MultiMedia Dock (that's what it says on the box) today.
Plugged in the power (micro USB: the small, not the large from the Note 3) and then inserted the Note 3 in the Dock. First thing strange: the Note 3 is not centered on the dock. Not very nice!
On the Note 3 screen there comes this special docking homescreen in portrait mode. When plugging in the HDMI cable (not in the package) and connecting to my full HD TV, my TV says 1080p input connected: good! The dock can handle full HD. However the image is the same as on the Note 3 : portrait mode. It is scaled down and only occupying half the TV screen.
I've installed a "force landscape" app. Result: The Note touchwizz interface is not made to be displayed in landscape: it's a mess (icons cut off etc): Bad
Then I played a 1080p video on the Note 3 to see what the quality on the TV is: a lot of tearing and pixelisation: Unusable for displaying video! (The same video plays very well on the Note3 when not connected to the dock).
Nex thing: I've connected a mouse: it is NOT detected (it is correctly connected when I use my USB OTG cable on the same Note3!): Very bad! I've tried another mous: same: nothing happens...
So.... as I bought from Amazon, I'll just return it (Amazon has a great return service).
If you have any questions or ideas please tell me

Using Note 3 as a laptop

Looking at using my Note 3 as a laptop. Basically pair a bluetooth mouse and keyboard and plug in an external monitor.
The only issue is the screen resolution is massive. Is there anyway to get it to scale smaller so its looks better on a 21inch or so monitor. Tablet mode would also be good but heard that is not working.
Long term if it works ok I will grab a clambook or similar to travel with.

dusty_nz said:
Looking at using my Note 3 as a laptop. Basically pair a bluetooth mouse and keyboard and plug in an external monitor.
The only issue is the screen resolution is massive. Is there anyway to get it to scale smaller so its looks better on a 21inch or so monitor. Tablet mode would also be good but heard that is not working.
Long term if it works ok I will grab a clambook or similar to travel with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First issue is that the screen looks very average unless connected to a 1080p screen.

Found these two options.
Both pending release
http://clamcase.com/clambook-android-and-iphone-laptop-dock.html
http://www.migoaltech.com/products-detail.php?ProId=12
and this kick starter project
http://livi-design.com/

lapdock hdmi/power issue

Just opened my atrix lapdock for the first time in a while to try it out and had a bunch of weird things happen that i havent seen listed eleswhere. Just wanted to know if anyone else seen something like this.
First, i'm running the latest Carbon nightly on my Razr HD.
Things that happened:
1) I plugged in the HDMI/USB and the phone mirrored onto the screen, however the mouse/keyboard didn't work and it wasn't charging the phone.
2) I removed the phone, checked the jacks and plugged it back in again. This time, the lapdock's backlight turned on, but nothing showed up on the screen. I ran an lsusb and it does show a device there (when i remove the usb it doesn't list anything).
I can't seem to get the phone to mirror again though. I've since rebooted the phone and tried a few other things, but i can't seem to replicate #1.
Anyone have a similar experience?

djuniah said:
Just opened my atrix lapdock for the first time in a while to try it out and had a bunch of weird things happen that i havent seen listed eleswhere. Just wanted to know if anyone else seen something like this.
First, i'm running the latest Carbon nightly on my Razr HD.
Things that happened:
1) I plugged in the HDMI/USB and the phone mirrored onto the screen, however the mouse/keyboard didn't work and it wasn't charging the phone.
2) I removed the phone, checked the jacks and plugged it back in again. This time, the lapdock's backlight turned on, but nothing showed up on the screen. I ran an lsusb and it does show a device there (when i remove the usb it doesn't list anything).
I can't seem to get the phone to mirror again though. I've since rebooted the phone and tried a few other things, but i can't seem to replicate #1.
Anyone have a similar experience?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's pretty much normal on custom JB roms. You can get the phone to output to the Lapdock in a bastardized 1080p if you go to dev settings and disable hdcp -- there's a bug in the custom kernel regarding both obtaining the lapdock's EDID as well as the phone always trying to initiate the hdcp handshake even though it's really a dvi monitor with an hdmi>dvi adapter. With HDCP disabled, the phone will force output to 1080p, only the monitor is 1366x768, and due to the buggy EDID, none of FB1's (framebuffer 1...hdmi output) settings are tweakable...mainly the resolution setting like we have to use in Stock Moto JB. Sucks knowing the bug and not knowing how to fix it.
Good news is the Lapdock is reported to work just fine with Stock KitKat. Once the dev team is ready and start releasing CM11 with the 3.4 kernel, we'll finally be able to use the Lapdock with custom KK roms like we did with stock ICS.

skeevydude said:
That's pretty much normal on custom JB roms. You can get the phone to output to the Lapdock in a bastardized 1080p if you go to dev settings and disable hdcp -- there's a bug in the custom kernel regarding both obtaining the lapdock's EDID as well as the phone always trying to initiate the hdcp handshake even though it's really a dvi monitor with an hdmi>dvi adapter. With HDCP disabled, the phone will force output to 1080p, only the monitor is 1366x768, and due to the buggy EDID, none of FB1's (framebuffer 1...hdmi output) settings are tweakable...mainly the resolution setting like we have to use in Stock Moto JB. Sucks knowing the bug and not knowing how to fix it.
Good news is the Lapdock is reported to work just fine with Stock KitKat. Once the dev team is ready and start releasing CM11 with the 3.4 kernel, we'll finally be able to use the Lapdock with custom KK roms like we did with stock ICS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually had HDCP disabled during all of those cases i mentioned. I was doing some testing on laggy playback of protected video streams via HDMI (Netflix/Xfinitity/etc. had been lagging the video stream and getting out of sync recently) and had disabled it to see if it would help. The other odd part is that now i can't even see the hub via lsusb. When i plug the phone in, the little white LED on the trackpad lights up, so it definitely sees a connection, however lsusb shows 0 results on the device. I'm wondering if maybe the small cables that go through the hinge got damaged somehow while i was messing around with it last night.

djuniah said:
I actually had HDCP disabled during all of those cases i mentioned. I was doing some testing on laggy playback of protected video streams via HDMI (Netflix/Xfinitity/etc. had been lagging the video stream and getting out of sync recently) and had disabled it to see if it would help. The other odd part is that now i can't even see the hub via lsusb. When i plug the phone in, the little white LED on the trackpad lights up, so it definitely sees a connection, however lsusb shows 0 results on the device. I'm wondering if maybe the small cables that go through the hinge got damaged somehow while i was messing around with it last night.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What kind of Lapdock? I have the 500 and it's unable to work in the proper resolution on custom roms since around June of last year (when Epinter's hdcp/hdmi commits started showing up in the cm kernel). When it did work, did it work with the correct resolution? Because it's in a forced 1080p with no way of changing it on the Atrix HD & any custom rom (and only then when HDCP is disabled).
The hinge cables...that would suck if that's what happened. I could see that being a difficult fix to do, though I've never taken my Lapdock apart to know if it's actually that difficult.

skeevydude said:
What kind of Lapdock? I have the 500 and it's unable to work in the proper resolution on custom roms since around June of last year (when Epinter's hdcp/hdmi commits started showing up in the cm kernel). When it did work, did it work with the correct resolution? Because it's in a forced 1080p with no way of changing it on the Atrix HD & any custom rom (and only then when HDCP is disabled).
The hinge cables...that would suck if that's what happened. I could see that being a difficult fix to do, though I've never taken my Lapdock apart to know if it's actually that difficult.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the atrix lapdock (which i believe is a different model from the 500 or 100). I had picked it up cheap for my old OG Razr and i know that it did work previously. The resolution was actually correct though. It showed up full-screen without the black bars, which was quite surprising given what i've read elsewhere. There are quite a few exposed screws on the bottom of the unit, so if i HAD to go in there and replace the cable that runs from the hub to the dock, i think i could, but i've only opened up the back-dock section to flip the jacks around to fit the HD.

djuniah said:
It's the atrix lapdock (which i believe is a different model from the 500 or 100). I had picked it up cheap for my old OG Razr and i know that it did work previously. The resolution was actually correct though. It showed up full-screen without the black bars, which was quite surprising given what i've read elsewhere. There are quite a few exposed screws on the bottom of the unit, so if i HAD to go in there and replace the cable that runs from the hub to the dock, i think i could, but i've only opened up the back-dock section to flip the jacks around to fit the HD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Odd, especially since they all run at the same 1366x768 resolution, but it could simply be a case of the phone registering the incorrect EDID from the 100 and/or 500.
There isn't a single exposed screw on the 500 without removing all the rubber feet and rubber screw blocks.
Thursday needs to hurry on up and get here. It's when my replacement Atrix HD will arrive. No phone sucks.

RK8 HDMI issue

I got an RK8 box and runs great with my 4k TV. Exception being HDMI. When I turn on the RK8, it will not display on my TV. I have to unplug the HDMI from the box and plug it back in and than it will work. Is there a setting that I'm missing?
It's plugged into my HDMI port on the LG for 2.0. The TV also recognizes it as an HDMI 2.0 devices and switches the tv to 10bit colour on that port. Only issue is unplugging and plugging back in the HDMI cable to it to show.

Hi Kevin. Have had the RK8 for a couple of months now, and after the first couple of weeks using it on my Samsung UE65JU6070, I can no longer switch it on with my remote (switching off works fine), thus I have gotten used to unplug/replug the power cord. Maybe it's the same issue you're experiencing? I'll check tonight if unplugging/replugging the HDMI cable does the same trick for me as the power cord.
Can I ask, what is your experience in playing 4K youtube video's? It seems mine is very reluctant to do so (doesn't work on the youtube app, and only sporadically using a webbrowser).
Otherwise I agree with you .... it is a great box which seems to run very stable without any overheating issues etc. ..... and having upgraded KODI to 15.2 means I no longer have any stability issues there either (NB: if you do this update, you need to uninstall the pre-installed KODI 14 first .... so remember to save your settings etc.).
Just a last comment. At 70 USD this seems to me to be great value ..... I'm surprised it's so difficult to find other people on the Internet who have experience with this box ....
Best regards Mogens

mogensberg said:
Hi Kevin. Have had the RK8 for a couple of months now, and after the first couple of weeks using it on my Samsung UE65JU6070, I can no longer switch it on with my remote (switching off works fine), thus I have gotten used to unplug/replug the power cord. Maybe it's the same issue you're experiencing? I'll check tonight if unplugging/replugging the HDMI cable does the same trick for me as the power cord.
Can I ask, what is your experience in playing 4K youtube video's? It seems mine is very reluctant to do so (doesn't work on the youtube app, and only sporadically using a webbrowser).
Otherwise I agree with you .... it is a great box which seems to run very stable without any overheating issues etc. ..... and having upgraded KODI to 15.2 means I no longer have any stability issues there either (NB: if you do this update, you need to uninstall the pre-installed KODI 14 first .... so remember to save your settings etc.).
Just a last comment. At 70 USD this seems to me to be great value ..... I'm surprised it's so difficult to find other people on the Internet who have experience with this box ....
Best regards Mogens
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no remote/power issues. Just issue with it showing on my tv. It powers up and won't display. TV see's that HDMI3 has power but does not show unless I unplug/plug the HDMI cord in the box.
I don't use youtube on this box. Just Kodi.

kevink15 said:
I have no remote/power issues. Just issue with it showing on my tv. It powers up and won't display. TV see's that HDMI3 has power but does not show unless I unplug/plug the HDMI cord in the box.
I don't use youtube on this box. Just Kodi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi again Kevin. Since my last post, it has happend 3 - 4 times that I've experienced your issue of "black screen", but for me it has come out of the blue. Picture comes back when unplugging and replugging the HDMI cable just as you say. I was wondering if you have gotten any closer to find a solution?
Pls be aware that I tried to update to Kodi Jarvis (16.0) release, but went back to 15.2 due to an issue with menu text being "corrupted", which required each time starting Kodi to go and change the font. Allegedly it's an issue related to HDMI as well, so I'm wondering if there is some "glitch" in the box' HDMI implementation (HW or FW).
I'm sure you have tried already, but if not, have you tried to move the HDMI cable to another input on the TV? Do you have some configuration possibilities with the HDMI inputs on the TV ... if yes, maybe play around with those.
Small quirks ... but I have to say that for USD 60, this is still an amazing box even if I still cannot power it on with any remote (but power off works fine with all remotes).
Best regards Mogens

mogensberg said:
Hi again Kevin. Since my last post, it has happend 3 - 4 times that I've experienced your issue of "black screen", but for me it has come out of the blue. Picture comes back when unplugging and replugging the HDMI cable just as you say. I was wondering if you have gotten any closer to find a solution?
Pls be aware that I tried to update to Kodi Jarvis (16.0) release, but went back to 15.2 due to an issue with menu text being "corrupted", which required each time starting Kodi to go and change the font. Allegedly it's an issue related to HDMI as well, so I'm wondering if there is some "glitch" in the box' HDMI implementation (HW or FW).
I'm sure you have tried already, but if not, have you tried to move the HDMI cable to another input on the TV? Do you have some configuration possibilities with the HDMI inputs on the TV ... if yes, maybe play around with those.
Small quirks ... but I have to say that for USD 60, this is still an amazing box even if I still cannot power it on with any remote (but power off works fine with all remotes).
Best regards Mogens
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't had time to work with it to be honest. I think its a poor HDMI 2.0 design on the box. I still have the issue and just yesterday, my Kodi updated to 16 and I get the same issue as you with the block lettering which I haven't tried to fix as yet. Thanks for sharing changing of the font.
Reason I suspect its the unit and not tv, is because sometimes when it does not display on my tv. The tv gives a pop up indicating "The device connected does not support 10 bit deep colour". Then I unplug and plug and it goes away.
Hopefully I can get sometime to fiddle with it more and see how it can be resolved.
Have you tried to see if there is a software update? The update option on my box does not even work. I wonder if we both got knock offs or just duds.

kevink15 said:
I haven't had time to work with it to be honest. I think its a poor HDMI 2.0 design on the box. I still have the issue and just yesterday, my Kodi updated to 16 and I get the same issue as you with the block lettering which I haven't tried to fix as yet. Thanks for sharing changing of the font.
Reason I suspect its the unit and not tv, is because sometimes when it does not display on my tv. The tv gives a pop up indicating "The device connected does not support 10 bit deep colour". Then I unplug and plug and it goes away.
Hopefully I can get sometime to fiddle with it more and see how it can be resolved.
Have you tried to see if there is a software update? The update option on my box does not even work. I wonder if we both got knock offs or just duds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Kevin,
The box is made by Acemax, and there is no FW update since the original (believe the one it's shipped with is dated 30. sep 2015 ...but that's from memory as I'm at work). I don't think it's a knock off, but I do think it's a "standard" board which is basically put into a plastic cabinet, where the only difference to identical spec products (like the Xidoo X6 Pro) is the location of the USB ports. It seems it uses exactly the same components as that one and others similar to it ... however, Acemax do seem to have FW updates for other products they've made on their homepage, so ... who knows. If somebody is brave and skillful enough, such person may even try at install a FW from f.ex. the Xidoo box ... but I'm afraid that's not me (not due to lack of bravery, but ... skill!!). With that being said, I believe my issue with having to unplug/replug the power cord once per day is something I can live with easily (and it has worked, so it may be a question of resetting the box, which I frankly am to lazy to do!!), so .... I guess looking at such small quirks and comparing them to the overall usability of the box, then the trade-off is not too bad.
A quick view on a couple of threads for similar boxes (f.ex. the Xidoo) would seem to indicate that some of their users are having issues that makes ours "luxury problems" in comparison.
Anyway, I'll keep you updated if I stumble over something useful .... and would appreciate if you do the same.
P.S. A "clever" streaming guy has told me that the best Kodi version in terms of stability for live TV streaming still is Helix .... although I'm quite happy with Isenguard (got too tired of the font changing thing on Jarvis, so I re-installed Isenguard). I'm more or less only using mine for streaming HD channels (mostly UK Sky / BT sports) for EPL, and it works fantastic.

I found a weird solution for the unplug issue! When I turn on the box and my tv is on the hdmi port. I turn the tv off and turn it back on and the box displays. Tried this a few times and it worked.

mogensberg said:
Hi Kevin,
The box is made by Acemax, and there is no FW update since the original (believe the one it's shipped with is dated 30. sep 2015 ...but that's from memory as I'm at work). I don't think it's a knock off, but I do think it's a "standard" board which is basically put into a plastic cabinet, where the only difference to identical spec products (like the Xidoo X6 Pro) is the location of the USB ports. It seems it uses exactly the same components as that one and others similar to it ... however, Acemax do seem to have FW updates for other products they've made on their homepage, so ... who knows. If somebody is brave and skillful enough, such person may even try at install a FW from f.ex. the Xidoo box ... but I'm afraid that's not me (not due to lack of bravery, but ... skill!!). With that being said, I believe my issue with having to unplug/replug the power cord once per day is something I can live with easily (and it has worked, so it may be a question of resetting the box, which I frankly am to lazy to do!!), so .... I guess looking at such small quirks and comparing them to the overall usability of the box, then the trade-off is not too bad.
A quick view on a couple of threads for similar boxes (f.ex. the Xidoo) would seem to indicate that some of their users are having issues that makes ours "luxury problems" in comparison.
Anyway, I'll keep you updated if I stumble over something useful .... and would appreciate if you do the same.
P.S. A "clever" streaming guy has told me that the best Kodi version in terms of stability for live TV streaming still is Helix .... although I'm quite happy with Isenguard (got too tired of the font changing thing on Jarvis, so I re-installed Isenguard). I'm more or less only using mine for streaming HD channels (mostly UK Sky / BT sports) for EPL, and it works fantastic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if you saw my last note about the power. I've also figured out more about this box. It has a rockchip which is one of the worst to use. Kodi does not support that chip fully, hence the weird text when launched. We have to stick with the preload or, I've read some place to download the "X86" apk from the kodi site. Also, I tested my box on a regular 1080p tv with hdmi 1.4. And the issues of it not displaying right away, are eliminated which lead me to believe the hdmi 2.0 in this box is poorly designed.
I'm probably going to use this box in my room and get a box with an Amlogic chip for 4k as those are the better boxes to have and more support is offered.

kevink15 said:
Not sure if you saw my last note about the power. I've also figured out more about this box. It has a rockchip which is one of the worst to use. Kodi does not support that chip fully, hence the weird text when launched. We have to stick with the preload or, I've read some place to download the "X86" apk from the kodi site. Also, I tested my box on a regular 1080p tv with hdmi 1.4. And the issues of it not displaying right away, are eliminated which lead me to believe the hdmi 2.0 in this box is poorly designed.
I'm probably going to use this box in my room and get a box with an Amlogic chip for 4k as those are the better boxes to have and more support is offered.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Kevin,
I just now saw your other post about the power .... I tried that myself, but to no avail.
I'm not sure you're right about the Rockchip being one of the worst technically, but in terms of support (official and un-official) you're right.
However, since I use my box for watching IP TV, I can live with using Kodi 15.2. I've tried the Kodi 17 dev version, and it has the same issue with garbled text as Kodi 16.
The Kodi x86.apk cannot be installed on our box .... I tried yesterday, but I guess it is for an Intel based android solution.
In terms of HDMI 2.0 implementation, I wouldn't be surprised if it's not perfectly implemented .... not sure if HDCP 2.2 also plays a role.
Anyway, at the end of the day you get what you pay for .... and since I paid USD 65 for my box, I have to say I feel I got a lot of value for money, despite it's few quirks .... and as a friend of mine always says; what kind of life would it be without complaints
Best regards Mogens

Hi again Kevin,
The family being out for Saturday shopping, I spent a little time with my afternoon coffee on the computer.
You are right, that KODI do not support the RK3368 SoC, as the manufacturer does not comply with Android standards, which necessitates that standard KODI is "hacked" to work perfectly with this chip .... something the KODI development community naturally does not want to do.
However, it seems the manufacturer Zidoo whose Z6 box is based on the same SoC, has showed some good customer service, and actually created a ZDMC app, which is basically KODI 16 with a few modifications for RK3368.
I downloaded their firmware for the Z6 box, and extracted the ZDMC apk from there and installed it on my RK8 box ..... and albeit I've only tested it shortly, it works beautifully with no issues so far. Apart from not having garbled menu text, it also seems like it's actually able to make 4K output (the standard KODI irrespective of versions only seemed to be able to show FHD, but would in turn show a refresh rate of twice the actual .... too techincal for me!).
Long story short, if you want to test it out, I've uploaded the above apk to Mega with the download link below.
https://mega.nz/#!TR1SEByC
Encryption key needed: !kN-15aGvZljVdKEus9LT7NxCYjqnthR8bbaYD_YfhiQ
Let me know if it works for you and/or if you find anything. Also let me know if the download link doesn't work.
Enjoy your weekend!
Best regards Mogens

kevink15 said:
Not sure if you saw my last note about the power. I've also figured out more about this box. It has a rockchip which is one of the worst to use. Kodi does not support that chip fully, hence the weird text when launched. We have to stick with the preload or, I've read some place to download the "X86" apk from the kodi site. Also, I tested my box on a regular 1080p tv with hdmi 1.4. And the issues of it not displaying right away, are eliminated which lead me to believe the hdmi 2.0 in this box is poorly designed.
I'm probably going to use this box in my room and get a box with an Amlogic chip for 4k as those are the better boxes to have and more support is offered.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi again Kevin,
Just a last comment this time around. I've now used the above mentioned RK3368 "modified" version of Kodi 16, and I have to say it is extremely stable and works better on the RK8 than Kodi 15.2.
If you have a chance, try it out. Given the very, very limited 4K material out there, I hope this box should be able to carry me through the next couple of years until availability of material as well as new compression methods become available.
Best regards Mogens