Database Users

samsung official update released today your thoughts

Sorry if this was posted up already but I got an email for the Samsung update but would like to know how big of a difference it makes

+ Most actions feel smoother
+ Browser is much more stable
+ Lag and wonky cursor fixed when typing in web forms
+ Numerous small fixes and improvements throughout
- 720p high profile playback is broken
- New color scheme takes awhile to get used to
The pros outweigh the cons for me, unless a clever developer manages to get 3.2 running on the tab I don't think I'll be going back to stock HC.

I was at my local mall yesterday and saw the touch screen buttons look uglier to me I didn't get to play with there was a long line but everything looks ok but if you say its more stable ill take it I'm getting tired of how it runs slow at certain points

My thoughts: This isn't your Granny's Android tablet any more!
- Printing (but only to Samsung printers )
- Screen Capture button.
- Tilt the tablet to zoom in and out in gallery and browser.
- New notification sound.
- New graphic aesthetics in major system apps, including Settings.
- Hardware shortcut ribbon in bottom-corner pop-up. Wi-Fi, Notifications, GPS, Sound, Auto-rotate, Bluetooth, and Flight Mode.
- Graphic current screen indicator on home pages. Tap on dots to go directly to any page.
- Bottom dock bar, pops up with Task manager, Calendar, World clock, Pen memo, Calculator, and Music Player shortcuts on any screen.
- Connect to Kies via WiFi. (Kies update available)
- Move icons to other pages by tilting the tablet to pan while holding an icon.
- Videos app, Movies in Market, Samsung Apps app, Photo editor, Alarm app, and probably a few more.
Liking it so far

+System video player properly recognizes orientation! This was such an annoyance when using Samsung book cover with tilt!
+Browser annoyances fixed
+Finally an easy to access calculator
-H264 720p high profile broken. Verified in system video player as well as mobo player
-Youtube still does not recognize orientation in full screen playback.

1. More video formats now play in the video player.
2. Good news abou the UI: The GUI is more "fat finger" friendly. Bad News: As a result it's not very pretty. However, I prefer function over form so that's OK.
3. There's a pop-up app button in the bottom ribbon. Unfortunately, the only app there that I find useful is Task Manager. Too bad we can't change the apps to make it more useful.
4. Screen shot is nice. But, really, how often does one need a screen shot?
5. They changed the appearance of the buttons on the bottom left corner of the screen. The back arrow is now an arrow. However, the home button still looks like an upward pointing arrow. Too bad they didn't make that better.
6. The browser does seem snappier.
7. The market now includes Movies. Although I haven't seen anything under $3.99. I'm not going to pay $3.99 to watch something on a 10.1" screen. I'm guessing they're aiming at those who have purchased the HDMI adapter.
8. The "busy" icon is no longer two circles spinning in opposite directions. It's more like an analog clock with a spinning hour hand.
9. There's a File Manager. It's called "My Files." Took me a while to figure that out. It has a polished look. Not sure of all its capabilities yet.
10. I really like the buttons at the top of the UI to get to any 5 screens quickly. However, 5 seems to still be the limit. With direct navigation it would have been nice to have the ability to create more screens ala GO Launcer EX.
11. Calender. They did some horrible things to the calendar. I'm a graphical person. I need to see appointments in a graphical way where a longer appointment takes up more space on a calendar. I detest the Agenda style. They took that away in the week view. Agenda style only there. Daily view shows appointments graphically, but not weekly.
Additionally, the color scheme is abysmal. Violet and white. Who in their right mind chooses such a hideous color scheme without giving us the ability to change it? This just solidifies my choice of using Touchdown instead. So long Calendar.
11. When looking at the Apps screen they've taken away the "ghosted" outline of apps on the right column. That was a cool visual cue that there were more apps on the right. I liked it and could see that it was useful when new users used the Tab.
12. Live wallpapers are still as useless as they were before. It grinds the home pages to a halt. No improvement there.
13. There are more "settings" including a Power Saving panel, a Motion Settings panel, and more details about the Tab.

Anyone know if you can change out the icons/apps on the pop-up dock? There is a better calculator available for example, and I'd prefer to use the Google Music beta app instead of the default one Samsung provided.

So far, in my 10 minutes of using this update, I'm not too happy. More apps I don't use were installed and cannot be removed without rooting (My Files, Pen memo, Memo, Amazon Kindle/MP3, Words, Video). The pop-up task bar has changed. The new buttons to run wifi/gps/etc on and off is neat, but it's ugly and some functionality has been lost from that pop up like clicking on wifi no longer brings you right into wifi settings, which I find extremely annoying. The new calendar app is not as good as the old one, which is important for me. I want the old color scheme back. So far, I'd actually like to roll back. None of these quirks were reported in any reviews of the new TW update I read.

Graphics performance has been improved quite a bit as evidenced in Quadrant and a few games I've tested. The annoying gyro drift I was experiencing in NOVA 2 has also been fixed. The game actually plays quite well now, not as good as ipad2 though
Hoping we'll see an OC Kernel soon, should boost performance a bit more.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk

I gotta say that Swype is fantastic. I've tried to use Swype on my phone several times over the last year or so but never could get used to it. Somehow, on the Tab, it's a much better experience. Also, it's nice to be able to move the Swype keyboard to a different position making it easy for both leftys and rightys.

+ MTP protocol improved: you can use the tablet while is connected to the PC
- I'm really dissapointed by the 720p HP ommition

Gix said:
I'm really dissapointed by the 720p HP ommition
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried Dice Player? 720p MKVs work well with it.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.inisoft.mediaplayer.trial&feature=search_result
Topic here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1181938

The rep at the mall told me that there's this new feature that if you have an HDTV connected to the same WiFi as the tab you can watch whatever is on Tue tv on the tab so in case you have to go to the bathrrom or kitchen you can continue watching the movie or tv. I don't know useful that is but if you can watch what's on Tue tab on the tv wirelessly that would he epic

ganiman said:
Have you tried Dice Player? 720p MKVs work well with it.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.inisoft.mediaplayer.trial&feature=search_result
Topic here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1181938
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
720p High Profile H264 is broken. There are many variations of H264:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC#Profiles
MKV is a container that can contain numerous formats of video and audio.
Yes, depending on the 720p H264 file you get, it may work as long as was encoded less then High Profile.
Why would anyone want high profile? It gives the greatest quality per bit of data at the expense of crunching power, which the tegra2 has. Somehow this update disabled high profile recognition for hw decode, no 3rd party player can fix this.

ariel123 said:
The rep at the mall told me that there's this new feature that if you have an HDTV connected to the same WiFi as the tab you can watch whatever is on Tue tv on the tab so in case you have to go to the bathrrom or kitchen you can continue watching the movie or tv. I don't know useful that is but if you can watch what's on Tue tab on the tv wirelessly that would he epic
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
whatttttttt

ariel123 said:
The rep at the mall told me that there's this new feature that if you have an HDTV connected to the same WiFi as the tab you can watch whatever is on Tue tv on the tab so in case you have to go to the bathrrom or kitchen you can continue watching the movie or tv. I don't know useful that is but if you can watch what's on Tue tab on the tv wirelessly that would he epic
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got a TV that is on my network. Curious how that would work. I could see it working if it was running Google TV, but mine is an LG "Smart" tv. It plays videos off my shared network drive, but watching content from the TV on another device isn't something I've ever seen done. Certainly going to mess with it. Will report If I have any success.

ariel123 said:
The rep at the mall told me that there's this new feature that if you have an HDTV connected to the same WiFi as the tab you can watch whatever is on Tue tv on the tab so in case you have to go to the bathrrom or kitchen you can continue watching the movie or tv. I don't know useful that is but if you can watch what's on Tue tab on the tv wirelessly that would he epic
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wut!!!
10char

Gix said:
+ MTP protocol improved: you can use the tablet while is connected to the PC
- I'm really dissapointed by the 720p HP ommition
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should we have debugging check or not for connecting via USB to transfer files? I had a problem initially connecting, I had Kies open and it said that it is not supported or cant connect. I then closed Kies, unchecked debugging, then it connected and an expolorer window opened to view files.
I tried connecting again and my tab did not show up in my computer as a drive. Rebooted tab, checked and unchecked debugging and then it worked.
Very strange, so I am not sure what I did wrong or if Kies was the problem.

Lol 4th thoughts on the update thread....
Sent from my GT-P7510 using XDA Premium App

4dthinker said:
I've got a TV that is on my network. Curious how that would work. I could see it working if it was running Google TV, but mine is an LG "Smart" tv. It plays videos off my shared network drive, but watching content from the TV on another device isn't something I've ever seen done. Certainly going to mess with it. Will report If I have any success.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very easily done using DLNA. The Galaxy S 1/2 devices have an app called AllShare that enables this functionality. It allows you to watch content on DLNA devices. For example, I can watch video captures on my phone on my DLNA enabled TV and vice versa.
We are still waiting on Samsung to release an AllShare app for the Tab though.

[Q] So how is fullscreen video over hdmi being solved?

So I got my microHDMI cable and it works really good except the annoying AR problem with black bars on the sides.
I have seen people saying that video from Googles Play store does go fullscreen, but haven't seen it in action anywhere and can't try it myself because I live in Sweden.
So if Google can do it 3rd party apps should also be able to do it right? Or are they using some unofficial/undocumented API or something? I haven't seen anyone talking about this so I wan't to get some discussions going.

the_slain_man said:
So I got my microHDMI cable and it works really good except the annoying AR problem with black bars on the sides.
I have seen people saying that video from Googles Play store does go fullscreen, but haven't seen it in action anywhere and can't try it myself because I live in Sweden.
So if Google can do it 3rd party apps should also be able to do it right? Or are they using some unofficial/undocumented API or something? I haven't seen anyone talking about this so I wan't to get some discussions going.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't had a problem with anything other than sound via HDMI. My n10 desktop, google movie rentals and apps that I have run are all at full screen. I don't recall any of them using a different aspect ratio. I just got a new 55inch plasma last week and I did notice the notification bar runs off the screen slightly.
Maybe it's a setting in your tv for that device? Set the tv's settings when using that particular hdmi channel in case they are not global. Try your remote's aspect button in case it is not in the display menu. See if it displays info so you will know what resolution is being displayed?
My son's Samsung Chromebox displays at a very low resolution using hdmi on his tv. Tried every possible setting and he has the black bars on the sides and all the icons and words are so large that the menus don't fit on the screen. Real annoying and looks like an older CGA screen on a pc-xt. (like a 480dpi setting under windows) Tried every cable he could find, every tv setting and it would not display higher 720p. Nothing he could do, we just gave him our old plasma tv and the display is beautiful... Really high resolution.
Same as my tablet, no sound on either of our panasonic tv's... Others work fine... Have you tried viewing it on other tv's.... Could be something is not compatible with your tv and it is down converting the resolution?
Well, those are a couple of things I might look at... Check with others and see if it is a problem for everyone else... Does the n10 main menu show smaller as well? I just double checked and mine runs to all the edges with no "black bars".
I hope something here might help.

metaled222 said:
I haven't had a problem with anything other than sound via HDMI. My n10 desktop, google movie rentals and apps that I have run are all at full screen. I don't recall any of them using a different aspect ratio. I just got a new 55inch plasma last week and I did notice the notification bar runs off the screen slightly.
Maybe it's a setting in your tv for that device? Set the tv's settings when using that particular hdmi channel in case they are not global. Try your remote's aspect button in case it is not in the display menu. See if it displays info so you will know what resolution is being displayed?
My son's Samsung Chromebox displays at a very low resolution using hdmi on his tv. Tried every possible setting and he has the black bars on the sides and all the icons and words are so large that the menus don't fit on the screen. Real annoying and looks like an older CGA screen on a pc-xt. (like a 480dpi setting under windows) Tried every cable he could find, every tv setting and it would not display higher 720p. Nothing he could do, we just gave him our old plasma tv and the display is beautiful... Really high resolution.
Same as my tablet, no sound on either of our panasonic tv's... Others work fine... Have you tried viewing it on other tv's.... Could be something is not compatible with your tv and it is down converting the resolution?
Well, those are a couple of things I might look at... Check with others and see if it is a problem for everyone else... Does the n10 main menu show smaller as well? I just double checked and mine runs to all the edges with no "black bars".
I hope something here might help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I run the TV without scaling/zoom so if you don't see the bars and buttons on your screen your TV is wrongly configured. The N10 sends the unaltered 16:10 picture right to the TV thus the black bars.
I know I can probably distort the picture so it fits with the zoom feature on the TV but that is not a solution, I want a full 1920x1080 output for video-playback without any scaling and distortion of the picture. On my Xoom it would lock the apps to 1280x720 resolution so they fit the TV when you plug in the HDMI cable so if feels so stupid that they removed that feature in the never Android version the N10 runs.
No sound on Panasonic is a know problem if you search around here.

the_slain_man said:
I run the TV without scaling/zoom so if you don't see the bars and buttons on your screen your TV is wrongly configured. The N10 sends the unaltered 16:10 picture right to the TV thus the black bars.
I know I can probably distort the picture so it fits with the zoom feature on the TV but that is not a solution, I want a full 1920x1080 output for video-playback without any scaling and distortion of the picture. On my Xoom it would lock the apps to 1280x720 resolution so they fit the TV when you plug in the HDMI cable so if feels so stupid that they removed that feature in the never Android version the N10 runs.
No sound on Panasonic is a know problem if you search around here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right about the apps and the main n10 menus. But if I. Play a movie (tried ice age that came with the tablet and one I purchased off google play) they fill the screen and the info from my tv shows it at 1080p FULL. Meaning that it is not using stretch, zoom or any other screen altering settings. I don't have black line when playing movies back in the play store movie app. I do get them if I try youtube or other apps. Movies play as they are designed to on mine, completely filling the screen (on their own).
I do know about panasonic, that was my point about different equipment!

metaled222 said:
You are right about the apps and the main n10 menus. But if I. Play a movie (tried ice age that came with the tablet and one I purchased off google play) they fill the screen and the info from my tv shows it at 1080p FULL. Meaning that it is not using stretch, zoom or any other screen altering settings. I don't have black line when playing movies back in the play store movie app. I do get them if I try youtube or other apps. Movies play as they are designed to on mine, completely filling the screen (on their own).
I do know about panasonic, that was my point about different equipment!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to hear that the play store can do it. So should we ask developers to implement the same thing then? I hope it's documented by Google.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2

Chromecast with screen off?

Hello there!
I've been looking around on a wireless connection for my TV and I think I'll buy the Chromecast.
But when you want to stream something you have to have your phone on? Is there a way to stream videos without having your display on in the background?
Also, can you mirror your screen with your TV without having the display on? For example, if I want to play a game I want my phone screen to be off and only see what's happening through my TV. Is this possible?
Thanks in advance.

I bought the Chromecast a while ago and I am very happy with it.
Once you send content to your Chromecast, it does it's thing, the screen does not need to stay on at all. Certain apps like YouTube allow for queuing, so you can queue a bunch of videos, cast the entire queue and forget about your phone pretty much. You will need it if you want to skip a video or part of one.
As for games, from what I have seen so far there is not much available. I suggest you download the cast store app, which is free in the play store, and check which games are there as of now. The games I have seen do require having the screen on.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Is it possible to run KODI in multiwindow with other app below?

Is anyone could check it for me please. That is possible with root.
Just love to watch tv snd browse internet.

netgar said:
Is anyone could check it for me please. That is possible with root.
Just love to watch tv snd browse internet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Checking now.
No you can not.

Netgar:
It is possible, but I don't yet know if it's really a viable option. In Developer Options, there is a toggle near the bottom that will let you force apps to resize.
After this, I was able to have a video playing on kodi (portrait mode) on top with chrome on the bottom, but I haven't messed around with it much. For starters, it seems very difficult to navigate kodi in split screen, and I'm not sure the video aspect ratio is correct. Anyhow...

Thx guys.
Using my n4 I can have both spmc and kodi running in portrait mode and watching soccer.
I wish we have a root.
Thx again

pachanga74 said:
Netgar:
It is possible, but I don't yet know if it's really a viable option. In Developer Options, there is a toggle near the bottom that will let you force apps to resize.
After this, I was able to have a video playing on kodi (portrait mode) on top with chrome on the bottom, but I haven't messed around with it much. For starters, it seems very difficult to navigate kodi in split screen, and I'm not sure the video aspect ratio is correct. Anyhow...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Were you able to navigate in kodi? Pause, play, stop movie?
I'm sorry that I am coming back to the same question.
Is anyone could test it please
Anyone?

I took another look and I don't really think forcing kodi to run in split screen is worth the hassle.
Alternatively, using a sportsmania account with the matrix TV browser (which plays the streams on app of your choosing such a MX, VLC, etc.) works great in split screen. Also could use sportsaccess account, load the stream in the browser and then split chrome tabs.

netgar said:
Is anyone could check it for me please. That is possible with root.
Just love to watch tv snd browse internet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love kodi. Isnt it possible to use an external video player that will do allow split view. I feel like ive seen that in the settings.

Bubba: good point. I had not thought of using an external player as I don't use kodi on my phone that often. I got it to work using MX free player, but am not aware of any settings within kodi... you can find instructions for adding an xml file which then lets you choose an external player by googling...
Bubba Fett said:
I love kodi. Isnt it possible to use an external video player that will do allow split view. I feel like ive seen that in the settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

pachanga74 said:
I took another look and I don't really think forcing kodi to run in split screen is worth the hassle.
Alternatively, using a sportsmania account with the matrix TV browser (which plays the streams on app of your choosing such a MX, VLC, etc.) works great in split screen. Also could use sportsaccess account, load the stream in the browser and then split chrome tabs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you pachanga74
Unfortunately the streaming I use run only in kodi.
I just wonder if you could just navigate it. I can use kodi in multi window view all the time and use spmc full screen.

Deleted. Going to look for a more appropriate topic....

Pixel XL used as a Google Home device??

Hello guys,
I have been searching but cannot find the answer, so I guess it is not possible, yet...
The Pixel XL is more than capable of doing everything a Google Home device can do, but yet it can't. In the Google Home app on the phone, you can pair up your devices, but there is no way to say
"OK GOOGLE, turn up the volume on my TV", or whatever. Seems like it should be possible?
BTW, All Sony Android TVs (I have one) are Google Home compatible.
Mark.

I'm with you. Just installed Nest and Phillip Hues light both Home compatible and had the same thought. Let me know what you find out.
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

I was able to control the light on my Philips hue setup with the google assistant on my Pixel from a different room. I had to set the lights up in the google home app first, of course. As for the Sony TV, I guess mine is waiting for an update that will allow voice control. Right now it doesn't see my Sony TV as a "compatible device" when I try to add it. I can cast to my original chromecast perfectly with google home or assistant.

error747 said:
I was able to control the light on my Philips hue setup with the google assistant on my Pixel from a different room. I had to set the lights up in the google home app first, of course. As for the Sony TV, I guess mine is waiting for an update that will allow voice control. Right now it doesn't see my Sony TV as a "compatible device" when I try to add it. I can cast to my original chromecast perfectly with google home or assistant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, so maybe the same is true for me. I can chromecast to my TV but perhaps once an update comes I will be able to do more.
So are you saying that your phone can do all a Google Home device can do?
tx
Mark.

error747 said:
I was able to control the light on my Philips hue setup with the google assistant on my Pixel from a different room. I had to set the lights up in the google home app first, of course. As for the Sony TV, I guess mine is waiting for an update that will allow voice control. Right now it doesn't see my Sony TV as a "compatible device" when I try to add it. I can cast to my original chromecast perfectly with google home or assistant.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My app only sees my Chromecast. Do you have the Home device also? Read you have to have device before Pixel will work as voice remote.
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

As far as I can tell the assistant on the pixel can do everything GH can do. I am able to ask my assistant to set or dim the lights and it works. I have heard you can expand the control you have over your TV with a Logitech Harmony setup but I don't have one yet. The pixel plays music and casts netflix just like the GH device can do but only to my chromecast for now (c'mon Sony!). For the way I use it, it's like having another GH device in my pocket. I did receive my GH device before my pixel by a few days but I am unsure of why having GH before the pixel would make a difference.

error747 said:
As far as I can tell the assistant on the pixel can do everything GH can do. I am able to ask my assistant to set or dim the lights and it works. I have heard you can expand the control you have over your TV with a Logitech Harmony setup but I don't have one yet. The pixel plays music and casts netflix just like the GH device can do but only to my chromecast for now (c'mon Sony!). For the way I use it, it's like having another GH device in my pocket. I did receive my GH device before my pixel by a few days but I am unsure of why having GH before the pixel would make a difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
Interesting... so can you get netflix or youtube to chromecast using voice commands? What do you say? Do you have only one Chromecast in your house. I have three, and am not sure it would know what to do with a command to chromecast a movie on a specific app to a specific chromecast device, does it?

Hi
Interesting... so can you get netflix or youtube to chromecast using voice commands? What do you say? Do you have only one Chromecast in your house. I have three, and am not sure it would know what to do with a command to chromecast a movie on a specific app to a specific chromecast device, does it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes but only to my original first gen chromecast. I gave it an easy name (bedroom TV) and added the chromecast through the Google Home app. It was very easy and intuitive. After that I am able to say "Ok Google play Stranger Things on the bedroom TV" and it casts successfully. You can do the same with youtube as far as i know. I don't think auto play works but that may be because I think I have it turned off in my global netflix settings, I'll need to mess with that. I cannot do much with the Google Home while it is playing beside pause and stop. I don't really use the chromecast in my bedroom anyway since I have that TV hooked up to a PC so for me it's kind of worthless. When that Sony update comes I will be able to cast where I actually watch TV and hopefully some more control will be baked in like volume, fast forward/rewind, subtitles toggles or maybe even some tv specific controls like video modes or input selection. Only time will tell. I am also pretty excited to see what Google adds for home automation. I would love to control my tp-link dimmable light bulbs and my wemo wall switches, not to mention the Schlage smart lock I'll be installing today, all of which can be controlled by Alexa.

error747 said:
Yes but only to my original first gen chromecast. I gave it an easy name (bedroom TV) and added the chromecast through the Google Home app. It was very easy and intuitive. After that I am able to say "Ok Google play Stranger Things on the bedroom TV" and it casts successfully. You can do the same with youtube as far as i know. I don't think auto play works but that may be because I think I have it turned off in my global netflix settings, I'll need to mess with that. I cannot do much with the Google Home while it is playing beside pause and stop. I don't really use the chromecast in my bedroom anyway since I have that TV hooked up to a PC so for me it's kind of worthless. When that Sony update comes I will be able to cast where I actually watch TV and hopefully some more control will be baked in like volume, fast forward/rewind, subtitles toggles or maybe even some tv specific controls like video modes or input selection. Only time will tell. I am also pretty excited to see what Google adds for home automation. I would love to control my tp-link dimmable light bulbs and my wemo wall switches, not to mention the Schlage smart lock I'll be installing today, all of which can be controlled by Alexa.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok great, good info. I will experiment a bit tomorrow. Two of my chromecasts area also first gen, but I have never really tried giving voice command, and they are named bedroom, living room, so I should be able to do the same as you... cheers
mark

Before I got my Google Home for Christmas, I used the IFTTT app to control everything from my pixel. Location triggers pretty much suck, but all the voice triggers have so far worked 99% of the time. Not sure how it'll work with what you want for your TV, though. At least not without using something like the Harmony Hub (which I also got and have a HORRIBLE interface, lol).

I'm just not interested in the Home device yet. Have a Nest and Hue lights. I can control both with my Android Wear watch which is good enough for me. Nest app already comes Android Wear compliant. Use Hue Wear app for lights. Loving it so far.
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk