ARMBIAN for Amlogic S905 and S905X (ver 5.44 =<)

[Reddwarf]

Just now, balbes150 said:

https://github.com/150balbes/build

The build process is described in the General Armbian documentation, but take into account the features of the build version for TV boxes.

 

THANKS! 

[shippy]

5 hours ago, balbes150 said:

 

1. I wrote that it's possible if you do it yourself.

Oh I am not asking you to introduce the multi-seat feature yourself ???

Only whether it could be done because clearly the S905* is a powerful SoC even with 1GB RAM and 8GB flash.

So I will assume this can actually be done with your distro by installing the appropriate Xorg packages and configuring as for Ubuntu.

Thanks for the confirmation !

[KimLee]

Hi,

 

Armbian_5.44_S9xxx_Debian_stretch_4.16.1_server doesn't want to boot (stuck in the MeCool logo.) no matter what .dtb renamed (dtb.img) i use...

gxl_p212_2g.dtb                  : NOK

meson-gxl-s905x-p212.dtb : NOK

 

Board : MeCool S905x(p212).

 

Does anyone could have a solution please ?

 

 

[deranger]

The kernel 4.16 debian images are great, however the kernel lacks many many precompiled modules, like V4L tv tuner drives for example. A cheap android box would meake an awesome HTPC and TVoverIP server.

What kernel source is used for this 4.16 kernel? What are the steps to build one?

 

If I download the BPO linux-source-4.16 via apt-get install from the Armbian repos , will this build a running kernel for my S905D with the meson-gxl-p231 dtb when compiling with "make zImage" and proper .config?

 

If not, where is the kernel source and is there anywhere a howto for compiling a kernel with this special source?

 

PS: seems the github branch tag isn't 5.37 as shown but actually 5.44 with kernel 4.16, correct?

[andry_82]

On 6/27/2018 at 2:03 PM, balbes150 said:

On 6/26/2018 at 11:01 AM, andry_82 said:

I, m, используя Armbian5_44_s9xx_debian_stretch_4.16.1_icewm. Но список разрешений имеет 1280x1024 и следующий 1920x1080. Как добавить 1440x900. Если я добавлю через Xrandr, тогда приложение этого режима мерцает на экране и получает сообщение об ошибке.

Создайте свою версию ядра с добавлением патча или подождите, пока разработчики добавят этот режим.

 

 

How to make this patch?

 

 

On 6/27/2018 at 2:03 PM, balbes150 said:

On 6/26/2018 at 11:03 AM, andry_82 said:

В ядре 4.16.1, когда устройство выключено, устройство re How ro fix?

Неясно, о чем мы говорим.

 

 

The device does not turn off but restarts.

[Pascal Verweyen]

Hi Guys,

 

Can I use this TV box for installing armbian?? 

 

https://www.ebay.de/itm/NEU-X96-PLUS-S905X-2-16GB-Android-6-0-TV-BOX-KO-16-0-4K-Movies-Sports-Network/153077510623?hash=item23a42171df:g:1D0AAOSw5HBbMzDj

 

I want to build a cheap iobroker server. 

 

Thx for Ur help. 

 

Greats

[Reddwarf]

Just now, Pascal Verweyen said:

Hi Guys,

 

Can I use this TV box for installing armbian?? 

 

https://www.ebay.de/itm/NEU-X96-PLUS-S905X-2-16GB-Android-6-0-TV-BOX-KO-16-0-4K-Movies-Sports-Network/153077510623?hash=item23a42171df:g:1D0AAOSw5HBbMzDj

 

I want to build a cheap iobroker server. 

 

Thx for Ur help. 

 

Greats

Should be good to go provided you can find the correct dtb-file

[Reddwarf]

On 6/28/2018 at 9:42 AM, Reddwarf said:

THANKS! 

@balbes150 Re: script on Github. Can your script be modified to run on an ARM computer under Armbian?

[Kenrry Tam]

hi all,How to enable TCP BBR in Armbian_5.44_S9xxx_Debian_stretch_4.16.1_server_20180515?

help me pls.

[b35]

Hello!
There is a TV box Tanix T92 2 / 16GB.
I really want to use it in replacing the PC.
I looked through a lot of images of Armbian, without any problems run 5.37 (both with SD card and USB flash drive).

• Armbian_5.37_S9xxx_Debian_stretch_3.14.29_xfce_20171226
• Armbian_5.37_S9xxx_Ubuntu_xenial_3.14.29_mate_20171226

 

But there are the following problems:
1. 2GB is not enough. And without swap as soon as RAM is filled to 1.6 GB, then the Armbian ceases to respond to the mouse and keyboard, all applications freeze. I tried to solve the problem with the swap and the zRam (while unsuccessful, I still understand. On a laptop with Ubuntu 18 everything turned out, on TV box not.).
2. I want to run the system from the disk SSD. But the TV box does not start loading Linux from the SSD . I do not understand the problem in the TV box or in the USB-SATA-adapter (from an external disk) or in your Armbian image this is not foreseen?

Edited June 30, 2018 by b35

[Reddwarf]

Just now, b35 said:

Hello!
There is a TV box Tanix T92 2 / 16GB.
I really want to use it in replacing the PC.
I looked through a lot of images of Armbian, without any problems run 5.37 (both with SD card and USB flash drive).

• Armbian_5.37_S9xxx_Debian_stretch_3.14.29_xfce_20171226
• Armbian_5.37_S9xxx_Ubuntu_xenial_3.14.29_mate_20171226

 

But there are the following problems:
1. 2GB is not enough. And without swap as soon as RAM is filled to 1.6 GB, then the Armbian ceases to respond to the mouse and keyboard, all applications freeze. I tried to solve the problem with the swap and the zRam (while unsuccessful, I still understand. On a laptop with Ubuntu 18 everything turned out, on TV box not.).
2. I want to run the system from the disk SSD. But the TV box does not start loading Linux from the SSD . I do not understand the problem in the TV box or in the USB-SATA-adapter (from an external disk) or in your Armbian image this is not foreseen?

1. I haven't tried to make a swap partition but the thought has crossed my mind...

2. I have successfully booted and run Armbian from a SSD, it is swow however. Much faster to run from a fast SD card and if you need more space you could put /home on a ssd and automount it during boot, that is what I'm planning to do.

[b35]

11 minutes ago, Reddwarf said:

1. I haven't tried to make a swap partition but the thought has crossed my mind... 

before I increased the swap on the laptop (there were 4GB of RAM and 2GB of swap), always the same problem as soon as the swap + RAM ended up freezing and you had to restart the laptop by losing data.  IntelliJ IDEA + Tomcat + Chromium require a lot of memory.

Potential opportunities, performance s912 I really like, and the cost of TV box 2 / 16GB is very affordable 55 $. And a lot of developed and supported OS Armbian.

It's strange that by default the swap is off at all in images. I read in another thread, the view that "if memory ends, it means to change the device." But the tasks are different, and the alternative s912 for cost and performance do not know

11 minutes ago, Reddwarf said:

2. I have successfully booted and run Armbian from a SSD, it is swow however. Much faster to run from a fast SD card and if you need more space you could put /home on a ssd and automount it during boot, that is what I'm planning to do. 

 

It seemed to me that once the SSD is faster, then it's worth downloading from SSD. Thanks for the idea!)) I'll be bothered to run from the SD card and connect the SSD.

[Reddwarf]

Just now, b35 said:

It seemed to me that once the SSD is faster, then it's worth downloading from SSD. Thanks for the idea!)) I'll be bothered to run from the SD card and connect the SSD.

The problem is that there is no SATA interface so any sda device has to go through the USB, and most of the boxes don't have USB3, only USB2, with the speed limitations implied. Still, having only /home on a ssd is not painfully slow  

[Reddwarf]

7 hours ago, b35 said:

before I increased the swap on the laptop (there were 4GB of RAM and 2GB of swap), always the same problem as soon as the swap + RAM ended up freezing and you had to restart the laptop by losing data.  IntelliJ IDEA + Tomcat + Chromium require a lot of memory.

Potential opportunities, performance s912 I really like, and the cost of TV box 2 / 16GB is very affordable 55 $. And a lot of developed and supported OS Armbian.

It's strange that by default the swap is off at all in images. I read in another thread, the view that "if memory ends, it means to change the device." But the tasks are different, and the alternative s912 for cost and performance do not know

 

It seemed to me that once the SSD is faster, then it's worth downloading from SSD. Thanks for the idea!)) I'll be bothered to run from the SD card and connect the SSD.

You can actually get this box with USB3 and 4G RAM / 32G ROM: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Tanix-TX28-TV-Box-Andriod-7-1-Bluetooth-4-1-RK3328-4GB-RAM-32GB-ROM-2/32866412814.html?spm=2114.search0604.3.107.410331eaOMDe4C&amp;ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_3_5722916_10152_10151_10065_10344_5722816_10068_10342_10343_10340_10341_5722616_10696_10084_10083_10618_10307_5722716_10059_100031_10103_524_10624_5722516_10623_10622_10621_10620,searchweb201603_35,ppcSwitch_5&amp;algo_expid=4960432f-0f9d-46d9-bce7-aae502c11025-14&amp;algo_pvid=4960432f-0f9d-46d9-bce7-aae502c11025&amp;priceBeautifyAB=0

[b35]

7 hours ago, Reddwarf said:

You can actually get this box with USB3 and 4G RAM / 32G ROM: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Tanix-TX28-TV-Box-Andriod-7-1-Bluetooth-4-1-RK3328-4GB-RAM-32GB-ROM-2/32866412814.html?spm=2114.search0604.3.107.410331eaOMDe4C&amp;ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_3_5722916_10152_10151_10065_10344_5722816_10068_10342_10343_10340_10341_5722616_10696_10084_10083_10618_10307_5722716_10059_100031_10103_524_10624_5722516_10623_10622_10621_10620,searchweb201603_35,ppcSwitch_5&amp;algo_expid=4960432f-0f9d-46d9-bce7-aae502c11025-14&amp;algo_pvid=4960432f-0f9d-46d9-bce7-aae502c11025&amp;priceBeautifyAB=0 

I was considering buying RK3328, but:
1. For some reason, I could not quickly find the linux images under it.
2. Tanix TX92 I already have and I know exactly what images on it work.
3. The performance of the c912 processor seems higher + mali 820 vs. 450 at RK3328. and 8 core vs. 4.

Now I've already ordered the Tanix TX92 3 / 32GB. I'm waiting for the order for the tests.

[Reddwarf]

1 hour ago, b35 said:

I was considering buying RK3328, but:
1. For some reason, I could not quickly find the linux images under it.
2. Tanix TX92 I already have and I know exactly what images on it work.
3. The performance of the c912 processor seems higher + mali 820 vs. 450 at RK3328. and 8 core vs. 4.

Now I've already ordered the Tanix TX92 3 / 32GB. I'm waiting for the order for the tests.

Please report back when you have tested, I find this very interesting, and may 

 condider buying one of those too

[b35]

7 hours ago, Reddwarf said:

Please report back when you have tested, I find this very interesting, and may 

 condider buying one of those too 

ОК))

[Reddwarf]

@balbes150 Can Armbian run on tv-boxes with RK3328 (and RK3329) CPU?

 

[KY69]

@balbes150 Thank you very much for all the time, effort and competence you put on your work. It is very much appreciated.

@Reddwarf Not much happening there lately:

- https://forum.armbian.com/topic/4583-rock64

- https://forum.armbian.com/topic/4895-a5x-max-rk3328-4gb16gb/

- https://forum.armbian.com/topic/4708-z28-rk3328-18/

- https://forum.armbian.com/topic/6658-rk3328-scishion-v88-piano-and-v88-mini-iii-tv-boxes/

 

As for the second chip, did you mean 3229? If so, it has been a few months since I looked last, but I hadn't found anything for the 3229 until then. I am interested in both the 3328 and the 3229.

 

[Reddwarf]

On 6/28/2018 at 9:06 AM, balbes150 said:

 

@balbes150 I have tested your script undr Ubuntu 16.4 running in a Virtualbox, they only build server images, and when I choose other options than the default the image gets _DIRTY in the name. What's going on??

 

Correction: It does actually build desktop images but the name "server" persists....

[shippy]

So I understand that @balbes150 doesn't approve of proot/chroot Linux over Android, which likely defeats the purpose of a (powerful) Linux OS.

 

1. Now given the popularity of Android apps, and the facts of Linux server stability plus all features we love, how about Android over Armbian?

This should be a better idea, if feasible:

 

https://anbox.io

 

From the Anbox FAQ- +Open GL/ES drivers should be available in Armbian):

 

" In contrast to Google's (Chrome) implementation, Anbox doesn't allow any direct access to hardware devices. For example it bridges Open GL ES to the host. In Chrome OS the container gets access to the host kernel side of the graphic subsystem to allow fast rendering. In our case, we decided against this to keep an easy way to port Anbox to different platforms. All a host operating system needs to provide is a Open GL / Open GL ES compatible driver to provide proper integration with the graphics subsystem. Other hardware devices like WiFi or Bluetooth will be abstracted in the future via a dedicated APIs between the container and the host."

 

2. I ask this because some Android Box vendors seem to be doing Android + OpenWrt/Debian, and I just wonder what the applications are:

 

https://www.cnx-software.com/2017/12/26/whats-the-best-android-tv-box-2017-2018-edition/

 

[Reddwarf]

28 minutes ago, shippy said:

So I understand that @balbes150 doesn't approve of proot/chroot Linux over Android, which likely defeats the purpose of a (powerful) Linux OS.

 

1. Now given the popularity of Android apps, and the facts of Linux server stability plus all features we love, how about Android over Armbian?

This should be a better idea, if feasible:

 

https://anbox.io

 

From the Anbox FAQ- +Open GL/ES drivers should be available in Armbian):

 

" In contrast to Google's (Chrome) implementation, Anbox doesn't allow any direct access to hardware devices. For example it bridges Open GL ES to the host. In Chrome OS the container gets access to the host kernel side of the graphic subsystem to allow fast rendering. In our case, we decided against this to keep an easy way to port Anbox to different platforms. All a host operating system needs to provide is a Open GL / Open GL ES compatible driver to provide proper integration with the graphics subsystem. Other hardware devices like WiFi or Bluetooth will be abstracted in the future via a dedicated APIs between the container and the host."

 

2. I ask this because some Android Box vendors seem to be doing Android + OpenWrt/Debian, and I just wonder what the applications are:

 

https://www.cnx-software.com/2017/12/26/whats-the-best-android-tv-box-2017-2018-edition/

 

I looked into Anbox a little while ago, it turns it does not support ARM processors (yet). Strange if you ask me since the majority of Android apps (and Android itself) was originally build for ARM...

 

[Gee]

Hello, i have a S912 Box and Kodi dosnt run under latest armbian debian.

 

Now i want to buy a S905X Box couse of better driver support. Is it possible to start Kodi 18 (self compiled) under "Armbian_5.44_S9xxx_Debian_stretch_4.16.1_server_20180515" sucessful?

[Reddwarf]

Just now, Gee said:

Hello, i have a S912 Box and Kodi dosnt run under latest armbian debian.

 

Now i want to buy a S905X Box couse of better driver support. Is it possible to start Kodi 18 (self compiled) under "Armbian_5.44_S9xxx_Debian_stretch_4.16.1_server_20180515" sucessful?

I would guess that you need an image with a graphic desktop to run Kodi, server images have only text UI.

[Gee]

There is a thing called kodi standalone with no need a desktop, only a window manager like x11

[Nofan Tasi]

25 minutes ago, Gee said:

There is a thing called kodi standalone with no need a desktop, only a window manager like x11

 

if you just want kodi, why not go for elec kind of solution?

[b35]

Has received the adapter USB-2.0-to-SATA-HDD-SSD TV box Tanix TX 92 2/16  run with SSD (120Gb) (Armbian_5.37_S9xxx_Debian_stretch_3.14.29_xfce_20171226).

while experimenting with the sizes of swap and vm.vfs_cache_pressure and vm.swappiness.
The inclusion of the swap is positively reflected, the prefix does not freeze when all the RAM is full

 

I can not cant run a zRam. Are there instructions for setting up zRam for Armbian?

Another issue, test videos that are attached to the image in full screen mode are very much inhibited. Can I somehow fix the problem with playing video files? (It turns out a slide show of about 5 frames per second).
 

Spoiler

 

 

[hanguofu]

arch ( ARM or ARM64 ) problem :

 

Hi , All :

 

I installed Armbian_5.41.1_S9xxx_Ubuntu_xenial_3.14.29_mate_20180421.img at the SD card for my s905x TV box and it seems O.K.

Now I tried to cross compile an application at my Ubuntu PC for this lovely device. The first problem I encountered is the choice of arch.

I worked out a 32-bit arm application ( target arch : ARM) with the cross compile tool . The generated binary is :

hello-world : ELF 32-bit LSB executable, ARM, EABI5 version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked, interpreter /lib/ld-linux-armhf.so.3, for GNU/Linux 3.2.0, not stripped
Unfortunately , I did not find the needed interpreter at the tv box . The only interpreter I found at the  img at the SD card is :

/lib/ld-linux-aarch64.so.1 -> aarch64-linux-gnu/ld-2.23.so
 

Does it mean that the img is for ARM64 arch ? Is there a ld-linux-armhf  interpreter at the image ?

 

[Reddwarf]

Just now, hanguofu said:

arch ( ARM or ARM64 ) problem :

 

Hi , All :

 

I installed Armbian_5.41.1_S9xxx_Ubuntu_xenial_3.14.29_mate_20180421.img at the SD card for my s905x TV box and it seems O.K.

Now I tried to cross compile an application at my Ubuntu PC for this lovely device. The first problem I encountered is the choice of arch.

I worked out a 32-bit arm application ( target arch : ARM) with the cross compile tool . The generated binary is :

hello-world : ELF 32-bit LSB exou crosscompile, why bother with intecutable, ARM, EABI5 version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked, interpreter /lib/ld-linux-armhf.so.3, for GNU/Linux 3.2.0, not stripped
Unfortunately , I did not find the needed interpreter at the tv box . The only interpreter I found at the  img at the SD card is :

/lib/ld-linux-aarch64.so.1 -> aarch64-linux-gnu/ld-2.23.so
 

Does it mean that the img is for ARM64 arch ? Is there a ld-linux-armhf  interpreter at the image ?

 

If you cross compile, why bother with an interpreter, why not compile for arm64 and run it natively?

[Gee]

10 hours ago, Nofan Tasi said:

 

if you just want kodi, why not go for elec kind of solution?

i need a full working linux under Kodi

 

Realy nobody runs Kodi 18 under a Debian Linux 4.x Kernel on a S905X Box with H/W Acceleration?