Recomended Armbian version for soc s905x2

[xFall00]

Hello Guys. What Armbian version and image would you recommend?

 

I have a TESLA MediaTech X700 Pro with soc s905x2 in it. I would like to use it to play movies via kodi and play retro games e.g. via RetroArch.

 

Previously I used CoreELEC on an sd-card that is great for movies. Retro gaming only with wired Xbox One or Xbox Series controllers (xone driver for MS USB Xbox dongle did not work there). I would like to use my Xbox controllers wirelessly.

 

Thank you for your advice.

Edited October 11, 2023 by xFall00
typo

[mmie4jbcu]

Try an image from here: https://fi.mirror.armbian.de/archive/aml-s9xx-box/archive/

Armbian_23.02.2_Aml-s9xx-box_jammy_current_6.1.11.img.xz - only command line

Armbian_23.02.2_Aml-s9xx-box_jammy_current_6.1.11_xfce_desktop.img.xz - with XFCE desktop environment.

 

Extract the .xz file to get the .img file. After you have written the img file to your sdcard, you would need to do the following 2 steps:

1. Use the correct dtb for your box. For TV boxes, it can be difficult to get the exact dtb file. However, you can try out the different dtb files that are for the same amlogic chip as your TV box and see what works best for you. In the /boot partition in your sdcard (the partition named armbi_boot), go to dtb -> amlogic directory. You would need to look for dtb files named meson-g12a-*.dtb (g12a is the codename for S905x2). Then open up the file /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf and look for a line FDT /dtb/amlogic/meson-gxl-s905w-tx3-mini.dtb or similar that is not commented out. Replace the name of the dtb file with the one that you want to try out.

 

2. Inside the /boot directory, rename the file u-boot-s905x2-s922 to u-boot.ext

 

Insert the sdcard in your box and power it on. If anything shows up on the screen after sometime, its good!. If not, then you have to try another dtb from the list of meson-g12a-* dtbs. If no dtb seems to work, then things are going to get complex. However, for now, try out the steps and let us know how it goes.

 

Also, read this informative post by @SteeMan for amlogic boxes:

 

Edited October 12, 2023 by mmie4jbcu
typo

[xFall00]

That is fantastick thank you @mmie4jbcu. It works like a charm for the first pass using "meson-g12a-x96-max.dtb".

Edited October 19, 2023 by xFall00

[Mehdi mFat]

I have an s905x2 box called mecool km9 (4gb/32gb). I couldn't boot armbian with this guide. It keeps booting into android recovery mode.

 

With coreelec i used g12a_s905x2_4g device tree and it worked, but can't find it for armbian.

 

Can you please help?

[Pita Bread]

@mmie4jbcu Thanks for the suggestion. I am also using that file in my amlogic S905x3 tv box. unfortunately Armbian_23.02.2_Aml-s9xx-box_jammy_current_6.1.11 is no longer available from the link you posted.  so, i found it at this link https://armbian.lv.auroradev.org/archive/aml-s9xx-box/archive/

[SteeMan]

@Pita Bread Instead of using nearly two year old images, it probably would be best to start with the most recent images: https://www.armbian.com/amlogic-s9xx-tv-box

[Pita Bread]

21 hours ago, SteeMan said:

most recent images: https://www.armbian.com/amlogic-s9xx-tv-box

 

Okay. I am going to try the smaller Noble and Oracular server images on my amlogic s905x3 device from that link. Thanks.

Edited October 30 by Pita Bread
corrections