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Armbian usable on RK TV-Boxes?


chessplayer

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I'd say open it up and see what the hardware inside is, and give it a try. We don't support TV boxes because even our worst single board computers are typically better documented. However, there is a community recipe for a Z28Pro in the build system if you wish to follow docs.armbian.com and build it yourself and give it a try.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

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Thanks for your reply. I will give that some thought. Since I already own a few Amlogic boxes, I will try using those first (with TVH (already working), oscam (expecting no problems) and emby (that is going to be the hard one, I guess)). But all of these AML boxes only have 2 USB 2.0 connectors (why, heaven only knows), while the one I linked above has 3 USB 2.0 and even a USB 3.0 connector (of course, an active USB hub should take care of that "problem").

 

Also, I was under the impression that Rockchip was much more amenable to OS development than AML, so I am a bit flustered as to why a lot of images exist for AML boxes but not so many for Rockchip. But that is just a user's (not very well informed, I fear) perspective, not a developer's ...

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I am a beginner so be carefull to my opinion

 

I see Scishion V88 Piano and V88 Mini III TV boxes work on Kernel 4.4.132 Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS with https://github.com/ayufan-rock64

( we boot on sd and after we delete partion 6 and 7 boot on usb stick , because since version 0.5.15-136 it use SPL/TPL instead of Rockchip's loader, big thank's to segv )

 

This is RK3328 is low price ( begin at 35$ ) and looks like S905 ( same MALI-450MP2 and  4 Cortex-A53) BUT rockchip make mpp dev ...

 

For other the RK3229 ( very low cost begin at 25 $ ) i don't see any linux booting well, does not support 10-bit HEVC, Mali-400 MP2 and 4 ARM Cortex-A7 )

 

The  rk3399 the cost is more tahn 100$ and we have 6 core : 2 Cortex-A72 4 Cortex-A53 and Mali-T860 MP4. Better than the S912 but the cost is important.

 

and the old RK3368, 8 cœurs ARM Cortex-A53 64 Bits, PowerVR SGX6110 but i don't see linux drivers on linux ...

 

So my choice is for all RK3328 for start ...

 

And if you want i can send you one.

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I second the suggestion for the Scishion V88 Piano.  With 4GB of RAM and USB 3.0, it has a lot of potential (even though they did do a bait and switch on the advertised NIC speed).  Thanks for your consideration!

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I found an interesting model with good parameters.  :)

 

http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-support/rockchip-based-tv-players/rk3328-devices/663236-nagrace-nt-n9-rk3328-quad-core-android-7-2-16gb-gig-lan-2-4-wifi-bt4

 

http://store.elezoo.com/nt-n9-rk3328-ultra-4k-tv-box-player-9

 

1GB LAN network. There is a button to turn on (this is important for models to run Linux without a remote control). There are contacts for connecting the fan (this is important for real Linux operation, especially as a server in 7\24 mode). Quality Board and components. DDR4 memory with increased speed. The manufacturer is ready to cooperate (this is important for the development of the system and obtaining important information about the equipment). 

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5 hours ago, balbes150 said:

There is a button to turn on (this is important for models to run Linux without a remote control).

I see the technical advantage of  Nagrace NT-N9 RK3328  but this shop looks a bit weird, I just tried to add a piece to the cart do a checkout insecure connection warning and $ 66.- for an RK3328 quite pricy, whereas this one US $35.88.-  free shipping : https://www.aliexpress.com/item/RK3228-Quad-Core-64-bit-Android-7-1-V88-Mini-III-Smart-TV-Box-2GB-8GB/32824329902.html?

 

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Wow, nice to see that this topic is getting some attention. Also, I would say that it does make sense to look for the Gigabit LAN, which the box you suggest, @Tido, unfortunately does not have. From the boxes I have looked at I get the feeling that this is what makes quite a difference in price (the reason is not clear to me).

 

I do concur about the shop. Aliexpress, Geekbuying or GearBest offer a lot of these boxes at reasonable prices and from my experience (I have ordered from all three) are reliable.

 

And, for what it's worth, I also vote for the RK3328!

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On 8/13/2018 at 9:20 PM, rob0809 said:

I second the suggestion for the Scishion V88 Piano.  With 4GB of RAM and USB 3.0, it has a lot of potential (even though they did do a bait and switch on the advertised NIC speed).  Thanks for your consideration!

@rob0809, what are you trying to say about the NIC speed? At GearBest, it is advertised as Gigabit. Are you saying that this is fake? Sorry, since I am not a native speaker, you lost me with the term "do a bait and switch on the advertised NIC speed" ...

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1 minute ago, chessplayer said:

@rob0809, what are you trying to say about the NIC speed? At GearBest, it is advertised as Gigabit. Are you saying that this is fake? Sorry, since I am not a native speaker, you lost me with the term "do a bait and switch on the advertised NIC speed" ...

Yes, it is fake.  The connection is only 100Mb and has been confirmed by a couple of people.  It still gets my vote though but that's because I already own one.  :)

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On 8/14/2018 at 5:06 PM, TonyMac32 said:

You have a fairly easy starting point as well:

Assemble the image is not a problem. :) My goal is somewhat wider. Develop a comprehensive system (image, set of scripts, instructions, etc.) for the end user, which will allow the average user to easily run Linux on the TV box. A typical user should have an easy-to-play set of system startup steps. Downloaded. Unpacked. Recorded image (possibly performed a simple operation to copy additional files). Launched a TV box. Performed a simple operation (or simple steps) on an existing system. And get a ready working system.

 

On 8/14/2018 at 9:29 PM, Tido said:

I see the technical advantage of  Nagrace NT-N9 RK3328  but this shop looks a bit weird, I just tried to add a piece to the cart do a checkout insecure connection warning and $ 66.- for an RK3328 quite pricy, whereas this one US $35.88.-  free shipping

Everyone has their own criteria for a reasonable price. :) I have been working with different TV boxes and other electronic devices for a long time and I know well what to pay attention to in order not to regret the time spent (money). :) Let's try to count. :) The model you are referring to has serious (for me) cons.

1. LAN 100 MB.

2. Power supply 2A. This means that you will not be able to fully use all the features of the device. So have to spend money to buy a new PSU.

3. Cooling system. Without it, to use all the features of iron is not possible. To power the fan will have to either use a USB port or an external power source.

4. In the set there is no cable for firmware. More expenses.

5. The quality of the components used and the Board (marking all elements that points to Maskrom and UART). This ensures that all models are identical and the manufacturer does not make a "team hodgepodge" of what was at hand.

6. The manufacturer pays great attention to technical support and is ready to cooperate (this is important for me).

7. The presence of the OTG port.

 

On 8/14/2018 at 10:26 PM, chessplayer said:

I just plug the boxes into a switchable outlet ... 

Specifically about this model I can't write yet (I don't have it yet). If you unplugged the PSU, all parameters are reset. If the electricity flashes, the TV box will turn on itself, without your desire. By the way, for this reason I like the Vega S96 it has an additional battery (as in the BIOS on the PC) and is not afraid of power failure.

 

On 8/15/2018 at 12:01 AM, martos said:

Can we donate for this ?

Paypal is more easy for me. 

Don't sacrifice. :)

Producer already showed interest and offered to send me a sample. By the way, this indirectly suggests that the manufacturer is interested (and understands) the importance of expanding support for different systems in its products. So that customers who buy its products can use it much wider than just a TV box.

 

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2 hours ago, balbes150 said:

My goal is somewhat wider. Develop a comprehensive system (image, set of scripts, instructions, etc.) for the end user, which will allow the average user to easily run Linux on the TV box. A typical user should have an easy-to-play set of system startup steps. Downloaded. Unpacked. Recorded image (possibly performed a simple operation to copy additional files). Launched a TV box. Performed a simple operation (or simple steps) on an existing system. And get a ready working system.

 

I agree. 

 

While I am quite happy with the current state of the z28pro-Image in Armbian (and I invested a lot of time) it is quite useless for many  potential users because you would need one particular image for (nearly) every rk3328-box. 

It would be better, if we could develop in a more modular approach and I think this is possible.

Beside that, I still hate this annoying maskrom-thing ;)

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On 8/15/2018 at 2:02 PM, Staars said:

While I am quite happy with the current state of the z28pro-Image in Armbian (and I invested a lot of time) it is quite useless for many  potential users because you would need one particular image for (nearly) every rk3328-box. 

I don't have any test samples yet, so I'm not ready to discuss the possibility or impossibility of the expected results.

 

On 8/15/2018 at 2:02 PM, Staars said:

It would be better, if we could develop in a more modular approach and I think this is possible.

 

Describe in more detail what you mean by "modular approach".

 

 

During the analysis, additional information appeared. The model

https://www.cnx-software.com/2017/07/14/bqeel-mvr9-tv-box-review-part-1-specifications-unboxing-and-teardown/

is a complete analog,

http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-support/rockchip-based-tv-players/rk3328-devices/663236-nagrace-nt-n9-rk3328-quad-core-android-7-2-16gb-gig-lan-2-4-wifi-bt4

the only difference is in the case.

 

There is another model

del link (not acktuale)

with a power button, 1GB LAN and RAM size options (about it I have little information to assess the prospects of use).

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2 hours ago, balbes150 said:

Describe in more detail what you mean by "modular approach".

 

I only have a rough idea ATM, but I hope it is possible,  to build an image with a very bare-bone DTS and then activate the variable nodes via DT-overlay in a script with some kind of underlying data base. The postulated script would check, if and how the system responds to a node activation (something like successful modprobe or not) and then test another node if needed. 

 

The fixed nodes are (probably) eMMC,  "normal" USB, AUDIO- and VIDEO-Stuff.

 

The variable nodes are LAN, UART,  SDMMC and USB-connected Wifi/BT which in many defined cases rule out each other.

For instance Gbit always means you can not have SDMMC1 (and UART0) and that's why you do not have real multi-boot from SD-Card on Gbit-TV-Boxes (at least I'm pretty sure :huh:). 

 

One thing that makes it even more complicated is, that the currently used u-boot has some hard coded settings (see my SDMMC0EXT-Patch for z28pro), which will very likely require the use of at least 2 "generic" images for Gbit- and Non-Gbit-Boxes.

Of course we would need different images for DDR3 vs DDR4 too.

 

Summarized: I like the idea of having as few different images as possible, but it would be a big amount of work and maybe it is not possible that way.

 

 

 

 

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My thoughts on that:

On 8/15/2018 at 10:17 AM, balbes150 said:

I have been working with different TV boxes and other electronic devices for a long time and I know well what to pay attention to in order not to regret the time spent (money)

I agree with most points on your numeration.. but the device should be easily available.

 

On 8/15/2018 at 10:17 AM, balbes150 said:

Producer already showed interest and offered to send me a sample. By the way, this indirectly suggests that the manufacturer is interested (and understands) the importance of expanding support for different systems in its products. So that customers who buy its products can use it much wider than just a TV box.

I can nowhere find this part to buy. As I already wrote: this shop looks a bit weird, I just tried to add a piece to the cart do a checkout insecure connection warning.

If you have a contact and tell this person if they can fix their store ?

Even better, put it on AliExpress, Gearbest or such.

 

R - TV BOX R10 4K:

@balbes150

on Banggood - Ethernet: LAN 100M, DDR3 RAM, just 5V / 2A adapter

Freaktab   nice pictures of the inside, intersting to know if he checked Ethernetport - I prefer the remote seen on AliExpress

 

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9 hours ago, Tido said:

I agree with most points on your numeration.. but the device should be easily available. 

In the post above, I wrote about the full analogue of MVR9. Here are the specific links to this device. By the way, freaktab has several special themes for this model. For it released fresh firmware and Libreelec.

 

http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-support/rockchip-based-tv-players/rk3328-devices/653167-bqeel-mvr9-rk3328-quad-core-64bit-cortex-a53-android-7-2-16gb-2-4ghz-wifi-bt4

 

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07FT2LH22/ref=psdc_189155031_t2_B076BGBV4Y

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bqeel-MVR9-Android-TV-Box-Android-7-1-Supporta-Aggiornamenti-Firmware-2G-/282839333163?_ul=RU

 

http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-support/rockchip-based-tv-players/rk3328-devices/686375-mvr9-rk3328-nougat-rom-by-mo123

 

http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-support/rockchip-based-tv-players/rk3328-devices/712961-mvr9-rk3328-libreelec-release

 

 

18 hours ago, Staars said:

Summarized: I like the idea of having as few different images as possible, but it would be a big amount of work and maybe it is not possible that way. 

I do not have RK hardware yet, so I will refrain from specific comments.

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14 hours ago, Tido said:

I can nowhere find this part to buy. As I already wrote: this shop looks a bit weird, I just tried to add a piece to the cart do a checkout insecure connection warning.

If you have a contact and tell this person if they can fix their store ?

Even better, put it on AliExpress, Gearbest or such.

http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-support/rockchip-based-tv-players/rk3328-devices/653167-bqeel-mvr9-rk3328-quad-core-64bit-cortex-a53-android-7-2-16gb-2-4ghz-wifi-bt4?p=740574#post740574

 

https://www.cnx-software.com/2017/08/18/bqeel-mvr9-nt-n9-tv-box-review-part-2-android-nougat-firmware-rkmc-youtube-4k-and-more/

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Today I got a package with the TV box on the basis of RK3328.

This is the MVR9.

 

http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-support/rockchip-based-tv-players/rk3328-devices/653167-bqeel-mvr9-rk3328-quad-core-64bit-cortex-a53-android-7-2-16gb-2-4ghz-wifi-bt4

 

3A power supply included.

In the near future I plan to start work on the initial testing and preparation for the installation of Linux. :)

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On 8/29/2018 at 7:13 PM, balbes150 said:

Today I got a package with the TV box on the basis of RK3328.

This is the MVR9.

 

http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-support/rockchip-based-tv-players/rk3328-devices/653167-bqeel-mvr9-rk3328-quad-core-64bit-cortex-a53-android-7-2-16gb-2-4ghz-wifi-bt4

 

3A power supply included.

In the near future I plan to start work on the initial testing and preparation for the installation of Linux. :)

No chance for rk3368 support?

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2 hours ago, flm said:

No chance for rk3368 support? 

There is a chance. Write down the image and try to choose the dtb option (there are many different options, including for 3368). If the system cannot start, try to remove the boot loader from SD card (the command to do this will find the next topic rk3328). 

 

More information about MVR9-there was no USB A-A cable in the kit, for me it is not critical, but perhaps other users will be useful to know about such a change in the package.

As for the rest, I liked this TV box according to the first tests, it works fast and stable.

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On 8/17/2018 at 8:13 AM, balbes150 said:

interesting, this seller has replaced this article with an s805 box. And Amazon no longer sells it right now because customers complained that description and product do not fit. Was this forum the cause ?  My posting here is gone for some reason, were I elaborate that people on Amazon complain that the RK3288 box does not perform with the 2A PowerSupply. In the description it was mentioned 3A, but only a 2A was delivered.

 

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10 hours ago, Tido said:

interesting, this seller has replaced this article with an s805 box. And Amazon no longer sells it right now because customers complained that description and product do not fit. Was this forum the cause ?  My posting here is gone for some reason, were I elaborate that people on Amazon complain that the RK3288 box does not perform with the 2A PowerSupply. In the description it was mentioned 3A, but only a 2A was delivered. 

I don't know why the name of the model has changed, perhaps because of the increased interest in it.

https://www.amazon.de/TICTID-Tastatur-Quad-Core-Cortex-A53-Bluetooth/dp/B07GH12CRZ/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?s=ce-de&ie=UTF8&qid=1537939809&sr=1-2-fkmr0&keywords=Bqeel+MVR9

 

About the disappearance of your message, I don't know what happened.

Perhaps you have a typo rk3288 ? The considered model is rk3328.

On the case MVR9 5V\2A is specified. Perhaps sellers in different countries can use their own power supplies (this is only my guess). I received a package with a power supply 5v\3A.

 

By the way, I noticed that the equipment on the link has changed , added a keyboard. Perhaps it is a trick of the seller to sell the keyboard. Or had a lot of orders where the user optionally chose the keyboard. Perhaps that's why the seller changed the name under which the model is sold.

 

By the way, this link price has not changed.

http://store.elezoo.com/nt-n9-rk3328-ultra-4k-tv-box-player-9

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On 9/26/2018 at 8:02 AM, balbes150 said:

By the way, this link price has not changed.

http://store.elezoo.com/nt-n9-rk3328-ultra-4k-tv-box-player-9

I wrote them again today, may be others will write them too. As long as their store is insecure (no https) I will not use my credit card. Beside, if they do not care about https, how unsecure is their whole infrastructure ?  Data of all customers available with a little hack?

 

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