Got a problem with my Ti8 .. Amlogic / S912

[WillySiz]

Hi all .. I'm new here and I hope I've posted this in the right area.

I use the Element Technologies Ti8 and there is something that is driving me nuts with the thing. I'll be watching something and all of a sudden the screen will go black and their won't be any sound. This usually last about about 2 - 6 seconds. The show doesn't stop and you miss a little bit. I've been looking around and searching the forum but haven't found anything about this particular problem. It seems to happen about every 10-20 minutes. To be quite honest I've never really timed it exactly. For awhile I thought it might be the TV, but it isn't. The box is running Android 6.01 (API Level 23) Linux Kernel Version - 3.14.29. FTMC - 16.2-30. I had a heck of a time trying to open the log files. The log viewer installed on the Ti8 would error out with the oxymoronic message - "Error: See log for more information." Eventually it finally occurred to me that the box is using a "fork" of kodi (Jarvis) and not plain kodi. The log is actually - ftmc.log. I couldn't find it, or access it until I found a discussion about the matter here on freaktap. I should have bookmarked it, but forgot. Anyway the advice was to get a better file browser to locate the log files. Someone mentioned getting - es file browser and I did. I was then able to locate and access the log files. I believe this is the path to the files - /storage/emulated/0 /Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.ftmc/temp/ftmc.log As far as I could see, there isn't anything that stands right out (errors) to do with the black-screen problem.

I never installed Jarvis on the TV Box. The box come with it already installed. It does auto-updates and works good, except for the black-screen thing. I don't know what I would have to do to reinstall everything on the Ti8? I'm thinking it might be over my head? I've never done anything like create my own build of kodi. I'm thinking that would be pretty complicated? At least for this old guy .. lol.

I've shutdown programs, Followed guides on fixing - the black screen in kodi, uninstalled add-ons, cleaned cache, changed settings to do with video / acceleration and more, but nothing seems to help.

Has anyone seen this problem on their Ti8 or similar box? .. Please see my signature for more details. Thanks!

[kodiliscious]

I don't even use kodi anymore but I do remember under the settings you can enable/disable hardware acceleration I forget there is 2 or 3 items that show ones like hardware and one is surface. try different combos enabling disabling those till it works, well hopefully. oh look a quick youtube vid I just found.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzL-oS7uwdg

gl

[kodiliscious]

quick question...
if your just watching movies and tv etc why not download the showbox app?
much easier and no long lists of links that a lot of time require pairing.

[WillySiz]

Hi kodiliscious .. I'll see if those changes help... Thank You!
I'll look take a look at the showbox app.

[WillySiz]

Been messing with the acceleration settings, but it doesn't make any difference. I did a cache & data cleaning and a full reset. Reinstalled the media center and all. After all that it is still doing it. I don't know what else to try. I found ES Explorer to be full of unwanted bloat, so will look for another good file browser that doesn't have all that.

[kodiliscious]

does this black screen problem happen in just kodi or any video you watch?
you could try to install official kodi and see if it happens in that too, but ftmc is usually much better properly tweaked up.
anywho id drop this headache and get "Showbox" or other similar, a lot like "terrarium tv" too but I hate lists of links.

[WillySiz]

Yes, it happens on all screens including the home screen. I changed hdmi inputs (box to tv) and it still does it. Tested tv without tv-box with Netflix & youtube (wifi) and it works fine. So that rules out the (Samsung) tv being the problem. I did a software / box reset and reinstalled the latest - update 39, which is the ftmc setup that gets installed on the box. (16-2.30) It is still doing it. I also seem to have lost the kodi icon since the last update. I have to use a different file manager to even view the log. When I try and open it in something to save it, I get permission denied. If I try and open it in a browser, I get - permission denied. None of the log viewers work, because they are for Kodi and not FTMC. Thanks! .. for the link. Will check it out!

[terwood]

Have u tried this...

1. Click on the Settings tab on the home screen.
2. Click on Apps
3. Choose the EZ Stream Media Center app.
4. Click on Force Stop.
5. Do the same with Kodi or w.e ur using. Clear cache aswell but DO NOT CLEAR DATA will wipe everthing...

[kodiliscious]

has anything helped?
if you havent flashed any firmware
and nothing is helping it might be a hardware error
I would return it if possible or maybe at some point your eye blinks will sync with the screen flashes and you wont notice the issue :P
gl

[WillySiz]

I've tried lots of different things and nothing seems to cure the problem. I took the box to my friend's place and hooked it up to his TV. It didn't do it right away, but after about 2 hours it did. Black screen coming every 5 minutes or so. We tried about everything we could think of, but nothing helped. My friend unplugged his tv and a few minutes later plugged it back in and then it was ok for a couple of hours. I brought it home and hooked it up and it was ok for about 90 minutes and then started going to black screen every 10 to 15 seconds. I powered off my TV and waited a couple minutes. Turned it back on and it was ok for a few (3) hours. It started doing it again and I repeated the process. It was ok for another 3 hours. I've been powering off the tv and turning back on after a few minutes. It works for awhile, but problem persist. Could it be the TV somehow causing the black screen? My friend and I both have about the same TVs - Both HD (led) 32" Samsungs. Just weird .. I don't know? Sorry about my delay getting back her, haven't been well. Oh and I've tried all the suggestions .. Nothing helped. Thanks! .. Blink

[jit18]

I've tried lots of different things and nothing seems to cure the problem. I took the box to my friend's place and hooked it up to his TV. It didn't do it right away, but after about 2 hours it did. Black screen coming every 5 minutes or so. We tried about everything we could think of, but nothing helped. My friend unplugged his tv and a few minutes later plugged it back in and then it was ok for a couple of hours. I brought it home and hooked it up and it was ok for about 90 minutes and then started going to black screen every 10 to 15 seconds. I powered off my TV and waited a couple minutes. Turned it back on and it was ok for a few (3) hours. It started doing it again and I repeated the process. It was ok for another 3 hours. I've been powering off the tv and turning back on after a few minutes. It works for awhile, but problem persist. Could it be the TV somehow causing the black screen? My friend and I both have about the same TVs - Both HD (led) 32" Samsungs. Just weird .. I don't know? Sorry about my delay getting back her, haven't been well. Oh and I've tried all the suggestions .. Nothing helped. Thanks! .. Blink

Did you use the same Hdmi cable both times?

Could be a bad Hdmi cable or a cold solder point on the Hdmi port...

If your box has a cvbs port, try to use this for testing...

[WillySiz]

Did you use the same Hdmi cable both times?

Could be a bad Hdmi cable or a cold solder point on the Hdmi port...

If your box has a cvbs port, try to use this for testing...

Sorry, just saw this ..

No, I borrowed a cable and later purchased a second.
No cvbs on android box. Would have to be converted from tv to hdmi.
Will check the box for cold solder joints .. Thanks!