MK808b Finless 2.1 and 1.7 HW Decode hangs XBMC

[jMz]

thanks for looking, I've searched for days for an answer to this issue but i'm getting nowhere fast! this is my first post, normally I find what I need without posting.

My MK808b was working fine with nightly build of XBMC Gotham on the stock rom it came with.
I flashed Finless 2.1 1080p and everything worked better.
then all of a sudden, for no reason I can see, it has developed a strange behaviour. here's a step by step of what happened and what I've tried so far.

boot device. ok
launch xbmc. ok
play any video from smb or usb. ok
stop video and play another, or skip to next video. not ok, audio, no video, interface stop button showing as normal.
press stop. xbmc freezes.
press home. ok
close recent apps, kill tasks. ok
restart xbmc, takes a couple of tries. loads ok.
play a video, ok
play another video , black screen again. rinse, repeat.

same thing happens in mx player, but only after xbmc has been installed.
i have re flashed with finless 2.1 and 1.7 twice each and everything else works as it should.

i will post the log file shortly, but I think it is some kind of process relating to the hw decoding not stopping from the first video. once ive installed xbmc on a fresh flash this problem stays, whether i uninstall/reinstall every video app or not
i just cant ge my head around what is causing it.
please help me, apart from this tiny issue i am blown away by the performance per pound of this device.
many thanks!

[jMz]

log

ncy - Latency set to 0 msec14:47:56 T:1086153232 DEBUG: LinuxRendererGL: Cleaning up GL resources
14:47:56 T:1805427592 NOTICE: Thread DVDPlayer start, auto delete: false
14:47:56 T:1805427592 NOTICE: Creating InputStream
14:47:56 T:1805427592 DEBUG: CSmbFile::Open - opened TV Shows/Spawn/Spawn S01E02.avi, fd=10000
14:47:56 T:1805427592 DEBUG: static void CUtil::ScanForExternalSubtitles(const CStdString&, std::vector<CStdStr<char> >&): Searching for subtitles...
14:47:56 T:1805427592 DEBUG: int XFILE::CSMBDirectory::OpenDir(const CURL&, CStdString&) - Using authentication url smb://AZAMAT-PC/TV%20Shows/Spawn
14:47:56 T:1805427592 DEBUG: static void CUtil::ScanForExternalSubtitles(const CStdString&, std::vector<CStdStr<char> >&): END (total time: 43 ms)
14:47:56 T:1805427592 NOTICE: Creating Demuxer
14:47:56 T:1805427592 DEBUG: bool CDVDDemuxFFmpeg::Open(CDVDInputStream*) - probing detected format [avi]
14:47:57 T:1086153232 DEBUG: ------ Window Init (DialogBusy.xml) ------
14:47:57 T:1086153232 DEBUG: Window DialogBusy.xml was already loaded
14:47:57 T:1086153232 DEBUG: Alloc resources: 0.11m
14:47:57 T:1812473872 DEBUG: virtual bool CSaveFileStateJob:oWork() - Saving file state for video item smb://AZAMAT-PC/TV Shows/Spawn/Spawn S01E01.avi
14:47:57 T:1812473872 DEBUG: CAnnouncementManager - Announcement: OnUpdate from xbmc
14:47:57 T:1812473872 DEBUG: GOT ANNOUNCEMENT, type: 16, from xbmc, message OnUpdate
14:47:59 T:1805427592 DEBUG: bool CDVDDemuxFFmpeg::Open(CDVDInputStream*) - avformat_find_stream_info starting
14:47:59 T:1805427592 DEBUG: bool CDVDDemuxFFmpeg::Open(CDVDInputStream*) - av_find_stream_info finished
14:47:59 T:1805427592 NOTICE: Opening video stream: 0 source: 256
14:47:59 T:1805427592 NOTICE: Creating video codec with codec id: 13
14:47:59 T:1805427592 DEBUG: CDVDFactoryCodec: compiled in hardware support: CrystalHD:no AMCodec:yes MediaCodec:yes OpenMax:no libstagefright:yes VDPAU:no VAAPI:no
14:47:59 T:1805427592 INFO: MediaCodec Video Decoder...
14:47:59 T:1805427592 DEBUG: FactoryCodec - Video: mediacodec - Opening
14:47:59 T:1805427592 DEBUG: CDVDVideoCodecAndroidMediaCodec::Open m_codecname(OMX.rk.video_decoder.m4v), colorFormat(21)
14:47:59 T:1805427592 INFO: CDVDVideoCodecAndroidMediaCodec:: Open Android MediaCodec OMX.rk.video_decoder.m4v
14:47:59 T:1805427592 DEBUG: FactoryCodec - Video: amc-mpeg4 - Opened
14:47:59 T:1805427592 NOTICE: Creating video thread
14:47:59 T:1805253320 NOTICE: Thread DVDPlayerVideo start, auto delete: false
14:47:59 T:1805427592 NOTICE: Opening audio stream: 1 source: 256
14:47:59 T:1805427592 NOTICE: Finding audio codec for: 86017
14:47:59 T:1805427592 DEBUG: FactoryCodec - Audio: passthrough - Opening
14:47:59 T:1805427592 DEBUG: FactoryCodec - Audio: passthrough - Failed
14:47:59 T:1805427592 DEBUG: FactoryCodec - Audio: libmad - Opening
14:47:59 T:1805427592 DEBUG: FactoryCodec - Audio: libmad - Opened
14:47:59 T:1805427592 NOTICE: Creating audio thread
14:47:59 T:1805253320 NOTICE: running thread: video_thread
14:47:59 T:1805253320 DEBUG: CDVDPlayerVideo - CDVDMsg::GENERAL_SYNCHRONIZE
14:47:59 T:1872967616 NOTICE: Thread DVDPlayerAudio start, auto delete: false
14:47:59 T:1805427592 DEBUG: bool CEdl::ReadEditDecisionLists(const CStdString&, float, int) - Checking for edit decision lists (EDL) on local drive or remote share for: smb://AZAMAT-PC/TV Shows/Spawn/Spawn S01E02.avi
14:47:59 T:1805427592 DEBUG: virtual void CApplication::OnPlayBackStarted() : play state was 1, starting 1
14:47:59 T:1805427592 DEBUG: CDVDPlayer::SetCaching - caching state 3
14:47:59 T:1086153232 DEBUG: PlayBackRet CApplication::PlayFile(const CFileItem&, bool) : OpenFile succeed, play state 2
14:47:59 T:1086153232 DEBUG: virtual void CApplication::OnPlayBackStarted() : play state was 2, starting 0
14:47:59 T:1872967616 NOTICE: running thread: CDVDPlayerAudio::Process()
14:47:59 T:1805253320 INFO: CDVDPlayerVideo - Stillframe left, switching to normal playback
14:47:59 T:1872967616 DEBUG: CDVDPlayerAudio - CDVDMsg::GENERAL_RESYNC(46500.000000, 0)
14:47:59 T:1872967616 DEBUG: CDVDPlayerAudio: Sample rate changed, checking for passthrough
14:47:59 T:1872967616 DEBUG: FactoryCodec - Audio: passthrough - Opening
14:47:59 T:1872967616 DEBUG: FactoryCodec - Audio: passthrough - Failed
14:47:59 T:1872967616 DEBUG: FactoryCodec - Audio: libmad - Opening
14:47:59 T:1872967616 DEBUG: FactoryCodec - Audio: libmad - Opened
14:47:59 T:1872967616 NOTICE: Creating audio stream (codec id: 86017, channels: 2, sample rate: 48000, no pass-through)
14:47:59 T:1872967616 DEBUG: CDVDPlayerAudio:: synctype set to 0: clock feedback
14:47:59 T:1086153232 DEBUG: CGUIInfoManager::SetCurrentMovie(smb://AZAMAT-PC/TV Shows/Spawn/Spawn S01E02.avi)
14:47:59 T:1805253320 DEBUG: CDVDPlayerVideo - CDVDMsg::GENERAL_RESYNC(41708.375042, 1)
14:47:59 T:1086153232 DEBUG: int CVideoDatabase::GetMovieId(const CStdString&) (smb://AZAMAT-PC/TV Shows/Spawn/Spawn S01E02.avi), query = select idMovie from movie where idFile=2
14:47:59 T:1086153232 DEBUG: int CVideoDatabase::GetEpisodeId(const CStdString&, int, int) (smb://AZAMAT-PC/TV Shows/Spawn/Spawn S01E02.avi), query = select idEpisode from episode where idFile=2
14:47:59 T:1086153232 DEBUG: CAnnouncementManager - Announcement: OnPlay from xbmc
14:47:59 T:1086153232 DEBUG: GOT ANNOUNCEMENT, type: 1, from xbmc, message OnPlay
14:47:59 T:1718881336 INFO: CActiveAESink::OpenSink - initialize sink
14:47:59 T:1718881336 DEBUG: CActiveAESink::OpenSink - trying to open device AUDIOTRACK:AudioTrack
14:47:59 T:1718881336 DEBUG: CActiveAESink::OpenSink - AUDIOTRACK Initialized:
14:47:59 T:1718881336 DEBUG: Output Device : android
14:47:59 T:1718881336 DEBUG: Sample Rate : 44100
14:47:59 T:1718881336 DEBUG: Sample Format : AE_FMT_S16NE
14:47:59 T:1718881336 DEBUG: Channel Count : 2
14:47:59 T:1718881336 DEBUG: Channel Layout: FL,FR
14:47:59 T:1718881336 DEBUG: Frames : 3072
14:47:59 T:1718881336 DEBUG: Frame Samples : 6144
14:47:59 T:1718881336 DEBUG: Frame Size : 4
14:47:59 T:1086153232 DEBUG: ------ Window Deinit (DialogBusy.xml) ------
14:47:59 T:1719079712 DEBUG: CActiveAE::ClearDiscardedBuffers - buffer pool deleted
14:47:59 T:1805427592 DEBUG: CDVDPlayer::HandleMessages - player started 1
14:48:00 T:1805427592 DEBUG: CDVDPlayer::SetCaching - caching state 0
14:48:00 T:1872967616 DEBUG: CDVDPlayerAudio:: Discontinuity1 - was:43069.583042, should be:70500.000000, error:27430.416958
14:48:01 T:1872967616 DEBUG: CDVDPlayerAudio:: Discontinuity1 - was:339714.959000, should be:534110.818911, error:194395.859911
14:48:01 T:1872967616 DEBUG: CDVDPlayerAudio:: Discontinuity1 - was:1044577.527911, should be:840000.000000, error:-204577.527911
14:48:02 T:1805253320 WARNING: CDVDMessageQueue(video)::Get - asked for new data packet, with nothing available
14:48:03 T:1872967616 WARNING: Previous line repeats 8 times.
14:48:03 T:1872967616 DEBUG: CDVDPlayerAudio:: Discontinuity2 - was:2930428.083000, should be:2861159.519771, error:-69268.563229
14:48:03 T:1805253320 WARNING: CDVDMessageQueue(video)::Get - asked for new data packet, with nothing available
14:48:11 T:1086153232 WARNING: Previous line repeats 30 times.
14:48:11 T:1086153232 INFO: void XCURL:llLibCurlGlobal::CheckIdle() - Closing session to http://thetvdb.com (easy=0x6df8c008, multi=0x6dd52f60)
14:48:12 T:1805253320 WARNING: CDVDMessageQueue(video)::Get - asked for new data packet, with nothing available
14:48:16 T:1086153232 WARNING: Previous line repeats 15 times.
14:48:16 T:1086153232 DEBUG: ------ Window Deinit (VideoOSD.xml) ------
14:48:16 T:1805253320 WARNING: CDVDMessageQueue(video)::Get - asked for new data packet, with nothing available
14:48:20 T:1086153232 WARNING: Previous line repeats 7 times.
14:48:20 T:1086153232 DEBUG: ------ Window Init (VideoOSD.xml) ------
14:48:20 T:1086153232 DEBUG: Window VideoOSD.xml was already loaded
14:48:20 T:1086153232 DEBUG: Alloc resources: 3.13m
14:48:20 T:1805253320 WARNING: CDVDMessageQueue(video)::Get - asked for new data packet, with nothing available
14:48:21 T:1086153232 WARNING: Previous line repeats 1 times.
14:48:21 T:1086153232 DEBUG: bool CApplication::ProcessMouse(): trying mouse action leftclick
14:48:21 T:1086153232 NOTICE: CDVDPlayer::CloseFile()
14:48:21 T:1086153232 NOTICE: DVDPlayer: waiting for threads to exit
14:48:21 T:1805427592 NOTICE: CDVDPlayer::OnExit()
14:48:21 T:1805427592 NOTICE: DVDPlayer: closing audio stream
14:48:21 T:1805427592 NOTICE: Closing audio stream
14:48:21 T:1805427592 NOTICE: Waiting for audio thread to exit
14:48:21 T:1872967616 NOTICE: thread end: CDVDPlayerAudio::OnExit()
14:48:21 T:1805427592 NOTICE: Closing audio device
14:48:21 T:1872967616 DEBUG: Thread DVDPlayerAudio 1872967616 terminating
14:48:21 T:1719079712 DEBUG: CActiveAE:iscardStream - audio stream deleted
14:48:21 T:1719079712 DEBUG: CActiveAE::ClearDiscardedBuffers - buffer pool deleted
14:48:21 T:1718881336 DEBUG: Previous line repeats 1 times.
14:48:21 T:1718881336 INFO: CActiveAESink::OpenSink - initialize sink
14:48:21 T:1805427592 NOTICE: Deleting audio codec
14:48:21 T:1805427592 NOTICE: DVDPlayer: closing video stream
14:48:21 T:1805427592 NOTICE: Closing video stream
14:48:21 T:1718881336 DEBUG: CActiveAESink::OpenSink - trying to open device AUDIOTRACK:AudioTrack
14:48:21 T:1805427592 NOTICE: waiting for video thread to exit
14:48:21 T:1805253320 ERROR: Got MSGQ_ABORT or MSGO_IS_ERROR return true
14:48:21 T:1805253320 NOTICE: thread end: video_thread
14:48:21 T:1805253320 DEBUG: Thread DVDPlayerVideo 1805253320 terminating
14:48:21 T:1805427592 NOTICE: deleting video codec
14:48:21 T:1718881336 DEBUG: CActiveAESink::OpenSink - AUDIOTRACK Initialized:
14:48:21 T:1718881336 DEBUG: Output Device : android
14:48:21 T:1718881336 DEBUG: Sample Rate : 44100
14:48:21 T:1718881336 DEBUG: Sample Format : AE_FMT_S16NE
14:48:21 T:1718881336 DEBUG: Channel Count : 2
14:48:21 T:1718881336 DEBUG: Channel Layout: FL,FR
14:48:21 T:1718881336 DEBUG: Frames : 3072
14:48:21 T:1718881336 DEBUG: Frame Samples : 6144
14:48:21 T:1718881336 DEBUG: Frame Size : 4
14:48:21 T:1719079712 DEBUG: CActiveAE::ClearDiscardedBuffers - buffer pool deleted
14:48:27 T:1842537608 DEBUG: Previous line repeats 1 times.
14:48:27 T:1842537608 DEBUG: Thread JobWorker 1842537608 terminating (autodelete)
14:48:27 T:1842445672 DEBUG: Thread JobWorker 1842445672 terminating (autodelete)
14:48:27 T:1844327520 DEBUG: Thread JobWorker 1844327520 terminating (autodelete)
14:48:27 T:1812473872 DEBUG: Thread JobWorker 1812473872 terminating (autodelete)

[ididmytime]

Blown away by the performance? Using the stock kernel, if you use 1080p and XBMC you can't even play 720p content .

Meanwhile, the equally priced mk808 would happily run at 1080p and playback 1080p. It runs it over 50% quicker.

As you have searched around, I assume you are aware of non experimental XBMC builds with all android fixes, as well as the need to replace the libstagefright on Finless 1.7 as it's broken for the mk808b rom.

[jMz]

Blown away by the performance? Using the stock kernel, if you use 1080p and XBMC you can't even play 720p content .

Meanwhile, the equally priced mk808 would happily run at 1080p and playback 1080p. It runs it over 50% quicker.

As you have searched around, I assume you are aware of non experimental XBMC builds with all android fixes, as well as the need to replace the libstagefright on Finless 1.7 as it's broken for the mk808b rom.

Your face palm, I said apart from this issue I am blown away by the performance per pound, as in it cost £25, I think it's pretty good for £25, but this is the first one I've had, for about a week, and I've stumbled across a bug, that only a veteran user would know off hand having stumbled across it before.

I never even knew what to Google to get what you just told me about stagefright, hence i came here for advice, and i appreciate your answer as i think you may have solved the problem. I didn't know that about the kernel, and i have been using nightlies, foolishly assuming they would be better each day.

What you say does make a lot of sense, I've gone back to 2.1 for now 720p, and I'll be honest I'm still learning about kernels. I haven't actually installed xbmc yet this time round because i wanted to watch it for a few days so just installed Netflix which works fine. I'll give it a try with a working build, could you recommend one? Also what would you say was the best combo of all these things you mention, with xbmc in focus, i know this device runs 1080p, i can do it right now, in several other video apps, i just love xbmc! With this issue fixed so i could build a playlist and let it run I'd be happy with 720p to be honest.

Mk808 has no bluetooth though, i use it for audio.

I've got five quad core rock chip devices on the way but this is so cute and small i actually love it and it'll make a perfect media hub for my son's room. If i can get it working reliably that is!

Please have patience, I'm a noob to this topic, but not to
life.

Genuinely thanks for your help though, even though you instantly assumed i was an idiot!

EDIT : Just wanted to add, when i first flashed 2.1 with 1080p, xbmc was working, it was fantastic, not prefectly stable but usable for at least a day, then just out of nowhere it developed this black screen, but it might have just been a fluke i haven't been awfully scientific about it, and with this new info though i know what to try next, thank you again.

[jMz]

So I've had another mk808b arrive this morning and I've just plugged it in, installed xbmc gotham beta with some small sd videos and it worked without the error.
But, the screen is not lined up perfectly and when i change in settings to 1080p it goes green and says 933x101 or something!
So is this all down to the kernel? I'm struggling to understand which bit does what. All i want these mk808bs for is xbmc at 1080p,there has to be a combo that works perfectly.
I'm pretty sure the quad core will run without issue, but if xbmc won't work, these mk808bs are pretty much resigned to being Netflix players.

[Bueno]

boot device. ok
launch xbmc. ok
play any video from smb or usb. ok
stop video and play another, or skip to next video. not ok, audio, no video, interface stop button showing as normal.

I've had this happen to me in the past, a video plays fine, but then on a 2nd attempt, the audio plays but no video... For me, it had something to do with hiding the status bar. If the status bar was hidden before the video started playing, I think everything would be fine. Finless and Flumpster (see beyond xbmc thread...) have both mentioned that it is possible to remove the status bar entirely by renaming it, if you want to try that.

Then there is another thread where people had this problem with the youtube app, probably can be fixed by checking off the "disable HW overlay" option in Settings, but that setting never sticks when the device is rebooted (unless maybe you automate using the paid app called Tasker).

Try changing sys.hwc.compose_policy=0 to =6 in build.prop file.

i changed that setting before I uploaded the rom because it got rid of the artifacts and mouse leaving trails behind on the bottom of the screen when disable h/w overlay was not checked in developer settings. You got this issue when you use a different launcher or the fullscreen! app but with the setting '=0' you get rid of that problem but create a new one with youtube playback problems.
So it's basically a trade off, choose what is important for you and change the setting in build.prop.
To get the best of both worlds you can use the tasker app with secure settings app to automatically set 'disable h/w overlay' and still use youtube, but they are paid apps so I couldn't include it in my rom.

For XBMC I honestly don't know which will do better right now, the latest nightly or Beyond XBMC 3.3 --- I would test both.

[ididmytime]

In terms of 1080p, the mk808b simply can't do it without using an overclocked mk808 kernel. I would honestly put all thoughts of using them at 1080p out of your mind and go for 720p.

As you're using a mk808b I would recommend using a 4.2 rom, you will lose the ability of the status bar auto hiding but if you're forced to use it at stock it should give you a tiny boost in speed. Regardless of what has been said in the forums, there are no overclocked kernels for mk808b which will get you the performance needed for good XBMC playback at 1080p.

Finless 2.1 is probably the easiest to install, if you're comfortable with CWM then you can flash a newer rom over, make sure you don't cross flash 4.1 and 4.2 roms using CWM.

In my honest opinion, the best version of XBMC to get is Beyond XBMC 3.3, it's just a stable build with the audio delay/cache/GPU decoding all pre fixed without having to mess around after instillation. If you want to have it automatically boot into XBMC choose the launcher version, then rename the systemui.apk to something else and this will remove the bottom bar entirely.

There is a FAQ I wrote on the board which will have more information regarding most of what has been said, it's horribly outdated since I can't edit it, but may help.

[jMz]

In terms of 1080p, the mk808b simply can't do it without using an overclocked mk808 kernel. I would honestly put all thoughts of using them at 1080p out of your mind and go for 720p.

As you're using a mk808b I would recommend using a 4.2 rom, you will lose the ability of the status bar auto hiding but if you're forced to use it at stock it should give you a tiny boost in speed. Regardless of what has been said in the forums, there are no overclocked kernels for mk808b which will get you the performance needed for good XBMC playback at 1080p.

Finless 2.1 is probably the easiest to install, if you're comfortable with CWM then you can flash a newer rom over, make sure you don't cross flash 4.1 and 4.2 roms using CWM.

In my honest opinion, the best version of XBMC to get is Beyond XBMC 3.3, it's just a stable build with the audio delay/cache/GPU decoding all pre fixed without having to mess around after instillation. If you want to have it automatically boot into XBMC choose the launcher version, then rename the systemui.apk to something else and this will remove the bottom bar entirely.

There is a FAQ I wrote on the board which will have more information regarding most of what has been said, it's horribly outdated since I can't edit it, but may help.

I read your faq actually it helped a lot, i didn't find it until I'd already posted here. I have a way better understanding of this all now and I've just had what you suggested working until i messed it up and now it won't boot. I know what's wrong though and i know exactly what to do thanks to you guys, I'll settle for 720p on this and donate it to the boy! He'll be over the moon with it. Got some quad core devices on the way so I'll just get this back up and leave it!
Thanks guys, truly was a great help.

[jMz]

I read your faq actually it helped a lot, i didn't find it until I'd already posted here. I have a way better understanding of this all now and I've just had what you suggested working until i messed it up and now it won't boot. I know what's wrong though and i know exactly what to do thanks to you guys, I'll settle for 720p on this and donate it to the boy! He'll be over the moon with it. Got some quad core devices on the way so I'll just get this back up and leave it!
Thanks guys, truly was a great help.

I think I've fixed this issue. For me it started happening on all of my devices and when trying to triage and troubleshoot, the sdcard was the problem.

I uninstalled and reinstalled everything from the rom upwards several times and it would work for a bit, then happen again. Anyway, i got a new device working this morning, then i thought I'd add some storage and our some music on it. Put the micro sdcard in, did what i needed to do, then xbmc wouldn't load. After about ten minutes and a quick back up and reinstall, the address came to my attention, so shut down, whip the sd out, boot up, xbmc lightning fast, issue gone.

Need to find a workaround for this! It would be nice to leave the card in.
So thanks for all the suggestions guys, i did learn from this experience. Top stuff, hope this solution helps someone else, i know it's not ideal but it works!