Q: DVB-T usb sticks - supported or not?

[vikidroid]

hello,

just one question - is there any supported usb dvb-t stick to use with X5?

only what i find is custom rom from "JazzW" who added dvb-t dongles support. but i can't find list of supported dongles, just posts from different users and theirs informations "works" and "not working".

thanks!

[adrenalize]

Would love to know this as well!

[vikidroid]

as you can see, there is no answers yet. in mean time, i founded one dvb-t tuner, usb, from mygica. they also have similar android boxes, but there is no guaranty will they work on minix. i'll see if is it possible to take it for test. in any case, i'll inform you.

still, my question stands, and hope somebody will give us answer.

[vikidroid]

here is update of my dvb-t quest.

sadly, no good news.

i bought geniatech/mygica dvb-t stick model t119. on X5 - it doesn't work. or, at least, i can't confirm that 100% because i have problem with application for dvb-t receiving. it is called HiDTV. as i found on other forums, for ICS i must use version 1.9.9. but, there is problem. that app constantly crashes and i have no oportunity to check is it works or not.

i tryed same stick on older android box (atv1000), and it works flawlessly. plays, records, timeshift, even record one program while looking anoter.

so, please, if someone has working version of HIDTV program, please, give me the link so i can try stick.

it seems that there is big chance that stick works with X5.

for now, that's all.

see ya later!

[adrenalize]

That sounds good news, thanks for the update.

[vikidroid]

im mean time i founded some other apps, but neither of them works. or they are hardware based (you must use exact type of dvb-t stick) or they just report "no dvb-t stick founded". so, for now, hidtv is only app which may work in future. i'll keep looking.

[tonyz2897]

Perhaps the x5 has no driver for the dvb-t stick? I've seen apps crash before when the device that they work with can't be found. This is just a guess but maybe the app doesn't see the dvb-t stick because there is no driver installed for it and then crashes.

[vikidroid]

that's most likely problem. but, this is just shoot in the dark, why hidtv sometimes just auto-unload, and sometimes shows error "hidtv unfortunatelly stopped working".

there is some JAZZ cistom rom, but i really do not want to try it because finless and/or stock are very stabile and no problems with them. and there is big number of users, but jazz is not responding on mails, messages. neither on forum(s) neither on facebook.

but, in any case, that is something (i mean drivers) what is possible to add later because crew from minix wrote: "JAZZROM added DVB-T support, but it's a 3rd party ROM by a Taiwan genius."

but not much of use because there is no response from jazz.

so, still looking....

[tonyz2897]

This is just a guess because I know very little about how drivers work in linux and android.
Shouldn't it be possible to install a rom that has a working driver like the jazz rom and copy the dvb-t driver from /system/lib/modules to your sd card then reinstall the rom you want to use, move the driver (we'll call it dvbt.ko) back to /system/lib/modules, fix permissions, and then in terminal type "insmod /system/lib/modules/dvbt.ko"?

I think some drivers may also have a second part located in another folder that has to be there for the driver to work. I think I read this somewhere. I've also likely got things wrong or forgotton steps because I've never done this, only read about it. It seems to me that if you can find the right procedure for installing the driver, find the driver itself, and if the kernel versions are the same or close enough, then you should be able to copy the driver over from one rom to another right? Hopefully somebody with more experience will correct me if I'm wrong or post the correct procedure.
I wish I could be more help.

Tony

[vikidroid]

great thinking. but, i'm not so good in programing, or at least i didin't never started to customize ICS. all what i was done in past was GB based, and with other chip and other way of installing.... so, here i must search for some help.
that jazz's fw is burried in some weird half chinese half english web site, so i hardly manage to even downolad it. but it is on relatively speed server, about 250mb, and then i'll try to open it and see what is usable. but, must say that i'm not very happy to reinstall my system as i just set all apps on it.

i'l try to contact finless also, and hope he will have some extra time to spend and see that fw.

in every case, i'll write all further process.

EDIT: me again ;-)
so, i downloaded fw file, opened it, switched to ubuntu, yada, yada, yada, and finaly got list of files in rom. and, as i expected, it is not so simple as i would to be.
there i didn't find dvb-t application itself. or it is implemented in some video viewer/player or it is optional installation.
as you suggested, there are .ko files, but not in place you wroted, they are in \modules\media\ (and four directories, all suggestign that they have some business with dvb-t).

now it would be easyest to just copy&paste them to some generic rom, but, i do not have much hope in souch scenario. next is to compare this fw and stock fw. it is slow work because i'm not very comfortable in ubuntu (just a casual user), so need time to do stuff.

[tonyz2897]

It sounds like you are making progress so that's good at least.
If you have your rom configured how you want I suggest installing CWM recovery and using it to make a backup. Then if something goes wrong you can restore from the backup and everything will be configured the way it was when the backup was made. It's much nicer than having to set up a new installation every time.

Edit: Also, I think you may want to check to see if the dvb-t related .ko files have any .bin files associated with them. That was the second part I was talking about in my last post that I couldn't remember.

[Finless]

I pulled this ROM apart and found all the modules. I also found where they are being installed and it is not in system.
I think I can make this work for you but I do not know yet if the modules will work on the Minix kernel.

I can make a beta test ROM for this. I do not have a DVB-T stick so cannot test.

I assume you guys want it on my 1.2b ROM?

Bob

[Finless]

DVB-T ROM

OK I think I got it.

I added all the needed files and driver. Setup boot to insmod and setup directories etc.
On boot a lsmod command in terminal emulator shows the modules are loaded.

I am uploading a BETA test ROM right now. So stay tuned. Should be about 1 hour.


Bob

[vikidroid]

It sounds like you are making progress so that's good at least.
If you have your rom configured how you want I suggest installing CWM recovery and using it to make a backup. Then if something goes wrong you can restore from the backup and everything will be configured the way it was when the backup was made. It's much nicer than having to set up a new installation every time.

Edit: Also, I think you may want to check to see if the dvb-t related .ko files have any .bin files associated with them. That was the second part I was talking about in my last post that I couldn't remember.

yes, i know about cwm. but, i was too impatient, so i just reflashed with this frankenstein firmware i maded and still no success. i explained to bob all. about .bin files - must say that i didn't see them, or better said, didn't know about them. but, bob take think in his hands so, let magician do his work!

OK I think I got it.

I added all the needed files and driver. Setup boot to insmod and setup directories etc.
On boot a lsmod command in terminal emulator shows the modules are loaded.

I am uploading a BETA test ROM right now. So stay tuned. Should be about 1 hour.


Bob

huh, bob, your'e great!!!

i spend last few hours just to open and find differences between your's, jazz's and stock firmware. and finally simply added few directories with dvb files, and repack. but, still no success. i even madaged to loose root rights?! beside this dvb-t, now i'm more curious about unpacking and repacking files and later making them capable to install and not brick device.

but, to get back to topic. even i managed to add those files and drivers (or at least i think i did that), i still can't make dvb-t stick working because hidtv app is unloading and/or just giving error message "hidtv stopped working". so, is it trouble with drivers, is application problematic or something third.... have no clue. but, one thing i can't explain. jazz said "i added dvb-t support". what he mean with that? added JUST drivers or drivers plus app. but, app is, imho, missing. and, sadly, he doesn't responds to questions.

so, i can't wait that you upload fw to try it. maybe will some things be more clear.

on other forum, which is mostly oriented to geniatech devices, one friend claim that hidtv works on ics, but it is unstabile. so, at least that we or better say you implement drivers we'll try to find some dvb-t application.

[Finless]

FInless 1.2C with DVB-T support BETA

Hey guys as posted above I think I got the DVB-T drivers and needed files loaded.

Since I do not have a DVB-T device I cannot test but it looks like it will work for you.

Here is the BETA test ROM. If this works, then I will do cleanup and make a official non-BETA ROM for it.

ROM -> Minix Neo X5 Finless 1.2c ROM with DVB-T BETA TEST (275 megs)


Please let me know as soon as you can as time is limited to work on this more.

Bob