Beelink X2 H3 box

[neek]

hi!

first time here on this forum, and i was quite mad, as i realised 2 things; i am not the only one noticed that, even the box was running 1080p@60, KODI itself was fixed to 720p, meaning, beelink works internally on 720p and than scales up to FHD - or to 4k, which should be even more horrible. since i bought it gearbest, there even was a link to update the firmware/image (ota_XII_V104k4 and description how to do it). the only warning i found was, not tto use sdcard slot in update process.

this was my not my first FW update in my life, but as user TURV, i noticed, this update lasted at least 50 minutes too long - i was stuck at exact robot image, progress bar at "almost finished" - and except occasional flickers in graphic, nothig hapened.

after restart i got stuck in boot loop with same thing TURV already said:
The Allwinner H3 logo

...
"Installation Failed" Rebooting in 1
"Installation Failed" Rebooting in 2
"Installation Failed" Rebooting in 3
"Installation Failed" Rebooting in 4

i am very, very disappointed, since it seem, that the KODI output quality, which is based upon hardware cant'go further than 720p display resolution, and second, what kind of firmware update is that
that bricks your gadget even if you done everything allright!!! no sense at all!

so my Q: even with newest update, does this gadget EVER plays on promised FHD/4K resolution at all??? i did not have time to test my h.265 coded material neither, can somebody
confirm that.

i can not connect the gadget, since i only have simple usb cables, any way to unbrick it?
any help appreciated.

thanks!

[neek]

So when you play a 1080p file in Kodi, what happens?

i played 1080p stream in kodi, and apparently it gets downscaled to 720p in KODI and then upscaled to your output - FHD@60 for example. on TV it was hard to tell,
on a monitor i noticed it was too blurry for fullHD material... I would have made other tests, like playing my 1080p h.265 material off the android - VLC player or in
KODI - just to se if the chip can decode it, but i made stupid mistake by updating the firmware as recommended...

either way, something stinks here...

[maxipaul]

Read some earlier post where there is a dropbox link and some steps for me. I followed them and was able to set 102k4 firmware again with no usb needed, only one microSd card. I tried 103&104 fw but update was unsuccessful.

It's dissapointing if it only reescales image. I will think about a request for refund if so.

[bluesmanuk]

Very strange.

I'm still waiting for my X2 to be delivered but as it's essentially the same box as the Zidoo X1 with different WiFi, I decided to flash my X1 with 104k4 using the SD card method and it flashed perfectly.

As far as the flashing issue and 1080/720p issues are concerned, I think that input from Trigtop is required here.

[neek]

Read some earlier post where there is a dropbox link and some steps for me. I followed them and was able to set 102k4 firmware again with no usb needed, only one microSd card. I tried 103&104 fw but update was unsuccessful.

It's dissapointing if it only reescales image. I will think about a request for refund if so.

thanks for the prompt aw. i originally went with 104k4 FW and now i can't find any microSD card, but one in my phone. i made backup of everxthing, still, learned from bricking before is it possible to destroy sdcard formatting it in strange formats?

i will try to do so, but, where to put the image itself? i was flashing FW from the USB2 stick in the first place...
i'll try anyhow...

quite disappointed...

will update soon...

[neek]

I had driver problems using Phoenixsuite, so I use this instead in my Zidoo X1 to write an image to a micro sd card and it will work for the X2 as well.

You then just insert it into the box and it flashes a full ROM.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/48bdrlbztm..._V310.zip?dl=0

I would like thank you bluesmanuk, this method was really a last hope for me - quite desperate with a brick. thank maxipaul for kind fast AW too.
i will do the checks now with 1080p problematic...

[neek]

Apparently, I found quite right App to test much more variety on video codeds/containers and came across antutu video tester 2.2 which tries to play everything - from fhd, 2k to 4k. and guess what -
this box performs in top 5 devices (score 704) - it can play all files with no problem from mpeg2, mpeg4, hevc...
BUT, there is this UGLY BUT - render RESOLUTION is ONLY 720p!!!

so, it is just marketing BS - i like the design, even the plug is 2A, round one, not microUSB, you get one HDMI cable, usable remote, but it's not quite the fidelity i was thinking about, wanting to be on a safe side
regarding UHD yet to come...

pitty...

[TRIGTOP]

The only changes made were the kinds of things that all users would do.

Add apps and make changes within the scope of any apps installed.

No adb pushing of changes or anything like that.

Sorry.
I go to duplicate what he had done and try to replay the case, if it is possible would your like to help me check what he had installed .
To be frank , I had to confess that I'm not very confidence myself in private about whether the H3 can complete the local update process successfully, even though I had done 500 times test .BTW, I can expose a bug about H3, it cannt do local update with TF card when embeded eMMC on board. But I still dont think it will work abnormally after successfully update, I will check it. So, aha, I want to make a bet with bluesmanuk, if it is the fact then I will sent out 3 S905 box free within 2 months.

[TRIGTOP]

Hi all.
I am one of the users who has encountered problems in local update method. I tried 103K4 fw version, but stops at 95%. I know I have to get an USB AM to USB AM cable for updating via PC with PhoenixSuit. But before the failed update, I didn't set USB Debug setting On in android. So I wonder whether I am going to have problems in the update or not.
Thank a lot.

USB cable update do not relate with the Debug setting On. It is stable and you can fully believe it. But pay attention that USB update will produce a whole new system and all you old data will lose . Additionally, the image for usb update is different with the local update one.

[TRIGTOP]

Can anyone comment on the quality of the Wifi? I'm coming from MK808B and had trouble with that aspect.

TRIGTOP
Thanks for informing us! So far the only thing that stopped me form an instant purchase was lack of HW playback (mxplayer) from the comments. Two questions for you:
1) Can you say more about the s905? Specs and price.
2) Is there a headless linux image (e.g. Debian) available for the X2?
Thanks!

1) Quad core ARM Cortex-A53 up to 2.0GHz, 32KB instruction cache and 32KB data cache,512KB L2. Penta-core ARM Mali-450 GPU. HDMI2.0 transmitter with 3D CEC HDCP2.2.
2) Sorry.

[TRIGTOP]

Any external dongle would have to have the software support built in to the ROM for it to work and then things would have to be modified so that when switching WiFi on, it switched the correct one.

Yes.

[maxipaul]

Very strange.

I'm still waiting for my X2 to be delivered but as it's essentially the same box as the Zidoo X1 with different WiFi, I decided to flash my X1 with 104k4 using the SD card method and it flashed perfectly.

As far as the flashing issue and 1080/720p issues are concerned, I think that input from Trigtop is required here.

I will try again with 104K4. Where did you download de .img from? I think I did it from "http://www.mediafire.com/download/ww...XII_V104k4.img", link posted in http://www.gearbest.com/tv-box-mini-pc/pp_193367.html.

[TRIGTOP]

hi!

first time here on this forum, and i was quite mad, as i realised 2 things; i am not the only one noticed that, even the box was running 1080p@60, KODI itself was fixed to 720p, meaning, beelink works internally on 720p and than scales up to FHD - or to 4k, which should be even more horrible. since i bought it gearbest, there even was a link to update the firmware/image (ota_XII_V104k4 and description how to do it). the only warning i found was, not tto use sdcard slot in update process.

this was my not my first FW update in my life, but as user TURV, i noticed, this update lasted at least 50 minutes too long - i was stuck at exact robot image, progress bar at "almost finished" - and except occasional flickers in graphic, nothig hapened.

after restart i got stuck in boot loop with same thing TURV already said:
The Allwinner H3 logo

...
"Installation Failed" Rebooting in 1
"Installation Failed" Rebooting in 2
"Installation Failed" Rebooting in 3
"Installation Failed" Rebooting in 4

i am very, very disappointed, since it seem, that the KODI output quality, which is based upon hardware cant'go further than 720p display resolution, and second, what kind of firmware update is that
that bricks your gadget even if you done everything allright!!! no sense at all!

so my Q: even with newest update, does this gadget EVER plays on promised FHD/4K resolution at all??? i did not have time to test my h.265 coded material neither, can somebody
confirm that.

i can not connect the gadget, since i only have simple usb cables, any way to unbrick it?
any help appreciated.

thanks!

Sad to read this information.
Does the original image verison built in the device is 102K4 HI think after-sales people will help you, otherwise please tell me and I will help you fix it.

About the resolutions, X2 UI resolution is 720p, and it can be changed to 1080p if need. I had compared A80 ,which features 4k point to point, with RK3288 and S802 which is upscare to 4K, we cannt spot which one owns higher definition . From the soc company standpoint, the surface 4k means it can decode 4K video, have higher definition than 1080p, and can be displayed with 4K dimention .

[TRIGTOP]

i played 1080p stream in kodi, and apparently it gets downscaled to 720p in KODI and then upscaled to your output - FHD@60 for example. on TV it was hard to tell,
on a monitor i noticed it was too blurry for fullHD material... I would have made other tests, like playing my 1080p h.265 material off the android - VLC player or in
KODI - just to se if the chip can decode it, but i made stupid mistake by updating the firmware as recommended...

either way, something stinks here...

Yes, monitor's clarity and sharpness is better than TV.
Let me check it.

[bluesmanuk]

I would like thank you bluesmanuk, this method was really a last hope for me - quite desperate with a brick. thank maxipaul for kind fast AW too.
i will do the checks now with 1080p problematic...

Thanks.

One of the great things about the Freaktab community is everybody's willingness to help each other out.