Mini M8S II 4K Smart TV Box Amlogic S905X 2/8GB WiFi 10/100 LAN BT

[rahzel]

Yes, to flash ROMs or .img files, you need to connect the box to a PC using a USB type-A male to male cable, and use the USB burning tool.

[SyS]

Please Help. My Mini m8sII is permanently rebooting....cca after one minute. Power on, device is starting and after start, is rebooting...please what can i do? New device, after startup was upgrade and now device rebootig...

Disable HDMI-CEC in Setting

[rahzel]

Oops, I mis-read the post. Yes please disable HDMI-CEC first. Use my recommendation as a last resort.

For some reason I thought his box was in a boot loop.

[SUperdavis7]

I'm having brightness issues with my MINI M8SII. I installed Kodi 17 beta 3 and enabled Mediacodec & Mediacodec (Surface) in the Kodi Video option menu. Whenever I play a video the image is way too dark. I already flashed the 26 sept beta Firmware and enable Force RGB output. Doesn't seem to do anything. I have the same issue when using Kodi 16.1.

The darkness issue seems system wide. The main launcher menu also is quiet dark. I think it is related to the 16-235 RGB 0-255 range. Any suggestions?

I use a Panasonic 50 inch Plasma TV (TX-P50G30) and a HDMI 1.4 port.

[rahzel]

I'm having brightness issues with my MINI M8SII. I installed Kodi 17 beta 3 and enabled Mediacodec & Mediacodec (Surface) in the Kodi Video option menu. Whenever I play a video the image is way too dark. I already flashed the 26 sept beta Firmware and enable Force RGB output. Doesn't seem to do anything. I have the same issue when using Kodi 16.1.

The darkness issue seems system wide. The main launcher menu also is quiet dark. I think it is related to the 16-235 RGB 0-255 range. Any suggestions?

I use a Panasonic 50 inch Plasma TV (TX-P50G30) and a HDMI 1.4 port.

This box outputs RGB Full Range, so if your TV is expecting RGB Limited range, the picture will look dark.

Try finding the HDMI RGB Range setting on your Panasonic display and set it to 'Nonstandard' (which is RGB Full Range). It should be in the picture settings somewhere.

[certxx]

To Sys: Thanks!!! It's OK!!! :-)

Disable HDMI-CEC in Setting

[Terminou]

A

I found a way to use this Android tv box, a HDMI to VGA + audio cable fixed this problem, getting 1080p 60Hz output, for now problem solved,

my previous Android tv box works fine this tv, changing tv is not possible now. Until then this cable works fine, I am using it for one day and no purple screen. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n601335[/ATTACH]




3bay

****.com/itm/1080P-HDMI-to-VGA-Video-Converter-Adapter-w-3-5mm-Audio-Cable-for-HDTV-PC-AC528-/182281648458?txnId=1558679721008

What about the quality? Is it similar to HDMI? If it is, i will buy this converter with the voice cable. Please help me.

[itsmeedoofer]

Is SPMC available as a simple Apk? I found only a zip file online bit don't know how to install from that.

You can get it from Play Store, or an apk is available from here:- http://spmc.semperpax.com/

[SUperdavis7]

This box outputs RGB Full Range, so if your TV is expecting RGB Limited range, the picture will look dark.

Try finding the HDMI RGB Range setting on your Panasonic display and set it to 'Nonstandard' (which is RGB Full Range). It should be in the picture settings somewhere.

Turns out that when I install Kodi 16.1 from the Play store (not the preinstalled Kodi with all the add-ons) the brightness issue is gone. In video settings there are now 3 options. Amcodec, MediaCodec and Mediacodec (Surface). When all 3 are enabled, my video is no longer too dark.

So I conclude it has something to do with the hardware acceleration video codec, instead of my TV settings. I searched for a RGB setting in my Plasma TV but is does not seem to exist.

Issue I am now having is that Kodi crashes from time to time. So still no definite solution..

Any members here who experience this issue? Any solutions?

[freemansteve]

I'm no expert, but I'm a big fan of VLC. It plays on my PC, my Android phone and my MINI8S-II.
Haven't found a thing it doesn't play yet.

I find Kodi unbelievably clunky and bloated, but I guess many folk want to stream content from the internet.... I mostly use the MINIM8S-II on a non-smart TV, to let me play films off a RAID box on my LAN. All hard wired through a router, so no interference. I used to use WiDi and a Netgear TV thing, but it just stuttered a lot, as WiDi seems weak and prone to interference. MX Player useless for me as it won't find my RAID box on the LAN (no SMB support I guess).

[SUperdavis7]

Kodi for me is by far the best mediaplayer. Automatic subtitle downloads for instance, and a great GUI and video customizations.

[rahzel]

Turns out that when I install Kodi 16.1 from the Play store (not the preinstalled Kodi with all the add-ons) the brightness issue is gone. In video settings there are now 3 options. Amcodec, MediaCodec and Mediacodec (Surface). When all 3 are enabled, my video is no longer too dark.

So I conclude it has something to do with the hardware acceleration video codec, instead of my TV settings. I searched for a RGB setting in my Plasma TV but is does not seem to exist.

Issue I am now having is that Kodi crashes from time to time. So still no definite solution..

Any members here who experience this issue? Any solutions?

That's because amcodec causes the box to switch to RGB Limited Range universally (meaning outside of Kodi as well). Amcodec support was added in the most recent software update for the M8S Mini II (20160923). Previous versions didn't have an amcodec option available in Kodi.

This is a bug... the RGB range changes when using amcodec... that's not a good thing. Next time you boot your box up, it will switch back until you play a video in Kodi with amcodec checked.
I have contacted gearbest about this and they have forwarded it to the manufacturer.

So right now your options are to either use amcodec and leave your TV alone (just remember that when you reboot your box, it will reset to RGB Full again until you play a video in Kodi). Or you can disable amcodec in Kodi and set your TV to match the box by setting it to HDMI RGB Range Nonstandard.

[jason11]

What about the quality? Is it similar to HDMI? If it is, i will buy this converter with the voice cable. Please help me.

It's similar to hdmi, you will get 1080p, check product descriptions before buy it. You will get 1080p adapter for 3+ usd at e bay

[certxx]

Please, give me an advice. Mini m8sii join the Synology NAS only via app DS video or it goes the other way? :-) When i use vlc player, movie play, but not sound.... :-)Thanks

[SUperdavis7]

That's because amcodec causes the box to switch to RGB Limited Range universally (meaning outside of Kodi as well). Amcodec support was added in the most recent software update for the M8S Mini II (20160923). Previous versions didn't have an amcodec option available in Kodi.

This is a bug... the RGB range changes when using amcodec... that's not a good thing. Next time you boot your box up, it will switch back until you play a video in Kodi with amcodec checked.
I have contacted gearbest about this and they have forwarded it to the manufacturer.

So right now your options are to either use amcodec and leave your TV alone (just remember that when you reboot your box, it will reset to RGB Full again until you play a video in Kodi). Or you can disable amcodec in Kodi and set your TV to match the box by setting it to HDMI RGB Range Nonstandard.

Ok, thnx for the clear up. Hopefully a firmware update will fix this problem.