27/08/2016 - V2 firmware now available. See post 2 for more details and download link.
29/08/2016 - V3 firmware now available. See post 2 for more details and download link.
Following tests on the 2 original manufacturers firmware’s, in order to satisfy what I believe will have been many a user’s requirement in terms of interface alone, I have created my first ever Modded ROM.
Two of the rather vital (in my opinion) things that were missing in the original firmware’s were the Navigation bar and the Notification Bar and there was a major issue with regards to some apps that would rotate 90 degrees and make them very difficult to use.
I’m not calling it a Custom ROM as these are the Domain of the far more talented real developers.
I have simply used a tool to allow the appropriate customisation to take place.
Thanks to some useful advice from prahjister and the fact that I have purloined his extremely vital app to cure audio clipping when playing AC3 and DTS, which are present in the S912 as was the case with the S905x.
Whilst I believe this firmware to be an improvement over the original, there are still going to be some issues that will require resolutions from the manufacturers, such as Adjust Display Refresh rate adjustment (called HDMI self-adaptation in the firmware), which does not work in the bundled Kodi or SPMC either.
You will require the following in order to flash the firmware to your box:
Not that anything is likely to affect external storage devices but as I have never flashed the firmware myself with any attached/inserted, best to take the belt and braces approach.
As is usual with all Modded/Custom firmware, USE ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK although I think that it is fair to say that it is extremely difficult to hard brick boxes these days.
So the procedure (once you have all elements downloaded and unzipped) is as follows:
Once you have completed the wizard, you will be presented with the default launcher but if you swipe upwards from the bottom of the screen then you will see that you have access to the navigation bar and the notification area will present itself across the top of the screen.
At this point though please wait another 5 minutes as in the background there will be a number of apps populating themselves.
Then there is a CRITICAL procedure that you have to perform before you start configuring your Android experience.
Update: 27/08/16 - After a spot by trebor, applied an automation fix for the rotation issue that means that this step is no longer necessary. See post 2 for quick link to V2/V3 firmware..
As I mentioned at the beginning, there are issues with some apps automatically rotating and this will cause the UI to crash until you ensure that they cannot auto rotate.
So click on the MyApp button, and navigate your way through the list of apps to settings (between Reboot and Speedtest).
Select it and then, on the first row of icons, select Display (you have to click on these icons twice) and then Screen Rotation.
The default set will be original, so select force land
When you select it, it will appear not to be chosen, with the little white dot not moving to that position. Go back one screen and then go back into it and you will see that it is selected.
You will now have no issues with the UI crashing from auto rotation (that is not to say that it might do so as you test other functionality)
Apps:
Some are there by default from the original firmware and some I have chosen because I believe they may have beneficial use but you can of course uninstall at leisure. I will talk about the ones that I have chosen and why.
Feedback:
Will there be bugs and glitches?
Of course there will be.
Will it crash more often than a Nicholas Cage movie?
You can bet on it.
Will I fix them? Highly unlikely unless I become aware of a solution that I can easily implement in the firmware.
Have I tested all features and know all bugs?
Of course not. Why would I possibly spoil all your fun and frustration? J
Feedback will primarily be useful to Acemax in order to know what does and does not function and what features could and should be implemented.
So don’t blame me if it doesn’t work as expected, your wife divorces you because you spend too much time with these things or the dog dies because you are so wrapped up that you forgot to feed it.
This is of course modded firmware and you can, should you wish, use the official Acemax firmwares located at https://mega.nz/#!59lF3CRJ!mLXmxLNwM..._zbE6_EQsTBgpQ (First Gen, no root) and https://mega.nz/#!xwVlUQCQ!str9Nd48_Tb3h-_yOxMuQasowKj8JO-jlF1XyTq4PeQ (Second Gen, rooted).
If you do choose to use the stock firmware, then please leave all comments and feedback on the official thread for this located at http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-support/amlogic-based-tv-players/s912/589215-acemax-m12n-smart-tv-box-amlogic-s912-octa-core
And finally.
I have enjoyed the fun had with the customisation tool used to produce this, along with loss of sleep, hair and sanity.
I am not prissy in any way about this being MY baby, so feel free to improve upon it yourself if you wish.
Just leave appropriate recompense through the usual (sniff) channels or I’ll send the boys round!
I’m off to finish my own video review using this very firmware and footage will be available in any Youtube Multiplex soon (book tickets early to guarantee disappointment) and Mr. Demille, I’m ready for my close-up now.
Enjoy
Gearbest.
29/08/2016 - V3 firmware now available. See post 2 for more details and download link.
Following tests on the 2 original manufacturers firmware’s, in order to satisfy what I believe will have been many a user’s requirement in terms of interface alone, I have created my first ever Modded ROM.
Two of the rather vital (in my opinion) things that were missing in the original firmware’s were the Navigation bar and the Notification Bar and there was a major issue with regards to some apps that would rotate 90 degrees and make them very difficult to use.
I’m not calling it a Custom ROM as these are the Domain of the far more talented real developers.
I have simply used a tool to allow the appropriate customisation to take place.
Thanks to some useful advice from prahjister and the fact that I have purloined his extremely vital app to cure audio clipping when playing AC3 and DTS, which are present in the S912 as was the case with the S905x.
Whilst I believe this firmware to be an improvement over the original, there are still going to be some issues that will require resolutions from the manufacturers, such as Adjust Display Refresh rate adjustment (called HDMI self-adaptation in the firmware), which does not work in the bundled Kodi or SPMC either.
You will require the following in order to flash the firmware to your box:
- The Acemax M12N
- The Acemax M12N ac adapter (plugged in to your wall socket of course)
- A Male A to Male A USB cable, an example of which (very cheap) is here https://tinyurl.com/za6fwk6
- A small screwdriver, long toothpick or similar to push into the back of the av port on the box to access the reset switch
- The USB Burning tool that you will need to install, available here https://mega.nz/#!7tZjlLwS
- The Modded firmware V3 (ACEMAX_M12N_MOD2_27082016.IMG) available here https://mega.nz/#!LtRVQRAJ!X07GoMMk-XJg6QG98p4ARR4xDZ_7NLRIKjb9xjaOdrU
- A PC running Windows (preferably 7, 8, 8.1 or 10)
- A little dexterity
- Patience
Not that anything is likely to affect external storage devices but as I have never flashed the firmware myself with any attached/inserted, best to take the belt and braces approach.
As is usual with all Modded/Custom firmware, USE ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK although I think that it is fair to say that it is extremely difficult to hard brick boxes these days.
So the procedure (once you have all elements downloaded and unzipped) is as follows:
- Install the USB burning tool and allow the associated driver to be installed (you may wish to reboot afterwards although I have not found it necessary).
- Fire up the burning tool, where you will initially find the interface in Chinese. Simply select the second menu item and select English from the resulting drop down menu.
- Select file, Import Image. Locate the firmware in the located that you downloaded it to and wait for the burning tool to check the validity of the image.
- There are two potential options that you may wish to consider at this point. If your box is connected to your TV/monitor and you want to flash the firmware and have the box automatically reset and start the process of loading up, then tick the reset after success box. If not then leave the defaults as they are.
- Click the start button. This will prepare the burning tool to flash as soon as the right connection is made between PC and box.
- Insert your USB cable into a port on your PC.
- If plugged in to the box, remove the ac adapter from it.
- Using your screwdriver. Toothpick, insert it into the av port located on the back of the box until you hear and feel the reset button being pressed in. KEEP IT PRESSED IN.
- Insert the other end of the USB cable into the USB port nearest to the AC port.
- Plug in the AC to the box and wait about 5 seconds before releasing the reset button.
- The burning tool interface will show a blue progress bar as the firmware is being flashed to the box.
- Once the firmware is flashed, if you have selected the option to reset after success then the box will reboot and start the process of loading. It will take 5 or 5 minutes before you see the main interface.
- If you have selected the defaults then unplug the USB cable, AC lead and plug the AC lead back in at your leisure to load the new firmware.
- You can then close the burning tool.
- If you see no progress bar then it is likely that you will have inadvertently released the reset switch whilst trying to plug in the other 2 cables (as I have done on a few occasions), so start the physical side of the process again.
Once you have completed the wizard, you will be presented with the default launcher but if you swipe upwards from the bottom of the screen then you will see that you have access to the navigation bar and the notification area will present itself across the top of the screen.
At this point though please wait another 5 minutes as in the background there will be a number of apps populating themselves.
Then there is a CRITICAL procedure that you have to perform before you start configuring your Android experience.
Update: 27/08/16 - After a spot by trebor, applied an automation fix for the rotation issue that means that this step is no longer necessary. See post 2 for quick link to V2/V3 firmware..
As I mentioned at the beginning, there are issues with some apps automatically rotating and this will cause the UI to crash until you ensure that they cannot auto rotate.
So click on the MyApp button, and navigate your way through the list of apps to settings (between Reboot and Speedtest).
Select it and then, on the first row of icons, select Display (you have to click on these icons twice) and then Screen Rotation.
The default set will be original, so select force land
When you select it, it will appear not to be chosen, with the little white dot not moving to that position. Go back one screen and then go back into it and you will see that it is selected.
You will now have no issues with the UI crashing from auto rotation (that is not to say that it might do so as you test other functionality)
Apps:
Some are there by default from the original firmware and some I have chosen because I believe they may have beneficial use but you can of course uninstall at leisure. I will talk about the ones that I have chosen and why.
- SuperSU. The firmware is pre-rooted (courtesy of Acemax, who’s second gen of firmware came like this) and requires no granting of privileges but I know that some users prefer to use SuperSU, so it is there should you wish to use it. Just run and follow the instructions via the normal route and after a reboot it will be active and request approval whenever an app needs root access.
- Nova launcher. Some, like myself prefer the good old plain style of launcher, rather than the fancy GUI, so why not have a choice of both to suit each taste? Nova is the most popular launcher out there, so was an obvious choice. You of course can choose from many more.
- No wallpaper. More of a self-indulgence as whenever I see a colourful background, I just want the nice plain and easy to see black.
- Speedtest. Idea taken from the S905x Frankenstein ROM and I thought it useful to have, especially when first testing and evaluating.
- SPMC. The Kodi fork what has had some AMLogic love thrown at it, so will be useful as an alternative to Kodi if results are not desired 9not to say that they will be here either).
- Terminal Emulator. Another from the Frankenstein ROM idea. Always useful to have for error diagnosis and fixes (use with caution and advice though if you are new to commend line style usage).
- Reboot. The best all round reboot program there is, courtesy of a fellow Freaktab Member, Petrus, so there was never going to be any other choice. Rebooting is not an option within the firmware itself, so very useful to have. Also allows booting to recovery.
- Universal Init.d - Another from the Frankenstein ROM idea. That may have benefits along the way for resolving issues and bugs that can be applied through scripts.
- Airdroid – There is no file transfer via USB cable with this box (at present at least), so you can use this to connect via WiFi to perform file transfers, along with other useful functions and is my favourite of this type of app.
- All In One Toolbox. A general junk clean-up and optimisation app. Always use to have one of these.
- ES File Explorer. Far more useful and versatile than the stock file browser and probably the most popular file manager out there.
- App Backup and restore. A very viable (and free) alternative to the paid for Titanium Backup. Easy to use and a fair degree of functionality IMO.
- Youtube TWICE? Yes, there is the standard version that we all know and love and the TV style version. 2 tubes are always better than one.
- WiFi ADB. As well as there being no file transfer via USB cable, there is also no ADB over cable either (or at least that is what I have found), so you can access this functionality over WiFi if and when required.
- MX Player - One of the best video players on the market should you require and alternative to Kodi/SPMC/Stock player.
- Passthrough Fix. As mentioned earlier, this is an app produced by prahjister to resolve clipping audio when playing AC3 and DTS streams when using passthrough but in order to utilise it correctly, you need to give the app storage permissions and a high level of priority. So the way I have configured it, is to first choose Nova Launcher (as least as a temporary measure), bring it on to the home screen, hold down on the icon and choose and select app info from the pop-up menu. Then select App Info as the choice (just once is fine). Then, from the next screen, select Permissions and use the slider to turn the permissions’ on. Go back a screen and select Notifications and slide on Treat as priority. Go back to the home screen and run the app, selecting reboot (you know what will happen next). This will allow the app to auto start and after a few seconds should play a sound (if you have activated HDMI passthrough in settings I believe) to indicate that it is active and running in the background. I have not tested this fully myself in this ROM but have found in earlier testing that it did work. When you test Kodi.
Feedback:
Will there be bugs and glitches?
Of course there will be.
Will it crash more often than a Nicholas Cage movie?
You can bet on it.
Will I fix them? Highly unlikely unless I become aware of a solution that I can easily implement in the firmware.
Have I tested all features and know all bugs?
Of course not. Why would I possibly spoil all your fun and frustration? J
Feedback will primarily be useful to Acemax in order to know what does and does not function and what features could and should be implemented.
So don’t blame me if it doesn’t work as expected, your wife divorces you because you spend too much time with these things or the dog dies because you are so wrapped up that you forgot to feed it.
This is of course modded firmware and you can, should you wish, use the official Acemax firmwares located at https://mega.nz/#!59lF3CRJ!mLXmxLNwM..._zbE6_EQsTBgpQ (First Gen, no root) and https://mega.nz/#!xwVlUQCQ!str9Nd48_Tb3h-_yOxMuQasowKj8JO-jlF1XyTq4PeQ (Second Gen, rooted).
If you do choose to use the stock firmware, then please leave all comments and feedback on the official thread for this located at http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-support/amlogic-based-tv-players/s912/589215-acemax-m12n-smart-tv-box-amlogic-s912-octa-core
And finally.
I have enjoyed the fun had with the customisation tool used to produce this, along with loss of sleep, hair and sanity.
I am not prissy in any way about this being MY baby, so feel free to improve upon it yourself if you wish.
Just leave appropriate recompense through the usual (sniff) channels or I’ll send the boys round!
I’m off to finish my own video review using this very firmware and footage will be available in any Youtube Multiplex soon (book tickets early to guarantee disappointment) and Mr. Demille, I’m ready for my close-up now.
Enjoy
Gearbest.
.gif "Peace Man"){kind=icon}
Comment