Sunvell T95U - PRO Android 6.0 TV Box

[pot404]

Look in programs on the kodi home screen.

[Ricey155]

Read further down the thread you need to delete the pre installed file with root explorer I've talked about it as had same issue !M

Why do we have to put up with persistent bloatware on this TV box? I mean that you uninstall stuff, like Sky Live, MobDro, Show Box, etc., etc. and it just reappears after the next reboot. How sh!t is that?

I've been looking for a free solution for this nonsense and eventually came upon App Freeze. Yes it is a bit crude and unpolished, but it does stop this junk from running and yes, it is persistent across reboots.

Note that freezing apps is not the same as uninstalling them. If you uninstall one of the apps that you have previously frozen, then it will magically re-incarnate itself like a pheonix from the ashes and you will need to re-freeze it to get rid !

Sent from Xiaomi MiPad 1

[Teddybee]

My media player hass arrived today, but I am not quite pleased with it. The videos are very blurry with it. I tried to play them with kodi 16.1 and 17 b7 also.
Some said I should disabled the amlogic codec, but that didn't help.
Somebody has an idea about that?

[Ricey155]

Very weird mines spot on ! Have you updated it ? Might make a difference first thing I did.

Sent from Xiaomi MiPad 1

[Yemble]

My media player hass arrived today, but I am not quite pleased with it. The videos are very blurry with it. I tried to play them with kodi 16.1 and 17 b7 also.
Some said I should disabled the amlogic codec, but that didn't help.
Somebody has an idea about that?

This is not a great way to ask for help since you have provided absolutely no information to go on!

The T95U is an excellent streaming box and it performs flawlessly providing that it has been set up properly, which yours obviously has not.

Now come the questions for the info that you should have provided in your post...

1) Have you upgraded to the latest firmware?
2) What device are you connecting to and how are you connecting? For example, I am connecting to a Denon X2000 AVR via HDMI. My AVR connects to my Panasonic plasma TV via HDMI as well.
3) Have you configured the Kodi device settings? For example, I have my Audio set for 7.1 channels with DTS and pass through enabled because I am connecting to an AVR.
4) When you first boot the box, how sharp is the logo screen and how good is the sound quality (both should be top notch)?
5) Are you streaming on 1Gbit Ethernet, or via WiFi (bad idea)? What is your ISP bandwidth?
6) What videos are you watching and where are you getting them from? I suggest that you install the Exodus add-on and then try playing one of the latest movie releases. These are almost all 1080p and give superb video playback and audio. Older films can be of variable quality depending upon when they were last ripped. Film quality on Kodi is comparable to the quality of the equivalent uTorrent download.
7) Kodi 17 is the way to go and the AmLogic CODEC thing is a non-issue for me. I have not disabled it as my box is performing perfectly.
8) I strongly advise you to subscribe to IpVanish to maintain your on-line anonymity.

Note that blurry playback may well be due to a sub-standard, or broken, HDMI cable. If everything else checks out, then I would suggest replacing the cable with a decent quality one.

[Teddybee]

Sorry, so the details:
Yes, I got the latest fw by factory, 006 the end.
I used only the hdmi cable from the box, directly plug into a samsung fullhd tv. The sound quality is good, I use the analog output. Video sources are blu-ray and 4K samples that I used to test my older players.
The player connected via gigabit ethernet.
I used a clean kodi install, not set anything on it except I tried to disable the amcodec, which I think is not disabled as very big bitrate 4K x265 samples still played smoothly... (sony camp)
Maybe it is the cable, but on the UI everything is sharp and clean, that's why the codec is suspicious for me... Or maybe my tv don't like as much the player, its a 7 year old samsung with hdmi 1.4.
I had an S905 player which was sharp.

P.S.: I have tested the same videos from PC (normal mpc-hc, no extra filter) and definitely my Sunwell is washing the picture. The little details are gone(little rocks in the ground, film grain), even the 4K logo in the top right corner was not as sharp as with PC.

P.S 2.: I changed the cable, the result is the same. I think its some kind of android 6 "feature", looks like as a font smoothing filter on windows(only the neighbour pixels are affected, smoother edges, but thus some details are gone and the films looks not so top quality as mainly they are).

[Yemble]

Sorry, so the details:
Yes, I got the latest fw by factory, 006 the end.
I used only the hdmi cable from the box, directly plug into a samsung fullhd tv. The sound quality is good, I use the analog output. Video sources are blu-ray and 4K samples that I used to test my older players.
The player connected via gigabit ethernet.
I used a clean kodi install, not set anything on it except I tried to disable the amcodec, which I think is not disabled as very big bitrate 4K x265 samples still played smoothly... (sony camp)
Maybe it is the cable, but on the UI everything is sharp and clean, that's why the codec is suspicious for me... Or maybe my tv don't like as much the player, its a 7 year old samsung with hdmi 1.4.
I had an S905 player which was sharp.

P.S.: I have tested the same videos from PC (normal mpc-hc, no extra filter) and definitely my Sunwell is washing the picture. The little details are gone(little rocks in the ground, film grain), even the 4K logo in the top right corner was not as sharp as with PC.

P.S 2.: I changed the cable, the result is the same. I think its some kind of android 6 "feature", looks like as a font smoothing filter on windows(only the neighbour pixels are affected, smoother edges, but thus some details are gone and the films looks not so top quality as mainly they are).

Definitely try a different cable, as the one supplied is not exactly "professional grade". The only other thing I can suggest is trying a different port into the TV. I have noticed on my Samsung TVs, of a similar age to yours, that not all of the HDMI ports are created equal, especially when it comes to connecting computers. Also, there may be some picture tuning options on the TV itself. I am not sure how relevant the HDMI level is. My Panasonic TV is well over a decade old, but my AVR is only two years old.

We may, of course just have a different perspective of what "blurry" actually means. I only have a blu-ray player to compare it against, but I don't expect streamed content from the Internet to surpass the quality of a blu-ray disk. The 1080p movies that I have streamed have all been sharp, smooth and perfectably acceptable, but then I am coming from a background of downloading movies from uTorrent. Out expectations of what a £50 streaming appliance should be capable of may well differ somewhat!

It is also possible that my AVR is processing the stream data prior to sending it on to the TV (it is a very capable amp).

The most confusing thing is why a S912 device would perform worse than a S905 device, that makes no sense if they are cabled and configured in an identical fashion, connected to the same TV on the same port.

I doubt that is relevant, but I am running F/W 0005

[tv99]

Hi,
I bought a Sunvell t95u pro.

So far pretty pleased but there are some basics that are hard to find, even spent time finding my way here.

Is this the support forum for this product, or do it even have one?
When it comes to firmware, it was installed with v02 and I see in this thread a reference to v05, but the thing is a major bug that are present from what I read/experience is green bars at times when playing material.
As far as I can tell that is fixed in v06 and it might even be a v07 out as well?
Where do I find either v06 or v07 if that fix even more stuff I guess?

I do not seam to be able to find basic guides for upgrading installation/firmware, but puzzled from many post at least how to upgrade to v05 via usb.

The "UPDATE&BACKUP" software can not see any OTA even at v02, and there is at least a v05 to be had.
I thought that upgrading to v05 would make that software to actually do OTA instead of error messages that server could not be found, that is via OTA see the v06 update.

Is there a apk with a actually OTA working "UPDATE&BACKUP" software that detects anything that can be downloaded?

Is there a guide step by step how to use the "USB_Burning_Tool" and what is the latest version and where do I find that?
From what I puzzled after spending loads of hours it seams like using that tool wrong might wipe mac address but I guess I would get a clean working/box slate doing a update using the tool than via USB and the "UPDATE&BACKUP" tool that do retain what been done/on already.
That is maybe get a v05 version of "BACKUP&UPDATE" that might pick up the much needed v06 at least via OTA.


I hope some one could answer this, and maybe I am at the wrong place all together and Sunvell actually do have some own support facilities, if so please post a link there.

Otherwise I hope for some help and answers to the stuff above, which I will condense down here:

1) Is there a v06 and maybe a v07 to be find, it seams like v06 is of high value.
2) Is there a working version of "UPDATE&BACKUP" that actually do check online and works to pull down updates?
3) Is this where the info. is to be had and discussed on this product, or do Sunvell have a own site, preferably on English.
4) Is there a guide to how to use the "USB_Burning_Tool" and would that give me a pristine box?
5) Where can I find the latest version of "USB_Burning_Tool"?
6) Where can I find and manually download v06 at least now when OTA does not see it on either v02 or v05.


Regards,
Tomas

Edit in,
4.1) Will I using "USB_Burning_Tool" on the in thread earlier v05 package get the t95u pro back with the pre-installed stuff, and repo's? or are the v02 stuff gone for ever? if so how can I get that back?
7) The pre-installed app "Kodi Update" is that a pure Kodi base install, or does it contain anything extra?

[Yemble]

Hi,
I bought a Sunvell t95u pro.

So far pretty pleased but there are some basics that are hard to find, even spent time finding my way here.

Is this the support forum for this product, or do it even have one?
When it comes to firmware, it was installed with v02 and I see in this thread a reference to v05, but the thing is a major bug that are present from what I read/experience is green bars at times when playing material.
As far as I can tell that is fixed in v06 and it might even be a v07 out as well?
Where do I find either v06 or v07 if that fix even more stuff I guess?

I do not seam to be able to find basic guides for upgrading installation/firmware, but puzzled from many post at least how to upgrade to v05 via usb.

The "UPDATE&BACKUP" software can not see any OTA even at v02, and there is at least a v05 to be had.
I thought that upgrading to v05 would make that software to actually do OTA instead of error messages that server could not be found, that is via OTA see the v06 update.

Is there a apk with a actually OTA working "UPDATE&BACKUP" software that detects anything that can be downloaded?

Is there a guide step by step how to use the "USB_Burning_Tool" and what is the latest version and where do I find that?
From what I puzzled after spending loads of hours it seams like using that tool wrong might wipe mac address but I guess I would get a clean working/box slate doing a update using the tool than via USB and the "UPDATE&BACKUP" tool that do retain what been done/on already.
That is maybe get a v05 version of "BACKUP&UPDATE" that might pick up the much needed v06 at least via OTA.


I hope some one could answer this, and maybe I am at the wrong place all together and Sunvell actually do have some own support facilities, if so please post a link there.

Otherwise I hope for some help and answers to the stuff above, which I will condense down here:

1) Is there a v06 and maybe a v07 to be find, it seams like v06 is of high value.
2) Is there a working version of "UPDATE&BACKUP" that actually do check online and works to pull down updates?
3) Is this where the info. is to be had and discussed on this product, or do Sunvell have a own site, preferably on English.
4) Is there a guide to how to use the "USB_Burning_Tool" and would that give me a pristine box?
5) Where can I find the latest version of "USB_Burning_Tool"?
6) Where can I find and manually download v06 at least now when OTA does not see it on either v02 or v05.


Regards,
Tomas

Edit in,
4.1) Will I using "USB_Burning_Tool" on the in thread earlier v05 package get the t95u pro back with the pre-installed stuff, and repo's? or are the v02 stuff gone for ever? if so how can I get that back?
7) The pre-installed app "Kodi Update" is that a pure Kodi base install, or does it contain anything extra?

v05 is the latest update posted here (and the one that I am running), although there may be a v06 somewhere in the ether. The v05 ROM posted in the firmware section of FreakTab can be applied directly from a formatted USB stick (FAT32) as part of the boot-up process. It does not need any pre-preparation, other than copying the files onto the root folder of the USB stick. Note that I could not get this update to work from a microSD card!

From the Kodi 17 POV, it works perfectly for me using HDMI into a Denon AVR, with 7.1 and DTS pass-through. I've never seen any green bars!

My gripes are with the Android ROM...

1) OTA does not work and the UPDATE&BACKUP program reports a server error if you attempt to run OTA manually.
2) Although SU works, it is not visible to the OS and cannot be upgraded via PlayStore. It cannot upgrade the SU binary.
3) The bloatware supplied with the OS cannot be de-installed, it can only be frozen. If de-installed, it reappears by itself.
4) There is no TWRP for this device. The supplied Recovery is "mysterious" !
5) The Android task bar is missing some useful icons, compared to other TV boxes. This can be mitigated to some degree with utility apps from PlayStore.
6) There is no manufacturer support site. All that you have available is here, on FreakTab.
7) The pre-installed Kodi is v16 and is fully loaded with cr@p. However, at least it can be de-installed and replaced with a fresh v17, which you can configure to your personal tastes. That Kodi Update app is NOT official and should be removed (frozen) IMHO. Better to sign up as a Kodi beta tester on PlayStore and get your application updates that way.

BTW, if you haven't already, then treat yourself to a mini wireless keyboard, such as the RiiTek Rii-8i+. The supplied remote should then be confined to the bin, where it belongs !

[tv99]

@Yemble,
Thank you very much for taking the time to answer, I did figure out the USB v02 to v05 using a old 8gb usb memory for "safety" and that worked but thanks again.

Maybe some info. that might be useful for you,
I am now using spmc instead, which looks exactly like kodi if you start up with change the skin as first task.
It does have more low level settings and IMO. after using it so far works better and are more stable.
Can be installed in parallel with kodi with no issues.
Also have had no green stuff with it so far.
On top of that manouver it with a bluetooth mouse works flawlessly,
With v05 + spmc it performance is good and I am happy, but as a "nerd" I would like to have those missing puzzle bit's
Also I will as you have suggested try v17 of kodi as well and see how that "feels".

Do you know if whitin current win8 launcher you can change big kodi button to in my case spmc, or a apk that can modify the win8 conf?
Searched on the subject but did not really find anything.

-tv99

[Teddybee]

Yesterday the Kodi 17 rc1 was out. My only problem I can't install the armv8a version of it. Is it fw related issue?
In theory the Amlogic s912 is armv8 64 bit...

[Yemble]

Yesterday the Kodi 17 rc1 was out. My only problem I can't install the armv8a version of it. Is it fw related issue?
In theory the Amlogic s912 is armv8 64 bit...

Yes, I fell into the same trap assuming that because the CPU is 64bit, then so should the OS and Kodi. Unfortunately this is not the case as the OS is only 32bit as are all of the apps, so you should be installing the ARMv7A version of Kodi. However, the smartest way to install Kodi v17 is via the PlayStore beta tester programme and let it determine the correct APK to install.

[scooter2014]

Yes would be nice to have 64 bit for a 64 bit chip broken record ill shut up now lmao.

[Teddybee]

I really miss the play/pause buttons from the remote, also it doesn't work over hdmi-cec of my tv's remote. Could somebody explain how to remap the blue keys on the transceiver for that or get it work over hdmi?

[Yemble]

I really miss the play/pause buttons from the remote, also it doesn't work over hdmi-cec of my tv's remote. Could somebody explain how to remap the blue keys on the transceiver for that or get it work over hdmi?

The T95U is pretty much unusable with the standard remote. You really need to invest in a wireless keypad, such as the Rii 8i+, which, with some minor tweaks works well with both the OS and Kodi. If you want to use a remote, then a universal remote, such as the Logitech Harmony One is the way to go. I programmed my Harmony with a Sunvell template from the Harmony DB, however, the control codes were incorrect, so I then had to re-learn each command from the original remote. It works well, but I only really use it for starting up and shutting down the T95U. I use the Rii 8i+ for all other operations.

I find that HDMI-CEC gets in the way and can easily confuse the remote... so I turn it off in the OS settings. The problem is that the T95U, to the best of my knowledge, only has a power toggle function, rather than dedicated power on and power off functions.

I've switched to the SuperCeleron ROM now, but that has an issue with the power functions. With this ROM, it is necessary to modify the remote power command to be "PowerToggle" + "OK" + "OK".