[ROM] Mecool M8S Pro L TVStock Nexus ROM (Android TV 7.1)

[Intrinsic]

You can use an external Hdd + Flud (I did that on my Mxq as well) and it works great. You need to use a USB hub to power the Hdd, and because of Android tv limitations, Flud can only write in its own folder it automatically creates on the external drive (this won't happen if you manage to install the custom Rom from this thread, where these limitations are overridden).
Browsing works ok, it can manage 4/5 tabs open without any issues but bear in mind that the user agent is set to Android and even when you switch it to desktop some sites will always be showed as in mobile mode.

Inviato dal mio Redmi Note 4 utilizzando Tapatalk

Thanks for this. Yh External HDD + Flud is great but wait;

You said something bout android TV limitations and Flud being only able to write to its own folder on external drive. Do you mean the internal 32GB drive or the the external HDD. So does that mean I can't just set the default download path in Flud to go straight to the external drive?

About the usb hub to power the drive? My external drive is of the 2TB USB powered drive. My intention was to have the USB fan I ordered with this box permanently connected to one of its USB ports and then the external drive to the other. Having said that I just realized this box only has two USB ports which means I won't be able to plug in my USB wireless keyboard......... ah well I guess I can just plug the USB fan to the back of my PS4pro which is currently next to where the box is supposed to go.

Thanks for the info on the browser, another question is what layout of chrome is the browser going to have? I currently have the layout that pretty much looks like it does on a PC (tabs above the address box) but was wondering if this one will have the layout that more closely resembles chrome on a mobile device (with a numbered tab icon next to the address box that expands when you click on it).

What can you say about the responsiveness...... currently on my 1GB mxq box there is usually like a 3-5 second delay going back to the home screen from nearly any app I am in; albeit this happens randomly but often enough to make me feel like the box is always struggling. And I constantly use the recents menu to esure that I have no more than 3 apps active at any time. Responsiveness is the primary reason I set out to buy an upgrade.

Thanks in advance.

[Intrinsic]

You are most likely going to get LB version.

Yes that seems more and more likely, being I just ordered this box from amazon on Tuesday and got it on Thursday....... well not quite got it yet; I stay in the Caribbeans but have an american forwarding address, so my stuff gets to the address in the states and is on a plane over here the next day. Now I am just waiting for the courier service to list my package as available for pickup on their website (which they should have done yesterday but apparently we are on island time )

So yh, definately most likely getting the LB version. Fingers crossed I don't. But the Stock Rom is rooted right? can't I just install a system app deleter and delete all the apps I don't want from the system too? It sucks though cause I can imagine a lot was done in this Rom to improve overall smoothness and responsiveness, two things that are of paramount importance to me.

[supermal]

Yes that seems more and more likely, being I just ordered this box from amazon on Tuesday and got it on Thursday....... well not quite got it yet; I stay in the Caribbeans but have an american forwarding address, so my stuff gets to the address in the states and is on a plane over here the next day. Now I am just waiting for the courier service to list my package as available for pickup on their website (which they should have done yesterday but apparently we are on island time )

So yh, definately most likely getting the LB version. Fingers crossed I don't. But the Stock Rom is rooted right? can't I just install a system app deleter and delete all the apps I don't want from the system too? It sucks though cause I can imagine a lot was done in this Rom to improve overall smoothness and responsiveness, two things that are of paramount importance to me.

What I did was buy mecool m8s pro with widevine L1 support and voice control cos it has original hardware.megandaz has done custom rom based on the mecool pro l box for it.

[mymo]

Thanks for this. Yh External HDD + Flud is great but wait;

You said something bout android TV limitations and Flud being only able to write to its own folder on external drive. Do you mean the internal 32GB drive or the the external HDD. So does that mean I can't just set the default download path in Flud to go straight to the external drive?

It means you can't choose the folder on the HDD, you can only download to external hdd/android/data/flud folder (I don't rember excactly the name of the folder but it's something along those lines)

About the usb hub to power the drive? My external drive is of the 2TB USB powered drive. My intention was to have the USB fan I ordered with this box permanently connected to one of its USB ports and then the external drive to the other. Having said that I just realized this box only has two USB ports which means I won't be able to plug in my USB wireless keyboard......... ah well I guess I can just plug the USB fan to the back of my PS4pro which is currently next to where the box is supposed to go.

If your hdd is powered then you won't need a Usb hub, but as you noticed, the box has only 2 USB ports.

Thanks for the info on the browser, another question is what layout of chrome is the browser going to have? I currently have the layout that pretty much looks like it does on a PC (tabs above the address box) but was wondering if this one will have the layout that more closely resembles chrome on a mobile device (with a numbered tab icon next to the address box that expands when you click on it).

I don't use Chrome, but the layout is the same as though you were ruining chrome on a tablet in landscape mode.

What can you say about the responsiveness...... currently on my 1GB mxq box there is usually like a 3-5 second delay going back to the home screen from nearly any app I am in; albeit this happens randomly but often enough to make me feel like the box is always struggling. And I constantly use the recents menu to esure that I have no more than 3 apps active at any time. Responsiveness is the primary reason I set out to buy an upgrade.

Thanks in advance.

I can't give you a ballpark as to responsiveness, but you would immediately notice that this box is way way faster than the Mxq.

[Appys]

When folks talk abt nodding, what sorta modding will make a WiFi dongle work with this... Since mine shipped with the dead wifi..

[Intrinsic]

It means you can't choose the folder on the HDD, you can only download to external hdd/android/data/flud folder (I don't rember excactly the name of the folder but it's something along those lines)

Thanks for all the info...

So basically you are saying that I would only be able to save data on the internal storage of the device using Flud due to the android TV limitations?

Flud does have an option within it to move downloaded data to a set directory after the download finishes which I am hoping would let me circumvent this. That way I can just set the move path to the external HDD. Unless these limitations you speak of will also prevent that. I doubt though cause in that instance Flud would be acting as nothing more than a file manager app.

[mymo]

Thanks for all the info...

So basically you are saying that I would only be able to save data on the internal storage of the device using Flud due to the android TV limitations?

Flud does have an option within it to move downloaded data to a set directory after the download finishes which I am hoping would let me circumvent this. That way I can just set the move path to the external HDD. Unless these limitations you speak of will also prevent that. I doubt though cause in that instance Flud would be acting as nothing more than a file manager app.

No, I never said Flud can't write on your external Hdd.

Upon connecting your Hdd to the box, and after starting Flud, it will create its own folder named Android/data/com.delphicoder.flud on your EXTERNAL DRIVE. This will be the ONLY folder where Android TV ALLOWS Flud to download its torrents to. There's no way to "circumvent" this unless you install a custom rom.

Rest assured that you can write/delete any folder on your box's internal drive.

Inviato dal mio Redmi Note 4 utilizzando Tapatalk

[Intrinsic]

No, I never said Flud can't write on your external Hdd.

Upon connecting your Hdd to the box, and after starting Flud, it will create its own folder named Android/data/com.delphicoder.flud on your EXTERNAL DRIVE. This will be the ONLY folder where Android TV ALLOWS Flud to download its torrents to. There's no way to "circumvent" this unless you install a custom rom.

Rest assured that you can write/delete any folder on your box's internal drive.

Inviato dal mio Redmi Note 4 utilizzando Tapatalk

Oh, in that case thats kinda exactly what I want it to do. As long as Flud sees my external HDD as its primary download location I am fine with it.


Off to town to go pick up my box. Hopefully its not the LB variant.

[Intrinsic]

Been messing about with the box for a while now.... all I can say is damn! This is a world of difference coming from a 1GB 4yr old box. Everythig is working smoothly so far, unfortunately I have the LB version but ah well... what can I do right? need a quick fix for a little nagging issue. I use an external keyboard, typing on it as you read.... but I can't seem to get the virtual keyboard to not pop up everytime I enter a text box. Any Ideas?

[mymo]

Been messing about with the box for a while now.... all I can say is damn! This is a world of difference coming from a 1GB 4yr old box. Everythig is working smoothly so far, unfortunately I have the LB version but ah well... what can I do right? need a quick fix for a little nagging issue. I use an external keyboard, typing on it as you read.... but I can't seem to get the virtual keyboard to not pop up everytime I enter a text box. Any Ideas?

Install External Keyboard Helper

[Intrinsic]

Install External Keyboard Helper

wow that was a quick fix...... now onto my next issue. while the keyboard no longer shows up after I enabled it in settings, i still can't get things like my enter button to work to like start a new paragrapgh. And whats the best recommended browser to use, I am using chrome now but it doesn't seem to have a tablet and I can't right click (long press to open in new tab or copy and paste.

[Intrinsic]

ok had to come back to the default keyboard, no option to hit enter when I use keyborad helper or even null keyboard to get rid of the keyboard. This is getting frustrating...... ↵

I have figured out how to create a space for a paragragh..... has nothing to do with the enter button. So basicaly this is like using a keyboar without an enter button. When I het enter whereever is highlighted on the virtual keyboard is selected, and if I don't have the virtual keyboard I can't select "done" or confirm that Iok had to come back

Another weird thing, the Rom is saying I am outpitting at 4k, my Tv input info provider is saying its 4k.... but I can't even see the 4k option in the youtube app, and aida64 is listing my display as 1080p.

[Intrinsic]

Still need help with the general keyboard behaviour and one or two other things.

My usage scenario is this, have it connected to a 4k TV, while constantly sitting on a USB fan (highest temp I have got during sustained use is around 53C) and an external keyboard that has its own trackpack (Microsoft media keyboard/full sized), its super smooth and no hiccups. I use it for pretty much everything. Streaming live TV, watching TV shows and movies from my private library (prefer downloading them than streaming them cause I can download at 2160p but streaming at that rez is too much for my internet speed) and lastly web browsing.


The issue with the keyboard is that while its relatively easy making it not showup (there is even an option in the settings to hide kee actions. This is even worse being that you also can't long press on linkes to enable the context menu which lets you open them in new tab. Wierd being that the very same chrome browser which I used on my previous 4yr old box didn't have any of these issues.

Lastly, something else I noticed. Using apps like DPI Changer, you can safely mess around with the DPI (and resolution) of the device. Weird thing is that the device is listed within i to say 440dpi.that app (as it is in aida64) as a 1080p device. Now this gets interesting. If you cange the resolution within that app to 2160. The box actually truly starts outputting at native 4k. And other apps start seeing it as a 4k box instead of 1080p. Everything on the screen becomes pretty small but still super sharp, the web browser ends up having actually tabs and not a tab "icon" and looks even etter than how it does on a PC. And you can make things more elligible by simply using the same app to now increase its DPI from the stock 320dp

The side effects..... I don't know the details, but there is some sort of range the dpi must be in relation to whatever resolution you choose (you can even set it at 1440p). Think of it as low dpi = more things on screen and enabling the tablet UI in browsers and smaller onscreen keyboard vs high dpi = looks more like what you see out of the box. Now if you go too low and pass that "range", while everything still works you lose the "hold home on the remote for recents", actually you loose the recents menu period. At too high a rez (2160p) coupled with too low a dpi everything still works but then you start seeing UI glitches. Its not performance related its more like the device is just not scaling properly.

[Intrinsic]

What is needed here is an app specific DPI changer. here is the breakdown of DPI behaviour.
Stock ROM outputs at 4k (if selected) but still scales system UI and apps at 1080p max. Its stock values are 1080p@320dpi. This is why even in youtube and if playing a 4k video the nerd stats will show you having a viewport of 1080p*2. If you set the rez in an app like dpi switcher to 2160p then go to youtube (and any other app for that matter) youtube will show you a viewport on 4k videos of 3840*2160 as it should be. but the downside of this is that if your DPI isn't set in a way that matches the system UI defaults then you lose functionality like the recents menu.

[supermal]

Still need help with the general keyboard behaviour and one or two other things.

My usage scenario is this, have it connected to a 4k TV, while constantly sitting on a USB fan (highest temp I have got during sustained use is around 53C) and an external keyboard that has its own trackpack (Microsoft media keyboard/full sized), its super smooth and no hiccups. I use it for pretty much everything. Streaming live TV, watching TV shows and movies from my private library (prefer downloading them than streaming them cause I can download at 2160p but streaming at that rez is too much for my internet speed) and lastly web browsing.


The issue with the keyboard is that while its relatively easy making it not showup (there is even an option in the settings to hide kee actions. This is even worse being that you also can't long press on linkes to enable the context menu which lets you open them in new tab. Wierd being that the very same chrome browser which I used on my previous 4yr old box didn't have any of these issues.

Lastly, something else I noticed. Using apps like DPI Changer, you can safely mess around with the DPI (and resolution) of the device. Weird thing is that the device is listed within i to say 440dpi.that app (as it is in aida64) as a 1080p device. Now this gets interesting. If you cange the resolution within that app to 2160. The box actually truly starts outputting at native 4k. And other apps start seeing it as a 4k box instead of 1080p. Everything on the screen becomes pretty small but still super sharp, the web browser ends up having actually tabs and not a tab "icon" and looks even etter than how it does on a PC. And you can make things more elligible by simply using the same app to now increase its DPI from the stock 320dp

The side effects..... I don't know the details, but there is some sort of range the dpi must be in relation to whatever resolution you choose (you can even set it at 1440p). Think of it as low dpi = more things on screen and enabling the tablet UI in browsers and smaller onscreen keyboard vs high dpi = looks more like what you see out of the box. Now if you go too low and pass that "range", while everything still works you lose the "hold home on the remote for recents", actually you loose the recents menu period. At too high a rez (2160p) coupled with too low a dpi everything still works but then you start seeing UI glitches. Its not performance related its more like the device is just not scaling properly.

my previous 4yr old box didn't have any of these issues.probably because it was not android tv rom.chrome is not available on atv playstore.you had to sideload it?thats why you are having issues.chrome is not fully compatible with atv.same reason you have issues with keyboard and any other app that is not google approved.im sure you will work around these issues.not as easy as you thought maybe.best of luck and thanks for keeping us all informed.it all helps.atv is like marmite.you love it or hate it.lol.