Minix Neo X7 - Finless 1.6 ROM - with overclock and frame skipping fix!

[Maerlin]

I had a similar problem. When trying to use the ps3 controller to play a N64 emulator there was a slight lag, it wasn´t much but way to much to be playing Supersmash bros. The big problem was that the bluetooth signal was bad and fell out.
I did some research and found out that the problem is that the ps3 needs an enhanced data rate to send signals. So what the ps3 controller app does, is that it modifies the existing BT reciever in your device to recieve signals from the ps3 controller at a higher data rate. My guess is that when doing so the range get shortened. Normally that would not be a problem as the app is made for phones and tablets, where the distance between the controller and device would be short. But when used in a Android mini-pc where you might want to sit in your sofa, the range becomes to short and therefore it lags and does not work properly. A solution is to get hold of a CSR 2.x/EDR Bluetooth dongle (like this one: http://dx.com/p/ultra-mini-bluetooth-2-1-edr-usb-2-0-dongle-37665 ) and later match the MAC address of the dongle and controller, and then use the USB/BT joystick center app.
I have ordered the dongle and will try it out.

source: http://jaredmorgs.github.io/#FAQ_PS3_Sixaxis

The bluetooth laggyness is gone, I didn't have the external antenna attached. It's the USB power that's giving me a lot of headaches. My airmouse (Tronsmart TSM-01) is really laggy on the X7 when connected to its USB ports. Connected to a PC is quite fine.
I'm going to try with an extension cable or a HUB and see what happens.

[Batfink32]

Re: Minix Neo X7 - Finless 1.6 ROM - with overclock and frame skipping fix!

The bluetooth laggyness is gone, I didn't have the external antenna attached. It's the USB power that's giving me a lot of headaches. My airmouse (Tronsmart TSM-01) is really laggy on the X7 when connected to its USB ports. Connected to a PC is quite fine.
I'm going to try with an extension cable or a HUB and see what happens.

Strange, my mele F10pro and wireless mouse connected to USB is fine, no lag at all.

Sent from my Firefly V65 using Tapatalk 4

[Mr Dasher]

Hi,

I'm on Finless ROM 1.6 with kernel 720 CPU1800/GPU600/DDR720. I was looking at the dynamic table all the 4 CPUs frequencies, and noticed that 99% of the time the CPU feess are at 1200MHz. Even after watching hours of demanding 1080P movies, I saw that the CPUs were at 1800MHz only 0.40% of the time and even less time at 1608MHz (0.02%).

Had to air these thoughts and open it to discussion. Any comments?

I agree. I have posted similar thoughts in this topic. My solution is to always run it in performance mode. I am sensitive to only have the X7 running while I am actually watching a video.

[Maerlin]

Strange, my mele F10pro and wireless mouse connected to USB is fine, no lag at all.

Sent from my Firefly V65 using Tapatalk 4

I'm quite sure the problem is dealt with. I moved the USB reciever with an extension cable (as suggested by phjanderson), away from my router and NAS. The airmouse is quite smooth now, maybe something was creating interference. Poor shielding in the Minix / Airmouse reciever..?

[diegocaxudo]

Hi, has anybody tried the minix a2 air mouse/keyboard?

[Batfink32]

Re: Minix Neo X7 - Finless 1.6 ROM - with overclock and frame skipping fix!

I agree. I have posted similar thoughts in this topic. My solution is to always run it in performance mode. I am sensitive to only have the X7 running while I am actually watching a video.

It runs super fast on performance governor.

Sent from my Firefly V65 using Tapatalk 4

[Trhuster]

Hi, has anybody tried the minix a2 air mouse/keyboard?

I have A2 and it is a really good airmouse imo. But for me somthing is broken with A2 and X7, it stops working all the time and the only way to get it working againg is to pull usb dongle and plug it in again. But i don't se many complains over this so i guess somthing is wrong with either my A2 or X7.

A2 for me works perfect with MK808, never stops working.

[gswiatl]

It runs super fast on performance governor.

Sent from my Firefly V65 using Tapatalk 4

Nice. On which ROM/kernel?

[bobbevisje]

gameloft games crash

hello im having an problem with gameloft games they all crash when i start them up, im using finless 1.6 on my neo x7 , i hope you can help me grtz bobbe

[kolmanb]

Hi

I used all kernels 1080p and all my image is not clear cube. watch and direct channels of HD IPTV (udp :/ / @ .......) with MX player and HW decoding.
Are there any solutions for smooth playback.
greetings

[Batfink32]

Re: Minix Neo X7 - Finless 1.6 ROM - with overclock and frame skipping fix!

Nice. On which ROM/kernel?

Finless 1.6 1080p, 1800, 600gpu, 700ddr.

Sent from my Firefly V65 using Tapatalk 4

[Maerlin]

Anyone has a clue why in Archos Video Player:

- MKV Plays flawlessly, no lag, no stutter in any condition
- AVI / MP4 Plays flawlessly only when the mouse is visible on screen, as soon as it goes in standby (mouse pointer not visible) the image starts to stutter (or microstutter) and it's clearly not smooth anymore

Kernel: 1080P 1800CPU 600GPU 800DDR
Tried Avatar 1080P BRRip (12G), Lord of the Rings 1080P BRRip (12G) for MKVs.
Tried some episodes of The Big Bang Theory, The IT Crowd and Supernatural for AVI.

Thanks!

[gswiatl]

Finless 1.6 1080p, 1800, 600gpu, 700ddr.

Sent from my Firefly V65 using Tapatalk 4

My point is that you can achieve similar performance with non OC kernel by using a CPU governor at performance level. Given that we can't monitor the GPU and DDR performance as easy as we can do for CPU (and verify that they are not bottlenecks), this needs to be tested and verified. I will find the time to test a non OC kernel with a performance CPU governor. If someone else can do the same, it will be great.

[phjanderson]

Hi,

I'm on Finless ROM 1.6 with kernel 720 CPU1800/GPU600/DDR720. I was looking at the dynamic table all the 4 CPUs frequencies, and noticed that 99% of the time the CPUs are at 1200MHz. Even after watching hours of demanding 1080P movies, I saw that the CPUs were at 1800MHz only 0.40% of the time and even less time at 1608MHz (0.02%). There is a big difference in performance between the stock ROM/kernel and this ROM/kernel. I also see that during the play of those demanding 1080P movies, via XBMC, the CPU usage goes up to 20% very rarely and average is less than 10%. This got me thinking that the X7 platform has a lot of headroom, which doesn't seem to be reflected in the stock ROMs performance. Maybe the CPU governing in the stock kernel is not doing a good job? Maybe just limiting the stock kernel to minimum of 1200MHz can make it do better job than with allowing it to go down to 300MHz? Maybe the change in frequencies in the stock ROM is reacting too slowly to the dynamic demands of decoding fast, highly encoded videos? Maybe the Rockchip SDK, which is derived from Phones/Tablets need a totally different CPU governing regime?

Had to air these thoughts and open it to discussion. Any comments?

The frequency tables are based on extensive testing (thanks to all the testers!). Indeed the frequency scaling in the stock rom seems to be causing trouble with 1080p video playback. There are several aspects: the interactive CPU frequency governor is set to be quite conservative, there's the lag between heavy load and actually detecting the necessity to ramp up, etc. The lower limit of 1200mhz and less intermediate steps were chosen to reduce bouncing between frequencies and increase the minimum performance to a level more suitable for regular tasks. I also tried setting the interactive governor to be more aggressive but that was less effective than these limited frequency range tables.

I haven't actually measured the difference in power usage between 312 and 1200mhz, but I suspect it will be marginal for a mains powered device. At least the difference in heat production seems marginal on my devices.

[pawnslinger]

Anyone has a clue why in Archos Video Player:

- MKV Plays flawlessly, no lag, no stutter in any condition
- AVI / MP4 Plays flawlessly only when the mouse is visible on screen, as soon as it goes in standby (mouse pointer not visible) the image starts to stutter (or microstutter) and it's clearly not smooth anymore

Kernel: 1080P 1800CPU 600GPU 800DDR
Tried Avatar 1080P BRRip (12G), Lord of the Rings 1080P BRRip (12G) for MKVs.
Tried some episodes of The Big Bang Theory, The IT Crowd and Supernatural for AVI.

Thanks!

I don't use Archos, so my comments will vary.

I have noticed audio stutter in XBMC. The video continues to play smoothly (if any is playing). The audio stutter is usually most evident when playing mp3 files while on the home screen of XBMC. But goes away entirely while viewing the file list or play list screens. How very odd.

Also, for some unknown reason, probably a bug in XBMC, "High" profile mp4's, even low bitrate videos, cause the playing progress meter to not progress. It stays nailed to 00:00 thru out the normal playback. But "Main" or lower profile mp4's play without issue (irregardless of size or bitrate). It should be noted, to get proper performance from XBMC, I am using a Nightly build, which is "alpha" and more prone to bugginess.