Links

Downloads

Q: Firmware updates on first boot? The 120 may update itself to the latest firmware on first connection to the internet. This may require two downloads and two reboots. If you do not wish to update to the latest firmware you can safely turn updates off by going to the 'Upgrade' app and unchecking automatic updates.

Q: Which version of Android XBMC should I install? Which is best?
A: The latest firmware has XBMC 12.0 Frodo with Amlogic hardware video decoding pre-installed. We recommend sticking with this version. If you want to try other Android XBMC versions then any NEON version of Android XBMC can be installed, but the 120 uses an Amlogic chipset so if you want to take advantage of HD video playback then you should install a version with Amlogic hardware video decoding enabled. This means a version built for Amlogic hardware. An Amlogic build of 12.0 Frodo is here, or you can use the versions built for the Pivos or Jynxbox players. This page contains a list of all recent builds including the Amlogic (Pivos) builds.

Q: How to install Android XBMC?
A: Download a .apk from the link above using the Android browser, navigate to it's location in the File Manager app, and then select the .apk. It will install exactly like any other App from Play Store (Play Store is just an index of .apk files itself).

Q: More questions about XBMC Android?
A: The official XBMC Android FAQ is here: http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=XBMC_for_Android_specific_FAQ.

Q: 5.1 channel HD-audio (DTS/Dolby Digital) passthrough in XBMC Android?
A: Android XBMC is set to downmix to stereo by default. In XBMC, go to Settings-System-Audio and change the speakers setting to 5.1 and toggle the Dolby Digital / DTS capable receiver options on.

Q: How to use the on-screen keyboard with the remote?
A: Go to Settings-Language&input-KEYBOARD AND INPUT SETTINGS and change Default to 'remote controller input method'.

Q: Can't play 720p / 1080p video, choppy playback?
A: The ATV1200 will play 720p / 1080p video only when using an App that uses the chipset's GPU. Otherwise the decoding is being done by the CPU and very few CPUs (including all ARM chips and most PC chips) can decode HD video. In practice this means either the 'MoviePlayer' App installed on the player or XBMC with Android hardware decoding enabled.

Q: Some apps missing in Play Store (e.g. BBC iPlayer)? You probably need to set the Play Store region to UK (or your local country). Go to Settings-Developer Options-Play Store setting, and choose 'UK(1)'.

Q: Is the 120 rooted?
A: Yes. It is supplied rooted.

Q: How to hide the status bar?
A: This App is free in Play Store and works well: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.tsorn.FullScreen

Q: How do I access network shares (i.e. a NAS with music/video) in apps?
A: The degree to which Android apps have the ability to access network shares varies between apps. In order to make network shares (e.g. a NAS with music+movies) visible in all apps is to use an app called CIFSManager. This mounts a network share to a location on a local disk (e.g. /mnt/sdcard/NAS) so all apps can see the share. CIFSManager is free from Play Store. It only works with fixed IP address Samba network shares. By using this method all apps will be able to see and index media stored on a NAS.

Q: Installing Sopcast?
A: Sopcast is not available in Play Store. You can install it by visiting www.sopcast.org/download/ and selecting the Android version download. Once installed, sop links you click on in the browser will automatically load in Sopcast. Sopcast streams run very well on this player.

Q: How to act as a UPnP / DLNA client/server?
A: 'BubbleUPnP' is free through Play Store and allows you to either connect to UPnP/DLNA clients (PS3, PVR. etc) or have the Smart TV act as a server itself.

Links

Downloads

Q: Firmware updates on first boot? The 1200/520 may update itself to the latest firmware on first connection to the internet. This may require two downloads and two reboots. If you do not wish to update to the latest firmware you can safely turn updates off by going to the 'Upgrade' app and unchecking automatic updates.

Q: Which version of Android XBMC should I install? Which is best?
A: Whilst any NEON version of Android XBMC can be installed, the 1200/520 use an Amlogic chipset so if you want to take advantage of HD video playback then you should install a version with Amlogic hardware video decoding enabled. This means a version built for Amlogic hardware. An Amlogic build of 12.0 Frodo is here, or you can use the versions built for the Pivos or Jynxbox players. This page contains a list of all recent builds including the Amlogic (Pivos) builds.

Q: Where to get XBMC with Amlogic hardware decoding?
A: Try here: http://code.google.com/p/xbmc-android/downloads/list. The Pivos builds all have Amlogic decoding support.

Q: How to install Android XBMC?
A: Download a .apk from the link above using the Android browser, navigate to it's location in the File Manager app, and then select the .apk. It will install exactly like any other App from Play Store (Play Store is just an index of .apk files itself).

Q: More questions about XBMC Android?
A: The official XBMC Android FAQ is here: http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=XBMC_for_Android_specific_FAQ.

Q: 5.1 channel HD-audio (DTS/Dolby Digital) passthrough in XBMC Android?
A: Android XBMC is set to downmix to stereo by default. In XBMC, go to Settings-System-Audio and change the speakers setting to 5.1 and toggle the Dolby Digital / DTS capable receiver options on.

Q: How to use the on-screen keyboard with the remote?
A: Go to Settings-Language&input-KEYBOARD AND INPUT SETTINGS and change Default to 'remote controller input method'.

Q: Can't play 720p / 1080p video, choppy playback?
A: The ATV1200 will play 720p / 1080p video only when using an App that uses the chipset's GPU. Otherwise the decoding is being done by the CPU and very few CPUs (including all ARM chips and most PC chips) can decode HD video. In practice this means either the 'MoviePlayer' App installed on the player or XBMC with Android hardware decoding enabled.

Q: Some apps missing in Play Store (e.g. BBC iPlayer)? You probably need to set the Play Store region to UK (or your local country). Go to Settings-Developer Options-Play Store setting, and choose 'UK(1)'.

Q: Is the ATV1200 rooted?
A: Yes. It is supplied rooted.

Q: How to hide the status bar?
A: This App is free in Play Store and works well: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.tsorn.FullScreen

Q: Webcam support / microphone / Skype?
A: The ATV1200 support for many webcams, including those with integrated microphones. Initial testing with Logitech webcams indicates wide support for this brand. For instance, the Logitech V-U0018 720p webcam with integrated microphone has been tested fully working with video and audio for Skype.

Q: How do I access network shares (i.e. a NAS with music/video) in apps?
A: The degree to which Android apps have the ability to access network shares varies between apps. In order to make network shares (e.g. a NAS with music+movies) visible in all apps is to use an app called CIFSManager. This mounts a network share to a location on a local disk (e.g. /mnt/sdcard/NAS) so all apps can see the share. CIFSManager is free from Play Store. It only works with fixed IP address Samba network shares. By using this method all apps will be able to see and index media stored on a NAS.

Q: Installing Sopcast?
A: Sopcast is not available in Play Store. You can install it by visiting www.sopcast.org/download/ and selecting the Android version download. Once installed, sop links you click on in the browser will automatically load in Sopcast. Sopcast streams run very well on this player.

Q: How to act as a UPnP / DLNA client/server?
A: 'BubbleUPnP' is free through Play Store and allows you to either connect to UPnP/DLNA clients (PS3, PVR. etc) or have the Smart TV act as a server itself.

MyGica 510B (M3)

Links

Downloads

Q: Firmware updates on first boot? The 510B will update itself to the latest firmware on first connection to the internet. This may require two downloads and two reboots. If you do not wish to update to the latest firmware you can safely turn updates off by going to the 'Upgrade' app and unchecking automatic updates.

Q: Questions about XBMC Android?
A: The official XBMC Android FAQ is here: http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=XBMC_for_Android_specific_FAQ.

Q: How to force install a firmware (i.e. from the links to the left)?
A: 

• Remove the power cable from the 510B. Locate the upgrade hole on the base. Push a ballpoint pen or similar into this hole until you feel the button at it's base click down.
• Whilst holding this button depressed plug the power cable into the back of the player. The player should boot into a recovery menu. This menu is 480i NTSC, so your TV needs to support this video mode. Nearly all do.
• Download the two zip update files linked to in one of the update PDFs to the left.
• Rename both from .zip to .img files and copy to the root of a USB stick. So 'update_SPI_M3......zip' becomes 'update_SPI_M3......img' and 'update_SPI......zip' becomes 'update_SPI......img'.
• Insert USB stick into 510B and navigate to 'Apply update(*.img)' in recovery menu using remote.
• First find the 'update_SPI_M3......img' file and select it. After installation has finished find the 'update_SPI......img' file and select it.
• The update will progress. Total time will be about 5 minutes. Once it is complete you will get back to the recovery menu.
• Choose the 'root system now' to reboot. This is in fact a typo in the installer, 'root' just means 'reboot'.

Q: Play Store region? On first boot you will be guided through a setup process. We recommend selecting 'UK(1)' as the Play Store region.

Q: Is the 510B M3 rooted?
A: Yes. It is supplied rooted.

Q: How to hide the status bar?
A: This App is free in Play Store and works well: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.tsorn.FullScreen

Q: How to use the on-screen keyboard with the remote?
A: Go to Settings-Language&input-KEYBOARD AND INPUT SETTINGS and change Default to 'remote controller input method'.

Q: Webcam support / microphone / Skype?
A: From the December 2012 firmware onwards the 510B M3 has support for many webcams, including those with integrated microphones. Initial testing with Logitech webcams indicates wide support for this brand. For instance, the Logitech V-U0018 720p webcam with integrated microphone has been tested fully working with video and audio for Skype.

Q: Bluetooth USB dongles?
A: Some Bluetooth USB dongles are supported. Please check our forum for more information.

Q: How do I access network shares (i.e. a NAS with music/video) in apps?
A: The degree to which Android apps have the ability to access network shares varies between apps. In order to make network shares (e.g. a NAS with music+movies) visible in all apps is to use an app called CIFSManager. This mounts a network share to a location on a local disk (e.g. /mnt/sdcard/NAS) so all apps can see the share. CIFSManager is free from Play Store. It only works with fixed IP address Samba network shares. By using this method all apps will be able to see and index media stored on a NAS.

Q: Can't play 720p / 1080p video, choppy playback?
A: The 510B will play 720p / 1080p video only when using an App that uses the chipset's GPU. Otherwise the decoding is being done by the CPU and very few CPUs (including all ARM chips and most PC chips) can decode HD video. In practice this means either the 'MoviePlayer' App installed on the player or XBMC with Android hardware decoding enabled.

Q: Installing Sopcast?
A: Sopcast is not available in Play Store. You can install it by visiting www.sopcast.org/download/ and selecting the Android version download. Once installed, sop links you click on in the browser will automatically load in Sopcast. Sopcast streams run very well on this player.

Q: Some apps missing in Play Store (e.g. BBC iPlayer)? After having gone through setup and setting the Play Store region to one of the UK options you may need to reset the Play Store cache. Go to Settings-apps-ALL-Google Play Store and select 'Clear data' and 'clear cache'. When you next run Play Store more apps will be available.

Q: How to act as a UPnP / DLNA client/server?
A: 'BubbleUPnP' is free through Play Store and allows you to either connect to UPnP/DLNA clients (PS3, PVR. etc) or have the Smart TV act as a server itself.

Q: The player starts to slow down?
A: This can happen if you have a very resource heavy app running in the background. Install a task manager like 'ES Task Manager' (available free in Play Store).

Q: How to turn the 510B off?
A: The 510B is designed to be left on standby. We have tried to measure power drain when on standby and got a reading of 0.0 Watts, so it's very negligible! Power drain when running with wifi connected is around 5 Watts.

Links

Downloads

Q: BBC iPlayer?
A: BBC iPlayer works in the web browser. First go into the browser settings (top right of browser) and change 'UAtSring' to 'Desktop'. Now go to www.bbc.co.uk and iPlayer will work.

Q: Hanging on Boot?
A: We sell the Eken Smart TV without a working PSU. If you use the supplied USB PSU you may find that the Smart TV hangs on the boot-up screen. This is why we say it has no PSU and sell it for less! The Eken supplied PSU doesn't supply enough amperage. If you use an alternative PSU (anything with a USB port supplying 1A or 2A) the Smart TV should boot normally.

Links

• futeko.com Forum
• Ainol Official Forum (Chinese)

Downloads

• 10-OCT-2012. 4.0.4 Official - For all Legend. Full Play Store. Note, language needs manually changing to English after installation. Also here
• 11-NOV-2012. 4.1.1 Feiyu - Batch 1 (pre 11-DEC) Legend only. Full Play Store Jelly Bean. Note, language needs manually changing to English after installation.
• 1-JAN-2012. Livesuit 1.07.

Q: How to flash firmware (also known as a 'ROM') on the Ainol Novo 7 Legend?
A: This is a fiddly process so some perseverance might be required. It will work in the end. From user reports it seems to work most smoothly on the 32bit version of Windows XP. Instructions:

• Please note that the update wipes the tablet's internal storage and starts from scratch. So you will lose all downloaded apps and data. If neccesary back up your data first!
• Firmware must be flashed using a Windows application called Livesuit. Download it from the link to the left.
• Before attaching your tablet to your PC, run the file 'LiveSuitPack_v1.07.exe' from within the Livesuit folder. This should install a new device on your system (VID_1f3a_PID_efe8). This device may show with an exclamation mark in Windows Device Manager, this doesn't matter and can be ignored.
• Now download the firmware image you want to install. Firmwares are linked to in the downloads section to the left. After decompressing the archive you will end up with a .img file. This is the firmware/ROM image that you are going to flash (or copy) to the tablet.
• Without attaching your tablet to your PC run 'LiveSuit.exe' from within the Livesuit folder. You should get an application with 6 icons.
• You will be asked if you want to be guided through the process, select no.
• Click on the leftmost icon (a cube), browse to your downloaded firmware image, and select it. You should now see the firmware image file displayed in the center of the Livesuit window.
• Using the USB to micro-USB cable supplied with the tablet, insert the USB end into your computer.
• Insert the micro-USB end into the Legend whilst at the same time holding depressed the volume- button.
• Whilst still holding down the volume- button, start pressing the tablet power button repeatedly (approx 1 press per second for 10 seconds is enough).
• After a few seconds a window will pop up on your PC asking if you want to perform a forced firmware update. You can release volume- at this point. Select yes. You will be asked if you're sure. Select yes. If you've got this far the hard work is done!
• The update will start and will take take approx 4 minutes to complete. You will see a % complete progress bar during the process and will get a dialog saying OK when it's done.
• Turn your tablet on and you will have the new firmware. The current Jelly Bean firmware is in Chinese by default so see question below for instructions on changing the language into English.

Q: Firmware updates? We will mirror key updates on this page.

Q: Problem turning the Jelly Bean Legend on/off? This is a quirk of the Jelly Bean firmware. It sometimes takes a few goes to turn the tablet on. It is solved by installing the ICS firmware. No ICS Legend have this problem.

Q: How to change language from Chinese to English? If you have installed a Chinese firmware and need to change language back to English then it's easy to do. Go to Settings (Blue box with slider icon), then on the left pane scroll down to Language options (white box with black 'A' icon), then on the right pane choose the top option. Choose English from the list of languages.

Q: Chinese characters on keyboard? After the firmware update to 4.1.1 the keyboard is set to something called Baidu input. This is a mixed English/Chinese keyboard. To go to full English, go to Settings - Language & Input, and uncheck Baidu input.

Links

• Slatedroid - Novo Crystal. Up to date custom firmware can be found here.
• futeko.com Forum
• Slatedroid - Getting Started Guide
• Ainol Official Forum (Chinese)
• CyanogenMod 10 - Slatedroid. Jelly Bean.

Downloads

• Slatedroid - Novo Crystal
• 19-NOV-2012. 20121109 Official. No Chinese apps, English, Play Store, for all Crystal (batch 2 crystal)
• 1-OCT-2012. Amlogic 8726-MX Flash Player.

IMPORTANT! If you've bought a Crystal from us after 15th November please click here for important information.

Q: How to flash firmware on the Novo Crystal (auto-installation firmware)?

• Please note that the update wipes the player's internal storage and starts from scratch. So you will lose all downloaded apps and data. If neccesary back up your data first!
• Download firmware from the link to the left. Only use firmware meant for the Crystal. Other firmware is NOT compatible and will break your tablet!
• The .rar firmware archive should contain a folder with several files inside it (e.g. theupdate.zip, u-boot.bin, uImage_recovery, factory_update_param.aml).
• Decompress these files to the root of a FAT32 formatted micro-SD card.
• Turn off the Crystal and insert the micro-SD card.
• Whilst holding the volume- button press the power button to turn on the tablet. Hold the volume- button for about 5 seconds and then release.
• You should be taken to a screen with the Android droid logo and a progress bar.
• The update will take about 2 minutes. When it's complete the tablet will reboot into the new firmware.

Q: Firmware updates? The best firmwares for the Crystal are custom firmwares available widely on forums such as Slatedroid. What happens is that Ainol release a firmware which is within days incorporated into and improved by the custom firmwares. When we recommend custom firmware we will link to the firmware thread or webpage, as with the CM10 and Jasper firmwares to the left.

Links

Downloads

• 1-FEB-2012. 1.5.5. 1680 touch panel.
• 1-DEC-2012. 1.5.0. COF touch panel.
• 1-OCT-2012. 1.2.0.
• 1-SEP-2012. 1.1.0.

Q: How to flash firmware on the Eken W70?

• Please note that the update wipes the player's internal storage and starts from scratch. So you will lose all downloaded apps and data. If neccesary back up your data first!
• Download firmware from the link to the left.
• The .rar firmware archive should contain a folder with with a file (wmt_scriptcmd) and a folder (FirmwareInstall) in it.
• Extract 'wmt_scriptcmd' and 'FirmwareInstall' to the root of a FAT32 formatted micro-SD card. So the micro-SD card root should contain a file (wmt_scriptcmd) and a folder (FirmwareInstall).
• Turn off the Eken W70 and insert the micro-SD card.
• Turn the tablet back on normally with the power button.
• The update will progress automatically and take about 3 minutes. When it's complete the tablet will reboot into the new firmware.

Q: Firmware updates? The W70 has the most complete firmware at launch of any tablet we've sold, but we will mirror further updates on this page. Look left.

Q: 3G USB Dongle Support?
A: HUAWEI E220, E230, E169G, E160X, E1750, E173, W8, E153, E153U6. VW718/719, ALCATEL AL720. ZTE MF190, MF110, MF210, SEW868, UW100. BORA9380, AWIT-U8, RATE-EC186, ZTE AC2736SEV759, TD368.

Q: Which firmware version do I use, COF or 1680? Firmware version 1.5 comes in two versions because two different touch panels models were used in the W70. If your W70 was despatched by us before 14-NOV-2012 then you need the COF firmware, if despatch was after 14-NOV-2012 then you need the 1680 firmware. The two firmwares are otherwise identical and installing thw wrong one will do no permanent damage to the tablet, the touch screen just won't work until you install the correct firmware.

Q: BBC iPlayer app no video, only sound? This is caused by the ICS status bar. The way to fix this on the W70 is to enable automatic hiding of the status bar in settings. Go to Settings - 'Display' and check 'Allow hiding the status bar'. When the video starts playing touch the two downward arrows icon in the status bar to hide the status bar. The video will now appear as normal. To get the status bar back swipe your finger upwards from below the bottom edge of the screen.

Q: No video on BBC news website (and other websites) in browser? This is caused by the BBC site still using Flash for video and the browser being set up primarily for HTML5. It is easily fixed. On a website with video (e.g. BBC News / BBC Sport), touch the browser settings icon top right (3 squares) and then 'Request desktop site'. The video will now play normally. You can permanently change the site requested by the browser to desktop by touching the browser settings icon again, then 'Settings', then 'UAString', then 'Desktop'. On any tablet we prefer the Desktop version of sites to the mobile one, so the above permanent change is actually something we would recommend for all tablet users.

Q: Netflix? This version works well on the W70: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1546053

Q: Changing default search engine in the browser? The tablet is supplied with the search engine set to Bitmarq. To change it to Google / Yahoo! / Bing. etc load the browser, go to settings (3 squares top right), then 'Settings', then 'Advanced', then 'Set search engine'.

Q: 5V DC via the HDMI port? Yes! The W70 outputs 5V DC via the HDMI port. Useful for powering something like an HDMI to VGA converter.

Q: What happened to the 'Metro' (Windows 8) style launcher? The firmware supplied with all W70 despatched after 30-OCT-2012 omits the Metro launcher option. To get it back you can install the 1.1 firmware. Look left.

Links

• futeko.com Forum
• Ainol Official Forum (Chinese)

Downloads

Q: How to flash firmware on the Novo Mars (auto-installation firmware)?

• Please note that the update wipes the player's internal storage and starts from scratch. So you will lose all downloaded apps and data. If neccesary back up your data first!
• Download firmware from the link to the left. Only use firmware meant for the Mars. Other firmware is NOT compatible and will break your tablet!
• The .rar firmware archive should contain a folder with several files inside it (e.g. theupdate.zip, u-boot.bin, uImage_recovery, factory_update_param.aml).
• Decompress these files to the root of a FAT32 formatted micro-SD card.
• Turn off the Mars and insert the micro-SD card.
• Whilst holding the volume- button press the power button to turn on the tablet. Hold the volume- button for about 5 seconds and then release.
• You should be taken to a screen with the Android droid logo and a progress bar.
• The update will take about 2 minutes. When it's complete the tablet will reboot into the new firmware.

Q: Firmware updates? We will mirror key firmware releases on this page.

Q: Youtube from Play Store won't work? The Youtube version in Play Store is not compatible with the Mars. Uninstall it (Settings-apps) and download + install the version found in the first post here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1699849. It is easiest to download using the tablet browser and then just run the apk when it's downloaded. It will install just like any app from Play Store.

Links

• Slatedroid - Novo Fire
• futeko.com Forum
• Ainol Official Forum (Chinese)
• CyanogenMod 10 Slatedroid. Jelly Bean.

Downloads

• 9-OCT-2012. Flambe V15. Based on Ainol official 0930. Installation is by the manual method. See here for info
• 1-OCT-2012. Amlogic MX Flash Player.

Q: Firmware updates? The best firmwares for the Fire are custom firmwares available widely on forums such as Slatedroid. What happens is that Ainol release a firmware which is within days incorporated into and improved by the custom firmwares. When we recommend custom firmware we will link to the firmware thread or webpage, as with the CM10 and Jasper firmwares to the left.

Links

• Slatedroid - Aurora 2
• futeko.com Forum
• Ainol Official Forum (Chinese)
• CyanogenMod 10 Slatedroid. Jelly Bean.

Downloads

• 9-NOV-2012. Feiyu 1105. Optimises+fixes everything. Full Play Store.
• 17-JUL-2012. Official + Full Play Store. No Chinese apps. Very stable.
• 5-JUL-2012. Official + Full Play Store.
• 26-JUN-2012. Official.
• 1-OCT-2012. Amlogic MX Flash Player.

Q: How to flash firmware on the Novo Aurora 2 (auto-installation firmware)?

• Please note that the update wipes the player's internal storage and starts from scratch. So you will lose all downloaded apps and data. If neccesary back up your data first!
• Download firmware from the link to the left. Only use firmware meant for the Aurora 2. Other firmware is NOT compatible and will break your tablet!
• The .rar firmware archive should contain a folder with several files inside it (e.g. theupdate.zip, u-boot.bin, uImage_recovery, factory_update_param.aml).
• Decompress these files to the root of a FAT32 formatted micro-SD card.
• Turn off the Aurora 2 and insert the micro-SD card.
• Whilst holding the volume- button press the power button to turn on the tablet. Hold the volume- button for about 5 seconds and then release.
• You should be taken to a screen with the Android droid logo and a progress bar.
• The update will take about 2 minutes. When it's complete the tablet will reboot into the new firmware.

Q: Firmware updates? We will mirror key updates on this page. Look left.

Q: Problems connecting to Wi-Fi (general)?
A: Most products globally are set to US Wi-Fi standards and broadcast channels are limited to 1-11. In the UK we have a slightly different regulatory standard for WiFi where we allow broadcast on channels 1-11 plus two extra channels, 12 and 13. UK routers are likely to be set to the UK Wi-Fi standard of channels 1-13, but an imported tablet is likely to be only able to see channels 1-11 as it is set to US standards. If your UK router is set to auto-switch between channels (as most are) it is possible that this will result in Wi-Fi on the tablet appearing to drop out when the router switches to channels 12 or 13. The solution is to change your router setup to broadcast only on channels 1-11. You can either set a fixed channel between 1 and 11, or change the 'region' setting to 'US'. It is totally legal to do this! The US standard is just a subset of the UK one. When you've done this you should 'forget' your existing Wi-Fi connection details in Settings-Wireless, and then reconnect from scratch. Wi-Fi should now maintain a solid connection.

Links

• Slatedroid - Elf 2
• futeko.com Forum
• Ainol Official Forum (Chinese)
• CyanogenMod 10 Slatedroid. Jelly Bean.

Downloads

• 17-JUL-2012. Official + Full Play Store. Very stable.
• 26-JUN-2012. Official + Full Play Store.
• 1-OCT-2012. Amlogic MX Flash Player.

Q: How to flash firmware on the Novo Elf 2 (auto-installation firmware)?

• Please note that the update wipes the player's internal storage and starts from scratch. So you will lose all downloaded apps and data. If neccesary back up your data first!
• Download firmware from the link to the left. Only use firmware meant for the Elf 2. Other firmware is NOT compatible and will break your tablet!
• The .rar firmware archive should contain a folder with several files inside it (e.g. theupdate.zip, u-boot.bin, uImage_recovery, factory_update_param.aml).
• Decompress these files to the root of a FAT32 formatted micro-SD card.
• Turn off the Elf 2 and insert the micro-SD card.
• Whilst holding the volume- button press the power button to turn on the tablet. Hold the volume- button for about 5 seconds and then release.
• You should be taken to a screen with the Android droid logo and a progress bar.
• The update will take about 2 minutes. When it's complete the tablet will reboot into the new firmware.

Q: Firmware updates? We will mirror key updates on this page.

Q: Problems connecting to Wi-Fi (general)?
A: Most products globally are set to US Wi-Fi standards and broadcast channels are limited to 1-11. In the UK we have a slightly different regulatory standard for WiFi where we allow broadcast on channels 1-11 plus two extra channels, 12 and 13. UK routers are likely to be set to the UK Wi-Fi standard of channels 1-13, but an imported tablet is likely to be only able to see channels 1-11 as it is set to US standards. If your UK router is set to auto-switch between channels (as most are) it is possible that this will result in Wi-Fi on the tablet appearing to drop out when the router switches to channels 12 or 13. The solution is to change your router setup to broadcast only on channels 1-11. You can either set a fixed channel between 1 and 11, or change the 'region' setting to 'US'. It is totally legal to do this! The US standard is just a subset of the UK one. When you've done this you should 'forget' your existing Wi-Fi connection details in Settings-Wireless, and then reconnect from scratch. Wi-Fi should now maintain a solid connection.

Links

• futeko.com Forum
• Bluetimes Website

Downloads

• 20-JUL-2012. 4.0.3. More USB camera support, improved MKV, bug fixes.
• 4-JUN-2012. Android 4.0.3
• 28-MAY-2012. Android 2.3.4

Q: How to flash firmware on the Bluetimes Smart TV?

• Please note that the update wipes the player's internal storage and starts from scratch. So you will lose all downloaded apps and data. If neccesary back up your data first!
• Download firmware from the link to the left.
• Unzip the .rar archive, you should get three files.
• Copy the three files to the root of a FAT32 formatted SD Card.
• Turn off mains power to the player (so at the wall plug). Insert the SD Card into the player.
• Turn mains power back on whilst holding depressed the power button on the player front.
• Wait until you see a white box with Android droid logo before releasing the front power button.
• The update should proceed and the player reboot itself into the new firmware.
• If you perform the above without a correctly prepared SD Card inserted then you will get to a setup menu where you can do a factory reset of the player.

Q: Does the Android Smart TV chipset (8726-M1) support NEON?
A: Yes.

Q: Does the Bluetimes Smart TV support XBMC for Android?
A: Yes. It doesn't run at lightening speed but the latest betas of XBMC run just fine.

Q: Where to download XBMC for Android?
A: Here: Amlogic hardware video decoding in XBMC.

Q: Switch between the stock Android 4 ICS launcher and the media player interface (MainScreenTheme)?
A: When you first use the player you are presented with a choice of 'launcher'. A launcher in Android is the interface you are presented with when using the player. For the Smart TV the choice is between the normal/stock Android 4 ICS launcher (called 'Launcher') and the Bluetimes media player interface (called 'MainScreenTheme'). If you choose one of these to launch by default then these are the instructions to let you to re-choose (so switch to the other option). Go into Settings (cog icon) - apps - All and find the launcher you are currently using (either 'Launcher' or 'MainScreenTheme'). Select this launcher and scroll to the bottom of the options where you'll find 'Clear Defaults'. Select this and then exit back to the home screen. You will be offered the same choice of launchers as at first boot.

Q: Display too small or too large for TV?
A: Go to Settings-Display-Display Position.

Q: How to access network shares / a NAS?
A: You need to install a network file browser from Play Store. There are many available for free. We would recommend 'ES File Explorer'.

Q: How to view movies connected by LAN / USB as a movie wall (like YAMJ)
A: The best app for browsing movies with covers and movie info is called 'MoviebrowserHD'. A free version is available through Play Store.

Q: Where to find attached USB drives / SD cards in apps / file browser?
A: In the supplied 'FileBrowser' app USB drives and the SD card are listed on the home screen. In other filebrowsers and apps you need to navigate the Android file system. Android uses a different file system to Windows, everything starts from root / and then all directories+disks are on top of that. The USB drives and SD Card are at /mnt/sda1/ (USB1), /mnt/sdcard/ (internal flash), /mnt/sdcard/externalsdcard/ (external micro-SD).

Q: An example of setting up MoviebrowserHD?
A: When correctly setup MoviebrowserHD provides a YAMJ / XBMC type experience for browsing movies. It pulls the cover and information for all movie files automatically and lets you browse your collection graphically. To install it and get it running: First go into Play Store, download and install 'MovebrowserHD'. Now run it. You will be asked if you want to add sources, select yes. Select 'Local' and then 'Root'. Now scroll down to 'mnt' and select this. As detailed above, your attached storage will be listed. Select the storage and folders where your movies are stored and click the tick icon in the middle. Back out and your movies will be added to the index. If you see no movies then go into settings (3 squares to right) - Preferences - Subfolders depth, and set this to a higher number.

Q: The player crashes / locks up?
A: The player is relatively inexpensive and is not the most powerful box in the world! It is built to be particularly good at playing video. If you try and load multiple high load wesbites with lots of Flash it can become unresponsive. The simplest way to deal with this is close tabs with the high load content. Beyond that you should simply turn the power off and on again.

Q: Minimising lock-ups?
A: You can install an app such as ''ES Task Manager. Once installed add it's widget to the home screen (add widget by going to apps menu and selecting WIDGETS). The widget can then be selected to kill apps running in the background and free up memory.

Q: Installing Sopcast?
A: Sopcast is not available in Play Store. You can install it by visiting www.sopcast.org/download/ and selecting the Android version download. Once installed, sop links you click on in the browser will automatically load in Sopcast.

Q: Uninstalling apps?
A: Go to Settings - apps, then select app and select uninstall.

Q: Torrent client?
A: There are may available through Play Store, but we like tTorrent. This allows you to specify external media (see above) to save downloaded data to.

Q: How to act as a UPnP / DLNA client+server?
A: 'BubbleUPnP' is free through Play Store and allows you to either connect to UPnP/DLAN clients (PS3, PVR. etc) or have the Smart TV act as a server itself.

Q: Power usage on standby?
A: The Smart TV uses approx 3W on standby.

Q: How to input text using the remote?
A: You need to enable remote controller text entry in settings. Go into Settings - 'Language & input', then under 'KEYBOARD & INPUT METHODS' change 'Default' to 'Remote controller input method'.

Links

• futeko.com Forum
• Eken Website - Eken A90
• Eken Website - Firmware Download Page
• Christian Troy Custom Firmware - Slatedroid
• Android 4.0 User Manual

Downloads

• 22-OCT-2012. 1.5 2-axis.
• 10-SEP-2012. 1.4 3-axis.
• 28-MAY-2012. 1.2.
• 1-JAN-2012. Livesuit 1.07.

Q: How to flash firmware (also known as a 'ROM') on the Eken A90?
A: This is a fiddly process so some perseverance might be required. It will work in the end. From user reports it seems to work most smoothly on the 32bit version of Windows XP. Instructions:

• Please note that the update wipes the tablet's internal storage and starts from scratch. So you will lose all downloaded apps and data. If neccesary back up your data first!
• Firmware must be flashed using a Windows application called Livesuit. Download it from the link to the left.
• Once downloaded, and before attaching your tablet to your PC, run the file 'LiveSuitPack_v1.07.exe' from within the Livesuit folder. This should install a new device on your system (VID_1f3a_PID_efe8). This device may show with an exclamation mark in Windows Device Manager, this doesn't matter and can be ignored.
• Now download the firmware image you want to install. Firmwares are linked to in the downloads section to the left. After decompressing the archive you will end up with a .img file (e.g. 'sun4i_crane_t01a_0.8.1_20120224.img'). This is the firmware/ROM image that you are going to flash (or copy) to the tablet.
• Without attaching your tablet to your PC run 'LiveSuit.exe' from within the Livesuit folder. You should get an application with 6 icons.
• You will be asked if you want to be guided through the process, select no.
• Click on the leftmost icon (a cube), browse to your downloaded firmware image, and select it.
• Turn the tablet completely off. The tablet should be off throughout the update process.
• Now attach your tablet to your PC by USB cable whilst holding down the volume+ button on the top. Straight after attaching the cable, and whilst still holding down the volume+ button, start pressing the tablet power button repeatedly (approx 1 press per second for 10 seconds is enough). This procedure puts the tablet into update mode.
• After a few seconds a window will pop up on your PC asking if you want to perform a forced firmware update. You can release volume+ at this point. Select yes. You will be asked if you're sure. Select yes.
• The update will start and will take take approx 3 minutes to complete. You will see a % complete progress bar during the process and will get a dialog saying OK when it's done.
• Turn your tablet on and you will have the new firmware.

Q: 3G USB Dongle Support?
A: HUAWEI: E261, E353, E160E, E1782, E220, E1750, E1820, E170, E153, E156G, K3520, E172, K176G, EC122, EC156, EC167, EC1261, EC150, EC1270, EC189, ET-SCDMA, ET128-2, ET128. ZTE: MF673U, MF110, MF633, AC2746, AC2736, AC2766, AC560, AC580, AC590, AC581, A355.

Q: Writing on factory screen protector?
A: Some of the A90s have writing on the factory screen protector. This is from quality assurance testing in the factory and is to identify the tester. It will typically be the letter A, B, or C. The factory screen protector should be removed before use.

Q: Play Store?
A: At time of writing (30-MAY) Play Store is fully operational and most apps are visible by default. If an app is not visible in Play Store then it can still be installed. All apps will run if you can find the relevant .apk (e.g. type 'Youtube .apk into Google).

Q: Flash? BBC iPlayer?
A: Flash works perfectly in the browser. BBC iPlayer works in the browser if you set the browser to behave as 'Desktop' (which makes sense anyway on the big screen). The BBC iPlayer app is available in Play Store and installs fine, but at time of writing (27-APRIL) it jumps to a screen saying that it's incompatible. The exact same problem happens with some new ICS phones. In the short term the solution is to use iPlayer in the browser, in the longer term the iPlayer app will be updated to support ICS (and high resolution displays) more completely.

Q: Skype video?
A: The version of Skype available through Play Store does not properly support video for Android 4.0 ICS. The newer version available here fixes this and works perfectly: http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/30881-apk-skype-250160-ice-cream-sandwich-ics-compatible-working/.

Q: Tablet hangs on Android boot screen?
A: If the firmware installation becomes corrupt through installing a misbehaving app (or for any other reason) the tablet might hang on the boot screen. The most simple solution to such a problem (and general solution of last resort for similar problems on all tablets) is to re-flash the firmware ROM image. This wipes everything and starts from scratch with a fresh Android installation. See the instructions above for how to perform a re-flash.

Q: Livesuit 64bit/Windows 7?
A: If you can't get Livesuit to work on Windows 7 64bit version then it is worth giving Livesuit 1.09 a go. Download here.

Q: Problems connecting to Wi-Fi (general)?
A: Most products globally are set to US Wi-Fi standards and broadcast channels are limited to 1-11. In the UK we have a slightly different regulatory standard for WiFi where we allow broadcast on channels 1-11 plus two extra channels, 12 and 13. UK routers are likely to be set to the UK Wi-Fi standard of channels 1-13, but an imported tablet is likely to be only able to see channels 1-11 as it is set to US standards. If your UK router is set to auto-switch between channels (as most are) it is possible that this will result in Wi-Fi on the tablet appearing to drop out when the router switches to channels 12 or 13. The solution is to change your router setup to broadcast only on channels 1-11. You can either set a fixed channel between 1 and 11, or change the 'region' setting to 'US'. It is totally legal to do this! The US standard is just a subset of the UK one. When you've done this you should 'forget' your existing Wi-Fi connection details in Settings-Wireless, and then reconnect from scratch. Wi-Fi should now maintain a solid connection.

Q: Outline of battery icon containing a red exclamation mark on boot?
A: This is a calibration problem between the battery and the Android installation. It is fixable by doing a hard reset. Connect the tablet to the charger. Hold the volume- button and the power button pressed in for more than 30 seconds. 45 seconds is fine. Remove the charger and leave the tablet for 2 minutes. Now plug the charger back in and press the power button. The tablet should boot normally. You won't lose anything stored on the tablet.

Links

• Slatedroid Forum
• futeko.com Forum
• Ainol Official Forum (Chinese)

Downloads

• 2-APR-2012. 'Elvish 0.3' Custom Firmware. See here for info
• 8-MAR-2012. Official Ainol Android 4.0.3.
• 1-JAN-2012. Livesuit 1.07.

Q: How to flash firmware (also known as a 'ROM') on the Novo 7 Elf?
A: This is a fiddly process so some perseverance might be required. It will work in the end. From user reports it seems to work most smoothly on the 32bit version of Windows XP. Instructions:

• Please note that the update wipes the tablet's internal storage and starts from scratch. So you will lose all downloaded apps and data. If neccesary back up your data first!
• Firmware must be flashed using a Windows application called Livesuit. Download it from the link to the left.
• Once downloaded, and before attaching your tablet to your PC, run the file 'LiveSuitPack_v1.07.exe' from within the Livesuit folder. This should install a new device on your system (VID_1f3a_PID_efe8). This device may show with an exclamation mark in Windows Device Manager, this doesn't matter and can be ignored.
• Now download the firmware image you want to install. Firmwares are linked to in the downloads section to the left. After decompressing the archive you will end up with a .img file (e.g. 'novo7elf-ics-firmware-v4.0.3.img'). This is the firmware/ROM image that you are going to flash (or copy) to the tablet.
• Without attaching your tablet to your PC run 'LiveSuit.exe' from within the Livesuit folder. You should get an application with 6 icons.
• You will be asked if you want to be guided through the process, select no.
• Click on the leftmost icon (a cube), browse to your downloaded firmware image, and select it.
• Turn the tablet completely off. The tablet should be off throughout the update process.
• Now attach your tablet to your PC by USB cable whilst holding down the home (house icon) button on the top. Straight after attaching the cable, and whilst still holding down the home (house icon) button, start pressing the tablet power button repeatedly (approx 1 press per second for 10 seconds is enough). This procedure puts the tablet into update mode.
• After a few seconds a window will pop up on your PC asking if you want to perform a forced firmware update. You can release home (house icon) at this point. Select yes. You will be asked if you're sure. Select yes.
• The update will start and will take take approx 3 minutes to complete. You will see a % complete progress bar during the process and will get a dialog saying OK when it's done.
• The update should take approx 3 minutes to complete. You will see a % complete progress bar during the process and will get a dialog saying OK when it's done.
• Turn your tablet on and you will have the new firmware.

Q: 'Official' Ainol ICS ROM vs custom ROM, which is best?!
A: We ship all tablets with the latest official Ainol firmware (ROM). All the main features work using this firmware and there is usually no need to change it. However, people are always working to improve things and the Elf is lucky to have several different custom firmwares being developed that offer improvements over the official release. One area where the custom firmwares do offer an improvement is in access to apps through Google Play Store. The custom firmwares usually offer a wider selection of apps for download. We link to both the official firmware and the best of the custom releases in the downloads section to the left. It is near impossible to permanently brick a Novo tablet by using Livesuit so feel free to upgrade and downgrade at will!

Q: Best place for information + community?!
A: One of the best things about the Ainol tablets is that they are developing a large user base and an active community. This is important because it means that any questions you have will have been asked before, and any problems discussed and probably solved. We recommend heading over to the Slatedroid Forum, it is the most active forum for the Ainol Novo tablets.

Q: Some apps are missing in Play Store?
A: apps in Android Market (Play Store) check to see whether a device is compatible before letting you install them. The latest Elf firmware version (0.8) is showing as incompatible with some apps. This kind of problem may sort itself out as the apps in question are updated to support the newer Elf firmware, or you can resolve it yourself by switching to a custom firmware with better app compatibility. The tablet itself is compatible with everything once you get the apps installed.

Q: Tablet hangs on Android boot screen?
A: If the firmware installation becomes corrupt through installing a misbehaving app (or for any other reason) the tablet might hang on the boot screen. The most simple solution to such a problem (and general solution of last resort for similar problems on all tablets) is to re-flash the firmware ROM image. This wipes everything and starts from scratch with a fresh Android installation. See the instructions above for how to perform a re-flash.

Q: Problems with Livesuit?
A: If Livesuit won't recognise your tablet (i.e. you never get to the perform forced firmware update? prompt) then the problem is almost certainly that the drivers are not installed correctly. Each version of Windows is different, with Windows 7 64bit being the most problematical. There is a newer version of Livesuit which can work better with Windows 7. It's here: http://www.oketuf.com/LiveSuitPack_version_1.09.rar. Run the LiveSuitPack_version_1.09_20111101.exe file to install the updated drivers. Then run Livesuit.exe to load Livesuit and follow the usual instructions.

Q: Problems connecting to Wi-Fi (general)?
A: Most products globally are set to US Wi-Fi standards and broadcast channels are limited to 1-11. In the UK we have a slightly different regulatory standard for WiFi where we allow broadcast on channels 1-11 plus two extra channels, 12 and 13. UK routers are likely to be set to the UK Wi-Fi standard of channels 1-13, but an imported tablet is likely to be only able to see channels 1-11 as it is set to US standards. If your UK router is set to auto-switch between channels (as most are) it is possible that this will result in Wi-Fi on the tablet appearing to drop out when the router switches to channels 12 or 13. The solution is to change your router setup to broadcast only on channels 1-11. You can either set a fixed channel between 1 and 11, or change the 'region' setting to 'US'. It is totally legal to do this! The US standard is just a subset of the UK one. When you've done this you should 'forget' your existing Wi-Fi connection details in Settings-Wireless, and then reconnect from scratch. Wi-Fi should now maintain a solid connection.

Links

• futeko.com Forum
• Eken Website - Eken T01
• Eken Website - Firmware Download Page
• Android 4.0 User Manual

Downloads

• 25-DEC-2012. 1.5.
• 7-AUG-2012. 1.4.
• 6-JUN-2012. 1.2.
• 4-MAY-2012. 1.1.
• 1-JAN-2012. Livesuit 1.07.

Q: How to flash firmware (also known as a 'ROM') on the Eken T01?
A: This is a fiddly process so some perseverance might be required. It will work in the end. From user reports it seems to work most smoothly on the 32bit version of Windows XP. Instructions:

• Please note that the update wipes the tablet's internal storage and starts from scratch. So you will lose all downloaded apps and data. If neccesary back up your data first!
• Firmware must be flashed using a Windows application called Livesuit. Download it from the link to the left.
• Once downloaded, and before attaching your tablet to your PC, run the file 'LiveSuitPack_v1.07.exe' from within the Livesuit folder. This should install a new device on your system (VID_1f3a_PID_efe8). This device may show with an exclamation mark in Windows Device Manager, this doesn't matter and can be ignored.
• Now download the firmware image you want to install. Firmwares are linked to in the downloads section to the left. After decompressing the archive you will end up with a .img file (e.g. 'sun4i_crane_t01a_0.8.1_20120224.img'). This is the firmware/ROM image that you are going to flash (or copy) to the tablet.
• Without attaching your tablet to your PC run 'LiveSuit.exe' from within the Livesuit folder. You should get an application with 6 icons.
• You will be asked if you want to be guided through the process, select no.
• Click on the leftmost icon (a cube), browse to your downloaded firmware image, and select it.
• Turn the tablet completely off. The tablet should be off throughout the update process.
• Now attach your tablet to your PC by USB cable whilst holding down the volume+ button on the top. Straight after attaching the cable, and whilst still holding down the volume+ button, start pressing the tablet power button repeatedly (approx 1 press per second for 10 seconds is enough). This procedure puts the tablet into update mode.
• After a few seconds a window will pop up on your PC asking if you want to perform a forced firmware update. You can release volume+ at this point. Select yes. You will be asked if you're sure. Select yes.
• The update will start and will take take approx 3 minutes to complete. You will see a % complete progress bar during the process and will get a dialog saying OK when it's done.
• Turn your tablet on and you will have the new firmware.

Q: 3G USB Dongle Support?
A: HUAWEI: E261, E353, E160E, E1782, E220, E1750, E1820, E170, E153, E156G, K3520, E172, K176G, EC122, EC156, EC167, EC1261, EC150, EC1270, EC189, ET-SCDMA, ET128-2, ET128. ZTE: MF673U, MF110, MF633, AC2746, AC2736, AC2766, AC560, AC580, AC590, AC581, A355.

Q: Play Store?
A: Play Store is fully operational but some apps are not visible by default (e.g. Youtube, Google Maps). This is the same as with most other Chinese tablets (including all the Novo and Eken tablets we sell), with the problem being Play Store deciding some apps are not compatible. The truth is that all apps will run if you can install them, Play Store is only one of many places to find apps. The situation with Play Store will resolve itself over time, but in the meantime you can install missing apps either by finding the relevant .apk (e.g. type 'Youtube .apk into Google) or by following this guide (works for all Eken tablets): http://www.futeko.com/forum/index.php?mode=thread&id=3560.

Q: Skype video?
A: The version of Skype available through Play Store does not properly support video for Android 4.0 ICS. The newer version available here fixes this and works perfectly: http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/30881-apk-skype-250160-ice-cream-sandwich-ics-compatible-working/.

Q: Tablet hangs on Android boot screen?
A: If the firmware installation becomes corrupt through installing a misbehaving app (or for any other reason) the tablet might hang on the boot screen. The most simple solution to such a problem (and general solution of last resort for similar problems on all tablets) is to re-flash the firmware ROM image. This wipes everything and starts from scratch with a fresh Android installation. See the instructions above for how to perform a re-flash.

Q: Problems with Livesuit?
A: If Livesuit won't recognise your tablet (i.e. you never get to the perform forced firmware update? prompt) then the problem is almost certainly that the drivers are not installed correctly. Each version of Windows is different, with Windows 7 64bit being the most problematical. There is a newer version of Livesuit which can work better with Windows 7. It's here: http://www.oketuf.com/LiveSuitPack_version_1.09.rar. Run the LiveSuitPack_version_1.09_20111101.exe file to install the updated drivers. Then run Livesuit.exe to load Livesuit and follow the usual instructions.

Q: Problems connecting to Wi-Fi (general)?
A: Most products globally are set to US Wi-Fi standards and broadcast channels are limited to 1-11. In the UK we have a slightly different regulatory standard for WiFi where we allow broadcast on channels 1-11 plus two extra channels, 12 and 13. UK routers are likely to be set to the UK Wi-Fi standard of channels 1-13, but an imported tablet is likely to be only able to see channels 1-11 as it is set to US standards. If your UK router is set to auto-switch between channels (as most are) it is possible that this will result in Wi-Fi on the tablet appearing to drop out when the router switches to channels 12 or 13. The solution is to change your router setup to broadcast only on channels 1-11. You can either set a fixed channel between 1 and 11, or change the 'region' setting to 'US'. It is totally legal to do this! The US standard is just a subset of the UK one. When you've done this you should 'forget' your existing Wi-Fi connection details in Settings-Wireless, and then reconnect from scratch. Wi-Fi should now maintain a solid connection.

Q: Tablet won't charge (empty battery icon with exclamation mark)?
A: This is a battery calibration problem and can be solved in the following way. Attach the charger so the tablet is charging (LED red). Hold volume- and the power button depressed for approx 45 seconds or until you see the normal battery charging icon appear. You won't lose any data on the tablet doing this and the tablet should work normally again.

Links

• futeko.com Forum
• Eken Website - Eken T10
• Eken Website - Firmware Download Page
• Android 4.0 User Manual

Downloads

• 7-AUG-2012. 1.4.
• 6-JUN-2012. 1.2. 2-axis ('6225' g-sensor).
• 6-JUN-2012. 1.2. 3-axis ('7660' g-sensor).
• 6-JUN-2012. 1.1. 2-axis ('6225' g-sensor).
• 1-JAN-2012. Livesuit 1.07.

Q: How to flash firmware (also known as a 'ROM') on the Eken T10?
A: This is a fiddly process so some perseverance might be required. It will work in the end. From user reports it seems to work most smoothly on the 32bit version of Windows XP. Instructions:

• Please note that the update wipes the tablet's internal storage and starts from scratch. So you will lose all downloaded apps and data. If neccesary back up your data first!
• Firmware must be flashed using a Windows application called Livesuit. Download it from the link to the left.
• Once downloaded, and before attaching your tablet to your PC, run the file 'LiveSuitPack_v1.07.exe' from within the Livesuit folder. This should install a new device on your system (VID_1f3a_PID_efe8). This device may show with an exclamation mark in Windows Device Manager, this doesn't matter and can be ignored.
• Now download the firmware image you want to install. Firmwares are linked to in the downloads section to the left. After decompressing the archive you will end up with a .img file (e.g. 'sun4i_crane_t01a_0.8.1_20120224.img'). This is the firmware/ROM image that you are going to flash (or copy) to the tablet.
• Without attaching your tablet to your PC run 'LiveSuit.exe' from within the Livesuit folder. You should get an application with 6 icons.
• You will be asked if you want to be guided through the process, select no.
• Click on the leftmost icon (a cube), browse to your downloaded firmware image, and select it.
• Turn the tablet completely off. The tablet should be off throughout the update process.
• Now attach your tablet to your PC by USB cable whilst holding down the volume+ button on the top. Straight after attaching the cable, and whilst still holding down the volume+ button, start pressing the tablet power button repeatedly (approx 1 press per second for 10 seconds is enough). This procedure puts the tablet into update mode.
• After a few seconds a window will pop up on your PC asking if you want to perform a forced firmware update. You can release volume+ at this point. Select yes. You will be asked if you're sure. Select yes.
• The update will start and will take take approx 3 minutes to complete. You will see a % complete progress bar during the process and will get a dialog saying OK when it's done.
• Turn your tablet on and you will have the new firmware.

Q: 3G USB Dongle Support?
A: HUAWEI: E261, E353, E160E, E1782, E220, E1750, E1820, E170, E153, E156G, K3520, E172, K176G, EC122, EC156, EC167, EC1261, EC150, EC1270, EC189, ET-SCDMA, ET128-2, ET128. ZTE: MF673U, MF110, MF633, AC2746, AC2736, AC2766, AC560, AC580, AC590, AC581, A355.

Q: Play Store?
A: At time of writing (27-APRIL) Play Store is fully operational but some apps are not visible by default (e.g. Youtube, Google Maps). This is the same as with most other Chinese tablets (including all the Novo and Eken tablets we sell), with the problem being Play Store deciding some apps are not compatible. The truth is that all apps will run if you can install them, Play Store is only one of many places to find apps. The situation with Play Store will resolve itself over time, but in the meantime you can install missing apps either by finding the relevant .apk (e.g. type 'Youtube .apk into Google) or by following this guide (works for all Eken tablets): http://www.futeko.com/forum/index.php?mode=thread&id=3560.

Q: Skype video?
A: The version of Skype available through Play Store does not properly support video for Android 4.0 ICS. The newer version available here fixes this and works perfectly: http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/30881-apk-skype-250160-ice-cream-sandwich-ics-compatible-working/.

Q: Tablet hangs on Android boot screen?
A: If the firmware installation becomes corrupt through installing a misbehaving app (or for any other reason) the tablet might hang on the boot screen. The most simple solution to such a problem (and general solution of last resort for similar problems on all tablets) is to re-flash the firmware ROM image. This wipes everything and starts from scratch with a fresh Android installation. See the instructions above for how to perform a re-flash.

Q: Problems with Livesuit?
A: If Livesuit won't recognise your tablet (i.e. you never get to the perform forced firmware update? prompt) then the problem is almost certainly that the drivers are not installed correctly. Each version of Windows is different, with Windows 7 64bit being the most problematical. There is a newer version of Livesuit which can work better with Windows 7. It's here: http://www.oketuf.com/LiveSuitPack_version_1.09.rar. Run the LiveSuitPack_version_1.09_20111101.exe file to install the updated drivers. Then run Livesuit.exe to load Livesuit and follow the usual instructions.

Q: Problems connecting to Wi-Fi (general)?
A: Most products globally are set to US Wi-Fi standards and broadcast channels are limited to 1-11. In the UK we have a slightly different regulatory standard for WiFi where we allow broadcast on channels 1-11 plus two extra channels, 12 and 13. UK routers are likely to be set to the UK Wi-Fi standard of channels 1-13, but an imported tablet is likely to be only able to see channels 1-11 as it is set to US standards. If your UK router is set to auto-switch between channels (as most are) it is possible that this will result in Wi-Fi on the tablet appearing to drop out when the router switches to channels 12 or 13. The solution is to change your router setup to broadcast only on channels 1-11. You can either set a fixed channel between 1 and 11, or change the 'region' setting to 'US'. It is totally legal to do this! The US standard is just a subset of the UK one. When you've done this you should 'forget' your existing Wi-Fi connection details in Settings-Wireless, and then reconnect from scratch. Wi-Fi should now maintain a solid connection.

HiMedia 910A

HiMedia 900B

HiMedia 900A

Links

• futeko.com Forum
• HiMedia Website - 900B
• Mediaplayer-info.eu - Custom firmware and other info.
• HiMedia Offical Forum (Chinese)
• AVSForum
• User Manual
• HiMedia Website - Firmware
• Some Compatible Android apps
• 900B Android User Guide

Downloads

• 10-JUL-2012 - 1.0.4.10 OllyP Custom. Click here for OllyP's website. Click here for info about the firmware on our forum.
• 7-JAN-2013 - 1.0.5.7
• 20-JUL-2012 - 1.0.4.20
• 10-JUL-2012 - 1.0.4.10
• 29-APR-2012 - 1.0.4.7
• 26-MAR-2012 - 1.0.4.4
• 28-FEB-2012 - 1.0.3.8
• 30-JAN-2012 - 1.0.3.5
• 6-JAN-2012 - 1.0.2.16
• 14-DEC-2011 - 1.0.1.10
• 06-DEC-2011 - 1.0.1.8
• 31-OCT-2011 - 1.0.0.26
• 28-OCT-2011 - 1.0.0.24
• 24-OCT-2011 - 1.0.0.22
• 4-OCT-2011 - 1.0.0.19

Q: How to update firmware?
A: 

• Download the firmware archive. ONLY USE FIRMWARE INTENDED FOR YOUR PLAYER! Trying to install the wrong firmware can cause permanent damage.
• Extract the 'install.img' file from the archive.
• Copy 'install.img' to the root of a FAT32 formatted USB pen drive.
• Turn the player off and disconnect the network and any attached storage devices from your player. Disconnect the internal hard drive if your player has one.
• Insert the USB pen drive into any USB port on the player.
• Your player has a small hole next to the power port marked 'RESET' or 'UPGRADE'. Using a sharp pointed object (a pen works well) carefully push into this hole until you feel the button at it's base click down. Very little pressure is needed and the button clicks down in a definite way.
• With the RESET/UPGRADE button depressed and the pen drive inserted, turn the player on.
• You should be taken to the upgrade screen where you'll see a progress bar. The update will take approx 5 minutes. DO NOT TURN THE PLAYER OFF DURING THE UPGRADE! You can break the player permanently by interrupting the upgrade! Leave it to finish.
• When the update has finished the player will reboot itself into the new firmware.

Q: Why does the 900B have a fan whereas the 600B does not?
A: The 1186 chip runs warmer than the 1185, so although the players have the same construction a cooling fan is necessary for the 900B.

Q: Subtitle Languages?
A: Unicode(UTF8), GBK, BIG5, Western, Turkish, Central European, Greek, Cyrillic, Hebrew, SE European, S-JIS, EUC-KR, Thai MS-874, Arabic MS-1256.

Q: Menu Languages?
A: English, Espanol, Francais, Deutsch, Italiano, Dutch, Russian, Turkish, Thai, Chinese, Polish (custom FW), Portuguese (custom FW). And several more in non-western characters.

Q: Does the 900B support Latin characters (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese)?
A: Yes. Just select 'Western' as the subtitle language option.

Q: Does the 900B support Northern European characters (Swedish, Danish, Norweigan. etc)?
A: Yes. We have done tests of Northern European subtitles and they have always worked fine using UTF8 or Western settings. We are happy for you to send us sample files for testing if you have doubts.

Q: Can the 900B handle compressed MKV headers?
A: Yes.

Q: External SATA? What's that?
A: The 900B has a conventional SATA2 connector mounted externally. This allows internal 2.5" or 3.5" hard drives to be connected externally.

Q: Will the 900B operate without a hard drive installed?
A: Yes. The streaming aspect of the player will work as normal regardless of whether an internal drive is installed or external USB drives are attached.

Q: What is BD-Lite?
A: BD-Lite is a custom menu provided by the player that allows you to select chapter, subtitles, audio tracks. etc. There is a photo of it working here: HiMedia 900 BD-Lite. Using this mode you should be able to play all BD-ISOs, 3D and 2D. The reason the player has such a mode is that it doesn't support the Java menus found in BD-Profile 1.1+ BD-ISOs. This lack of support is due to a full BD licence being required for BD-Profile 1.1+ (which a streamer like the 900B wouldn't get) and the lack of Java.

Q: Can I attach two USB hard drives? How will the player work with them?
A: You can attach a USB HDD to each of the USB ports. In fact, by using a hub you can attach more than two HDDs (we will test exactly how many and update this page soon). These drives can either be accessed seperately using the file browser function or be indexed as one for use in the Movie, Photo, or Music modes. When the drives have been indexed they appear entirely as one for the media search, ordering by recently added, or music search functions. This ability raises the possibility of several HDDs connected simultaneously for very large storage capacity, or having one permanently attached drive and one smaller drive for file transfer.

Q: What Wi-Fi adapters are compatible?
A: Any USB dongle that is based on the Realtek 8192SU or Realtek 8191SU chipset will work. This chipset gives Wi-Fi(n) and is available in many relatively inexpensive dongles. We will be testing some dongles in the coming weeks and will eventually have one up for sale.

Q: How do I access Bittorrent?
A: First enable Bittorrent in the 'Setup'-'Network' menu on the player. Then navigate to the player's Bittorrent interface using a network connected PC/Mac. You need the player's IP address, if you don't know this then go to 'Setup'-'Network'-'Network Info' on the player. Navigate to this IP address (e.g.192.168.1.4) on any network connected browser and you'll get the Bittorrent interface. From here you can add torrents and manage settings.

Q: Simultanoeus Bittorrent downloads?
A: The player supports a maximum of 10 simultaneous torrent downloads.

Q: Can you copy files between attached USB HDDs?
A: Yes. The file browser allows multiple file/folder copy between attached storage devices.

Q: Does this player contain/support 'Cinavia'?
A: No. This player does not support Cinavia and as far as we no there are no plans to implement it via future upgrades.

Q: What kind of internal hard drive can be installed in the 900B?
A: Any SATA 1,2, or 3 hard drive of up to 3TB in capacity can be installed, 2.5" or 3.5". The player itself supports up to SATA2, so a SATA3 drive will only work at SATA2 speeds.

Links

• Slatedroid Forum
• futeko.com Forum

Downloads

• 8-MAR-2012. Novo 7 Advanced Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich with Market and Flash.
• 5-JAN-2012. Novo 7 Advanced Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread Feiyu.
• 1-JAN-2012. Livesuit 1.07.

Q: Is ICS available for the Novo 7 Advanced? Where to download it?
A: The latest (8th March) version of the ICS firmware released by Ainol has full Android Market and Flash support. We recommend installing this ROM as it is the first ICS ROM for the Advanced that has everything working perfectly out the box.

Q: How to flash firmware (also known as a 'ROM') on the Novo 7 Advanced?
A: This is a fiddly process so some perseverance might be required. It will work in the end. From user reports it seems to work most smoothly on the 32bit version of Windows XP. Instructions:

• Please note that the update wipes the tablet's internal storage and starts from scratch. So you will lose all downloaded apps and data. If neccesary back up your data first!
• Firmware must be flashed using a Windows application called Livesuit. Download it from the link to the left.
• Once downloaded, and before attaching your tablet to your PC, run the file 'LiveSuitPack_v1.07.exe' from within the Livesuit folder. This should install a new device on your system (VID_1f3a_PID_efe8). This device may show with an exclamation mark in Windows Device Manager, this doesn't matter and can be ignored.
• Now download the firmware image you want to install. Firmwares are linked to on this page to the left. After decompressing the archive you will end up with a .img file (e.g. 'novo7advanced-ics-firmware-v4.0.3.img'). This is the firmware/ROM image that you are going to flash (or copy) to the tablet.
• Without attaching your tablet to your PC run 'LiveSuit.exe' from within the Livesuit folder. You should get an application with 6 icons.
• You will be asked if you want to be guided through the process, select no.
• Click on the leftmost icon (a cube), browse to your downloaded firmware image, and select it.
• Now attach your tablet to your PC by USB cable whilst holding down the volume+ button on the top. Straight after attaching the cable, and whilst still holding down the volume+ button, start pressing the tablet power button repeatedly (approx 1 press per second for 10 seconds is enough). This procedure puts the tablet into update mode.
• After a few seconds a window will pop up on your PC asking if you want to perform a forced firmware update. You can release volume+ at this point. Select yes. You will be asked if you're sure. Select yes.
• The update will start and will take take approx 3 minutes to complete. You will see a % complete progress bar during the process and will get a dialog saying OK when it's done.
• The update should take approx 3 minutes to complete. You will see a % complete progress bar during the process and will get a dialog saying OK when it's done.
• Turn your tablet on and you will have the new firmware.

Q: Best place for information + community?!
A: One of the best things about the Ainol tablets is that they are developing a large user base and an active community. This is important because it means that any questions you have will have been asked before, and any problems discussed and probably solved. We recommend heading over to the Slatedroid Forum, it is the most active forum for the Ainol Novo tablets.

Links

• futeko.com Forum
• BT-3550B User Manual
• Bluetimes Website

Downloads

• 11-JUL-2012 - 0711.
• 13-MAR-2012 - 0301.
• 15-FEB-2012 - 0208.
• 02-FEB-2012 - 0202.

Q: Subtitle Languages?
A: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Czech, Romanian, Polish.

Q: Menu Languages?
A: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Hungarian, Czech, Romamian, Polish, Vietnamese.

Q: Firmware installation method?
A: 

• 1. Download the firmware.
• 2. Extract install.img to the root of a FAT32 formatted USB drive.
• 3. Plug the USB drive into the front USB port of the player.
• 4. Select Setup - MISC - USB Upgrade in the player menu.
• 5. The player will reboot and installation will complete. You will get a progress bar during installation.
• 6. DO NOT TURN OFF THE PLAYER DURING INSTALLATION! When installation is complete the player will reboot itself into the new firmware.
• 7. After installation select Setup - System - Factory Defaults in the player menu.
• 8. The installation is now complete.

Q: Alternative firmware installation method?
A: If installation using the above method fails you can also force firmware installation. You need to locate the restore button on your player. It will either be a pin hole in the front panel above the LCD or (on later players) it will be located inside the HDD cavity. See here for photos: http://www.ebluetimes.com/en/NewsView.asp?ID=245&SortID=21.

• 1. Download the firmware.
• 2. Extract install.img to the root of a FAT32 formatted USB drive.
• 3. Turn the player off.
• 4. Plug the USB drive into the front USB port of the player.
• 5. Whilst holding the restore button depressed turn the player on. You should get a message on screen saying USB upgrade mode.
• 6. Installation will now complete. You will get a progress bar during installation.
• 7. DO NOT TURN OFF THE PLAYER DURING INSTALLATION! When installation is complete the player will reboot itself into the new firmware.
• 8. The installation is now complete.

Q: What Premium apps are pre-installed?
A: The apps available vary for the different firmware versions, but include: Youtube XL, Youtube, VOD, Dailymotion, Mediafly, Video Podcasts, Youtube Leanback, Facebook, Accuweather, Audio Podcasts, Flickr, Picasa, Yahoo Weather, Yahoo Finance, Realpilot, Buddy Link, BBTV, Sina.

Q: Is the DVB-T option available to buy?
A: Our information is that the DVB-T option will be available from Bluetimes as a USB add-on approx in approx March 2012. When it becomes available we will stock it.

Q: SATA3 Hard Drives?
A: We believe that the Realtek 1186 based player are not comatible with the new SATA3 hard drives of 3TB+ capacity.

Q: Failure to auto-detect half-SBS 3D?
A: To guarantee detection you need to add 'Half-SBS' to the end of the folder containing the video. e.g. 'moviefolder' would become 'moviefolder-Half-SBS'.

HiMedia 600B

HiMedia 600C

Links

• HiMedia Offical Forum (Chinese)
• HiMedia Australia Forum
• HifiVision HiMedia Thread
• HDPFans Forum (Chinese)
• HDTV.com.pl Forum (Polish)
• AVClub.gr Forum (Greek)
• List of Alternative Firmwares
• HiMedia Website - 600A
• HiMedia Website - 600B
• HiMedia Website - 600C
• HiMedia Firmware Updates
• User Manual
• Firmware Update Instructions

Downloads

• 20-JUL-2012 - 1.0.7.28
• 03-MAY-2012 - 1.0.7.11
• 28-FEB-2012 - 1.0.6.17
• 10-JAN-2012 - 1.0.6.4
• 25-NOV-2011 - 1.0.5.7
• 30-AUG-2011 - 1.0.4.21
• 23-AUG-2011 - 1.0.4.17
• 19-AUG-2011 - 1.0.4.15
• 07-AUG-2011 - 1.0.4.12
• 25-JUN-2011 - 1.0.3.4
• 20-JUN-2011 - 1.0.3.3
• 16-JUN-2011 - 1.0.3.2
• 27-MAY-2011 - 1.0.3.0
• 21-MAY-2011 - 1.0.2.6
• 29-APR-2011 - 1.0.1.34

Q: Why do the 600A, 600B, and 600C share a FAQ?
A: The 600A, 600B, and 600C share firmware, so the operation of the players is identical and most FAQ questions will be identical. For this reason we decided to have a shared FAQ. Any questions specific to one of the players will be highlighted as such.

Q: Firmware Updates?
A: Since launch in APR there have been very regular firmware updates. If you can read Chinese (or use Google Translate) then the HiMedia forum is the place to look. We also provide a mirrored version of the latest firmware on this page. The download will be quicker from us than China. Look left.

Q: How to update firmware?
A: 

• Download the firmware archive. ONLY USE FIRMWARE INTENDED FOR YOUR PLAYER! Trying to install the wrong firmware can cause permanent damage.
• Extract the 'install.img' file from the archive.
• Copy 'install.img' to the root of a FAT32 formatted USB pen drive.
• Turn the player off and disconnect the network and any attached storage devices from your player. Disconnect the internal hard drive if your player has one.
• Insert the USB pen drive into any USB port on the player.
• Your player has a small hole next to the power port marked 'RESET' or 'UPGRADE'. Using a sharp pointed object (a pen works well) carefully push into this hole until you feel the button at it's base click down. Very little pressure is needed and the button clicks down in a definite way.
• With the RESET/UPGRADE button depressed and the pen drive inserted, turn the player on.
• You should be taken to the upgrade screen where you'll see a progress bar. The update will take approx 5 minutes. DO NOT TURN THE PLAYER OFF DURING THE UPGRADE! You can break the player permanently by interrupting the upgrade! Leave it to finish.
• When the update has finished the player will reboot itself into the new firmware.

Q: My player has marks on the front panel!?
A: The front panel is covered by a thin plastic film to protect it in transit. If you carefully peel off this film you will find that the panel is spotless underneath.

Q: Subtitle language support?
A: Unicode(UTF8) English, GBK Simplified Chinese, BIG5 Traditional Chinese, Western, Turkish, Central European, Greek (see question below), Cyrillic, Hebrew, SE European, S-JIS Japanese, EUC-KR Korean

Q: Menu language support?
A: Unicode(UTF8) English, BIG5 Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Espanol, Francais, Deutsch, Italiano, Dutch, GBK Simplified Chinese

Q: Does the 600ABC support Latin characters (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese)?
A: Yes. Just select 'Western' as the subtitle language option.

Q: Does the 600ABC support Northern European characters (Swedish, Danish, Norweigan. etc)?
A: Yes. We have done tests of Northern European subtitles and they have always worked fine using UTF8 or Western settings. We are happy for you to send us sample files for testing if you have doubts.

Q: Greek Subtitles?
A: Go to 'Settings' - 'Intelligent setup' - 'Subtitle Auto Recognition', and turn this off. Then select 'UTF-8' as the subtitle encoding option in 'System' - 'Text Encoding'. This will only work if the .srt file is saved in UTF-8 format. You can convert any text file to UTF-8 by simply opening it in Windows Notepad (or similar text editor) and choosing to save as UTF-8.

Q: Can the 600ABC handle compressed MKV headers?
A: Yes!

Q: Compatibility with EXT3 format drives (EXT is a Linux drive format)?
A: The HiMedia 600 players are fully compatible with both internal and external EXT3 hard drives.

Q: Compatibility with EXT2, EXT4 format drives (EXT is a Linux drive format)?
A: The HiMedia 600 players are currently not compatible with EXT4 or EXT2.

Q: Exactly what English language video is available?
A: Youtube XL, Youtube standard, Video Podcasts (World News, US News, Technology, Entertainment, Sport), Audio Podcasts, Flickr, Picasa, Yahoo Weather, Yahoo Finance.

Q: External SATA? What's that?
A: The 600A/B have a conventional SATA2 connector mounted externally. This allows internal 2.5" or 3.5" hard drives to be connected externally.

Q: Will the 600B / 600C operate without a hard drive installed?
A: Yes. The streaming aspect of the player will work as normal regardless of whether an internal drive is installed or external USB drives are attached.

Q: Can this player play 3D SBS (side-by-side) MKVs?
A: Yes!

Q: Can I attach two USB hard drives? How will the player work with them?
A: You can attach a USB HDD to each of the USB ports. In fact, by using a hub you can attach more than two HDDs (we will test exactly how many and update this page soon). These drives can either be accessed seperately using the file browser function or be indexed as one for use in the Movie, Photo, or Music modes. When the drives have been indexed they appear entirely as one for the media search, ordering by recently added, or music search functions. This ability raises the possibility of several HDDs connected simultaneously for very large storage capacity, or having one permanently attached drive and one smaller drive for file transfer.

Q: What Wi-Fi adapters are compatible?
A: Any USB dongle that is based on the Realtek 8192SU or Realtek 8191SU chipset will work. This chipset gives Wi-Fi(n) and is available in many relatively inexpensive dongles. We will be testing some dongles in the coming weeks and will eventually have one up for sale.

Q: How do I access Bittorrent?
A: First enable Bittorrent in the 'Setup'-'Network' menu on the player. Then navigate to the player's Bittorrent interface using a network connected PC/Mac. You need the player's IP address, if you don't know this then go to 'Setup'-'Network'-'Network Info' on the player. Navigate to this IP address (e.g.192.168.1.4) on any network connected browser and you'll get the Bittorrent interface. From here you can add torrents and manage settings.

Q: Simultanoeus Bittorrent downloads?
A: The player supports a maximum of 10 simultaneous torrent downloads.

Q: Can you copy files between attached USB HDDs?
A: Yes. The file browser allows multiple file/folder copy between attached storage devices.

Q: Does this player contain/support 'Cinavia'?
A: No. This player does not support Cinavia and as far as we no there are no plans to implement it via future upgrades.

Q: Power consumption?
A: We have tested this player and consumption is 1.2W in standby, 9.1W when on and idling (without HDD), 11.3W when on and idling (with HDD), 9.2W when playing an MKV from the net (without HDD), and 11.3W when playing an MKV from HDD.

Q: What kind of internal hard drive can be installed in the 600B?
A: Any SATA 1,2, or 3 hard drive of up to 3TB in capacity can be installed, 2.5" or 3.5". The player itself supports up to SATA2, so a SATA3 drive will only work at SATA2 speeds. The 600B is designed to use the player casing as a heatsink for the internal hard drive. This means that the casing is designed to get warm to the touch. 3.5" HDDs vary hugely in the amount of heat emitted, and this variation will manifest itself in the heat of the 600B casing. We recommend using as cool a HDD as possible. 5400RPM drives often run cooler than 7200RPM models (and the speed difference is irrelevant to media use). A particular recommendation would be the Western Digital Caviar Green range of specially designed low-power, low-heat hard drives. See here: Western Digital Caviar Green

Links

• Bluetimes Website - TV001

Downloads

• 13-FEB-2012 - 20120104. Improved HDMI mode auto detection, autoplay capability, left/right video skip, 14 icon movie wall.
• 27-AUG-2011 - 20110827.

Q: How to update the firmware?
A: Extract the 'install.img' file from the above RAR archive and copy it to the root of a FAT32 formatted USB pen drive. Insert this pen drive into either USB port on the TV001. Go through the TV001 menus Settings - MISC - USB Upgrade and press OK. The player should now reset to a blue firmware upgrade screen. Allow the player to complete the upgrade. The TV001 will reset itself into the new firmware.

Q: Emergency / safe mode firmware install?
A: If something has gone wrong with a firmware installation and the player won't boot, you can try this method to force install firmware. 1.Format a USB stick to FAT32. 2.Copy the install.img file to the root of the stick (the file is found inside the update link to the left). 3.Plug the USB stick into either of the USB ports of the player. 4.Turn the player off. 5.Press and hold pressed down the power button on the front of the player. 6.Release the power button when the firmware upgrade screen notification screen appears. 7.Do not turn off the player power during the update process.

Q: Menu languages?
A: English, Espanol, Francais, Deutsch, Italiano, Greek, Dutch, Russian.

Q: Subtitle languages?
A: GBK, BIG5, Western, Turkish, Central European, Greek, Cyrillic, Hebrew, South East European, S-JIS, EUC-KR, Unicode(UTF8).

Q: My player has marks on the front panel!?
A: The front panel is covered by a thin plastic film to protect it in transit. If you carefully peel off this film you will find that the panel is spotless underneath.

Q: Player getting hot?
A: The player will get warm to the touch during intensive use (e.g. high bitrate MKV). This is normal but please make sure there is adequate ventilation around the base of the player. Particularly, the player should ideally not be located on a thick-pile carpetted floor as this will block the ventilation holes and might cause overheating. An inelegant way to keep the TV001 totally cool is to use it upside down so the ventilation holes are exposed.

Q: Can the TV001 handle compressed MKV headers?
A: Yes!

Q: Can I attach two USB hard drives? How will the player work with them?
A: You can attach a USB HDD to each of the USB ports. In fact, by using a hub you can attach more than two HDDs (we will test exactly how many and update this page soon). These drives can either be accessed seperately using the file browser function or be indexed as one for use in the Movie, Photo, or Music modes. When the drives have been indexed they appear entirely as one for the media search, ordering by recently added, or music search functions. This ability raises the possibility of several HDDs connected simultaneously for very large storage capacity, or having one permanently attached drive and one smaller drive for file transfer.

Q: Can you copy files between attached USB HDDs?
A: Yes. The file browser allows multiple file/folder copy between attached storage devices.

Q: Does the TV001 support slow motion?
A: Yes. 3/4 and 1/2 speed slow motion is supported with sound. 1/4, 1/8, and 1/16 speed slow motion is supported without sound.

Q: Can you install an internal SATA HDD?
A: No. The TV001 is for use with external HDDs only.

Q: How do video file thumbnails work?
A: Any jpeg image with same name as the video file and in the same folder will appear as a thumbnail for the video file. E.g. if your video file is called 'goingfishing.mkv' then an image called 'goingfishing.jpg' will appear as it's thumbnail.

Q: Can I use an external program to create thumbnails?
A: Yes. A 'scraper' program like thumbgen will automatically scan your disk to create compatible thumbnail images using the default settings. Moviesheets are not supported. Thumbgen can be downloaded for free here: Thumbgen

• Firmware Update Instructions
• Kaiboer: H1055 Page
• Kaiboer: H1055 Firmware Updates
• Kaiboer: H1055 User Manual

• 04-APR-2011. Support all remotes, subtitle, language bugs.

Q: Help! My player menus are in Chinese!
A: It is easy to change the player into English (or any other language) menu mode. This guide shows you how: Changing the Kaiboer H1055 menu language from Chinese to English

Q: My player has marks on the front panel!?
A: The front panel is covered by a thin plastic film to protect it in transit. If you carefully peel off this film you will find that the panel is spotless underneath.

Q: Subtitle language support?
A: Unicode(UTF8) English, GBK Simplified Chinese, BIG5 Traditional Chinese, Western, Turkish, Central European, Greek (see question below), Cyrillic, Hebrew, SE European, S-JIS Japanese, EUC-KR Korean

Q: Menu language support?
A: Unicode(UTF8) English, BIG5 Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Espanol, Francais, Deutsch, Italiano, Dutch, GBK Simplified Chinese

Q: Does the H1055 support Latin characters (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese)?
A: Yes. Just select 'Western' as the subtitle language option.

Q: Ext3 HDD format support?
A: The H1055 supports Ext3 (Linux) format hard drives for read only. This means that the media indexing and file management features are not available when an Ext3 drive is used.

Q: Greek subtitles?
A: The H1055 displays Greek subtitles perfectly as long as they are in idx/sub format. There is an issue in current firmware with subtitles in srt format whereby character spacing is very wide making the subtitles unreadable. We are optimistic that the srt issue will be resolved in an upcoming firmware update.

Q: Can the H1055 play OGM files (depreciated OGG video)?
A: Yes. OGM play flawlessly including multiple audio tracks and packaged subtitles.

Q: Can the H1055 handle compressed MKV headers?
A: Yes!

Q: Can I attach two USB hard drives? How will the player work with them?
A: You can attach a USB HDD to each of the USB ports. In fact, by using a hub you can attach more than two HDDs (we will test exactly how many and update this page soon). These drives can either be accessed seperately using the file browser function or be indexed as one for use in the Movie, Photo, or Music modes. When the drives have been indexed they appear entirely as one for the media search, ordering by recently added, or music search functions. This ability raises the possibility of several HDDs connected simultaneously for very large storage capacity, or having one permanently attached drive and one smaller drive for file transfer.

Q: Can you copy files between attached USB HDDs?
A: Yes. The file browser allows multiple file/folder copy between attached storage devices.

Q: Does the H1055 support slow motion?
A: Yes. 3/4 and 1/2 speed slow motion is supported with sound. 1/4, 1/8, and 1/16 speed slow motion is supported without sound.

Q: Can you install an internal SATA HDD?
A: No. The H1055 is for use with external HDDs only.

Q: How do video file thumbnails work?
A: Any jpeg image with same name as the video file and in the same folder will appear as a thumbnail for the video file. E.g. if your video file is called 'goingfishing.mkv' then an image called 'goingfishing.jpg' will appear as it's thumbnail.

Q: Can I use an external program to create thumbnails?
A: Yes. A 'scraper' program like thumbgen will automatically scan your disk to create compatible thumbnail images using the default settings. Moviesheets are not supported. Thumbgen can be downloaded for free here: Thumbgen

Q: The firmware won't install via the usual settings-MISC-firmware update method!?
A: There is an alternative method of installing the firmware:
1. Copy the 'install.img' update file to the root of a FAT32 (Windows) formatted USB stick.
2. Turn the H1055 off by the rocker switch on the back and insert the USB stick into the USB socket nearest the front of the player.
3. Insert a pen or other pointed object into the 'reset' hole on the back of the player near the power adapter. The hole is not very deep and you should be able to feel the switch at the bottom click as you press. It doesn't require a lot of force.
4. Whilst keeping the reset switch pushed in, turn the power back on. Keep the reset switch pushed in for about 10 seconds and then release.
5. After a couple of seconds you should see the blue firmware upgrade screen and a progress bar. When the upgrade is completed the player will restart and you will be presented with a single option in Chinese. Press OK on the remote and it will let you choose menu language.

Q: Power Consumption?
A: We have tested this player and consumption is 0.6W in standby, 3.9W when on and idling (without HDD), 5.7W when on and idling (with HDD), and 6.1W when playing an MKV from HDD.

•

Q: Which file systems is the IDER I6-FH compatible with?
A: FAT16, FAT32, NTFS.

Q: Menu Language Support?
A: For all players sold before 01-AUG-2011 language support is as follows: English, Russian, Vietnamese, Espanol, Francais, Deutsch, Greek, Italiano. For players sold after 01-AUG-2011 language support is: English, Turkish, Chinese.

Q: Subtitle Support?
A: UTF8, EUC_KR (Korean), K108_R (Russian), ISO_8859_1, ISO_8859_2, ISO_8859_3, ISO_8859_4, ISO_8859_5, ISO_8859_6, ISO_8859_7, ISO_8859_8, ISO_8859_9, ISO_8859_10, ISO_8859_11, ISO_8859_13, ISO_8859_14, ISO_8859_15, ISO_8859_16, GB2312, GBK, BIG5. See this Wikipedia ISO_8859 for info on ISO_8859. All European languages are covered by the I6.

Q: What kinds of hard drive is the I6 compatible with?
A: The I6 will accept a 2.5" HDD up to 2TB in capacity. The drive should also be less than 9.5mm in physical height.

Q: Samsung 1TB hard drives?
A: We have had a couple of recent customers having problems with 1TB Samsung internal hard drives. We believe the F8 to be incompatible with these drives.

Q: Can I connect an external HDD to the I6?
A: Yes! The I6 can be connected to any USB storage device (dongle, HDD. etc) to play files.

Q: What video output modes does the I6-FH support?
A: PAL composite, NTSC composite, HDMI 480p, HDMI 720p 50Hz, HDMI 720p 60Hz, HDMI 1080i 50Hz, HDMI 1080i 60Hz, HDMI 1080p 50Hz, HDMI 1080p 60Hz.

Q: Can I use the I6 as an HDD enclosure?
A: Yes. It can operate as an enclosure and be powered by the USB port.

Q: Can I output audio seperate to the HDMI video?
A: Yes. You can choose to output audio by either AV stereo or HDMI. This is useful if you have a monitor without speakers so you can hook up the player to seperate speakers.

Q: Will there be / where can I get firmware updates?
A: All features already work as described. It is possible that firmware / feature updates will come from IDER but there are no guarantees.

Q: Can I install firmware meant for other players?
A: No. Trying to install firmware from other players, even those physically very similar, will not work and will permanently break the player. We can read the player's ROM in all cases and you will not be covered by the warranty.

Q: Is a HDD included in the price?
A: No! The player will accept an internal HDD but one is not included.

Q: I am experiencing 'choppiness' / 'picture breakup' playing some content?
A: Like all other media players (at any price), and like your home PC, the F10 chipset is not completely infallible. It plays some formats better than others and some high bitrate files will cause it problems. In general the F10 performs best with MKV files and is better when outputting at 720p than 1080p.

Q: DVD folder structure and VOB files?
A: The F10 players will play DVD folder structure VOB files but only in alphabetical order. The video on a DVD is actually split up into chunks called VOB files. So if the VOBs are in alphabetical order / number order it's fine, but if they aren't then some bits of the DVD will be in the incorrect order. This is only a problem if you intend on playing DVDs ripped as folder structure.

Q: Changing audio track in MKV files?
A: Press the 'audio' button on the remote to switch between audio tracks.

Q: My external HDD won't work / works intermittently?
A: The IDER I6 has only one USB port. Some external hard drives require more power than one port can provide. All USB dongles will work perfectly, as will all SD Cards. The simplest solution to the lack of enough power for some hard drives is to use a powered USB hub. These can be bought for around £4 in the UK.

Q: Can I use a USB hub?
A: Yes. You can connect a USB hub to connect multiple hard drives / dongles.

Q: I can't see the internal hard drive on my Windows PC!
A: If the drive is new it may need formatting before use. Note! The following will wipe all existing data on the hard drive! Be careful. Using Windows, go to Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Computer Management / Storage / Disk Management. Find the new drive and right click. On the new hard drive select format. The hard drive will be visible in explorer after formatting is complete and files and folders can then be copied without problem.

Q: Are MKV compressed headers supported?
A: At present these are not supported on any Boxchip F10 players.

Q: How do I remove compressed headers from an MKV file?
A: Compressed headers are one of the most pointless creations known to man. It saves a tiny percentage of size on an MKV file and introduces compatibility problems for many applications. Anyway, thankfully compressed headers can be removed easily and quickly (this is for Windows). Download the latest version of mkwdclean from http://sourceforge.net/projects/matroska/files/mkclean/. Unrar or Unzip and you will see the file mkWDclean.exe. Drag the problem MKV file into mkWDclean.exe. It will make a new MKV with header compression removed.

Q: How to enable / disable subtitles?
A: Any subtitle file in the same folder as the video file and with the same name (e.g. fishingforfish.mkv might have a subtitle file fishingforfish.srt) will be available. You can switch between subtitle files using the 'SUBTITLE' button on the remote or the OSD.

Q: How to install a HDD in the I6-FH?
A: Please see this image for information on securing the drive: Installing HDD in IDER I6-FH.

Q: Improve remote range / responsiveness?
A: The front panel of the I6-FH (where the IR sensor is) ships with a transparent plastic film covering. This is supplied for protection whilst the player is in transit and should be removed by the customer. Removing it will improve remote range.

Q: Which file systems is the IDER I601 compatible with?
A: FAT16, FAT32, NTFS.

Q: Menu Language Support?
A: English, Russian, Vietnamese, Espanol, Francais, Deutsch, Greek, Italiano.

Q: Subtitle Support?
A: UTF8, EUC_KR (Korean), K108_R (Russian), ISO_8859_1, ISO_8859_2, ISO_8859_3, ISO_8859_4, ISO_8859_5, ISO_8859_6, ISO_8859_7, ISO_8859_8, ISO_8859_9, ISO_8859_10, ISO_8859_11, ISO_8859_13, ISO_8859_14, ISO_8859_15, ISO_8859_16, GB2312, GBK, BIG5. See this Wikipedia ISO_8859 for info on ISO_8859. All European languages are covered by the I601.

Q: I can't get my I601 to connect to my TV!
A: Pressing the 'TV Mode' button (top left on the remote) cycles between HDMI-720p 60Hz, NTSC composite, and 720p 50Hz component output modes. If you connect your player up to your TV by your preferred connection method, turn everything on, and then press the TV Mode button a maximum of 3 times (waiting 5 seconds between presses) you should be able to get a picture. Once you have a picture you can set the player to your desired output mode in settings.

• EAGET: X5 Webpage
• EAGET: X5 Firmware Updates

Q: Which file systems is the X5 compatible with?
A: FAT16, FAT32, NTFS.

Q: Is the X5 compatible with non-English European subtitle characters?
A: No. In general the X5 will not display subtitle characters such as Ö, â, ç.

Q: Help! I can't see anything on the screen when first connecting my X5.
A: The remote control has buttons along the top marked 'CVBS' (composite), 'YUV' (component), and HDMI. Press the button corresponding to your connection type.

Q: Can I output audio seperate to the HDMI video?
A: Yes. You can choose to output audio by AV stereo, SPDIF, or HDMI. This is useful if you have a monitor without speakers so you can hook up the player to seperate speakers.

Q: What are the menu languages?
A: English, Russian, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese.

Q: What are the subtitle languages?
A: UTF8(English), K108_R(Russian), EUC_KR(Korean), CP1258, GB2312(Chinese), GBK(Chinese), BIG5(Chinese).

Q: Will there be / where can I get firmware updates?
A: All features already work as described. It is possible that firmware / feature updates will come from Eaget but there are no guarantees.

Q: Can I install firmware meant for other players?
A: No. Trying to install firmware from other players, even those physically very similar, will not work and will permanently break the player. We can read the player's ROM in all cases and you will not be covered by the warranty.

Q: I am experiencing 'choppiness' / 'picture breakup' playing some content?
A: Like all other media players (at any price), and like your home PC, the F10 chipset is not completely infallible. It plays some formats better than others and some high bitrate files will cause it problems. In general the F10 performs best with MKV files and is better when outputting at 720p than 1080p.

Q: DVD folder structure and VOB files?
A: The F10 players will play DVD folder structure VOB files but only in alphabetical order. The video on a DVD is actually split up into chunks called VOB files. So if the VOBs are in alphabetical order / number order it's fine, but if they aren't then some bits of the DVD will be in the incorrect order. This is only a problem if you intend on playing DVDs ripped as folder structure.

Q: I can't get my X5 to connect to my TV by HDMI?
A: Pressing the 'HDMI' button (top right on the remote) cycles between HDMI modes. Connect everything up by HDMI then press the 'HDMI' button, wait for about 5 seconds to see if you get a picture (HDMI always takes a while to connect), then repeat 8 times (there are 8 HDMI modes - 720P 50Hz, 720P 60Hz, 1080p.. etc). Once you get a picture you can then change the HDMI mode to what you prefer in the setting menu.

Q: Changing audio track in MKV files?
A: You cannot change audio track in MKV files. Track 1 is always played.

Q: My external HDD won't work / works intermittently?
A: The Ider I6 has only one USB port. Some external hard drives require more power than one port can provide. All USB dongles will work perfectly, as will all SD Cards. The simplest solution to the lack of enough power for some hard drives is to use a powered USB hub. These can be bought for around £4 in the UK.

Q: Can I use a USB hub?
A: Yes. You can connect a USB hub to connect multiple hard drives / dongles.

Q: What does the firmware on/off toggle do?
A: When it is 'on' playing music will continue during a photo slideshow, with it off music will stop.

Q: How to enable / disable subtitles?
A: Any subtitle file in the same folder as the video file and with the same name (e.g. fishingforfish.mkv might have a subtitle file fishingforfish.srt) will be available. You can switch between subtitle files using the 'SUBTITLE' button on the remote or the OSD.

• Bluetimes Website

Q: Firmware?
A: 30/10/12, with Play Store and fairly stable: http://www.oketuf.com/Bluetimes M3 10.30.rar. 16/1/13: http://www.oketuf.com/bt_m3_eng_0116.rar. To install the firmware decompress the files from the rar archive to an SD card, insert the SD card into the player, and power the player up whilst holding the up arrow button on the front panel.

• Egreat S1A
• Egreat S1A forum
• Egreat firmware updates
• Firmware update instructions
• Andboson unofficial firmware mods

• 12-AUG-2011 - 1.09.27 (Use 'safe mode' to update)
• 28-JUN-2011 - 1.09.25 (Use 'safe mode' to update)
• 04-MAY-2011 - 1.09.24
• 04-MAR-2011 - 1.09.23
• 31-DEC-2010 - 1.09.20
• 23-DEC-2010 - 1.09.18
• 01-NOV-2010 - 1.09.16
• 04-OCT-2010 - 1.09.15
• 20-SEP-2010 - 1.09.14

Egreat A1080
Egreat firmware updates

• 06-NOV-2010 - 20101106
Please note that this firmware is the only upgrade we recommend using. PLEASE DO NOT INSTALL 727 or 903 firmware versions.