futeko.com FORUM
Product Support => HiMedia H8 => Topic started by: futeko.com on August 11, 2015, 09:22:59 AM
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We received stock yesterday and have been testing.
* Using the hardware media player app:
Everything we've tested passes through HDMI. Settings - Playback - HDMI - 'HDMI'. So DTS, Dolby Digital, DTS-HD MA, Dolby TrueHD all play normally using an receiver that can decode these streams. We don't have the facility to test ATMOS.
By changing Settings - Playback - HDMI to 'LPCM' everything is downmixed to 2 channel stereo and passed as PCM.
*Using Kodi (either pre-installed 14.2 or 15):
Regardless of changing settings to 7.1 channel and enabling passthrough everything is downmixed and passed as 2 channel stereo. I presume Kodi is doing the downmix internally. 5.1 channel DTS or Dolby Digital is either passed through or downmixed according to how your Kodi settings.
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This result is better than I expected based on what HiMedia had told me and on their site specs.
Exactly why they are withholding the true capabilities of the box could only be speculated on.
If HiMedia or a user could create a playercorefactory.xml (wrapper) that called the hardware player for certain video then it appears that the H8 would be capable of the same 7.1 passthrough and 3D ISO as the Q5/Q10/M3 boxes.
One thing worth noting is that Kodi on the H8 is a bit unstable. Whereas on the Q5/Q10/M3 crashes are extremely rare, on the H8 we had several in just an hour or so of testing. This will improve but at the moment the H8 firmware is fairly raw.
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Audio HD 7.1 passthrough work himedia player and/or kodi internal(dvdplayer) ?
If a/v reciver not support ATMOS passthrough work like simple true HD ? ( same player with atoms no sound passthrough )
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Audio HD 7.1 passthrough work himedia player and/or kodi internal(dvdplayer) ?
If a/v reciver not support ATMOS passthrough work like simple true HD ? ( same player with atoms no sound passthrough )
Passthrough works using himedia player only. Not kodi (dvd player). In Kodi all audio is downmixed to 2 channel and passed as PCM.
HiMedia have just sent me a new firmware, which I will test more today. Shows they're working on it..
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Passthrough works using himedia player only. Not kodi (dvd player). In Kodi all audio is downmixed to 2 channel and passed as PCM.
usually andorid support DTS and Dolby Digital passthrough. from andorid 5 should be possible passthrough if there licence and firmware support like vidon, if must use himdia player i prefer q5 better picture quality( i suppose ).
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Thanks for the update guys...
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Audio HD 7.1 passthrough work himedia player and/or kodi internal(dvdplayer) ?
If a/v reciver not support ATMOS passthrough work like simple true HD ? ( same player with atoms no sound passthrough )
Passthrough works using himedia player only. Not kodi (dvd player). In Kodi all audio is downmixed to 2 channel and passed as PCM.
HiMedia have just sent me a new firmware, which I will test more today. Shows they're working on it..
HD-audio works using himediaplayer? Cool! So it should work in kodi using wrapper right?
That rocks
I hope new firmware kodi is more stable.
How about picture quality, is it true it's less quality than on Q5?
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Himedia haven't created a wrapper / wrapper app yet, but if/when they do (or if a user does it, the idea is exactly the same as with Q5/Q10/M3) then yes it will allow 7.1 passthrough in Kodi.
What the H8 lacks are the image enhancement and customisation options of the Q5/Q10/M3. Overall I'd say the Q5/Q10/M3 are better for video image quality, but the image on H8 looks pretty good to me.
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Himedia haven't created a wrapper / wrapper app yet, but if/when they do (or if a user does it, the idea is exactly the same as with Q5/Q10/M3) then yes it will allow 7.1 passthrough in Kodi.
What the H8 lacks are the image enhancement and customisation options of the Q5/Q10/M3. Overall I'd say the Q5/Q10/M3 are better for video image quality, but the image on H8 looks pretty good to me.
So for video playback you definately prefer Q5 cause image quality is noticeable better?
Damn!
Will wait for audio stutter fix then :(
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The Q5/Q10/M3 will always be better for quality than anything else because the Hisilicon chipsets were built from the ground up for media playback.
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I take it the current himediawrapper.apk won't work.?
Mort
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The only thing that would need changing is the name of the hardware player app, otherwise it would work.
Hopefully I'll have more time tomorrow and can have a look at it.
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What does kodi do with "Normal non HD" DTS and Dolby Digital audio.? Is it passed through.?
Mort.
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What does kodi do with "Normal non HD" DTS and Dolby Digital audio.? Is it passed through.?
Mort.
5.1 audio is either passed through or downmixed according to Kodi settings. I've just added this info to the opening post on this thread.
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Sorry to change the subject slightly but 3D ISO.?
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Sorry to change the subject slightly but 3D ISO.?
3D-ISO plays OK in hardware app. Same as Q5/Q10/M3 with BD-lite menus.
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Is kodi less buggy now with new firmware?
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Better, but still the odd crash. It's a very new chipset so there needs to be some work from both the Kodi and Himedia sides.
There are a number of RK3368 boxes coming so I'd expect it to become very stable quite quickly.
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The only thing that would need changing is the name of the hardware player app, otherwise it would work.
Hopefully I'll have more time tomorrow and can have a look at it.
We have tried to create a playercorefactory for H8 to launch hardware player within Kodi and we have been unable to get it working.
The problem is that the Q5 playercorefactory does not call the himedia hardware player directly, rather through the wrapper app. Calling the H8's hardware player directly from playercorefactory does not work.
So we are still reliant on Himedia creating a wrapper app for H8.
This is to clarify something I've just read on the Kodi forum which says that a wrapper exists providing the same 7.1 audio in Kodi solution as for Q5/Q10/M3. It does not. Yet.
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Do you know the filename of the external player on the H8.?
The current one for the Q5 is shown as "com.himedia.xbmcwrapper" in playercorefactory.xml I'm assuming it's different with the H8's external player...
Mort.
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<player name="HimediaVideoPlayer" type="ExternalPlayer" audio="false" video="true">
<filename>com.himedia.android.videoplayer</filename>
<hidexbmc>true</hidexbmc>
<playcountminimumtime>120</playcountminimumtime>
</player>
with q5 can call the himedia hardware player directly only for local file fro MVK ecc, not work for iso.
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<player name="HimediaVideoPlayer" type="ExternalPlayer" audio="false" video="true">
<filename>com.himedia.android.videoplayer</filename>
<hidexbmc>true</hidexbmc>
<playcountminimumtime>120</playcountminimumtime>
</player>
with q5 can call the himedia hardware player directly only for local file fro MVK ecc, not work for iso.
Thanks Looun,
I'll have a go when my box arrives... It doesn't sound hopefull though..
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Do you know the filename of the external player on the H8.?
The current one for the Q5 is shown as "com.himedia.xbmcwrapper" in playercorefactory.xml I'm assuming it's different with the H8's external player...
Mort.
External player according to 'sysyem info for android' app is com.himedia.android.videoplayer. So same as Q5.
When launched in Kodi nothing happens. When launched from system info you get an error message 'cannot start this app'.
There's also an app called come.himedia.video which behaves exactly the same way.
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do you have try with kodi 14.2 ?
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do you have try with kodi 14.2 ?
I used 16 Alpha 2 this morning and possibly 15.0 for earlier testing. I'll reflash and try and again from scratch with 14.2 later today.
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Any news on Kodi stability? Which version is best now? How does the crashes occur. During playback or while browsing in the menus?
Is the playback on kodi amooth or are there micro stutter?
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Any news on Kodi stability? Which version is best now? How does the crashes occur. During playback or while browsing in the menus?
Is the playback on kodi amooth or are there micro stutter?
I've been playing around with Kodi 15.1 (Final) on my H8.. Putting aside the passthrough issues and only using Stereo audio the unit performs very well.. The only time i have had it crash is when switching between skins and the box actually handles crashes quite well. By that I mean the Android OS remains stable and only the Kodi application crashes, The only add-on i use is the Plex add-on. I would say that the interface is extremely slick and on par with my Fire TV box i have in my bedroom also running Kodi.
Just as a matter of disclosure i'm watching on a 2012, passive 3D, 55" LG TV with 7.1 audio setup... The picture quality is good, I'm comparing it to Kodi running on my Raspberry Pi 2 and I can't see and difference in picture quality and i'm happy with the quality it gives out. Playback is smooth.
I do have issues with audio sync, although with my Pioneer 922 AV Reciever I have had sync issues with 3D in EVERY player I have ever used with it. Including off the shelf Blurry players and my PS4..
Mort.
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I fully agree, using a latest Kodi nighty build and for so far the box is working as it should. It's snappy and compared to my Nuc the screen quality is more or less the same. I am not a high demanding user, mainly Kodi for streaming..
The only problem is Netflix.... somehow the box can't connect, seems that Netflix can't locate the hardware code of the box. Login is no problem but when I try to play a movie I only see a search screen trying to play a movie but nothing happens. Could be that I need to more patience...
Someone a suggestion?
Marcel
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I forgot to mention that the basic interface is childish...... the other way around, new users will find it easy to work with but I would prefer that
they would take time to create something better. Further a language adjustment doesn't adjust the language of the main frame... Why not?
Marcel.
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I forgot to mention that the basic interface is childish
Other launchers can be installed if you don't like the home screen. It's completely customisable. https://play.google.com/store/search?q=launcher&c=apps&hl=en_GB
Further a language adjustment doesn't adjust the language of the main frame... Why not?
If you mean the tiles on the home screen then these are bitmaps. I agree it would be better if they changed to match interface language and will pass that idea onto Himedia.
The only problem is Netflix.... somehow the box can't connect, seems that Netflix can't locate the hardware code of the box. Login is no problem but when I try to play a movie I only see a search screen trying to play a movie but nothing happens. Could be that I need to more patience...
Someone a suggestion?
Just tested and I also get that problem with Netflix. Sticks on 'Loading' when playing video. I have told Himedia. They will fix it.
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Thanks for your quick reply.........
Enjoy the day with a smile..
Marcel.
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So on HiMedia H8 there is no wrapper yet and currently Kodi has no 7.1 support?
I see since August people have been unable to use Kodi to play their HD Audio Formats.
Is there any ETA on when will custom Kodi come with Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 HD audio codecs support?
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So on HiMedia H8 there is no wrapper yet and currently Kodi has no 7.1 support?
I see since August people have been unable to use Kodi to play their HD Audio Formats.
Is there any ETA on when will custom Kodi come with Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 HD audio codecs support?
There is no need for a wrapper on H8 because 7.1 audio is supported natively in H8 custom Kodi.
Some people have reported a problem with some 7.1 audio in custom Kodi but not all and for those that have it sounds like a bug which will be fixed quickly.
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There is no need for a wrapper on H8 because 7.1 audio is supported natively in H8 custom Kodi.
Some people have reported a problem with some 7.1 audio in custom Kodi but not all and for those that have it sounds like a bug which will be fixed quickly.
Hmm... seems like HiMedia H8 might be the device I've been looking for.
I bought the Zidoo X6 Pro.
Man oh man, the remote control, feels so cheap and yuk, it has a BIG bug (when I switch inputs, man, a horrible noise is blasting my speakers, and the only way to turn it off is to enable/disable stereo upmix or passthrough in Kodi's audio settings).
When I switch HDMI input on my AV receiver, audio reverts to PCM and corrupts.
From what I understand HiMedia H8 also has that problem.
Is that the problem you're talking about?
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There is no need for a wrapper on H8 because 7.1 audio is supported natively in H8 custom Kodi.
Some people have reported a problem with some 7.1 audio in custom Kodi but not all and for those that have it sounds like a bug which will be fixed quickly.
When I switch HDMI input on my AV receiver, audio reverts to PCM and corrupts.
From what I understand HiMedia H8 also has that problem.
Is that the problem you're talking about?
No. I don't think H8 has that problem.
Some users have reported unusual audio effects with some HD-Audio played through Kodi on H8. See 1.0.7 firmware thread for details. It's not all users though and it seems to reproducible and fixable by play/pause or disable/enable hardware decoding. I think it's a small HDMI bug that will be fixed in next firmware.
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Hi,
I hope this is the right place to ask, I have just received a H8 and the audio is very intermittent with it being off for long periods of time then coming into life for a few minutes and then quiet again. The date and time is not changing whether the automatic update is ticked or not. Could this be a fault with the unit? Any help is much appreciated,thanks.
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Hi,
I hope this is the right place to ask, I have just received a H8 and the audio is very intermittent with it being off for long periods of time then coming into life for a few minutes and then quiet again. The date and time is not changing whether the automatic update is ticked or not. Could this be a fault with the unit? Any help is much appreciated,thanks.
What firmware is it running? Did you buy it from us?
I would try installing the latest firmware and make sure that Settings -Playback has audio set to HDMI or PCM as you require.
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Hi, Thanks for your quick reply. I'm at work so i can't check but i have checked for updates and i did a factory reset last night. I thought the reset would wipe everything but it still has the 'build' i had put on. Playback is set to HDMI. I beginning to think it could be the box itself. Just one thought though could my Sky security shield have any affect on what is allowed through? Thanks
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Hi, Thanks for your quick reply. I'm at work so i can't check but i have checked for updates and i did a factory reset last night. I thought the reset would wipe everything but it still has the 'build' i had put on. Playback is set to HDMI. I beginning to think it could be the box itself. Just one thought though could my Sky security shield have any affect on what is allowed through? Thanks
I would recommend reinstalling the firmware rather than doing a factory reset. You'll lose pre-installed apps if doing a reset and in some cases it won't actually wipe everything.
Re. Sky, do you mean for the date? I guess it's possible. Date and time should just work with no settings changes. Saying that, settings in Settings - More - Date & time should be Automatic date & time - ON, Automatic time zone - OFF, Select time zone - UK (or Italy, Spain. etc).
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Hi thanks for the firmware upgrade. Date and time is now working well. Sound is still intermittent but the sound is on more than it is off previously it was the other way round. I didn't really have time to do much with it last night, but i found alot of the addons would not enable like ****. Do you think i should perserve with the box or return? (I did not buy form yourselves i only came across you when trying to problem solve). Thank you for your help.
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Add-ons shouldn't be discussed on this forum, however I know those you mention do install.
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Sorry, I didn't realise. I think i will return the unit and try again with yourselves, are you able to recommend something similar.
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Sorry, I didn't realise. I think i will return the unit and try again with yourselves, are you able to recommend something similar.
All the boxes we sell have Kodi pre-installed.
Himedia Q5/Q10 - Stable developed firmware, great image quality, 7.1 audio, 3D-ISO, 7.1 audio/3D-ISO in Kodi (via wrapper)
Himedia H8 - Most powerful (~ 2x Q5), a lot of ongoing development to get 7.1 audio and 3D-ISO working flawlessly in native Kodi, probably best for future proofing.
Venztech V3 - Simple Kodi only box boots direct to Kodi, good performance, inexpensive.
All these boxes will allow you to install all add-ons.
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Sorry, I didn't realise. I think i will return the unit and try again with yourselves, are you able to recommend something similar.
All the boxes we sell have Kodi pre-installed.
Himedia Q5/Q10 - Stable developed firmware, great image quality, 7.1 audio, 3D-ISO, 7.1 audio/3D-ISO in Kodi (via wrapper)
Himedia H8 - Most powerful (~ 2x Q5), a lot of ongoing development to get 7.1 audio and 3D-ISO working flawlessly in native Kodi, probably best for future proofing.
Venztech V3 - Simple Kodi only box boots direct to Kodi, good performance, inexpensive.
All these boxes will allow you to install all add-ons.
How long will you say until Kodi + HD passthrough is stable in H8?
6 months, 3 months?
It seems like Kodi + HD passthrough still needs some time to mature, but that's definitely the future.
In the meantime, how do you watch a SMB 7.1 TrueHD movie with H8?
Rooted Android 5.1 doesn't allow mounts to work between apps.
Rooted Android 4.x allowed that.
When you mount SMB you can use playercorefactory with any video player.
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Sorry, I didn't realise. I think i will return the unit and try again with yourselves, are you able to recommend something similar.
All the boxes we sell have Kodi pre-installed.
Himedia Q5/Q10 - Stable developed firmware, great image quality, 7.1 audio, 3D-ISO, 7.1 audio/3D-ISO in Kodi (via wrapper)
Himedia H8 - Most powerful (~ 2x Q5), a lot of ongoing development to get 7.1 audio and 3D-ISO working flawlessly in native Kodi, probably best for future proofing.
Venztech V3 - Simple Kodi only box boots direct to Kodi, good performance, inexpensive.
All these boxes will allow you to install all add-ons.
How long will you say until Kodi + HD passthrough is stable in H8?
6 months, 3 months?
It seems like Kodi + HD passthrough still needs some time to mature, but that's definitely the future.
In the meantime, how do you watch a SMB 7.1 TrueHD movie with H8?
Rooted Android 5.1 doesn't allow mounts to work between apps.
Rooted Android 4.x allowed that.
When you mount SMB you can use playercorefactory with any video player.
I expect Kodi to work near perfectly with 7.1 audio within weeks. Certainly before Christmas. It works now, but just not perfectly.
You can play TrueHD content with Himediaplayer app. Launch it from any file browser (e.g. ES File Explorer) or from with Himediaplayer app itself.
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I expect Kodi to work near perfectly with 7.1 audio within weeks. Certainly before Christmas. It works now, but just not perfectly.
You can play TrueHD content with Himediaplayer app. Launch it from any file browser (e.g. ES File Explorer) or from with Himediaplayer app itself.
Great that's exciting
However can you please tell me how to mount samba shares on Android 5?
I was able to do that on Android 4. Android 5 is unstable.
Mounting shares makes the entire box and any media player work like a charm
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Does something like this not work for mounting shares? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=lysesoft.andsmb&hl=en_GB