Gotham video playback showing vertical lines on screen

[tycho]

Trying to figure out why videos won't display correctly in xbmc (xbmc-DroidBOX-Gotham-13.1-Q7-X7.apk). When I open a video I can hear the sound but the display changes to weird vertical bar lines, different colors. My droidbox is running at 1920x1080 - 60 as per the display settings on the droidbox, but in xbmc its only showing 1280x720 in the video output settings. I can't change the display mode in xbmc either, the up/down options don't work, like its hard-coded or something. Not sure if this is the cause, but attached are the xbmc.log output when I open a video. I have to reboot the unit to get the screen back to normal.

Also tried setting the droidbox to 1280x720-60 but the same thing is happening on playback.

Thanks guys, hopefully we can figure this out, I have no issues using my pi running 13.

 

[ChrisM]

Can you grab a 1080p video, download it to your device (which one do you own?) and watch the video in MX Player (as in not within XBMC). We'll then know whether it is XBMC itself we need to concentrate on, or the whole system.
If you've not got one to hand, http://mirror.bigbuckbunny.de/peach/bigbuckbunny_movies/big_buck_bunny_1080p_surround.avi should do the trick.

 

[tycho]

I will try that out tonight. Device is the X7.

Thanks SS

 

[tycho]

Yea, videos play fine in the android system itself, tried video player and mx player (1080p/720p). Also tried just viewing a trailer inside xbmc, does the same thing, weird horizontal bars, I have to reboot to get the system back to normal. Even hitting home, or back doesn't do anything on the screen.

Disabled Vertical blank sync in xbmc, didn't do anything.

 

[ChrisM]

OK, let's try clearing XBMC's data - Resetting XBMC To A "Just Installed" State - and seeing if the problem remains. If it does, we'll try uninstalling Gotham and installing Frodo - Original XBMC (V12/Frodo) For X7/X7 Ultimate/Q7/V9 Devices .

 

[syfodyas]

Hi there, mine has exactly the same problem as @tycho. I resent XBMC to a "reinstalled state" and then ran the wizard but the problem remains. I really don't want to use Frodo given that its now outdated. Anyone else had the same problem with Gotham and solved it?

 

[Smashnock]

Hi there,

Same problem, I've run through the wizzard. Installed various versions of xbmc and nothing, perfect sound but no picture, just these vertices lines of varying shades of grey/white.

Would it help anyone if a upload a picture of what I'm seeing?

I have a brand new x7 ultimate. Other apps run video and audio just fine, only xbmc I'm having issues with.

Cheers
Smash.

 

[syfodyas]

I've just tried the Frodo build and then used the Wizard and it works. So I'm not sure what that means about the Gotham build? I'd really like to use Gotham.

Thanks

 

[syfodyas]

This is what I see:

 

[ChrisM]

I'm stumped right now. I've asked the owner to look into this and see if he can think of what could be causing this.

 

[geodesic]

Got my Droidbox x7 on Friday, have had the same grey black lines on video playback , so looks like i will have to put frodo on instead of gotham

 

[Smashnock]

That image is exactly what im getting on my Toshiba Regza TV. I too have installed Frodo and it seems to work fine. Has everyone here only just got their X7 boxes? I only got mine on Thursday.

Smash

 

[ChrisM]

Right, @tycho , @syfodyas and @geodesic , it appears that the latest firmware we flash X7s with is randomly not happy with our standard Gotham XBMC application.

The strange thing is that it has passed testing on other identical units, but from the fact that this isn't just one customer who has experienced it we can gather there is a pattern.

Can you uninstall whichever XBMC you have installed right now
(open up the list of installed Android applications, click on settings, select the Apps sub-menu (if you don't see one, click on the last tab and select the More Settings button, then click on the Apps sub-menu).
Now scroll down until you see XBMC, click on it and select the Uninstall button.

Once that has been done, please open the Android browser (any other browser you've installed will also be OK), and visit http://bit.ly/DBxGotham132 .
I've created that shorter address, as typing in https://www.dropbox.com/s/3tv55u6pkvz0qq2/DBX-13.2-Gotham_b3.apk?dl=0 manually would take a bit longer. Once the file has downloaded, bring up the notification informing you that it has completed and click on it. Install this APK. If you get distracted or forget, you should be able to find the APK in your /mnt/sdcard/download folder.

If you have any problems, start a live chat at our site - http://DroidBOX.co.uk (bottom right corner) and we can remote in and assist you, if you prefer.

Ah, whilst typing this out, @Smashnock has sent a message, obviously this reply is for you as well.

 

[Smashnock]

Lovely mate cheers, i'll give this a go after work and let you know how it goes.

Cheers for dealing with it so swiftly.
Smash

 

[Smashnock]

Didn't work for me sadly. Back to good ole frodo!

 

[syfodyas]

@SilentlyScreaming Thanks for your reply. Just tried, same thing happens unfortunately. Vertical lines as before.

 

[ChrisM]

Solution found, thanks to some work done remotely with a customer called Jason.
Give me a while (I need to eat at some point today!) and I'll write it up.
For the impatient, uninstall XBMC, open Google's Play Store, search for SPMC . Install it. PM me your order details (so we can confirm you're a customer) and I'll send the details to download the DroidBOX Wixard for Gotham.
This SPMC is based upon XBMC 13.3 - Gotham. We may have a prettier solution long term, but this will get you up and running.

 

[ChrisM]

See http://www.droidboxforums.com/threads/xbmc-gotham-on-recent-x7-orders.376/ for a slightly longer version of the instructions above.

 

[syfodyas]

@SilentlyScreaming Many thanks, it works for me. Have not yet PM'd about the wizard as I think I should be okay with the Video apps I can install from the build as it is. But I'll see how I go!

I was wondering however if there is a way to boot into SPMC directly from power on. You can boot into XPMC with the XBMC Launcher in the Play Store. Does this work with SPMC or is there an alternative method? Many thanks

 

[ChrisM]

@syfodyas I'd personally not recommend setting XBMC or other (non-launcher) apps as a launcher. If anything goes wrong with the app set as a launcher, you can end up having to do a factory reset, rather than being able to wipe one app's data.
Using XBMC as a launcher with some firmwares was added for people who feel uncomfortable using apps and tweaking settings. If you're happy installing add-ons from repos, I think it is safe to say you're not in that group

Very close to the same effect would be having SPMC auto-start each time you boot up. You'd still have a proper launcher underneath it (so if anything goes wrong you can repair it), but you don't need to do anything for SPMC to start. Check over the thread at Startup Manager (Free) - let me know if you need any extra info.