New to Vero 4k+ but an oldy xmbc kodi users

[sarakha63]

hello

Just ordered a vero 4k+. I’m a really used to xbmc and kodi. I used it on lots of platforms. For now i’m using an HTPC with windows. And i must say, i started to get tired of theses points

• no 3d frame packed handling natively in kodi
• no hdr passtrough natively in kodi
• no good tone mapping of HDR --> SDR in kodi (on android it’s quite acceptable but on windows its just totally washed out) in fact depending on platform … either it’s to bright either its to dark in dark scenes

I finally like most of HTPC users of kodi used madvr / external players and so on. But was tired of not having a native kodi player

Hope the vero 4k will meet my needs. having a great fluent experience with skins like aeon mq8 and a quite heavy database. (external database)

having hdr pass trough when watching on my hdr TV / but having a nice tonemapping when watching on my non hdr projector. And also having my 3d framepacked movies play as real 3d on my projector. And all that with a native kodi player. So i can keep my x265 HDR 10 bit movies and my 3d framepacked movies
And hope having good experience with my harmony elite remote

Will do somme feedbacks when i receive it, i read tons of subjects in the forum before placing order. And i guess i will be happy.

[sam_nazarko]

Should be OK – but keep in mind that you need to install a test build for 3D playback to work currently.

Sam

[sarakha63]

Yes i read all the topic about it. And of course i’m ready to use a test build.

[sarakha63]

Hello Sam

I see my vero 4k+ was shipped it should be in my hand in few days now. Really in a hurry in testing it

What would be the procedure to swithc to test builds update ? I don’t car being on a test build. I’m also a developer on some projects. And i understand that you cant kick stable releases for each improvements or features. And also you need people on test builds to make feedbacks or see some specific issues.

So i will probably directly switch to tests build directly. Whats the best way to do so and have further “nightly” updates (be nightly i mean test builds once you release one)

[fzinken]

@sarakha63

What would be the procedure to swithc to test builds update ?

Well generally development releases you can activate via the staging repository

• Edit the file /etc/apt/sources.list
• Add the following line: deb http://apt.osmc.tv stretch-devel main

But I guess you refer to the 3D testing one, that is a bit special and explained in it’s own thread

3D Frame Packed output

For a while now, we’ve been working on adding support for Frame Packed (MVC) output when playing 3D content. Side-by-side and Top-and-bottom output have been possible for some time over the years, but this isn’t ideal as the resolution is halved. With these test builds, you should be able to play MVC content and output as Frame Packed 3D if your equipment supports it. These are still test builds, and we need more feedback before we can make this part of OSMC as standard. Many thanks to @tanio9…

[sarakha63]

Ok i was refering to the 3d one, i havent noticed it had it’s own test build.

So for now i will hook on the 3D test build i guess and then when it will be merged the sources list trick should get me to be on the current test build and having current devs. Ok i see

Thank you for your feedback

Edit : i read the subject in fact this is a test build the same one but with some more operations (specific deb file) needed Thanks

[sam_nazarko]

When you get the device let us know if you have any questions

Cheers

Sam

[sarakha63]

Received

[sarakha63]

So I took some time at noon to make some tests.

What can i say … It seems to work like a charm

So i updated to last november update then installed 3D framepacked MVC build

What i tested :

• multiple 3D mkvs MVC framepacked on my projector all i tested worked correctly
• HDR 4Ks mkv on the projector (non HDR) : displayed with tonemapping (WAY better than the one on KODI windows, a little too dark i guess on some movies)
• HDR 4Ks mkv on my 4K TV : displayed correctly with HDR signal detected
• aeon mq8 with my heavy database : ok seems really fluent enough

So for now i’m really conviced and REALLLY HAPPY for this all in one KODI Box

Some things i noticed and which i need to investiguate :

• As a harmony remote user i really hate CEC as i want my activities to be the one to do and decide. And altough i disabled CEC on the vero i noticed some strange beahavior seeing my TV switch on two times while i was wathcing on projector (I will investiguate and come back)

• This one seems to be on OSMC side : I’m french and i noticed a strange behavior on sorting Titles if the first letter is a specific french one (accented character) I have the issue with two kind

Ice age collection which in french is Âge de glace
It collection which in french is Ça

Both of collection are sorted at the end and i never had that issue with kodi windows/ shield / mibox and so on.

I double checked the region configuration in kodi all seems ok

But as i far as i know and when i see how well you react to peoples issue and feedback (yes i read enough of the discourse) i think i FOUND my new complete TV BOX

Thanks

[sam_nazarko]

Which skin are you using?

[sarakha63]

Aeon MQ8 (the same i always use, but the issue is the same with osmc skin)

[sam_nazarko]

Ok – that’s odd.

Are the Windows / Shield versions on the same version of Kodi?

Sam

[sarakha63]

Exactly the same. I will investiguate at the end of the day, maybe i’m missing a local parameter somewhere. I jsut played two hours with the box.

Ah another maybe interesting information. All Kodis uses the same Database as i have a common database. So technically they all read the samething

[darwindesign]

@sarakha63

As a harmony remote user i really hate CEC as i want my activities to be the one to do and decide. And altough i disabled CEC on the vero i noticed some strange beahavior seeing my TV switch on two times while i was wathcing on projector (I will investiguate and come back)

If your TV turned on that would point to CEC being enabled on the TV still wouldn’t it? To disable it on the Vero did you go to settings>system>input>peripherals>cec adapter>enable and set that to a disabled state AND reboot after changing the setting?

[sarakha63]

For the CEC behavior I confirm a reboot was needed. yesterday evening it didnt seem to reproduce. Thanks i will tell if it reproduces (but i think it was simply a matter of rebooting)

@sam_nazarko about the first character sorting issue i tried everything i really dont think im missing something. For now i defined a sorting alternative title. But i think it should be something that you should be aware of

I noticed something stranged yesterday on 3D MVC playback. First of all a question :

Is something defined at the moment of boot to check TV / Projector capabilities.

Yesterday i didnt manage to watch a 3D MVC movie on the projector until i rebooted (image was doubled) And i think it is related to the fact that i booted on the TV and then switch to Projector output ? If this is the case it could be good to trigger this kind of check before the movie plays. I explain :

I own a DENON X4300H with dual hdmi output. And at whatever moment with my harmonies activity i can decide to go to a projector activity or maintain a TV activity. And i think (not sure) once the vero noticed the TV was not 3d capable even tough i switch to projector then later launch a 3D movie it will mess.

Thats what i noticed yesterday evening. AS soon as i rebooted on the projector i had a perfect 3D.

Maybe you want me to discuss that on the 3d TOPIC.

But except those minor details, and after trying bunch of setups i really think vero is what i was looking for since years… Thanks for making it possible.

You can be sure that if one day you decide to create a Vero 4K+ PRO with bunch of hardware power even at 250 bucks i will jump on it.

Thanks the team for me

[sam_nazarko]

Yes - EDID is read to determine 3D capability

You can either hardcode an EDID or enable HPD Lock to resolve this issue. The latter will work provided you are not power cycling regularly.

[sarakha63]

ok that’s exactly what i guessed thanks for confirmation.

on your point of view which will be the best option to have no mess wether i’m watching on tv or on projector to be sure having no mess on HDR content or 3D content ?

[sam_nazarko]

Do you know how to use SSH?
You could copy your display modes permanently. I can give some instructions

[sarakha63]

Yes i know ssh well (i’m a developper at maintime)

If you want we can discuss that on a specific thread ?

AS i noticed another bug with the 3D build. I suppose you know we can put a trailer in the same folder as the movie to have local trailers parsed by kodi.
I just noticed if i play a non 3d trailer (standard mp4 or mkv) of a 3D movie it will try to play it as if it was a 3D movie. Resulting in strange behavior and often with a complete freeze of Kodi (only solution to unlock is to ssh and perform a reboot)

This behaviors doesnt seem to be due to kodi itself as i can’t reproduce it on any other platform. The trailer is played as a standard movie trailer.

It just looks to me that the fact that the file is and extras of the movie your build seems to rely that it has the media info of the movie itself. I guess the same problems should occur for people using extras (such as bonus and so on)

[sam_nazarko]

This makes it easier then.

Start Vero 4K + after your TV / AVR etc are on.

Then:

cp /sys/class/amhdmitx/amhdmitx0/disp_cap ~/.kodi/userdata/
cp /sys/class/amhdmitx/amhdmitx0/disp_cap_3d ~/.kodi/userdata/

Now Kodi will check your custom display capabilities instead of consulting what’s connected to the HDMI. If you move to another TV, you need to delete these files or re-perform this step to ensure it works properly.