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G-BOX Rockchip 2918 Gingerbread - Really plays and outputs FullHD

Is there anyone is using the AV cable rather than the HDMI, I found out the video player display such as the backward/forward timeline bar cannot display correctly over the video screen! Is there any quick fix or must use HDMI?
 
Paincake said:
BIG NEWS!!

Read & Write Root access ist working. Filesystem is now ext3.
It will be converted to ext4 soon. When everything works as expected there could be a full release the next two or three days. :)
It was build based on stock rom, so by now there is some junk in the rom again. With read & write access this is no problem because you can remove all apps you don't want with titanium backup for example!

I'll post again soon ;)
Click to expand...

Plz ! Im gonna crazy trying to root, lost nights without sleep and didnt make any progress.
 
Cybereu said:
Plz ! Im gonna crazy trying to root, lost nights without sleep and didnt make any progress.
Click to expand...

Ok, I will post the ext3 Firmware :)
All work is done by Finless from Freaktab.com. He doesn't own our device so i did testing only.
Thank him, he has done great work :)
I didn't post the ext3 firmware earlier because i wanted a finished software. Sadly Bob (Finless) has not the time right now to convert it to ext4 so we have to deal with the current ext3. IT IS GREAT!!:)

The new firmware hast some useless stuff inside, but you can remove everything by your own - we have full read and write rootaccess :D:D

READ THE README FIRST AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS!! YOU HAVE TO UPDATE BY USB MALE TO MALE ADAPTER!!!!

If you have any questions feel free to ask me


Downloadlink:
http://depositfiles.com/files/qm4c9u6c1
 
Im testing it right now, the system is more smoothy and faster, the only problem i see its the Wi-Fi, that sometimes i need reboot to get it working again.

Edit: Is there a way to update to GB 2.3.x ?
 
I had wifi problems from the point where i bought the box with every firmware. Random disconnects after 5,10, 15 min of use. Only rebooting rooter or box helped so im running it wired now...

I don't think it would be easy to update it to a newer android version. But i'm only noob ;)
 
So the only thing you did was changing the power supply? And with pc usb it works now?

I tried installign xbmc, too but it fails always with parsing error...
 
Paincake said:
Android 4 TV Box! 1080i! Google Play, 1GB/4GB, ICS, Wifi, 3D Games, Ouya! | eBay

We need that firmware and customize it for our box...
Click to expand...

I wanna buy that one since it says it has xbmc installed...if I do, how would I extract the firmware to share? Also, is thing thing capable of using gamepads ( i would wanna try an app called gamekeyboard for all the touchscreen only games and map actions to hardware buttons)?

***update***

I just got word from the seller on ebay that this does not have bluetooth (the seller says that bluetooth can be added...how exactly, I don't know, but I am assuming via a bluetooth USB dongle, but know knows). Also as far as gamepad support, the seller also said they are testing USB gamepads, but after doing a google search, seems many do work. I would love to try my SNES to USB adapter on this.

***update***

I bought this on ebay, so when I get it, I would appreciate any help on extracting the ROM/firmware to share with others.
 
I just received that box from ebay (Item # 221081885561) and so far it seems to work well except for a couple bugs. The screen wants to rotate on some apps and won't rotate back without a restart the other issues is a audio sync isse when using netflix and youtube. I have had no luck at all getting the optical audio to work, I noticed that there is not light coming from the output which leads me to believe it is not functioning. I have not put much time yet into finding if there are any replacement roms to fix these issues yet but suggestions would be much appreciated.
 
I will receive my Android box in the next days, and I want to say thank you to all for the informations given in this post.

Since I read that installing android 4.0 may be possible, I search on this forum and I find that sphp proposed an android 4.0 firmware for RK2918 chips but only for the models with 4x USB.

To see the post :
http://androidforums.com/google-tv/506298-rk2918-android-tv-box-4x-usb-rooted-firmware-manual.html

I don't understand why it couldn't work for 2x USB models ?
Has someone test this firmware ?

Thank you for your feedback.
 
Titien76 said:
I will receive my Android box in the next days, and I want to say thank you to all for the informations given in this post.

Since I read that installing android 4.0 may be possible, I search on this forum and I find that sphp proposed an android 4.0 firmware for RK2918 chips but only for the models with 4x USB.

To see the post :
http://androidforums.com/google-tv/506298-rk2918-android-tv-box-4x-usb-rooted-firmware-manual.html

I don't understand why it couldn't work for 2x USB models ?
Has someone test this firmware ?

Thank you for your feedback.
Click to expand...

I am getting mine from ebay probably today. The ebay auction description says it will come with ICS and XBMC installed. I will probably also add Hulu from this player's web site.

The one I am getting is a 2 USB version (is there really any difference between this and the 4 USB version other than amount of USB ports?). If anyone has gotten the 2 USB version root to work, please post on how!

Also, since this does not have component video output, is there a way to convert the HDMI output to component output?
 
@Titien76

It looks the same from the outside, but i'm shure the mainboard has some minor differences. I accidentially installed the wrong firmware and my box didn't boot again!
Now, that i know how to go into flashmode i'll give it a try maybe tomorrow.
What tv box did you buy? The 4.0 new or the "old" 2.x?

@eastbayarb

Great you get the box! Maybe you can copy xbmc with titanium backup and upload it. Anyway, i don't think it will work, because xbmc ist still in buggy beta!? (am i right?)
If you get the firmware from somewhere (some buyers of other boxes wrote their supplier for it and got it :)) there is someone who can root and upgrade it. Search for "finless bob freaktab" on google and write a pm to him when you have the firmware. If your nice he will do it ;)
I really really want to try your firmware on my box! I think there's a small chance it could work...
The thing with bluetooth is the same on our box. Few say it has bluetooth "support" and others say they could get it to work and disabled it with broken drivers remaining.

@lawrencesys

Sry to hear that your optical out doesn't work. I never tried it on my 2.3 Version of the box, but i have a red light comign out.

@all
Try to get the firmware or the name of the company who builds your box from your supplier. I may be the only way to get root

btw.: With the new read/write root access i clocked min/max to 1ghz to prevent it from clocking cpu down.
Holo Launcher is working great, too! Fastest launcher i tested on our box!

Does anybody else have any suggestions on standard apps like video/audio/picture/browser/launcher.... or anything else for our box that works great and is usefull?
 
Paincake said:
@Titien76

It looks the same from the outside, but i'm shure the mainboard has some minor differences. I accidentially installed the wrong firmware and my box didn't boot again!
Now, that i know how to go into flashmode i'll give it a try maybe tomorrow.
What tv box did you buy? The 4.0 new or the "old" 2.x?
Click to expand...

It's the old one, 2x USB, with Android 2.3.
 
This is the box i am getting from ebay:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CEkQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2FAndroid-4-XBMC-TV-Box-1080p-HD-Google-Play-4GB-Wifi-3D-Games-Netflix-Hulu-%2F221094826119&ei=zi4sULKbO-eSiQLJ84GoAQ&usg=AFQjCNF_hoGkuRhUqIR5YVb01kA1hTVOqw

Can i do a titanium backup without rooting? I dont even know how to root this
 
Ok so I got the G-Box. First, I really HATE how small text is when using it on an SDTV. I have yet to test it on my HDTV. XBMC sucks on it. Videos play kinda choppy through the ethernet jack - this is not an issue on my XBOX1. The pause/stop/FF/RW buttons do not work in Hulu and Netflix, and I don't like the interface for either. The mouse pad on the remote does not work. I also can't seem to get rid of the task bar on the bottom of the screen that shows the time, menu button, and back button. It doesn't appear to be that every app supports an on screen keyboard (Netflix is a good example).

This device has potential, but I feel it was not what I expected...I will be keeping my XBOX1.

Oh yea, now there exists a G-Box 2, which has component video (not the crappy composite video found in the G-Box) and is smaller...
 
Is there an official forum for this thing yet? Many questions, I have. Like is there a way to navigate Netflix without the need for a mouse/keyboard. And why does it play in a box instead of full screen?
 
Paincake said:
Are you sure you have the right box? The (~one year old) white with two usb - not the new xbmc etc. one?
Could you run Android Analyzer and post the link to your log?
My old log is here: click
I'm really sure it works ;)

Edit: Maybe i got you wrong. Do you mean, you can't delete apps? Or does the firmware not work?
Click to expand...
I have the same G-Box as yours, Android Analyzer log is here.
It looks like exactly the same as on photo on the header of this forum thread.

So at first I tried to upgrade firmware from 2.3.1 to 4 with this rom , because specification of device described there is similar to me G-Box. After flashing with RKBatchTool device not loaded at all, I tried HDMI and AV outputs, but it seemed that device behaves as dead.

Then I tried your fully rooted firmware (G_Box TV Player FinlessV1.2 full root). I downloaded the your archive with RKAndroidTool, lauched it and put all necessary file paths. After flashing device behaved the same as with android 4 firmware...

So I returned to previous firmare I had with 2.3.1 and read-only root...
 
I have the same error with the ics firmware i flashed 5min ago. Blue led but black screen.
When i (successfully) flashed back to my firmware and tried to start it, it showed blue led for 3 seconds and shut down to red led then... Found out it was stuck in flashmode.
Erasing IDB with RKAndroidTool and flashing it again helped. I'm running the full rooted firmware again.
When you flashed the full rooted firmware, did you check the "Loader" box and choose the right loader "RK29xxLoader(L)_V2.05.bin" from the folder?
Preinstalled loader in settings.ini is wrong!
Just try it again, i'm confident it will work :)
 
Hi all,

I have been trying to find a firmware later than 2.3.1 for this version of G-Box without success. Does anyone have anything newer?

The reason I need it is to run up the Alpha versions of XBMC as they appear to require 2.3.3 or later otherwise the apk install fails with a parse error.

I have been in touch with the owner of G-Box Mini PC | Android TV Box and tried their firmwares (All available on their site) but these appear to be for an RK2908 and not the RK2918 we are using (Good site and the products look good too by the way).

Any help would be great.

Thanks all

Of and thanks for the work and time spent by Paincake and Finless for the rooted firmware.
 
mindsurfer said:
I have the same G-Box as yours, Android Analyzer log is here.
It looks like exactly the same as on photo on the header of this forum thread.

So at first I tried to upgrade firmware from 2.3.1 to 4 with this rom , because specification of device described there is similar to me G-Box. After flashing with RKBatchTool device not loaded at all, I tried HDMI and AV outputs, but it seemed that device behaves as dead.

Then I tried your fully rooted firmware (G_Box TV Player FinlessV1.2 full root). I downloaded the your archive with RKAndroidTool, lauched it and put all necessary file paths. After flashing device behaved the same as with android 4 firmware...

So I returned to previous firmare I had with 2.3.1 and read-only root...
Click to expand...

Now there are two different roms, rev 3 and rev 4. Mindsurfer, paincake, wich one have you installed?. Thank you.

I am using this rom: http://www.2shared.com/file/Y7W5dgLG/g-box_11-3-2012.html It's rooted. I installed titanium backup root. I uninstalled innecesary software for me like the camera, timescape and others, and i got up to 170 mb of free ram. Now, the device it's as fast as my gingerbread rooted sony ericsson xperia arc s (1,4 ghz). What does Ics have more than Gingerbread?
 
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