UGoos AM6B+ - End-Game 4K Media Streamer (for me anyway, and anyone who cares about Dolby Vision playback)

[HomerJAU]

There is a player setting where you should set adjust tv to sync:

https://kodi.wiki/view/Settings/Player/Videos

Other settings in here to.

You should not set one whitelist frame rate. It forces Kodi to output at that frame rate! That’s why it dropping frames. Don’t whitelist unless you add everything your tv can do (so Kodi only sends rates your tv can do). Modern TVs can do everything except some weird old PC stuff.

 

[HomerJAU]

Also this CoreElec specific for Dovi:

https://wiki.coreelec.org/coreelec:kodi_ce_sys_settings

 

[timothyemerson]

Also this CoreElec specific for Dovi:

https://wiki.coreelec.org/coreelec:kodi_ce_sys_settings

Thanks Garry. Just tried a few more things:

1. Cleared the Whitelist and managed to get around the blank screen issue when playing a 4K DV MKV but the frame judders remained.

2. No matter what User Level I selected, Sync playback to display was never an option under Playback.

3. Made some Force display colour depth and Force colour subsampling changes here https://wiki.coreelec.org/coreelec:kodi_ce_sys_settings under Version 2 (as the Dolby Vision options weren't available under Version 1).

4. I adjusted the Display refresh rate to start and then back to On start/stop, tried the 4K DV MKV, got the blank screen and had to power off as I couldn't navigate out of it.

5. I've tried multiple reboots into CoreElec with power off between but it won't boot up into CoreElec at all now. Still boots the standard Ugoos/non-CoreElec way though.

Argh!

 

[HomerJAU]

Sync playback to display

No this must be set off you want the original source frame rate!

 

[HomerJAU]

Post some screen shots of your System, Video settings and System, Player settings for video.

What version of CoreElec have your installed? Exact version from the Settings, CoreElec screen.

 

[HomerJAU]

Display refresh rate to start and then back to On start/stop

On Start/Stop is what you need.

 

[HomerJAU]

5. I've tried multiple reboots into CoreElec with power off between but it won't boot up into CoreElec at all now. Still boots the standard Ugoos/non-CoreElec way though.

You’ll need to do a reset start like you did during install so the Ugoos knows to boot from the USB.

 

[HomerJAU]

My video related settings (different skin), photos of my 77” LG OLED:

The next shot has more options than standard CoreElec. I’m using latest CPM build which enables Dovi engine options like converting HDR10+ to Dovi etc.

 

[steelydave]

@HomerJAU can correct me if I'm wrong, but when a playback device (like the AM6b+) connects to a display device (ie a TV) via HDMI, the TV tells the playback device all the modes (resolution and refresh rate) that it supports, so if the file is in one of the natively supported modes, it will be output at that, and if it isn't it will be upscaled to the nearest supported one.

The fact that your display blanks out when you try to play certain 4K files suggests to me that there's a hardware or interconnect problem rather than a configuration problem, because your TV is telling the UGoos that it can do something and then it's not able to do it, so my first port of call would be to make sure that it's not that kind of issue before changing a million different settings.

Dolby Vision requires (I think) at minimum HDMI 2.0 (or maybe 2.0a?) and HDCP 2.2 so make sure the ports on your AVR both in and out support this, and that all the HDMI cables you're using are certified for at least this. I'd be tempted to plug the UGoos directly into the TV (leaving the AVR out of the equation for the time being) with various different HDMI cables to see if one of the cables is the culprit. If it works with one cable but not another, then you know the problem, if it works with all the cables then maybe your AVR is the issue. I can't remember if you said which AVR you're using, but with my Onkyo HT-R695, which has 7 HDMI ports, only the first 3 are HDCP 2.2 capable.

 

[steelydave]

On the subject of remotes, I had the same problem you describe with the UR-01 (and all Bluetooth) remotes continuously un-pairing every time I shut off or restarted the AM6b+.

I did a lot of digging and found a post on the CoreElec forum that suggested the problem was due to linux permissions issues with the files or folders that hold the remote control configuration data not being set correctly, and the remedy was to connect to the AM6B+ using a terminal client (I used PuTTY which is great, and free) and issue the following command:

find /storage -maxdepth 1 -type d ! -user root -exec chown -R root:root {} \;

I did this and it solved the problem for me, I haven't had to re-pair my UR-01 or my Logitech Harmony since then.

--

On the subject of the Harmony remote, just in case anyone else gets an AM6B+ and has one, if you want to control CoreElec with yours, add a new device with manufacturer name 'Microsoft' and model number 'Kodi'. I think I mentioned this elsewhere, but it's crazy how good CoreElec is with a Harmony remote, all the buttons are mapped correctly and it's snappier and more responsive than some of the 'real' remotes I have, including my cable box.

I also wanted to be able to control the AM6B+ using the Harmony remote when it was booted up in Android, and to do this you have to add it again as another device because it sees the Android boot and the CoreElec boot as two different things.

Harmony's database has an entry for the AM6B (manufacturer: UGoos / model: AM6B) but it uses IR control, and is a bit sluggish as a result, which I wasn't happy with because the UR-01 that comes with it is bluetooth and super quick. After some trial and error I discovered that adding the AM6B+ as a NVidia Shield (manufacturer: NVidia / model: Shield TV Pro) does the trick, with the one caveat being that two of the buttons are mapped incorrectly and you need to fix them yourself. There's a tutorial on how to do this on the Logitech website here - first the 'Exit' button needs to be remapped to the 'Home' command, and the 'Back' button (the u-turn arrow button below and to the right of the control pad) needs to be remapped to the command 'Back' from the list. After that you can fully control the AM6B+ using the Harmony remote.

 

[timothyemerson]

You’ll need to do a reset start like you did during install so the Ugoos knows to boot from the USB.

Oh right. Now for the bad news:

1. I just tried doing this a few times with that reset button on the underside held down with a needle and then powering on from the wall. Over top of the chip illustration that usually appears on non-CoreElec boot, there's a little Android icon and it says it's updating - I haven't seen this before.

2. Following this , the screen goes blank and there's no appearance of the CoreElec logo so even if I keep the reset button depressed, the CoreElec icon never appears.

3. There's a little light in the USB drive I'm trying to boot CoreElec from and I can see that it's flashing which is used to do when I could boot into CoreElec. However, after a bit of flashing it stops.

4. I think I might have bricked it in terms of CoreElec boot is concerned anyway. What do you think?

By the way Garry, I really appreciate all of the help that you and steelydave have offered. I would have given up by now if it hadn't been for your advice.

Also, from memory, my settings look pretty much the same as the pics that you posted of your settings (prior to me bricking it if that is in fact what I've done) except for the Dolby Vision settings. There were never any Dolby Vision settings available on my install.

The version that I installed last week was this one: CoreELEC-Amlogic-ng.arm-21.1.1-Omega-Generic.img.gz

Also, I'm pretty sure that it's not the HDMI cable or the receiver port that is the culprit here. Both the Sony TV and Zidoo Z9X are capable of Dolby Vision and would display the DV logo upon starting a DV MKV. The Sony TV settings would then confirm that DV was active. The DV logo never appeared on screen when I tried playing a DV MKV via CoreElec and there were never any DV settings available. That's leading me to believe that it (was) a CoreElec problem.

Anyway, that's enough CoreElec hoo-haa for today. Ima put the trash out and get some shuteye. Interested in hearing if y'all have any thoughts as to what I can try to unbrick the thing. Reckon I've spent about 25 hours on this little machine so far including all the internet searching. And that doesn't include wasting you guys' time!

 

[HomerJAU]

Ok. I believe once Android boots and your USB is there it stops the device from booting from the USB.

So you’ll need to create a new usb image like it was new install.

Also there are some fixes and improvements since the last official CE which you used. I would strongly recommend getting the latest CE 21 ng nightly image in the Download page. Follow the exact same image creation and root instructions you used first time. I’m pretty sure I saw fixes for HDMI handshake (what Dave mentioned)

For CE Dovi you have to copy the Dovi file onto the USB stick before you install. It can’t be distributed by CE as it’s not licensed. It needs be copied of the Internet not from CE website. The Dovi file is from another media player not The AM6B. It’s documented in te CE forum.

 

[HomerJAU]

On the subject of remotes, I had the same problem you describe with the UR-01

I’ve got two Ugoos and multiple UR-01 and after some teething issues on first day they’ve stayed paired with not one issue.

There were definitely code changes in CoreElec just after I bought my first one. The remote is now fully configured in CoreElec, just pair and it works. Linux has been updated too, with new drivers and firmware since the official CE 21 was released. I guess they are waiting for Kodi 21.2 for the next official CE release. Many changes in Kodi in the nightly builds.