Kodi Rockchip issues with PicoPix Max

PicoPix Max Technical Topics
42

The second post is indeed interesting. More detailed investigation can be found here:

It seems the Rockchip gpu driver is actively blocking kodi by name, and can confirm the same code appears when grepping through the PPM libraries:

% strings lib64/egl/libGLES_mali.so | grep -B5 -A5 kodi
Function call returned error : ret = %d.
isFrameSkippingAllowed
com.antutu.ABenchMark:antutu3dtest
com.antutu.benchmark.full
com.music.videogame:remote3
org.xbmc.kodi
[File] : %s; [Line] : %d; [Func] : %s;
frame_skipping IS allowd in current process.
android.leanbackjank.app
com.android.server.cts.device.graphicsstats
android.openglperf.cts

The above link suggests:

  • recompiling Kodi with a different name would work.
  • patching the string in libGLES_mali.so would also work.
  • that this is fixed in newer versions of the rockchip sdk

As such I see plenty of optimism for the future.

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43

Another possibility, in the vein of Plex, would be Jellyfin. It’s a free Emby fork that theoretically lets you use an external player to play your videos. This feature doesn’t seem to be working on my phone atm, but using mpv or any other Rockchip-supporting software could be a work-around. I don’t have a PPX or I’d try it.

44

That seems excessively petty, they actually got into such a big argument that they blacklisted Kodi?? That’s not a very mature move, but I guess we’ll never get to know the compete truth.

45

Rockchip have been excellent partners and have supported us every step of the way. I’m sure we’ll work out a solution if the above is true.

But everything post-CNY.

3 Likes
46

I installed the Kodi modified versions mentioned above in that post. No difference. Same issue. Changing Kodi name in the code probably helpful only to install the software which is not the issue in our Picopix Max case. We can install the Kodi app but the performance is laggy.

47

Changing the name enables kodi to be able to use hardware decoding and not just software on rockchip devices I think given the above seems to imply that the rockchip gpu is actively blocking kodi?

I think it might be helpful to see what type of videos you’re trying to play as it seems other users arent neccessarily encountering the same issues it might come down to narrowing what videos ur trying to play, what codecs its using, whether it needs software or hardware support to run smoothly?

48

I have tried most common ones and the same result. Mkv, MP4, Avi etc.

49

But did you try the FTMC? It says there " FTMC is a fork for Kodi and provides hardware acceleration and more features on rockchip mainstream chips(rk3228, rk3229, rk3229h, rk3288, rk3368, rk3399)" so if it is connected to the Rockchip then FTMC should solve it. If you still have the issue then maybe it is not connected to the Rockchip inside PPM but something else.

50

The point I was trying to make, and echoes what was said by Sirolf, is that Philips/Screeneo cannot simply now say that it is not their fault, because of the marketing that was done with the kodi logo prominently displayed, with information in the explanation that it “runs all your favorite apps like kodi”, and additionally via direct discussion with the project team where they confirmed kodi would run seamlessly like it does on all my other devices.

To make this level of marketing and promise would suggest that you know for sure it works, and that it was tested to prove as much, in order to be able to make such claims.

To use your example. If i had a problem with whatsapp on my iphone, and on the iphone product page it had a logo of whatsapp shown as a major functioning app, and in the iphone product information it stated that whatsapp will work on the iphone, and then during a conversation with the iphone development team the iphone team member confirmed to me directly that whatsapp will definitely work with the iphone, and then after this I received the iphone and whatsaspp did not work, i would ABSOLUTELY talk with Apple to complain about the false information and incorrect claims they made about their product that influenced me to purchase their product.

If this was an app that was not specifically highlighted and mentioned in your marketing and confirmed via direct chat with your team, I could understand. But in this case, what you are saying is unacceptable.

I really hope you solve this issue and get kodi working whether that be with close cooperation with kodi or rockchip or anything else, because for me (and many others) this will be the end of the line if this functionality is not available. Even though i was very disappointed with the false advertising of automatic horizontal keystone on HDMI sources, and bluetooth connection to speaker with HDMI sources, I thought to myself that at least i can use this device with my home network and play my media via kodi.

If this is not the case anymore, the 3 main features that convinced me to buy this product will have turned out to be irresponsible false advertising, and would force me to request a refund in addition to not being able to trust philps as a brand anymore.

Its a real shame.

And its disappointing when there are issues and backers highlight them to you, you make excuses and say that you cannot be responsible for other suppliers. But if that is the case, you should be responsible and not make claims and promises in the first place regarding this functionality, that convinces people to buy/support your product.
A company has to be accountable for the specific claims it makes.

I will keep my fingers crossed that this gets sorted, my projector has not been sent yet, and I hope this issue is sorted soon after CNY.

1 Like
51

@ sirolf

I agree with you for the most part.

But now simply removing some false claims from the story page is not a solution to providing on promises that were made that resulted in people support/backing their product.

They should do everything in their power to get this promised functionality working.

For sure moving forward, this information should be removed until they can restore the functionality to protect potential new customers, but it cannot be at the cost of making effort to provide on promises made to already existing customers.

52

We just tested the jellyfish-110-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv. It works well, this is the highest bitrate for Full HD.
We tried the next level at

  • 4K 120 MBPS, MKV, H264: no issues
  • 4K 120Mbps HEVC 10 bits HDR: this is where it’s starting to lag
    Which version of Kodi are you using ? 64 or 86?
53

The video you have tested will not show the jittery effect. Find a video where in the scene, camera is panning from one side to the other. Then you will see the jittery playback which is caused by no hardware decoding support.

Please don’t justify that Kodi is working fine on Picopix Max. Because it’s not due to the technical issue that needs to be resolved first. It’s a known issue for Rockchip branded devices like Picopix Max so instead of wasting time to counter argue, the Philips Dev team should be focused on contacting Rockchip and finding the Root cause of the problem. Thanks.

54

i didnt say so, I said those video were working.
No please, point me to a video with the jitter effect, we we need to check the exact codec

55

Try Quantum of Solace. Scene Between 3 minutes 20 seconds and 4 minutes into the movie. Camera is moving from bottom of the old building to the top of it.

56

And it’s not with one video or certain codec. The problem is with any video. Feels like frames are dropping.

57

ok which version? 4K or Full HD? Which file? MKV of Mp4? there is a big difference so we need to download the right file

1 Like
58

Try Full HD with MKV file.

59

Its strange because I’ve actually seen more people say they managed to get kodi working acceptably on their machine. One guy even posted a few videos.

Although I dont doubt that Faisal is having issues, and rockchip definitely has documentrd issues with kodi, we cant definitively say kodi isnt working yet until we get more test cases?

Anyway hopefully more people can post their usage and experience with kodi because like you i backed the project with kodi use in mind and do want the problems solved.

1 Like
60

It’s definitely not the case with my PPM only.

Any movies I play on PPMAX are playing fine with VLC and MX Player but with Kodi built in app, they are not.

Same movies I play using Kodi app installed on Amazon Fire TV Stick and Raspberry Pi, and they play fine.

So it’s not like there’s something wrong with my PPMAX only. The hardware it’s self is fine. If it wasn’t then I would see playback issues with other players like VLC and MX Player. The Kodi app installed natively in PPMax, is fundamentally not supported. ( All versions including both 32 and 64 bit).

Also, to some people that drop frame/ jittery effect might not bother and they might be okay with it. But it doesn’t mean that Kodi is natively working with PPMax.
The problem is still there due to hardware compatibility issues. And we are going in circles and wasting time on arguing if it’s a problem to begin with or not.

61

Hi guys, please be patient, as soon as our China team returns I will talk to Rockchip about it. Pretty sure a solution will surface.

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