Volumio 2 on TV box Amlogic S9xxx S8xxx

**NOTE

There has not been any support for the Volumio 2 images for a while yet.
Balbes150 has removed himself from this forum quite a while ago and nobody continues his work (not here and not at Armbian).
There is no intention to port balbes150’s work to Volumio 3, which means Amlogic TV box support has come to a definite end as of 29.10.2021.

balbes150 and Volumio download links have been removed.

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awesome!!! Finally a tv box alternative for a C2 :smiley:
Would you be able to support it, even as an “unsupported” version?
Any interest in helping us with OS work?

Edit actually, after reviewing this, it is a very, very nice peace of work, compliments!

I think for audio playback do not need very large resources and TV boxes can do the job. :blush:

What do you mean by the term “support” ? Sync my GIT with the main branch Volumio and build new images ? I can synchronize and assemble the system itself, but I’m not well versed in the nuances of playback and sound settings. I am willing to help as its capabilities to the development of the project Volumio. By the way, I would be interested to work on a modification of the Assembly of the system of Volumio that it was possible to use Volumio as an optional component with the installation of the existing system Armbian (in the form of an archive or deb packages). This will allow to move the system Assembly parts in the Assembly environment Armbian. Then it will be easy to expand the list of supported devices to a level at which there are images Armbian (all TV boxes on the basis of the s9xxx s802 s805 s812).

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I really like armbian, it is very mature stuff by very professional and competent people.
It is a good source for information and I have used it often.
However, the work done for volumio using the armbian build system has not been supported by the people introducing it, so we are a little wary about new efforts.
We don’t really need the armbian platform as such, but if there would be a way to gracefully combine the kernel and u-boot tools from armbian in a way that could be picked up by the volumio image builders, and in a way we could support it, that would be great.
If so, please also inform Igor Pečovnik about it.

I use a computer translator, therefore, may not accurately describe their thoughts. I meant to combine the capabilities of the finished image Armbian (as base, with kernel and all the necessary components, which is assembled in the build system build\Armbian) and create the archive \ script \ ready deb package with components Volumio (I don’t know how best to do this). Which would allow for a detailed and customized system Armbian everything you need for work Volumio components (not caring about the settings of the iron and running the kernel on specific hardware). Ie to split the build system into two modules - the system itself is a part (the base Armbian as a server image or my can create a custom profile under Volumio to profile build Armbian) + Volumio system (binaries, configuration, and other components necessary for its operation). Maybe I’m wrong and misunderstand what is happening when you build Volumio. Now, the build system Volumio, at the first stage collects the ROOTFS from the standard Debian components, and then performs the addition and configuration of Volumio, then adds the kernel and all components from the platform directory and generates a combined image. Am I wrong ?
To attempt to try this option, I don’t need “consent” Igor. :slight_smile:
I have my own branch and build system images Armbian TV boxes with different chips (S802 S805 S812 S912 S905X S905). :unamused:

forum.armbian.com/forum/24-tv-boxes/

github.com/150balbes/build

mentioning Igor was only to express the value armbian would have when volumio was going to take use of that in any form.
The Armbian team should be entitled to know we are using their work, apart from any other rules we would need to comply with.

I have now “fiddled” with the armbian build for the last week or so and tried to see if we can build some sort of an interface with volumio.
Armbian’s main asset to us seems to be creating the platform files, for the rest (armbian rootfs) I have not seen a point.
We have different build environments (Armbian Ubuntu, Volumio Debian), but with my approach that should not be a real issue.
I believe, that we can use the ubuntu build environment from armbian to build u-boot and kernel and transfer the relevant generated .deb files to a volumio platform repo.

The build scripts need a slight change. installing u-boot and kernel, including volumio-specific boot configuration needs to move into the config.sh file.

I’m planning to test this, it is a different approach from what others have tried.

Build system Armbian can collect images for both directions are Debian and Ubuntu. As an example, you can see the links to the images Armbian for TV boxes. They have 4 options, 2 Debian and 2 Ubuntu (server and desktop). I don’t use all possible options, but the build system this opportunity is and if you want, you can assemble any version. It is also possible to have different packages for each version of the system, different settings, etc. to gather the right versions of the packages in the Assembly process of the image (using your source, or to apply patches on shared packages). You can use any repository with packages. By the way, Volumio to work on TV boxes zagruzki u-boot is not needed (i.e. it is possible to collect all the images without it). If necessary, I am willing to help.

Khadas seems interested too, so we will certainly follow up on this.
FYI, due to circumstances, I will not be able to do much until mid Januari 18, but will take the time to have a closer look at your work in the meantime.
– Gé –

On the advice of the user forum Khadas, two weeks ago ordered the module to check the operation of Volumio.
Today, I received just such a module.

ru.aliexpress.com/item/1Pcs-PCM … 95361.html

Hooked it up via USB cable to Khadas VIM2 (S912). Launched the image of Volumio. The module is automatically detected by the system as “USB audio DAC”. Chose it in the settings for audio playback. The sound works through the headphone output (I have no way to mount optics). It pleases. The sound is adjustable via the Volumio interface. WEB radio works without brakes. :smiley:

Now I know that my image works and I can add to it the function of Volumio install to internal memory (eMMC). :slight_smile:

The new version of Volumio. Volumio-0.4-2018-01-06-vim-armv7.

In this version added a script to install Volumio to eMMC all s9xxx.
Please note that this test script installed in eMMC and there may be errors.

forum.khadas.com/t/volumio-for-k … =balbes150

The version Volumio of the image for platform Amlogic S802\S812, to run from external media (SD card and USB flash drive).

yadi.sk/d/vAHmhi0w3REpkT

Pay attention to the initial launch takes a long time (10-15 minutes). At this time, on the screen anything will not be displayed. First You must activate the multi-boot. Platform-S802\S812 activation multi-boot is possible ONLY with SD card. After a one-time activation procedure is multi-boot using SD card, you can use any media (SD card and USB flash drive). Details of the activation and characteristics of the primary treatment system are the same as for Armbian, see details on the forum Armbian in this thread.

forum.armbian.com/forum/24-tv-boxes/

The renewal of the image Volumio v0.5 for S9xxx.
In this image, a new kernel with an extended set of dtb files.

Can you add support for the MXQ S805?

I think it’s possible.

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Hi! I’m trying to use the s802 image on a Matricom G-Box Q. That box has a s802 SOC, but the image isn’t working. The initial problem is the multioot activation, the box don’t accept the update because a wrong footer error. I have notted that the script is for s805, is that right?
I also tried an ARMBIAN image without success. Could you give me any help?

Matricom G-Box Q specifications:

SoC – Amlogic S802 quad core ARM Cortex A9r4 at 2.0GHz with ARM Mali-450MP6 GPU
System Memory – 2G DDR3
Storage – 16 GB internal storage + micro SD card slot up to 64GB
Video Output – HDMI 1.4 up to 4K30, AV port
Audio Output – HDMI, AV, optical S/PDIF
Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0
USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports
Misc – IR Sensor, Power LED (g letter), power button
Dimensions – 10.16 x 10.16 x3.81  cm

I finally succeded and the G-Box booted on Volumio. I was able to use Volumio as speakers to my iPhone and the sound went throgh HDMI and SPDIF. When I tried to listen to an FLAC file from my NAS it failed with an error on sound hardware. Tried to reboot and get stucked on first screen, half S802 logo and half white screen. I will keep trying.

Good news - managed to fix the audio output through a standard HDMI output for s905x (soon to be reschshenie for s912 and s905) .
forum.khadas.com/t/volumio-for-k … =balbes150

Added the dtb file for the VIM2 (s912).
To use it you need to download and rename the correct version of the file in the “dtb.img”.

The new version of Volumio 0.7_20180325. It has audio output via a standard HDMI output. To use this feature, you must use one of two dtb files. For VIM1 (S 905 X) - “kvim_android.dtb” for the VIM2 (S912) - “kvim2_android.dtb”. For those who use other dtb files, please write the names of the dtb files that you use. They need to make a number of changes to make them earned HDMI output.

yadi.sk/d/xbesnjYG3PETk5

Update the Volumio image for S802\S812 0.2 20180327.

Audio output works through the standard HDMI output. So far it is implemented with dtb file for “meson8m2_n200_2G_volumio.dtb” . For those who use other dtb files, please write the names of the files (to enable output via the regular HDMI i’m need to make changes to the dtb file).

yadi.sk/d/vAHmhi0w3REpkT