BeatificaBytes

The Joys of Computing

Projector losing Raspberry Pi 2’s HDMI signal

8 August 2015

When I am watching a movie played with RasPlex (on my Raspberry Pi 2), it happens from time to time (possibly several times during a movie) that my projector loses the HDMI signal. The signal comes back quite immediately but this is a real annoyance. I solved the problem by boosting the HDMI signal in Raspberry Pi 2’s config file.

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I had no issue when playing a movie with my PC or with my ChromeCast, both of them being however connected on the same home cinema amplifier (a Yamaha HTR-4067) as the Raspberry PI 2 and, from there, on the projector (a Benq W1070+) via a long HDMI cable.

The problem became especially unsupportable with 3D movies as not only the signal was lost, but also the projector was coming back in 2D mode. So, I had to set it back in 3D when the signal was recovered.

It was sometimes mentioned on various blogs or forums that the problem could have been with the HDMI cable, with the power supply of the Raspberry Pi 2, with the HDMI port of the amplifier, … But I found the true solution here: boost the HDMI signal in the config file of the Raspberry Pi 2.

While already being in the config file to solve the problem, I took the opportunity to also overclock a bit the Raspberry as documented here. And finally, as I noticed that there was no specific memory size set for the GPU on my Raspberry, which has 1Gb Ram, if fixed that too. It seems to me that the config file used by RasPlex is not fully optimized for the Raspberry Pi 2.

To edit the “config.txt” file, I simply put the SD card of the Raspberry Pi 2 into my Windows PC and opened that file with Notepad++ (it’s located on the root of the card). I ended with a config file like this one (changes are in bold):

#########################################################################
# This file is part of OpenELEC – http://www.openelec.tv
# Copyright (C) 2009-2012 Stephan Raue (stephan@openelec.tv)
# Inspired and partly copied from:
# http://youresuchageek.blogspot.fr/2012/09/howto-raspberry-pi-openelec-on.html
#
# This Program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
# the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option)
# any later version.
#
# This Program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
# GNU General Public License for more details.
#
# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
# along with OpenELEC.tv; see the file COPYING. If not, write to
# the Free Software Foundation, 51 Franklin Street, Suite 500, Boston, MA 02110, USA.
# http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html
#################################################################
# Bootloader configuration – config.txt
#################################################################

#################################################################
# Memory (System/GPU configuration )
#################################################################

# default GPU memory split (do not change if you do not know what you are doing)
gpu_mem=128

# SDRAM size based GPU memory split, uncomment and setup to override ‘gpu_mem’
gpu_mem_256=64
gpu_mem_512=128
gpu_mem_1024=256

#################################################################
# Overclocking settings
# WARNING: Do not change/enable if you do not know what you are doing!
# The System may become unstable or you can have data corruption or
# you can loose your warranty if you set wrong settings
#
# please read: http://elinux.org/RPi_config.txt#Overclocking_configuration
#################################################################

# Overclock mode settings.
#
# default recommended values are: arm_freq | core_freq | sdram_freq | over_voltage
# no overclocking : 700 | 250 | 400 | 0
# mode ‘Modest’ : 800 | 300 | 400 | 0
# mode ‘Medium’ : 900 | 333 | 450 | 2
# mode ‘High’ : 950 | 450 | 450 | 6
# mode ‘Turbo’ : 1000 | 500 | 500 | 6

#arm_freq=900
core_freq=500
sdram_freq=500
over_voltage=2

# set to ‘force_turbo=1’ to disable dynamic overclocking (you can lose your warranty!)
force_turbo=0

# If you have any data corruption using Turbo Mode and overclocking
# try with this setting uncommented
# If this still fails, try to use Medium mode without “over_voltage=2”
# If it ultimately keeps failing, forget about this until it gets fixed
# Use a more conservative mode that will works fine in any cases:
# initial_turbo=30

#################################################################
# Overscan settings
#################################################################

# Make display smaller to stop text spilling off the screen
# see also http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=67&t=15700
# overscan_scale=1
# disable_overscan=1

# Adapt overscan values to your needs
# overscan_left=57
# overscan_right=59
# overscan_top=20
# overscan_bottom=20

#################################################################
# various settings see also: http://elinux.org/RPi_config.txt
#################################################################

# Force HDMI even if unplugged or powered off
# hdmi_force_hotplug=1

# Uncomment to force a console size. By default it will be display’s size minus
# overscan.
# framebuffer_width=1280
# framebuffer_height=720

# Uncomment to force a specific HDMI mode (this will force VGA).
# hdmi_group=1
# hdmi_mode=1

# Uncomment to force an HDMI mode rather than DVI. This can make audio work in
# DMT (computer monitor) modes.
# hdmi_drive=2

# Uncomment to increase signal to HDMI, if you have interference, blanking, or
# no display. Max value = 7
config_hdmi_boost=4

# Uncomment for composite PAL
# sdtv_mode=2

# Uncomment to overclock the ARM. 700 MHz is the default.
# arm_freq=800

#################################################################
# License keys to enable GPU hardware decoding for various codecs
# to obtain keys visit the shop at http://www.raspberrypi.com
#################################################################

# decode_MPG2=0x00000000
# decode_WVC1=0x00000000
# decode_DTS=0x00000000
# decode_DDP=0x00000000

#################################################################
#
# >>>>>>>> RasPlex default settings override <<<<<<<<<
#
#################################################################

hdmi_force_hotplug=1
hdmi_drive=2
gpu_mem_256=64
gpu_mem_512=256
gpu_mem_1024=256
dtoverlay=lirc-rpi
#################################################################
# End of default configuration
# all values below this line were inserted from config.txt.bk (your old config)
# and can be merged with the above values
#################################################################

Raspberry Pi
Put Windows PC’s display to sleep immediately

4 August 2015

Wizmo

When I watch a movie, I like to be in the complete dark… But if my PC is running, the screens are sources of light… Here is how to create a keyboard shortcut turning the screens off immediately, using “Wizmo”.

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As I am lazy and don’t want to turn off the monitors manually using their power button, I looked for a solution to put the screens to sleep immediately – without waiting for the screen saver to turn off the display as configured in the Control Panel > Power Options > Plan Settings… – using a keyboard shortcut.

I found a a first solution based on “NirCmd“: Download it and create a desktop shortcut (assigned with a keyboard shortcut) to: nircmd.exe cmdwait 1000 monitor off

That solution didn’t work fine for me. Indeed, after a few minutes, the screens were always turning back on magically… I didn’t find for sure the reason why, but it could be that my wireless mouse (Logitech) is not 100% quite although untouched…

So, I looked for an alternative and found “Wizmo“. Download it and use it in a desktop shortcut (also assigned with a keyboard shortcut) to: wizmo.exe monoff shake=99

This will eliminate the minor mouse “shake” that a wireless mouse seems to have and which is turning the monitor back on, while allowing you to still wiggle the mouse a bit to turn your monitor back on. (Notice: Wizmo won’t run if you copy it into %WinDir%\System32 !)

Freewares, Tips
Play a movie on multiple devices via WiFi-Direct

2 August 2015
When going to travel for hours by car with my kids, I usually copy some cartoons on their tablets before leaving. A question which arose recently was: how to play a movie from one tablet on the others, while there is no network in the car. Answer: using BubbleUPnP and Wifi-Direct.

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The question arose as I forgot once to copy cartoons on one of the tablets. Being in the car, I had no Wi-Fi network to connect the devices (no wireless router). And I didn’t want to use a mobile data connection as, being in a foreign country, the cost would have been excessive. So I had to find another solution.

Looking on internet how to share media or files between two devices without Wi-Fi access point, I found that the modern way to go was: wifi-direct.

Connecting devices via wifi-direct was easy as natively supported by Android, as well as iOS (one can find many how-to on internet). But next, how to access the media on other devices was more tricky.

Usually, on mobile devices, I am using:

Plex connected via internet to play media from my NAS.

Plex to play media synced locally on the device.

Plex to play media synced on another device with Plex «advertised» on the LAN, by that device, as a server (see settings of Plex on the mobile device).

Archos Video to play media available locally (internal or external strorage) or via FTP, SMB shares or UPnP.

Possibly MX Player to play media while directly browsing the storage of the device.

I also used to play media via UPnP with MediaHouse as, just like Plex and Archos Video, it is managing libraries of movies with metadata automatically fetched from internet. But that was before getting support for UPnP within Archos Video.

As Archos Video and Plex are IMO, the very best apps to manage libraries of movies, my hope was to use them. Unfortunately, none of them was able to access media on the other devices using Wi-Fi direct… Plex didn’t see the Plex servers running on the other devices, and Archos Video didn’t even display any menu to access media via network. I think that none of them was aware there was actually a network (WLAN Direct).

As I read that UPnP over Wi-Fi direct was very well supported (it’s now a standard), I thought that a solution could be to use an upnp server/client. My favorite being BubbleUPnP, I gave it a try. And good news, it works like a charm. I was able to play the same cartoon simultaneously on three devices without any hiccup (with MX Video as a player).

That being said, I wrote to the developer of Archos Video and on the Plex forum to ask if playing video with their app via wifi Direct was actually supported (with a trick) or would be soon or later…
Tips
DNS name resolution not working anymore after Package update

10 July 2015

After updating my Synology with the latest version of the DNS Server, this one was not resolving my domain names anymore. I had to reset to “resolution service” to solve that issue.

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To access my blog, hosted on my NAS, from my intranet but using its public domain name, I had to define the same domain name on my DNS Server, with A records pointing to the NAS’ IP… (see details here).

When my DNS Server does not run anymore, trying to access my blog from my intranet, using its domain name, I get the web page of my ADSL Modem. Is IP address is indeed the one obtained when resolving my domain name using a public DNS Server.

To check if my DNS Server runs fine, I simply had to run a dos cmd prompt and type ping www.beatificabytes.be. If I get the local IP of my NAS, it works fine. If I get the public IP of my ADSL modem, there is something wrong…

It’s not the first time that I have this issue after updating my DSM or the DNS Server. But each time, the solution is the same: I have to uncheck and recheck the options “Enable resolution services” in my Synology’s “Control Panel > DNS Server > Resolution” settings.

NB.: I have next to reboot my mobile devices. on PC, possibly execute “ipconfig /release” and then “ipconfig /renew” in a command prompt.

Synology, Tips
Nabi 2 bricked

15 May 2015
I wanted to play with the Recovery and the Rom of my Nabi 2 and I ended with a bricked tablet. Trying to boot the OS, I was stuck for ever on the screen with a freezed Nabi logo. Trying to boot the Recovery, I was stuck on a screen with a dead android and an exclamation mark. Here is how to solve that situation.

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Prerequisites

First, be sure that the “Universal ADB Drivers” are installed. To be found here or here. the ADB command is available here. ADB documentation exists here. ADB won’t work if “USB debugging” was not enabled on the device. But it was, for sure, if as me your bricked it…

Then, get a TWRP Recovery image from here that can be installed without the need for a previous version. I took the TWRP 2.2.2.1 which is the only one that works fine with my Nabi 2 due to a Calibration issue with the other versions. As not available anymore from the page mentioned above (with all versions for Nabi 2), I had to take it from the Auto-Installer mentioned here (from the subfolder twrp/old).

Restore a Recovery

Now, connect the Nabi 2 on the PC and reboot the Nabi 2 in “Fastboot” mode:

Press volume + and hold it while pressing also Power.

Use Volume – to select “Fastboot” and select it with Volume +

Next, open a command prompt as admin on the PC and type:

fastboot flash recovery.img

Wait for the image to be loaded and reboot the device by pressing Volume + (to Select Bootloader) and next twice Volume – and once Volume + (to Select “Recovery Kernel”). The “Recovery” should now load (not be blocked anymore with a dead android) !

Upgrade to the most recent Recovery

One can now upgrade TWRP to a version which may only be installed on top of an existing one, such as the TWRP 2.8.5.0. I took the TWRP 2.8.5.0 v2 for KitKat here.

I went again into the “FastBoot” mode and uploaded the new Recovery image (TWRP 2.8.5.0) before restarting to enter the new Recovery Kernel.

Flash a stock Rom

And once in TWRP, I did “Backup” it on the SD card!

I moved next the SD card into my PC, I went to the folder \TWRP\BACKUPS\<id of my table>\<current date> and delete all the files in there.

Then, I downloaded the stock Rom 3.0.13 for KitKat (3013stock.zip) here and did unzip it in the backup folder before moving the SD back into the tablet.

I did reboot again the tablet in the Recovery and once there I did a “Restore” (keeping all items selected).

Once flashed, I did reboot the System (without installing SuperSU). After ~1 minute, the Logo started to spin and after ~2 other minutes the system started to initialize. After ~5 minutes, it was asking me to pick a language and configure the Wifi.

Et voilà FIXED !!!

Android is now 4.4.2, Build Bumber KOT49H, Product Version 3.0-release-keys.
Tips
TWRP v2.8.5.0 works fine on Nabi 2

14 May 2015
The only version of TWRP that was previously compatible with my tablet Fuhu Nabi 2 was TWRP 2.2.2.1 due to a calibration bug (See Here). But I just found that TWRP 2.8.5.0 works fine!

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My tablet was running:

Fuhu Nabi 2-NV7A-US

Version Android 4.1.1

Kernel 3.1.10-g160ecc9-dirty

Build JRO03C

Product Version 2.3-release-keys

As I still have Android 4.1.1 (Jelly Bean) on my Nabi 2, I did get the Jelly Bean version of TWRP 2.8.5.0 mentioned here as I still have Android 4.1.1 on my Nabi 2.

Next, I took the Auto-Installer to be found here.

Then, I did unzip the “Twrp-recovery-JBNV7AUS-285.zip” into the Auto-Installer’s subfolder “twrp\new” and renamed it from “twrp-recovery.img” into “recovery.img” (replacing the existing img file).

Finally, I run RecoveryUpdater.bat and pick the option 1: “1. Install TWRP 2.3.3.0 for Nabi versions 1.9.37 (recommended)“.

It pushed the image I just copied into the subfolder “twrp/new” on my Nabi 2 and Bingo 😉
Tips
Root Access for Fuhu Nabi 2

14 May 2015

“KingoRoot” also worked fine too root my Fuhu Nabi 2!

See here how I previously used it to root my two Lenovo A5500-F.

Tips
Root Access for Lenovo A5500-F

14 May 2015
I tried several tools to root my two tablets Lenovo A5500-F. I only succeeded “easily” with the free “KingoRoot“. Highly recommended 😉

Lenovo A5500-F

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My tablets are both:

Lenovo A5500-F

Version Android 4.4.2

Version Kernel 3.4.67

One with Build Number A5500F_A442_000_027_141207_ROW

One with Build Number A5500F_A442_000_029_150408_ROW

Here is the procedure (described with images and further details everywhere on the web)

First, configure the tablet to be able to connect onto it from the PC:

Enter the “Settings”

Select “About phone” (at the very bottom)

And press 7 times “Build number” to enable the developer mode

Go back to the “Settings”

Select “Developer Options” (now above “About phone”)

In the part titled “Debugging”, tick the option ‘USB Debugging’ and answer OK if prompted to confirm

Now Plug the tablet into the PC and Run “Kingo Root” on the PC:

Kingo Root starts with the message “Not Connected”.

Then it immediately continues with “connecting…”

And finally it displays the name of the connected device “LENOVO A5500-F” with the messages “Mode Normal”, “Root Status : No”

On the tablet, you see a picture with “Kingo Root” and the message “USB connected”

If you have a prompt from the tablet to authorize the PC to connect on the tablet, accept it 😉

You are ready to start rooting the tablet!

Press the Button “Root” in “Kingo Root”.

It starts to root the device. On the tablet, you see the message “Rooting…”

After a few minutes, the tablet will reboot automatically a first time (you will hear the sound of disconnection/re-connection on the PC). Wait until “Kingo Root” redetect the tablet. As soon as rededected, it will check that it’s well rooted. During that operation, the picture with “Kingo Root” reappears on the tablet.

If you see a prompt from Google on the tablet, to check that the device has no security issue, just refuse it.

After the first reboot, “Kingo Root” saw that my device was not yet rooted and it continued with installing more stuff… Soon later, the tablet rebooted again automatically and “Kingo Root” restarted the same process. Concretely, it did the same routine 5 times (I.e. it rebooted five times) before announcing that the device was successfully rooted.

Something weird however… Although Kingo Root” pretended that the device was rooted, “Root Checker” told me it’s not the case ?!

I did restart “Kingo Root” and pressed “Root Again”. It did some updates but didn’t reboot automatic and Bingo ! “Root Checker” now confirmed that it was rooted.

NB.: you should be prompted to confirm that “Root Checker” may be granted Root Access by KingoUser.

It took me a bit more than 30 minutes.

NB.: Later, I did update the device with Build Number A5500F_A442_000_027_141207_ROW to Build Number A5500F_A442_000_029_150408_ROW and I had to re-root the device! It went fast and without any reboot. (NB.: I had to accept again to grant Root Access to Root Checker for KingoUser).
Tips
HDMI CEC between an amplifier Yamaha HTR-4067 and a Raspberry Pi 2

18 April 2015
I just bought the new Raspberry Pi 2 to run Rasplex (Plex + OpenElec) within my Home Theater System. The only question I had was: would I be able to use the remote of my amplifier to control Rasplex. The answer is yes, it works !

Yamaha-HTR-4067

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My Home Theater System includes:

A amplifier Yamaha HTR-4067

Speakers Eltax Monitor 91 HC with

two floor-standing speakers Eltax Monitor IX

two speakers Eltax Monitor I

one speaker Eltax Monitor Center

A subwoofer Yamaha NS-SW200

A projector BenQ W1070+

A Raspberry Pi 2 with RasPlex

NB.:

The Raspberry is connected on the “HDMI 1 (BD/DVD)” input.

I had to change the HDMI cable to use one certified “High Speed with Ethernet”.

I had to turn on first the Amplifier, next the projector, and finally the Raspberry.

When starting, Rasplex :

Detects the “Pulse-Eight CEC adapter”

Updates the CEC adapter configuration

And finally displays a message: “connected: TV-HTR-4067”

Within Plex:

I went to “> Preferences > Change Preferences for System”

I selected “Input Devices” and then “Peripherals”

There, Plex displays info about the “CEC adapter”. I did click on “Ok” to enter the settings of that adapter. There, I have the following settings:

Enabled is ticked

Make XBMC the active source when stating is not ticked

“Device to power on…” is none

“Device to pwoer off…” is none

“Send inactive source…” is ticked

“Put device in standby…” is not ticked

“When the TV is switched off” is “Ignore”

“Put device in standby” is not ticked

“Use the TV’s language setting” is not ticked

“Pause playback” is ticked

“Physical address (overrules HDMI port)” is 0

“Com port” is –

Notice: when the amplifier is switched off (standby), the video is still forwarded to the projector, as well as the sound. But what’s great is that the remote control still works too via CEC !!!
Raspberry Pi
Torch switching on auto-magically on One Plus One

22 March 2015

From time to time, the torch of my One Plus One (running Cyanogen) was turning on “by itself”, although the screen was switched off. I finally figured out why and how: it was due to a “Gesture shortcut” that was enabled…

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I never enabled this Gesture feature explicitly, so I presume it was on by default. But when enabled, drawing a V on the screen, even if this one is turned off, switches the torch on (or off is already on)…

This gesture (as well as other gestures) can be disabled via: Settings > Gestures

Tips

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