Videostrong KII Pro (videostrong-kii-pro)
The KII Pro as seen on Alibaba The KII Pro as seen on Alibaba | |
Manufacturer | VideoStrong |
---|---|
Name | KII Pro |
Codename | videostrong-kii-pro |
Released | 2016 |
Hardware | |
Chipset | Amlogic S905 |
CPU | 2.0 GHz Quad core |
GPU | Mali 450 |
Storage | 16GB eMMC |
Memory | 2 GB |
Architecture | aarch64 |
Software | |
Original software | Android |
Original version | 5.1.1 (+ preinstalled KII Pro software and a different launcher) |
FOSS bootloader | yes |
postmarketOS | |
Category | testing |
Pre-built images | no |
Mainline | yes |
USB Networking |
No data |
---|---|
Internal storage |
No data |
SD card |
No data |
Multimedia | |
3D Acceleration |
Works |
Audio |
No data |
Camera Flash |
No data |
IR TX |
No data |
Connectivity | |
WiFi |
Broken |
Bluetooth |
Broken |
Miscellaneous | |
FDE |
No data |
USB-A |
Works |
HDMI/DP |
Works |
Haptics |
No data |
Primary Bootloader |
No data |
---|---|
Secondary Bootloader |
Works |
Mainline |
Partial |
Internal Storage |
No data |
SD card |
Works |
USB Host |
No data |
USB Peripheral |
No data |
Display |
Works |
Keyboard |
No data |
Overall a nice TV Box using the Amlogic S905 SoC. Could make a nice media center, powered by postmarketOS.
This TV Box runs a modified Android 5.1.1 OS that didn't seem to be updated at all by the manufacturer, it also includes many proprietary (and PUP) software.
Luckily, the KII Pro uses an Amlogic S905, which has some support in the mainline kernel. Even better, a DTB made specifically for the TV Box is also in the mainline kernel. As such, some GNU+Linux distributions support this TV Box with many other Amlogic-based TV Boxes.
Beaware of clones and different versions
There were multiple clones of this TV Box, as well as different versions.
The 2 known versions of the KII Pro are the VideoStrong KII Pro (the version this port is made for), which uses the Amlogic S905 SoC, and the newer Mecool KII Pro, which uses the Amlogic S905D SoC instead. If you own the Mecool KII Pro then this port won't work there without some changes. It may work by using the right DTB file though.
There's no guarantee that the TV Box used for porting postmarketOS will be the same as the one you have.
How to enter flash mode
Still have to figure that out. Not needed unless you bricked your TV Box
How to enter recovery mode
Also not needed. Press the reset button once while booting.
Installation
Only installing to an SD card works currently.
Use pmbootstrap to build your own image, like so:
$ pmbootstrap init # manufacturer: 'videostrong' codename: 'kii-pro'
$ pmbootstrap install --sdcard=/dev/mmcblkX # change 'mmcblkX' with the path of your SD card
Then:
1. Put the SD card you installed postmarketOS on in the SD card slot -- The steps 2->5 need to be done only once (unless you format the internal eMMC) 2. Unplug the power supply 3. Press and hold the reset button below your TV Box 4. While holding the reset button, plug in your power supply back 5. Keep holding the reset button until your screen gets a signal
A mainline U-Boot should load, and postmarketOS should boot up.
What works
See the device status at the top (mobile) or at the right (desktop).
LEDs
The 2 LEDs the device has are functionnal.
Use /sys/class/leds/red:status
to control the LEDs, like this for example:
# echo 1 > /sys/class/leds/red:status/brightness # turn the blue LED off and the red LED on
# echo 0 > /sys/class/leds/red:status/brightness # turn the red LED off and the blue LED on
DVB Tuner
The DVB tuner is untested. According to linux-meson.com it doesn't work.
TV remote
The TV remote works only for powering on the device sometimes. It doesn't seem to work in postmarketOS It doesn't seem to work on the vendor firmware anyway. Needs more testing.
Wi-Fi and Ethernet
Wi-Fi's broken.
The TV Box has an Ethernet port which works fine on postmarketOS as long as you boot it using a mainline U-Boot chainloaded from the vendor U-Boot.
FOSS bootloader
The KII Pro uses U-Boot as its primary bootloader. U-Boot v2020.07 (with some minor modifications) works on the TV Box. Newer versions also work, although HDMI output (until postmarketOS boots) and ethernet are broken.
Audio
Doesn't work. Probably just needs a UCM configuration.
Hardware acceleration
Seems to work! Weston and Plasma, as well as Plasma Bigscreen run fine on the device and the postmarketOS demos work fine too. Video encoding/decoding doesn't work however.
X11
Works fine. A custom configuration file is needed else it crashes (included).
Pictures
-
Running KDE Plasma!
Boot process
(Useful for porting other OSes to it)
+---------+ +-------------------+ +-----------------+
+---->| sd card |---->| 's905_autoscript' |---->| v2020.07 u-boot |
+---------------+ if sd and multiboot mode | +---------+ +-------------------+ +-----------------+
| vendor u-boot |---------------------------+ |
+---------------+ else if emmc | +------+ +-----------------------------+ v
+---->| emmc |---->| vendor's android 5.1.1 fork | +----------+
+------+ +-----------------------------+ | extlinux |
+----------+
|
v
+--------------+
| postmarketOS |
+--------------+
Contributors
Users owning this device
- FerassElHafidi (Notes: Wiped eMMC. Amlogic secureboot not enabled. Now only boots Amlogic firmware from an SD card. pmOS installed on SD.)
See also
- pmaports!3833 Initial merge request
- linux-meson.com Porting mainline Linux and U-Boot to Amlogic SoCs
- Armbian has a working port
- Manjaro ARM is also known to work