M8 picture too large
- Thread starter dread8
- Start date
Amlogic playback issues (zoomed in, 1/4 screen, ... )
1) As of v15 and later, Kodi will no longer ask to fix incorrect video decoding permissions on Amlogic-based devices that have incorrectly configured firmware. This might cause an issue in some situations, and if this happens to you, first try to manually disable amcodec and only use mediacodec and libstagefright under Settings -> Videos -> Acceleration . If videos still won't play correctly then the device might a firmware/OS update for things to work properly.
2) In some cases video playback is fine, but incorrectly sized so that it only takes up a small portion of the screen. This again is most likely a firmware issue, but a temp workaround would be to go into Android's system settings (not Kodi's settings) and change the GUI resolution to 720 and/or disable "auto select". Video will still render at 1080, and only the GUI is limited to 720.
3) There may also be situations were Kodi isn't correctly detecting the box's ability to use the "amcodec", and thus prematurely disabling it. Our devs are currently looking into this situation, and if true, will attempt to fix it.
Why was this changed?
Kodi doesn't try to manually fix the permissions anymore. Doing so was a hack that the devs didn't feel comfortable with, and venders need to fix this on the firmware level, not the app level. Some hardware venders are still unwilling to set the necessary permissions because of a misconception on "security", which ironically requires granting apps root-level access, which is far less secure.
However, the mediacodec "path" to decoding doesn't require the permissions changes, and mediacodec support has improved both in Kodi and in most firmware (even in some of the flawed ones). So now when amcodec fails it falls back on mediacodec, which normally works. In that sense it is "fixed". Eventually mediacodec will be the single standard, and there won't be a need for amcodec, but the option is still there for some special situations.
1) As of v15 and later, Kodi will no longer ask to fix incorrect video decoding permissions on Amlogic-based devices that have incorrectly configured firmware. This might cause an issue in some situations, and if this happens to you, first try to manually disable amcodec and only use mediacodec and libstagefright under Settings -> Videos -> Acceleration . If videos still won't play correctly then the device might a firmware/OS update for things to work properly.
2) In some cases video playback is fine, but incorrectly sized so that it only takes up a small portion of the screen. This again is most likely a firmware issue, but a temp workaround would be to go into Android's system settings (not Kodi's settings) and change the GUI resolution to 720 and/or disable "auto select". Video will still render at 1080, and only the GUI is limited to 720.
3) There may also be situations were Kodi isn't correctly detecting the box's ability to use the "amcodec", and thus prematurely disabling it. Our devs are currently looking into this situation, and if true, will attempt to fix it.
Why was this changed?
Kodi doesn't try to manually fix the permissions anymore. Doing so was a hack that the devs didn't feel comfortable with, and venders need to fix this on the firmware level, not the app level. Some hardware venders are still unwilling to set the necessary permissions because of a misconception on "security", which ironically requires granting apps root-level access, which is far less secure.
However, the mediacodec "path" to decoding doesn't require the permissions changes, and mediacodec support has improved both in Kodi and in most firmware (even in some of the flawed ones). So now when amcodec fails it falls back on mediacodec, which normally works. In that sense it is "fixed". Eventually mediacodec will be the single standard, and there won't be a need for amcodec, but the option is still there for some special situations.