ccs, thanks for link. done the update on q5ii emmc model, just like to share my comments:

*
.. 1.0.6 is not very different from 1.0.5 which already has mangotv and hitv
.. 1.0.6 has playstore and u-tube working good; not so sure about hi-store as i also uploaded it with backup apk
.. airplay for ipad ios7 is smoother
.. it comes with xbmc frodo 12.2, i do not know if this preinstalled version works better than apk installed 12.3
.. if u r on 1.0.3 or 1.0.4, than the update will be good as u can enjoy mangotv which has a larger library of mainly chinese stuff with one hongkong section, one with blockbusters dolby 5.1
.. mangotv also offers live tv chinese stations, many in hd (for hd, some work well, some dun, depend on so many factors, we know)

**
.. there is one tricky thing - the himedia launcher/homepage and myapps will not show hitv and mangotv widgets (copyright issues, i believe) but they are there if you check settings-apps-all. so, how to get to them? need another launcher! i do not understand what is meant by no. 6 above, maybe ccs can explain in detail. i use this solution: install nova launcher which will have all of them in apps, place widgets to toggle between the 2 launchers.

***
.. always update with settings-update, use of restore method will wipe out everything incl all settings
.. 1.0.6 eng launcher is very different from 1.0.6 china launcher; i actually like the china launcher better but that hasn't got playstore which is impt


overall, 1.0.6 eng emmc is good, go get it. non-emmc, think it shud be out very soon.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Mar 21 2014, 10:55 AM

great news... hohoho..!
i tried this 12.2, good. dun even need to do advancedsettings.xml.
tried on mashup, dailyflix and icefilms.
720p 2.0, 720p dd5.1, 720p dts5.1, 1080p 2.0, 1080p dd5.1 all good. no lagging, no stuttering, no crashing.
just that i have not come across a 1080p dts5.1 link to try.

i took a peep at the unzipped firmware folder and found the xbmc apk to read:
xbmc_12.2_hiplayer vs the usual xbmc-12.3-Frodo-armeabi-v7a which means this xbmc apk is customised for himedia.
bravo!

one thing to know - this xbmc 12.2 in the 1.0.6 eng firmware will come out chinese. you need to know where to click to set to english. try to memorise the positions by heart.... system->setting->appearance->international->language.

himedia incl q5ii emmc and non-emmc are pretty good with chinese stuff but was not so good with xbmc which offers a whole lotta goodies. with the customised firmware 1.0.6 tailored for xbmc, we can get the best of everything.

enjoy!

check post #373... i tried to warn!

was the update done via online or usb?

if online or 1.0.6 china version, u wil not get playstore as google is banned in china. some others may be missing too. best to get the eng version as it has everything. non emmc model, it is not available yet, need to wait.



if yr model is q5ii emmc and u installed 1.0.6 eng via usb, the "missing" stuff is actually there. they just don't show up in the new homepage. check my apps, check settings/apps/all. you need another launcher to have them show up.

i can't explain well... ccs and others can explain better.

the confusion is obvious and understandable given two submodels - q5ii emmc and q5ii non emmc. then 2 unique firmwares for each of them - china and eng versions. firmware keeps getting updated. so, many possible combinations to mixed up, trouble....!!

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Mar 26 2014, 12:58 PM

i suspect u went thru the same thing like me - the q5ii non-emmc auto online updated to 1.0.6 chinese.
with that, u lose playstore. xbmc is untouched so yr old problem of crashing and lagging remain.

u need to wait for 1.0.6 non-emmc english, update via usb to correct things. not available yet. this version (judging from 1.0.6 emmc eng that i have in another unit) is good. playstore is there, u tube works, mangotv-hitv all there. this version will erase yr old xbmc 12.3 and install 12.2 tailored to the machine, something to do with decoding method, i read. this version works much better. try it when it is available. only thing in this 1.0.6 eng is it will screwup yr launcher/homepage, u can't find certain apps, need to do something extra like a second launcher to see all yr apps.

meanwhile, you can try the advancedsetting.xml method, described in my post 326. i had used that in 1.0.5 on xbmc 12.3, good improvement.

5mbps... i do not know how this is differ from 10mbps for q5ii.



anyone with more pls share, correct me if any error. i sense there is confusion and frustration now with 1.0.6-china-english and xbmc performance.

these are china stuff. they work very well in local china but subject to all kinds of stops and jams outside china.
5mbps isn't 5mbps when u try to access those sites. u can tell from the display that if speed is <100kbps, it wun work.
it needs 200-300kbps. same thing if u r using cloudtv.

suggest u try everything you can in mango and hitv. 1/3 work well, 1/3 dun work, 1/3 work sometimes!
for me, i only go to the 1/3 that works well, incl hd. altogether, it's enough.

lastly, i think 5mbps unifi does not work as well as 10mbps which is not perfect either.
10mbps, i have tried 2 units at same time in mango or hitv, little difference compared to one unit in operation.

like i said many times, i wait for the arrival of a plug n play machine that streams everything chinese and english hd all the time. i'll be happy to pay 1k for it.

if u r getting something, u hv already fooled it!
if u r not, u wun get anything at all.

china stuff can be said to be relatively easy to get. try to get uk, australia, canadian, french, singapore even usa live stuff, almost nothing. Think becos the gomens there block them, not allowed to go outside the country. only those like natgeo, discovery, bloomberg, news allowed....

if u pay for CloudTV, u will get reliable good stuff incl chinese, Cantonese stuff. But they r live, I.e. Like astro, not on demand.

i am not sure if u can get very reliable and good stuff foc at this time....

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Mar 31 2014, 02:35 PM

interesting... I just tried it, says 66 hd channels.
navigation is strange, not user friendly. i can get 10 channels or so only.
hd.... They r all worse than sd! heavily pixeled, big black dots.
astro super sports pun ada, but image is so bad...
Maybe ok for handphones n small tablets, no good for big tv.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Mar 31 2014, 02:19 PM

rite, of course.

yes, I think the china 1.0.6 wiped it clean.

u can google on PC and dwnld the app for android on usb drive, install it on q5ii with file manager.

if u hv saved an old version as backup on usb, that can be used too. Once installed, it will auto update to latest version.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Mar 31 2014, 03:17 PM

if brand new, it shud be q5ii emmc on 1.0.6 english firmware.
you should find xbmc 12.2, mangotv, hitv, youtube, browser, playstore, histore in homepape or my apps, all working.
if not, you better take it back!

if these are not installed yet, i suggest you get them:
.. cloudtv
.. explore playstore, get wat u like
.. explore histore, get what u like

enjoy!

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Mar 31 2014, 05:59 PM

xbmc is a b****. u need to watch a few YouTube demo videos to understand how to get it right.

also, pls read the xbmc thread, pick up some tips there.

i also realize u r on 4mbps streamyx, may be a little too weak as xbmc is sensitive, will kick u out if too slow.

one thing u shud check... Go to settings and see if ur device is really on 1.0.6. if u got the old 1.0.5, yr xbmc will not work well. this is Himedia specific. read my recent posts, u will understand...

me, i say 1.0.6 emmc eng firmware is the best so far. xbmc works 100%. picture is just as good as ever.

dying to get my hands on 1.0.6 non-emmc eng!

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Apr 1 2014, 06:29 PM

i assume u now have 1.0.6 non emmc china version.

to get to the folder to place an advancedsetting.xml file, u can't get there with file manager. u need an app called es file explorer, which can be found with playstore. however, that firmware u got, think playstore is not there. so, u need to get the apk from elsewhere (google to it) into usb drive, install it via file manager.

with es explorer, u first need to click tools, show all files. if not, some files will remain hidden.

then u copy the advancedsettings.xml file from usb (sd1) and paste (overwrite if there is already same file name) onto the right folder with this path:
/sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc.xbmc/files/.xbmc/userdata

i had initially used this xml file on xbmc 12.3 in 1.0.6 non-emmc china on a q5ii non-emmc. not perfect but there is good improvement:


now, i use this one copied from 1.0.6 emmc eng in a q5ii emmc.


u can try both, pretty sure 2nd file works better. q5ii emmc and non-emmc, i now hv both running xbmc 12.3 smoothly, no crashing, minimal lagging with hd. any q5ii user not getting that is missing a lot!

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Apr 7 2014, 02:41 PM

sorry, it called es file explorer.

u need to update to 1.0.6 emmc eng. it comes with xbmc 12.2 with correct advancedsettings.xml. it's available, get firmware from seller. but it is 12.2, some addons can't enable like in 12.3.

another way is to add or change the advancedsettings.xml in yr current 12.3. i hv written several posts on that in this thread, just scroll backwards....

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Apr 7 2014, 03:53 PM

yep, that happens with some 1080. even with 10mbps speed.

does not happen with 720 and lower.

try tweaking xbmc video/audio settings.

or press pause for a few seconds, then resume play.



u can also try the first advancedsetting.xml which increase cache size by 20 times but nothing else.

nice to know u got it!

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Apr 8 2014, 10:34 AM

the 2nd advancedsetting has cache 5242880 originally.
on my unit, i actually changed that to 104857600, 20 times.
(if u have noticed, in mashup-hackermils, there is an option to increase the buffer too - it increases 5242880 by 4 times.)
result is not interesting - no change in terms of some 1080 stuttering, but is stable like original.
which probably means the buffer size is not critical or limit reached in this case when some other restrictions have been taken care of.
104857600 is an example given in the xbmcwiki page which increases buffer to 100mb, will use 300mb live memory, shud be ok.

no need to remove and reinstall xbmc 12.3. just copy and paste/overwrite the xml onto right folder.
also, go to settings, apps, xbmc and clear cache - this may help.

if u experience crashing again, it may be due to something else. could be yr broadband speed unstable or unusually weak at that time.
in my experience, xbmc crashing is common when broadband speed becomes unstable or goes to a low intermittently.

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Apr 9 2014, 10:27 AM

if broadband speed is poor or unstable, however big the buffer is won't help.

the advancedsetting.xml is to deal with certain parameters of xbmc as himedia chipset is not supported.

that's my understanding...

This post has been edited by AVFAN: Apr 9 2014, 10:59 AM

there are many factors causing this or that not to work. over time, u become clearer and surer what may be causing what problems!

720 lag... i think it is not due to player or broadband speed or xbmc.

i think that is due to some links/sites are better than others. u will eventually find some 720 dts 5.1 very smooth whereas some 720 aac2.0 is a little jerky. again, over time, u will adopt certain preferences on which site, which link is best. e.g. while movreel is convenient, 180upload is usually superior alto it insist u do the verification thing. also, while mashup hd movies is convenient, standalone icefilms and daily flix leads u to a bigger and more varied more content.

i think some users like to playback stored files via xbmc to get all the goodies - menu, cover, artwork, certain controls, etc.

and i also think there is a way to do that, probably complicated, not for beginners. may have been explained by someone in some thread, can't remember...

but i agree with you - just use default native player la...!!