Corrupt Firmware or Player Issue?

Discussion in 'HDD Media player(RTD 1619DR)' started by cappy1, Feb 5, 2021.

  1. cappy1

    cappy1 Member

    Poster Directory Example:
    Custom: smb://192.xxx.x.xxx/Zidoo Backup/Zidoo Backup Z9X

    Thanks, I contacted Futeko.
     
  2. Markswift2003

    Markswift2003 Well-Known Member SUPER Administrator Beta test group Contributor

    If you use a Custom Directory then the idea is to keep it on the box for fast access rather than a network location.

    I doubt that's causing the blue screen (but it could be) but it's probably causing the poster issue.
     
    cappy1 likes this.
  3. cappy1

    cappy1 Member

    Actually, the UHD3000 has a USB drive plugged-in with directory. I moved it last week after having issues, but hadn't changed the other Zidoos.
    Blue screen was my erroro_O I had moved the box to my office and in my haste I plugged in HDMI to HDMI Audio Out by mistake.

    Did another Factory Reset with fingers crossed. Keeping the player in my office so I can test boot-ups frequently/
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2021
  4. cappy1

    cappy1 Member

    Since my last post, I tried a number of re-boots. Twice, the Android Recovery screen appeared (see Mark’s example photo in reply to my initial post on Feb. 5).

    The first time this screen appeared, the “Try Again” selection worked and it booted normally. The next time, only “Factory Data Reset” worked before it would boot.
     
  5. Markswift2003

    Markswift2003 Well-Known Member SUPER Administrator Beta test group Contributor

    Ok, so you have to be really careful how you manage the Zidoo database - there seems to be no housekeeping and folder sizes and locations can become really messed up and unmanagable if you're not careful which leads to unexpected behaviour (my .hometheatre directory on my test box was needlessly about 3GB the other day before I cleaned everything out!)

    That said, the recovery screen popping up is really a bad sign (I've managed it a couple of times, but I've really had to try!!!) so if you're happy to attempt a reflash then go for it, but my guess at this stage is there's something up with the PROM.
     
    cappy1 likes this.
  6. cappy1

    cappy1 Member

    Reflashed successfully, but didn't fix the problem. Sending it back to Zidoo.
     
  7. Good morning to you all ....... I don't know if it's the right section but, before opening a new discussion, this one seems to me related to my problem. So, I own a Z9x, with firmware 6.0.90 When the new firmware came out on 6.1.05, I installed it. When I was ready to use the Z9x, I realize that the Home Theater did not want to open ......... I flashed the recovery firmware and put the 6.0.90 back. So, all good. Download the firmware 6.1.05, the flasho, arrived at the end, the Home Theater application, made me the joke before ....... it did not open ...... Now, are you aware of other users who have the same problems? In your opinion, is it better to wait for a new firmware to come out, or is there a solution for 6.1.05? Thanks a lot to all of you and good day, Andrea.
     
  8. cappy1

    cappy1 Member

    I am sure you are getting tired about hearing about this issue, but I believe I have found the problem and it appears it is not the UHD3000, just pure ignorance on my part!

    After flashing the player last night, HT4>Settings>Poster Directory>Custom Directory still listed the old path to the backup files on my server. No matter what I did this path kept coming back. Weeks ago, I decided to keep the poster backup files on a connected USB drive, but never changed the Custom Directory and never deleted the backup file on my server. It appears this caused a conflict, sometimes the UHD3000 booted properly and sometimes not, saying “cannot load the Android system”. This usually required “Factory Data Reset”.

    Straightening out this mess required some gymnastics, outlined below for anyone interested. I am sure there is a more elegant way, but this seems to have worked. Fingers crossed, again!

    Solved by re-booting several times until posters showed on HT4 (from USB drive still connected). Then, under Poster Directory>Custom Directory changed it to “storage://” & checked off “Priority save to device”. Next, backed up the poster file & Export NFO to a new file on server. Finally, powered down, removed USB, and booted again.
     
  9. Markswift2003

    Markswift2003 Well-Known Member SUPER Administrator Beta test group Contributor

    Just a few notes on the Poster Directory:

    Choosing a "Custom directory" local to the device is the best option, and unless you have a good reason to change, just tick the bottom option "Custom directory" and leave it in Storage://

    This means the .hometheatre hidden folder is local, only one is used, and it is therefore easier for the Zidoo to access.

    The .hometheatre folder stores local copies of online posters, fanart and Clear Logos.

    If you choose to save to "Device" that confusingly means save to the "source" folders used by HT4, not the Zidoo device. In that case the .hometheatre folder is saved to the root of the "source" device, whether that's USB, NAS or PC. If you have more than one "source" then a .hometheatre folder is created in each source which gets messy. Add more Zidoo devices and it gets very very messy!

    It should be noted that when a backup is made, this just makes a backup of the SQL Lite database and settings and does not include the artwork - it only saves online links to TMDB image locations and over time these can change and the backup eventually becomes useless.

    The best way to mitigate this is to use the "Export" function in Settings/Library which exports a copy of the poster (movieName-poster.jpg) and fanart (movieName-fanart.jpg) images plus an NFO file (movieName.nfo) for each movie in the movie's folder.

    It should be noted that for collections, collectionName Collection-poster.jpg and collectionName Collection-fanart.jpg are not saved in this process so are scraped online (to mitigate this, I create my own files in the movies folders which are then used in a local scrape). I've reported this as a bug.

    Using local images means that the .hometheatre directory is not used for local images (although you will find collection posters/fanart in there if collectionName includes illegal filename characters - there's a bit of bad logic in there - again reported as a bug. This means that the source folder must be "alive" for posters to show!

    If you run into trouble, you can then clear the database and rescan from scratch using local images.

    I wouldn't use NFO parsing using NFOs produced by the box because although it works, it does not carry trailer info unless previously accessed and Cast/Crew info does not work through the database so you loose some functionality there.

    If you're not worried about cast/crew info and use local trailers (movieName.trailer.ext) you can use NFO import though..

    And so endeth the lesson! Phew!

    (I'll post this info in the sticky...)
     
    cappy1 and Sledgehamma like this.
  10. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

    I will make some lessons and settings for Music if you make a sticky for me.
    There is already a lot made by me but all scattered and I have even troubles to find it myself.
     
    Mabon likes this.
  11. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

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