Release Image and First Recalbox Release thread here

Beta thread locked

UPDATE August 6, 2018 - Beta V2 Update Release

·  Updated KODI Leia Commit
·  Retroarch Emulators Maximum Resolution set to 720p - runs much faster and the difference visibly in higher resolutions is hardly noticeable
·  Back-end updates to increase compatibility with core-recalbox software
·  Default config for PPSSPP to enable a small frameskip - often achieves up to 80% of original game speeds - much more playable (but not perfect)
·  Increased EmulationStation stability - fewer unexpected restarts!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ANNOUNCING THE *BETA* RELEASE OF RECALBOX FOR THE ROCK64

After many efforts with much teamwork, collaboration, and testing, we are very excited to provide the BETA release of RECALBOX for the ROCK64 board!

-- The download is located under this repository's releases -- https://github.com/mrfixit2001/recalbox_rock64/releases

Details on the ROCK64 SoC can be found here: https://www.pine64.org/?page_id=7147

For those of you unfamiliar with Recalbox: https://www.recalbox.com/ 
"Recalbox offers a wide selection of consoles and game systems. From the very first arcade systems to the NES, the MEGADRIVE, 32-bit platforms (such as the Playstation) and even Nintendo64. With Kodi already included, Recalbox also serves as a Media Center. By connecting it to your home network, you will be able to stream videos from any compatible devices (NAS, PC, External HDD, etc.)."

Please do keep in mind that this is a BETA release, which means it’s hugely improved from the ALPHA release but you should still EXPECT some things not to work quite right. We have done a LOT of testing on our own to try and resolve as many issues as we can before this release, but now you get to help! (Lucky you!) So if/when you do find things that don't work right, please use the link in github to report the issue.

When reporting issues:
· Provide logs or screenshots of the issue so that we can see the error(s) you are seeing
· Provide detailed steps for us to follow in order to reproduce the issue

A few things you can expect not to work or be included (yet):
· Remapping the buttons on some controllers, such as 8BitDo, cause the controller to not work in the emulators – use the default keymaps for these
· Resolution for Emulators and EmulationStation is 1080p, manual config edit will be needed to change: 
   o Mount the BOOT partition and edit /boot/extlinux/extlinux.conf -- look for the following value: video=HDMI-A-1:1920x1080@60. Edit to your desired resolution. 
   o NOTE: Resolution in KODI can be adjusted without any config changes (up to 4k!)
· Netflix Kodi app is included – you can login but it does not currently play anything (yet)

Some things we have added to Recalbox that are Rock64 Exclusive:
· Upgraded Kodi (and addons) from version 17 (Krypton) to a July 2018 commit of version 18 (Leia)
· InputStream.Adaptive Kodi Addon
· Multiple cores for different emulators so that you can select which core works best for you on each ROM!
· Slight default overclock

Improvements since Alpha:
· Most Bluetooth and Wifi adapters will now work, including these which are 2-in-1 so that you only need to use one USB port to add both Wifi AND BT:
   o https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Bluetooth-Adapter-Supports-OS10-9-10-13/dp/B01JYE5BT2/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1532357324&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=wifi+bluetooth+adapter&psc=1
   o https://www.amazon.com/Edimax-EW-7611ULB-Wi-Fi-Bluetooth-Adapter/dp/B01KVZB3A4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1532357324&sr=8-4&keywords=wifi+bluetooth+adapter
· Boot from all storage mediums (SD, eMMC and USB) is now supported
· Overclocking options from the ES menu (NOTE: we highly suggest active cooling -heatsink AND fan- if you don’t use default)
· Updated versions of retroarch and most emulators + cores
· All emulators working - including PSP, Dreamcast, and Amstrad
· Additional Emulators Included:
   o virtualjaguar
   o uae
   o theodore
   o pocketsnes
   o melonds
   o desmume
   o beetle-psx
   o 4do
   o hypseus
   o vice
· Included Wolfenstein 3D (shareware version) in DosBox
· LED blinking with disk activity
· KODI 4K 60FPS with kwiboo’s HDR enhancement
· HD Audio with Selectable Output from ES Menu (HDMI, headphone jack, SPIDF)
· CEC working in KODI
· IR working in KODI – supports multiple remotes out of the box, including the Pine64 / Rockbox remote
· Newest Recalbox Version - with Built-In Netplay Features!
· Clean boot without messages
· Many additional controllers / gamepads are now supported 
· Custom kernel (previously borrowed from LE)
· Full range HDMI
· Added some default shader presets and default cores
· Updated Library Versions with Buildroot 2018.2-3
· Custom patches to ES and Emulators to improve overall stability

Some important notes:
· When the image first boots, you can expect a delay as the partition is expanded to the full size of your disk. Please be patient and let this complete. It will not happen on every boot.
· N64 has multiple cores, different ROMS work better with different cores! For example, Mario Kart and Perfect Dark both perform very well using the N64 core (which is “GLES2N64”).
· PSP and NDS will run slowly overall, this is not a bug, they are just very demanding of the hardware. Some games will be playable however, and PSP mini ROMs run quite well.
· Some emulators / cores are highly dependent on a valid BIOS files being installed (Dreamcast, for example). Be sure to read the documents in the system’s ROM folder for details on what BIOS files are needed. Further documentation is available on the Recalbox wiki.
· A single ROM not working is not considered a “bug”, it’s often an incompatibility with the ROM and the emulator or core. We have provided multiple cores for some emulators to try and help maximize the number of ROMS that work.
· If you are suddenly and unexpectedly thrown into KODI, then that means EmulationStation may have crashed. Please provide your /recalbox/es.log file so we can review.
· We highly recommend that you install a heatsink on the board when you select a non-default overclock! 

Lastly, please remember this is a community build, and just something I've worked on in my free time. There's no pressure at all, but if you appreciate the work then feel free to send me a buck on Paypal: mrfixit2001 at gmail.

Special thanks go out to Kwiboo from LibreELEC, Substring at Recalbox, and LukasZ at Pine64 for their efforts in testing and feedback!

- Mr Fix-IT
 

Hi All...

I mentioned the "clusterboard" to my other community
Porteus ("modular" Slackware) in this project thread...
https://forum.porteus.org/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=7842

This is an amazing product.  And I'm glad I found it. 

I look forward to learning from and contributing to this unique community.


Best Regards

I have the PCI-E X4 to M.2/NGFF NVMe SSD card and wondered what type of M.2 drives people may be using?  Also wondering if this card and M.2 drives (like the Samsung 970 PRO 512GB - NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 SSD) are supported under (ayufan) Ubuntu Bionic?  Thanks for any info...

I bought a Samsung nvme 970 EVO for the PCIe slot. I tried to find how to format the nvme unit but I have no clear. Could you help me in formatting and configuration? (currently I have put with bionic-containers, with Lxde the system does not work properly)

Hi I'm running ayufan's minimal debian on my Rock64.  I recently updated to 0.7.9 via apt-get install and now my /sys/bus/platform/drivers/rockchip-dmc/dmc directory seems to be missing?  Seems like maybe a missing driver or something like that?

The only things in my /sys/bus/platform/drivers/rockchip-dmc/ directory are "bind," "unbind," and "module"?

is there a distro / config / sd card benchmark comparison?

I have had a pi 3 for a while, and have noticed sd card and gpu dedicated memory settings make a pretty big difference in web-video quality.
..And some other things: browser...


I thought the 4GB ram version [rock 64] I purchased would handle youtube no problem. I was wrong - so far.

currently using ubuntu 18 with mate desktop. It was supposed to include lxde, but refused to load anything other than openbox with tons of popup error dialogues.
I guess I've overestimated the state of arm style gpu support.
command line performance seems far better than pi 3, apt installs things way faster - making me think it's not an SD card issue.

Anyhow, has anyone been able to use this as a *linux* media[pretty much pass the youtube test] center?

what were the best results?
distro?
display/window manager?
hdmi cable version?
type of sdcard?
browser?
is there someway to dedicate more memory to gpu?

Is there a mechanical drawing of the Rockpro64 assembly? If so, can we get it on the Rockpro64 "Documentation & References" page on www.Pine64.org?

Thanks.

I have already searched the forum for RAID. If I missed something pertinent my questions, please let me know.
    I do not know whether the following data are correct; regardless, I am more concerned with outliers of failure. I include these details for general information.
eMMC lifespan - https://electronics.stackexchange.com/qu...mc-is-dead - "The optimistic estimation would be based on the assumption that your system accumulates data until it can fill one complete erase block, then writes all the data in one go. In that case, your eMMC will live 4'000'000 * 3'000 / (4*20) = 150'000'000 seconds That's about 4.75 years."
microSD lifespan - https://superuser.com/questions/17350/wh...an-sd-card - "My experience with FLASH is integrity begins to falter in as little as 5 years."

1a. Can I compose a RAID1 using eMMC and microSD?
1b. How may I set the boot priority? - https://forum.armbian.com/topic/4583-rock64/ tells me how to disable, but I do not necessarily want to do so.

2. What is the performance of eMMC? (I gather that the microSD will operate at ~23MB/s, and will set the rate determining step for RAID.) The closest answer I found to my question seems to be only theoretical - https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=4881

    And, if applicable
3. How may I use /usr/local/sbin/resize_rootfs.sh on the RAID? Must I disassemble it to do one element at a time?
4. How may I use an/the store's USB adapter(s) to repeat the entire RAID1 installation (including my subsequent addition and configuration of servers)?

Hey guys, those Rockchip-based boards sound insane!

I'm thinking about getting my hands on one of the RockPro64-Boards, but I'm a bit curious about the power consumption (idle mostly).
Could anyone of you please share some concrete power consumption values like for the Rock64-board in the youtube-videos here?

Does the RockPro64-board have the same frequency steps as the Rock64, leading to a similar idle power consumption, or is there something else to consider?

Hello,

i'm using a Rock64 with Xenial Mate (Ayufan), and after installing xrdp via apt (without problems), i try to connect to my Rock64 via RDP (using Remmina at other Linux machine or Rdesktop from a Windows laptop) and i get a login screen where i select XRDP or X11RDP, and after log in, just an empty blue screen. Nothing more, and amtpy desktop, without options, menus, etc...

What should i fix to make it work?

Thanks.