Installing XBMC with External Player for Pivos XIOS DS on Android

Right now hardware acceleration isn’t yet available within the official XBMC releases, meaning that video is decoded using software instead of hardware components, leaving you with a very choppy video that is pretty much impossible to watch. We’ve now tested a method that you can use in order to force XBMC to use an external video player, in order to properly decode video with hardware acceleration. Continue reading this guide and you’ll be running XBMC on your Pivos XIOS DS set top box within no time, with video playing flawlessly. Don’t sweat it, this guide might seem a bit long, but that’s because we are actually walking you through step by step, it’s extremely easy to follow.

INSTALLING XBMC WITH EXTERNAL PLAYER FOR PIVOS XIOS DS ON ANDROID
(use similar procedure for most other Android devices, other devices begin at Step 29)

Requirements

• XIOS_DS-GB-042812 (Android 2.3)
• XIOS_DS-M1-ICS-121512.zip (Android 4.0 Upgrade) or XIOS_DS-M3-ICS-121512.zip for new M3 Model
• XIOS-DS-RemovePhoneAPKs.zip
• XIOS_DS-ICS-apps-060412 (Android 4.0 App Package)
• xbmcapp-armeabi-v7a-debug-2012-12-23-full-neon-xaf-set_top-6b685740e102bf267c540cae21d54bb2dbf17ec1.apk
• playercorefactory.xml file
• XBMC Addon Repositories: bstrdsmkr’s Repo, XBMCHUB.com Repo, and Navi-X (or whichever others)
• Pivos XIOS DS (or another NEON Android device)
• FAT Formatted 2 GB MicroSD Card (or SD Card Reader with MicroSD Adapter)
• MicroSD Card Reader (built into some computers)
• Paper Clip

Step 1: Download the “XIOS_DS-GB-042812 (Android 2.3)” firmware flash, unzip it and copy the “update.img” file to your MicroSD card. Eject the MicroSD card from the reader. Skip this step if you’re using the new M3 model, start at Step 6.

Step 2: Insert the MicroSD card into your Pivos XIOS DS device, plug in the HDMI cable connected to your television, press and hold down the reset button at the bottom of the device with a paperclip, and at the same time connect the electrical power cord to the device.

Step 3: Release the paperclip once you see the screen that says “Upgrading” appear on your television. Your device will reboot automatically after a few minutes, once the device is flashed with the initial firmware.

Step 4: Once device is booted, immediately turn the power off using your remote control. Disconnect the electrical power cord from the device, keeping the HDMI Cable connected.

Step 5: Remove the MicroSD from your device and put it back into your MicroSD Card Reader. Delete all files from the MicroSD card before proceeding.

Step 6: Download the “XIOS_DS-M1-ICS-121512.zip (Android 4.0)” ICS firmware upgrade, unzip it and copy the “update.img” file to your MicroSD card, make sure the one you had used previously is no longer there before copying the new firmware file. Eject the MicroSD card from the reader. If you’re using the new M3 model, use XIOS_DS-M3-ICS-121512.zip instead of the previous.

Step 7: Re-Insert the MicroSD card into your Pivos XIOS DS device, press and hold down the reset button at the bottom of the device with a paperclip, and at the same time connect the electrical power cord to the device.

Step 8: Release the paperclip once you see the screen that says “Upgrading” appear on your television. Your device will reboot automatically after a few minutes, once the device is flashed with the initial firmware.

Step 9: Once the device is booted, navigate to the “Settings” panel. The easiest way to find the device settings is to click on the rectangle made up of six squares in the top right corner your television screen.

Step 10: Go down the left hand menu until you reach “Backup & reset” under the “PERSONAL” heading.

Step 11: On the right side of the panel, choose “Factory data reset” under the “PERSONAL DATA” heading.

Step 12: Select and check the “Erase SD card” box, and then click on the “Reset MediaBox” button.

Step 13: When prompted to confirm, click on the “Erase everything” button. The device will reboot automatically once complete, you should then turn it off by pressing the power button on your remote control.

Step 14: Remove the MicroSD card and Re-Insert it into your MicroSD card reader.

Step 15: Download the “XIOS-DS-RemovePhoneAPKs.zip” update file and then unzip it, copy the “update.img” to your MicroSD card, which should already have been empty at this point, if there’s anything there before you copy this latest file, erase it first.

Step 16: Eject the MicroSD from the card reader, Re-Insert it into your Pivos XIOS DS device, and turn it on using the power button on your remote control.

Step 17: Once your device is back on, press the launcher shortcut (rectangle in top right corner of screen made up of six white squares) and then click on the “Upgrade” program.

Step 18: Select the “Local update” option.

Step 19: Choose the first “update.img” file from the listing.

Step 20: Choose to continue when prompted. Device will reboot once complete, don’t touch anything until it’s back on the Android OS.

Step 21: Turn the device off using the power button on your remote control.

Step 22: Remove the MicroSD card and Re-Insert it into your MicroSD card reader. Erase everything that is on it, or reformat it using the FAT file system if you wish.

Step 23: Download the “XIOS_DS-ICS-apps-060412 (Android 4.0 App Package)” file, unzip it, and copy the “XIOS-apps-060412.img” file to your MicroSD card.

Step 24: Download the latest XAF Set Top APK “xbmcapp-armeabi-v7a-debug-2012-12-23-full-neon-xaf-set_top-6b685740e102bf267c540cae21d54bb2dbf17ec1.apk” file and copy it to your MicroSD card. Don’t forget to also copy the “playercorefactory.xml” to your MicroSD card as well.

Step 25: At this point, you’ll also want to download and copy (don’t unzip) your desired XBMC addon repositories (such as bstrdsmkr’s Repo, XBMCHUB.com Repo, and Navi-X to your MicroSD card. Eject it from the MicroSD card reader once files are all transferred.

Step 26: Re-insert the MicroSD into your Pivos XIOS DS and turn it on using the power button on your remote control.

Step 27: Once it’s booted, navigate back to the “Upgrade” application within the launcher shortcut, choose “Local update” and this time select the first “XIOS-apps-060412.img” from the list.

Step 28: Choose to continue when prompted, device will reboot once it’s complete. It will then take a few minutes to optimize the applications for your system, don’t do anything to disrupt the process.

FOR ANDROID DEVICES OTHER THAN THE PIVOS XIOS, START FROM HERE

Step 29: Once it’s booted, navigate back to the “Settings” panel from the launcher shortcut.

Step 30: Scroll down the left side menu until you’ve reached “Language & input” then click where it says “Default” under “KEYBOARD & INPUT METHODS” and choose the “Remote controller input method” before continuing.

Step 31: Scoll back up the left side menu bar and choose the “Wi-Fi” tab under the “WIRELESS & NETWORKS” heading, and turn it “ON” then after a few seconds choose your wireless network and enter the password to connect to it.

Step 32: Go down the left side menu and choose “Location services” under “PERSONAL” and uncheck “Google’s location service” to disable that.

Step 33: Go to “Date & time” on the left side menu under “SYSTEM” and then “Select time zone” so that your device will display the proper time before continuing. Choose “GMT -05:00 Eastern Standard Time” for those in the New York time zone.

Step 34: Optionally, under “Developer options” on the left side menu, check “Don’t keep activities” to enable that. It will help optimize your device’s performance.

Step 35: Go back to the main menu and open up the launcher shortcut.

Step 36: Launch the “File Manager HD” application. If you don’t already have it, you can easily install it from the “Google Play” store.

Step 37: Choose “Storage” under the “Shortcut” menu on the left side of the application.

Step 38: Click on the “xbmcapp-armeabi-v7a-debug-2012-12-19-full-neon-xaf-touch-4dadbd8d2b703a5e904de9f547cf51ad13916d9a.apk” item on the list and choose “Install” then wait a few minutes until it’s complete.

Step 39: Go back to the launcher shortcut menu and open the “XBMC” application you just installed. You might have to scroll over to the next screen as there might be too many applications to display on one. It will take a couple of minutes to load the first time around, this is normal as it’s still finishing up its setup.

Step 40: Exit XBMC by clicking the Square Box with the power logo on the lower left corner of your screen, then press the “EXIT” option when prompted.

Step 41: From the launcher shortcut menu, open the “File Manager HD” application.

Step 42: Scroll down the list on the right side of your screen, highlight the “playercorefactory.xml” file, hold the “OK” button on your remote control for 3 seconds, then choose the “Copy” option.

Step 43: Open the folder called “Android” located on that same list, then open the “data” file on the next page.

Step 44: Next, open the “org.xbmc.xbmc” folder, followed by the “files” folder, then the “.xbmc” folder, and finally the “userdata” folder.

Step 45: At the top right of the screen, click on the “Paste” button that has appeared.

Step 46: Exit the application, and go back to the launcher shortcut menu.

Step 47: Launch the “MX Player” application, and agree to any prompts. If you don’t already have it, you can easily install it from the “Google Play” store.

Step 48: Press the power button on your remote control to turn off the device. Wait 15 seconds and turn it back on again, we’re almost done!

Step 49: From the launcher shortcut menu, start the “XBMC” application.

Step 50: Within XBMC, navigate to the “Settings” tab under the “SYSTEM” menu.

Step 51: Scroll  down to the “SYSTEM” submenu on the left side and then choose the “Audio output” tab. Change the “Audio output” option from “Analog” to “Optical/Coax” instead.

Step 52: Go back to the main “Settings” menu, and choose the “Add-ons” submenu on the left side.

Step 53: Choose the “Install from zip file” option, then open the “External storage” drive, then click each of the XBMC addon repositories you wish to install, such as “1channel-repository.bstrdsmkr-0.0.3.zip,” “repository.xbmchub-1.0.0.zip,” and the “Navi-X_v37_6.zip” compressed files. You’ll have to repeat this step only from the beginning for each repository you install from ZIP file.

Step 54: Select the “Get Add-ons” option now.

Step 55: Open “Bstrdsmkr’s Repository” followed by “Video Add-ons” and then “Install” the “1Channel Plugin” video addon.

Step 56: Go back two levels and do the same with the “XBMCHUB.com Addon Repository” and the “XBMC.org Add-ons” as you desire.

Step 57: Once you’ve enabled all your chosen addons, wait about five minutes for the whole XBMC system to update itself and its components.

Step 58: Exit XBMC and turn off your device using your remote control. Wait 15 seconds then turn it back on.

Step 59: Re-Launch “XBMC” from the launcher shortcut menu.

Step 60: Go to the “Add-ons” tab under the “VIDEOS” menu.

Step 61: Open the “1Channel” video addon.

Step 62: Use it as you wish, remember that the best sources are always PutLocker, SockShare, MovPod, VideoWeed, GorillaVid, FileNuke and FileBox. Sometimes certain sources won’t work, that’s normal, just choose another.

Step 63: That’s it, play around, and Enjoy!

Congratulations! You’ve now installed a version of XBMC that will actually work great on most Android devices, until official hardware acceleration is made available by the XBMC foundation, which will probably be sometime in Januarty 2013. You’ll probably want to configure the Fusion Installer on your device (can’t be done on set top boxes yet unless you have a keyboard or mouse connected, but can be done easily on touch screen devices) which will allow you to remotely install XBMC addons and repositories much easier. At this point, I should be congratulating myself for actually writing such a long guide.