Mele A1000/A2000 Android 4.0 Image Released

At last, a (semi-)official Android 4.0 release (and not a beta) for Mele A1000 and Mele A2000 media players has been released.

This release is based on AllWinner Android 4.0 SDK. You can download homlet_4.0_v1.0_20120609_dd.img.lzma or here and dump it to the SD card with dd (Linux) and Win32DiskImager (Windows). It is also available via Bittorrent.

There is also another image named homlet_4.0_v1.0_20120609.img.lzma that can be flashed via the Phoenix Utility, but the download link is not available anymore at the moment.

Here are the instructions in Linux:


Where you need to replace X in /dev/sdX by the correct letter for your SD card reader.
Now insert the SD card in your Mele, and wait until the LED stops blinking, remove the SD card and restart the device. Et voila!

The default language is Chinese, so you’ll have to go to the Settings to change the language to your preferred one. Google Play is available in this version.

Mele will probably release their own Android ICS firmware in the next few days or weeks, but this one seems perfectly usable.

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Metrox
Metrox
12 years ago

Hello,

Good news ! I will test asap.

Just a question, there is a way to make my own image with a few preinstalled apps (flash, vpn client, live TV apps) ?

ekimia
12 years ago

Great news ! But was it built by mele ?

mac me
mac me
12 years ago

he implies its not mele and says the mele one will be along soon … personally i prefer the mele one .. less (marginally) change of illicit code in it 😉

lezioul
lezioul
12 years ago

Can’t wait to test this! (maybe tonite)

@ cnxsoft Thanks for the news!

haris sarwar
haris sarwar
12 years ago

Thanks

ekimia
12 years ago

Just Flashed my A2000 , it’s working great ! ICS is definitely better for TV use

ankhman
ankhman
12 years ago

First, I would like to thank you for providing info on the MELE Ax000 systems. I thought initially about getting a R Pi , saw info about this system on the web. The MELE seems a good deal more capable and not all bare bones like the Pi. Ordered mine via Aliexpress but have not received the box yet.

Manageek
12 years ago

Flashed it really easily on my Mele A1000. This rom is fully rooted, which makes it easyer to tweak and translate.
HDD and network work fine.

Manageek
12 years ago

@ cnxsoft
Titanium Backup * Root is really great for this.

Dan
Dan
12 years ago

I tried it out on mine as it’s quite nice, the new launcher is handy especially for remote users and it feels snappier too. The File browser app seems a little more slicker in operation,t hey also have added a network browsing but it doesn’t seem to be working unfortunately, being able to access samba shares or DLNA servers natively through file browser would be ideal and make it much more easy to get access to media & comparable to existing boxes like a WDTV Live. One other thing is AC3 audio working for anyone, it’s such a common audio… Read more »

lezioul
lezioul
12 years ago

@ Manageek

Do you try to install busybox? I’ve tryed on the original FW, but there was an issue (as if the system wasn’t really rooted).
I’m interesting in this in order to add nfs mount point from my nas (because if you try to play HD videos from cifs shares, using a file explorer, players can’t use hardware acceleration)

@ Dan
Cifs share from native file explorer didn’t work for me neither.
Regarding DTS or AC3, i really don’t understand… I think it must be a license issue as it even doesn’t work using software decoding.

haris sarwar
haris sarwar
12 years ago

@ Dan

I have found a very simple solution for AC3.
Use AVS video remaker to convert ac3 to aac.
No re encoding is done in this only ac3 is converted to aac and you can also convert an mkv file to mp4.
http://baltagy.blogspot.com/2012/06/avs-video-remaker-v411144-portable.html
By using this i have converted all movies or songs with ac3 track to aac and now they can be played on mele without any problem.

Yongke
Yongke
12 years ago

@ cnxsoft
I guess it’s a license issue. There is a audio (crack) patch for mele original 1.6 firmware which enables the AC3/DTS audio. Don’t know who guys made that patch, but it’s quite easy to use, just install & launch & click ‘crack’.
However I have not yet upgraded my A1000 to this ICS, so is there any body can try that patch to see if it’s working also for ICS?
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/37116164/audiopatch1.2.apk

e8hffff
e8hffff
12 years ago

@ Dan

Getting audio problems here too, even from file on a usb HD plugged in. Also the WIFI connection keeps dropping.

This is not a production quality flash. Mele really needs to up their flash-rom quality.

Linux running hardware acceleration is so needed!

e8hffff
e8hffff
12 years ago

Does anyone have a solution to save settings, so updating is easier?

Dan
Dan
12 years ago

I gave the audio patch a try and it didn’t do anything I think it’s meant for the mele 1.2 firmware ? Slightly good news is that a restart of the system and the network browsing in the file manager was now working and I could play videos direct from the NAS. Not sure what the deal is with the AC3/DTS audio don’t most media players under Android use ffmpeg the open source codecs and don’t the Chinese usually ignore any licensing stuff too : ) Certainly other Android TV boxes don’t have the same problem Amlogic ones are fine… Read more »

Dan
Dan
12 years ago

Just curious but is it possible to install this on non-Mele All Winner A10 devices ?

Lundman
12 years ago

Oh come on! I’m *last* to find out there is an audio patch? Seriously?! 😉

BTW, the wired nic driver is terrible, I tried to improve it (and I did) but it uses CPU, so 1080p video will stutter. The WIFI sits on USB bus however, and if the signal is good enough, can play 1080p.

t.k.
t.k.
12 years ago

MeLE has released Android 4.0 firmware.
http://e.weibo.com/2334593882/yq1sjskUJ
(Chinese)

note:
MeLE says “大家慢慢下载” 🙂

change language:
设置>语言和输入法>语言>select your language.

ekimia
12 years ago

thanks , I always feel mad that chinese manufacturer deliver their updates on bad filesharing sites.

Anybody already created a torrent ?

t.k.
t.k.
12 years ago

@ t.k.
Additional information;
I can’t play videos on this version. Only Audio on videos is played.
Only MX Player S/W decoder mode can play video.
I will install a former firmware.

t.k.
t.k.
12 years ago

@ t.k.
Video has been played.
I used HDMI 720p 60hz on old firmware. It doesn’t work on new firmware.
I have set HDMI 1080p 60hz on new. It works.

nimeq
nimeq
12 years ago

@ ekimia

http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=347&t=2680533&r=2&p=9

Post #89 has a link to google docs with android 4.0 軟件.rar

I have no idea how reliable this source is…

Dan
Dan
12 years ago

@nmeq it is the same file, it has the Mele Android 4 official image and it works fine as far as I can tell but the Phoenix utility would not run for me in that android 4.0 軟件.rar so I just used existing version I had.

Here is another mirror on Skydrive with official Mele Android 4 and working Phoenix utility
http://sdrv.ms/N11Gzb

One other thing is that Mele seems to have not included the alternate launcher as seen in the screenshot of the prior firmware, it was a bit buggy so maybe that’s why they removed it.

t.k.
t.k.
12 years ago

Android 4.0 firmware was once uploaded to the official site of MeLE on 30 June.
Official download page (Chinese): http://mele.cn/cn/web/down_list.aspx?cid=GJS

However, it has been deleted.
The reason for deletion is not explained.

Lundman
12 years ago

Official image appears to still be there, with same filename as before. I have a mirror of the image on my storage area if that gives people more speed.

There is also an audiopatch 1.3 for it to do something with sound.

Draak
Draak
12 years ago

Just installed the 4.0 image, but no luck in getting you tube to work, well I get sound but no video, iplayer doesn’t seem to be compatible either, anyone managed to get these working or have working versions of these apps?

Vishal Ghelani
Vishal Ghelani
12 years ago

I’ve installed the official Mele Android 4 and I have the same problem. Sound seems to work find on MKV’s after running the audiopatch1.3 but NO video whatsoever, whether its xvid, mkv or flash.

Vish
Vish
12 years ago

Ok so good news, the official Android 4 update has issues with Video but this A10 version of Android doesn’t so I thought I would have a go at installing this and patching it with audiopatch1.3. It works!!
MKV files play (video & audio) using this version of ICS and audiopatch1.3.. 🙂

Draak
Draak
12 years ago

Vish :Ok so good news, the official Android 4 update has issues with Video but this A10 version of Android doesn’t so I thought I would have a go at installing this and patching it with audiopatch1.3. It works!! MKV files play (video & audio) using this version of ICS and audiopatch1.3..

Which version?

Vish
Vish
12 years ago

This version, as in the version described in this thread (the Allwinner A10 version that was released on: http://rhombus-tech.net/allwinner_a10/hacking_the_mele_a1000/android/ (https://dl.dropbox.com/u/65312725/homlet_4.0_v1.0_20120609.img.lzma)

Draak
Draak
12 years ago

Vish :This version, as in the version described in this thread (the Allwinner A10 version that was released on: http://rhombus-tech.net/allwinner_a10/hacking_the_mele_a1000/android/ (https://dl.dropbox.com/u/65312725/homlet_4.0_v1.0_20120609.img.lzma)

Cheers, just need to find a working version of iplayer now!

Greg
Greg
12 years ago

I get no video with the official Mele ICS when using the supplied TvdPlayer and when using MX Player in hardware mode. However, MX works just fine in software mode. I’d wager that TvdPlayer is using hardware mode as well. I have yet to encounter any audio issues with homlet ICS or Mele ICS.

JZ
JZ
12 years ago

@ Greg

Change video output mode to any of the 1080 settings and you will see video, default 720p does not work for some reason.

Vish
Vish
12 years ago

You will encounter audio issues with most MKV’s with any Mele rom. For 1.6 firmware you can use audiopatch1.2 to resolve this and for both ICS versions (A10’s and Mele’s) you can use audiopatch1.3 to resolve this. I never got round to trying 1080p mode on mine because its only an HD Ready TV but I’m happy enough with my current setup (A10 ICS with Audiopatch1.3)

Ricardo Cunha
Ricardo Cunha
12 years ago

There is a way to get source of this image?

Lundman
12 years ago

Might not affect others, but I did some hacking on the wired NIC driver, and rebuilt the kernel so that I can now stream 1080p videos over network. I left my android kernel in my download area if others are experiencing the stuttering.

Lundman
12 years ago

Ah my bad, usually links are always banned.

My hacking is here: http://lundman.net/wiki/index.php/MeLe_A2000
and you can find any file I discuss here: http://www.lundman.net/ftp/mele/

I updated my Pull Request today, with NIC drivers that play 1080p without stutter, so I consider that adventure completed. For those who don’t want to wait, my build kernel can be downloaded and written to nandc. No changes apart from the NIC driver.

Kweker
Kweker
12 years ago

Hi
I’ve tried the 4.0 image together with the android 1.3 audio patch file. Should all mkv files then work with audio? Also, I notice that when I put the files on a usb stick that all of them(the ones i’ve tested) all play with the installed player. But when I do a network cifs mount(with cifs manager) and play the same files over a network connection, that the player doesn’t recognize the format? Any ideas of what is a good solution to play all kind of video files over network shares?

hackandfab
12 years ago

Hi, there is a mistake/bug on your code (it was on lundman’s page) instead of “sudo dd if=homlet_4.0_v1.0_20120609_dd.img.lzma of=/dev/sdX bs=1M” it should be “sudo dd if=homlet_4.0_v1.0_20120609_dd.img of=/dev/sdX bs=1M”

I’m becoming a fan of this blog 🙂

Kweker
Kweker
12 years ago

Thanks cnxsoft. I’ve tried ES File Explorer, it works. But apparently there’s a difference if you use mxplayer to play files over network than if you use the tvdplayer that was already installed. Mxplayer takes in all files over the network. The only issue I have is that I have no audio for my mkv’s with 5.1 audio(and i’ve used 1.3 audio patch)

Ehsan Kia
12 years ago

Hey Kewker, I have the same issue, and I also tried both 1.2/1.3 patches and restarted and all.
Message me if you find a solution!

Colin
Colin
12 years ago

I have trouble putting the .img file to my SD card (a 4 Go one). What kind of requirements concerning partitions, what kind of filesystem ?

thanks Cnxsoft for your answer.

Colin
Colin
12 years ago

I use Linux, Ubuntu 12.04. my SD card is suposed to be on FAT32…
I did:
sudo dd if=homlet_4.0_v1.0_20120609_dd.img of=/dev/sdX bs=1M
sync
I even tried a dd with the option t=vfat….

But when I put back the SD card into mele A 2000 slot, and try to restart the Mele, the led doesn’t blink and the device restart with a 2.3 android version 🙁

Colin
Colin
12 years ago

Yes I really used /dev/sdb :).

The dd were issued with no warnings. But I’m not able to see the image on the SD card by doing a ll /media/”name of the mounted SD Card”….

I wonder if i have a correct setup for an inside u-boot on the Mele ?

Kweker
Kweker
12 years ago

@ Ehsan Kia : I managed to fix it for me using this page http://www.lundman.net/wiki/index.php/MeLe_A2000 Essentially I had the audiopatch 1.3 and 1.2 apk files which both contain libswa.so or(libswa.so.1 or something like that) I’ve put those files on a usbdrive and copied them to /system/lib using a rootshell busybox cp /mnt/usbhost-1/libswa* /system/lib/ Then I’ve got a message that the partition was full… I’ve deleted some apk which I did not need, can’t remember which one, but once I’ve cleared up a bit of space I could copy the libswa files to /system/lib and all my mkv files play nicely… Read more »

ASB Youcef
ASB Youcef
12 years ago

At first thank you for this blog and all shared experience

With my mele a1000 (homlet rom from thes page) all work fine except the video multicast streaming (udp and rtp) over wired network
can any one help?

PS: excuse my poor english ;D

Jupsu
Jupsu
12 years ago

Got my Mele a2000 today, it has 4.03 factory installed and seems to work fine. However i have a problem that e.g aTorrent or other download sw, it wont start downloading if i set target directory to my usb host drive. The drive itself works nicely and i can use it otherwise. Any ideas how to fix it?

Fabricio Biazzotto
Fabricio Biazzotto
12 years ago

Another ICS firmware announced here: http://mele.cn/cn/web/down_list.aspx?cid=GJS It can be downloaded here: http://mele.cn/cn/web/down_show.aspx?id=36 Changes: 1. Update to Android 4.0.4 2. Fixed problem with Flash Player “black screen” 3. Mouse speed can be set 4. Option to turn on/off the background applications 5. Allowed to set the font size 6. Supports playback of DVD and Blu-Ray ISO files (Files mode) 7. Multiple mouse devices can be used 8. Full-screen playback of online video sources Its translated from the original chinese description, so it can have some mistakes. Following the original chinese: 1. 系统更新至Android 4.0.4 2. 解决了Flash在线视频播放黑屏的问题; 3. 可调整鼠标移动速度 4. 可快速切换、关闭后台应用程序 5. 可调整系统范围内的字体大小… Read more »

ASB Youcef
ASB Youcef
12 years ago

@Fabricio Biazzotto
thank you Fabricio this update resolve my HD streaming problem (multicasting over Ethernet)
now i can watch HD video in my straming multicast server (UDP & RTP)

ASB Youcef
ASB Youcef
12 years ago

ASB Youcef :
@Fabricio Biazzotto
thank you Fabricio this update resolve my HD streaming problem (multicasting over Ethernet)
now i can watch HD video in my straming multicast server (UDP & RTP)

i upload it in another server more fast

http://uploadhero.com/dl/wC4BBSL3

Alexufo
Alexufo
12 years ago

@Fabricio Biazzotto
HI! Official firmware without adb (( I didnt know why. Another firmware works perfect with adb

Colin
Colin
12 years ago

I’m stuck! still no blinking led 🙁 arghhhh!

Colin
Colin
12 years ago

I did use the phoenixcard method and official firmware from mele.cn. it works now 🙂
It’s just that the DD thing did not work for me 🙁 I hate to use windows XP.

thanks for your help by the way!

Jonas
Jonas
12 years ago

I have bought a new Mele a2000 that says it have the 1.2 version. But Android is 4.04 and i have no Google Apps, Google Play? Can some one help me? Do i have the latest firmware, and why am i missing Play? How to i get access to Google Play?

Regards from Sweden

ni4ata
ni4ata
12 years ago

@Jonas
There is way to install GApps but instruction in it is on russian 😉
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/27246685/MeLE_ICS_GAPPS_Install.zip

btw it will add NOVA launcher also

Jonas
Jonas
12 years ago

Thnx alot, realy hope Google can translate it for me 🙂 Thanx again!

Jonas
Jonas
12 years ago

@ni4ata

It worked!!! Peace of cake! Thank you a lot! (And thank you translate.google.com) 😀

ni4ata
ni4ata
12 years ago

You are welcome. Russian firm has branded mele A1000 under name Iconbit Toucan SMART and on 4pda forum there is a large topic about device (on russian 🙂 )

http://4pda.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=342683

marko
marko
11 years ago

Have someone problem with booting linux from sd after this android update?

szana8
szana8
11 years ago

Hi All,

I tried to install a firmware into my Mele A2000 but after the flashing, and after the boot screen, my monitor is entering standby mode. I think the VGA output is not active. Why?
Could anybody help me?

szana8
szana8
11 years ago


So, after the firmware installation, at first the box run only in HDMI mode? I’ll try you solution. I hope it will be good for me.

Thanks

szana8
szana8
11 years ago


Another question. Do you know, can the device send the AC3/DTS to the SPDIF outupu?

szana8
szana8
11 years ago


I tried to install the audipatch 1.3, but I have only stereo channel in SPDIF. So I think the DTS and AC3 working only in HDMI. I am very sad, because this player is very good, but this problem has no solution at this time.

javed
javed
11 years ago

I tried to load the home_4.04 version of image downloaded from this sit on my mele box but the blue light keeps blinking and never goes to red.

Any idea how to fix this problem?

I used Phoenixcard to write the img file on Sd card.

Thanks.

javed
javed
11 years ago

@Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) Thanks for your reply. I downloaded the image for Phoenix card from somewhere else. I tried the other image from one of the posts and that worked fine. Only this one is not. I will try the dd/win32diskimage method you mentioned and see if that works. I like this image as this has a nice startup window and want to use this one. There was mention of a mele version released by mele itself and link is there in one of the above post. I tried that link but it is all in chinese so could not… Read more »

javed
javed
11 years ago

mele_4.0_v1.3beta_revised_en_us_4.ddimg

I tried this version and works fine but when I rebooted the system, now it is stuck on Mele logo.

How to fix this issue?

thanks.

javed
javed
11 years ago

I tried to use this img but it does not load into my mele system.
The blue light never stops blinking. I have to power down the unit and when reboot, it still shows my old version.
That means that this img was never flashed.

homlet_4.0_v1.0_20120609_dd.img.lzma

Thanks.

javed
javed
11 years ago

Hello cnxsoft!

It is only this and one or two other img files which do not load. I got couple of other mele img files and they load OK without any problem.

I wanted to use this one because it has a nice frontend as shown in the start of this blog.

Thanks.

omar
omar
10 years ago

Hi

I have mele 1000, So, after the firmware installation i not have wifi. but whit firmware Common_GWZX_20121227_V1.2.1,img and firmware mele original my wifi is ok.

Khadas VIM4 SBC