Database Info

Really stuck here, if you could help I would be greatful

Hey all a friend of mine told me of this great website...www.icefilms.info...It lets you stream movies right to your windows or mac comp. and even smart phones. Problem is I can't find a way to get it to work for the g tab. It uses a couple of programs and they are as follows:
-DivX web player, which compresses the video
-Grease monkey (monkey script), which reads the file to play the video
-ICE Quick stream, which allows you to stream video from megaupload and
2shared
I see that other ice film members got Grease monkey to work with IE, Firefox, Safari, and Google chrome. I found another user who got it to work with Ubuntu (although you had to jump through several hoops to make it work, seemed kinda difficult)
So my question is, how do I get this to work on my g tab? (I'm pretty new at this but I tried to download all the browsers since flashing my unit with tnt lite 2.2 and I keep getting an error message). So do I have to flash a new OS like windows, OSX, Ubuntu, or Linux? or is there a way to keep my android platform? (which I really like cause of the app store and I don't want to lose t
It seems like a real difficult question (to me anyway) but for anyone who can help I thank you a million times in advace

Why don't you go the smartphone route? The Android browser is not equal to Google Chrome or other browsers as it is more limited in functionality.
If the requirements are all 3 apps listed above, then you most likely need a different OS (or choose the smartphone option).
Have you tried the thread about playing on Android phones?
http://forum.icefilms.info/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=13540

No I haven't but will check that right now thanks, as for the smart phone way....just didn't want to do that cause if i'm watching a movie and someone calls it interferes with the movie also wanted to take advantage of the dock with the HDMI out on it to hook to my tv. I'll let you know if that thread works....thanks again

It worked thanks. I remember reading this post a couple weeks ago, but when it was talking about doing it on the phone I didn't think it would work on the g tablet. Like I said I'm pretty new at all this stuff but learning real fast with some great help. I am going to post a thread how to do it cause there are 2 different ways, you can use the yx player or you can watch it right on megaupload.

alphadog00 said:
Why don't you go the smartphone route? The Android browser is not equal to Google Chrome or other browsers as it is more limited in functionality.
If the requirements are all 3 apps listed above, then you most likely need a different OS (or choose the smartphone option).
Have you tried the thread about playing on Android phones?
http://forum.icefilms.info/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=13540
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It worked thanks. I remember reading this post a couple weeks ago, but when it was talking about doing it on the phone I didn't think it would work on the g tablet. Like I said I'm pretty new at all this stuff but learning real fast with some great help. I am going to post a thread how to do it cause there are 2 different ways, you can use the yx player or you can watch it right on megaupload.

[Q] Some G-Tablet Questions from a Noob...

Hi All, I am a Noob to the G-Tablet and I have a few questions that I thought that someone might answer that also has a G-Tablet. I am running 3389 with the TnT Enhancement pack. (3.1.4) I am thinking about rooting the device, but want to be sure that everything works correctly before I do.
Here goes...
1. My screen needs to be viewed from slightly above the unit (landscape) in order to make it look even. If you turn to portrait, it needs to be viewed slightly to the camera side. It looks like the backlight is on the camera side and is thus brighter there. Is this normal? or might there be a problem.
2. The Camera seems to be very poor especially under indoor lighting. Poor enough that I don't know that I can video conference with it indoors. again, is this normal?
3. I have installed the Enhancement Pack and have the Marketplace. However, I only see a small number of apps in the Marketplace. Is this because of the Stock TnT? Apps that are missing are as simple as the Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Messenger client. Trying to figure out what makes the marketplace decide what apps to show and if rooting the device will resolve this.
Thanks in advance for any answers to these questions!

kmclaren said:
Hi All, I am a Noob to the G-Tablet and I have a few questions that I thought that someone might answer that also has a G-Tablet. I am running 3389 with the TnT Enhancement pack. (3.1.4) I am thinking about rooting the device, but want to be sure that everything works correctly before I do.
Here goes...
1. My screen needs to be viewed from slightly above the unit (landscape) in order to make it look even. If you turn to portrait, it needs to be viewed slightly to the camera side. It looks like the backlight is on the camera side and is thus brighter there. Is this normal? or might there be a problem.
2. The Camera seems to be very poor especially under indoor lighting. Poor enough that I don't know that I can video conference with it indoors. again, is this normal?
3. I have installed the Enhancement Pack and have the Marketplace. However, I only see a small number of apps in the Marketplace. Is this because of the Stock TnT? Apps that are missing are as simple as the Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Messenger client. Trying to figure out what makes the marketplace decide what apps to show and if rooting the device will resolve this.
Thanks in advance for any answers to these questions!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1.) Yes, unfortunately this is normal. It doesn't bother me too much though.
2.) Yes, I also find it to be pretty poor however it works for me for most things (such as reading QR codes off of a PC screen for apps).
3.) For me, it seems different apps show when I change the properties file on my gTab to mimic other devices. I guess there is a filter on the Market that only displays what it thinks your device can handle?
I am running VEGAn rom beta 5.1. I absolutely LOVE this rom and can't wait for the next version of it based on Gingerbread source.

kmclaren said:
Hi All, I am a Noob to the G-Tablet and I have a few questions that I thought that someone might answer that also has a G-Tablet. I am running 3389 with the TnT Enhancement pack. (3.1.4) I am thinking about rooting the device, but want to be sure that everything works correctly before I do.
Here goes...
1. My screen needs to be viewed from slightly above the unit (landscape) in order to make it look even. If you turn to portrait, it needs to be viewed slightly to the camera side. It looks like the backlight is on the camera side and is thus brighter there. Is this normal? or might there be a problem.
2. The Camera seems to be very poor especially under indoor lighting. Poor enough that I don't know that I can video conference with it indoors. again, is this normal?
3. I have installed the Enhancement Pack and have the Marketplace. However, I only see a small number of apps in the Marketplace. Is this because of the Stock TnT? Apps that are missing are as simple as the Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Messenger client. Trying to figure out what makes the marketplace decide what apps to show and if rooting the device will resolve this.
Thanks in advance for any answers to these questions!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have You tried the Quick Market Fix Found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=885940
I am running the stock TNT and have all the Yahoo apps on my market.

Thanks...
Thanks to those who replied. The Market fix did in fact resolve my problem. It's an easy enough fix, but I guess you just need to know where to look.
Thanks also for confirming that these items are shortcomings in the G-Tab. The camera is understandable in a unit that is priced this low. It is a bit unexpected that the screen has limitations though, since Viewsonic is pretty much known for making flat screen monitors.
Thanks Again to everyone for their help.

Glad to hear you're enjoying your g tablet. I think everyone is in agreement that the screen quality is unusually subpar for Viewsonic, however, they OEMed this device and stuck their name on it. It is not manufactured by Viewsonic, as I understand it.

Microsoft surface experience?

Hello guys. For those who have used the Microsoft surface, can you share your experience? I am just curious about its speed, performance, and how user friendly it is
Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium

I love mine. I find the interface refreshing and unique, the people app lets me do way more with social media than I have been able to do in the past. Typing on the touch cover is still a bit of a challenge but they are saying it takes a few days to get it done properly. Speed wise, there are no issues. Mine is snappy and responsive. Battery life is amazing. I can use it all day 6am until 7pm and still only be down to around 30-40% battery remaining. There is a lack of apps but nothing that I can't wait out. I expected the ecosystem will take a bit to get going and I'm willing to wait. I sold my ipad with retina and honestly don't miss it at all.

I really love mine the more I use it. I'm typing this on the touchcover and although I make a lot of mistakes I seem to be getting better at it. That said, I do have some issues but nothing that major (yet!). Battery life seems to be much less than the ipad, people report 8-10 hours, I only get like 4-7. The apps are a disappointment, but I plan to use this device productively soo all I really need is dropbox. The device seems to slow down when editing 2 page documents in word. I tried to make a brochure on here and dragging pictures around was a nightmare. I did type a paper onhere and while it took longer then on a regular keyboard it wasn't that bad.
IE 10 for metro is complete trash. Can't even load XDA so I find myself always forced to use the desktop version. If you buy one, I suggest the model higher than 32gb as we really only get lke 14 gb because of the os taking up so much room.
The touchcover gets very dirty it seems. I'm not suire if I can clean it without ruining it. I sneeze on it before and it has a nasty stain =/.
The device itself is very prone to scratches, I tend to try to plug the thing into charge while its dark and that damn connector is such a pita that I always scratch the bezel.
I love the keyboard gestures (which I know can be used on any computer). The UI is very fast, there's a crap ton of gestures to learn. Yet, there are some gripes. Closing an app takes a crazy amount of time. You have to drag all theway from the top of the screen to the bottom, unnecessary.
Overall, I love it and I plan on keeping it. I still have my ipad and my nexus 7 but this really helps me get stuff done. The fact I can plug in almost any usb device and hve it work is amazing. You can even charge cellphones and stuff with the USB. I would recommend getting the surface IF you realize you can't run anything that's not in the store. No browser addons, no exe fils, nothing. Sometime that makes me wish I got the pro, but this device is really enough. Get past the quirkiness of metro + desktop and it's a beast.
Sorry for the typos. This was typed on the touch cover while lying down in bed.
*EDIT* The messenger app sucks realy badly too. You add someone as a friend (which can't be done in the app you have to go to a website) then you can't ever send them a message cause it says "Name unavailable" but they can send you messages. Its a one way form of communication.
*Edit2* Another clunky part. There are no jpg thumbail previews in the desktop. And when you want to open an image it has to open a program in metro

brandonjuraimi said:
Hello guys. For those who have used the Microsoft surface, can you share your experience? I am just curious about its speed, performance, and how user friendly it is
Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love the surface responsiveness and the new UI. But still there is still miles to go to get this perfect.
1. After being ON for more than 3 days, clicking on Email opened up weather, can't reach the email by clicking on any of the tiles. Same with IE. I had to reboot.
2. The auto rotate stopped working suddenly. I had to reboot to get it working again.
3. The email Client is awful. Need a better email app. It can't even match 10% of other email client's functionality. (No multi select, too much delay when navigating emails in the list, no option to Archive vs Delete, Moving to folders isn't as easy,
4. There is no Cisco VPN client. If your work requires non standard Cisco VPN connectivity, stay away.
5. Enterprise Distribution of apps isn't clear yet. We shouldn't have to have enterprise apps published to Microsoft Store every time.
6. Silverlight doesn't run on RT? Kidding me?
7. Playing HD video isn't going to be easy. Not even one app which could play MKV files.
8. The copy paste of text inside surface isn't as easy as in iPad. Sometimes it takes too much time to get the needed text selected on IE.
9. Needs tweaking to run Flash on all websites (its a hack. Why?)
10, Pointing the cursor to an exact place in a text area isn't as easy as in iPad with the magnifying glass.
By the way, WHERE IS THE REPORT A PROBLEM button in RT ?
Though I have so many complaints, I still love my Surface. I don't use my iPad anymore. Many times, I had tried to touch my monitor while using my laptop. MS is spoiling me

mchimney said:
I really love mine the more I use it. I'm typing this on the touchcover and although I make a lot of mistakes I seem to be getting better at it. That said, I do have some issues but nothing that major (yet!). Battery life seems to be much less than the ipad, people report 8-10 hours, I only get like 4-7. The apps are a disappointment, but I plan to use this device productively soo all I really need is dropbox. The device seems to slow down when editing 2 page documents in word. I tried to make a brochure on here and dragging pictures around was a nightmare. I did type a paper onhere and while it took longer then on a regular keyboard it wasn't that bad.
IE 10 for metro is complete trash. Can't even load XDA so I find myself always forced to use the desktop version. If you buy one, I suggest the model higher than 32gb as we really only get lke 14 gb because of the os taking up so much room.
The touchcover gets very dirty it seems. I'm not suire if I can clean it without ruining it. I sneeze on it before and it has a nasty stain =/.
The device itself is very prone to scratches, I tend to try to plug the thing into charge while its dark and that damn connector is such a pita that I always scratch the bezel.
I love the keyboard gestures (which I know can be used on any computer). The UI is very fast, there's a crap ton of gestures to learn. Yet, there are some gripes. Closing an app takes a crazy amount of time. You have to drag all theway from the top of the screen to the bottom, unnecessary.
Overall, I love it and I plan on keeping it. I still have my ipad and my nexus 7 but this really helps me get stuff done. The fact I can plug in almost any usb device and hve it work is amazing. You can even charge cellphones and stuff with the USB. I would recommend getting the surface IF you realize you can't run anything that's not in the store. No browser addons, no exe fils, nothing. Sometime that makes me wish I got the pro, but this device is really enough. Get past the quirkiness of metro + desktop and it's a beast.
Sorry for the typos. This was typed on the touch cover while lying down in bed.
*EDIT* The messenger app sucks realy badly too. You add someone as a friend (which can't be done in the app you have to go to a website) then you can't ever send them a message cause it says "Name unavailable" but they can send you messages. Its a one way form of communication.
*Edit2* Another clunky part. There are no jpg thumbail previews in the desktop. And when you want to open an image it has to open a program in metro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In response to some of your issues. I love metro ui based IE and find it loads XDA without issue. A good tip is to enable adblocking filters using the tips in this forum (find the topic called tips). It loads XDA fine now for me.
Closing an app by dragging top to bottom takes a lot of time? It's a half second gesture man. Be realistic. Alot of your complaints are issues that are not issues at all. It's a different UI, give it a break.
---------- Post added at 05:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:03 PM ----------
tcsekhar said:
I love the surface responsiveness and the new UI. But still there is still miles to go to get this perfect.
1. After being ON for more than 3 days, clicking on Email opened up weather, can't reach the email by clicking on any of the tiles. Same with IE. I had to reboot.
2. The auto rotate stopped working suddenly. I had to reboot to get it working again.
3. The email Client is awful. Need a better email app. It can't even match 10% of other email client's functionality. (No multi select, too much delay when navigating emails in the list, no option to Archive vs Delete, Moving to folders isn't as easy,
4. There is no Cisco VPN client. If your work requires non standard Cisco VPN connectivity, stay away.
5. Enterprise Distribution of apps isn't clear yet. We shouldn't have to have enterprise apps published to Microsoft Store every time.
6. Silverlight doesn't run on RT? Kidding me?
7. Playing HD video isn't going to be easy. Not even one app which could play MKV files.
8. The copy paste of text inside surface isn't as easy as in iPad. Sometimes it takes too much time to get the needed text selected on IE.
9. Needs tweaking to run Flash on all websites (its a hack. Why?)
10, Pointing the cursor to an exact place in a text area isn't as easy as in iPad with the magnifying glass.
By the way, WHERE IS THE REPORT A PROBLEM button in RT ?
Though I have so many complaints, I still love my Surface. I don't use my iPad anymore. Many times, I had tried to touch my monitor while using my laptop. MS is spoiling me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MKV does not equal HD, so try playing an MP4 or something in HD before making comments like this. So what if it doesn't play MKV format, there are plenty it does play.

cmscritic said:
I love mine. I find the interface refreshing and unique, the people app lets me do way more with social media than I have been able to do in the past. Typing on the touch cover is still a bit of a challenge but they are saying it takes a few days to get it done properly. Speed wise, there are no issues. Mine is snappy and responsive. Battery life is amazing. I can use it all day 6am until 7pm and still only be down to around 30-40% battery remaining. There is a lack of apps but nothing that I can't wait out. I expected the ecosystem will take a bit to get going and I'm willing to wait. I sold my ipad with retina and honestly don't miss it at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow your experience with the Microsoft surface sure is awesome. It sounds awesome and I can't wait to check it out. Not sure if it is available in my country though...
Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium

mchimney said:
I really love mine the more I use it. I'm typing this on the touchcover and although I make a lot of mistakes I seem to be getting better at it. That said, I do have some issues but nothing that major (yet!). Battery life seems to be much less than the ipad, people report 8-10 hours, I only get like 4-7. The apps are a disappointment, but I plan to use this device productively soo all I really need is dropbox. The device seems to slow down when editing 2 page documents in word. I tried to make a brochure on here and dragging pictures around was a nightmare. I did type a paper onhere and while it took longer then on a regular keyboard it wasn't that bad.
IE 10 for metro is complete trash. Can't even load XDA so I find myself always forced to use the desktop version. If you buy one, I suggest the model higher than 32gb as we really only get lke 14 gb because of the os taking up so much room.
The touchcover gets very dirty it seems. I'm not suire if I can clean it without ruining it. I sneeze on it before and it has a nasty stain =/.
The device itself is very prone to scratches, I tend to try to plug the thing into charge while its dark and that damn connector is such a pita that I always scratch the bezel.
I love the keyboard gestures (which I know can be used on any computer). The UI is very fast, there's a crap ton of gestures to learn. Yet, there are some gripes. Closing an app takes a crazy amount of time. You have to drag all theway from the top of the screen to the bottom, unnecessary.
Overall, I love it and I plan on keeping it. I still have my ipad and my nexus 7 but this really helps me get stuff done. The fact I can plug in almost any usb device and hve it work is amazing. You can even charge cellphones and stuff with the USB. I would recommend getting the surface IF you realize you can't run anything that's not in the store. No browser addons, no exe fils, nothing. Sometime that makes me wish I got the pro, but this device is really enough. Get past the quirkiness of metro + desktop and it's a beast.
Sorry for the typos. This was typed on the touch cover while lying down in bed.
*EDIT* The messenger app sucks realy badly too. You add someone as a friend (which can't be done in the app you have to go to a website) then you can't ever send them a message cause it says "Name unavailable" but they can send you messages. Its a one way form of communication.
*Edit2* Another clunky part. There are no jpg thumbail previews in the desktop. And when you want to open an image it has to open a program in metro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Microsoft surface is still new so it probably still have quite a number of flaws. Hope Microsoft work on it and come out with Microsoft surface 2?
Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium

tcsekhar said:
I love the surface responsiveness and the new UI. But still there is still miles to go to get this perfect.
1. After being ON for more than 3 days, clicking on Email opened up weather, can't reach the email by clicking on any of the tiles. Same with IE. I had to reboot.
2. The auto rotate stopped working suddenly. I had to reboot to get it working again.
3. The email Client is awful. Need a better email app. It can't even match 10% of other email client's functionality. (No multi select, too much delay when navigating emails in the list, no option to Archive vs Delete, Moving to folders isn't as easy,
4. There is no Cisco VPN client. If your work requires non standard Cisco VPN connectivity, stay away.
5. Enterprise Distribution of apps isn't clear yet. We shouldn't have to have enterprise apps published to Microsoft Store every time.
6. Silverlight doesn't run on RT? Kidding me?
7. Playing HD video isn't going to be easy. Not even one app which could play MKV files.
8. The copy paste of text inside surface isn't as easy as in iPad. Sometimes it takes too much time to get the needed text selected on IE.
9. Needs tweaking to run Flash on all websites (its a hack. Why?)
10, Pointing the cursor to an exact place in a text area isn't as easy as in iPad with the magnifying glass.
By the way, WHERE IS THE REPORT A PROBLEM button in RT ?
Though I have so many complaints, I still love my Surface. I don't use my iPad anymore. Many times, I had tried to touch my monitor while using my laptop. MS is spoiling me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds really troublesome and watching movies and videos is a pain.
Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium

cmscritic said:
In response to some of your issues. I love metro ui based IE and find it loads XDA without issue. A good tip is to enable adblocking filters using the tips in this forum (find the topic called tips). It loads XDA fine now for me.
Closing an app by dragging top to bottom takes a lot of time? It's a half second gesture man. Be realistic. Alot of your complaints are issues that are not issues at all. It's a different UI, give it a break.
---------- Post added at 05:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:03 PM ----------
MKV does not equal HD, so try playing an MP4 or something in HD before making comments like this. So what if it doesn't play MKV format, there are plenty it does play.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree MKV does not equal HD. But the best compression today seems to be MKV files, and I have a ton of those. I don't want to convert all of them again into MP4 or any other format at this point. When all other OS supports playing it, why not MS - especially when they are late in the game, and know what the expectations are?

only 4-7 hours? maybe faulty device? everybody has like 8-10.. 4-7 aint too good

mr_dan said:
only 4-7 hours? maybe faulty device? everybody has like 8-10.. 4-7 aint too good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine with continuous use from morning 7AM till 9PM still have 30% juice. I just use for browse & search - no play or video.

tcsekhar said:
Mine with continuous use from morning 7AM till 9PM still have 30% juice. I just use for browse & search - no play or video.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. Mine is about the same.
---------- Post added at 08:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:33 PM ----------
tcsekhar said:
I agree MKV does not equal HD. But the best compression today seems to be MKV files, and I have a ton of those. I don't want to convert all of them again into MP4 or any other format at this point. When all other OS supports playing it, why not MS - especially when they are late in the game, and know what the expectations are?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know what you mean, I'd love to have it too (especially for the space savings) but I think we need to give MS some time to get the apps rolling. It's a new ecosystem and I've no doubt it'll get rolling soon. Would LOVE to see VLC on it.. that would rock.

I understand the os is new but I love the potential. I love this device regardless of my complaints. I do miss Google though.
In regards to my battery, I think something must be wrong, I'm using quite a lot of battery even just idling

mchimney said:
I understand the os is new but I love the potential. I love this device regardless of my complaints. I do miss Google though.
In regards to my battery, I think something must be wrong, I'm using quite a lot of battery even just idling
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd take it in and have it looked at. I can usually go the whole day without issue.

mchimney said:
I understand the os is new but I love the potential. I love this device regardless of my complaints. I do miss Google though.
In regards to my battery, I think something must be wrong, I'm using quite a lot of battery even just idling
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably your wifi, email or any idling applications could have cause the huge drainage of battery
Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium

brandonjuraimi said:
Probably your wifi, email or any idling applications could have cause the huge drainage of battery
Sent from my GT-N7005 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know Bluettoth also kills battery on phones and on the surface it is on by default. We need one of those battery monitoring apps, especially since the Start screen doesn't report battery details - I did find the "Windows Mobility Center" in the backend/desktop, and created a link on the start screen - it provides batter percentage among other shortcuts - pretty cool.
what I do love about the Surface is all the little things that can be tweaked on the descktop - By far more customizable than any other tablet out there.

tcsekhar said:
I agree MKV does not equal HD. But the best compression today seems to be MKV files, and I have a ton of those. I don't want to convert all of them again into MP4 or any other format at this point. When all other OS supports playing it, why not MS - especially when they are late in the game, and know what the expectations are?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MKV is just a container, like avi or ogg. So actual compression is x264 or as some call it mp4. There is also MP4 container which contains also x264 compressed videos, so moving files from mkv to MP4 is possible without reencoding, but just repacking.
But I agree, it is not for everyone and I'm sure mkv support will come soon through some third party app like vlc or mplayer.
This device is very new to the market and the os as well.

encho said:
MKV is just a container, like avi or ogg. So actual compression is x264 or as some call it mp4. There is also MP4 container which contains also x264 compressed videos, so moving files from mkv to MP4 is possible without reencoding, but just repacking.
But I agree, it is not for everyone and I'm sure mkv support will come soon through some third party app like vlc or mplayer.
This device is very new to the market and the os as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MKV is definitely the container of choice for HD in this day and age so any current system needs to be able to handle it if they want to sell units My whole HTPC movie library is in MKV. Having to convert to mp4 is not very practical as it requires time and steps (I use Handbrake for my Ipod touch). The latest Androids can play alomost anything thrown at them. I am sure someone will release a video player that will handle it if the surface is truly to be considered a media device. The question is will MS let it get certified in the store (Still unclear on the process and what's allowed - I would love to see a Opera or Firefox borwser too and I thought MS got sued years back for limiting options of browsers on the desktop OS). The question is how open MS will be to allow competing apps, especially if they want to sell hardware.

guitar1969 said:
MKV is definitely the container of choice for HD in this day and age so any current system needs to be able to handle it if they want to sell units My whole HTPC movie library is in MKV. Having to convert to mp4 is not very practical as it requires time and steps (I use Handbrake for my Ipod touch). The latest Androids can play alomost anything thrown at them. I am sure someone will release a video player that will handle it if the surface is truly to be considered a media device. The question is will MS let it get certified in the store (Still unclear on the process and what's allowed - I would love to see a Opera or Firefox borwser too and I thought MS got sued years back for limiting options of browsers on the desktop OS). The question is how open MS will be to allow competing apps, especially if they want to sell hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Back in my Linux days I had a script which unpacks MKV like it would zip file and repacks into MP4. The whole process takes 1 minute. But as you said MKV support needs to come to RT and MS is aware of the fact that sale of their Surface tablets depends on third party apps.
So I don't think they'll have an issue with VLC or Opera or anything else. More apps equals more profit.

tcsekhar said:
3. The email Client is awful. Need a better email app. It can't even match 10% of other email client's functionality. (No multi select, too much delay when navigating emails in the list, no option to Archive vs Delete, Moving to folders isn't as easy,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree its not very good, I hope they release an RT version of Outlook.
But you CAN multiselect, kind of swipe an email to the right a bit and a tick pops up in the corner, and then do the same for other.
At the moment, Hotmail/Outlook.com is better than the RT mail app...

[Q] cant install certain apps from marketplace

I am trying to install apps from marketplace but for some reason MS or htc hasnt anticipated that people may want an app that doesnt run on the resolution of the htc 8x all I get is "this app uses features your phone doesn t have" very short sighted if you ask me. But perhaps someone knows of a work around. I searched around but have come up empty handed and am hoping someone knows a solution TIA...

gstrekkie said:
I am trying to install apps from marketplace but for some reason MS or htc hasnt anticipated that people may want an app that doesnt run on the resolution of the htc 8x all I get is "this app uses features your phone doesn t have" very short sighted if you ask me. But perhaps someone knows of a work around. I searched around but have come up empty handed and am hoping someone knows a solution TIA...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what are you trying to install as i have never had that with my own 8X?

I have tried to install a few music player apps. the latest one was for Slacker. also pandora did not work either as I recall. but pretty much anything that uses lower resolution screens create the issue.

gstrekkie said:
I have tried to install a few music player apps. the latest one was for Slacker. also pandora did not work either as I recall. but pretty much anything that uses lower resolution screens create the issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry but those apps are not available by the looks of it in my region so im unable to test them,. But again Ive never had that problem with a lower resolution app. An example of this was netflix. Until recently this was set for a lower resolution and all it did was leave a black line at the top of screen which it didn't fill. I'm sure other lower res apps do the same thing,

Android Apps On Depict Frame

I purchased a Depict digital art frame last year. I received an email last week that the company is going out of business and closing their doors. The Depict Frame runs on a custom version of Android. Currently the frame can only be controlled by their app. I would love to be able to install other apps on this frame because the features provided in the Depict app are very limited. If anyone could help with this I would appreciate it.

I'm going to open mine up
Mine has stopped working completely now. I think their cloud infrastructure back end is turned off or no longer operating. I've tried contacting various people that used to be at the company with absolutely no success. Very disappointing that they didn't even think to publish some specs or open-source the software (if allowable by license).
Anyhow - I'm going to rip mine open this weekend and try to hack into it somehow and put a different distro on it.
Have you made any progress?
Anyone else tried opening one up?

Depict Frame
I have opened it. Now that they are out of business and we are left with the hardware I wish they would have made their software open source. I have been trying to see if I can drive the LCD with another computer (Raspberry Pi) or something more powerful. Looks like it is a proprietary interface. The LCD is a chinese LCD so if we can somehow figure out how to drive that LCD that would be quite useful.
---------- Post added at 03:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:29 PM ----------
oneguyindc said:
I have opened it. Now that they are out of business and we are left with the hardware I wish they would have made their software open source. I have been trying to see if I can drive the LCD with another computer (Raspberry Pi) or something more powerful. Looks like it is a proprietary interface. The LCD is a chinese LCD so if we can somehow figure out how to drive that LCD that would be quite useful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a facebook group - Depict Users group

Depict guts
I opened mine. The control board drives the TCON using 8-lane v-by-one. I found a manufacturer on Alibaba that makes a 4K LCD driver board which also supports 8-lane v-by-one and hacked into in place, bypassing Depict's main control board. I was able to get it to display text and images from a Raspberry Pi, but the text looked mangled at high resolutions. I don't know yet whether the problem is in how I have HDMI configured on the Pi, or whether the LCD driver board is fundamentally incompatible with this BOE panel. Still exploring.

My frame quit displaying any uploaded art since yesterday. Anybody figure out how to get around this horrible situation.

My frame also quit displaying uploaded art. I'm interested in any information on being able to continue to use the frame (with my own art at the very least).
Also, there was mention of a Facebook group for Depict owners earlier in this thread, but I was unable to find that group.

Depict Frame Working
My frame quit working several days ago. I opened my app and went the set up frame procedure. It took two tries resetting the access code and several times entering my wifi information before the frame accepted everything. I had to reset my wifi router to get the app to accept my wifi information. The frame is now working and I have been able to upload my saved pictures from my iphone. Hope this works for others !

My Dipict Frame is working again after a reset...
Like other's in this thread, my Depict frame stopped working a few weeks back (a few weeks after they went out of business). Specifically, my frame stop going into sleep mode based on its schedule and was stuck on the last picture it displayed. Based on Solivita's June 5, 2019 post, I went again and reset my frame. To to this, I took a paper clip and inserted it into a hole that is just above the power button on the side of the frame. I held the paper clip down until the frame reset (about 10-15 seconds). The first time I tried to set it up using the app, it failed to connect. But I power cycled it (by unplugging it) and tried again it and it worked. It is now working better than ever!!!!!

Depict Frame
This is exactly what I want to do. Have you made any progress on this with the Raspberry Pi or any other computer.
depict_owner said:
I opened mine. The control board drives the TCON using 8-lane v-by-one. I found a manufacturer on Alibaba that makes a 4K LCD driver board which also supports 8-lane v-by-one and hacked into in place, bypassing Depict's main control board. I was able to get it to display text and images from a Raspberry Pi, but the text looked mangled at high resolutions. I don't know yet whether the problem is in how I have HDMI configured on the Pi, or whether the LCD driver board is fundamentally incompatible with this BOE panel. Still exploring.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

iOS Update broke the App
As we all know, Depict has gone bankrupt and shut down the company. As Frame owners, we are now on our own. Here is my current situation: My Frame had been working fine and I was having no trouble showing art downloaded from the Art Institute of Chicago (great stuff) Yes, I was having some issues with the Frame's clock feature, and was forced to reset it a few times. But it was working fine. I use an Apple iPad Mini 2 as my controller. Recently, Apple sent out a new update to the iOS and I updated the iPad. BIG MISTAKE! Something in the Apple software has broken the Depict App. I can reset the Frame and go all the way through the setup until the Frame says "Ready for Art". But the same iPad Depict App that I just used to set it up from the Factory Reset now cannot see the Frame on the network. Yes, I have checked and double checked that they are on the same network. The Apple iOS update broke the Depict App so that now I have a useless Frame in perfect condition. I'm hoping that, at some point, whoever has access to the software for the App will discover this and fix it. That seems to be my only hope.

Any luck?
Months ago I reverse engineered the protocol for pushing images to the frame over the local network. (To enable slideshows of my own photos, and as a hedge against them going out of business.) Due to a series of unfortunate events, this morning my frame updated itself and it looks like they removed that functionality somewhere along the way (probably when they added slideshows). The cloud services appear to still be functional for slideshows of my uploaded pics, but who knows for how long.
So, did anybody have luck with the Pi? What was that display controller? At this point I’m likely to crack open my frame to see what I can salvage; any learnings from people who’ve been there would be appreciated!

They pushed a final firmware when they announced their closure. I don't know if anyone noticed, but it now runs the fan on high, continually. This happened to both of my frames. The fans continue to run even when in sleep mode, which is pretty annoying. As of right now, I'm still using the app to display artwork and cloud photos, however, I'm considering opening one of them up and disabling the fan. Ultimately, I'd love to get a pi into this thing and run it from there. I'm down to help put a tutorial together if anyone figures it out in a logical way.

NOISE
numb3rs said:
They pushed a final firmware when they announced their closure. I don't know if anyone noticed, but it now runs the fan on high, continually. This happened to both of my frames. The fans continue to run even when in sleep mode, which is pretty annoying. As of right now, I'm still using the app to display artwork and cloud photos, however, I'm considering opening one of them up and disabling the fan. Ultimately, I'd love to get a pi into this thing and run it from there. I'm down to help put a tutorial together if anyone figures it out in a logical way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YES! this crushed me. The app works I'm fine with the final functionality, but the fan noise from the final firmware update made the same noise issue for me. I was thinking of blocking some/most of the air holes...
ALSO....I just discovered another issue I don't know how to get around. I recently upgraded iPhones and my new phone tried to download all my apps...well, the Depict app is apparently not on the App Store anymore! so my iPhone 11 can not download it! ugh... thoughts?

depict_owner said:
I opened mine. The control board drives the TCON using 8-lane v-by-one. I found a manufacturer on Alibaba that makes a 4K LCD driver board which also supports 8-lane v-by-one and hacked into in place, bypassing Depict's main control board. I was able to get it to display text and images from a Raspberry Pi, but the text looked mangled at high resolutions. I don't know yet whether the problem is in how I have HDMI configured on the Pi, or whether the LCD driver board is fundamentally incompatible with this BOE panel. Still exploring.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really interested in this. Hoping someone will have a step by step DIY for this. Please keep us in loop on how this went for you.

austinsprint said:
YES! this crushed me. The app works I'm fine with the final functionality, but the fan noise from the final firmware update made the same noise issue for me. I was thinking of blocking some/most of the air holes...
ALSO....I just discovered another issue I don't know how to get around. I recently upgraded iPhones and my new phone tried to download all my apps...well, the Depict app is apparently not on the App Store anymore! so my iPhone 11 can not download it! ugh... thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same issue - I used the iMazing App to extract the Depict App from the backup and then restored it on my new iPhone. Was a pain but finally I am back up again.
---------- Post added at 10:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:45 PM ----------
ExposureSetLong said:
Really interested in this. Hoping someone will have a step by step DIY for this. Please keep us in loop on how this went for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can someone post a link to the video controller that can control the display directly?

oneguyindc said:
I had the same issue - I used the iMazing App to extract the Depict App from the backup and then restored it on my new iPhone. Was a pain but finally I am back up again.
I lost the app when I updated my phone so I can't control the frame anymore. Would there be any way you could post the app files somewhere? I have the iMazing App so I could upload them to my phone and regain control of the frame.
Many thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

spawnyb said:
oneguyindc said:
I had the same issue - I used the iMazing App to extract the Depict App from the backup and then restored it on my new iPhone. Was a pain but finally I am back up again.
I lost the app when I updated my phone so I can't control the frame anymore. Would there be any way you could post the app files somewhere? I have the iMazing App so I could upload them to my phone and regain control of the frame.
Many thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like you, I updated my phone and encountered this issue. There is a placeholder for the app on my new phone, but its not the actual app. I did backup and transfer purchases to iTunes on my mac when I switched iPhones. I found a copy of the .ipa app file for the depict app in the "mobile applications" folder inside the "iTunes media" folder, which is under the "music" folder. However, it indicates that the app is version 2.0.1 dated 7/19/17. Based on the date, I know this is not the latest version of the app. In fact, when I tried to copy the app to my iPhone, it said there was a newer version on the device (probably the place holder). Based on some internet research (see https://appadvice.com/app/depict-digital-art/908226911), I believe the lastest version of the app was version 3.0.0 updated on April 6, 2019. Can anyone that is the latest version of the depict app?
Also, for those that were able to extract the app from their backup, were you able to get this (or a later) version of the app? If so, was it actually in the backup, or was it somewhere else?
Lastly, if anyone has the latest version of the .ipa file, I would be very interested in getting it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I have created an .ipa file (using iMazing) for version 3.0.0 (the final update) of the Depict app. I was able to then use that .ipa file to install the Depict app on another iPhone (using iMazing).

edyo said:
I have created an .ipa file (using iMazing) for version 3.0.0 (the final update) of the Depict app. I was able to then use that .ipa file to install the Depict app on another iPhone (using iMazing).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would it be possible to share this file via dropbox/google drive or email?
Many thanks

spawnyb said:
Would it be possible to share this file via dropbox/google drive or email?
Many thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely. I'm a newbie on this forum and don't see any way to PM you. Thoughts? Maybe you could create a burner/disposable email address that you could reveal to me in this thread and I can send the (105MB) .ipa file there. Once you get it, you can delete the email address as it may be a SPAM-magnet after appearing in this thread.