Beginners Guide

[SteveCrewe]

I'm in the first week of using an X7 Ultimate. Love it so far. Have enjoyed watching sports and films.
Is there such a thing as a beginners guide?
To help explain things like:
1. How to update add ons. Do they need to be kept up to date?
2. Adding add ons.
3. Things not to do!
4. What is xbmc.
5. Why is goggle play store important.
I'm learning all the time, so as many head starts I can get the better.
Thanks.

 

[ChrisM]

https://DroidBOX.co.uk/blog - there is a second page link at the bottom.
That covers quite a few things, and we also have the Guides and FAQ sections in this forum.

1. If you have an internet connection, XBMC will automatically update the add-ons if the repositories they come from have updates available.
2. See the blog
3. Unless your house is really cool, always ensure you've got good ventilation space around your DroidBOX device. This isn't specific to our models, just a good idea for anything electronic that warms up when in use.
Don't install pirated APKs, especially if you don't know the source well.
Don't be frightened to experiment with settings and add-ons. As long as you have a backup of anything important on your device, you can always wipe XBMC's data or even carry out a factory reset if programs stop working and don't want to be reconfigured.
Don't feed them after midnight or get them wet!
4. See http://xbmc.org/about/ . The official XBMC forums don't like anyone discussing add-ons that provide access to video content that you've forgotten to pay for. Many add-on authors have threads where they listen to suggestions or explain workarounds at some of the other major (non-official) forums. XBMC is being renamed Kodi from the next version onwards, so if you're reading about or searching for XBMC, and see Kodi being mentioned, it isn't a different program.
5. Because it is a reliable source for applications, and if you follow the guide on the blog, you'll have you apps automatically updated for you in the background.

 

[SteveCrewe]

Many thanks for the help.
I think I understand the blog about adding add ons. But when I click on XBMC on my X7 the screen flashes then quickly goes back to the apps menu.
What do I need to do to get into XBMC please?
Steve

 

[ChrisM]

Steve, can you follow the steps here please - Resetting XBMC To A "Just Installed" State
Let us know how it goes or if you have other queries.

 

[Graham]

I have an x7 ultimate and I get booted back to the android screen when I select xbmc. Sometimes I just select it again and it opens but if you check open apps using the icon at bottom left of the screen you see Xbmc is open and you can click that or flick it up with air mouse to close it and then reopen from android home screen. Mine seems to do it if I try to open Xbmc before android has had time to boot properly but that may be coincidental and nothing to do with the problem.

 

[ChrisM]

Clear XBMC's data - Resetting XBMC To A "Just Installed" State
Reboot and wait five minutes.
Open XBMC and re-run the Wizard, noting the new procedure required - DroidBOX Wizard Update - October 2014
Once rebooted again, wait five minutes before starting XBMC.
Next time, try waiting four minutes after a reboot.
Continue until you find how many seconds/minutes you need to wait to open XBMC.

 

[Graham]

Thanks for that link was a great help. Just cleared Xbmc data and ran the new wizard as update instructions stated to the letter. No problems whatsoever and I really like the new skin and setup. Never returned me to the android screen not even on first run and I have run Xbmc almost immediately after reboot with no problems. Only problem I have is on the old skin I could hide menu items such as ( pictures ) that I don't use, is this not possible with the new skin.

 

[ChrisM]

If you head to the same sort of area as with the old skin (see http://www.droidboxforums.com/threads/how-to-add-homescreen-shortcuts-for-add-ons-in-xbmc.30/ for the general directions), you should find you can rename or (I think) disable individual menu entries there. You'll need to click around a little bit to see all the options you can change, but once you get everything set up how you like, let me know. I think we'll need to take a backup of those settings, to restore should the next Wizard update reset them to default again.

 

[Graham]

Had a click around but can't find on the new skin the menu disable buttons but I have reverted to original confluence skin as it boots faster and usually first time. Thanks for your help and I will watch to see if the confluence mod is updated to solve problems.

 

[ChrisM]

TBH I've reverted to the original Confluence on my main device as well. You're right about the lack of an ability to disable main menu entries, but you can at least rename them, and then add your own preferred add-on/playlist shortcuts.

 

[Graham]

Thanks I will have a play but it would be nice to be able to shorten the menu bar but I guess that is why we have other skins.

 

[ChrisM]

I suspect you could edit some files by hand and just remove certain entries. It looks like this - http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=160184 - is the official thread for that skin, have a read through and if no one has asked previously, maybe ask the author what the best route is.