Fri Mar 20 '20 Announcement
almost 5 years ago
– Fri, Mar 20, 2020 at 12:42:07 PM
Hello backers -
We’ve released v1.0.27 of the software for your PicoPix Max’s, just in time for those of you about to receive your devices after a long wait.
This version has been in beta and tested by our beta testers (thanks) for a couple of weeks. Our software team has since then rolled up some more bugfixes and features. We decided to release it now as we continue working on some of the more challenging issues.
Here are the improvements in this version:
User interface is now scaled to 2x
Up to now the interface was running at 1920x1080, which is not ideal for most apps on a TV-like device. Text and UI elements were too small. Several of you have asked for this to be improved. In this update we have enabled HiDPI mode with a 2x scaling. This means the UI appears like 960x540 but continues to be rendered at 1920x1080.
What does it mean practically? Most apps/text/buttons etc now appear at a more comfortable size.
Why did we scale to 2x? We wanted to maintain an integer scaling to reduce any graphic artifacts. 2x scaling at 1080p is also the most common resolution for a lot of similar devices like Fire TV and our own 1080p and 4k projectors, as well as from other brands.
Netflix no longer crashes on playing certain videos
This one had been plaguing a lot of our users. Happy to report this bug has been squashed (thanks Rockchip for fast turnaround).
Also, please DO NOT update the Netflix app.
No longer always returning to home screen
Many of you have had this issue where the projector keeps returning to the home screen while watching content. We believe this happens due to sensitive activation of the touchpad. In this update we’ve worked on the touchpad driver to mitigate this issue. It’s taken our QC two rounds but they believe the bug is now solved. However, we’ve previously been stumped in trying to reproduce this – calling on the community to tell us if this solves the problem or not.
Internal system colours now better match HDMI
One of the most-viewed tips from our knowledge base, How to improve internal video picture quality? is now baked into the system. If you’ve already done this modification, great, no need to change anything. But those who might not have done it yet, it’s not applied for you along with the update. Enjoy better pictures while you #StayHome.
Low battery warning added
A huge warning will be displayed when the battery is getting low. This is an initial implementation which we plan to improve based on beta feedback.
3rd party apps now have read/write permission to external media
As above. Your apps can now read and write USB and SD card.
Other changes
- 4-Corner Correction is now only available when you disable automatic keystone correction.
- Automatic keystone correction threshold is further optimised – prevents video freezing every now and then for some people
- Autofocus UI will disappear within 6 sec if manual adjustment is not made
- VLC no longer crashes on start
Updated apps
The following preloaded apps were updated:
- Prime Video
- Hulu
- VLC
- (Smart)YouTube
- ExpressVPN
How to update?
Just go to Projector Settings > Software Update > Software Update and click Check.
If you’re having trouble updating online, Try doing an offline software update..
Known issues
- The home screen (Launcher) now shows some apps that were previously hidden. But there is a known issue where not all of them can actually be launched. Try to uninstall and reinstall the apps, which may fix the problem.
- The battery icon colour does not change with the wallpaper, so if you choose certain wallpaper with light background, the battery icon may ‘disappear’ – this will be fixed asap.
For the next update, our main focus is:
- a solution for Kodi performance issues
- quick settings shortcuts directly within the home screen
- more detailed battery level info (time left to charge/discharge and exact percentage)
- Easy Setup app to help pair your AirMote and do basic setup
If you want to follow our day to day progress on shipment, QC, manufacturing and more, please visit: Latest Updates
Our Philips Community
Technical questions? Help needed? Your community is here to help! Go to https://community.screeneo.com. Here are a few of the best community posts to help you get started:
- Getting the best image quality
- Auto keystone calibration
- Pairing the Bluetooth AirMote
- Accessing extra hidden settings
Help us fighting the virus: Stay home, stay safe and enjoy your favorite TV shows!
With gratitude,
The Philips PicoPix Max Team
Mon Mar 2 '20 Announcement
almost 5 years ago
– Mon, Mar 02, 2020 at 12:20:09 PM
Hello backers -
We’re back with exciting news: following the extended countrywide Lunar New Year work break (due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak), the Chinese government has officially approved the reopening of our factories. As of today, our factories have re-opened and production will begin shortly, ramping up from 100 to 700 units per day as soon as possible. At this point, ALL Indiegogo backer units are expected to be shipped within 6 weeks.
Though we know it’s later than any of us would have preferred, we’re ready to count this as a huge win and keep production momentum going!
Round 1 Video Unboxing Contest: Winners Announced!
We’re also very excited to announce the 2 Round 1 winners of our Video Unboxing Contest. Our grand prize winner who will receive a Philips Screeneo S6 (4K) is backer #3096 with a collection of educational videos (Video 1, Video 2). Backer #1836 is our second-place winner with 10 videos (Video List) who will receive an additional Philips PicoPix Max. Our third-place winner is still to be decided and will receive a NeoPix Prime.
Congratulations to all of our entrants! Another contest round will be coming as soon as the majority of backers have received their projectors, so keep an eye out.
Firmware Upgrade 1.0.26
We launched a new firmware update today! Here are the updates you can expect to see:
- Renamed “Horizontal Correction” to “Calibration” in keystone settings
- When keystone is enabled, your PicoPix Max won’t run automatic calibration
- Bug fixed: automatic keystone correction was occuring too often, even when the projector was not moving, causing momentary stutter in playback.
- Bug fixed: SD card will no longer reformat when completing factory reset.
And a couple of improvements:
- Better thermal battery stability to avoid unnecessary powering off of the device
- Better touchpad sensitivity, especially for multitouch (scrolling)
The team has a lot of work ahead. We plan to increase our update frequency to once per week!
The focus for the next software update (v1.0.27) is on these high priority issues:
- Internal Android brightness/contrast settings are not the same as HDMI
- Text appearing too small, Android UI should be scaled to 2x HiDPI
- Apps randomly return to the home screen
- Manual keystone adjustment feature
- Netflix crashes when playing certain videos
- Kodi not using hardware acceleration
Update your PicoPix Max’s software regularly by following these instructions:
- Be sure your Picopix Max is connected to the internet
- Go to Settings>Update
- Press the Update button
Final Call For Discounts!
This is it! We’re running our last leg of discounts on Indiegogo’s InDemand. The Philips PicoPix Max discount (42% off) will officially end on March 9th at 11:59 p.m. PT, when we’ll move to our regular pricing of €899. We’re going to begin shifting sales to our own Philips website and retailers across the globe. Be sure to share our campaign with friends and family before it’s too late!
Our Philips Community
Technical questions? Help needed? Your community is here to help! Go to https://community.screeneo.com. Here are a few of the best community posts to help you get started:
- Getting the best image quality
- Auto keystone calibration
- Pairing the Bluetooth AirMote
- Accessing extra hidden settings
With gratitude,
The Philips PicoPix Max Team
Wed Feb 19 '20 Announcement
almost 5 years ago
– Wed, Feb 19, 2020 at 12:36:35 PM
Hello backers -
If you’ve been following along in these updates, you’ll know that our ability to ship out on our estimated time frames has been dependent on the factories in China who have been manufacturing the hundreds of thousands of parts needed to complete our full production runs.
If you’ve been following the news recently, you’ll also know that while factory shutdowns in China during the Lunar New Year are always expected, the recent Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak means that factories were shut down this year for far longer, with some of them (including ours) not even open yet. The latest news we’ve received from the Chinese Government is that all factories will reopen on February 24. This date may change depending on the Government’s decision closer to the date.
We hope you understand that while this additional delay is frustrating, our top priority will always need to be maintaining safe, healthy working conditions for our employees.
In addition to the delays to factory openings post-New Year, we expect many will continue facing uncommon delays and logistics issues. Please know that we’re doing everything we can to keep pushing forward and expedite delivery for all of our backers. We will continue to keep you updated as timelines solidify for the remainder of our Indiegogo backer shipments.
If the factory is able to reopen on February 24:
- Unit inspection will run for a month, with 10,000 units completed by March 25.
- Shipping order:
- Replacement PicoPix Max units for backers with hardware issues
- Remaining backers with order numbers below 4000
- AUS/NZ backers
- Final shipping rounds (500-1000 units at a time) until everyone has received theirs
- We have 700 units ready at the factory that are ready to be packed and shipped but we can only do so once the factory reopens.
- During this period, our China-based engineers are working from home and continuing to finetune the software so we can release new firmware ASAP.
Video Unboxing Contest - Round 1
If you’ve already received your PicoPix Max, we want to hear from you! In order to help the community, we’re looking to give awards to our TOP THREE best backer unboxing and explanation videos.
Prizes:
- 1st: Screeneo S6 (4K)
- 2nd: Additional PicoPix Max
- 3rd: NeoPix Prime
This is your chance to help other backers by showing them how it works, how to pair the remote, how to use different apps, highlight certain features, etc. Think of what you would have wanted to see before using your PicoPix Max in real life.
How does it work?
- Film a video. Creativity, style, and content are up to you. When choosing our 3 winners, we’ll prioritize your authentic opinion and your helpfulness to other backers above all. You do NOT need to be a professional. Don’t let intimidation stop you - your opinion as a backer is the most important thing to us.
- When you post your unboxing video to YouTube, include Philips PicoPix Max and your backer number in the title (e.g. “I converted my living room to a movie theater with the Philips PicoPix Max [backer #1111111]”)
- On Feb 28, we will select the 3 best videos and post the winning backer numbers in an update with links for all backers to go check them out.
- Your video must be in English.
- To enter this Round 1 contest, your submission deadline is Feb 24 at 11:59pm PT.
Post a link to your video in the comments section if you’d like other backers to be able to start watching before the contest winners are officially announced!
Here are a few great examples already put up by some of our backers (1, 2, 3, 4).
We will hold another unboxing contest after all backers have received their projectors so don’t worry about missing out if you haven’t yet received yours!
Reminder: Hardware Issue Resolution
If you’ve already received your PicoPix Max and encounter hardware issues, please send an email to [email protected] with your serial number (located under your PicoPix Max) and our technical team will do their best to help you.
If we find your device is defective, it will be replaced for free. COVID-19 has also negatively impacted how quickly this process moves. However, we expect to be able to pick up faulty devices within the next few days and get replacements shipped out as soon as we can after they’ve reached our after-sales service team. The logistics team will call you back in order to pick up your product.
Our Philips Community
Technical questions? Help needed? Your community is here to help! Go to community.screeneo.com. Here are a few of the best community posts to help you get started:
- Getting the best image quality
- Auto keystone calibration
- Pairing the Bluetooth AirMote
- Accessing extra hidden settings
Need to Get in Touch?
For bug reports, technical difficulties, or to request a free exchange unit due to a malfunctioning device, email [email protected].
For questions about BackerKit, sales, or other issues (except ETA): [email protected]. Posting questions on the Indiegogo comment section isn’t an organized enough method for our technical team to follow all bugs, nor for our sales team to follow up on sales/BackerKit questions.
For questions about ETA: we are unable to respond to individual requests for product ETAs. You will receive an automated email from BackerKit when your unit has shipped.
With gratitude,
The Philips PicoPix Max Team
Thu Jan 16 '20 Announcement
about 5 years ago
– Thu, Jan 16, 2020 at 11:33:47 PM
What’s New
This much-awaited update squashes many of the most urgent issues, giving you even more hours of fun & entertainment!
Discussion thread: Discussion: Software Update v1.0.25 30
Here’s what’s new.
New default colour calibration.
You asked for it and we delivered. This update changes the default colour calibration to target D65 white point. In simple words it means the white is now closer to cinema standard — and not just white, but all colours. We’ve further taken steps to ensure that the colours on battery and while plugged in don’t differ by much. Tell us your opinion on the poll on the Technical Topics forum! 6
Notes:
- There are no settings for your to adjust, it’s all automatic.
- There is some variation among different units out of the factory. So if you measure with a colorimeter you may not hit exactly D65 on your specific projector. An app to fine-tune the colour is being released to beta testers and will soon be available to everyone.
- It is normal if initially you feel the colours are “reddish” — this is our eyes playing tricks on us. Since the colours were too greenish/bluish before, the new calibration, even if it’s more correct, will feel too red. After a day you’ll feel it’s normal.
- There is a small -10% difference in measured brightness, but because of better colours, the perceptual brightness is not affected much.
- The Presentation mode is left as-is, to provide the maximum brightness. It does not match D65 colours.
- Bonus! The Energy Saver mode, while running on battery power, uses substantially less power than before. We expect around 30 min longer play time than before, an unprecedented 3.5 hrs.
Smart-YouTube — log in to your account now possible
We’ve replaced the official Google YouTube app with Smart-YouTube TV 2. This app is very similar to the official one, but adds a lot of useful features including the ability to log-in to your YouTube account. Let us know how it works!
Netflix in 1080p!
This update finally brings to you artifact-free Netflix in pristine Full HD 1080p resolution. Not much more else to say.
Sharpness adjustment
We have tuned the built-in sharpness, and provided a setting for you to fine-tune it. Just go to Projector Settings > Image > Color Adjustments > Sharpness.
Tip: set it to 0 for the most cinematic quality. Set it a bit higher, say 20, to get crisper text. (The default is kept at 50 in order not to surprise you with fuzzier picture, but we recommend you fine-tune it to your liking).
Other improvements:
- Digital Zoom aspect ratio is now correct. No more distorted rectangles!
- Touchpad responsiveness is improved.
How to do online update?
Start the update by going to your projector’s Settings > Software Update > Check.
- We have beefed up the servers, but still expect a lot of traffic.
- If your download stops in the middle, please click Retry several times until it resumes.
- If you cancel the download and Check again, due to a bug in the update program, it might say it’s already the latest version. In this case please reboot the projector and try again. Your download progress will not be lost.
How to do offline update?
If you are encountering problems with online update, check this article: How to do offline software update? 19.
Hope you enjoy this update. There are still several issues we’re working on. Software updates will continue to come at a steady pace over the next several weeks.
Need to get in touch, issues?
- Again please use only the new forum here: PICOPIX MAX COMMUNITY to post technical issues or questions. We won't answer anymore questions on Indiegogo
- BackerKit, sales, or other issues (except estimated time of delivery): [email protected]. Indiegogo comments aren't organized enough for our technical or sales teams to follow up on bugs/sales/BackerKit questions.
- Backers having hardware issues with their current product will be exchanged for free: we are now working on the shipping/exchange process
Again, from all the team, we are thanking you for your support.
With gratitude,
The Philips PicoPix Max Team
Tue Jan 14 '20 Announcement
about 5 years ago
– Tue, Jan 14, 2020 at 05:23:38 PM
Dear All backers,
Onward & Upward in 2020!
We are so thrilled to have built an amazing product & an even more incredible community in 2019. We can’t wait to see what 2020 has in store with you by our side. Without you, we couldn't have made this incredible device.
Communication
After internal discussions, we have decided to open a new platform for transparent, clear and open conversations. This forum based website will help all backers and future customers to ask questions, raise comments, find the information they need but also for backers to help each other. We know that you need to be deeply involved in this product development and shipping, and we have decided to aggregate all information there. Emails and Indiegogo comment section are not a good fit for backers to search for information and ask technical questions.
From now on, we will feed this platform with all FAQ and our customer+technical team will help you there. We are also counting on our best backers to help others. Some of you will be moderator and will receive a free extra PicoPix Max for their help! (we will come back to you on this)
The [email protected] address will be closed after we answered all comments within few days (don't worry we received it and our team needs some time to asnwer all emails).
For any refund, the [email protected] is still live.
All the knowledge databases, FAQ and comments are now being transfered here: PICOPIX MAX COMMUNITY
Don't forget to register there to be part of the community and post! You can even register with Facebook.
In order to be consistent we will need your help to only ask technical questions there, we won't be able to answer questions on Indiegogo, Telegram, Facebook... Let's share everything in one platform for a better and easy communication. Let's include everyone in our adventures.
For sure, we will also post new videos, pictures and comments there. Important udpated will be posted on the Community and on Indiegogo
Shipping
Our team is deeply sorry about the current shipping schedule and would like to again appologize. To be more transparent, here are the reasons:
- at Philips, we have tough requirements and processes but unfortunately, our supplier is working hard to match the quality we demand and you expect. we have full confidence in our suppliers but they need some time to achieve it. For eg our QC always rejects because of appearance issues. The painting and finish we chose are gorgeous but also very hard to do, with a pretty low yield rate (Electric painting + 3 layers UV painting)
- We had pretty tough conversation with Texas Instruments and the Light Engine Supplier as they increased the price of the engine at last moment. We needed to deal with the light engine shortage and cost
- Thanks to Google team, we obtained Widevine L1 certification in 1 month instead of 3
- We changed the PCB to get Bluetooth 5
- Issues with Autofocus function are coming from the Light Engine suppliers and we finally found the root of the problem: not enough glue and shipping issues
- We are now adding a second assembly fatory in order to fit our demands in terms of quality and delivery. Unfortunately, Chinese New Year is coming, a lot of workers already left and we are pushing everyday the production. We will be able to ship around 2-3K product before the 25th and then restart 2 weeks after with the new factory, with better assembly rate!
Features
4-corners correction over HDMI: The 4-corner correction is set to only work when engaging with internal content (from apps, via USB and wireless screen mirroring). All content played via Android will be corrected as well as content coming from your smartphone/tablet/computer if wireless screen mirroring is used. If you want to adjust the image, do so from the source. Vertical keystone is automatic though. The connection of HDMI/USB-C are going directly to the video chip. only vertical keystone is active. but 4-corner is done in Android software so HDMI/USB-Cwill never get it. sorry about it.
HDMI and Bluetooth: We received confirmation from our engineers that if a source is connected to HDMI or USB-C, the sound can't be forwarded to Bluetooth (to avoid audio lag). Your Apple TV, FireStick, BlueRay player or other sources will be able to connect directly to Bluetooth speakers or even 5.1 receivers (with ARC). This is the best way to play audio via Bluetooth when using external devices. Only external devices can properly apply Bluetooth audio delay compensation.
1.0.25 firmware udpate
We are currently testing this new update bringing:
- New Netflix app in Full HD: please don't udpate it
- New Youtube App, with account login
- New image Sharpness adjustment is available (set it to zero for nearly pixel-perfect output)
- Image color enhancements
- Solving Wi-Fi issues and Bluetooth interface issues
- Optimize remote Control
- Optimize Touch pad
We should be able to release this new update at the end of the week.
Need to get in touch, issues?
- Again please use only the new forum here: PICOPIX MAX COMMUNITY to post technical issues or questions. We won't answer anymore questions on Indiegogo
- BackerKit, sales, or other issues (except estimated time of delivery): [email protected]. Indiegogo comments aren't organized enough for our technical or sales teams to follow up on bugs/sales/BackerKit questions.
- Backers having hardware issues with their current product will be exchanged for free: we are now working on the shipping/exchange process
Again, from all the team, we are thanking you for your support.
With gratitude,
The Philips PicoPix Max Team
