Last week, I explained how to build U-boot, the kernel, and Android for Freescale i.MX6 HDMI dongle reference platform. Since them, there has been a bit more activity, with Richtechie releasing source code to some ARMTvTech members. However, this source code is very similar to the one released by Freescale, and misses some part present in the kernel config on GK802 such as CONFIG_MACH_MX6Q_RICHTECHIE, and the company clearly does not comply with the GPL. Let’s forget that for now, as Jasbir (who is also behind the Hackberry board) has managed to build and boot the kernel on his mini PC. There’s still more work to do, but at least we have a based to work on. In the meantime, I’ve noticed rz2k, an other developer, was also giving it a try on #arm-netbook Freenode IRC channel, so we decided to setup a few things to facilitate development and communication between developers.
There are now 2 repositories on gihub rz2k account for HI802/GK802 software development:
- https://github.com/rzk/linux-imx – Freescale i.MX6 kernel source with HDMI dongle patches
- https://github.com/rzk/uboot-imx – Freescale i.MX6 U-boot source with HDMI dongle patches
Assuming, you’ve already installed Linaro toolchain in Ubuntu or another Linux distribution, here’s how to get and build the Linux kernel:
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git clone git://github.com/rzk/linux-imx.git cd linux-imx git checkout imx-android-r13.4-ga-hdmidongle make imx6_android_defconfig CROSS_COMPILE=arm-linux-gnueabihf- ARCH=arm make -j8 CROSS_COMPILE=arm-linux-gnueabihf- ARCH=arm |
and U-boot:
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git clone git://github.com/rzk/uboot-imx.git cd uboot-imx git checkout imx-android-r13.4-ga-hdmidongle make mx6q_hdmidongle_android_config CROSS_COMPILE=arm-linux-gnueabihf- ARCH=arm make -j8 CROSS_COMPILE=arm-linux-gnueabihf- ARCH=arm |
For both repositories, the git checkout part is not really needed since imx-android-r13.4-ga-hdmidongle is the default branch, and there’s no default config for Hi802/GK802 yet, so “imx6_android_defconfig” and “mx6q_hdmidongle_android_config” are just taken as examples, but this should change soon.
We’ve also setup two communication channels for developers, and anybody is welcomed to join:
- #imx6-dongle IRC channel on Freenode
- A mailing list on Google Group
Freescale i.MX6 platform holds a lot of promise with GPU and VPU support in Linux, and hopefully, there will be enough traction in the community to make it a great Linux platform.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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