Dune Firmware Zone

ATV12 Firmware Update for Homatics/Premier

Beta-version of ATV12 (Android 12) firmware update (v12.8.7954) is available for selected beta-testers for the following Dune HD media player models:

Although this version is Google-approved, it is not currently distributed as a general update to all Dune HD media players, because of the following reasons:

It has known regressions in comparison with Android 11, that can be important for some users (no audio when using specific apps, no support for multichannel PCM). See below for the details. Unfortunately, the Google-certification partner company responsible for the preparation of this firmware update was not able to avoid these regressions because of complexities during Google and Netflix certifications.
It is not well tested yet and may potentially have other regressions.
Downgrade from Android 12 to Android 11 is impossible.

This version is expected to the be the final Android 12 version, next firmware updates are expected to be Android 14 (currently, there is no ETA for this). At the moment, the choice is to keep using Android 11 or upgrade to this Android 12 version.

Pros and Cons

Advantages of Android 12:

Support for DTS HD HRA, DTS HD MA, DTS X bitstream passthrough.
Support for AFR in Android apps. This support is provided only for apps which use Android Frame Rate API. Compatible apps include KODI, SmartTube and some others.
Support for integer 24.0 / 30.0 / 60.0 framerates, in addition to previously supported fractional 23.976 / 29.97 / 59.94 framerates. This support is available only for Dune HD Media Center and apps which use Android Frame Rate API.
Various improvements in system settings for video and audio.
Enhanced security and privacy with the updated Google security patches.
Some other fixes and improvements.

Disadvantages of Android 12:

Multichannel PCM output is not supported any more.
- This limitation is not important for most users, but it may be important for some users.
- Dune HD media center, KODI, most streaming apps, most other apps:
  - As before, you can still get multichannel sound via bitstream passthrough of Dolby/DTS formats (up to Dolby TrueHD Atmos and now also up to DTS X in Dune HD Media Center, Dolby Atmos in Netflix, and so on).
  - But when decoding any audio format to PCM (including AAC, FLAC, DSD, and so on), the audio will be downmixed to stereo PCM, you can not output multichannel PCM any more.
- Some Android apps:
  - In some cases, in specific Android apps when playing specific content, you may get no audio at all, examples:
    - Playback of IPTV channels with 5.1 AAC audio tracks in specific Android IPTV apps. (Workaround: use a different app that can downmix multichannel AAC audio track to stereo PCM, such as Dune HD Media Center.)
    - Movies with 5.1 audio tracks in "ivi" app. (Workaround: manually choose SD video quality, this will force stereo audio track.)
There may be other specific regressions in comparison with Android 11, that will be found by users in specific cases.

NOTE: After installing Android 12, downgrading to Android 11 will be impossible. If the advantages of Android 12 are not important for you, or the disadvantages of Android 12 are important for you, it is recommended to continue using Android 11.

How to install

Install the new firmware:

Send email to support at dune-hd.com with the subject "ATV12" and with the S/N (from the sticker on the bottom) of your media player.
If/when the request is approved, ATV12 firmware update will be pushed via Internet to you media player, your media player will detect it and propose to install.
NOTE: Rollback to previous firmware versions will not be possible.

To minimize the chances of problems, you may prefer to do a full factory reset of the media player after installing Android 12. It is not mandatory and you may prefer to skip this. However, in case of any unforeseen problems, please do factory reset to check if it helps.

IMPORTANT: Install also the new Dune HD Media Center app:

Download ".apk" file.
Install this ".apk" file, for example, from a USB flash drive using Dune HD Media Center / Sources menu: choose the ".apk" file, press ENTER.
NOTE: Installing the new Dune HD Media Center app is mandatory. Old app versions may not work correctly (in particular AFR will not work).

Note: we can not distribute the firmware update as a file, because it is not allowed by Google policy.

Information from users who tried Android 12

The following information from users could be helpful: