Enigma2 with GLES and WQHD – Current Status and a Call to All Skin Developers
Hello everyone,
we are currently working on a new EGL/GLES graphics backend for Enigma2. The goal is to render more of the Enigma2 OSD through the GPU while also enabling native WQHD skins with a resolution of 2560 × 1440 pixels.
Important: Development is still in the testing phase. “Supported in the code” therefore does not automatically mean “fully tested and released on every set-top box.” The new backend is enabled specifically through the e2egl feature. Without this feature, Enigma2 continues to use the existing framebuffer rendering path.
What is GLES?
GLES stands for “OpenGL for Embedded Systems.” It is a version of OpenGL designed specifically for embedded devices.
With the traditional Enigma2 OSD, many graphical elements are drawn by the CPU or older hardware blitters. With the new e2egl backend, the following elements, among others, can be rendered by the GPU using shaders:
- Text and glyphs
- PNGs, icons and skin graphics
- Areas, lines and gradients
- Transparency and alpha blending
- Scaling and rounded corners
- Menus, lists and windows
- Fade, slide, zoom and popup animations
This can reduce CPU load and provide a smoother OSD, especially at higher resolutions and when using complex skins, EPG views and animations.
Not every special case is fully GPU-accelerated yet. Safe fallbacks remain available for operations that are not supported by the GPU path.
What is WQHD and what are its benefits for Enigma2?
WQHD has a resolution of 2560 × 1440 pixels. For comparison:
- HD: 1280 × 720
- Full HD: 1920 × 1080
- WQHD: 2560 × 1440
WQHD has around 78 percent more pixels than Full HD. This allows fonts, picons, icons, EPG data and other skin elements to be displayed much more sharply. It also provides more space for modern skin layouts.
This refers to the resolution of the Enigma2 OSD, not the video resolution of the current channel. The television picture can still be output independently in 720p, 1080p or 2160p.
A true WQHD skin must be adapted for 2560 × 1440. Increasing the resolution does not automatically turn an existing Full HD skin into an optimised WQHD skin.
What is new?
- Optional EGL/GLES backend for Enigma2
- Support for GLES2 and, depending on the set-top box, GLES3
- GPU rendering for many OSD and skin elements
- Improved font and glyph rendering with a font atlas
- Text, area and drawing batching to reduce draw calls
- Texture cache for frequently used skin graphics
- GPU-based window and OSD animations
- New OSD animation profiles directly in the Enigma2 settings
- Improvements to OSD positioning and OSD calibration
- Support for PiG/MiniTV and transparent video areas
- Updated screenshot and grab functions
- WQHD skin detection through wqhdskin
- Detection of the active GLES backend through e2egl
- Native EGL integrations for Amlogic, Broadcom, Vu+, V3D and HiSilicon
Current testing status
On the Dream Two, the GLES3 path is already working with a visible OSD, text, PNGs, the spinner, video mode changes and animations.
Enigma2 also starts with GLES2 and a WQHD OSD on HiSilicon set-top boxes. However, final approval depends heavily on the respective HIFB/framebuffer driver and the amount of memory reserved for multimedia purposes.
On the Zgemma H8 SE, for example, the OSD starts at 2560 × 1440. However, the driver does not yet report the resolution consistently through all interfaces. In addition, the available 52 MB of MMZ memory is very limited for WQHD. Comparable driver variants with 72 MB of MMZ memory provide considerably more headroom.
These points are being investigated together with the driver developers.
Set-top boxes prepared for GLES and WQHD
The following models and platform families are currently prepared in the code for GLES and WQHD. Each model will be approved for practical use after successful testing on the actual hardware.
Dreambox:
- Dream One
- Dream Two
- DM900
- DM920
The DM520/525, DM7080 and DM820 are also planned for GLES, but are not currently classified as WQHD targets.
Vu+ ARM/4K:
- Vu+ Duo 4K
- Vu+ Duo 4K SE
- Vu+ Solo 4K
- Vu+ Ultimo 4K
- Vu+ Uno 4K
- Vu+ Uno 4K SE
- Vu+ Zero 4K
A GLES path is planned for the Vu+ Duo2, Solo2 and Solo SE as well, but initially without WQHD approval.
Other Broadcom and V3D platforms:
- Xtrend ET10000/ET1x000 family
- HD2400
- Ceryon 8100S
- GigaBlue 7252 and 72604 families
- DAGS 72604
- HD51
- VS1500
- Zgemma H7
- Zgemma H17
- Edision OS mini 4K
- Edision OS mio 4K
- Edision OS mio 4K+
The Formuler1, Triplex and XC7346 are planned as GLES targets, but currently without WQHD approval.
Confirmed HiSilicon set-top boxes with GLES and WQHD
GLES and WQHD support has already been confirmed for the following HiSilicon set-top boxes:
- Octagon SF8008 and SF8008 Mini
- Octagon SX988 and SX88 V2
- Uclan Ustym 4K Pro, OTT Premium and S2 OTT X
- GigaBlue UHD IP 4K, UHD Trio 4K and UHD Trio 4K Pro
- Amiko Viper 4K
- Anadol IP8
- Beyonwiz V2
- Qviart OG2 OTT 4K and OG2 S 4K
- Dinobot U5, U5 PVR, U51, U52, U53, U532 and U533
- Dinobot U54, U55, U56, U57 and U571
HiSilicon models undergoing driver testing
GLES, WQHD, framebuffer memory, double/triple buffering and the respective hi_fb.ko drivers are still being tested on the following HiSilicon models that have not yet been confirmed:
- Zgemma H8 SE, H9, H9 Combo, H9 Combo SE and H9 SE
- Zgemma H10 and H11
- Zgemma i55 Plus and i55 SE
- AB-COM Pulse 4K and Pulse 4K Mini
- Maxytec Multibox, Multibox Pro and Multibox SE
- DAGS MV200
- HD60, HD61 and HD66 SE
Older HiSilicon models such as the Dinobot U41/U42/U43/U45 and the SFX6008 require separate testing. GLES/WQHD support cannot currently be promised for these devices.
Cooperation with the driver developers is particularly important here. After switching to WQHD, the driver must report the resolution, virtual resolution, stride, memory size and number of buffers correctly and consistently. Only then can a set-top box be approved as fully WQHD-capable.
A call to all skin developers
We are looking for skin developers who would like to adapt their skins for WQHD and the new GLES rendering at an early stage and help us test them.
Anyone who would like to receive a pre-release test image can reply to this thread or send a private message. Please include the following information:
- Exact set-top box model
- Name of the skin
- Current status: HD, Full HD or already WQHD
- Willingness to provide screenshots and detailed error reports
The following areas should be tested in particular:
- Infobar and Second Infobar
- Channel list and EPG
- Main menu and settings screens
- Dialogs, message boxes and plugins
- Font sizes and text alignment
- Picons, icons, PNGs and SVGs
- Gradients and rounded corners
- PiG/MiniTV
- Animations and rapid list navigation
- Display on 1080p and 4K televisions
The pre-release image is explicitly a test image and is not yet a stable image for everyday use. A complete backup before testing is therefore essential.
Many thanks to all testers, skin developers and driver developers who support this project. With your feedback, we can bring GLES and native WQHD skins to as many Enigma2 set-top boxes as possible, step by step.
