Amiko Alien 2 (Novice Buyer)

An Cigire

I've read through some of the super thread for the amiko but can't find what I'm looking for so appealing for some help.

I'm having the house fitted out with the Astra dish & saorview aerial.

I understand the basics that it can reviece Irish & UK FTA Channels and record (through hard drive) series link and downloadable EPG for Irish & UK FTA channels.

What I'm wondering is what else can the box do? I know it can be connected to the internet.

Can it use XBMC or similar programs?

Would appreciate any help

bappelbe

An Cigire wrote: »

I've read through some of the super thread for the amiko but can't find what I'm looking for so appealing for some help.

I'm having the house fitted out with the Astra dish & saorview aerial.

I understand the basics that it can reviece Irish & UK FTA Channels and record (through hard drive) series link and downloadable EPG for Irish & UK FTA channels.

What I'm wondering is what else can the box do? I know it can be connected to the internet.

Can it use XBMC or similar programs?

Would appreciate any help

well for starters if you are using the Saorview and Freesat channels the epg can come down from the transmission (no need to download over the internet). Note there are a few fta channels that are not Freesat - these do not come down through the Freesat feed.

other things the box can do ... where do I start;
It can use XBMC, streaming from the internet (including RTE and TV3 players) and streaming to a laptop/pc/tablet/phone/Rpi on your network. It can pause/rewind live tv, record one and watch another channel, there is a torrent plugin etc
there are literally hundreds of plugins that do various things - some better than others, you have to try them to see if they suit you.
It also can be used for card sharing, which cannot be discussed here so please don't ask about that.

Basically it does loads of stuff, for watching and recording TV the enigma2 images are rock solid, if you are downloading unusual plugins you may experience crashes. Most things are discussed in the other threads and it would be better to ask there

Nowso

depends what you want but the new amiko alien 3 might suite you better - running enigma 2 on alien 2 for a new user can be complicated to get used 2

Fresh Pots

Nowso wrote: »

depends what you want but the new amiko alien 3 might suite you better - running enigma 2 on alien 2 for a new user can be complicated to get used 2

The aa3 doesn't come in a triple tuner version though so that may be a deal breaker for some.

The aa2 does take a bit of getting used to but if you flash one of the backup images onto it from here most of the work is done for you.

Nowso

Fresh Pots wrote: »

The aa3 doesn't come in a triple tuner version though so that may be a deal breaker for some.

The aa2 does take a bit of getting used to but if you flash one of the backup images onto it from here most of the work is done for you.

yes the aa3 may suit him better /might not

Zardoz

Nowso wrote: »

depends what you want but the new amiko alien 3 might suite you better - running enigma 2 on alien 2 for a new user can be complicated to get used 2

Judging from reviews,the Alien 3 is a shambles of a receiver so far ,its extremely buggy .
It took the Alien 2 almost 18 months to get Enigma 2 to a reliable status,the
Alien 3 could take similar to sort out the bugs.

givecredit

Buy AA2 for TV viewing and buy Android TV box for XBMC. Something like the Minix X7

I love the Amiko A2 and after playing with it for months now without doubt the most stable image is the Open ATV 4.2 it's the most stable of all I've tried.

Streaming works absolutely best on the Ipad Air using this app http://www.rotapp.com/app/blackbox/ it's available on the itunes store and well worth the money.

XBMC is great but channel switching is slow, it's slow no matter what you use it on, laptop, Android phone, Raspberry Pi etc. It's not bad but much faster on the Ipad. It's most likely the plugin on in XBMC.

It would be fantastic if there was an XBMC image for the Amiko A2, I really like XBMC.

Always keep a backup of any image you install fully configured the way you want because it will be very convenient if it crashes and you can't boot it back up. It has a spark image also because it's dual bootable which is handy. The last thing you want is to configure it all again.

It can cause headaches to configure and all the images have lots of bugs and will cause problems but I find the Open ATV 4.2 image about the best .

I do love the ability to watch tv on the Ipad in bed or on the Raspberry PI on the bedroom TV , or watch something recorded or while herself is watching something, I can use XBMC on the Laptop and watch what I want.

When it works good it is a terrific system, thankfully since switching to the Open ATV 4.2 it runs a hell of a lot better.

An Cigire

Thanks lads that's great news exactly what I want to know . the box will have the enigma installed so looking forward to getting the plugins then

Thanks

The Cig

lawred2

How has this gone for you?

I'm looking to get rid of Sky.. Currently have multi room set up with Sky + HD in each room..

Imstuck

Mad Lad, does the rotapp work if you are not on the same network? Or is it a must??

Imstuck

Imstuck wrote: »

Mad Lad, does the rotapp work if you are not on the same network? Or is it a must??

No, you have to be on the same network, or if you have a static IP or use dynamic dns or the likes you can log in from anywhere but because the Amiko can't transcode on the fly, you need to have a very good internet connection. HD can be as much as 8Mbs, sd more like 1.5-2Mbs. So to stream HD you need to have at least 8-9 Mbs up.

The Blackbox app works brilliantly on the Ipad Air, on the Ipad 3 SD works but HD can be dodgy.

On the Ipad 2 sd can be dodgy, HD not a hope.

Imstuck

Cheers, so if my ip is static it will work?
Wouldn't be doing it regularly but it would be bloody handy that.
I have an iPad air

Imstuck

Imstuck wrote: »

Cheers, so if my ip is static it will work?
Wouldn't be doing it regularly but it would be bloody handy that.
I have an iPad air

Yes it should work but if your upload on your internet can't hack at least 8Mbs up then forget it because the Amiko A 2 can't do transcoding, in other words it takes the high bitrate and converts it to a much lower bitrate for transferring over the internet.

For instance, my upload is about 250 Kbps on Dsl, I wouldn't bother. It couldn't even stream proper quality 320 Kbps MP3 !

I would prefer dynamic dns because rather than remember IP's you could just enter a name instead.

You'll have to open ports on your router also.

Again, if your upload is crap, forget it.

lawred2

Is there a beginner's guide to the AA2/3?

Looking for a combo Saorview with Freesat (7 day EPG) with pause/record functionality

lawred2

lawred2 wrote: »

Is there a beginner's guide to the AA2/3?

Looking for a combo Saorview with Freesat (7 day EPG) with pause/record functionality

There is a good bit of info on Boards but some threads are huge.

lawred2

Deleted User wrote: »

There is a good bit of info on Boards but some threads are huge.

yeah I saw them... was hoping for something a little more concise

bappelbe

The first few posts in each of the current threads have good info
this one is good for enigma2
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057246289

Harold Finchs Machine

[Deleted User] wrote: »

There is a good bit of info on Boards but some threads are huge.

Link to your image please?

illdoit2morrow

Images created by boards members can be found at http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056882713.

Its a matter of preference after that.

Harold Finchs Machine

Harold Finchs Machine wrote: »

Link to your image please?

http://www.opena.tv/amiko-images/download-294-amiko-alien-2-a.html


Direct from the OpenAtv Website, not an image backup which I think is the way to go for better stability.

This image is easier to set up than other from scratch.

bubric

Hi I see u know alot about this box I bought one yesterday but can't get the network connection have checked ethernet with laptop and it's fine but when I attach it to box nothing?? Wifi dangle picks up network but when I put wifi password in it won't connect any ideas maybe special router settings??? Ricky

bappelbe

bubric wrote: »

Hi I see u know alot about this box I bought one yesterday but can't get the network connection have checked ethernet with laptop and it's fine but when I attach it to box nothing?? Wifi dangle picks up network but when I put wifi password in it won't connect any ideas maybe special router settings??? Ricky

You would be better asking this in the main thread
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057246284

Nowso

bubric wrote: »

Hi I see u know alot about this box I bought one yesterday but can't get the network connection have checked ethernet with laptop and it's fine but when I attach it to box nothing?? Wifi dangle picks up network but when I put wifi password in it won't connect any ideas maybe special router settings??? Ricky

thats the lan network connection

you need to activate the Wan wireless settings and run the raillink5370 chipset drivers .

using wifi on a lot of enigma 2 drives can be tricky to set up and work

dav32cs

bubric wrote: »

Hi I see u know alot about this box I bought one yesterday but can't get the network connection have checked ethernet with laptop and it's fine but when I attach it to box nothing?? Wifi dangle picks up network but when I put wifi password in it won't connect any ideas maybe special router settings??? Ricky

Run your network wizard again with LAN or try manually give it an IP, it should pick up straight away.

If using WAN, make sure you select it and input all details correctly and encryption usually as 'WPA or WPA2'. Should kick in then pretty quickly.