Tiviar Alpha Plus Combo STB

greasepalm

You might have missed something and is usb stick 8gb or lower?
Read instructions again for button pressing.


The following steps are adapted from the Open ATV Forum, and are reproduced here for convenience, only. I have never converted a stb from the Fortis OS and cannot stand over their veracity.

1) Download the “cfe-tiviaraplus_to_Enigma2-20171020.zip” file,
from the directory at start of this thread (post 1).
2) Format USB Stick (128 MB - 2 GB USB 2.0) as FAT32
3) Extract the zip file and copy the files to the USB Stick
4) Power off your Box with the rear power switch.
5) Disconnect any USB-HDD or WIFI Sticks from the Box
6) Connect the USB Stick to any free USB port (I use the front port, for convenience).
7) Press and hold the Channel Up Key on front of the Box and power on the box with rear power switch. (Note that this is not the “Power On” key with the white light.)
8) The front display will show download and after 2 sec "Complete".
(This means that the box can now be flashed with an Enigma2 Image.)
9) Power off the Box with the rear power switch

10) Download the most recent image, from the link at start of this thread (post1).
11) Flash the box, as described previously

spaced

Got it.

I think it might be my computer (using my work one so they might have some weird software on it)
I used another laptop and this time it worked

I got "ERR 90" first when I used the front USB port
It worked when I tried again with the top rear USB port

Question on creating the OpenATV image:
Should the files on the USB be in a folder "tiviaraplus" or should I extract the contents of this folder to the USB

swoofer

just extract to usb and that will be in correct layout but make sure usb is clear of any other files. You are starting from scratch and will have to do everything yourself but a good way of learning. With openatv 6.4 you will need to set a password to make things easy. its in network.

spaced

Three attempted boots later - I now have OpenATV on the TiViar Box

I think the ERR 90 and ERR 131 messages must be caused by errors / issues with the USB stick.
When I re-formatted and used a different computer to create them it seemed to solve my problem.
(I was also having an issue with a Windows 10 and a Linux bootable USB, and I think this may also be the problem)

I will use the NewClareman image or THHB image to get it set to Ireland settings today.

spaced

I have spent the weekend going the settings, options, setup, reading forums etc.

I am using the NCM image.
(Completely new to Linux TV boxes, not to Linux though)

I know that a lot of effort has gone in to make this as user friendly as possible, which is exactly what I want, so I am wary when messing with the settings.

Why is HDMI CEC turned off ? , for simple operation of TiViar (Ch +/-, EPG, select, return etc.) this seems to work fine.
I want to edit the bouquets, Other than doing it one by one, what software / plugin do you recommend? (maybe Dreambox edit?)
I haven't put Picons on yet. can I put them on a USB ? I don't see the TiViar on the network to add them to the HDD. If yes , any particular port ? I had issues with flashing when using front port.
Is there anyway to get the satellite loop through to work? Can I set tuner B as the primary and tuner A as record ?. I want to connect the loop to a sat receiver on a smart TV (as a back up) .

When looking up anything the OpenATV forum seems to be mostly in German, am I in the right place?
OpenVix seems to have more support online, how come not use that as the base instead of OpenAtv.

I do apologize if some of this is covered already, there are about 300 pages of posts between this thread and the other one and I have read about 50 pages so far.

greasepalm

Hdmi cec is having control of box via tv remote .Power off tv and box goes off.

I dont edit my bouquets but you can have your own bouquet in autoBouquetmaker and might be called Favourites.

If any movement of channels happen within ABM they get adjusted but not your Favourites.

To see box on Network enable Samba in Utilities.

Boxes and tv need there own sat feed as you cant split them.

Picons can go on usb but i never used them.

I use Openvix only

swoofer

You are actually in the thread for the image made by the High Horse brigade. Your thread is this one

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057925678

It may seem long but a lot of effort was put in by newclareman and its all relevant. Its mostly at the beginning.

1. Dreamboxedit is the one for bouquets.

2. That loop through facility is specifically for the box and its to accomodate a single feed. It comes with a loop through cable.

3. You can put picons on usb and if I was you I would set epg on usb as well unless you have an SSD.

When the box came out Openatv was very popular and easier to configure. Openvix has a few quirks as well.

To get the best benefit with your tv and box get a unicable LNB.

spaced

I'm following both threads
Need to , to get a grips on the functions on the Tiviar box.

Thanks for response

EPG on USB is a great idea - i think I saw it was stored to the Flash memory , can't imagine that's good for it.

I've twin cable with a hybrid LNB- in case of any future requirements
If I can get this box set up easy to use and as we want it , then no need for the Loop function. The backup cable gives me time in case I mess up somewhere.

swoofer wrote: »

You are actually in the thread for the image made by the High Horse brigade. Your thread is this one

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057925678

It may seem long but a lot of effort was put in by newclareman and its all relevant. Its mostly at the beginning.

1. Dreamboxedit is the one for bouquets.

2. That loop through facility is specifically for the box and its to accomodate a single feed. It comes with a loop through cable.

3. You can put picons on usb and if I was you I would set epg on usb as well unless you have an SSD.

When the box came out Openatv was very popular and easier to configure. Openvix has a few quirks as well.

To get the best benefit with your tv and box get a unicable LNB.

sqsqswqdwdwq

a clanger wrote: »

The power supply I bought was THIS one ......you have to buy a KETTLE or Computer lead as well as the PSU does not come supplied with one

I also bought THESE so I wouldn't have to butcher the PSU cable

I used THESE to fix the PSU to the case. I had a 24 hour test and the PSU does not heat up to the same extent of the old power supply

and finally used THESE for all wiring connections

I did not need a soldering iron or anything more than a wire strippers /pliers and some extra wire I scavanged.

I did keep the on/off switch at the back as per hs5424's recommendation and wired it as an on/off for the 12V not the mains. This is to prevent a possible power surge on the 12V circuit when plugging in.

I'd rather not put up pictures here as I'm not prepared for scorn that would be rightly poured on my efforts but send me a PM and I can send you some pictures.

Total repair bill about €22 and about 2 hours of my time below is an image of the rear of the box now.....so mains AC is now 'hardwired' onto the Tiviar. This again was to avoid any butchering of the presupplied PSU cables

I used "a Clanger's" great suggestion here and it worked a charm - at a cost of €21. You just need a little techie skills to feed the 4x12V and the 3xGND lines from the 8-way splitter to the connector on the system board. That's it!!
It'll never win a prize for beauty, but when the lid is closed, that, what I don't see doesn't worry me :rolleyes:

NewClareman

spaced wrote: »

I have spent the weekend going the settings, options, setup, reading forums etc.

I am using the NCM image.
(Completely new to Linux TV boxes, not to Linux though)

I know that a lot of effort has gone in to make this as user friendly as possible, which is exactly what I want, so I am wary when messing with the settings.

Why is HDMI CEC turned off ? , for simple operation of TiViar (Ch +/-, EPG, select, return etc.) this seems to work fine. I configured my remote to control my TV as well. HDMI CEC didn't work properly with this option.
I want to edit the bouquets, Other than doing it one by one, what software / plugin do you recommend? (maybe Dreambox edit?) If you edit the bouquets manually, ABM will overwrite your changes. You need to turn off ABM, which I don't recommend, or create new bouquets and configure ABM to ignore these.
I haven't put Picons on yet. can I put them on a USB ? I don't see the TiViar on the network to add them to the HDD. If yes , any particular port ? I had issues with flashing when using front port. They work fine from a USB, or hard drive. Just don't store them in memory.
Is there anyway to get the satellite loop through to work? Can I set tuner B as the primary and tuner A as record ?. I want to connect the loop to a sat receiver on a smart TV (as a back up) . The loop through cable is of most use when you have a Unicable LNB. If you have a single feed it works, but only some channels are available to the second tuner. It can be tricky connecting a legacy LNB (i.e. one that is not Unicable) from the Tiviar. Far better to have its own feed.

When looking up anything the OpenATV forum seems to be mostly in German, am I in the right place?
OpenVix seems to have more support online, how come not use that as the base instead of OpenAtv. It seemed a good idea, at the time

I do apologize if some of this is covered already, there are about 300 pages of posts between this thread and the other one and I have read about 50 pages so far.

Answers inline, above.

Johnboy1951

spaced wrote: »

...

When looking up anything the OpenATV forum seems to be mostly in German, am I in the right place?
OpenVix seems to have more support online, how come not use that as the base instead of OpenAtv.

Yes, Most of the support is in German, but it is not difficult to have pages translated in the browser these days, where sites do not have an 'EN' option.

OpenATV seems to support more devices, particularly older device, than openVIX.
For instance I could not get a current OpenVIx image for a Zgemma H.2S but could get OpenATV and OpenPli images.

I guess one uses what seems to be the best option at the time an image is required.

greasepalm

Openvix never supported H2S clone boxes.
Many other makers are doing modified images for many boxes.
Grogbuild , Willobuild , Wooshbuild and more.

I get a black screen for ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4? Do I do a full scan?

:edit: OK I stopped being lazy, did a search and I found some similar posts on page 196 and will try the suggested solutions. Odd that a load of people lost the different ITV channels lately and they supposedly haven't moved in years.

greasepalm

Might depend when they last looked at them bookmark on pc for later use.
https://en.kingofsat.net/pos-28.2E.php

spaced

2 questions:

1.
Is there a setting that allows me to turn on the TiViar box when I turn on the TV - an auto wake when it senses the HDMI is active ?

If I just use the TV remote - it just turns on/off the TV,
if I just use the TiViar remote it turns on/off both TV and TiViar box. (I programmed the remote to work the TV)

But if the TiViar box is in standby, it won't power on when the TV is restarted. Then when I use the power button on the TiViar remote , it turns one on and the other off.
Should I just un-program the remote ?

2.
I want the EPG button to open the bouquets list instead of straight to EPG.
I know I have seen that setting but I can't find in !!


I am using OpenATV 6.4

swoofer

You dont say skin you are using but have you looked at HDMI CEC settings? try menu setup system. I am using a sky skin.

for the epg button try EPG, MENU, scroll to show bouquet ... and say yes. then green.

im on 6.4 as well.

spaced

swoofer wrote: »

You dont say skin you are using but have you looked at HDMI CEC settings? try menu setup system. I am using a sky skin.

for the epg button try EPG, MENU, scroll to show bouquet ... and say yes. then green.

im on 6.4 as well.

Thanks for the EPG setting, exactly what I was looking for.
I'm using the default skin of openATV
It's the sky skin easy to use / easy on the eye ?
I think it's called blue HD in openVix, what's in called in openATV ?

I think I'll have to keep fiddling around with the CEC settings to get it. I've the box working as I want it with the TV remote. My worry is if someone tries to mix and match the remotes.

thund3rbird_

spaced wrote: »

2 questions:

1.
Is there a setting that allows me to turn on the TiViar box when I turn on the TV - an auto wake when it senses the HDMI is active ?

If I just use the TV remote - it just turns on/off the TV,
if I just use the TiViar remote it turns on/off both TV and TiViar box. (I programmed the remote to work the TV)

But if the TiViar box is in standby, it won't power on when the TV is restarted. Then when I use the power button on the TiViar remote , it turns one on and the other off.
Should I just un-program the remote ?


I am using OpenATV 6.4

check if the HDMI connection on both the TV & tiviar

if one is marked ARC on each it should work, make sure both are connected to each other - you might need to upgrade your HDMI cable if you have a v1.4

I've an apple tv & when the apple is on standby & I switch the tv to the ARC input it automatically wakens the apple tv

rizzo 1976

Has anyone update to OTV 6.5 yet?

It's been a long time in beta?

Have you updated? Any issues with things not working?

spaced

thund3rbird_ wrote: »

check if the HDMI connection on both the TV & tiviar

if one is marked ARC on each it should work, make sure both are connected to each other - you might need to upgrade your HDMI cable if you have a v1.4

I've an apple tv & when the apple is on standby & I switch the tv to the ARC input it automatically wakens the apple tv

Switching to the ARC port did not go well for me - it kept turning the box off and changing from ARC to HDMI port 1 .
There is an "AV wake" setting in OpenATV CEC settings but doesn't seem to work for me.
I do need a shorter HDMI cable so I will get a 2.0 version & see if this helps but CEC should work on all HDMI cables ?

Trapapony

Hello,
My Tiviar Alpha Plus seems to have taken a turn for the worse. It's runs fine for short periods (measured in minutes) before going blank and rebooting. This cycle repeats continuously.
The box is running Open ATV 6.3. I bought it new only two and a half years ago. Is there a solution to this problem other than buying a new box?
Thanks for any thoughts.
Trap

greasepalm

2 things reflash box and start box up from scratch as might have corrupted stuff on it and check where epg is stored.

Next might be a failing power supply.

Atv have moved up from your Image 6.3 to 6.4 and now to 6.5 but unsure on the latest.

spaced

In case anyone wants the solution, I have fixed my HDMI CEC settings.

When I turn off the TV, the tv box turns off.
Turn on the TV, TV box turns on.
If the box is off, and I switch from some other source to HDMI 1 (TV box) , it will turn on the TV box.

Picture attached with the settings
OpenATV 6.4 - Metrix HD Skin

I did also get a new HDMI 2.0 cable, from Amazon (€6)

I think "Handle Wake up from TV" is the main setting. I had "Wake AV from Standby" & Wake TV from Standby" set to yes but this didn't work

The TV remote turns on / off the box, EPG, open bouquets and type channel numbers. So now I just have one remote that does TV, Firestick and TiViar STB.
( i have a Samsung TV (4yr old) with the standard Samsumg remote)

swoofer

Your pic has disappeared, got a new TV so would like to try your settings.

Sfinn85

Sorry if this has already been posted but I've been encountering problems with my Tiviar Alpha Plus digibox for the past year and I couldn't find any solution anywhere.

I'll be watching TV and suddenly the box will switch off and reboot. While doing so, it will stop and reboot all over again (this usually happens about four times in quick succession). I noticed that there are software updates for it but I don't think the Internet connection was even set up when the box was originally installed, so the only things I can actually do are scan for any new channels and record TV programmes. The channel guide and setting menus also look pretty basic at the moment (not the like the photo on the box), so I'm guessing I need to set up an Internet connection to rectify that (which I don't really know how to do).

Given the current the situation, I'm a bit apprehensive about notifying an installer so I'm hoping someone here can help me. Any help would be greatly appreciated. :-)

Sfinn85

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117620677#Comment_117620677

Managed to find a website with updates for OpenVIX so the digibox is no longer cutting off and rebooting. Still trying to find out how to set up an Internet connection

swoofer

If your box is near the router, you plug in a lan cable and then go to network etc but I bet your box is away from router and ... say where router is in relation to box

Sfinn85

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117657068#Comment_117657068

My apologies for the delay in responding but I only saw your reply last night. The digibox and router are in different rooms but managed to get the wifi connection working after all

Sfinn85

Another query...

I downloaded the picons this morning and they appeared on the channel list in the different Bouquet folders but there's no sign of them when I press the EPG button. What do I do?

andy1249

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117669411#Comment_117669411

Re-boot/ Restart the box, the picons are not fully loaded until you reboot.