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Mutant HD2400 Quad Tuner Combo Box - Sky Replacement Thread

54and56

Hi all,

I've been mooching around the various "Sky Box Replacement" threads for a few months researching what combo box to get to replace my sky subscription.

My key criteria were:-

Combination of Free To Air UK channels + the Irish Saorview channels on one 7 day EPG
Easy to use remote and menu structure
Ability to watch one channel whilst recording another.
Ability to record an entire series a la "series link".
Reliable hardware and stable software.
Well supported with user forums etc

Having done my homework I just pulled the trigger on this Mutant HD 2400 Quad Tuner - http://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk/Mutant-HD2400-HD-Quad-Tuner-Digital-Receiver-2x-DVB-S-S2 configured with 2 x DVB-S/S2 (giving the ability to watch one satellite channel whilst recording another) and 2 x DVB-C/T/T2 (giving the ability to watch one Saorview channel whilst recording another) + a 1TB internal Hard Disk Drive + the OpenVix firmware + the WiFi N Dongle as the box will need internet access to get the most out of it.

Here is the configuration which cost £396.85 including a Kingstown USB drive for flashing updates etc to the box and delivery to Dublin.

I'm a complete newbie to Linux and satellite boxes other than the plug and play Sky boxes I currently have although I'm handy enough with Android flashing ROMs etc and have a couple of media boxes I use for KODI, Netflix, YouTube, Various online content streaming sources etc.

I'm putting up this thread with two objectives in mind:-

It will provide context when (not if!!) I need help setting up and maintaining the box.
It might become a source of support for other Mutant HD2400 users.
If the box is easy to set up and use and does what it says on the tin it might encourage others to take the plunge with this or similar Sky Replacement Boxes.

So, I'm hoping the box will arrive mid next week and that shortly after I'll have it up and running. I can dream

Find more posts tagged with

sky replacement box

mutant hd2400

openvix

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Comments

lertsnim

Confluence is a pretty magnificent skin. I love it.

54and56

lertsnim wrote: »

Confluence is a pretty magnificent skin. I love it.

I'm familiar with the confluence skin from using KODI. I personally think it's a bit too heavy/dark.

Is there a general tutorial on setting up an Enigma 2 box anyone can recommend e.g.

Step 1 - format a USB drive to FAT32.
Step 2 - set up Auto boquets
Step 3 - set up CrossEPG
Step 4 - set up CoolTV guide
Step 5 - choose preferred skin
Step 6 - watch tv!!

GY A1

there all seperate tutorials in there own right,
all available freely online
but setup in the order u named them

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

I'm familiar with the confluence skin from using KODI. I personally think it's a bit too heavy/dark.

Is there a general tutorial on setting up an Enigma 2 box anyone can recommend e.g.

Step 1 - format a USB drive to FAT32.
Step 2 - set up Auto boquets
Step 3 - set up CrossEPG
Step 4 - set up CoolTV guide
Step 5 - choose preferred skin
Step 6 - watch tv!!

54and56

GY A1 wrote: »

but setup in the order u named them

Hooray!! I must have been paying some attention when reading the various if I got both the steps and their order correct first time!!

I know youTube will be my friend over the next few days/weeks as I figure out this box.

yabadabado

What is the advantage of having Cross EPG and Cool TV Guide?

dubrov

How about this:

Step 1 - format a USB drive to FAT32.
Step 2 - Set the DVB-C/T/T2 tuners to DVB-T2. It is in tuner settings somewhere.
Step 3 - set up Auto bouquets.
I found the best setup was to select provider Freesat UK London (region is down to user preference). Then also select Saorview and your local transmitter (Three Rock for Dublin). I also selected one main bouquet and no section bouquets. Upload the attached file "sat_282_freesat_CustomMix.xml" via FTP to /usr/lib/enigma2/python/Plugins/SystemPlugins/AutoBouquetsMaker/custom. Make sure to remove the .txt at the end of the filename (Boards won't allow xml file uploads)

This will setup Saorview as channels 1, 2, 3 etc. and the Freesat channels starting at 100. Everything will be in a single bouquet. See the Freesat wiki page for the full layout.

You should configure ABM to run in the middle of the night to pick up any channel changes.

Step 4 - set up CrossEPG. Configure it to run once each night to pick up EPG updates
Step 5 - set up CoolTV guide - I don't use this.
Step 6 - choose preferred skin - Blue HD is pretty close to Sky
Step 7 - watch tv!!

Don't worry about leaving these boxes on overnight. They consume very little power in standby.

54and56

^^ That's fantastic Dubrov. I'll follow your template and see how I get on. No blow back on you if I make a hash of it, I promise!!

A couple of general questions:-

1. Do I need to input an English (Harrods?) Postcode to use the English region for freesat?

2. Will the Irish Saorview channels be 001, 002 and so on with the UK channels then following 101, 102 and so on? (That would be ideal)

3. Will BBC iPlayer and ITV Player be available to use for catchup TV?

Looking forward to this!!

dubrov

1. ABM just lets you select a region (e.g. London, Manchester, Northern Ireland). No need to enter a postcode.
The region decides what variation of channel you get in each channel number (e.g. ITV London Vs UTV).
See here for the channel variations
http://www.insidethex.co.uk/xmltv/lineups/List_of_channels_on_Freesat.html

2. Saorview will be 1, 2, 3. Freesat will be as in detailed int he link above. i.e. Entertainment starting at 100, News channels starting at 200 etc.

3. BBC iPlayer and ITV Player are geolocked. Even if you get past the geoblocking iPlayer still won't work as BBC recently changed something so that nonofficial players won't work. RTE/TV3 players will definitely work. You need to install the "OnDemand" plugin and this can be done from the menu.

54and56

Well it's arrived but I just got home from work and have an early start tomorrow so I won't be opening it this evening.

54and56

1. Will a 2gb USB drive formatted to FAT32 do the trick for storage of Picons and the EPG info?

2. Could I use an SD card instead of a USB drive for the Picons and EPG? I think it would be a better option as it is less likely to get knocked out of place.

3. My box is configured as follows

I assume I just plug the Saorview cables into the top two inputs to the left and the satellite cables into the top two inputs to the right and that I don't need to do anything with the bottom four loop out connections or use the loop cable which came with the box in any way?

4. The Saorview ariel I got only has one cable coming out of it and no spare port to add another. Is it possible to somehow split the Ariel cable so I can have two inputs into the box or do I put the ariel input into the top left slot then take an old ariel cable and use that to link between the bottom loop out and the 2nd from left input thus giving that input a signal. <- Hope that makes some sense!!!

stanley1

Plenty, I've used a 250mb one for years.

54and56

dubrov wrote: »

Step 3 - set up Auto bouquets.
I found the best setup was to select provider Freesat UK London (region is down to user preference). Then also select Saorview and your local transmitter (Three Rock for Dublin). I also selected one main bouquet and no section bouquets. Upload the attached file "sat_282_freesat_CustomMix.xml" via FTP to /usr/lib/enigma2/python/Plugins/SystemPlugins/AutoBouquetsMaker/custom. Make sure to remove the .txt at the end of the filename (Boards won't allow xml file uploads)

OK, I figured out how to FTP the xml file and it's now on the box.

I've also figured out how to download the AutoBouquets E2 plugin and set the area to London with Scan Mode set to "Available HD", Sort Option to "HD First", daily updates set for 4am and Auto Picon set to "No" but I'm guessing that should probably be set to "Yes"?

Unfortunately I can't get any Saorview signal with the indoor ariel (I know I know!!) so I'm going to have to organise an external ariel and some cables run to the TV :-(

I also figured out hoe to download the Blue HD skin and that the CoolTV guide IPK file needs to be downloaded and FTP'd to the box. I stuck it in /usr/lib/enigma2/python/Plugins but I'm not sure if that's correct or whether I should stick it in /usr/lib/enigma2/python/Plugins/SystemPlugins where the CrossEPG and other Plugin's appear to have folders.

I've now got Satellite channels working but I can't figure out how to set up CoolTV Guide.

I think I'm starting the steep part of the learning curve!!!

tommycahir

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

OK, this is where I'm stuck. I've the XML file on the new 8gb Kingston USB drive but I've no idea how to FTP it to the box.

I've also no idea how to download the Auto Bouquets plugin. The Plugin Browser on the box is showing the following plugins:

CrossEPG Downloader
Media Scanner
Multi-Transcoding Setup
OpenWebif
Picture Player

I think I'm starting the steep part of the learning curve!!!

Hit the green button on your remote and that should load a list of plugins that can be installed, autobouquets should be under extensions.
HOWEVER IIRC autobouquets should be installed already for you, try looking for it under setup or system rather than plugins as you need to choose a setting somewhere to have it show under plugins..

I am working off of experience with openatv and pbnigma so some menu options on openvix might be different

dubrov

You can find the OpenVix manual here
http://www.openvix.co.uk/openvix-builds/Guides%20and%20Tutorials/VIX%20Manual%20Vs%201.1.pdf

It is a little out of date but most of it still applies.

Don't use the AutoBouquets E2 plugin. It is aimed at the UK market and will only setup the satellite (UK FTA) channels for you

Autobouquetmaker (ABM) is a different program and will already be installed by default.
You can access it via Menu->Setup->Service searching->Autobouquetmaker
In there you can set the providers (Freesat UK) and configure the setup.

An FTP server should also be installed by default. You just need to switch it on.
I think it is somewhere in FTP settings.
You can set the username/password in there.
You need to use an FTP client on your PC to access it (e.g. Filezilla).

If you are unsure of the IP address of the box, you can find it somewhere in Network settings/status.

Once setup you shouldn't have to mess with the settings again.
You can also upload movie files to the box via FTP and play them using it.

Another good feature you might consider is enabling the DLNA server. It will make all movies/recordings stored on the box available to any device on your network. So if you have another smart tv in another room which is connected via Wifi, it will be able to see and play all the films/recordings on the box.

Good luck with your tinkering

54and56

dubrov wrote: »

You can find the OpenVix manual here
http://www.openvix.co.uk/openvix-builds/Guides%20and%20Tutorials/VIX%20Manual%20Vs%201.1.pdf

It is a little out of date but most of it still applies.

Can't believe I didn't look for something like this before I started!! It's time to RTFM

dubrov wrote: »

Don't use the AutoBouquets E2 plugin. It is aimed at the UK market and will only setup the satellite (UK FTA) channels for you

Autobouquetmaker (ABM) is a different program and will already be installed by default.
You can access it via Menu->Setup->Service searching->Autobouquetmaker
In there you can set the providers (Freesat UK) and configure the setup.

Thanks for that, I hadn't sussed the subtle difference in names. I guess I should uninstall the AutoBouquets E2 plugin and then the Autobouquetmaker will be one used by the system?

dubrov wrote: »

An FTP server should also be installed by default. You just need to switch it on.
I think it is somewhere in FTP settings.
You can set the username/password in there.
You need to use an FTP client on your PC to access it (e.g. Filezilla).

If you are unsure of the IP address of the box, you can find it somewhere in Network settings/status.

Yeah, I figured out the FTP process already and guessed the login and password were the same four letter word :rolleyes:

dubrov wrote: »

Another good feature you might consider is enabling the DLNA server. It will make all movies/recordings stored on the box available to any device on your network. So if you have another smart tv in another room which is connected via Wifi, it will be able to see and play all the films/recordings on the box.

I have a NAS loaded with content. If the box has DLNA capability does that mean I can use it as a media streamer and play NAS content without having to use my HTPC?

dubrov wrote: »

Good luck with your tinkering

Thanks Dubrov, I appreciate the help. I think I'll be tinkering for weeks/months at this rate!!!

dubrov

Uninstall the AB plugin as it will conflict with ABM.
Both will try and update the same bouquets in different ways.

Not only can the box play streams (DLNA client) but it can also supply them from files stored on its HDD(DLNA server).
So you could retire your NAS and HTPC.

I would imagine your dedicated NAS may have better performance though and possibly more than 1TB storage.
The HTPC could also play internet streams. There are some Enigma plugins that play some internet streams too so it depends on your needs.

54and56

dubrov wrote: »

Uninstall the AB plugin as it will conflict with ABM.
Both will try and update the same bouquets in different ways.

Not only can the box play streams (DLNA client) but it can also supply them from files stored on its HDD(DLNA server).
So you could retire your NAS and HTPC.

I would imagine your dedicated NAS may have better performance though and possibly more than 1TB storage.
The HTPC could also play internet streams. There are some Enigma plugins that play some internet streams too so it depends on your needs.

For now I just want to get the box up and running as a Sky replacement, once I've achieved that I'll try tinkering with using it as a NAS and check out it's XBMC capability etc. So far (just a few hours) I've been able to get it hooked up and get AutoBoquetMaker working so I have the UK FTA channels showing with the Blue HD Skin which gives a level of familiarity for the familiy. I'm disappointed I can't get the Saorview channels using the indoor ariel but I knew that was a toss of the coin.

Things I haven't yet done and/or don't know how to do:-

- Can't get CoolTV Guide working - I downloaded the enigma2-plugin-extensions-cooltvguide_Coolman_V7.3.0_all.ipk file from http://cooltvguide.com and FTP'd it into /usr/lib/enigma2/python/Plugins on the box but when I look in the list of Plugin's on the menu it's not there. Should I have put it into /usr/lib/enigma2/python/Plugins/SystemPlugins instead?

- In the EPG there are loads of "gaps" where there isn't any EPG info for the channel or there are channels listed I can't view such as Sky Sports. Is there a way for the EPG to only show the available FTA channels I can actually view?

dubrov

If you are seeing sky sports on the channel list you've done something wrong.

I suspect you selected Sky Ireland as the provider instead of Freesat Uk. It probably explains why you can't see the Irish channels as they are encrypted on satellite. So the good news is your aerial may still work.

I'd delete all bouquets and restart with abm

54and56

dubrov wrote: »

If you are seeing sky sports on the channel list you've done something wrong.

I suspect you selected Sky Ireland as the provider instead of Freesat Uk. It probably explains why you can't see the Irish channels as they are encrypted on satellite. So the good news is your aerial may still work.

I'd delete all bouquets and restart with abm

Thanks Dubrov, I'll delete all bouquets and start again with ABM and see if that sorts the problem.

BTW my box is configured as follows

The indoor Saorview ariel I got only has one cable coming out of it. Is it possible to somehow split the cable so I can have two inputs into the 2 X DVB-C/T/T2 tuners?

ATM I have the ariel cable plugged into the top left DVB-C/T/T2 tuner then I'm using an old ariel cable to link between the bottom loop out of the 1st DVB-C/T/T2 tuner and the input to the 2nd DVB-C/T/T2 tuner. Will that give the 2nd DVB-C/T/T2 tuner a signal?

54and56

OK, I deleted the exiting bouquets and configured ABM providers to Freesat(UK) "yes" and the area to London with FTA only set to "yes" and keep all non ABM bouquets to "No"

FreeviewUK) is set to "no" and Saorview is set to "yes" with the area set to 3 rock. Sky ROI is set to "no"as is Sky UK.

I then ran the "Start Scan" option and got 174 video and 38 radio readings on FreeSat but when it tries to tune Saorview I get an error "Timeout for tuner lock" and no channels are picked up.

Putting the Saorview issue aside for a minute (it might be the way I've hooked up the ariel - see post above) I'm still getting the EPG errors I mentioned earlier.

I'm getting channels with a picture but with no channel info in the EPG and channels listed in the EPG with programme info etc but when selected there is no picture such as ITV4 HD and other times I select a channel and get an error "Service not found! (SID not found in PAT)"

The channel numbers on the EPG run from 101 (BBC1) to 276 (AMC from BTHD)

Confused dot com

TheDriver

You can easily combine and decombine a sat and terrestrial signal on one wire, did it myself before. You need tiny yoke to combine and can use same at other end or special wallplate.
Please post screenshots of the box, sounds interesting

dubrov

Did you configure the tuners first?

The hybrid DVB-C/T/T2 tuners have to be designated as DVB-C or DVB-T/T2.
This is done is in Menu->Setup->Service Searching -> tuner Configuration.

You can split the Saorview signal but not the Satellite one. I think splitters cost a couple of euro.
It may weaken the signal though so you might be better off getting one workign first.

I don't think you can use the RF out as the input to the second DVB-T/T2 tuner.
The idea of RF out is to send a single analogue signal rather than the full digital signal.
You change the channel on the Mutant box and it will change the channel in the output.
People use them when they want to connect to older TVs that only have analogue tuners.

The bad EPG is likely to be do with your CrossEPG setup

http://www.insidethex.co.uk/xmltv/lineups/List_of_channels_on_Freesat.html

54and56

dubrov wrote: »

Did you configure the tuners first?

The hybrid DVB-C/T/T2 tuners have to be designated as DVB-C or DVB-T/T2.
This is done is in Menu->Setup->Service Searching -> tuner Configuration.

You can split the Saorview signal but not the Satellite one. I think splitters cost a couple of euro.
It may weaken the signal though so you might be better off getting one workign first.

I don't think you can use the RF out as the input to the second DVB-T/T2 tuner.
The idea of RF out is to send a single analogue signal rather than the full digital signal.
You change the channel on the Mutant box and it will change the channel in the output.
People use them when they want to connect to older TVs that only have analogue tuners.

The bad EPG is likely to be do with your CrossEPG setup

http://www.insidethex.co.uk/xmltv/lineups/List_of_channels_on_Freesat.html

Thanks Dubrov,

I had indeed designated the DVB-C/T/T2 tuners as DVB-T/T2 but I hadn't selected the right location for tuning in (can't remember the exact menu name), I had selected Europe instead of Dublin. Once I selected Dublin I was able to get a signal all right and it scanned in the Saorview channels but only just about. They displayed very blocky and stuttered a lot which I guess means the indoor ariel isn't going to be enough. See the images below.

I've also started getting some errors which require a restart, usually just after doing a scan in ABM.

Maybe the best thing I could do is a factory reset and start again bearing in mind the few lessons I've learned?

Lastly, I have a terminal on the wall just behind the TV which used to supply TV from UPC. Now that I'm no longer a UPC customer could I trace that cable back out through the wall up to the roof where it comes off the feed they have running from house to house and attach it to an external Saorview Ariel? Would the old UPC cable and terminal act as a conduit for the Saorview ariel? There are two ports at the bottom of the box so I could easily take two cables from it to the 2 X DVB-C/T/T2 tuners. See here

I think I'm going to be spending a good bit of time on this over the weekend!!

54and56

TheDriver wrote: »

You can easily combine and decombine a sat and terrestrial signal on one wire, did it myself before. You need tiny yoke to combine and can use same at other end or special wallplate.
Please post screenshots of the box, sounds interesting

Hi Driver,

Screenshots etc above.

Thurston?

dubrov wrote: »

I don't think you can use the RF out as the input to the second DVB-T/T2 tuner.
The idea of RF out is to send a single analogue signal rather than the full digital signal.
You change the channel on the Mutant box and it will change the channel in the output.

'Loop out' would imply it carries everything feeding into the tuner from the aerial, combined with modulator output (your 'single analogue signal'?), if present. Don't think there actually is a modulator though?

No reason you couldn't use it to feed the 2nd tuner.

dubrov

Thurston? wrote: »

'Loop out' would imply it carries everything feeding into the tuner from the aerial, combined with modulator output (your 'single analogue signal'?), if present. Don't think there actually is a modulator though?

No reason you couldn't use it to feed the 2nd tuner.

You are probably right. I had thought it had said RF out.
I was guessing anyway

dubrov

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Thanks Dubrov,

I've also started getting some errors which require a restart, usually just after doing a scan in ABM.

Maybe the best thing I could do is a factory reset and start again bearing in mind the few lessons I've learned?

Lastly, I have a terminal on the wall just behind the TV which used to supply TV from UPC. Now that I'm no longer a UPC customer could I trace that cable back out through the wall up to the roof where it comes off the feed they have running from house to house and attach it to an external Saorview Ariel? Would the old UPC cable and terminal act as a conduit for the Saorview ariel? There are two ports at the bottom of the box so I could easily take two cables from it to the 2 X DVB-C/T/T2 tuners. See here

I think I'm going to be spending a good bit of time on this over the weekend!!

You can definitely use the UPC cable. You just connect the aerial at one end and the box at the other. You can probably use the Loop out to feed both tuners as well. If not a splitter will work.

At a guess, the ABM error might be due to that XML file I gave you. Did you make sure to remove the .txt extension?

If you did then maybe a factory reset might be the way to go.

54and56

dubrov wrote: »

You can definitely use the UPC cable. You just connect the aerial at one end and the box at the other. You can probably use the Loop out to feed both tuners as well. If not a splitter will work.

At a guess, the ABM error might be due to that XML file I gave you. Did you make sure to remove the .txt extension?

If you did then maybe a factory reset might be the way to go.

Thanks again Dubrov,

I'll investigate the UPC/Ariel option.

I did definitely remove the .txt and saved the XML file before FTP'ing it to /usr/lib/enigma2/python/Plugins/SystemPlugins/AutoBouquetsMaker/custom but there are another 9 XML files in that folder e.g. hd_sat_420_turksat_CustomradioLCN.xml and EXAMPLE_hd_sat_282_sky_irl_CustomLCN.xml plus a TXT file. How does the system know which XML file to use? I don't recall specifying it anywhere. Should I just delete all the other XML files in the custom folder leaving just the one you sent me?

I do think a factory reset would be a good thing to do. It would allow me to do a fresh set up with the knowledge I've learned thus far. Can't see any downside really.

dubrov

It knows by the start of the filename "sat_282_freesat".
This corresponds to the Freesat UK provider.
The file basically tells ABM to add the Saorview channels to the bouquets of Freesat UK.
No need to delete the other files

54and56

OK, did a factory reset and set up the basics again.

To get things going I went into main menu -> setup -> service searching -> tuner configuration and set the tuners up as follows:-

A = DVB-T2, configuration mode = enabled, terrestrial provider = Dublin (Ptimary Tx)(ie), (Europe DVB-T) and Enable 5v for active antenna set to "off" (As I do have an amplified indoor ariel should this 5v antenna optoin be set to "on"?

B = same as A

C = Confirguration mode = Simple, Mode = Single, Satellite = 28.2E Astra 2E/2F/2G and Send DiSEqC is set to "no".

D = same as C.

Once I had these set I then ran "Automatic Scan" from menu -> setup -> service searching which took twenty minutes to complete and eventually found 1,007 channels!!!

I then opened ABM and in "Configure" I set up the following:-

Setup mode = expert
Schedule scan = yes
Time of scan to start = 03:30
Repeat how often = Daily
Keep all non-ABM bouquets = no
Add provider prefix to bouquets = yes
Place bouquets at = Top
Skip services on not configured sats = yes
Include 'not indexed' channels = no
Extra debug = no
Show in extensions = no

I set the following in Providers:
FreeSat (UK) = yes
- FreeSat (UK): Area = England HD: London/London
- FreeSat (UK): FTA only = yes
- FreeSat (UK): generate main bouquet = yes
- FreeSat (UK): generate sections bouquet = yes
- FreeSat (UK): generate HD bouquet = no
- FreeSat (UK): swap channels = yes
FreeView (UK) = no
Saorview = yes
- Saorview: Area = Dublin, Three Rock
- Saorview: FTA only = yes
- Saorview: generate main bouquet = yes
- Saorview: generate HD bouquest = no
Sky ROI = no
Sky UK = no

And I set the Providers order to:-
FreeSat (UK)
Saorview

I then ran the ABM scan and it returned 174 video and 38 radio sources for FreeSat UK but issued a "Timeout for Tuner Lock" when it went scanning for Saorview but when I go into menu -> setup -> service searching -> Signal Finder Tuner A shows that it has a locked signal (little green tick in the "lock" box) albeit the SNR is only 38%-40% (but a constant 38%-40%) and the AGC is 0%. The equivalent SNR and AGC numbers for the C&D DVB-S/S2 tuners are close to 90% with 0% BER. Question: Is this just a reflection of the poor signal I'm able to get with the indoor ariel? (I tried moving it around etc but this seems to be as good as it gets with the indoor ariel)

The odd thing is if I go into menu -> setup -> service searching -> manual scan and do a scan for Tuner A (the only DVB-C/T/T2 tuner with an input from the indoor ariel) with Type of scan set to "Complete", system set to "auto" and region set to "Dublin (Ptimary Tx)(ie), (Europe DVB-T)" it finds 73 channels and when I click on one e.g. RTE News Now it displays absolutely fine with no stuttering or blocking at all.

Question: If a manual Saorview scan finds 73 channels and displays them fine why does the ABM scan timeout because it can't get a lock?

Question: What is the point of having an Automatic Scan option in menu -> setup -> service searching as well as a Scan option in menu -> setup -> service searching -> AutoBouquetsMaker? Are they supposed to do the same thing? Should I do both or only the ABM scan?

Cross EPG
Once ABM had run I then clicked on the CrossEPG downloader in the Plugin's menu and it downloaded about 15mb of summaries to the EPG location I set which is /media/usb i.e. the 2gb USB I stuck into the back of the box.

In the CrossEPG -> Configure menu I set the following:

Enable csv import = no
Scheduled download = once a day
Scheduled download at = 04:00
Show as plugin = yes
Show as extension = yes.

I updated the rytec and xepgdb providers but I'm not really sure what to do in terms of selecting XMLTV/OpenTV/XEPGDB and script providers. Am I supposed to select a preferred provider of EPG info?

I think I set up the box better this time but I still have the following issues:-

1. No Saorview channels in the ABM scan and they are not listed as options in the EPG.
2. The EPG itself is all over the place. It isn't picking up the XML file I FTP'd to /usr/lib/enigma2/python/Plugins/SystemPlugins/AutoBouquetsMaker/custom, has no programme info for lot's of stations and is just randomly listing the stations in no particular order with the same stations listed several times eg Ch 4.
3. I've no idea what way I should set up "Channel Selection Settings" e.g. should I be selecting "yes" to "Always show bouquets" and so on.

I think it's time to take a break. I know things can get worse before they get better and I'm on a steep learning curve but right now I feel I know less than I did before I started!!