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Cost-Effective, High-Functionality, User-Friendly Replacement for Pay TV
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03-11-2018 6:57pm#1
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A very full set of catch-up services, are available. (Thanks to Gerry Wicklow)
The YouTube video shows the operation of the RTE Player.
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Films are stored on an external USB stick, or hard-drive, to improve usability. Information on each film is downloaded from the internet, for a brilliant User Experience. Additional information can be downloaded from Wikipedia, for film buffs.
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FlashingPlace the tiviaraplus folder on a USB stick formatted to FAT32. A stick no larger than 8GB is recommended.
Turn the receiver off fully.
Plug in the USB fob to the front USB port, and power on.
Press the power button (the one with the white light on the front panel, when prompted to do so.
The front panel will show flashing, if USB recognised.
While the firmware is flashing DO NOT power down the unit, as this can cause permanent damage.
Comprehensive Flashing Guide http://www.openvix.co.uk/openvix-bui...r%20Alpha+.pdf (Thanks to THHB)
The software is provided without warranty and you use it at your own risk.
PiconsThe picon folder has to be installed on your hard drive directory /media/hdd/.
On a Windows PC this can be done from the network folder as Samba makes the Tiviar Alphaplus drives visible.
If the WebIF is working, but the drives are not visible, Samba may have stopped.
Restart under: Main Menu => Setup => Network => CIFS/Samba Setup.
Controlling the TV with the remote.CEC HDMI optionIf you enable the CEC HDMI option, you may be able to control the TV power and volume, in STB mode.
This is the easiest option, if it works with your TV.
(You may need to set a delay between each HDMI command to get this to work.)
Matching the remote to the TVThe Tiviar Alphaplus remote is programmable, see the Tiviar AlphaPlus - Original User Manual, on the shared drive, for instructions.
(Bear in mind that the manual is for the Original operating system, so all the references in the manual to the software functions no longer apply.)
Once paired, the Power Off Button works for both devices, in either STB or TV Mode.
Once the CEC HDMI option is turned off, the STB has its own volume control.
You can then turn your TV volume setting to the maximum volume the user requires,and use the remote in STB mode to control the volume.
Weather Widget.The weather information has been disabled on most views as we found it distraction. However, it can be activated under settings.
if using it, you'll need to edit your own weather location id in the mymetrix lite plugin, under settings. You can find your own location id here http://weather.mynonpublic.com/locationid.html
Setting Up Terrestrial Channels.You may need to scan the terrestrial tuner if you're not receiving signal from Cairns Hill. (Worked out-of-the-box, for me.)
Auto-Managing Satellite Channel Changes.
At the moment these have to be managed manually as the Autobouquetsmaker was messing with the Bouquets I had already configured.
(I know there are solutions for this but don’t have time to pursue, for now. Maybe someone could set this up for me???)
PasswordThe password on the box, inherited from the THHB image, is username: root, password: tempass. You can change it using the command “passwd root” using the terminal (under extras) in the Open Web I/F. You will be prompted for a new password.
System Configuration and UpdatesConfiguration and Updates can only be done using the setup option on the main menu. All other routes are intentionally bricked off, to improve usability. (if I missed a brick, or two, please let me know.)
Known Issues
Any help/suggestions, in relation to these, would be most welcome.Using WiFi for connectivity.I have found WiFi connectivity unstable with the rtl8192cu chipset and I have to restart the connection regularly.
This appears to be a known issue, and is not solved with any of the available drivers.
It would be great if someone had a solution – even if it were only an auto-restart script for WiFi.
One workaround is to use a HotKey to point directly to the network folder.
This allows the WiFi to be restarted, with less effort.
Poor Visibility of Planned RecordingsThe best approach I could think of was to make them visible under a simplified main menu. I would like to link directly to the sub-menu entries, or even the timer view pages directly, but haven't figured out how to do this.
Switching to Radio Mode (Terrestrial/Satellite) is awkwardSwitching requires multiple clicks on the TV/Radio button as the TV Bouquets are always shown first.
When switching occurs, the last Radio Bouquet, rather than the Radio Bouquet List, are shown.
Tune-In-Radio InstabilityTuneInRadio is unstable, and can cause a BSOD, if the broadband connection fails and an attempt is made to change channels.
(The plugin appears to be no longer supported, but is the best I found from a usability perspective.)
Spotty Wikipedia suuport, with Movie OrganisorWhen attempting to download additional film information from Wikipedia, a list of possible "hits", is returned.
When a particular title is selected, the lookup can fail.
No Soak TestingSignificant software changes, including an update of Enigma2, have been made under the skin.
It is likely that minor issues will arise in day-to-day use.
If these are made known to me, I will try to reproduce and forward to the appropriate support people, for resolution.
PIP ArtefactOccasionally, a blank PIP artifact remains on screen, e.g. after changing channel from the infobar.
It can be removed with the exit key.
View PIP from Browser UnstableWhen a PIP session is started from within the Movie Organisor it can cause a crash (BSOD).
If I cant find a fix I'll disable this functionality.
Some Menu Items have unfriendly termsTerms such as 'Bouquet', 'Event' and (Auto)Timer are not ideal for a casual user. Ideally I'd like to change this, e.g. by using a dedicated language file, if someone could give me an idea where to start.0 -
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The high horse brigade wrote: »Fair play, subbd
This thread is really about highlighting what can be achieved, without having to pay big fees to Pay-Tv Providers. For a one-off outlay of between €250 and €350, depending on whether a professional installation is required, a feature-rich TV/Radio service is possible. You did all the early running, all I did was build upon your work. 0 -
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Johnboy1951 wrote: »Congratulations, a very comprehensive set up NewClareman.
It looks like a great result from the effort put in.
Lots of bling!
Yeah, Wifey and I are very pleased with the result. We left Sky about 3 months ago where we were paying over €70 per month (discount price) for Tv and DSL Broadband. We are now paying €30 per month for unlimited Fibre Broadband (Fatpipe 24 from Magnet). A minimum saving of €500/year - nice!
(Well we thought it was fibre, it is actually DSL, but still grand for our purposes.)
It might seem like bling but there is simply no comparison, in terms of User Experience, between what we have now, and our previous setup. The amount of free features, and services, is simply fantastic. We had 100’s of CD’s gathering dust, because it was too much trouble to play them. Now they are available, at the touch of a button. (Well two buttons actually - I still have to turn the amplifier On/Off, manually. Everything else is via the remote.)
I’ve had FTA Tv for many years, including a Freesat, but no one else in the family was interested. The Sky box was simply too easy to use, for them. With the current setup it’s the other way around. Best of all, it can be replicated very easily, using the image above.0 -
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Johnboy1951 wrote: »Is there an app that will display channel list and also EPG or do you use two separate apps?
That one does, click the icon on the left gives a drop-down to select a different bouquet. There lots of different views and the sidebar has a link to movie directory0 -
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You will have to make your own image, I'm afraid. (In theory it might be possible to add drivers for a new box, to make a multi-box image, but I'd be afraid I'd brick my box.) See pictures below, for the plugins I currently use. I also tried Kodi 5, but it hogs resources and runs slow, so I removed it.
I don't know of any alternatives to E2iPlayer, for RTE Player.
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I've just posted an updated image to the folder linked to in the first post of this thread.
There a are a few tweaks and I've also included MediaPortal - it is available when you "long-press" the red button. Ive attempted to remove the remaining adult feeds, in line with this being a family-friendly configuration.
This build includes some software updates and addresses an issue where live TV was being stored permanently, filling up the hard-drive.
I would love to have the satellite stations update automatically, should they change frequencies, in future. I'd really appreciate it if someone had a solution for this. 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhC8m8K1jkg
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