Ferguson Ariva HD Combo

joe250 · 04-11-2010 10:10am

Looks like this guy works fergusonshop.com.

Tony · 04-11-2010 10:31am

joe250 wrote: »

Looks like this guy works fergusonshop.com.

And since the thread is about the combo box I'm not sure of the relevance of the post.

gtg60 · 04-11-2010 11:28am

joe250 wrote: »

Looks like this guy works fergusonshop.com.

Yeah, only this advertising post and another listing a cardsharing forum that the fergusonshop.com sponsors, I smell a rat...

harry1 · 04-11-2010 5:49pm

How does this receiver compare to the Humax Foxsat HD PVR? Apart from the obvious that it can receive DTT channels and doesn’t have built-in HDD!!
The Humax is an excellent receiver so just wondering how good the Ferguson is in comparison if anyone has experience of both before I decide on giving it up!

I was thinking about a combo box now that DTT is available countrywide.

Also, is it possible to receive TV3 via analogue without having to unplug the aerial from the receiver and plugging into the TV? I.e. can I just switch the input source on the TV and watch TV3 on normal analogue until it is available on DTT?

irishchris · 04-11-2010 6:31pm

harry1 wrote: »

How does this receiver compare to the Humax Foxsat HD PVR? Apart from the obvious that it can receive DTT channels and doesn’t have built-in HDD!!
The Humax is an excellent receiver so just wondering how good the Ferguson is in comparison if anyone has experience of both before I decide on giving it up!

I was thinking about a combo box now that DTT is available countrywide.

Also, is it possible to receive TV3 via analogue without having to unplug the aerial from the receiver and plugging into the TV? I.e. can I just switch the input source on the TV and watch TV3 on normal analogue until it is available on DTT?

never had ferguson so couldnt comment but had humax foxsat hd and it was excellent piece of kit for freesat -- hard to beat in pure freesat terms.

as regards analogue tv3 there is no longer any need as is now officially on dtt since yesterday afternoon

Tony · 04-11-2010 6:38pm

Dont give it up, just get a Terrestrial only HD box that can take an external hard drive .

harry1 wrote: »

H
The Humax is an excellent receiver so just wondering how good the Ferguson is in comparison if anyone has experience of both before I decide on giving it up!

whiterteeth · 04-11-2010 6:56pm

Again, many thanks to all for sharing your expertise with this silver haired learner. I read many of the threads on combo boxes and finally ordered a Clarke-Tech HD 6600 SST PVR with Samsung Hard Disk: 500 GB. It seems that it will meet my needs and I'm looking forward to it expectantly.

harry1 · 05-11-2010 10:25am

Thanks irishchris and Tony for replies.

Tony wrote: »

Dont give it up, just get a Terrestrial only HD box that can take an external hard drive .

Yeah, I'm thinking of doing that too.

FRIENDO · 07-11-2010 1:17pm

Hi,

I got a Ferguson Ariva HD Combo for my parents around a month ago.
I did a factory reset and I am happy with the Irish DTT and satellite channels.
However my Father powers the receiver and tv off from the mains every night. When powering the receiver power on in the morning Irish Dtt channels may not be on (Black screen "no signal") I may have to power receiver on and off a couple of times to get Dtt channels back or carry out a Terestrial scan to get them back.
Satellite channels work fine on powering the reciever.

Has anybody noticed this problem or is it just this box.

Thanks for any help

KeRbDoG · 07-11-2010 1:31pm

FRIENDO wrote: »

Hi,

I got a Ferguson Ariva HD Combo for my parents around a month ago.
I did a factory reset and I am happy with the Irish DTT and satellite channels.
However my Father powers the receiver and tv off from the mains every night. When powering the receiver power on in the morning Irish Dtt channels may not be on (Black screen "no signal") I may have to power receiver on and off a couple of times to get Dtt channels back or carry out a Terestrial scan to get them back.
Satellite channels work fine on powering the reciever.

Has anybody noticed this problem or is it just this box.

Thanks for any help

I heard this this was an issue, always good to ensure the box is running the most up to date firmware/software. Other than that, I'd say leave it plugged in and on standby

FRIENDO · 07-11-2010 1:37pm

Will try up to date Firmware/update, I seen some refrences in previous posts or can I download from Ferguson site.

Will talk to the Father but he's the old school in relation to plugging everything out.
Thanks for your help

KeRbDoG · 07-11-2010 1:40pm

FRIENDO wrote: »

Will try up to date Firmware/update, I seen some refrences in previous posts or can I download from Ferguson site.

Will talk to the Father but he's the old school in relation to plugging everything out.
Thanks for your help

Well, if he is old skool then let him plug it out

try a firmware update first anyway and let us know if that solves the problem. I can't test and the stb I have is always plugged in my parents

FRIENDO · 07-11-2010 1:46pm

I will look for the Firmware updates and report back, thanks

rurs · 08-11-2010 2:14am

Don't forget to back up your channel list first!

I've had this happen once or twice, but mine is normally set to record something or other overnight, so it's normally on standby.

Write to Ferguson, explain the problem, they might not reply, but it's the only way it'll get fixed.

sweetnuts · 16-11-2010 11:44pm

I've a question. Bought a Ferguson combo box from Tony & must say it's brilliant. However, I'm not able to pause live tv. I can record & it's working perfectly. Can anybody suggest a solution?

p.s. I'm illiterate when it comes to computer jargon so go easy on me please.

rurs · 17-11-2010 2:31am

Enable Timeshift? Ithink it might be disabled by default.

Main Menu>PVR>PVR setting>TimeShift mode>ON

Or are you using a USB pendrive? One I tried would record, but not timeshift.

sweetnuts · 17-11-2010 12:47pm

rurs wrote: »

Enable Timeshift? Ithink it might be disabled by default.

Main Menu>PVR>PVR setting>TimeShift mode>ON

Or are you using a USB pendrive? One I tried would record, but not timeshift.

Thanks rurs. I've enabled timeshift but yes I'm using a pendrive. Must try an external hardrive.

victory10 · 18-11-2010 2:41pm

Joined boards.ie today and wanted to say hello and thank you to all the members who contributed to this thread.
The idea of having a DTT and a satellite receiver in the same box, looked like a good idea about a month ago.
As Ireland has the same DTT system MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 as we have now in Israel, I thought I would better shop from Ireland.
Tried to find a reliable shop to buy two receivers from and noticed freesat.ie mentioned several times in this thread, so I contacted them and got friendly response with payment and shipment details to Israel.
Now that I have the order delivered without any problems, I can only add that I would definitly shop again from them.
I received the boxes yesterday, and got down to test it.
Using a cable connected to the TV wallplate that is connected to a central distribution UHF antenna that I installed twent years ago, and seems to have finally paid off, I did DTT search and got our measly five channels without any problems.
First disappointment was that the info bar text shows gibberish instead of Hebrew characters and ditto for the EPG text.
Next, I connected the LNB cable coming from Hot Bird satellite, did a scan search, but no channels were found.
Did a factory reset, searched again and voila, all the Hot Bird channels were received.
Next I wanted to check teletext and subtitles and got my second disappointment, as Ferguson seems to have concentrated on the local Polish market and forgot about other foreign languages like German, French, Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, etc.
Can't really blame them, as if the receiver is meant only for Poland, I don't think I have the right to complain about teletext and subtitle support. But it would have been nice to have a box that supports other languages.
As mentioned before, the text font size is rather small and I doubt if Ferguson would do anything about it, ever.
Looking back at my decision to buy the Combo, I think I would have been better off buying a local DTT receiver with Hebrew support and order an HD satellite receiver which has a good review about teletext and subtitle support. Ferguson 200 was on my shopping list, but I am sure that it has the same issues as the Combo.
Oh well, I think that this is enough for my first post here.

victory10 · 19-11-2010 5:46pm

I wanted to test the PVR functions, so I formatted an 8GB SanDisk Cruzer Flash USB using FAT32 on the PC.
Then added few files in *.mpg, *.jpg, *.mp3 and inserted the gadget into the USB front connector.
Using the PVR/USB on the remote, I was able to play the *.jpg and *.mp3, but not the *.mpg files which is strange and would like to know if anyone has managed to play back any video files except the ones recorded with the receiver using satellite or DTT channels.
Then did short recordings of about a minute each from channels Euronews (which has 9 audio tracks) and from ZDF (after making sure that German subtitle was being transmitted on teletext page 777).
Uninstalled the USB flash from the receiver, inserted it into the PC, opened ProjectX application and dealt with each *.trp file separtely.
The results were that I got all the 9 audio tracks and the video file from the Euronews *.trp file converted into mp2 and m2v files.
The ZDF *.trp file resolved into an mp2 and m2v files only, and there was no *.srt file created for the subtitle, which is rather disappointing.

I would like to ask a couple of questions please:
1 - As there is an Ethernet connector on the back, but the Ferguson Combo user manual gives absolutely no information about how to use it (except that it says - for future use), please let me know if anyone has managed to connect it to the PC, how and what can I do with it.
2 - How can I view mpg files copied to the USB flash?
Is there a way of "cheating" the receiver to treat it as a *.trp file recorded using the box and so play it?
In the Ariva 200 user manual it specifically says that:

Video: In this tab, you can play back files in MPG format. High

resolution MPG files can also be played back.

So I find it rather strange that a higher end receiver can't do what a cheaper model does. (perhaps I am wrong and the Ariva 200 is newer than the Combo, but Ferguson should be able to add this important feature to the Combo in future firmware.
Thanks for any comments.:)

rurs · 19-11-2010 10:37pm

I think the Ethernet connection is intended for connection to the internet, not a pc/home network, possibly for automatic update of firmware. Obviously hasn't been implemented yet by Ferguson.

I've had a look at the manuals for the ariva 100 & 200, it seems to me they are quite different internally (going by the UI), and so have completely different firmware. I wouldn't hold out any hope that the multimedia capabilities of these receivers will be implemented on the combo, nice as it would be.

As regards tricking it into playing mpgs, you'd have to be able to create the .idx and .ifo files that are created along with recordings. Maybe analyse them with a hexeditor? I'm only really guessing here, might give it a go myself.

Your other problem with the language setting must be very annoying. There are other languages available as a menu choice (including Russian Cyrillic), so if Ferguson wanted to, they could surely add Hebrew for your DTT, though as far as I see, very few channels on Hotbird have any EPG info anyway.

victory10 · 20-11-2010 8:42am

Thanks rurs for your valuable comments.:)
I managed to play an mpg file with the receiver.
Needed to convert it first to *.ts file using ProjectX and then renaming the file as DATA00.trp
The trick was to make a dummy short recording with the receiver, then replacing the recorded DAT00.trp with the converted mpg file, using the PC.
The video was OK, but there is no sound. I will need to check why, perhaps use a different converter.

As a by product of this test, it would be possible to trim out the recorded *.trp file (beginning, in-between commercials and the end points), but one should keep the original recording intact and play only with a copy of the whole subfolder on the PC, copy it back to the USB flash and only after checking that the trimmed file works well, then you can delete the original recording.

galtee boy · 22-11-2010 11:25am

Would anyone be so kind, as to post a picture of what the single EPG looks like on the Ferguson Ariva, showing Saorview and BBC/ITV etc on the one epg ?

rurs · 22-11-2010 2:03pm

galtee boy wrote: »

Would anyone be so kind, as to post a picture of what the single EPG looks like on the Ferguson Ariva, showing Saorview and BBC/ITV etc on the one epg ?

Here you go...
As you can see, there are 6 channels per page on the EPG, so in this shot, there are the 5 Irish channels + BBC1, the next page continues the BBC + ITV.
You have to change to the channel you want to see EPG info for, so in this shot, details for RTE are shown. You can jump to the next six using the Right/Left buttons, or the page up/down buttons.

There's also the channel list, which you get by pressing the "OK" button in the middle of the remote. You can scroll through channels here without changing channel, and it remembers the last information for the selected channel in the box on the right.

tommyire · 26-11-2010 10:56am

Hi all,

Just got one of these a couple of days ago and just have a few questions;

I’m using a 16GB USB stick for timeshift at the moment but the picture always becomes glitchey when it is on. Has anyone seen this before? I think it might just be that the write speed of the drive is too low. I also tried a 1GB drive but timeshift didn't work at all.

Also, it often takes ages to change channel, like nearly 10 seconds. Is this normal for this box as my old one was almost instant? It’s a bit of a pain.

victory10 · 26-11-2010 11:54am

Looks like you need to enable timeshift. It is in the menus somewhere.
No problem with the picture when USB stick is installed. I have SanDisk Cruzer 8GB. Which model are you using?
Channel change is a bit slow, but not that noticable.
Check all connections and if everything is OK, perhaps you need to change the box to a different one, or test it in another sat system like at a friend's or the shop.

Edit: BTW: Is your sat system fixed or motorized?

tommyire · 26-11-2010 12:20pm

victory10 wrote: »

Looks like you didn't enable timeshift. It is in the menus somewhere.
No problem with the picture when USB stick is installed. I have SanDisk Cruzer 8GB. Which model are you using?
Channel change is a bit slow, but not that noticable.
Check all connections and if everything is OK, perhaps you need to change the box to a different one.

Thanks Victory10.

I'm using a 16GB ScanDisk Cruzer Blade, think the write speed in only around 4MB/s. I will try another couple of drives. I have timeshift turned on alright, maybe the 1GB drive is too small? Is there spec anywhere for what is required (capacity, speed etc.?)

Ya, sometimes channel change is okay, but sometimes I'm looking at a black screen for a while thinking the channel is gone off air. Until it eventually appears.

It's on the 025 beta firmware.

victory10 · 26-11-2010 12:31pm

The recommended write speed is 8MB or 9MB. If you are certain that the Blade is 4MB/s then this might explains the glitches.
No idea about the minimum capacity but an external HDD (with external power supply) is limited to 750GB.
The format has to be FAT32.

rurs · 26-11-2010 12:41pm

Have you tried changing channel with no USB drive connected? If the ones your using are too slow, it might be taking time to buffer before the picture appears.

Does it happen on all channels, or only ones on a certain transponder? If the latter, your dish might be slightly out of alignment. Or, as Victory10 said, check all the connections are tight, and that the f-connectors are secure on the cable.

It shouldn't take more than a second to change channel if everything is right.

tommyire · 26-11-2010 12:45pm

victory10 wrote: »

The recommended write speed is 8MB or 9MB. If you are certain that the Blade is 4MB/s then this might explains the glitches.
No idea about the minimum capacity but an external HDD (with external power supply) is limited to 750GB.
The format has to be FAT32.

Thanks, that probably explains it all right. I'll have to go get a new external HD so. Just want to be sure it will do the job before I buy.

Thanks for your help.

victory10 · 26-11-2010 12:47pm

Just one more thought, did you use the box as is or did a factory reset to clean it out from the default setup?
For Factory reset you need p/w 0000
Leave the USB out during this process.

tommyire · 26-11-2010 1:43pm

victory10 wrote: »

Just one more thought, did you use the box as is or did a factory reset to clean it out from the default setup?
For Factory reset you need p/w 0000
Leave the USB out during this process.

Ya, I've tried a factory reset all right. Thanks.

victory10 · 26-11-2010 2:54pm

Here is the link to the USB spec.
http://www.ferguson-digital.eu/en/faq/odbiornik-ariva-hdcombo/201-what-kind-of-external-hard-disk-can-i-connect-to-ariva-hdcombo.html

tommyire · 26-11-2010 6:03pm

victory10 wrote: »

Here is the link to the USB spec.
http://www.ferguson-digital.eu/en/faq/odbiornik-ariva-hdcombo/201-what-kind-of-external-hard-disk-can-i-connect-to-ariva-hdcombo.html

Perfect, thanks for that! I like how they use the words "some" and "should", no promises!

Tony · 26-11-2010 6:33pm

tommyire wrote: »

Perfect, thanks for that! I like how they use the words "some" and "should", no promises!

Unfortunately they have to use that type of language in case one does not work for reasons other than the box itself. A small minority people are quick to get on your case if you say something definitely works and it does not for whatever reason.

Its the same if someone asks me if a freesat box will work with an old sky dish, I'm obliged to tell them it should work if the dish is working ok, not it will definitely work.

leshogan · 29-11-2010 11:19am

KeRbDoG wrote: »

Edited the favourites on the box mostly, then some more edits in the editor software.
I think I got a little delete happy initially so i might have deleted BBCi/stream-0 etc. by mistake. Missed Press TV & Russia Today - arse, will manually add those in which I noticed I could only do via the editor? Any way of doing this via the boxes menus I wonder...

KeRbDoG any chance you could post your most up to date channel list, makes life very handy and is much appreciated.

Also how do i get the correct time on the box?

KeRbDoG · 29-11-2010 1:24pm

leshogan wrote: »

KeRbDoG any chance you could post your most up to date channel list, makes life very handy and is much appreciated.

Also how do i get the correct time on the box?

Currently traveling, should be able to give yea a new download/update this weekend if thats cool

Tony · 29-11-2010 1:35pm

leshogan wrote: »

KeRbDoG any chance you could post your most up to date channel list, makes life very handy and is much appreciated.

Also how do i get the correct time on the box?

heres one you might find usesful

leshogan · 29-11-2010 4:35pm

thats great thanks

Tony · 29-11-2010 4:36pm

leshogan wrote: »

thats great thanks

My pleasure

Tony · 30-11-2010 10:28am

Is anyone using the ferguson to get DTT HD from UK freeview ?

gtg60 · 30-11-2010 10:39am

Tony wrote: »

Is anyone using the ferguson to get DTT HD from UK freeview ?

How could you? It doesn't have a DVB-T2 tuner.

Tony · 30-11-2010 10:46am

gtg60 wrote: »

How could you? It doesn't have a DVB-T2 tuner.

Thats why I asked, wanted to confirm this. Ferguson sometimes forget to include capabilities in the spec.

pigeon1916 · 02-12-2010 5:50pm

Hi
I purchased one of these receivers recently and am happy enough so far.
However, I do have a problem when watching news channels the news ticker at the bottom of the screen seems to stutter across the screen instead of a smooth flow. Does anyone else have a similar problem or a solution for this?

Thanks

KeRbDoG · 02-12-2010 11:40pm

pigeon1916 wrote: »

Hi
I purchased one of these receivers recently and am happy enough so far.
However, I do have a problem when watching news channels the news ticker at the bottom of the screen seems to stutter across the screen instead of a smooth flow. Does anyone else have a similar problem or a solution for this?

Thanks

I noticed that too - I had to lower the box video output res down to from the highest setting (think it was 1080p) to ensure camera pans and tickets didn't stutter

pigeon1916 · 03-12-2010 7:50am

KeRbDoG wrote: »

I noticed that too - I had to lower the box video output res down to from the highest setting (think it was 1080p) to ensure camera pans and tickets didn't stutter

Hi KeRbDoG
Thanks for the reply.
I tried what you mentioned and it worked.
I went into Menu/setting/A/V settings and then changed the resolution from
1080i 60Hz to 1080i 50Hz after that I could not see any visual change other than the ticker stops stuttering.

Thanks

rurs · 03-12-2010 1:14pm

You can also use the "Format" button on the remote to cycle through the options. You might find that 720p/50Hz might look better on some material, depending on how well your TV handles interlacing.

rurs · 04-12-2010 3:40pm

Does anyone have any experience with sub cards in the card reader?
What encryption method is supported, or do you need a 3rd party firmware.
I'm thinking of getting a Cyfra+ card (Conax, I think), or maybe Art Sport (irdeto or viaaccess?).

davidhand365 · 07-12-2010 1:25pm

Has anyone tuned in BBC1 HD on this box yet??
Is it posssible / if so, how??

KeRbDoG · 07-12-2010 1:28pm

It is possible, yea just need to do a satellite scan and it will pop up. Might mess up any channel organising you have already done.
Whenever I get a chance to drop out to the parents I will post up a channel list dump for this box thats all nicely organised for DVB-S and also Three Rock

patrickpc · 07-12-2010 1:47pm

Hi there,

It may be a stupid question but is it possible for the Ferguson Ariva to output to multiple displays at the same time?

What I hope is possible is to output picture & sound to HDMI, SCART and Component simultaneously to feed 3 different TVs. At a minimum I'd like to output to both HDMI and SCART.

Anyone know if this is possible?

Thanks,

-P

Ferguson Ariva HD Combo

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