Cost-Effective, High-Functionality, User-Friendly Replacement for Pay TV

NewClareman · 13-11-2018 11:29pm

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

There should be no need to use a key unless you are using someone else's image. If you want a clean install, the box will download it directly. Just look under the BLUE button for FLASH ONLINE. If you want to restore a previous full backup opt for LOCAL and DEVICES to find your existing backup images listed by date.

The Blue button won't work, with this image - have to use software management, under setup.

sligojoek · 14-11-2018 3:00am

I'm having no luck with this. I'll try again tomorrow.

Would I be best flash THHB's original image? Then restore settings through the blue button as I could before. I backed up the settings on the HDD yesterday as well as the image. I just can't seem to access that option anymore.

I went into software management > Restore system settings.. but it just rebooted and nothing else.

Gerry Wicklow.
If you want to restore a previous full backup opt for LOCAL and DEVICES to find your existing backup images listed by date.

I can't find that option

swoofer · 14-11-2018 11:06am

I had a few problems as well(no softcams) so to go back I did the following.
menu, setup, software management, advanced options, OK, now you should see the advanced restore, OK, restore backups will appear at top of screen, and underneath you will see file, it will be named as enigma2settingsbackup.tar.gz, press green button.

If its not there just start from scratch but remove all usb sticks and I use the front usb slot for flashing, and I use a 4gb stick, its named integral

NewClareman · 14-11-2018 7:30pm

swoofer wrote: »

I had a few problems as well(no softcams)

I probably should have stated that at the outset that support for soft cams is deliberately not included. The build is intended to support FTA content, only. All links to adult and copyright material have been, substantially, removed. (Some apps auto-update, so I cannot guarantee that all such material is unavailable.) 🙂

sligojoek · 15-11-2018 1:37am

swoofer wrote: »

I had a few problems as well(no softcams) so to go back I did the following.
menu, setup, software management, advanced options, OK, now you should see the advanced restore, OK, restore backups will appear at top of screen, and underneath you will see file, it will be named as enigma2settingsbackup.tar.gz, press green button.

Had a quick look eaarlier and get a list of
enigma2settingsbackup.tar.gz, With dates of previous backups.

There's one dated Monday, when I did my last backup, so I guess that's the one to go for. It'll be another half hour before I can get TV to myself. I'll give that a go. Thanks.

If its not there just start from scratch but remove all usb sticks and I use the front usb slot for flashing, and I use a 4gb stick, its named integral

Just realised there's a tiny USB key in the back of the box with picons on it.
I wonder was that the reason my last flash didn't work.

Flashing the Receiver.

2) Ensure no other USB devices are plugged into the receiver

The high horse brigade · 15-11-2018 1:38am

sligojoek wrote: »

Just realised there's a tiny USB key in the back of the box with picons on it.
I wonder was that the reason my last flash didn't work.

Yep, those are the symptoms alright

sligojoek · 15-11-2018 1:59am

@NewClareman.

Just so as you know. I have no issues at all with the image. It took me 3 months to get 5 other people used to the new box and everything was going swimmingly. There was uproar yesterday when buttons were doing different things than they were doing the day before.

.

One other thing. That image had a load of timers set. It took me a while to cop on why the "REC" symbol was on so often.

sligojoek · 15-11-2018 2:15am

Quote:
Originally Posted by swoofer View Post
I had a few problems as well(no softcams) so to go back I did the following.
menu, setup, software management, advanced options, OK, now you should see the advanced restore, OK, restore backups will appear at top of screen, and underneath you will see file, it will be named as enigma2settingsbackup.tar.gz, press green button.

Had a quick look eaarlier and get a list of
enigma2settingsbackup.tar.gz, With dates of previous backups.

There's one dated Monday, when I did my last backup, so I guess that's the one to go for. It'll be another half hour before I can get TV to myself. I'll give that a go. Thanks.

Did all that. All back to normal.

Thanks for all advice and suggestions. Every day is a schoolday..

NewClareman · 15-11-2018 11:29am

sligojoek wrote: »

@NewClareman.

Just so as you know. I have no issues at all with the image. It took me 3 months to get 5 other people used to the new box and everything was going swimmingly. There was uproar yesterday when buttons were doing different things than they were doing the day before. .

One other thing. That image had a load of timers set. It took me a while to cop on why the "REC" symbol was on so often.

Thanks for the feedback, appreciated.

My image is probably best suited for people who want a replacement Tv box, with a low learning curve. Wifey kept pressing random buttons and jetting into menus, best left alone - that’s why I started down the customization journey.

I’ve a small few items left to change and then I’ll post one final image. Taking your feedback on board, I’ll post the image with no active timers.

Milsey · 15-11-2018 3:29pm

Hi, is e2i player available on open atv 6.1 version, do you know. Is that a good iptv player also.
Thanks in advance.

NewClareman · 15-11-2018 4:22pm

Milsey wrote: »

Hi, is e2i player available on open atv 6.1 version, do you know. Is that a good iptv player also.
Thanks in advance.

The E2i Player is no longer included in the OpenATV images, due to copyright concerns. It is included in my image and I use it to watch (legal) IPTV.

Gerry Wicklow · 15-11-2018 6:31pm

It's no longer included by default but you should be able to add it. Look under add plugins>extensions. It's not the slickest of interfaces but does the job.

DavyD_83 · 15-11-2018 9:00pm

I'm sold! I just saved 270 on my virgin media renewal for the year so I have a "budget" to put into it too. Thanks a million for sharing OP, looks amazing and just simple enough for me to set up and for my own wifey to get her head around too.
Just gotta find best source for the box now. Will report back soon

sligojoek · 16-11-2018 2:17am

NewClareman wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback, appreciated.

My image is probably best suited for people who want a replacement Tv box, with a low learning curve. Wifey kept pressing random buttons and jetting into menus, best left alone - that’s why I started down the customization journey.

I’ve a small few items left to change and then I’ll post one final image. Taking your feedback on board, I’ll post the image with no active timers.

If I'd just got the box Monday and loaded your image it woul;d have been perfect. WE'd have all got the hang of it fairly quickly. I was a newbie to all this back in April (and still am) . I got THHB's image and Wifey and I tweaked it as we went along. I had no choice only to revert back. Wifey doesn't like change. I had to run the old box in tandem with this for a few weeks as I weaned her onto it.

sligojoek · 16-11-2018 2:29am

DavyD_83 wrote: »

I'm sold! I just saved 270 on my virgin media renewal for the year so I have a "budget" to put into it too. Thanks a million for sharing OP, looks amazing and just simple enough for me to set up and for my own wifey to get her head around too.
Just gotta find best source for the box now. Will report back soon

https://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk/tiviar-alpha-plus

About 127e delivered . I'd have a look on Amazon or somewhere For a HDD. You'd save a few quid. I got 2 Seagate 1TBs for less than 100e. Put the other one in a PS4 and no issue with either. (Well, there was with one but they had a new one out in 5 days even before I got to send the faulty one back). No issue since,

NewClareman · 17-11-2018 5:54pm

The Movie Browser Plugin, configured in this image to start from the Blue button, greatly extends the functionality of the Tiviar Alphaplus. It can be used with Films/Series recorded from TV Channels, or with digital downloads or archives.

It can take a while to learn all the features, so I created the attached picture, to show all the remote-control keys. For maximum benefit, I suggest that the PDF A4 sheet, available from the link in the first post, be printed out and, ideally, laminated.

Location of Films/Series:

I store TV Series/Programs in the internal hard drive. I store films on an external hard drive, and set timers for films to record to this location.

It is easy to set an alternative location, using ‘Menu’ when the plugin is active. Once the database has been set up for one drive/location, i.e. the film information and covers have been downloaded, a new location can be set. The plugin will remember the first location and add the films in the second location to the database. Note, only the most recent location will be updated with new entries.

Alternative Views:

Three different views can be toggled, using the Red Button. The picture shows the backdrop view.

Sorting & Filters:

There are 12 sort options and 6 filters to display the movies. The filter "movies and / or series" (button 5) can be combined with one of the other filters. The last used filter can be loaded at the next start of the plugin. Note: The alphabetic sorting by movie titles ignores the leading article "The".
Films can be grouped in separate folders and filtered using the "Folder Filter" (button 6).

Movies / Series file names:

The plugin uses the actual names of the movies and other programs to look for a match in the TMDb (The Movie Database) and TVDB (TV Database). Recordings made with the Tiviar Alphaplus automatically use the optimum format ("standard" or "short filenames"). TV Series must have the Season / episode numbers in the file name, to be correctly identified. This depends on the broadcaster, but is substantially correct, with the current configuration, for UK-based broadcasters. For other recordings, you should try and have exact names, with no additional terms, in the title. If you are getting an incorrect entry in the database, for a film/program, you can edit its name, using the ‘Teletext Button’, to try and get the correct match.

Note: There is an occasional nag screen, which can be cleared for €5. I reset this for the posted image, to be fair to the plugin developer.

NewClareman · 17-11-2018 6:10pm

The following information has been adapted from the Movie Browser Thread, in the OpenATV forum. Additional information can be found there.

Supported file formats:

avi, divx, flv, iso, m2ts, m4v, mov, mp4, mpg, mpeg, mkv, ts and vob (single).

Database:

The database is located in the plugin folder / db / database . The following database options are available:

• Backup: With the setup option "Backup Database" a backup of the database is stored in the "backup" subfolder of the cache folder.

• Restore: With the setup option "Restore Database" a previously made backup of the database is restored from the "backup" subfolder.

• Edit: With the Teletext button, which can be edited for the currently selected movie or series, or the title of the movie.

• Update: To check the movie folder for deleted or new movies and series and to download the data from TMDb and TheTVDB, the database must be updated.
There are 3 options to update the database:

• Manual: With the video button inside the plugin you can start a database update at any time.
• With Timer: With the setup option "Update Database with Timer" you can schedule an automatic update at a specific time, every 24 hours.
• At Plugin Start: I don’t recommend this option as it can take a long period of time, during which, the box is unresponsive.
• Reset: In case of problems with the database, with the setup option "Reset Database" you can delete and recreate the database.

Movies / Series folder:

The plugin will search for the "Movie Folder" selected in the setup and any subfolders for movie files. If the movies are in multiple, physically separated folders - eg on a second hard drive, another USB stick or a NAS - there are two ways to add one or more additional folders:

• Manually: Select in the setup the additional folder as "Movie Folder" and make a database update. The movies of the 1st folder remain in the database, the movies of the 2nd folder will be added. Future database updates wants to synchronize only the movies of the last selected "Movie Folder" in the setup.

• Symlink below : "Movie Folder" pointing to the 2nd folder (eg on a second hard drive or a NAS). The first folder and future database updates will automatically synchronize all files in the 1st and 2nd folder.

Example:

First "Movie Folder": / media / hdd / movie
New Folder: / media / usb / movie
Telnet command to create the symlink: ln -s / media / usb / movie / media / hdd / movie / usb
For the 2nd folder (/ media / usb / movie) the symlink / usb was created under the "Movie Folder" / media / hdd / movie .
Attention:Do not create another symlink in the 2nd folder that points back into the 1st folder! This causes an infinite loop and the movies will be added multiple times to the database.

Known Issues:

The exit key sometimes gives a black screen - locking user into the Movie Browser.
The workaround is to press the TV/Radio Button, once, then exit.
The help button is unavailable, as there is no help button on the Tiviar Remote.

Mylow · 17-11-2018 10:36pm

What hard drive do people recommend for this receiver?
Thinking about using this one

TIA

The high horse brigade · 17-11-2018 10:42pm

Mylow wrote: »

What hard drive do people recommend for this receiver?
Thinking about using this one

TIA

Yeah that's fine

NewClareman · 17-11-2018 10:42pm

Mylow wrote: »

What hard drive do people recommend for this receiver?
Thinking about using this one

TIA

The Tiviar AP will only take 2.5” drives. I couldn’t find any dedicated AV drives, in that format. In the end I just ordered one fitted from WoS.

The high horse brigade · 17-11-2018 10:43pm

NewClareman wrote: »

The Tiviar AP will only take 2.5” drives. I couldn’t find any dedicated AV drives, in that format. In the end I just ordered one fitted from WoS.

It's a standard SATA same as any laptop takes

NewClareman · 17-11-2018 10:56pm

The high horse brigade wrote: »

It's a standard SATA same as any laptop takes

Yeah, I understand that the interface is SATA. However, a number of manufacturers, including Seagate and WD, manufacture dedicated drives for AV use - claiming lower power consumption and greater reliability, for such use cases. They are widely available in a 3.5” form factor but I was unable to source one in a 2.5” form factor. (There are online specs for these, but I couldn’t find a retail supplier.)

The high horse brigade · 17-11-2018 11:00pm

NewClareman wrote: »

Yeah, I understand that the interface is SATA. However, a number of manufacturers, including Seagate and WD, manufacture dedicated drives for AV use - claiming lower power consumption and greater reliability, for such use cases. They are widely available in a 3.5” form factor but I was unable to source one in a 2.5” form factor. (There are online specs for these, but I couldn’t find a retail supplier.)

You won't find one in 2.5, at least I've never heard or seen one and I work with CCTV systems. Everything in enterprise and surveillance grade is 3.5, SCSI or PCIe

NewClareman · 17-11-2018 11:39pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

The high horse brigade wrote: »

You won't find one in 2.5, at least I've never heard or seen one and I work with CCTV systems. Everything in enterprise and surveillance grade is 3.5, SCSI or PCIe

They are available, all right, just not in higher capacities. Options include the WD AV-25 and the Seagate ST500VT000. I have timeshift permanently on, and laptop hard drives are not designed for that sort of continuous use. I get around this by storing any content I’m concerned about on external drives so that if the internal drive fails, it’s not the end of the world.

Having said that, I’ve just found a 1TB AV-25 2.5” on Amazon, which I’ll swap in - thanks for prompting me to have another look. 🙂

(I know that I should ideally be using NAS, that is my next project.)

AndrewJRenko · 17-11-2018 11:48pm

Is there any professional installer who will supply and fit this kind of setup in Dublin, with the emphasis on the 'user-friendly' bit?

Gerry Wicklow · 17-11-2018 11:52pm

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Is there any professional installer who will supply and fit this kind of setup in Dublin, with the emphasis on the 'user-friendly' bit?

PM sent

NewClareman · 17-11-2018 11:59pm

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Is there any professional installer who will supply and fit this kind of setup in Dublin, with the emphasis on the 'user-friendly' bit?

Most professional installers fit basic satellite boxes, which will not give you this type of functionality. However, the Tiviar Alphaplus can be bought direct from World of Satellite, for approx €210 with a hard drive fitted, see earlier post. Any one with a (very) small amount of technical knowledge can then flash the image on the first post on this thread - that will give you all the functionality shown. All you need then is an installer to fit a Satellite Dish, if you don’t have one already.

However, there are expert contributors on this forum, who may be able to assist.

Mylow · 18-11-2018 1:49am

The high horse brigade wrote: »

Yeah that's fine

Are the cables already in the receiver? Is it possible to confirm cables I need. I assume I don't need any frames etc.
TIA

The high horse brigade · 18-11-2018 10:46am

Mylow wrote: »

Are the cables already in the receiver? Is it possible to confirm cables I need. I assume I don't need any frames etc.
TIA

You just need the drive, it fits in a cradle

NewClareman · 18-11-2018 11:01am

Mylow wrote: »

Are the cables already in the receiver? Is it possible to confirm cables I need. I assume I don't need any frames etc.
TIA

All the cables are included, all you need is the drive. I would strongly recommend the AV-25-1TB I linked to, above. It is designed for this type of application, which generic laptop drives are not. I know it is lower capacity, but it greatly ups the likelihood of a long life, especially if you have timeshift running all the time. (You need timeshift running continuously, to be able to rewind live tv.)

aka7 · 18-11-2018 2:48pm

Hi All,
Tiviar box with openatv to be delivered ... Just to clarify:
To be able to play-pause-play live tv and maybe record, beside hard-drive, do I need 2 separate cables all the way from lnb to the back of Tiviar (LNB IN tuners 1&2)?
No way to combine the 2 cables into one and split again to save on the cabling job ?

I will then install one of the images mentioned thanks to The high horse brigade and NewClareman and hopefully not get into too many issues.

The high horse brigade · 18-11-2018 2:56pm

aka7 wrote: »

Hi All,
Tiviar box with openatv to be delivered ... Just to clarify:
To be able to play-pause-play live tv and maybe record, beside hard-drive, do I need 2 separate cables all the way from lnb to the back of Tiviar (LNB IN tuners 1&2)?
No way to combine the 2 cables into one and split again to save on the cabling job ?

I will then install one of the images mentioned thanks to The high horse brigade and NewClareman and hopefully not get into too many issues.

There's such a thing as a stacker destacker for running two satellite feeds over a single cable however they are nothing but trouble and require a very high quality cable because you are using frequency's the cable wasn't designed for. Just run a cable, it's easier and guaranteed to work

Reesy · 18-11-2018 4:19pm

Thanks @NewClareman for this - looks really good.

Can I ask some questions please?

1. I note your comment re wifi. Are you using one of the USB wifi yokes that World of Satellite offers as an optional extra? (I guess if you are, a pair of powerline plugs would be the answer).
2. Can I use this box to view Netflix?
3. That looks like a 7 day satellite EPG. Is it?
4. I can customise the bouquets / favourites, can't I?
5. Would you recommend this box as a replacement as for our Ariva 150? I'd need to get a new LNB & cable to avail of the second satellite tuner.

Cheers, Simon

Barr · 18-11-2018 6:02pm

Apologies if asked before , does this box have the Irish Terrestrial channels in HD?

The high horse brigade · 18-11-2018 6:12pm

Barr wrote: »

Apologies if asked before , does this box have the Irish Terrestrial channels in HD?

Yes, RTE 1 and 2 are HD on Saorview

Barr · 18-11-2018 6:17pm

The high horse brigade wrote: »

Yes, RTE 1 and 2 are HD on Saorview

Great, so it has saorview:)

Does the box need a separate cable to be connected to a saorview aerial

The high horse brigade · 18-11-2018 6:25pm

Barr wrote: »

Great, so it has saorview:)

Does the box need a separate cable to be connected to a saorview aerial

Yes, the box has 2x satellite and one terrestrial tuner so needs 2x feeds from a satellite and one from aerial to give a mix of Saorview and free to air channels

Barr · 18-11-2018 6:41pm

I am giving up my q box so this looks like a good option. Nearly everything we watch is recorded so this is a huge advantage.

If there is anyone around Cork that could assist with flashing/setting up the box i'd gladly pay for your time.

I'd be useless at the tech stuff :pac:

The high horse brigade · 18-11-2018 6:43pm

Barr wrote: »

I am giving up my q box so this looks like a good option. Nearly everything we watch is recorded so this is a huge advantage.

If there is anyone around Cork that could assist with flashing/setting up the box i'd gladly pay for your time.

I'd be useless at the tech stuff :pac:

If you've had a sky q box you'll need a hybrid lnb on the dish

Barr · 18-11-2018 6:52pm

The high horse brigade wrote: »

If you've had a sky q box you'll need a hybrid lnb on the dish

I asked first day for a hybrid so hopefully will be ok on that front. Although when I tried putting the cable into the satellite connection of the tv today, it didn't pick up any of the FTA channels

fritzelly · 18-11-2018 7:11pm

Do you get the full 7 day epg for all channels ok?

Currently running MediaPortal and have been thinking for a while to get a box like this.

STB. · 18-11-2018 7:19pm

Barr wrote: »

I asked first day for a hybrid so hopefully will be ok on that front. Although when I tried putting the cable into the satellite connection of the tv today, it didn't pick up any of the FTA channels

You will know whether they installed a Hybrid or wideband only by looking at the LNB on your dish. The casing on the hybrid is longer. Doesnt matter what port they are connected to for freesat (on the hybrid - the non hybrid wont work at all as mentioned by THHB).

fritzelly wrote: »

Do you get the full 7 day epg for all channels ok?

Currently running MediaPortal and have been thinking for a while to get a box like this.

Yes.

Barr · 18-11-2018 7:29pm

Thanks STB , that is a great help

Reesy · 18-11-2018 7:37pm

Reesy wrote: »

Thanks @NewClareman for this - looks really good.

Can I ask some questions please?

1. I note your comment re wifi. Are you using one of the USB wifi yokes that World of Satellite offers as an optional extra? (I guess if you are, a pair of powerline plugs would be the answer).
2. Can I use this box to view Netflix?
3. That looks like a 7 day satellite EPG. Is it?
4. I can customise the bouquets / favourites, can't I?
5. Would you recommend this box as a replacement as for our Ariva 150? I'd need to get a new LNB & cable to avail of the second satellite tuner.

Cheers, Simon

So that's the 7 day EPG sorted. Would appreciate any feedback on my other questions...

sligojoek · 18-11-2018 7:43pm

Netflix not possible

STB. · 18-11-2018 7:45pm

Reesy wrote: »

So that's the 7 day EPG sorted. Would appreciate any feedback on my other questions...

1. antenna RT5370 will work on any e2 box (the ones with the aerial). Ebay less than a fiver. Box will pick it immediately. https://www.dx.com/p/ralink-rt5370-usb-20-150mbps-wifi-wireless-network-card-80211-b-g-n-lan-adapter-with-rotatable-antenna-black-574871?tc=EUR

2. No. No Netflix software exists for any e2 box.
3. Yes
4. Yes
5. Yes. E2 boxes are slightly more complicated to configure than off the shelf boxes like the Ariva's, but if you use the images that THHB or New Clareman are sharing, a lot of the work is already done. As you get used to it, you will probably end up changing the GUI look (Skins) ETC. There are so many customisations possible.

NewClareman · 18-11-2018 9:24pm

STB. wrote: »

1. antenna RT5370 will work on any e2 box (the ones with the aerial). Ebay less than a fiver. Box will pick it immediately. https://www.dx.com/p/ralink-rt5370-usb-20-150mbps-wifi-wireless-network-card-80211-b-g-n-lan-adapter-with-rotatable-antenna-black-574871?tc=EUR

@STB How stable is the connection with the RT5370? (If it is solid it would save me a messy cabling job, due for this week.)

I use the dongle from WoS (300Mb/s), it is recognized fine, but the connection hangs if I stream anything but radio. It works fine with downloads, e.g. from the RTE Player, for some reason. The WiFi worked fine with Sky HD and I still use it to stream Netflix from an iPad to Chromecast.

STB. · 18-11-2018 10:41pm

NewClareman wrote: »

@STB How stable is the connection with the RT5370? (If it is solid it would save me a messy cabling job, due for this week.)

I use the dongle from WoS (300Mb/s), it is recognized fine, but the connection hangs if I stream anything but radio. It works fine with downloads, e.g. from the RTE Player, for some reason. The WiFi worked fine with Sky HD and I still use it to stream Netflix from an iPad to Chromecast.

I have one on a Gigablue. They are pretty standard and work fine. The one I linked is 150 megs not 300 buts its fine for streaming. I can only assume your issue is distance from the router. Dont know the World of Sat one. Does it have an aerial on it as well ?

Reesy · 18-11-2018 10:44pm

Thanks STB, very helpful.

Funny that it won't support Netflix, isn't it? If it did I could get rid of my WDTV Live box and simplify my setup. Oh well.

NewClareman · 18-11-2018 10:50pm

STB. wrote: »

I have one on a Gigablue. They are pretty standard and work fine. The one I linked is 150 megs not 300 buts its fine for streaming. I can only assume your issue is distance from the router. Dont know the World of Sat one. Does it have an aerial on it as well ?

It doesn’t have an aerial, but the signal strength is good. There’s a number of threads on other forums about this issue.

Anyway, I’ll order the one you suggested, but press on with retiring the mains socket, to support homeplugs.

Cost-Effective, High-Functionality, User-Friendly Replacement for Pay TV

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