Potentially cheap DTT/SAT HD Combo €129

elvis23

Just have 1 other Q. Can someone confirm for me the HD video res output on the edison argus mini IP. I know it doesnt go to 1080p, how about 1080i.
Is this easily configurable/selectable in the gui.

thank ye

slegs

elvis23 wrote: »

Just have 1 other Q. Can someone confirm for me the HD video res output on the edison argus mini IP. I know it doesnt go to 1080p, how about 1080i.
Is this easily configurable/selectable in the gui.

thank ye

Yes 1080i for HD channels cofigurable in menu

slegs

elvis23 wrote: »

Hello,
Anyone do any follow up testing on the above. The box sounds great value, now with ethernet port on board also. But playback of my exisiting .avi files is a must before I buy, this would be the only reason I'd go with the Mvison HD 300N over this box.
cheers.

Not sure, will test it out and get back

elvis23

thanks a lot Slegs

sam_boooko

This is kinda annoying, I'm looking for a HD combo box which can play AVI files and has ethernet port. whats the chances of a patch to allow AVI files to be played on this box??

STB

sam_boooko wrote: »

This is kinda annoying, I'm looking for a HD combo box which can play AVI files and has ethernet port. whats the chances of a patch to allow AVI files to be played on this box??

The MVISION HD300 COMBO NET does this by the way.

elvis23

Yeah, I've been trying to find out about this on other sites but no joy.
Even if you could convert avi/ts to argus mini playable format would be nice.

seems mvision hd300n has this one on the mini alright

PacMan

I received one by courier from Saor TV yesterday, and was able to play around with the satellite part of it last night.
Great picture and sound for a small box it even has the channel name in LED on the front panel.
Will try and set up the aeries cable this evening to check the terrestial's like RTE News now etc.

Have to add that the service received from Saor TV was first class. Initally there was a delay due to suppier issues, which was not the fault of Saor TV, but I was kept informed by email at regular intervals.

Great service and the tuner was all set up with the correct region BBC's etc, with RTE 1 on channel 1 etc etc.

I would recommend this receiver.

I have no association with Saor TV, and wish to give credit regarding customer satisfaction when its due.
:pac:

Tony

PacMan wrote: »

I have no association with Saor TV, and wish to give credit regarding customer satisfaction when its due.
:pac:

Fair play

PacMan

And to continue...
I have also purchased from Tony's shop, and again top notch service !!:pac:

CircusIntro

PacMan wrote: »

And to continue...
I have also purchased from Tony's shop, and again top notch service !!:pac:

PacMan wrote: »

I received one by courier from Saor TV yesterday, and was able to play around with the satellite part of it last night.
Great picture and sound for a small box it even has the channel name in LED on the front panel.
Will try and set up the aeries cable this evening to check the terrestial's like RTE News now etc.

Have to add that the service received from Saor TV was first class. Initally there was a delay due to suppier issues, which was not the fault of Saor TV, but I was kept informed by email at regular intervals.

Great service and the tuner was all set up with the correct region BBC's etc, with RTE 1 on channel 1 etc etc.

I would recommend this receiver.

I have no association with Saor TV, and wish to give credit regarding customer satisfaction when its due.
:pac:

Can a mod please address my concern ,

Some weeks ago in this very thread a post detailed a very negative experience someone had with a company referred to in the quoted posts.

This post was deleted so as to protect the company !

My concern is why is a positive post allowed to stay and a negative post deleted .

This is simply unfair and is censorship in my opinion ,

Mods May I have your comments please ?

Tony

Oh give over , it was you.

bublehead

CircusIntro, declans, deckocelt or whatever you want to call yourself these days, give it up already ! There is a big difference between a person coming on here and complementing a supplier, while discussing the relevant box this thread is about and a person who comes on here and just rants about a supplier.

On a separate note, I eventually got to set this box up tonight after having it for weeks. I didn’t expect to have to rewire half the house it was going into before I could use it . Initial impressions are it is an excellent box. Haven’t had much time to test it though and only over scart. Scan of Astra 28.2 seemed to pick up ITV HD (with sound) straight off. No problems picking up terrestrial either (although didn’t find 3, presume not broadcasting at moment due to lack of payment). Picture seems good (even over scart) and hoping doesn’t have same issues with jumping picture HD200 / 300 has. Will have to play with it some more, especially to check out Ethernet side of box.

Sponge Bob

bublehead wrote: »

CircusIntro, declans, deckocelt or whatever you want to call yourself these days, give it up already ! There is a big difference between a person coming on here and complementing a supplier, while discussing the relevant box this thread is about and a person who comes on here and just rants about a supplier.

Exactly, someone who signs up to rant is always suspect, they could work for Dixons FFS

icdg

The Rules...

The moderators decisions are final...DON'T start any thread, the purpose of which is to question a moderator decision. A moderator decision will not usually be taken without reason, and such reason will usually be posted. Any futher corspondance will be via the Boards.ie Private Messaging facility. Any member repeatedly refusing to comply with this section will be issued with a ban from the ICDG forums, at this discretion of the moderator concerned.

If people aren't willing to comply with the Rules, bans WILL be issued...

PacMan

I did not realise that a compliment would start a war of word's !

I have been a member of these boards and the previous ICDG web site for several year's.
It is very common for us to have constructive opinions of products, services and TV companies.
I read about the product I purchased here.
I read about peoples likes and dislikes about the product.
But in the end it was Me, Myself and I which made the decision to buy.
When I receive great service, I do compliment.:pac:

homerzero

i got one of the Edision combo 2 in 1 from Tony recently and was expecting to spend a few hours setting it up. it came ready to go out of the box. Thanks Tony !. The digital picture on the terrestrial channels is fantastic. i am in a very poor reception area and the analogue reception i had for RTE left a lot to be desired, varying from fair to unwatchable, so i am delighted with the wonderful picture i now have even in the extremely bad weather we had recently. Satellite channels are spot on too.Very easy to use. no delay in changing from terrestrial to sat . great box for the price

rez

Some great info in this thread.... especially from slegs.

Got mine yesterday can't say enough good things about it. Slegs what do you reckon the chances are that someone will release firmware for this that can get a full EPG from the internet?

slegs

rez wrote: »

Some great info in this thread.... especially from slegs.

Got mine yesterday can't say enough good things about it. Slegs what do you reckon the chances are that someone will release firmware for this that can get a full EPG from the internet?

I guess it may be possible but at the same time unlikely. Not sure how open the code is for others to do their own versions to this level of customisation. The unofficial firmwares out there are not developed by Edision and can use the internet features so there may be a chink of light. I will do some probing with my contacts

There is a new official firmware due before end May for watch DTT record from SAT same time and vice versa.

rez

Thanks for the info slegs.... I initially presumed (don't know why - work in IT) that the box would be linux-based, but thinking about it I can see how that would put the price point up.

Wondering how "unofficial" firmwares were achieved for the box given that the architecture is not open like linux. I guess you're right though, if it's a closed platform designed by Edison / the OEM for TV reception only then adapting it to do anything else is likely to be very difficult.

Thanks for the info

rez

Actually found one thing that doesn't work well...

I need to set the TV aspect-ratio setting to 16:9 (rather than 'auto') so it will pillarbox 4:3 content (i.e. black bars as each side). On 'auto' it ouputs a 4:3 source full-screen (I'm running at 1080i), resulting in the picture being stretched horizontally when displayed by my 16:9 Sony TV. The TV does not have a way to overcome this (it assumes 4:3 content will be pillarboxed).

So the 16:9 setting on the Edison would seem to be the one to use. My problem is that for some reason the box thinks the 16:9 DTT channels are actually 4:3. So if I put the unit on 16:9 rather than 'auto' it squashes the widescreen DTT image and shows it pillarboxed with black bars on each side. If I select 'auto' the DTT channels fill my screen, but as described above 4:3 satellite images get stretched across the widescreen TV.

Anyone know a way around this?

Paul Kiernan

AFAIK, this is a problem with the DTT transmissions not being marked as 16:9. It'll happen with any box. It's been mentioned in some of the other threads (or earlier in this one??).

Neb

Sorry for taking this discussion a little off in a tangent but this is a fairly active thread...

I have RTE digital (UHF Aerial in Attic) and a cheap and cheerful Aldi receiver (Dish On Chimney) working in harmony. I only have one cable routed in wall cavity but use a combiner/spltter to allow for both signals.

After reading many posts and reviews I'm thinking of getting a Humax PVR HD receiver - also my friend has one and it seems to work a treat.

Three questions :

Can I watch RTE digital while recording Sat with just 1 Sat cable - I assume so ?
Does anyone know if there is a way of putting 2* MPEG2 SAT signals on same co-ax - I assume not ?
What is best way to record RTE Digital off TV ?

Sam Russell

Neb wrote: »

Can I watch RTE digital while recording Sat with just 1 Sat cable - I assume so ?
Does anyone know if there is a way of putting 2* MPEG2 SAT signals on same co-ax - I assume not ?
What is best way to record RTE Digital off TV ?

1: Yes
2: Use a stacker/destacker but a new cable would be better.
3: Use a seperate recorder. Not the best solution.

Neb

Cheers Sam. Havn't heard about stackers/destackers - I suppose the signal integrity will start to drop when you have stackers / combiners on one end and dsplitters/ destackers on the other..

BostonB

Is there a Media PC, that combines Freesat/DTT/Analog into one box? As a reciever and recording etc.

Sam Russell

BostonB wrote: »

Is there a Media PC, that combines Freesat/DTT/Analog into one box? As a reciever and recording etc.

Maybe, but not the Humax. The Humax only records from the Freesat/FTA Sat, not terrestrial. A seperate method must be used. FTA Sat does not have 7 day EPG.

slegs

BostonB wrote: »

Is there a Media PC, that combines Freesat/DTT/Analog into one box? As a reciever and recording etc.

Any Windows Media Centre PC with the correct tuner cards. There are other threads on this.

BostonB

I'm just thinking out loud. You can buy a set top box that does all three you'd have to build a media box.

rez

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

AFAIK, this is a problem with the DTT transmissions not being marked as 16:9. It'll happen with any box. It's been mentioned in some of the other threads (or earlier in this one??).

Had wondered was that the cause alright... thanks for letting us know.

Mann239

Coming back to the question of sound on the Edision 2 in 1. Where I live in France, they've got one jump ahead of themselves and are only broadcasting HD signals in the new Dolby Digital Plus format. I've yet to see a box that's capable of receiving this, apart from a few of the latest terrestrial-only set-tops on sale here - the famous French exception! However, this format is apparently going to be adopted Europe-wide. So what I'm wondering is:
a) will Edision be putting out a simple firmware upgrade to sort this out?
b) as I'm not planning to change my good stereo amp for 7.1 job, will I have any problems with getting sound on HD stations anyway? A kind member of this forum said I should be able to get sound through the stereo without probs, just not in surround, which is fine by me. Can anyone confirm? Does anyone have the 2-in-1's sound output connected to an amp by good old RCA cables?

STB

Mann239 wrote: »

Coming back to the question of sound on the Edision 2 in 1. Where I live in France, they've got one jump ahead of themselves and are only broadcasting HD signals in the new Dolby Digital Plus format. I've yet to see a box that's capable of receiving this, apart from a few of the latest terrestrial-only set-tops on sale here - the famous French exception! However, this format is apparently going to be adopted Europe-wide. So what I'm wondering is:
a) will Edision be putting out a simple firmware upgrade to sort this out?
b) as I'm not planning to change my good stereo amp for 7.1 job, will I have any problems with getting sound on HD stations anyway? A kind member of this forum said I should be able to get sound through the stereo without probs, just not in surround, which is fine by me. Can anyone confirm? Does anyone have the 2-in-1's sound output connected to an amp by good old RCA cables?

Yeah its part of RTEs spec too.


HDMI 1.3 or downmixing (is there a S/PDIF ?). See the part about downmixing here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Digital_Plus

mossym

STB wrote: »

Yeah its part of RTEs spec too.


HDMI 1.3 or downmixing (is there a S/PDIF ?). See the part about downmixing here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Digital_Plus

presumably if he has a stero amp it has no HDMI, i've never seen a stereo amp with HDMI.

however, even if Dolby Digital plus is part of the spec, 90% of these boxes will be hooked directly to TV's. TV's(Huge Huge Majority, almost all) don't ahve multichannel decoders. so the EDID in the TV forces stereo only from any source. so there must be a stereo only feed, either transmitted with the program, or decoded from the multichannel audio in the box itself and then fed to the tv, or in your case the amp.

if the stereo is there, which it will have to be, then there are a couple of methods of getting it to your amp, the phono line out red/white connectors on the back of the box, or take the audio out connection on the tv(if it has one ) and feed that to the amp.
But the essence of it is that it should be doable

Mann239

Thanks a lot for those replies, very helpful. So stereo would be possible by linking the 2-in-1 by red & white RCAs to my amp (yes, it has no HDMI and I don't think its successor does either - it's old-fashioned stereo, good to listen to music with). If I were to "upgrade" to a 7.1 system - which I'm not looking to do, though others probably are - I suppose Edision will have addressed the Dolby + issue by a firmware update (if the 2-in-1's chipset can accommodate this).

slegs

There is a new Edision mini 2 in 1 IP Firmware available here (release 27 May)

http://www.argus-family.de/produktreceiverargusminiSATip.html

The bootloader has changed so note options 6 below (otherwise you will get an error message on the standard upgrade)

1. Backup your channel list to usb key through the Backup to USB option
2. Download ths .abs file from the link above (Software 27.05.10 v.1.1.40 4 MB)
3. Copy the .abs file to a usb key
4. Go to Upgrade by USB on the Menu
5. Choose the file from the usb
6. Choose Upgrade SW + Bootloader
7. Start the upgrade and the box will reboot when complete

If your channel list gets wiped you may need to do the following also

1. Get the backup file you created before the upgrade
2. Copy this .abs file to a usb key
3. Go to Upgrade by USB on the Menu
4. Choose the file from the usb
5. Choose Channel List Only
6. Start the upgrade and the box will reboot when complete

[Edit] This firmware has Dolby Digital fixes - checking if there is anything else in there.

ActingDanClark

hi all-i'm living in delgany wicklow at the bottom of a hill where there is a transmitter but no clear line of sight,i do however get rte 1 and 2 on an indoor aerial.if i buy the edision box is there an indoor aerial that'll do the job,or do i need a hi gain uhf roof mounted aerial pointed in the kippure direction? i've seen some comments here that suggest that the box is capable of operating even with a poor signal..
i'm no techie,so any suggestions would be gratefully received-have received some direct advice already from satellite.ie,for which many thanks

snaps

Does the edision 2 in 1 IP version play avi files from a USB drive after firmware upgrade? This machine seems to do a lot, but this option is important to me? Is this machine the VIP2 stb?

slegs

snaps wrote: »

Does the edision 2 in 1 IP version play avi files from a USB drive after firmware upgrade? This machine seems to do a lot, but this option is important to me? Is this machine the VIP2 stb?

No, it doesnt do avi files

No the VIP 2 is related but the next level up with modular tuners. You can do 2 * DVB-S2 if you want in the VIP 2

snaps

Cheers, perhaps in future firmwares avi playback will be added.

MayoForSam

I am just after buying one of these boxes (2in1 ip) from slegs, had it up and running in 20 minutes, DTT, Freesat and the 2 HD channels in time for the World Cup

Managed to save myself a few bob by making my own DTT aerial from a piece of 3x1, a few steel welding rods, screws, washers and a balun from Maplin:



Set the aerial up in my attic, used a combiner/splitter to connect the sat and DTT feed to one cable and another to split the signal downstairs, plugged in and worked first time. Getting about 68% signal strength from Maghera which does me just fine.

Picture quality is excellent and comparable to standard Sky.

Neb

OK this is a basic question but I'll ask anyway:
For the Argus Mini - or is there literally a short between TV In and TV Out ? So uou still need a seperate decoder to put it into another TV.

MayoForSam

AFAIK, you are right, basically its the same signal you are putting through so you would need a separate decoder for another TV. No RF-out on the box itself. You could use a Scart-to-coaxial modulator I guess.

jd_darkroom

Hi All,

New to this forum, quick question on the Edison 2 in 1, if somebody could help me as I'm interested in buying this box.
What is the buffer size on the PVR (USB port), the period of time (TV) that is held in the buffer before it is overwritten?

snaps

anyone succesfully set up the 2in1 on a motorised dish? my mate is having a Nightmare setting it up! apparently it turns to 19.2 and thats it?

oaklands

slegs wrote: »

There is a new Edision mini 2 in 1 IP Firmware available here (release 27 May)

http://www.argus-family.de/produktreceiverargusminiSATip.html

The bootloader has changed so note options 6 below (otherwise you will get an error message on the standard upgrade)

1. Backup your channel list to usb key through the Backup to USB option
2. Download ths .abs file from the link above (Software 27.05.10 v.1.1.40 4 MB)
3. Copy the .abs file to a usb key
4. Go to Upgrade by USB on the Menu
5. Choose the file from the usb
6. Choose Upgrade SW + Bootloader
7. Start the upgrade and the box will reboot when complete

If your channel list gets wiped you may need to do the following also

1. Get the backup file you created before the upgrade
2. Copy this .abs file to a usb key
3. Go to Upgrade by USB on the Menu
4. Choose the file from the usb
5. Choose Channel List Only
6. Start the upgrade and the box will reboot when complete

[Edit] This firmware has Dolby Digital fixes - checking if there is anything else in there.

Hi, I tried to update this firmware (software & bootloader) which went OK, but when I then tried to restore the "channel list only" from a previous backup got an error message "Bin file mismatch".

Has anyone been able to restore the channel list after upgrading to this firmware version (Software 27.05.10 v.1.1.40)?

In the meantime I have reloaded the previous firmware version including the channel list. Otherwise - this is a superb combo device which I am happy to recommend.

slegs

oaklands wrote: »

Hi, I tried to update this firmware (software & bootloader) which went OK, but when I then tried to restore the "channel list only" from a previous backup got an error message "Bin file mismatch".

Has anyone been able to restore the channel list after upgrading to this firmware version (Software 27.05.10 v.1.1.40)?

In the meantime I have reloaded the previous firmware version including the channel list. Otherwise - this is a superb combo device which I am happy to recommend.

Yes, I will need to updated the channel list for the latest firmware. Will be doing this during the week. It needs to be done in the channel editor when the bootloader changes. Channel list will be made available to customers.

slegs

jd_darkroom wrote: »

Hi All,

New to this forum, quick question on the Edison 2 in 1, if somebody could help me as I'm interested in buying this box.
What is the buffer size on the PVR (USB port), the period of time (TV) that is held in the buffer before it is overwritten?

Its is 2 hours for timeshift I believe (from when you started watching that particular channel - gets wiped when you switch channels).
If you press record on a program you can watch/catch up to the length of the program whatever that is.

zbluebirdz

oaklands wrote: »

Hi, I tried to update this firmware (software & bootloader) which went OK, but when I then tried to restore the "channel list only" from a previous backup got an error message "Bin file mismatch".

Has anyone been able to restore the channel list after upgrading to this firmware version (Software 27.05.10 v.1.1.40)?

In the meantime I have reloaded the previous firmware version including the channel list. Otherwise - this is a superb combo device which I am happy to recommend.

I also received the dreaded "bin file mismatch". Unfortunately, I could not retrieve anything from the backup file.

Had to re-enter the location of the dish, find the satellites (quite fiddly - still don't have satellites I would like to look at), rescan the satellites for channels, setup the favourites ...

If I had known that the "upgrade" will wipe everything out, I wouldn't have upgraded. Grrr. Very much unlike the Technomate - upgrade, but not lose vital settings.

slegs

zbluebirdz wrote: »

I also received the dreaded "bin file mismatch". Unfortunately, I could not retrieve anything from the backup file.

Had to re-enter the location of the dish, find the satellites (quite fiddly - still don't have satellites I would like to look at), rescan the satellites for channels, setup the favourites ...

If I had known that the "upgrade" will wipe everything out, I wouldn't have upgraded. Grrr. Very much unlike the Technomate - upgrade, but not lose vital settings.

You should always backup your settings so you can go back if you wish. It seems that some of the upgrades involve a bootloader change which causes this. If you use the channel editor (cost 23e from setedit.de) you can edit the channel list back onto the new firwmare easily

zbluebirdz

slegs wrote: »

You should always backup your settings so you can go back if you wish. It seems that some of the upgrades involve a bootloader change which causes this. If you use the channel editor (cost 23e from setedit.de) you can edit the channel list back onto the new firwmare easily

Can you point me into the direction where I can save the settings? - I would like to save how I have setup the Argus Mini box.