Bargain Alert: New Ferguson HD DTT/Sat Combo Box - €63 before postage

taung

I guess I'm missing something simple here, but could anyone point me on how to define multiple LNB settings for the Ariva 120 Combo In the default settings I can only see 'LNB1' defined and can't intuitively figure out how to define additional LNBs.

Alders123

An annoying issue remaining with this box that I see is the EPG HD ISSUE , where the box locks up when you selet a HD channel through EPG mode, (selecting a HD channel through favourites mode works fine) . channel selection via EPG is a basic requirement on any box and needs to be fixed with another new firmware release asap

applewoodgo

Received my box from Tony on Friday afternoon. Set this up over the weekend and I was delighted to find that Tony had upgraded the box with the latest firmware before dispatching and I therefore didn't experience any of the dreaded lip sync problems.

Just two issues with the box and one has been aired already and that is the box freezing on exiting the EPG. I have no doubt that Ferguson will solve this in a later upgrade. Their tech support and their communications, as was Tonys, has been very efficient so far and I trust that will continue.

Secondly, in my case anyway the box starts to record as soon as you put the USB Flash Drive in without any input from me. I have gone into the PVR menu alterted the settings there and each time making a note of the changes but nothing seems to work. Interestingly, when I enter the PVR menu, the recording stops, ie, the USB light stops flashing and when I exit out, it starts flashing and recording again. The USB Flash drive is a 16GB Philips Back It Up type.

Another issue, this time with the Ariva Editor. The save function doesn't work when trying to rename Favourites. It would be nice if there were a fix for this also. I have covered this in a previous post.

Johnboy1951

I saw a solution to the Favourite rename & save problem in an earlier post.

Are you sure the box is actually recording? ...... as in have you been able to play a file it recorded?

Reason for asking is it might just be checking/amending the format of the device to ensure its suitability ......

bmaxi

I'd no problem renaming and saving favourites just by following the instructions in the manual, I didn't realise it was a problem for some.

JimRoyal

Hello All,

Can I use the Channel List posted here for the Ariva 120 on the Ariva 200 or will that cause a problem?

Regards,
JimRoyal

Moon54

applewoodgo wrote: »

Secondly, in my case anyway the box starts to record as soon as you put the USB Flash Drive in without any input from me.

That's an intended feature called Time Shift.
You can pause a live program and it'll continue recording in the background until you hit play again.
It's handy if you get called away from a live TV program for a short while.

applewoodgo

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

I saw a solution to the Favourite rename & save problem in an earlier post.

Are you sure the box is actually recording? ...... as in have you been able to play a file it recorded?

Reason for asking is it might just be checking/amending the format of the device to ensure its suitability ......

That was my solution in an earlier post. It didn' cure the the save function on the Ariva Editor. Instead, I used the box to make the changes.


As for the recording problem, yes it continues to record all the time. I have taken out the USB stick and put it in the PC and played back the recordings. I have actually reformatted the Flash drive in the PVR menu on the box and as soon as I exit it starts recording again. Just a note here on the recording quality. Image quality on fixed scenes were perfect but scene pans were blurry.

applewoodgo

bmaxi wrote: »

I'd no problem renaming and saving favourites just by following the instructions in the manual, I didn't realise it was a problem for some.

There is no problem renaming in the box. Thats where I renamed and saved the changes. Its the Ariva Editor that I was reffering to.

mossym

can anyone with the box confirm if you can have the sd channels output at native resolutions(or even better pass 576i out), or do you have to let the box scale everything if you want to get 1080i out for the HD channels??

zod

ok I posted on this thread and was referred to this thread.

I'm still unsure of how to separate the channel list from the firmware ?

I have a channel list in an old abs file.

I have upgraded to the latest new firmware .. now how to I get my old channel list into the new setup ?

thanks

Tony

Did you do a search on darth mauls posts ?

zod wrote: »

ok I posted on this thread and was referred to this thread.

I'm still unsure of how to separate the channel list from the firmware ?

I have a channel list in an old abs file.

I have upgraded to the latest new firmware .. now how to I get my old channel list into the new setup ?

thanks

darth_maul

zod wrote: »

ok I posted on this thread and was referred to this thread.

I'm still unsure of how to separate the channel list from the firmware ?

I have a channel list in an old abs file.

I have upgraded to the latest new firmware .. now how to I get my old channel list into the new setup ?

thanks

Open ariva editor and open you channels list.
go to file export and save it as a udf (user database)
close ariva editor and open again
open udf file
the goto file export and save it over the new firmware abs file (basically overwrite the new firmware file "A120Combo_20110620_V2.14B4.abs")
this now has new firmware and your channel list (still has same file name A120Combo_20110620_V2.14B4.abs)

put usb drive back in combo box
goto upgrade by usb
upgrade mode userdb (or Allcode+bootloader if you haven't yet upgraded the firmware)
select the new firmware file (A120Combo_20110620_V2.14B4.abs)
click start

willyb007

Anyone hardly have a FTA channel list for Hotbird 13E, Astra & Eurobird 28E handy? Tryin to compile one myself from a dump file i made after scanning the 3 satellites but there so many that im goin to lose patience with it!

bmaxi

applewoodgo wrote: »

There is no problem renaming in the box. Thats where I renamed and saved the changes. Its the Ariva Editor that I was reffering to.

Oh, right. I missed that.

channelsurfer2

ok so I installed the new software this morning without using the ariva editor. all issues now fixed. lip sync on tv3 is perfect via hdmi and itvhd london the same. one thing i will say is do use the ariva editor as I didnt and had to manually scan all the channels again and sort them all over again.
i tried out the live pause and rewind with the 2gb usb key i used to upload the new firmware and it all worked.. paused daybreak on itv1hd and resumed ok. fast fowarded etc.
overall impressions with the new software is excellent box and value for money but remeber that if you are buying it for someone that cant re-tune etc then like all other non freesat FTA boxes it may not be for them unless you are willing to teach them how to do it.

taung

taung wrote: »

I guess I'm missing something simple here, but could anyone point me on how to define multiple LNB settings for the Ariva 120 Combo In the default settings I can only see 'LNB1' defined and can't intuitively figure out how to define additional LNBs.

OK, I managed to get this sorted, so if any one else gets stuck the solution for multiple LNB configuration on the Ariva 120 Combo is as follows;


Make sure the Ariva 120 Combo is configured to control a fixed satellite.
- INSTALLATION --> Antenna Connection --> LNB1 --> Fixed Antenna

Mark the satellites you can receive in the 'Satellite List' as 'Favourites'.
- INSTALLATION --> SATELLITE LIST (Note and ignore that all satellites are tagged as 'LNB1' in this menu item).

Define your LNB Switch settings per satellite.
- INSTALLATION --> ANTENNA SETUP --> SATELLITE (Select your 'Favourite' Satellite, one at a time)
- INSTALLATION --> ANTENNA SETUP --> DiSEqC1.0 --> Port1 (for LNB1, Port2 for LNB2 etc.)

Make sure the LNB is powered from the Ariva 120 Combo.
- SYSTEM --> OTHER --> LNB POWER --> ON

John mac

willyb007 wrote: »

Anyone hardly have a FTA channel list for Hotbird 13E, Astra & Eurobird 28E handy? Tryin to compile one myself from a dump file i made after scanning the 3 satellites but there so many that im goin to lose patience with it!

http://en.kingofsat.net/freqs.php?&sat=70&standard=All&ordre=freq&filtre=Clear

has all of them.

bigtom71

I am gone square-eyed reading all these posts! :eek:

I got my hands on a new Ariva 120 Combo last week from a guy on Adverts.ie (I suspect he is getting them from satsklep, although I didn't know about the Polish website or even Tony's before I started reading here yesterday). I uploaded the new firmware with Willyb007's station line-up (thanks for that) and, while it's mostly fine, I have a few issues:
- the EPG isn't working for DTT
- DTT occasionally freezes if the box is left on for a few hours
- the remote has become patchy at best since the upload, i.e. overly sensitive or nothing at all, although the blue light on the remote is flashing.

I did a full reboot of the machine after I uploaded the new firmware. Can anyone offer any thoughts on this?

I should point out that I have only connected the DTT aerial to the box so far, so haven't tried satellite yet (I have to up into the attic and rewire some bits to get it working - and don't fancy doing this right now in the hot weather as it's like a furnace up there!).

Thanks.

applewoodgo

bigtom71 wrote: »

I am gone square-eyed reading all these posts! :eek:

I got my hands on a new Ariva 120 Combo last week from a guy on Adverts.ie (I suspect he is getting them from satsklep, although I didn't know about the Polish website or even Tony's before I started reading here yesterday). I uploaded the new firmware with Willyb007's station line-up (thanks for that) and, while it's mostly fine, I have a few issues:
- the EPG isn't working for DTT
- DTT occasionally freezes if the box is left on for a few hours
- the remote has become patchy at best since the upload, i.e. overly sensitive or nothing at all, although the blue light on the remote is flashing.

I did a full reboot of the machine after I uploaded the new firmware. Can anyone offer any thoughts on this?

I should point out that I have only connected the DTT aerial to the box so far, so haven't tried satellite yet (I have to up into the attic and rewire some bits to get it working - and don't fancy doing this right now in the hot weather as it's like a furnace up there!).

Thanks.

The following is a temporary solution to the EPG problem until a firmware update is released to fix this issue.

1. Press EPG
2. Select channel you want to watch.
3. Press OK
4. Press exit. Screen goes black with sound only.
5. Press the channel down button followed by channel up. Wait for 20 seconds and the picture will return on the selected channel.

Tony

Nice of that guy to steal the text directly from my site.

bigtom71 wrote: »

I got my hands on a new Ariva 120 Combo last week from a guy on Adverts.ie .

bigtom71

applewoodgo wrote: »

The following is a temporary solution to the EPG problem until a firmware update is released to fix this issue.

1. Press EPG
2. Select channel you want to watch.
3. Press OK
4. Press exit. Screen goes black with sound only.
5. Press the channel down button followed by channel up. Wait for 20 seconds and the picture will return on the selected channel.

Thanks Applewoodgo. Now if only the remote worked, I could try this.

bigtom71

Tony wrote: »

Nice of that guy to steal the text directly from my site.

He had to lift it from somewhere as he was Indian or Pakistani and had practically no English. I assumed at the time it was someone like yourself using Adverts as an extra opportunity to get to customers, and wouldn't have used it otherwise. The unit was fine though which is what matters most.

Tony

Thanks for the info. I'll take this up with adverts.ie , hes also linked to my site which I'm not happy about . Glad you like the box though, you will have many hours of enjoyment.

Sorry for the off topic posts guys.

bigtom71 wrote: »

He had to lift it from somewhere as he was Indian or Pakistani and had practically no English. I assumed at the time it was someone like yourself using Adverts as an extra opportunity to get to customers, and wouldn't have used it otherwise. The unit was fine though which is what matters most.

tjspock

hi,just to say there is a patch firmware for this box which makes it more amazing value for the price!!!google is your friend:D

trebor28

has anyone connected up an external harddrive to one?
how'd it go?

im thinking of buying a small portable hard drive but as the manual says the usb port doesnt supply power and alot of the small portable hard drives get the power through the usb port on pc's.

anyone shed any light?

sorry if this was asked already.

thanks.

bigtom71

tjspock wrote: »

hi,just to say there is a patch firmware for this box which makes it more amazing value for the price!!!google is your friend:D

Is that version 2.14B4, or a later version again?
Just home and EPG is perfect on DTT, no freezing today (I'm told) and the remote works as it should. I don't know how, but I'm happy.

Tony

I think he/she is referring to unofficial 3rd party firmware.

bigtom71 wrote: »

Is that version 2.14B4, or a later version again?

applewoodgo

bigtom71 wrote: »

Is that version 2.14B4, or a later version again?
Just home and EPG is perfect on DTT, no freezing today (I'm told) and the remote works as it should. I don't know how, but I'm happy.

Further to my earlier post, I was interested in your remark that EPG was OK on DTT channels. Curious to see if mine worked, I tuned to the Irish channels and sure enough, it worked perfectly except for RTE 2 HD and it hung there. Then I checked a number of sat channels and they also worked fine. I then reverted back to the DTT channels and they worked as before except for RTE 2 HD. It then occured to me that this might be a HD issue and I then checked all the HD channels which I have in one favoutites group and like RTE 2 HD, they also hung. I then reverted back to the SD sat channels just to confirm and they were all fine. So, my conclusion is, it's a HD issue. I wonder is this consistant on other members boxes???????

STB

bigtom71 wrote: »

Is that version 2.14B4, or a later version again?
Just home and EPG is perfect on DTT, no freezing today (I'm told) and the remote works as it should. I don't know how, but I'm happy.

Its that version with an emulator/ccam. I'm not linking to it, but you will find it easily enough... the filename is the same except it ends in PATC.

Kristopherus

applewoodgo wrote: »

Further to my earlier post, I was interested in your remark that EPG was OK on DTT channels. Curious to see if mine worked, I tuned to the Irish channels and sure enough, it worked perfectly except for RTE 2 HD and it hung there. Then I checked a number of sat channels and they also worked fine. I then reverted back to the DTT channels and they worked as before except for RTE 2 HD. It then occured to me that this might be a HD issue and I then checked all the HD channels which I have in one favoutites group and like RTE 2 HD, they also hung. I then reverted back to the SD sat channels just to confirm and they were all fine. So, my conclusion is, it's a HD issue. I wonder is this consistant on other members boxes???????

Are you getting a full epg on the Sat channels or just Now & Next? When I hit EPG while watching RTE2 HD, I get the full epg but when I hit Exit, I get a black screen with sound only:eek: Same with ITV 1 HD:eek: Actually, on checking, I have no epg on any sat channell. Nothing on pressing the Info button either:(

Kristopherus

trebor28 wrote: »

has anyone connected up an external harddrive to one?
how'd it go?

im thinking of buying a small portable hard drive but as the manual says the usb port doesnt supply power and alot of the small portable hard drives get the power through the usb port on pc's.

anyone shed any light?

sorry if this was asked already.

thanks.

I have a 500gb drive that I got in Aldi for 35 yoyos and it works perfect.Its powered by the box. Note the warning on the Ferguson website about not exceeding 750gb.

shazer0

Tony, if I buy this box from your site now, will I get it with all these problems fixed or will I have to go through everything myself?
Cheers

Tony wrote: »

Nice of that guy to steal the text directly from my site.

Tony

What problems are you referring to ?

shazer0 wrote: »

Tony, if I buy this box from your site now, will I get it with all these problems fixed or will I have to go through everything myself?
Cheers

trebor28

Kristopherus wrote: »

I have a 500gb drive that I got in Aldi for 35 yoyos and it works perfect.Its powered by the box. Note the warning on the Ferguson website about not exceeding 750gb.

thanking you. thats all i wanted to hear. ill go ahead and order one so.

shazer0

Well looking through this thread everyone seems to have had to do firmware updates, channel list downloads, etc. If I buy the box from you now, will this have all been done already? lip sync problems, and all sorted out?
Thanks

Tony wrote: »

What problems are you referring to ?

applewoodgo

Kristopherus wrote: »

Are you getting a full epg on the Sat channels or just Now & Next? When I hit EPG while watching RTE2 HD, I get the full epg but when I hit Exit, I get a black screen with sound only:eek: Same with ITV 1 HD:eek: Actually, on checking, I have no epg on any sat channell. Nothing on pressing the Info button either:(

Now and next only on sat channels which is typical of all FTA boxes. Full epg on DTT channels. Hangs on all HD channels. See my earlier post for exiting out of EPG on HD channels.

taung

Is anyone able get the Ariva 120 to to tune into the following FTA channels for the following Hotbird (13E) transponder;

11432 V, 27500

Canale 5
Italia 1
Rete 4
etc.

a25c

my box is dead after I upgraded to latest firmware,switched off,on....no standby light,blank screen powered off and on at the back plugged in and plugged out....nothing...it's dead.....rip..:mad:

Tony

It comes (at least from me can't speak for other suppliers) with the latest firmware which has the lip sync issue fixed as well as a satellite channel list built into the firmware . All you need do is scan in the terrestrial channels , reason for this is the frequencies are different around the country. You can then edit the channels if you wish into whetever order you wish using either the remote or the ariva editor.

shazer0 wrote: »

Well looking through this thread everyone seems to have had to do firmware updates, channel list downloads, etc. If I buy the box from you now, will this have all been done already? lip sync problems, and all sorted out?
Thanks

taung

taung wrote: »

Is anyone able get the Ariva 120 to to tune into the following FTA channels for the following Hotbird (13E) transponder;

11432 V, 27500

Canale 5
Italia 1
Rete 4
etc.

Seems as if the Ariva 120 has a fault; it's not able to decompress DVB-S2 signals that are compressed with MPEG2. Can anyone confirm this?

Tony

taung wrote: »

Seems as if the Ariva 120 has a fault;

Thats doubtful since they sell into the Italian market.

taung

Tony wrote: »

Thats doubtful since they sell into the Italian market.

Hmmmm, same problem on the 11334 H, 27500 transponder on Hotbird.....(another DVB-S2, MPEG2 broadcast)

Tony

taung wrote: »

Hmmmm, same problem on the 11334 H, 27500 transponder on Hotbird.....(another DVB-S2, MPEG2 broadcast)

Don't have a dish on hotbird to check i'm afraid.

a25c

a25c wrote: »

my box is dead after I upgraded to latest firmware,switched off,on....no standby light,blank screen powered off and on at the back plugged in and plugged out....nothing...it's dead.....rip..:mad:

Is there anyway to recover the box?

yop

Is this any good for the DTT?

http://www.ibood.com/ie/en/product_specs/5941/Philips_HD_Digital_Terrestrial_Recorder_Twin_Tuner_with_500GB_and_Dolby_Digital_51_out__A-grade_refu/

STB

taung wrote: »

Is anyone able get the Ariva 120 to to tune into the following FTA channels for the following Hotbird (13E) transponder;

11432 V, 27500

Canale 5
Italia 1
Rete 4
etc.

Best of luck with trying to tune in an unstable 16APSK modulated transponder. Same story with the other one...

STB

a25c wrote: »

Is there anyway to recover the box?

What firmware did you use ?
And where did you get the firmware ?
Where did you buy the box ?
Did you unplug the box OR the USB whilst it was flashing.

Answer these questions honestly.

STB

yop wrote: »

Is this any good for the DTT?

http://www.ibood.com/ie/en/product_specs/5941/Philips_HD_Digital_Terrestrial_Recorder_Twin_Tuner_with_500GB_and_Dolby_Digital_51_out__A-grade_refu/

Yes, double terrestrial tuner too. And Freeview HD+ (if in a border area). It would seem to be a very good deal. BUT!

EDIT: Niggle at back of mind..... Be Warned there are serious problems and mass returns with this unit (made by Pace - rebranded as Philips).

willyb007

taung wrote: »

Is anyone able get the Ariva 120 to to tune into the following FTA channels for the following Hotbird (13E) transponder;

11432 V, 27500

Canale 5
Italia 1
Rete 4
etc.

taung wrote: »

Hmmmm, same problem on the 11334 H, 27500 transponder on Hotbird.....(another DVB-S2, MPEG2 broadcast)

Yes i have tried scan these from hotbird, No signal on them, However im almost sure I have Canale 5 and Italia 1 on my channel list somewhere. Might have Rete 4 also but not sure, When you are doing a scan on Hotbird, Select a "Blind Scan" instead of the other options, maybe you could pick it up this way as thats the way I did it.