Amiko Alien2 / SAB / GM / ST7162 ** SPARK** Discussion Thread

Nowso

the thing with enigma2 is I end up in the menus and messing around, more than watching tv aswell

and now rte players not working .i wont be using enigma2 as much as i had

conor-mr2

I wanted to say thanks to Nowso for the information on the Spark set up.

I find myself booting to this rather than the Enigma.

One thing I do find is that when I put the box in standby, by clicking the button on the remote, when I turn it on again, it takes some time to load. As if it needs to boot up again (not quite as long as that of course)

Nowso

conor-mr2 wrote: »

I wanted to say thanks to Nowso for the information on the Spark set up.

I find myself booting to this rather than the Enigma.

One thing I do find is that when I put the box in standby, by clicking the button on the remote, when I turn it on again, it takes some time to load. As if it needs to boot up again (not quite as long as that of course)

if you turn off power saving mode it will not go into sleep from the power button on the remote

go to menu . system , basic . miscellaneous settings and turn power off

the thing with spark is if you mess the cams up or something its the same system just load the recovery image and load it up again or do a back up earlier and reload it

conor-mr2

Worked a treat. I had been in snooping around but hadn't found it.

Nowso

sometime if you loose power or box might crash , you will need to reboot and boot from the power button aswell but very rarely

jleavy046

Hi Folks,
I wouldn't be 100% sure of what I'm doing here so you can assume it's going to be something simple enough...

1. Amiko Alien 2 Triple Tuner (7162)
2. OpenATV 5.3 - Fresh installation
3. Fresh installation (more or less)

I've installed the OnDemand player from the list of plugins; however it doesn't seem to be working.

The box is on the internet (weather is updating etc) and I've FileZilla and SSH access if needed.

Any suggestions on troubleshooting?

Thanks,
Joe

Nowso

jleavy046 wrote: »

Hi Folks,
I wouldn't be 100% sure of what I'm doing here so you can assume it's going to be something simple enough...

1. Amiko Alien 2 Triple Tuner (7162)
2. OpenATV 5.3 - Fresh installation
3. Fresh installation (more or less)

I've installed the OnDemand player from the list of plugins; however it doesn't seem to be working.

The box is on the internet (weather is updating etc) and I've FileZilla and SSH access if needed.

Any suggestions on troubleshooting?



Thanks,
Joe

this topic is for spark and thats enigma 2

the problem is a fault in the rte player setup

if you go on the enigma 2 topic there is a working version of the rte player Plugin

you can ftp the details onto your box and reboot and it works , there are no thumbnails on the rte plugin but it works

jleavy046

Nowso wrote: »

this topic is for spark and thats enigma 2

the problem is a fault in the rte player setup

if you go on the enigma 2 topic there is a working version of the rte player Plugin

you can ftp the details onto your box and reboot and it works , there are no thumbnails on the rte plugin but it works

Ooppppssss!!!! Sorry

cyndale

jleavy046 wrote: »

Ooppppssss!!!! Sorry

Here you go...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=102228117#post102228117

Nowso

New Updated Channel lists for Spark 28.2 amiko alien 2 -

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/vdcgbqqnhywxao8/AAAUP3hhyz1smLPNuSr_an2Ma?dl=0

jspuds

Getting an error of incompatible version of app or DB will retry download again

edit: Rebooted first and it worked

Nowso

yeah reboot seems to help

there are transponders for other Sats added if u ever need them

and i expanded the the 28.2 list a bit

Barnaboy

Apologies in advance for the questions that are probably answered on this thread already!

I bought an AA2 about a year ago and I have always been using Enigma 2. I have tried several images and find I am constantly messing with the box. Just seems to be problem after problem. Getting fed up now and thinking of changing to spark.

I want to be able to just watch TV like I used to with Sky!

Can Spark record/pause/rewind/ff etc?
Does it have 7 day epg?
Can I order channels with satellite and Saorview?
I have Dreambox edit - does it work for Spark?

If I bring in these features will it affect stability?

Nowso

Barnaboy wrote: »

Apologies in advance for the questions that are probably answered on this thread already!

I bought an AA2 about a year ago and I have always been using Enigma 2. I have tried several images and find I am constantly messing with the box. Just seems to be problem after problem. Getting fed up now and thinking of changing to spark.

I want to be able to just watch TV like I used to with Sky!

Can Spark record/pause/rewind/ff etc?
Does it have 7 day epg?
Can I order channels with satellite and Saorview?
I have Dreambox edit - does it work for Spark?

If I bring in these features will it affect stability?

timeshift function is there . i don use it but it is

full 7 days its a slightly older less user friendly version of crossepg
hit the epg button and then f1 and set it up how you want

the Channel list i upload has an upto date sat listings (not the same sky epg numbers) maybe more user friendly with the +1 channels beside the original channel

there is a spark channel editor in my dropbox list if you want to alter/add to the channel list

you may get small issues and normally a reboot fixes ,

in general it is a lot more stable for watching and recording tv

the web tv player is good for iptv /webtv

youtube app works good

Barnaboy

Nowso wrote: »

timeshift function is there . i don use it but it is

full 7 days its a slightly older less user friendly version of crossepg
hit the epg button and then f1 and set it up how you want

the Channel list i upload has an upto date sat listings (not the same sky epg numbers) maybe more user friendly with the +1 channels beside the original channel

there is a spark channel editor in my dropbox list if you want to alter/add to the channel list

you may get small issues and normally a reboot fixes ,

in general it is a lot more stable for watching and recording tv

the web tv player is good for iptv /webtv

youtube app works good

Thanks Nowso, really useful reply. Only thing to clarify if Saorview channels work OK? How do you tune them in?

Edit- also are there any decent channels available through IPTV? Any time I ever looked at it, it was nothing but rubbish! My wife speaks Spanish and Italian and itwwould be great to get the likes of TVE and RAI channels.

Nowso

i dont add Soarview to the List due to the different areas

you can load them easily and it works . the only issue is with rte+1, rte Junior when you try tuning them in when they are not broadcasting it brings up an error , which needs rebooting to fix. i dont tune them in on soarview tuner , i use rte1+1 on sat tuner

the webtv is only a player, i load am m3u playlist of channels . from various Places . it works quite well

the Picture is better than enigma 2 aswell

NickNickleby

Greetings!

I'm not looking for handholding here, just some pointers,thanks.

I have grouped my channels using the RC. Its great and I can view the EPG from a FAV context. However, the groups are named FAV1, FAV2, FAV3 ...etc etc. Now this is fine for me, I don't mind pressing buttons, but certain other users of the TV are not quite as adaptable, and because she is in charge, I'm now charged with making it more user friendly. So, is it possible to rename these FAVs ? I've afeeling that if its possible, then some sort of editing is required on a PC (dreambox something or other) and then drop this onto the box?

Am I right?

I was using Enigma, but got cheesed off with the regular lockups, so despite its useability, its gone!
Cheers
Nick

flashinthepan

There is a pc editor for spark
Its called spark editor

I do not know though if you can change the fav group names you would have to download it and see

flashinthepan

I need to make another post before I can place a link :-)

flashinthepan

Sparkeditor https://www.dropbox.com/s/kzm5lzo0ru7gyni/SparkEditor1.7.rar?dl=0

NickNickleby

thanks Flash!

OK, so I opened the editor, and it looks like it is designed to edit .xml files - which I presume is the type of file that contains all this stuff on the box. Presumably I need to get the file off the box, edit and save it and then put it back, so I'm presuming I use FTP (I've seen this mentioned elsewhere).

I'll create a folder on my pc and download whatever XML files I can find on the box. I should be able to scan through them with notepad to try to figure out what's what.

I'll report back soon. And I really appreciate your help, including the post.

Cheers
Nick

flashinthepan

NickNickleby wrote: »

thanks Flash!

OK, so I opened the editor, and it looks like it is designed to edit .xml files - which I presume is the type of file that contains all this stuff on the box. Presumably I need to get the file off the box, edit and save it and then put it back, so I'm presuming I use FTP (I've seen this mentioned elsewhere).

I'll create a folder on my pc and download whatever XML files I can find on the box. I should be able to scan through them with notepad to try to figure out what's what.

I'll report back soon. And I really appreciate your help, including the post.

Cheers
Nick

I think i recall being able to export the channel list from within the spark menu onto a usb plugged into the receiver

Edit
Backup channel list

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKztKbm5bxg

Nowso

i didnt bother using favourites on my Channel List as all the same channels are together , ie movies . sport,  irish  music , kids etc

Nowso

if you hit the middle ok button and then use programme up and down to go through 10 channels at a time

in menu. system, basic , go to misc , and make sure loop through is on

Dave..M

NickNickleby wrote: »

Greetings!

I'm not looking for handholding here, just some pointers,thanks.

I have grouped my channels using the RC. Its great and I can view the EPG from a FAV context. However, the groups are named FAV1, FAV2, FAV3 ...etc etc. Now this is fine for me, I don't mind pressing buttons, but certain other users of the TV are not quite as adaptable, and because she is in charge, I'm now charged with making it more user friendly. So, is it possible to rename these FAVs ? I've afeeling that if its possible, then some sort of editing is required on a PC (dreambox something or other) and then drop this onto the box?

Am I right?

I was using Enigma, but got cheesed off with the regular lockups, so despite its useability, its gone!
Cheers
Nick

I'm pretty sure you can edit the favourite names within the AA2 as mine are labeled and I never used the editor , I set the names a few years back now though so the how eludes me. Im not in front of it now but when in the main favourites editor is there an edit or rename option via one of the coloured buttons or in a menu ? If memory serves it wasn't very intuitive, I will try and look later and see if my memory jogs

NickNickleby

Thanks Flashinthepan, Nowso and Dave for all your suggestions.

I discovered how to do it via the RC.

1. Press 'Menu'
2. Highlight 'Channel' and press OK
3. Highlight 'Organising Favourites' and press OK
4. Press 'FAV' on your RC and a list of Favourite groups appear
5. Highlight the one you want to rename and press OK
6. Use the right arrow key beside the OK button to move cursor to the middle pane
7. Use the down arrow to highlight 'Rename' and pressk OK.
8. Use the editing facility to rename this group. Press the RED button to confirm the name change.
9. I think that when your finished editing, as you navigate your way out using the EXIT button, you will be prompted to save or discard your chnages.

I know you guys know all this stuff, but I've typed this step-by-step to help anyone who comes looking.

I'm loving this Spark system I can tell you. Very well behaved.

Cheers and thanks again
Nick

Dave..M

NickNickleby wrote: »

Thanks Flashinthepan, Nowso and Dave for all your suggestions.

I discovered how to do it via the RC.

1. Press 'Menu'
2. Highlight 'Channel' and press OK
3. Highlight 'Organising Favourites' and press OK
4. Press 'FAV' on your RC and a list of Favourite groups appear
5. Highlight the one you want to rename and press OK
6. Use the right arrow key beside the OK button to move cursor to the middle pane
7. Use the down arrow to highlight 'Rename' and pressk OK.
8. Use the editing facility to rename this group. Press the RED button to confirm the name change.
9. I think that when your finished editing, as you navigate your way out using the EXIT button, you will be prompted to save or discard your chnages.

I know you guys know all this stuff, but I've typed this step-by-step to help anyone who comes looking.

I'm loving this Spark system I can tell you. Very well behaved.

Cheers and thanks again
Nick

Completely intuitive

NickNickleby

Dave..M wrote: »

Completely intuitive

Haha, isn't it, just!

However, its a price I'm prepared to pay for stability. THe thing I like most is that Timeshift works as I;d expect it to, ie the watched program continues to play, but one can rewind back as far as when Timeshift was pressed, using the arrow buttons, and it doesn't go haywire the way it did in Enigma.

The EPG is a little cumbersome, but hopefully SWMBO will be happier with it nw that the groups are more easily navigated by name. Perhaps I'll see if I can manipulate the 'TV Wall' to make it prettier, then its an alternative way of viewing now/next that might be appealing.

But first, perhaps we'll just watch some telly!!!

Thanks again
Nick.

Nowso

NickNickleby wrote: »

Haha, isn't it, just!

However, its a price I'm prepared to pay for stability. THe thing I like most is that Timeshift works as I;d expect it to, ie the watched program continues to play, but one can rewind back as far as when Timeshift was pressed, using the arrow buttons, and it doesn't go haywire the way it did in Enigma.

The EPG is a little cumbersome, but hopefully SWMBO will be happier with it nw that the groups are more easily navigated by name. Perhaps I'll see if I can manipulate the 'TV Wall' to make it prettier, then its an alternative way of viewing now/next that might be appealing.

But first, perhaps we'll just watch some telly!!!

Thanks again
Nick.

the option in epg of epg schedule is a more user friendly and 7 days for that channel is easily available

it should work well if you installed the other items in the dropbox as the original plugin options are older and slower

NickNickleby

Nowso wrote: »

the option in epg of epg schedule is a more user friendly and 7 days for that channel is easily available

it should work well if you installed the other items in the dropbox as the original plugin options are older and slower

Actually, I haven't installed anything at all. I only got it the week before Christmas, and until last week was playing with Enigma. So now I'm going to let it run for a while, familiarise myself with how it works in Spark, then I'll look at the alternatives available from the dropbox - and fair play to you on that.

I have tried to use a couple of utilities but they stumped me, and I was under pressure to just get it working;) . Now there's some breathing space, so I'll give it a couple of weeks before offering a new view. Ah, variety is the spice of life. hehehe.

I'll post back here, about my further adventures in Sparkland.

Thanks for your advice, and also for all the stuff I've read on here that you do for the benefit of the rest of us. Hugely impressive.

Nick