Goldenmedia HyperCube Triple Tuner - any good?

chabsey

I'm investigating various options of triple tuners and have narrowed it down to the Sab Linux box or the Amiko Alien 2. I was edging towards the SAB box but then heard about the Goldenmedia HyperCube which appears to be a triple tuner as well as having Android built in. Having Android is not important to me but the price of the box is less than half the others so I'm considering it.

From what I've read though, despite all boxes running Enigma2 this doesn't mean they are all regularly updated. The AA2 seems to be very popular and I can't find that much info about the SAB or GM boxes but maybe I'm just not looking in the right places?

Does anyone have an opinion of the GM hypercube box? Is it end of life / not considered as good as the AA2 / SAB?

For context, this will be my first venture into Enimga2 so I've no experience with any boxes.

Thanks

Former Former

I guess you saw it on satworld.ie? I got one last week, also my first Linux box and I figured that for sixty quid, it was worth a punt. It was delivered the next day, so fair play to them on that. Now, on to the box.

The Android system is RUBBISH. It's running a version that is so old that I'd be surprised if any decent apps function on it. Disregard the Android functionality as a selling point, unless there's a way to upgrade to something newer (and I don't think there is).

Now - the Enigma2 setup. The box comes loaded with a version of Enigma that is absolutely chronic. No functionality, no EPG, no online updates, no decent plugins, and finding a compatible replacement image was not easy. I was on the verge of chalking it down to experience and adding it to the pile of electronic stuff in the attic.

However (here comes the good news); I downloaded a new image (Hyperion v 5.6) and it is brilliant. You can get it here: http://e2.pkteam.pl/index.php?dir=IMAGE%20HYPERCUBE/

It looks great, setting up the combined 7-day Saorview and Satellite EPG was a doddle, fast channel changes and it has plenty of other internet-enabled features too. I'm not getting sound on the radio stations for some reason but I'll figure that out soon.

Would recommend purchasing and installing the above update pretty much as soon as you get it, and take it from there.

PM me if you want.

chabsey

This is why Boards is so great. Yes you're right, I actually thought it was a misprice on SatWorld and then figured if not they must be clearing stock on crappy boxes. By the sounds of it you've done the leg work for me on this one so thank you.

Now, questions - Is that image (Hyperion) a regularly updated one? In terms of functionality presumably I can record two channels at once or record one and watch another?

Also, I've read that sometimes pausing channels can be delayed for a second or two on some boxes, any sign of that here?

Thanks for your reply, certainly sounds like this box could be a decent option.

Johnboy1951

Former Former wrote:

It looks great, setting up the combined 7-day Saorview and Satellite EPG was a doddle, fast channel changes and it has plenty of other internet-enabled features too. I'm not getting sound on the radio stations for some reason but I'll figure that out soon.

First off that radio sound issue was known about in 2013, as I came across this

Existing Bugs in this SW Version:

1:In Radio Mode no sound.
2:HD recording - in playback have some freezers.
3:Scrmabled recording no working at moment.
4:If STB get "Greenscreen" sometimes loose the Tuner please make Newstart in Menu.

Reply #2 here
https://www.forokeys.com/foro/otros-receptores-linux/golden-media-hypercube-linux-android-(-files-)/
I have no idea other than I saw that post

Are the tuners good on that device?
Reasonably sensitive?

Does it provide output on the ethernet socket? DLNA?

Thanks.

Former Former

chabsey wrote: »

This is why Boards is so great. Yes you're right, I actually thought it was a misprice on SatWorld and then figured if not they must be clearing stock on crappy boxes. By the sounds of it you've done the leg work for me on this one so thank you.

Now, questions - Is that image (Hyperion) a regularly updated one? In terms of functionality presumably I can record two channels at once or record one and watch another?

Also, I've read that sometimes pausing channels can be delayed for a second or two on some boxes, any sign of that here?

Thanks for your reply, certainly sounds like this box could be a decent option.

V 5.6 was published in May 2017, so it's pretty current, but I don't know how often it gets updated I'm afraid.

Recording one while watching another seems to be OK and haven't noticed any issue with live pause, but I'm still in early days myself so wouldn't swear to any of it.

Former Former

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Are the tuners good on that device?
Reasonably sensitive?

Does it provide output on the ethernet socket? DLNA?

Thanks.

Tuners seem to be fine, all channels present and accounted for.

Haven't delved deep enough to answer about ethernet or DLNA yet I'm afraid.

chabsey

Former Former wrote: »

Tuners seem to be fine, all channels present and accounted for.

Haven't delved deep enough to answer about ethernet or DLNA yet I'm afraid.

Bought the box and am messing around with the settings. However, I've no idea how/ where to start the Hyperion install. Is it done from within the existing version of enigma or do I need to download and install it from a usb stick?

All help appreciated.

Former Former

chabsey wrote: »

Bought the box and am messing around with the settings. However, I've no idea how/ where to start the Hyperion install. Is it done from within the existing version of enigma or do I need to download and install it from a usb stick?

All help appreciated.

Got a couple more PMs on this so...

Download the Hyperion folder from the link in the above post and save to your hard-drive. Then extract the files from the zip folder.

Next, get an empty USB stick and add the files so that what you see in the root folder of the USB is as per the screengrab below.


Now. Turn off the box using the power switch at the back. Put the USB stick into the port on the back.

Then, hold down the 'power' and 'Ch+' buttons on the front, and keep them held while you switch the power back on at the back of the unit. Keep them held until the display says "Super Up", let go of the buttons and installation should only take a few mins.

com1

hi, thanks for the info.

is any particular usb port better than the others for this? i have tried all three but am getting a skip message for e2 on each.

maybe its my usb key. i'll see if i have any other brands

chabsey

Have got to say this box (and presumably Enigma2 / linux boxes) are an exercise in EXTREME frustration. I'm just trying to set up recording / pausing to a usb stick and it simply won't let me. I can't initialise the USB drive as it tells me it's 'mounted'. It isn't. I've formatted it many many times now and have gone to the menu and selected unmount all, it tells me there's nothing mounted. But if I try to record anything I can't because there's a write error, disk full? The USB stick is 32GB and entirely empty, so presumably the system isn't seeing the disk.

Have to say I'm somewhat surprised by how arcane a lot of this is, I've worked with computers over many years (granted mainly Windows, but since the DOS days so the command prompt etc are familiar to me) and I've never found anything as painful as this to work with.

I understand that they allow me a wealth of options and functionality should I wish to explore it, but at the moment I'm simply putting in a newly formatted USB 32GB stick in and it thinks it's already mounted. Very annoying, am open to any and all help.

Johnboy1951

I'm simply putting in a newly formatted USB 32GB stick in and it thinks it's already mounted.

With what is it being formatted?
Is it somehow locked?

Have you tried a different format type? NTFS, ext etc.

If the flash drive is not formatted will the box format it itself?

STB.

chabsey wrote: »

Have got to say this box (and presumably Enigma2 / linux boxes) are an exercise in EXTREME frustration. I'm just trying to set up recording / pausing to a usb stick and it simply won't let me. I can't initialise the USB drive as it tells me it's 'mounted'. It isn't. I've formatted it many many times now and have gone to the menu and selected unmount all, it tells me there's nothing mounted. But if I try to record anything I can't because there's a write error, disk full? The USB stick is 32GB and entirely empty, so presumably the system isn't seeing the disk.

Have to say I'm somewhat surprised by how arcane a lot of this is, I've worked with computers over many years (granted mainly Windows, but since the DOS days so the command prompt etc are familiar to me) and I've never found anything as painful as this to work with.

I understand that they allow me a wealth of options and functionality should I wish to explore it, but at the moment I'm simply putting in a newly formatted USB 32GB stick in and it thinks it's already mounted. Very annoying, am open to any and all help.

Nope. Its not an android box and its not a e2 box.

Its a 5 year old box with a non mips chipset with a hacked version of enigma2 with low memory and processor. I dont mean to rain on your parade but its not typical of a linux box, but for 50 lids its worth perservering with.

Go into HDD settings and set a record location for the USB stick. There also a setting to point to the area for recordings and video files. It doesnt need to be in ext3/4 for recordings, thats mainly for flash expansion or swap.

You will fill up a 32gig stick in no time with recordings.

Dont load a lot of plugins, the flash memory is small on those.

chabsey

Thanks guys, just venting really as I was / am going around in circles. To answer some of the questions: I've formatted it on my PC in all the various formats available, and have done both quick and long formats.

I'll try the suggested HDD settings, hopefully it works. I've got echannelizer working, now that's a nice piece of software.

STB.

You will sometimes have to restart enigma2 for settings to take hold.

chabsey

Urgh...I'm giving up for now as it's ruining my Christmas

There's no place to set the recording location for the USB stick, or if there is it's called something else. I tried a number of different settings, then when I went back to the TV and tried recording it gave me a black screen error and rebooted. Then went into a reboot loop. So, I'm guessing I must have set it to record to the main internal memory, can't think of any other reason it went so crazy.

Anyway, coming from an Amiko mini combo box this really is a mountain to climb in terms of getting it up and running to a basic level.

Not sure if I can return the box though as I've flashed Hyperion on it. We shall see once we've had some time apart, I said some things I regret and so did the box, maybe we can save this relationship, only time will tell...

chabsey

Just so perhaps someone can help when I get back to this (maybe later today, family permitting).

When I go to the menu there's something called PKT Blue Panel which has a HDD manager. In there I choose disk and tried mounting and unmounting as this appears to be the only option for this area. There's HDD and MEDIA available for mounting, when I tried mounting either sda/dev or USBB (the name of my USB stick) it didn't work, eventually it went into a huff and a reboot loop.

Perhaps I should ignore the blue panel entirely as there is another way of getting at HDD options which seem more recognisable (initialise hdd etc) but they all error out telling me that the USB stick is mounted.

Anyway, I'm crying again thinking about it so I'll leave this here.

chabsey

So.. Turns out my usb stick is acting up. I it's weird cause the box sees it but can't write to it. It was working fine in my Amiko box but I then used it in the cube box for flashing the OS and that worked. It's fine in Windows and I can write to it... But in either of the sat boxes it is detected but nothing beyond that.

Annoying.

Former Former

Chabsey, I'm having the same issues with mounting the HDD. I eventually got mine up and running but once I switched off and on again, was back to square one.

I think it's just a pig of a box. I'm going to stick it in the playroom for the kids to watch but it won't cut the mustard as a main unit.

STB.

Formuler F1 £89 from WOS, Former Former.

2 dvb-s2 1 dvb-t 1.3ghz processor. OpenVix, Openatv etc.

chabsey

STB. wrote: »

Formuler F1 £89 from WOS, Former Former.

2 dvb-s2 1 dvb-t 1.3ghz processor. OpenVix, Openatv etc.

Was just looking at the F1. It's 160 in satworld though. Anyone know what the hypercube comes flashed with OOB? want to return it as it's totally unreliable.

belkotie

i got that box and installed PKT Hyperion 5.6...the trick is to use USB stick which will work with the box. Looks like it is picky about USB drives. Ive tried 8, 16 and 32GBs...no joy (all formatted as FAT32). Eventually i got hold of very old 2GB stick and it worked. havent tested the box yet as im waiting for aerial and dish install.
PKT images are really good (ive used on different boxes in the past). The problem with Hypercube is that PKT guys dont support it anymore and wont releases any updates

Gerry Wicklow

belkotie wrote: »

i got that box and installed PKT Hyperion 5.6...the trick is to use USB stick which will work with the box. Looks like it is picky about USB drives. Ive tried 8, 16 and 32GBs...no joy (all formatted as FAT32). Eventually i got hold of very old 2GB stick and it worked. havent tested the box yet as im waiting for aerial and dish install.
PKT images are really good (ive used on different boxes in the past). The problem with Hypercube is that PKT guys dont support it anymore and wont releases any updates

A HD recording can be up to 4GB per hour. A long movie could go over 10GB

ITV2

sorry for digging up an old tread, I bought this box as a spare installed PKT Hyperion 5.6 on it, now it just keeps getting errors on it and no sound?, anyone help on how to restore it back to factory settings.

chabsey

ITV2 wrote: »

sorry for digging up an old tread, I bought this box as a spare installed PKT Hyperion 5.6 on it, now it just keeps getting errors on it and no sound?, anyone help on how to restore it back to factory settings.

Can't answer that question but since posting my original question this box has not been used, waste of 60 euro TBH.