Tiviar Alpha Plus Combo STB

hs5424

Honda 50. Those bikes would run without any plugs, points or even petrol.

Weepsie

Thinking of getting one of these to replace virgin tv. They're a few years old I gather, but just need something that works out of the box.

How straightforward is it if I buy from in of the Irish sites? Just plug in scan and go?

I'll possibly have eirTV too and an apple box , but a combo freesat/saorview box interests me. Im going to look into some iptv options too, but can't record bbc with them I think(have a sky dish and an aerial somewhere) before I just lump onto sky or something again

DopeTech

Weepsie wrote: »

Thinking of getting one of these to replace virgin tv. They're a few years old I gather, but just need something that works out of the box.

How straightforward is it if I buy from in of the Irish sites? Just plug in scan and go?

I'll possibly have eirTV too and an apple box , but a combo freesat/saorview box interests me. Im going to look into some iptv options too, but can't record bbc with them I think(have a sky dish and an aerial somewhere) before I just lump onto sky or something again

None of these linux based boxes are what you would call plug and play. They all require a bit of a learning curve but once you get used to the basics and don't mess with it too much you shouldn't have any problems. Well worth the money. If you don't need the pay channels from sky then these are a no brainier.

greasepalm

Or even a Zgemma h7s twin sat and saorview,if the tv also has saorview you can have box recording saorview and looking at another saorview channel on tv.

Ph3arTh35k1llz

greasepalm wrote: »

Or even a Zgemma h7s twin sat and saorview,if the tv also has saorview you can have box recording saorview and looking at another saorview channel on tv.

Are those Zgemma h7s any good? my Tiviar just bit the dust it wont power on. opened it up looks like a lot of leaking caps on the power supply. Am looking for something equal or better than the tiviar alpha...

greasepalm

Yes as i am using one here and can have 4 k channels on 4 k tv,Been a few posting about psu issues on those tiviar.Post up a photo of inside of box as might not be leaking caps as we think.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2058104682

Ph3arTh35k1llz

greasepalm wrote: »

Yes as i am using one here and can have 4 k channels on 4 k tv,Been a few posting about psu issues on those tiviar.Post up a photo of inside of box as might not be leaking caps as we think.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2058104682

Thanks, was reading about replacing the psu with a 12v laptop charger also but might just be easier to get a new box...

greasepalm

Could put it up for sale with faulty psu and let others fix it and get a new box?

hs5424

Ph3arTh35k1llz wrote: »

Are those Zgemma h7s any good? my Tiviar just bit the dust it wont power on. opened it up looks like a lot of leaking caps on the power supply. Am looking for something equal or better than the tiviar alpha...

Stick a 12v psu 5A into it and away you go.

a clanger

hs5424 wrote: »

Stick a 12v psu 5A into it and away you go.

Thats what I did and the parts required are posted HERE

darced

What number of connections do I need for this box to get the most out of recordings, I'm talking actual connections from the sky dish and attic aerial. Bought one of these today, have a weeks holidays to try and get it working so will need plenty of advice. I used to be able to operate the old enigma dream box, will that give me a head start?

sligojoek

darced wrote: »

What number of connections do I need for this box to get the most out of recordings, I'm talking actual connections from the sky dish and attic aerial. Bought one of these today, have a weeks holidays to try and get it working so will need plenty of advice. I used to be able to operate the old enigma dream box, will that give me a head start?

You'll need 2 satellite feeds and the terrestrial one. A LAN cable is better than wireless. I also brought a coax out of the box to the tv because there's just a single terrestrial tuner. If you're recording saorview, you'll have the option of watching something else using the tv tuner.

a clanger

If you fancy an out of box solution maybe try this IMAGE from NCM first. I flashed this and all the channels were tuned etc. (presume I live in same saorview area).It might be a good reference / starting point before you go tinkering

darced

sligojoek wrote: »

You'll need 2 satellite feeds and the terrestrial one. A LAN cable is better than wireless. I also brought a coax out of the box to the tv because there's just a single terrestrial tuner. If you're recording saorview, you'll have the option of watching something else using the tv tuner.

Cheers, do I need the two satellite feeds to record one watch another?

sligojoek

darced wrote: »

Cheers, do I need the two satellite feeds to record one watch another?

Definitely. If you haven't got that already you'd need to get at least a twin LNB for your dish or better still a Quad which gives you the option to add boxes in other rooms in the future.

there are other uni-cable options but I've never used them so maybe some of the other lads could explain.

If it's your own house and the dish is accessible it's not too expensive to change the LNB and run new cable to the box.

NewClareman

a clanger wrote: »

If you fancy an out of box solution maybe try this IMAGE from NCM first. I flashed this and all the channels were tuned etc. (presume I live in same saorview area).It might be a good reference / starting point before you go tinkering

The build works in all Saorview regions. All you have to do is set the correct Saorview region under Providers in ABM. Easy, peasy

cork_south

People mentioned hooking a battery up to see if it's the PSU at fault.

I brought mine to a repair centre and they couldn't fix it.

I've sort of removed the PSU as below, how can I book up a battery to test?

https://ibb.co/RP93C3Y

hs5424

The wires from the psu to the main board supply 12v. If you check with your meter you will find that one group of them are all connected together , ie one bunch os (-) and grounded and the other bunch are all +12v, so in fract there are only two wires. Plus and minus 12V DC. Simple basic stuff.

cork_south

hs5424 wrote: »

The wires from the psu to the main board supply 12v. If you check with your meter you will find that one group of them are all connected together , ie one bunch os (-) and grounded and the other bunch are all +12v, so in fract there are only two wires. Plus and minus 12V DC. Simple basic stuff.

Ah ok, don't have a meter unfortunately

hs5424

From memory I think that there is a bunch of black wires and another white wires. The black were ground. The white were +12. If you don't have a basic tool like a meter then you cannot confirm anything.
Don't feel to bad about not having a volt meter. A lot of the Sky and IT ''engineers'' don't have a screwdriver let alone a meter.

cork_south

hs5424 wrote: »

From memory I think that there is a bunch of black wires and another white wires. The black were ground. The white were +12. If you don't have a basic tool like a meter then you cannot confirm anything.
Don't feel to bad about not having a volt meter. A lot of the Sky and IT ''engineers'' don't have a screwdriver let alone a meter.

Been working in IT (SW) for last 20 years, do have a screwdriver though!


Looking at other folks who did this workaround it seems the wires should be split 3 on the right and 4 on the left.

endeval

cork_south - you are in the exactly same position as myself. Another person with a dead power supply and a local repair team cant fix it.

Who else has a failed Power supply? This looks like a common defect.

I know "A Clanger" has had one.

cork_south

endeval wrote: »

cork_south - you are in the exactly same position as myself. Another person with a dead power supply and a local repair team cant fix it.

Who else has a failed Power supply? This looks like a common defect.

I know "A Clanger" has had one.

Yeah lots of boxes dying according to reports on here.
Its a shame coz it's a solid box, I have an AA2 for around 7 years and no hw issues with it.

I am going to give clangers instructions a shot, I had assumed the repair shop would have been able to fix it but got the box back in the same state unfortunately.

endeval

Looks like over the next year or so we'll see many more of these die unfortunately.

It's a pity there's not a compatible power supply board which can be added.

a clanger

I suppose you must weigh up if you want to spend €20-30 on a fix or invest in a new box. I enjoy a bit of "gunthering" to get things working again and the box has been solid since repair about 2 months ago !. Its an easy fix and sure don't we have six weeks to do it now :rolleyes:

hs5424

That psu socket was really ''guntered'' out.
Does nobody have a desoldering gun or braid anymore.
If you dont have a meter to confirm ground (-) then take a look at the print side of the psu and you will establish the common ground connections.
O by the way the ground and 12v are marked on the PSU so you wont need a basic tool like a multi-meter.

darced

Trying now to set up high horse brigades skin, stuck on tuning saorview. Any tips

darced

The message I'm getting when I try to tune is:

Failed to tune saorview on tuner c

Please check the following
The tuner is correctly configured
You can recurve the specified frequency

greasepalm

Have you an aerial in the back,go to tuners choose tuner C what have you chosen from your location as mine is Dublin 3 rock?

darced

Yeah,I have the ariel in the back of the box. The aerial is picking up saorview no problem when connected into the television. I'm in Donegal, I am using high horses flash. So I followed those instructions and changed the location in auto bouquets only.

In the tuner config region is still set as Longford?

greasepalm

In your tuner settings is your location listed in REGION,mine is set to this.
This is not for abm.

darced

Mines the same only I've set my region now. How do I scan from here?

I have been scanning in autobouquets.

greasepalm

If your location is now correct you can scan in abm for Saorview services and it should pull in channels.

I can scan on tuner c from there to give me lists of channels.

I can also scan in abm to have channels in Bouquets.

Bouquets are easier to access as they have their own place.

darced

Have it all set but that's still giving me the same message, after it scans for channels none are found.

greasepalm

How many listings are there for Donegal ?

Choose nearest to you and save and exit and retry.

darced

greasepalm wrote: »

How many listings are there for Donegal ?

11, should I try them all. Tried one nearest and no good. Is there somewhere I can check if box is getting a signal from the aerial?

greasepalm

Try this as it might guide you quicker.
https://www.saorview.ie/en/get/coverage

Gerry Wicklow

darced wrote: »

11, should I try them all. Tried one nearest and no good. Is there somewhere I can check if box is getting a signal from the aerial?

Go into tuner settings and look for "satellite finder". [yeah I know it's counter-intuitive] In there select the correct terrestrial tuner (C?) and the correct frequencies for your area. It should show signal strength.

darced

Solved by searching Ireland all regions. Now time shift is not working correctly, an x appears when I try and pause. Any ideas?

darced

Everything fixed and working great, the time shift issue was a setting in time shift settings which had a delay on it.
Thanks for all your help guys.

sligojoek

I might have a bit of HDD trouble. I'm hearing a squeaking sound sometimes and some timers are not recording. Could it be on the way out.

Can anyone recommend a replacement? The one I have is a Seagate Barracuda. It's 2.5 years old and has been working every day. Would that be the normal lifespan?

a clanger

I was recommended THIS drive when I bought mine. i think its specifically for PVR's etc. Mine has had no issues however at that pricepoint you can get a 1TB SSD HERE for another €20. I think I remember some of the more tech savvy guys have fitted SSD's ....

gar

Our remote has magically disappeared, im blaming the little friends in the house who are pleading innocence :D:D

Has anyone managed to get an original replacement or got something else like a harmony remote etc???

Gerry Wicklow

gar wrote: »

Our remote has magically disappeared, im blaming the little friends in the house who are pleading innocence :D:D

Has anyone managed to get an original replacement or got something else like a harmony remote etc???

Try here
https://www.freetv.ie/tiviar-alpha-plus-remote-control/

greasepalm

You can use your laptop to control box functions while you wait for remote.Enter your box ip into browser of laptop to open webif.

gar

Cheers

Been using the dreamdroid app to keep me going.
I know it'll appear as so as I order.
I'll give it the week and see what cupboard it turns up in

Blueboggirl

Some EPG advice please, I'm not savvy with this box at all yet. From help on here when I got the box, I did manage to use openwebif to create a single epg. All I want is all irish channels and english in it. It worked for a couple of weeks. Now EVERY time I select EPG, most channels have no programme information and the remote will skip them, so I can't watch them.
I finally remembered how to get into openwebif and had a look, it looks fine, nothings changed. Does anyone have any insights to why this is happening?
Thanks

a clanger

Long shot and I'm sure those in the know will have better ideas but before my PCU failed and had to be replaced this was happening. No EPG missed recordings. I reflashed countless times but after a day or two it would reoccur. After PCU replacement all was fine. Just something to keep in mind if the box is still within a warranty period.

greasepalm

Would the box not have needed epg to be setup to import data and stored on hdd or usb..

Muahahaha

Anyone know if there was discounts on these boxes for Black Friday last year at all?

Also a few saying their boxes are dying, how many years have they lasted?