DIY Set UP

Doug Stamper

As a first-time poster in this forum and complete beginner, can people please help with my DIY project?

The search function won’t work for me on the site so apologies to mods if I am duplicating a thread.

I am hoping to install Saorview and Freesat in my two sitting rooms, currently with Eir TV. I would like:
• One remote for Saorview and FreeSat (maybe even TV)
• Pause, Record & Rewind Live TV
• Watch one channel while recording another (maybe record two if possible)
• Electronic Program Guide - 7 Day Listings and Planner
• I’m not sure if series link is possible on both Saorview and Freesat, but it would be great to have it

I have contacted local installers and the few that have gotten back to me have told me either this system doesn’t exist or they recommend the Saorview Connect (no thanks!).

Inspired by the work of NewClareMan, Gerry Wicklow, THHB, Dulpit, Basemann, the Cush and all other contributors (thank you all for sharing expertise and experience) I think this is achievable by doing it myself with no previous experience!!
I have read through pages and pages on the forum and this is where I am at.

Stage One – Get the Saorview and Freesat to both rooms
Stage Two – set up my STBs

Stage One:
Please let me know if this is the best way to get Saorview and Freesat to both rooms.... I am open to suggestions on how to get this up and running with less cost and stress!

I have four coaxes running to each room.

1. Buy a UHF aerial with a ‘passive 2-way splitter’ connected to it in the attic. (I’m near a group B transmitter).
https://www.freetv.ie/yellow-group-b-uhf-aerial/
https://www.freetv.ie/passive-2-way-tv-splitters/
2. I have an existing sky + hd satellite on the wall outside. It has moved in a storm so I will use a satellite meter to align it to Astra 2. This satellite has two coaxes coming into the attic at present so I will upgrade this to 4 coaxes coming into the attic from the LNB
https://www.freetv.ie/diy-satellite-finder/
https://www.freetv.ie/satellite-cable-20m/
3. Then connect one Saorview and two Freesat coax to each room.
4. Will this cable set up allow pause, record, rewind etc?

Stage Two:
1. Looking at the forum I think I should buy two Zgemma H7S triple tuners, as they are more modern and faster than Tiviar alphaplus. I will get OpenVix preloaded on it as it has CrossEPG and ABM already installed. I also think I should include the 500gb hdd for the extra £40 as I don’t have experience of buying/fitting the right hdd.
https://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk/air-digital-zgemma/zgemma-h7s
2. Connect the boxes to the TVs.
3. I then scan for Saorview first and FreeSat after. *switch off ‘Delete Previous scans’
4. Use ABM to create a favourites ‘All’ bouquet.
5. Set CrossEPG to opentv 28.2 and set it to save daily to internal hdd.
6. Download picons from THHB’s Tiviar image post
7. Choose a pre-installed skin (like youvix blue 1080 – it looks good on the screengrabs online)

Then I’m up and running?? right??!

Is there Anything I am missing from either stage one or two??

Thanks very much for reading – I hope this might also help others in the future.

FlexMcMurphy

Hi Doug,

Best of luck with your free tv set up. I think you're on to the right idea there. It is a bit shocking that even some satellite tv installers don't realise that functionality is easily available already for an affordable price.

Having two coaxial cables allows flexibility in watching one and recording another satellite channel at the same time. Having one Saorview cable may limit being able to watch one and record another... Virgin Media 1 and RTE2 are on the same frequency for instance so you would not be able to watch one and record the other of that combination at the same time.. but these limitations are rarely a problem in practice. In your case you plan on having two boxes so that won't be a problem for you anyway.

Enigma2 Images such as OpenVix allow for pause rewind live tv. The feature is called Timeshift. It works by constantly recording whatever you are watching. I don't ever use it but I can see that it could be useful. The always-on recording will put some wear and tear on your hard disk but they are robust these days. Although not necessary, you might consider getting a solid state drive for your pause rewind live tv as that will be faster to respond and has no moving parts to break down. There is Kingston 240GB and a video here giving an idea what's involved to install it which you could easily do yourself. You could even install a second or third USB drive and make recordings to them instead or as well.

I recently started using the Zgemma H7S and am very happy with it. I've been trying out the OpenATV, OpenVix and Pur E2 images. They are all basically the same and differ mostly in the appearance of the menus. I think Openvix with the Simple Ten Eighty skin is a very user friendly interface but you should play around and see what suits you.

The AutoBouquetsMaker can organise all the channels into groups. You can also try making your own lists. I use a program called DreamBoxEdit to do that. You copy the scanned channnels from the Zgemma into that program running on your laptop and then you can create your own favourites lists any way you like. It's a lot more work than AutoBouquetsMaker but gives more flexibility.

If you want to understand more about what is going on under the hood of the ZGemma box then another useful tool is FileZilla. You run that on your laptop and it lets you see the filesystem of the linux OS that is running on the ZGemma. That way you can see where plugins, picons and files containing the channel lists are saved to. You can send commands to the Linux OS from a program called: Putty. When things go wrong, and they will, it's useful to have those tools.

Crossepg has to be installed but that is easily done. There is another way to get the 7 day epg using the built in OpenTV grabber in the EPG menu used together with a plugin called: EPGRefresh but both do the same thing.

There is a web interface with these images that lets you for instance stream the tv channels to other devices such as a laptop/pc or your phone. There is also the option of streaming the channels from one box to a second tv without needing to have a second box. In that solution you would need a device running Kodi that is connected to the second TV and on it you install the VU+ enigma2 plugin which displays the channels. The ZGemma H7s is reasonably priced so maybe an easier solution is to just get two of them.

Let me know if you need any help!

Flex

Gerry Wicklow

Now that Flex has scared the bejaysus out of you with his comprehensive reply, it is important to know that the default settings will do most people for a start. All the options and lingo can seem overwhelming at first, but there is always someone here that can help out. Over time you will find they are incredibly versatile and powerful boxes that offer lots of functions that other providers charge as luxury extras.
The most powerful and useful tool is the web interface mentioned above which lets you configure and operate the box remotely from anything with a web browser on your home network.
TWO WARNINGS I ALWAYS GIVE:-
1. Just like a PC it is a good idea to backup your settings regularly so if and when you mess up, you can restore it in minutes and save a lot of swearing.
2. Playing with linux boxes is addictive

Above all else, have fun

Ten Pin

Having one Saorview cable may limit being able to watch one and record another... Virgin Media 1 and RTE2 are on the same frequency for instance so you would not be able to watch one and record the other of that combination at the same time

You're mistaken...one Saorview cable to each box will give all frequencies...it's the number of tuners that determines the number of muxes that can be recorded simultaneously.

Also, channels on the same mux can be watched if another is recording. So VM1 can be watched while RTE 2 is recording and vice versa.

It's cross MUX watching / recording that won't work if there's only one tuner. However this is easily overcome by looping the Saorview feed into box and TV tuner so that a Saorview channel can be recorded on the box and another Saorview channel can be watched using the TV tuner.

The Cush

Doug Stamper wrote: »

I have contacted local installers and the few that have gotten back to me have told me either this system doesn’t exist or they recommend the Saorview Connect (no thanks!).

Stage One – Get the Saorview and Freesat to both rooms
Stage Two – set up my STBs

Stage One:
Please let me know if this is the best way to get Saorview and Freesat to both rooms.... I am open to suggestions on how to get this up and running with less cost and stress!

I have four coaxes running to each room.

1. Buy a UHF aerial with a ‘passive 2-way splitter’ connected to it in the attic. (I’m near a group B transmitter).
https://www.freetv.ie/yellow-group-b-uhf-aerial/
https://www.freetv.ie/passive-2-way-tv-splitters/
2. I have an existing sky + hd satellite on the wall outside. It has moved in a storm so I will use a satellite meter to align it to Astra 2. This satellite has two coaxes coming into the attic at present so I will upgrade this to 4 coaxes coming into the attic from the LNB
https://www.freetv.ie/diy-satellite-finder/
https://www.freetv.ie/satellite-cable-20m/
3. Then connect one Saorview and two Freesat coax to each room.
4. Will this cable set up allow pause, record, rewind etc?

I suppose the installer is partially correct, there is no easy off the shelf solution for what you want to do, a Saorview TV + Freesat recorder + Saorview recorder is probably the best option unless you go straight to stage 2 and install a box that fulfils your requirements.

There are Freesat TVs but I'm not sure how they handle recording, e.g. are they single or twin tuner? Can you watch one/record one? How do they handle Saorview recording considering the TV has to be setup with UK as the country to activate Freesat.

Regarding the TV aerial, no more Group B transmitters as the upper band of Group B has been allocated to 5G mobile services. Group A or Group K now.

Just to note the new Freesat recorders have the option of 4 tuners when used with the new tech wideband LNBs or 2 tuners with standard legacy LNBs, both require 2 cable feeds. The wideband feeds, H on one cable and V on the other, can be split as required unlike legacy feeds.

Doug Stamper

Thanks Flex for your reply.
I finally got everything delivered yesterday and have one box all connected up!
I have all the freesat and some saorview channels but not in the same bouquet so I must play around with that again later.
The reason I think I don't have all the saorview channels is because I bought the wrong aerial - Group B which Cush has kindly informed me don't work so I must buy a Group A hopefully today or tomorrow locally. That I hope will let me see all the saorview channels.

One question - I bought the box with OpenVix preloaded - if I reboot the system will that wipe the OpenVix also or just what I've done so far since powering it up? I'd like to start again to be honest!!

Thanks, Doug

Doug Stamper

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

Now that Flex has scared the bejaysus out of you with his comprehensive reply, it is important to know that the default settings will do most people for a start. All the options and lingo can seem overwhelming at first, but there is always someone here that can help out. Over time you will find they are incredibly versatile and powerful boxes that offer lots of functions that other providers charge as luxury extras.
The most powerful and useful tool is the web interface mentioned above which lets you configure and operate the box remotely from anything with a web browser on your home network.
TWO WARNINGS I ALWAYS GIVE:-
1. Just like a PC it is a good idea to backup your settings regularly so if and when you mess up, you can restore it in minutes and save a lot of swearing.
2. Playing with linux boxes is addictive

Above all else, have fun

Thanks Gerry. I will hopefully get my head around it today and will keep ye updated. A bit daunting this morning!!

FlexMcMurphy

Doug Stamper wrote: »

...if I reboot the system will that wipe the OpenVix also or just what I've done so far since powering it up?

No you don't loose anything when you reboot. Like Gerry mentioned above it's a good idea to get in the habit of making backups. If something goes wrong they can get you running again quickly.

Menu > Setup > Vix > Backup Manager > New backup (or Restore)

Flex

Doug Stamper

FlexMcMurphy wrote: »

No you don't loose anything when you reboot. Like Gerry mentioned above it's a good idea to get in the habit of making backups. If something goes wrong they can get you running again quickly.

Menu > Setup > Vix > Backup Manager > New backup (or Restore)

Flex

Excellent, thanks Flex. I will give that a try and start again!!

Doug Stamper

So far so good! Have my Zgemma H7S set up in one of the sitting rooms using all the info above.
I have the Blue HD skin installed as I couldn't find the Youvix Blue 1080 and the Blue HD is good (if a little dated) but its easy to navigate and clear for the family to see and use.
It took a bit of a time manually creating a favourites bouquet in ABM and putting them in order but now its done it works well (and I have it all backed up thanks to Gerry & Flex! )
I think I'll play around with a few settings/skins tonight and see can I make any improvements...
The new group A aerial (red) fixed the missing of saorview channels (thanks to The Cush ).
Now I must connect another 2 coaxes to the LNB and get the second box up and running as well...
Thanks to all again for sharing your experiences, it has made it all very accessible.

Gerry Wicklow

When you're happy with the first setup simply copy your settings backup to the other box and install (restore) it. That will make the second box identical in seconds rather than going through the whole process a second time.
The settings only file is called "enigma2settingsbackup.tar.gz" The full image backup name varies depending on which flavour you have, vix or atv.

EDIT: getting myself confused with two OS's
In openVIX the backup file is called "vix-rel-5.3.030-20200609-2151.tar.gz" the last bit being the creation date
in openATV the file is "enigma2settingsbackup.tar.gz". Older copies will have a date prefix e.g."2020-04-16-enigma2settingsbackup.tar.gz"

paulhardman

I'm also a new Zgemma H7S user, loving it so far. I have the time shift setting set up on my 1Tb external HD, Flex/Gerry would this be better put to a USB stick instead (which at this stage are cheap enough to be disposable...)

FlexMcMurphy

Gerry..

How do you made backups from OpenVix? It doesn't seem possible to make an image backup of an individual partition from within OpenVix like it is in OpenATV and Pur E2. When I go in to ImageManager in Vix and make a backup image it takes a copy of the entire ZGemma disk to include ALL partitions. I think that type of backup has to be restored to the box using a USB, then pressing and holding the power button routine, though not sure.

The alternative is a settings backup which Vix refers to as a "Backup" as opposed to an "image backup". Let's say something goes very wrong and you can't even boot into your Vix partition. How do you restore a settings backup?

Do you first flash the raw Vix partition image that contains the files:
imageversion
kernel.bin
rootfs.tar.bz2

... into a partition slot and then restore your "settings backup" over that?

For now I've been booting into OpenATV and taking a partition/slot only image backup of OpenVix from there.

Curious what's your approach?

Flex

Doug Stamper

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

When you're happy with the first setup simply copy your settings backup to the other box and install (restore) it. That will make the second box identical in seconds rather than going through the whole process a second time.
The settings only file is called "enigma2settingsbackup.tar.gz" The full image backup name varies depending on which flavour you have, vix or atv.

That sounds great, thanks Gerry. How do I go about copying my setting to the second box?
I’ll do some googling in any case and find how it’s done.

Gerry Wicklow

Doug Stamper wrote: »

That sounds great, thanks Gerry. How do I go about copying my setting to the second box?
I’ll do some googling in any case and find how it’s done.

I'm using Linux on my PC so I can access the Zgemma's file system directly from my file manager. It's so long since I used Windose that I can only hope it is similar. Failing that the old school approach is to use a program called "filezilla" which will let you ftp into the boxes and copy/paste stuff. In Vix the folder is "/hdd/backup" the files are only 1~2Mb

(If using openATV its a different name but equally obvious.) You may need to create this folder on a virgin box machine.
Backup and restore are under MENU>SETUP>VIX>BACKUP MANAGER. With the new box you will probably have to go through the initial setup to let it scan Saorview, find your network etc the first time. But once running just do a restore and it should find the file you copied over. It will then reboot with all your bouquets, timers etc etc.


Another option to copy files is using a plugin on the box itself. Either "Dreamexplorer" or "file commander" are crude file managers which would allow you to copy files to/from a extra USB dongle just like you would with a PC.


NB please be careful when accessing the file system directly in case you move or delete the wrong things and then have to start all over again.

Gerry Wicklow

FlexMcMurphy wrote: »

Gerry..

How do you made backups from OpenVix? It doesn't seem possible to make an image backup of an individual partition from within OpenVix like it is in OpenATV and Pur E2. When I go in to ImageManager in Vix and make a backup image it takes a copy of the entire ZGemma disk to include ALL partitions. I think that type of backup has to be restored to the box using a USB, then pressing and holding the power button routine, though not sure.

The alternative is a settings backup which Vix refers to as a "Backup" as opposed to an "image backup". Let's say something goes very wrong and you can't even boot into your Vix partition. How do you restore a settings backup?

Do you first flash the raw Vix partition image that contains the files:
imageversion
kernel.bin
rootfs.tar.bz2

... into a partition slot and then restore your "settings backup" over that?

For now I've been booting into OpenATV and taking a partition/slot only image backup of OpenVix from there.

Curious what's your approach?

Flex

Why do you always ask the hard ones? Thankfully I've never had to try a full restore yet and just use settings backups when needed.(usually my fault) However looking at the full backup size it does seem to be the entire system. Then again is that such a bad thing? If it restore all internal images / partitions to a known good point what harm is it? It should not interfere with the HDD.

FlexMcMurphy

Well I'm only happy when I'm making things as complicated as possible!

I'm trying to understand how enigma2 works and in the context of these new multi-boot receivers. I asked them the question over at WoS and seemingly the Image Backup feature in OpenVix makes such a large backup because it makes a copy of the "disk" and the "active partition". You get these files in the backup:

• disk.img
• force_h7_READ.ME
• imageversion
• kernel.bin
• rootfs.tar.bz2

The last three are the same files you get if you download a fresh image from OpenVix servers. So I guess those files describe the enigma2 application (e.g: OpenVix) and the disk.img is an image of the Linux OS that the enigma2 application runs on.

When I was using the Alien2 all those years I think I was always making backups where you got a full image of the OS and the enigma2 application running on it. Of course the Alien2 only had one partition anyway. Maybe I'm wrong but I prefer doing it that way because if something goes wrong there is a, probably slim, chance that you can't boot in to your OpenVix installation to restore a settings backup. You can always use OpenATV/Pur E2 to restore a backup that's an image of a partition, whether one you made yourself or a new one you downloaded from the image servers. Well if that doesn't work then your Zgemma must be bricked.

I think OpenATV and Pur E2 have done a better job in the design of the backup utility. You can make a settings backup or an image backup of the whole receiver or just individual partitions even ones that aren't currently the active partition. That's very flexible and convenient. It's one of the few drawbacks I see so far with OpenVix.

Cheers,

Flex

Gerry Wicklow

@Doug Stamper
Just a heads up I edited the previous posting because I got my backup file names mixed up. The dangers of having two different images on one box/HDD.

In openVIX the backup file is called "vix-rel-5.3.030-20200609-2151.tar.gz" the last bit being the creation date
in openATV the latest settings backup file is "enigma2settingsbackup.tar.gz". Older copies will have a date prefix e.g."2020-04-16-enigma2settingsbackup.tar.gz" This is automatically changed each time you make a new backup.

FlexMcMurphy

paulhardman wrote: »

...I have the time shift setting set up on my 1Tb external HD.... would this be better put to a USB stick instead (which at this stage are cheap enough to be disposable...)

Timeshift seems like a good idea but I wonder if many people ever use it.

I had a quick google and there is contradictory advice. WoS have a thread here but again everyone has their own view. Seems the drives read/write speed is important but as you say best not to spend too much money because constantly recording to a drive will likely wear it out eventually.

Flex

Gerry Wicklow

I've never liked the idea of having timeshift recording all the time. You're hogging resources, plus wear and tear on the disc. In reality how often would you need it? You can still hit pause at any time if your phone rings or you need to let the dog out or whatever. I'm not a sports fan but if you need to see a goal again or the likes, I'd imagine the broadcasters usually have far better replay facilities.

sqsqswqdwdwq

I am a newbie at this game so bare with me ....
Is there anywhere I can source a reliable Tiviar Alpha+ setup or users guide? The guide that comes in the box is completely useless!
Thanks!

FlexMcMurphy

The way these satellite boxes work is all about the "image" you put onto them. That image gives you all the functionality like tuning in channels in any order you like and making recordings and much more. I don't have your receiver but it looks a lot like the Zgemma H7S, this thread has people who could advise you there because most of the conversation is about how to install and set up the "image" which is the same regardless of what enigma2 satellite receiver you have.

In your case I suggest getting and installing OpenVix 5.3 for the Alpha+ but there are other images... OpenATV and Pur E2 to name but two.

Flex

andy1249

sqsqswqdwdwq wrote: »

I am a newbie at this game so bare with me ....
Is there anywhere I can source a reliable Tiviar Alpha+ setup or users guide? The guide that comes in the box is completely useless!
Thanks!

The original manual is for the Tiviars original software , which no one is using anymore.

The only enigma 2 image with a full manual is openvix.
Its downloadable here.
https://www.openvix.co.uk/index.php/guides-and-tutorials/

openvix is probably the most user friendly anyway if you are new to enigma 2 boxes.
Best to start with that one , have a read of the manual , then if you want you can jump to another enigma 2 image as you will be familiar with all the terms and menu items.
Most enigma 2 images are quite similar under the hood , even though they look quite different to start with.

For the Tiviar there is a thread on here with great support and some working images where its all done for you.
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057827739

These images are based on openATV , there is no manual for this , but you could do what I did and use one of these images , then have a look around and see how everything works.
That thread is also very useful for information , if you have an issue its almost certainly covered somewhere in that thread.

sqsqswqdwdwq

Many Thanks to Flex and Andy 1249 .... being a newbie to this, I didn't even know that the whole GUI is controlled so much by an image. So let me delve tru your suggested ref manuals and see if I can get more dangerous than I am.
Right now, I am receiving "all" stations on FTA channels. But if I record a program on say, Virgin Media 1, I can simultaneously view RTE2, TG4, VM2, but I can't simultaneously view RTE1, VM3, RTE JUnior, RTE1+1 and RTE2+1.
It's probably something stupid that I've done, but a little guidance from you here would be most helpful
Thanks

Ten Pin

if I record a program on say, Virgin Media 1, I can simultaneously view RTE2, TG4, VM2, but I can't simultaneously view RTE1, VM3, RTE JUnior, RTE1+1 and RTE2+1.
It's probably something stupid that I've done, but a little guidance from you here would be most helpful
Thanks

The box has a single terrestrial tuner, when recording a terrestrial channel, only channels on the same MUX (frequency) can be viewed while recording. Channels on the other Saorview MUX are unavailable until recording is finished.

The usual way to work around that limitation is to loop the aerial input to TV where all terrestrial channels will be available independent of the box.

sqsqswqdwdwq

Many Thanks for your help ..... I have a couple of more questions

It looks like I'm running Open ATA 6.0 on a Tiviar Alpha+ box.

Q1 - I've got all of the usual satellite stations, but can’t see Euronews station in any of the default "favorites" nor an EPG. If however, I select FAV/ RECEPTION LISTS/28.2E Astra 2E/2F/2G – PROVIDORS, then select BSkyB, I can see and play Euronews from that menu.
How can I include that station (Euronews) in the default sub-favorite list so that I don’t have to go through the above navigation anytime I want to see Euronews?

Q2 - How to I rescan stations in case any one of them might change frequencies?

Q3 - What are the conditions necessary to have my PIP function working?
(I have 2 sat coaxs running from a quad LNB to Tuner A and Tuner

Thanks for your help!

FlexMcMurphy

Question 1:
If you can load up the Web Interface then you can drag and drop channels from one bouquet (favourites list) to another using the BouquetEditor in the Extras section. If you know the ip address of your Tiviar box then type that into a browser and the Web Interface should appear.

Flex

sqsqswqdwdwq

Thanks Flex .... I did as you suggested, and it worked like a charm!

Now - is there a way to sort or even alphabetize the channels within a favorite or bouquet? For example, when I added EuroNews, CNN and CNBC to the "News and Sports" folder, they appeared at the bottom of the list. I can't seem to drag and drop a stations to sort them? See attached screen-shot. Thanks!

Gerry Wicklow

sqsqswqdwdwq wrote: »

Thanks Flex .... I did as you suggested, and it worked like a charm!

Now - is there a way to sort or even alphabetize the channels within a favorite or bouquet? For example, when I added EuroNews, CNN and CNBC to the "News and Sports" folder, they appeared at the bottom of the list. I can't seem to drag and drop a stations to sort them? See attached screen-shot. Thanks!

On the right hand side of bouquet editor, highlight the bouquet you wish to edit. Then click the 3 lines in front of the channel name and drag/drop to whatever order you like.

sqsqswqdwdwq

Thank your Gerry - and I thought I knew how to drag and drop .... oh dear!

Just one more question from my original three below ....
What are the conditions necessary to have my PIP function working?
(I have 2 sat coaxs running from a quad LNB to Tuner A and Tuner

sqsqswqdwdwq

Can anybody chip in their expertise on my question:
I'm running Open ATA 6.0 on a Tiviar Alpha+ box.

What are the conditions necessary to have my PIP function working?
(I have 2 sat coaxs running from a quad LNB to Tuner A and Tuner

TIA

FlexMcMurphy

sqsqswqdwdwq wrote: »

I'm running Open ATA 6.0 on a Tiviar Alpha+ box.

What are the conditions necessary to have my PIP function working?

TIA

Sorry I have no idea about PIP except your Tiviar needs to have PiP support as does the skin you are using. There are lots of other enigma2 forums around the web you should register for and ask on them such as the World of Satellite forum and the OpenATV forum. There is also a boards.ie forum for the Tiviar Alpha Plus.

For what it's worth you are probably running an image called OpenATV (not Open ATA). The latest version of OpenATV is 6.4 now. If you really have 6.0 on your Tiviar box then that image is about three years old.

Flex

sqsqswqdwdwq

Thanks Flex - you're correct; I'm running OpenATV 6.0 (not Open ATA). I'll take a look around the other forums and see what I can find on the PIP function.
Meanwhile, if I backup the image and settings, then I assume things can't go that wrong if I try to upgrade from OpenATV 6.0 to 6.4?

Thx again,
Bill

bobbyy gee

you need signal finder to aim dish you get a double or triple lnb to run more than 1 box
run coax cable direct from sat to box
sat dish shhould be south east
https://www.freetv.ie/free-to-air-freesat-installation-guide/

FlexMcMurphy

sqsqswqdwdwq wrote: »

.. if I backup the image and settings, then I assume things can't go that wrong if I try to upgrade from OpenATV 6.0 to 6.4?

Yes, you should make a full backup and a settings backup. When you install the latest OpenATV you should be able to restore your settings backup to that and continue with your channel list, picons etc.. It things go very wrong you could restore your full backup. This is the bread and butter of enigma2 based receivers and enigma2 images. It pays to get very comfortable with setting up images from scratch, making and restoring backups. Make notes as you go along.

I had a go with PiP on OpenATV 6.5 (Mode 12) and it didn't work at all for me at least on my Zgemma H7S. I don't know if you would have the same experience on your Tiviar Alpha+. I just got a black screen and could not access any menus from the TV remote so I had to flash a rescue mmc.zip image.

I also then tried the Pur E2 image and it worked a bit better but after a while the main picture started breaking up even when I turned off PiP. So I booted back to OpenATV (Mode 1). It doesn't look like Pur E2 make images for Tiviar boxes.

There is another enigma2 image called: OpenVix and there is a version for the Tiviar.

I don't know if you can multiboot with the Tiviar or not. On my Zgemma I go in to the Set up screens and select a slot to boot into selecting the Mode 12 version and not Mode 1 that boots in to a version of the image that supports PiP. Again I don't know if that applies to the Tiviar, it is what worked on my Zgemma. Then when on a channel you press the blue button and from that menu you select various options Green, Red, Blue, Yellow to operate the PiP function.

In theory PiP could be quite handy but so far I found it doesn't work well or at all on the Zgemma H7S.

Cheers,

Flex

sqsqswqdwdwq

Many thanks for your help Flex.....

sqsqswqdwdwq

Is there a way to disable the front 2 panel lights in the Tiviar Alpha PLus running OpenATV 6.0? They appear to be very bright when viewing TV, or "wasting power" when the unit is switched off. Thx!

FlexMcMurphy

Don't know about the Tiviar Alpha PLus. Did you try googling around?

On my Zgemma H7S there is a tacky logo on the front that is ridiculously bright. I opened the box and sellotaped a piece of cardboard over the LED. It cannot be controlled by software and a soldering iron is needed to disconnect it.

Flex

sqsqswqdwdwq

Yes I googled but found nothing useful. I'll continue to mouse around other areas and see if i can find some related items. If all else fails, then I may have to resort to the cardboard trick - thanks anyway Flex.

Gerry Wicklow

sqsqswqdwdwq wrote: »

Yes I googled but found nothing useful. I'll continue to mouse around other areas and see if i can find some related items. If all else fails, then I may have to resort to the cardboard trick - thanks anyway Flex.

Perhaps the quick and dirty sharpie marker trick or masking tape to dim the LEDs?

NewClareman

sqsqswqdwdwq wrote: »

Is there a way to disable the front 2 panel lights in the Tiviar Alpha PLus running OpenATV 6.0? They appear to be very bright when viewing TV, or "wasting power" when the unit is switched off. Thx!

No easy way - I just covered them with semi-transparent tape.

Now, if you're a martyr for punishment, you could convert the OS back to Fortis, turn down the light, then go back to OpenATV.

NewClareman

sqsqswqdwdwq wrote: »

Thanks Flex - you're correct; I'm running OpenATV 6.0 (not Open ATA). I'll take a look around the other forums and see what I can find on the PIP function.
Meanwhile, if I backup the image and settings, then I assume things can't go that wrong if I try to upgrade from OpenATV 6.0 to 6.4?

Thx again,
Bill

I'd be wary of OpenATV 6.4, its still pretty new. I updated my box to OpenATV 6.3 and had to go back to 6.2, until later builds. I'm now back on 6.3.

There are many settings with OpenATV, some of which interact. With my settings the PIP button on the remote works and you use the 0 button to swap the PIP and main screen. PIP can only work if you have a free tuner that can be tuned to the second channel. I have a dual satellite feed and a second terrrstrial tuner (USB). With that, PIP only fails when I have a recording running.

I have set up my box with a full EPG for radio and TV, which auto update. It uses a mix of Sky and Saorview Bouquets, with the Irish channels integrated. It also has a favorites list, which can be manually updated, by the WebIF, or the remote. I will post my final version next week, as it does everything I need. It might save you some work.

sqsqswqdwdwq

One other question - I also have a Digihome TS1124 box that I'd like to tunnel into to edit the channels similar to my success with the Tiviar Alpha in the above thread. However, when I try and "tunnel into" the box with my Chrome or Edge browser (Windows 10) with a http://192.168.1.227 or http://192.168.1.227:4 (Port4?) command, I can't get in there. Is there some other way I can get in there to edit the channels?
As usual, thanks for your help!

FlexMcMurphy

It doesn't look like an enigma2 box so there may not be any way to "tunnel in" with telnet or ssh and it may not be accessible at all from a browser. It's probably a closed-system box. If it still works then your best bet is to try and find a manual for it.. scanning in channels and ordering them with a remote, although tiresome, is usually fairly intuitive from on screen menus.

Flex