Amiko alien 2

[jandial]

Hey guys. Just looking at these boxes at the moment as i want a twin tuner. Would this be the best twin around this price or is there better. Il be able to flog it on if i want to get a vu+ or something.

[digicon]

Hey guys. Just looking at these boxes at the moment as i want a twin tuner. Would this be the best twin around this price or is there better. Il be able to flog it on if i want to get a vu+ or something.



Hi Mate,


Moved your post into the general sat section as you will get more replys, seeing as the Amiko is a dual boot and not too sure but i have heard the Linux E2 side is not 100%, so not sure what your budget is but the amiko is ?150 for another ?60 you may be better with a fully fledged receiver like the TM T2-OE twin tuner.


Regards

[Sat-Shop]

There really is very little if anything the Amiko Alien 2 can't do running under Enigma2, or at least I should say most things your average users will be wanting it to do (and more)... Record one channel while watching another, 7 day EPG, Cool TV Guide, AutoBouquets to name but a few, there are hundreds of the usual addons and plugins available.... Don't believe the hype that some insist on putting around, come and see for yourself, they are working fantastically well and we'll be quite happy to demo one to anyone who wants to take the time to pop over to us so we can show you it in action - and not only that I can guarantee you it will give you a better HD picture quality than ANY Broadcom based E2 receiver we have come across - and I'm not one big on getting involved in the whole 'this pictures better than that' etc. as it can be so subjective, but it's genuinely noticeable how good the HD picture is on these SH4 based receivers....

An of course that's even without covering Spark firmware which offers a whole host more in itself, check out the February issue of What Satellite for a good review and winner of their gold award though this admittedly concentrates more on the Spark side than Enigma2, and it's Enigma2 that tends to still be the choice for most from your average UK users point of view. :)

[Shady]

There really is very little if anything the Amiko Alien 2 can't do running under Enigma2, or at least I should say most things your average users will be wanting it to do (and more)... Record one channel while watching another, 7 day EPG, Cool TV Guide, AutoBouquets to name but a few, there are hundreds of the usual addons and plugins available.... Don't believe the hype that some insist on putting around, come and see for yourself, they are working fantastically well and we'll be quite happy to demo one to anyone who wants to take the time to pop over to us so we can show you it in action - and not only that I can guarantee you it will give you a better HD picture quality than ANY Broadcom based E2 receiver we have come across - and I'm not one big on getting involved in the whole 'this pictures better than that' etc. as it can be so subjective, but it's genuinely noticeable how good the HD picture is on these SH4 based receivers....

An of course that's even without covering Spark firmware which offers a whole host more in itself, check out the February issue of What Satellite for a good review and winner of their gold award though this admittedly concentrates more on the Spark side than Enigma2, and it's Enigma2 that tends to still be the choice for most from your average UK users point of view. :)

you sound like youre advertising.... :hmmmm:

[Sat-Shop]

No I'm just trying to dispel the myth that these don't do what (most) will need from an Enigma2 receiver, they should not be discounted from the choice is basically the best way of putting it - the offer of the demo is a free no obligation offer, I want to show this working so you can see for yourself, if you do or don't buy one really doesn't matter, the point being you can at least say yes I've seen this working, it does do what they say. :)

[rigsby71]

I found the E2 side a little buggy, so went back to the Spark side of things & it's rock solid.

But for a twin tuner & at that price, it's well worth a look at, even if you just stick with Spark as it feels more stable & solid under spark.

Would have been nice to have an internal hardrive housing for inserting a hardrive for recording, but we can't expect everything for ?140

[GBDarkAngel]

I found the E2 side a little buggy, so went back to the Spark side of things & it's rock solid.

But for a twin tuner & at that price, it's well worth a look at, even if you just stick with Spark as it feels more stable & solid under spark.

Would have been nice to have an internal hardrive housing for inserting a hardrive for recording, but we can't expect everything for ?140

Where are you seeing it for ?140? Is that including post?

[rigsby71]

I actually got mine for ?125 after haggling with the seller on Ebay & that was the Triple tuner (Freeview tuner) included aswell.

But generally, you see them from ?140 now for the Twin tuner.

Just look around & make someone an offer & you might be surprised.

[blueflash234]

is the hd picture good and how is it as a media player etc

[rigsby71]

The picture quality is as good or if not better than my DM800se box for sure.

I haven't tried the internet features really, just use it for watching tv.

Spark is very stable & i believe the E2 side of things has much improved aswell, so i will give that a new test out this week.

It's excellent with my Dark motor aswell.

I think the lowest i have seen them is ?149 on Ebay now.

Nice & solid looking box aswell.

[jandial]

I might give one of these a go. I dont want to dive into the linux boxes too deep at the start but would like a twin tuner.. Was looking at the ports on the back of the box, is that a built in rf modulator??

[GBDarkAngel]

Ordered a twin tuner version today. Should be here tomorrow.
Will be sad to see my Openbox go but its served me well for 18 months now so it owes me nothing.
Im quite looking forward to a seeing how it performs I am an old D-Box veteran so more used to Linux.
Will let you all know how I get on with it.

[Shady]

ive heard the sparks ok...


the enigma...... less so

[rigsby71]

ive heard the sparks ok...


the enigma...... less so

Bang on Shady

[rigsby71]

I might give one of these a go. I dont want to dive into the linux boxes too deep at the start but would like a twin tuner.. Was looking at the ports on the back of the box, is that a built in rf modulator??

Just says Ant in & Ant out, not sure if the Ant out would be the same as RF out, will give it a try.

UPDATE...................

Right...just scanned using cable from Ant out to Aerial in on the tv & in the analogue scan it found nothing.

So there ends the question.

There is no RF out on the Amiko Alien 2.

You need an RF modulator to create RF out signal.

[jandial]

Just says Ant in & Ant out, not sure if the Ant out would be the same as RF out, will give it a try.

UPDATE...................

Right...just scanned using cable from Ant out to Aerial in on the tv & in the analogue scan it found nothing.

So there ends the question.

There is no RF out on the Amiko Alien 2.

You need an RF modulator to create RF out signal.

Cheers mate. Still worth the purchase do ya think?

[rigsby71]

Cheers mate. Still worth the purchase do ya think?

Yes, certainly.

If you wanted a good hd box to start using an RF out cable on it, that kind of defeats the idea of having a great HD picture.
If you want to distribute the picture, use HD splitters instead.

But if you desperately need RF out, you can always buy a modulator for it.

[jandial]

Yes, certainly.

If you wanted a good hd box to start using an RF out cable on it, that kind of defeats the idea of having a great HD picture.
If you want to distribute the picture, use HD splitters instead.

But if you desperately need RF out, you can always buy a modulator for it.

Ah its not to use as main output, just to transmit to rest of the house like d sly box....

[Sat-Shop]

ive heard the sparks ok...


the enigma...... less so

This is why the offer of a demo as it's generally from someone who either hasn't used the receiver or not setup correctly, or perhaps genuinely wasn't working quite right the last time they tried (which must be several months ago now if that's the case), but we have Enigma2 running fantastically well with full 7 day EPG using CrossEPG, Cool TV Guide, AutoBouquets, AutoTimer, AutoVolume and much more along with a 500GB USB HDD in our test/demo unit that works fine for recording one channel while watching another, recording one pay channel while watching another and timeshift - this I should add is with a specific firmware we'd suggest but of course there are plenty of others to try as well if you wish, no doubt some will perform better than others like on most any E2 receiver, but the offer stands for anyone who wants to see this in action you are more than welcome over for a demo and see it for yourself :)

[mickmc68]

The Alien 2 aint bad the E2 images are still being worked on ect only prob i have with box is that you have to use oscam to be able to clear two pay channels , and most providers of clines ect wont let you use oscam , as for an internal HD ive 1 installed in mine hooked up2 the onboard usb point for front usb connection

Mick

[Sat-Shop]

It's not something I think we can discuss on here and as you can imagine not something we ourselves get involved with anyway but I can go so far as to say you have misunderstood how OScam works with what you say above, OScam can emulate most any popular protocol and this means it will be 'seen' as CCcam (for example) and they could not even tell at the other end that you are using anything but CCcam itself (or Newcamd or whatever is being used), but likewise will not likely care in any case.

[jandial]

This is why the offer of a demo as it's generally from someone who either hasn't used the receiver or not setup correctly, or perhaps genuinely wasn't working quite right the last time they tried (which must be several months ago now if that's the case), but we have Enigma2 running fantastically well with full 7 day EPG using CrossEPG, Cool TV Guide, AutoBouquets, AutoTimer, AutoVolume and much more along with a 500GB USB HDD in our test/demo unit that works fine for recording one channel while watching another, recording one pay channel while watching another and timeshift - this I should add is with a specific firmware we'd suggest but of course there are plenty of others to try as well if you wish, no doubt some will perform better than others like on most any E2 receiver, but the offer stands for anyone who wants to see this in action you are more than welcome over for a demo and see it for yourself :)

Do you think that I was to buy this receiver from you you would give me a hand setting it up with all the plugins you mentioned?

[Sat-Shop]

That's something we don't and won't ever be able to do as you can imagine for obvious reasons but I would suggest searching for the 'YODA backup image for Alien 2' and flashing this would be a great place for you to start with minimum effort - though I would always encourage anyone to start reading, researching and learning for themselves, but even so that will give you a great head start and let you learn a bit more at your own pace then.

I genuinely did not make the original post to come here and try and sell you or anyone else one though, there are plenty of places to buy and I'm sure they give great service, but I just wanted to be sure that it was a little clearer on how well Enigma2 really is working on these hence the offer of the free demo if anyone ever want's to take us up on it. :)

[jandial]

That's something we don't and won't ever be able to do as you can imagine for obvious reasons but I would suggest searching for the 'YODA backup image for Alien 2' and flashing this would be a great place for you to start with minimum effort - though I would always encourage anyone to start reading, researching and learning for themselves, but even so that will give you a great head start and let you learn a bit more at your own pace then.

I genuinely did not make the original post to come here and try and sell you or anyone else one though, there are plenty of places to buy and I'm sure they give great service, but I just wanted to be sure that it was a little clearer on how well Enigma2 really is working on these hence the offer of the free demo if anyone ever want's to take us up on it. :)

Is the yoda backup a e2 or spark image?

[jandial]

That's something we don't and won't ever be able to do as you can imagine for obvious reasons but I would suggest searching for the 'YODA backup image for Alien 2' and flashing this would be a great place for you to start with minimum effort - though I would always encourage anyone to start reading, researching and learning for themselves, but even so that will give you a great head start and let you learn a bit more at your own pace then.

I genuinely did not make the original post to come here and try and sell you or anyone else one though, there are plenty of places to buy and I'm sure they give great service, but I just wanted to be sure that it was a little clearer on how well Enigma2 really is working on these hence the offer of the free demo if anyone ever want's to take us up on it. :)

Is the yoda backup spark or enigma 2? Also could some1 confirm that this cannot take an internal hdd?

[Sat-Shop]

The backup image as with all talk of images you see will be for Enigma2. Spark is still Linux based but to a large extent is closed source and simply has a version number, 1.2.61 being that latest and most current - Enigma2 though is still the choice for many UK users if you want the 7 day EPG, auto bouquets etc.

The Amiko Alien 2 uses an external USB drive, you have a USB port front and rear and can easily add a USB hub to expand this further if you wish (unlikely to be required but an option all the same).

[rigsby71]

Right, last night i booted up into Enigma 2 .

I was using an old version (the one with the moster creature on screen bootup image).

So i upgraded last night to the

Satstation Back Up HDMU version 0.4.5 & it seems pretty stable.

I haven't attached my USB/hardrive to store the EPG guide but it's still there on the box although it will be using some space on the internal memory, so i need to use the USB or hard drive.

I have two dishes connected to it,
1 is a motorised dish & the 2nd is fixed at 28.2 east.

As mentioned above, the features of Enigma 2 or working fine like cool tv guide, 7 day EPG.
I haven't attached my external hard drive yet, but will do that tonight & set up some timed recordings on 28.2 east using the EPG guide.

It's quite a nice layout aswell.

The main thing for me is ...will it be as stable as the Spark side of things, so far, yes it has been.

Channel lists are much easier to navigate than Spark using Enigma2.

This box is sure to get better aswell with more images to follow i would think.

I am going to try & use the alien 2 to it's full potential & see how it performs, so far so good though.

[jandial]

Right, last night i booted up into Enigma 2 .

I was using an old version (the one with the moster creature on screen bootup image).

So i upgraded last night to the

Satstation Back Up HDMU version 0.4.5 & it seems pretty stable.

I haven't attached my USB/hardrive to store the EPG guide but it's still there on the box although it will be using some space on the internal memory, so i need to use the USB or hard drive.

I have two dishes connected to it,
1 is a motorised dish & the 2nd is fixed at 28.2 east.

As mentioned above, the features of Enigma 2 or working fine like cool tv guide, 7 day EPG.
I haven't attached my external hard drive yet, but will do that tonight & set up some timed recordings on 28.2 east using the EPG guide.

It's quite a nice layout aswell.

The main thing for me is ...will it be as stable as the Spark side of things, so far, yes it has been.

Channel lists are much easier to navigate than Spark using Enigma2.

This box is sure to get better aswell with more images to follow i would think.

I am going to try & use the alien 2 to it's full potential & see how it performs, so far so good though.

Getting me more and more tempted... I might just have to order 1***128516;

[sakiblateef]

Does this box allow files to be played in various formats when a hard drive is attached using the E2 image?

[GBDarkAngel]

Well I have just upgraded the Enigma 2 image and to it wont even see my sat feed.
Just gives the option of DVB -T and DVB -C which are cable and Terrestrial.
If I didnt know better I would say someone has taken an old Dbox image and messed around with it. Will persevere with it for a little while but in all honesty I doubt I would recommend one to anyone.

[jandial]

Well I have just upgraded the Enigma 2 image and to it wont even see my sat feed.
Just gives the option of DVB -T and DVB -C which are cable and Terrestrial.
If I didnt know better I would say someone has taken an old Dbox image and messed around with it. Will persevere with it for a little while but in all honesty I doubt I would recommend one to anyone.

What image did u upgrade it to?

[Sat-Shop]

This is the problem, just because one image is or isn't working correctly you shouldn't use this to write off all the others - for sure the two firmware images that have been mentioned in this thread (the two backup firmware) have been tested and working very well by all accounts on both twin and triple tuner versions. Personally I prefer the Yoda backup image and find this the most stable of all, others prefer the HDMU backup firmware though, each to their own, no right or wrong with that but both tested and working very well :)

[GBDarkAngel]

Im not bashing it. It works fine in Sparks but the Enigma Image (HDMU) wont see or give the option on tuner A for DVB-S.

I also find all your replies somewhat strange as you seem to want to champion this box from the highest mountain and claim everything works great on yours but you seem incredibly reluctant to offer any advice or help.

[GBDarkAngel]

One more thing..

4 times now I have encountered this Green Screen that comes up and says your STB has encountered a software error.

[digicon]

I suppose the only real way to find out if your box works as it should on E2 is to try the image Sat-Shop suggested the Yoda backup which i am sure if you ask nicely he will kindly upload to the forum for Amiko owners to try.

[Sat-Shop]

Yes I can upload it no problem at all if you would like me to, also the issue you have with the HDMU image you've tried, it sounds like either an older firmware or perhaps not using the correct drivers, whatever the case though it's not sounding like it's the HDMU backup firmware that's been mentioned in this thread and HDMU have almost daily releases so almost for sure it's release specific with the issues you have I would say without knowing any more.

I'm not quite sure about where the not offering advice comment comes in, is that not what's been happening? You do have to appriciate though that both this forum and us as a seller can't discuss some specific aspects and likewise it's very hard for me to not cross that line where is looks like I'm simply advertising - but let's put it this way we do have ours (any many others we've setup) running perfectly well with the couple of backup firmware we've mentioned, there are others even posted YouTube videos of the same thing working - personally I would suggest the Yoda backup firmware dated December 2012 and this is what we generally demo to anyone that want's to see it in action.

There is only one way (or should I say guaranteed way) to make this firmware green screen and that's trying to use the receiver itself to format the HDD (if you have one connected), providing you follow the instructions with the image before hand though then you will have no problem, which basically means you pre-format the USB HDD on a Windows machine before hand to ext3 Primary using some specific and free Windows point and click software and will work fine both for PVR functions, timeshift and saving EPG data etc. to. :)

[digicon]

Hi Sat-Shop,


That would be jolly decent of you if you could upload the Yoda image to the forum, As i am sure it would give the current Amiko owners who have doubts about the E2 side a chance to try a tested and working image.

It would also be good if any fellow owners on the forum if you do try the Yoda image could you please keep us informed of how well it runs, This would as you know benefit any future prospective buyers of the Amiko range.

Thank you.


Regards

[Sat-Shop]

Below is a copy and paste of the original text to accompany this firmware, I have just altered a couple of links to suit this forum - please make sure you have a good read of the text below firmware before flashing and trying this, but otherwise I hope it works well for all :)

SatStation-Alien2-Yoda-Backup-Dec-2012

Here is a backup image I have created today which is a backup from the SatStation Beta 21/12/12 firmware with a few changes. I've created this in mind of trying to cater for the masses with Sky UK as their two satellite feeds and wanting something that can record one $ channel while watching another. The DVB-T tuner option has been set to 'nothing connected' as this backup firmware is intended to cater for satellite viewers/users only at the moment.

Here's some of the changes made:

Added Cool TV guide - but disabled coloured button keys due to the known problems with changes to keymap etc.

Enabled UKCvS AutoBouquets E2 by LraiZer BETA
- Pre-configured/scanned for London HD region channels and set as default bouquets - Easily changed to any region you prefer
- Pre-configured to auto-update daily at 03:00

Added OScam
- Pre-configured oscam.server for very easy editing of C and N line connections (just edit server,port,user,password)
- Pre-configured oscam.server so both card slots are setup to accept Sky UK card - just insert card and activate/restart OScam
- OScam configuration files can all be found in /var/keys/

Setup SoftCam Manager to point to the correct locations for instant starting of OScam and configuration files

Set Timezone for GMT

Added different bootlogo to differentiate between this backup image and official SatStation release

I think that's about all for now - I've tried and tested this myself with dual feeds from 28.2 East and it all appears to all work fine. Because of the AutoBouquets being pre-set and scanned for you and both tuners being pre-set for 28.2 East you should be able to flash this firmware and start using straight away.

NOTE: Because of the way the Spark plugin works to backup this image the file you download and flash is a lot larger than it need be which basically means it can take what seems like an age to flash if you use the direct from USB method - but don't worry, just let it carry on and eventually it will get there!

If you are using this with a USB HDD for PVR functions and more then you are best advised to do the following:

It's best to re-format your USB HDD away from the receiver, you can use whatever software you like for this, if you already have something that will do this for you then use that, if not and if you have a Windows PC you can use the free version of EASEUS Partition Master Home Edition which you can download here:


http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/EASEUS-Partition-Manager-Download-52250.html

Format the HDD as ext3 Primary and once that is complete connect it back up to your receiver with the receiver still powered on, now give the receiver a full reboot and when it boots back up again it should auto-mount your HDD to /media/hdd/ and unless you have changed them these will also be your default recording paths for movie location and timeshift location so assuming your recording paths were not changed previously you should be ready to record and/or use timeshift straight away.

Download the firmware here:

http://www.multiupload.nl/2XFG6MPCFF

[rigsby71]

One more thing..

4 times now I have encountered this Green Screen that comes up and says your STB has encountered a software error.

Try another image.

I am now running HDMU latest version 0.4.5 & it found my triple tuners straight away.

Got 7 day EPG for 28 east , Cool TV guide,
Auto Bouqets ,& many of the usual plugins found on my Dreambox 800se & MOST IMPORTANTLY....

watching tv channels is VERY STABLE.

As with anything, it's always trial & error until you find the image that is most stable with your box.

I too was very reluctant to use Enigma 2 as Spark was very stable, but the latest Enigma2 images are now just as stable so just try them.

I think you have chosen an image which is not set up for your type of tuners.

Where did you get your image from ?

[MajicM]

I found the E2 side a little buggy, so went back to the Spark side of things & it's rock solid.

But for a twin tuner & at that price, it's well worth a look at, even if you just stick with Spark as it feels more stable & solid under spark.

Would have been nice to have an internal hardrive housing for inserting a hardrive for recording, but we can't expect everything for ?140

I'm with you on this, I bought it for the E2 side of things but hate it so sticking with Spark. It's nice, great picture and nice UI.

Only thing I want from it is a method of paging up / down the channel lists... unless there is one I don't know?

I'm currently coding an editor for it as well.

[GBDarkAngel]

Just tried the Yoda Backup image.
Took about 2 minutes to get it to do what I wanted. No isses, No problems so far.
Many Thanks Sat-Shop.

[rigsby71]

I'm with you on this, I bought it for the E2 side of things but hate it so sticking with Spark. It's nice, great picture and nice UI.

Only thing I want from it is a method of paging up / down the channel lists... unless there is one I don't know?

I'm currently coding an editor for it as well.

I am now using enigma 2 (the latest Satstation HDMU image)
& it's working great, so not on spark anymore, but at least it's there to fall back on, not many receivers out there that can say that.

[rigsby71]

Just tried the Yoda Backup image.
Took about 2 minutes to get it to do what I wanted. No isses, No problems so far.
Many Thanks Sat-Shop.

Excellent job there.

I am expecting another box soon, so i will try the Yoda image so i can compare the HDMU & Yoda side by side on different machines.

36 hours into using the HSDU image & it's been very stable so far.

[GBDarkAngel]

Excellent job there.

I am expecting another box soon, so i will try the Yoda image so i can compare the HDMU & Yoda side by side on different machines.

36 hours into using the HSDU image & it's been very stable so far.


Have you got a link to the HDMU one you are using?

[rigsby71]

Have you got a link to the HDMU one you are using?

I am having trouble uploading the file saying a security thing was broken, so have a look on google for

satstation members back up image HDMU v0.4.5

[jandial]

Anyone know if you can get some sort of magic eye working on these bad boys? It doesn't necessarily have to be through rf..

[digicon]

Anyone know if you can get some sort of magic eye working on these bad boys? It doesn't necessarily have to be through rf..

Through the RF only if the box has one with an added box to take care of the Magic eye bit i am afraid there is no other way, unless the box has RF out and you only need to send the signal to another room without the remote control function

[jandial]

Through the RF only if the box has one with an added box to take care of the Magic eye bit i am afraid there is no other way, unless the box has RF out and you only need to send the signal to another room without the remote control function

So the rf on the alien 2 will send out a signal through coaxial without any other equip? Extra equip is only needed if eye needed, correct?

[digicon]

So the rf on the alien 2 will send out a signal through coaxial without any other equip? Extra equip is only needed if eye needed, correct?

That is correct yes

[jandial]

Just wasn't sure as rigsby sed on page2 of this thread the rf didn't work...

[digicon]

Just wasn't sure as rigsby sed on page2 of this thread the rf didn't work...

Well if the 'RF' dont work then the box is faulty as far as i am concerned any receiver with a built in RF modulator should work as described which means it will transmit the Picture and audio signal over Coax Cable

[rigsby71]

Just wasn't sure as rigsby sed on page2 of this thread the rf didn't work...

Remember...This box does NOT have any RF OUT, you have to use an ADDED RF Modulator to create one manually as you would with any receiver without RF Out.

The ANT OUT is not an RF OUT, i tested this to confirm.
The Ant Out is simply for Freeview tv as mine is the Triple tuner with a Freeview tuner.

If you have the Twin tuner only, you won't even have the Ant in , Ant out on the box.

So this means that it is not faulty in the slighest, it just doesn't have this feature, just like say an Openbox doesn't either, but a TM5402 DOES have RF Out.

[rigsby71]

Anyone know if you can get some sort of magic eye working on these bad boys? It doesn't necessarily have to be through rf..

It should work with the Omni link+ device, but you need to also add an RF Modulator to create an RF Out in the 1st instance as this box doesn't have an RF OUT port, like say a TM5402 does.

I have just got the Omni link, but just waiting on the RF Modulator to arrive before i can test it properley.

[rigsby71]

Just wasn't sure as rigsby sed on page2 of this thread the rf didn't work...

There isn't one to work, its Ant out, not RF out.

That was explained in the post you refer to.

You need to buy an RF Modulator to manually create an RF out, then use the modulator to send the signal to another tv.

[joetwizzy]

Don't forget you can use apps for your iPhone or Android to change the channel so no need for a Magic Eye, just a cheap modulator.

[jandial]

Don't forget you can use apps for your iPhone or Android to change the channel so no need for a Magic Eye, just a cheap modulator.

what would be a good or best app to use for iphone?

[joetwizzy]

what would be a good or best app to use for iphone?

I use dreaMote

Vu+ Player is a good streamer too.

[jandial]

Below is a copy and paste of the original text to accompany this firmware, I have just altered a couple of links to suit this forum - please make sure you have a good read of the text below firmware before flashing and trying this, but otherwise I hope it works well for all :)

SatStation-Alien2-Yoda-Backup-Dec-2012

Here is a backup image I have created today which is a backup from the SatStation Beta 21/12/12 firmware with a few changes. I've created this in mind of trying to cater for the masses with Sky UK as their two satellite feeds and wanting something that can record one $ channel while watching another. The DVB-T tuner option has been set to 'nothing connected' as this backup firmware is intended to cater for satellite viewers/users only at the moment.

Here's some of the changes made:

Added Cool TV guide - but disabled coloured button keys due to the known problems with changes to keymap etc.

Enabled UKCvS AutoBouquets E2 by LraiZer BETA
- Pre-configured/scanned for London HD region channels and set as default bouquets - Easily changed to any region you prefer
- Pre-configured to auto-update daily at 03:00

Added OScam
- Pre-configured oscam.server for very easy editing of C and N line connections (just edit server,port,user,password)
- Pre-configured oscam.server so both card slots are setup to accept Sky UK card - just insert card and activate/restart OScam
- OScam configuration files can all be found in /var/keys/

Setup SoftCam Manager to point to the correct locations for instant starting of OScam and configuration files

Set Timezone for GMT

Added different bootlogo to differentiate between this backup image and official SatStation release

I think that's about all for now - I've tried and tested this myself with dual feeds from 28.2 East and it all appears to all work fine. Because of the AutoBouquets being pre-set and scanned for you and both tuners being pre-set for 28.2 East you should be able to flash this firmware and start using straight away.

NOTE: Because of the way the Spark plugin works to backup this image the file you download and flash is a lot larger than it need be which basically means it can take what seems like an age to flash if you use the direct from USB method - but don't worry, just let it carry on and eventually it will get there!

If you are using this with a USB HDD for PVR functions and more then you are best advised to do the following:

It's best to re-format your USB HDD away from the receiver, you can use whatever software you like for this, if you already have something that will do this for you then use that, if not and if you have a Windows PC you can use the free version of EASEUS Partition Master Home Edition which you can download here:

http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/EASEUS-Partition-Manager-Download-52250.html

Format the HDD as ext3 Primary and once that is complete connect it back up to your receiver with the receiver still powered on, now give the receiver a full reboot and when it boots back up again it should auto-mount your HDD to /media/hdd/ and unless you have changed them these will also be your default recording paths for movie location and timeshift location so assuming your recording paths were not changed previously you should be ready to record and/or use timeshift straight away.

Download the firmware here:
http://www.multiupload.nl/2XFG6MPCFF

How do you activate cool TV guide after tus image is installed?

[Sat-Shop]

How do you activate cool TV guide after tus image is installed?

A long press on EPG followed by selecting Cool TV Guide (or others that suit) is one way or you can setup one of the coloured buttons to take you straight to Cool TV Guide if you prefer by using the Multiquick Buttons Plugin which is built into the firmware and very easy to setup as you wish.

Do remember that Cool TV Guide is just a nice means of viewing the EPG data, it's not what gets you the EPG data itself, for this you need to setup CrossEPG first of all which will also ideally mean setup of a HDD or at least USB stick to store the EPG data - once all that's done then Cool TV Guide will work great and can easily be customised so you have various coloured buttons do various things depending on what suits you.

[jandial]

A long press on EPG followed by selecting Cool TV Guide (or others that suit) is one way or you can setup one of the coloured buttons to take you straight to Cool TV Guide if you prefer by using the Multiquick Buttons Plugin which is built into the firmware and very easy to setup as you wish.

Do remember that Cool TV Guide is just a nice means of viewing the EPG data, it's not what gets you the EPG data itself, for this you need to setup CrossEPG first of all which will also ideally mean setup of a HDD or at least USB stick to store the EPG data - once all that's done then Cool TV Guide will work great and can easily be customised so you have various coloured buttons do various things depending on what suits you.

Hi got all going now apart from timeshift. I have formatted using different programmes but can't get it going. I was formatting to ext3 primary.. It seems to be working for crossepg but not pausing feature. Any help would be appreciated...

[Sat-Shop]

If you go to Menu > Information > About what is the information it's showing you about detected HDD?

[jandial]

If you go to Menu > Information > About what is the information it's showing you about detected HDD?

It says 500gb -1 available or something...

[Sat-Shop]

OK that means it's not seeing the HDD properly, it's there but not setup correctly hence the -1 figure. Connect the HDD back up to your PC and using ONLY the software linked to above (very important) first delete all partitions then create a new one as ext3 Primary. Once that's complete connect the HDD back up to the receiver with the receiver turned on, give it just a few seconds then hard reboot the receiver (power off at mains, wait a couple of seconds, power on) and once the receiver is fully booted check again at Menu > Information > About and you should find it reading differently this time.

The extremely important parts are using the software mentioned for formatting and not being tempted to press or try different things in the receiver menu connected to mounting the HDD or changing recording paths, providing you follow the above it will work every time on the Yoda backup firmware, exact details may be a little different on other firmwares.

[jandial]

OK that means it's not seeing the HDD properly, it's there but not setup correctly hence the -1 figure. Connect the HDD back up to your PC and using ONLY the software linked to above (very important) first delete all partitions then create a new one as ext3 Primary. Once that's complete connect the HDD back up to the receiver with the receiver turned on, give it just a few seconds then hard reboot the receiver (power off at mains, wait a couple of seconds, power on) and once the receiver is fully booted check again at Menu > Information > About and you should find it reading differently this time.

The extremely important parts are using the software mentioned for formatting and not being tempted to press or try different things in the receiver menu connected to mounting the HDD or changing recording paths, providing you follow the above it will work every time on the Yoda backup firmware, exact details may be a little different on other firmwares.

Ok, I will give that another go. I will be reflashing this image aswell before I do as there's a couple of other things not right. The epg info for a select few stations not working. Only showing now and next after viewing them... All the rest shows full 7 day epg....

[rigsby71]

Ok, I will give that another go. I will be reflashing this image aswell before I do as there's a couple of other things not right. The epg info for a select few stations not working. Only showing now and next after viewing them... All the rest shows full 7 day epg....

Try actually watching some of those tv channels not showing the 7 day EPG, as i had one or two that did that, but as soon as i selected those channels to watch, the 7 day guide kicked in.

[jandial]

Try actually watching some of those tv channels not showing the 7 day EPG, as i had one or two that did that, but as soon as i selected those channels to watch, the 7 day guide kicked in.

I tried it last nite but all that came up was now and next (the odd time...) I'm gonna restart the whole process tonight.. Is there any way to boot to enigma straight away rather than holding ok at startup to force enigma...

[rigsby71]

I tried it last nite but all that came up was now and next (the odd time...) I'm gonna restart the whole process tonight.. Is there any way to boot to enigma straight away rather than holding ok at startup to force enigma...

It will boot up to the last system you were using, so , if you shut down and unplug from Enigma, when you boot back up, it will boot up to Enigma.

[jandial]

Any1 know how to turn of audio description.?

[rigsby71]

Any1 know how to turn of audio description.?

Press Yellow button & select different audio until is stops.

[jandial]

What is the best way to get plugins. There isn't many to choose from when I select download plugins.

[jandial]

Ok, I will give that another go. I will be reflashing this image aswell before I do as there's a couple of other things not right. The epg info for a select few stations not working. Only showing now and next after viewing them... All the rest shows full 7 day epg....

Tried that and still getting same thing

[jandial]

Also now my remote is painfully slow. Works perfect in spark and other e2 images. How can I fix this as I liked this yoda image...

[Sat-Shop]

Slow response to remote control usually suggests incorrect tuner configurations (one that doesn't match your actual dish setup) or that there is literally no signal (feed from dish disconnected etc.) however it could also be possible it's related to the HDD not being configured correctly yet, you could test this by removing the HDD, rebooting and seeing if the slow response to remote still exists, if it does then it suggests a tuner configuration/signal issue somewhere along the lines, if not then most likely down to the setup of the HDD, a screen shot of the partition software being used and the settings you are about to commit would hopefully show if it looks correct or not.

[jandial]

Slow response to remote control usually suggests incorrect tuner configurations (one that doesn't match your actual dish setup) or that there is literally no signal (feed from dish disconnected etc.) however it could also be possible it's related to the HDD not being configured correctly yet, you could test this by removing the HDD, rebooting and seeing if the slow response to remote still exists, if it does then it suggests a tuner configuration/signal issue somewhere along the lines, if not then most likely down to the setup of the HDD, a screen shot of the partition software being used and the settings you are about to commit would hopefully show if it looks correct or not.

Think I have all my problems sorted... One last thing, on some other images when you press off on remote it just puts reciever on standby but on yoda it puts it into deep standby meaning a force boot is required each time. Any way to stop this or just have reciever boot to enigma first every time...

[Sat-Shop]

Good stuff, glad it appears to be working now. You can change the shutdown method in the settings, from memory I think it's Menu > Setup > System > Customise and then change the options of Action on short powerbutton press and long powerbutton press.

[jandial]

Good stuff, glad it appears to be working now. You can change the shutdown method in the settings, from memory I think it's Menu > Setup > System > Customise and then change the options of Action on short powerbutton press and long powerbutton press.

Lovely, this was the last thing annoying me. Hopefully... I can finally agree with your claims that this is a great reciever...

[jandial]

Good stuff, glad it appears to be working now. You can change the shutdown method in the settings, from memory I think it's Menu > Setup > System > Customise and then change the options of Action on short powerbutton press and long powerbutton press.

What about if I want it to boot to enigma after a power off? Do I have to force boot every time?

[Sat-Shop]

No it will stay in whatever mode it was already in until such times as you change it over back to Spark, it remembers the boot mode you tell it you want so you can power off and on as much as you like and it will still automatically boot to Enigma2.

[jandial]

Anyone know how to add extra channels to an already set bouquet? When I have autobouquets set to London there is a few Irish stations missing.. I got string codes elsewhere and was told to put them in a supplement.txt file within the autobouquets folder. I did this but it didn't add anything. I think they were supposed to end up in the entertainment section after doing this...

[rigsby71]

Anyone know how to add extra channels to an already set bouquet? When I have autobouquets set to London there is a few Irish stations missing.. I got string codes elsewhere and was told to put them in a supplement.txt file within the autobouquets folder. I did this but it didn't add anything. I think they were supposed to end up in the entertainment section after doing this...

The irish ones are listed but in another bouquet but you can select them & move them to your favoured bouqet , BUT, if you are using the 28.2 exact number as per the official EPG, then these get put out of place & everything AFTER your new inserted channel, moves back a number, like 401 s*y Sp HD1 moves back to 402 (if you only added 1 channel in).

[jandial]

Once I get happy with my settings can I just make a backup of them so if I mess things up I can easily reflash?

[Sat-Shop]

You sure can. The best and easiest way to do this is switch back to Spark and with a USB stick plugged in use the e2upgrade plugin except rather than having it flash new firmware (red button) use it to backup firmware (green button) and it will save a complete backup in a few seconds or so to the USB stick which you can now take away and save away as a backup and it can be re-flashed at any time to take you back to exactly where you were.

Keep in mind this backups up literally everything so if you are doing a backup to share around make sure you only have things on there that you are happy to share.

[jandial]

You sure can. The best and easiest way to do this is switch back to Spark and with a USB stick plugged in use the e2upgrade plugin except rather than having it flash new firmware (red button) use it to backup firmware (green button) and it will save a complete backup in a few seconds or so to the USB stick which you can now take away and save away as a backup and it can be re-flashed at any time to take you back to exactly where you were.

Keep in mind this backups up literally everything so if you are doing a backup to share around make sure you only have things on there that you are happy to share.

Cheers for that. I noticed that option b4 n forgot all about it:) would it be better to save the backup just before the hdd mounting process and cross epg setup and just redo it or would it be just a matter of connecting the hdd pre formatted before reflashing the backup?

[Sat-Shop]

The HDD will auto-mount anyway (and as you know is formatted away from the receiver) so it doesn't really matter about that as you don't do any setup as such on the receiver for this, CrossEPG will always default to internal flash if no HDD is connected so as such it doesn't really matter about this either, the only thing you'd be backing up is the schedule and providers you've selected so yes you could set this up first and then backup if you wanted but these are the kind of things it'll only take seconds to re-setup anyway so it's no real issue if the backup was done without these options being set.

[RobTI]

Hi anyone tried this on a motorised set up, also how does it perform recording 2 hd feeds at the same time and what are the limits in recording/timeshifting and also what can be i be viewing with the twin tuner version ( watch one recorded channel while recording ? channels)

Thanks

[Sat-Shop]

A motorised dish is not problem with this, if fact quite a common setup and the one I generally use myself is fixed minidish on 28.2 East for one tuner and motorised dish using USALS on the second tuner, it'll cope perfectly fine with this and you can use all the usual popular Enigma2 channel lists if you wish (Catseye is my preferred choice for motorised setups).

Recording one channel while watching another is fine as well and including HD, the important part though is having a HDD which is up to doing this, we've got a whole list of drives that have been tested by owners themselves, I'm using a Samsung M3 500GB drive at the moment and no problem at all in recording in HD while watching another HD channel.

[RobTI]

Hi thanks for the reply so could i record 2 items while playing a third recorded one back, also does it do timeshift \ live buffer and what is the maximum time allowed

Thanks

[Sat-Shop]

Recording two channels while watching another is possible (again providing you have suitable HDD) but remember we are only talking twin satellite tuners here so recording one and watching another totally independent of each other is fine but when you add a third channel into the mix it will need to be one on the same TP as the other two, so yes it could work and indeed we have owners that have done this but it would be with restrictions on the TP and asking it to do something that's outside the scope of what a twin tuner is officially intended to be able to do... But yes it's possible. Timeshift as well is perfectly possible and there is no restriction as such on time other than the space on your HDD.

[thegoat]

Recording two channels while watching another is possible (again providing you have suitable HDD) but remember we are only talking twin satellite tuners here so recording one and watching another totally independent of each other is fine but when you add a third channel into the mix it will need to be one on the same TP as the other two, so yes it could work and indeed we have owners that have done this but it would be with restrictions on the TP and asking it to do something that's outside the scope of what a twin tuner is officially intended to be able to do... But yes it's possible. Timeshift as well is perfectly possible and there is no restriction as such on time other than the space on your HDD.


Just ordered one from sat-shop, cant wait for it to get here......

[Shamonee]

How do you order? The Bay?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[thegoat]

Nope bought it from here:

Sat-Shop.co.uk - Sat-Shop.co.uk Online Satellite and Electronics Store from Lavatronics (http://www.sat-shop.co.uk/)

but there other places to purchase them.

[vorlon2257]

Guys can we used any USB stick to upgrade or is there a selected make and size, because I'm using a intenso 8gb stick formatted to fat32 using HP Tool and I'm trying to upgrade to yoda image posted a few posts back but all I get is the T10 error message on on the VFD/LED Display when I try to upgrade using the main power / ok button method.

I thought we could just stick the USB in, goto upgrade by USB in menu and hey presto done.

Also do you turn off the subtitles permanently ?, ****ing annoying having to do it everytime I change channels

Thx

[vorlon2257]

Guys don't bother, I've brick the box stuck on boot after installing enigma 2 image, tyring to rescue it using putty and null modem lead but putty won't work in windows 7 64bit, does this have to work in 32 bit mode ?.

[rigsby71]

Guys can we used any USB stick to upgrade or is there a selected make and size, because I'm using a intenso 8gb stick formatted to fat32 using HP Tool and I'm trying to upgrade to yoda image posted a few posts back but all I get is the T10 error message on on the VFD/LED Display when I try to upgrade using the main power / ok button method.

I thought we could just stick the USB in, goto upgrade by USB in menu and hey presto done.

Also do you turn off the subtitles permanently ?, ****ing annoying having to do it everytime I change channels

Thx

It's easier to update using the e2 upgrade function in Spark, no pressing of buttons on the box.

[vorlon2257]

Have already sent the box back to hopefully be fix and up and running again.

[rigsby71]

Also do you turn off the subtitles permanently ?, ****ing annoying having to do it everytime I change channels

Thx

You can turn it off.

Look for the language option in the menus, then set the subtitle to manual instead of auto

[rigsby71]

Have already sent the box back to hopefully be fix and up and running again.

What was actually wrong with your box for the need to send it back ?

What E2 image were you trying to load ?

It's safer to load when in spark using the E2 upgrade plugin as that's what it's there for.

[rigsby71]

I bought a 2nd hand Alien 8900, the guy didn't know much about the thing, but a little reading in the right places, & he could have soon have it running properley.

Anyway, i got it running superbly now.

Too much of this culture today where people expect things to plugin in to the wall & do all the work for them.

I guess it comes from being spoon fed when on cable, well satellite is not like that, so get learning.

[vorlon2257]

Box is now back to full working order thanks to the guys at Lavatronics and will be back with me next week. I'm going to stay on the spark firmware for now until I do a lot more reading to make sure I don't make the same mistake's of basically not following the tutorials and jumping ahead 5 steps instead of taking it 1 step at a time.

[Fano]

What image do people find to be better ,Satstation Yoda backup or HDMU ?

[rigsby71]

What image do people find to be better ,Satstation Yoda backup or HDMU ?

Just down to personal choice, no image is any better than the other, it's your config set up that makes the difference.

[thegoat]

Me personally the satstation yoda april backup, it works a bloody treat. Epg, cool tv guide, recording channels, hd works, fav button works, epg button is cool tv etc etc.

Is running nice and stable on me box:thumbup: just set your region for autobouquets input your deatails and your away.....

sent from my s3

[Fano]

Just down to personal choice, no image is any better than the other, it's your config set up that makes the difference.

No image is better than the other ,I find that hard to believe .From using Dreamboxes in the past there is a big difference in different images in stability .

I tried the HDMU image and it is decent enough ,quite stable but still has a few minor bugs.
I had to give up on the Satstaion backup.I flashed it to the box but it had a mind of its own ,the remote barely responded and had a huge lag at other times.
I believe its a tuner config issue but I couldnt resolve it .

The biggest issue with the boxes is the IR receiver for the remote,it is very poor.
You have to point the remote directly at the receiver and press the buttons quite hard if you are more than a few feet away from the unit.Up close its perfect.
Its a pity really as the box would be really nice apart from this issue .

[thegoat]

Totally agree about the remote it has to be spot on pointing at the receiver!! anyone opened up the box to see if the ir receiver has a god view of the remote? many of the f5 boxes had it pointing down!!

might have a look tomoz...


No image is better than the other ,I find that hard to believe .From using Dreamboxes in the past there is a big difference in different images in stability .

I tried the HDMU image and it is decent enough ,quite stable but still has a few minor bugs.
I had to give up on the Satstaion backup.I flashed it to the box but it had a mind of its own ,the remote barely responded and had a huge lag at other times.
I believe its a tuner config issue but I couldnt resolve it .

The biggest issue with the boxes is the IR receiver for the remote,it is very poor.
You have to point the remote directly at the receiver and press the buttons quite hard if you are more than a few feet away from the unit.Up close its perfect.
Its a pity really as the box would be really nice apart from this issue .

[Fano]

Totally agree about the remote it has to be spot on pointing at the receiver!! anyone opened up the box to see if the ir receiver has a god view of the remote? many of the f5 boxes had it pointing down!!

might have a look tomoz...
Good idea man,I must check it out tomorrow,see if it can be improved.

[thegoat]

People have been opening the remotes and using a piece of foil to increase range google remote control foil mod amiko. All will be revealed, many people on another forum have been doing it....

sent from my s3

[thegoat]

Here is another remote tip from satstation

The instructions are in the first post but for clarification:

Open up "/etc/lircd.conf".
Change all eps values to 45 (mine were 30 originally).
Save.

I'd recommend making a local backup and using Notepad++ or similar to make the edit, because you can probably stop your remote from working if you mess up.

Here's a direct link to the post by Zakalibit.


sent from my s3

[stevenpc]

Hi everyone reading this thread from p1 to p8 has been very imformative so much so ive decided that the amiko alien 2 triple will be my next purchase.
can anyone advise me im off to france in a few days for a wedding (not mine) and i know i can get a box from there much cheaper than here would a triple from there be any different
than one purchased here in the uk? ie would the terrestial tuner be the same.sorry if its a daft question but want to make sure b4 i go. cheers everone

[mdt]

dont be suprised if the support dies off when the next "super stb" comes on the market and stocks have been sold although your choices are limited for what your after as regards tuners,regards mdt

[Sat-Shop]

Please do not make such throw away comments regarding the Amiko brand and products, you have no idea the time, effort and hard work that goes into Amiko products both from the Hungary base and here from the UK distribution. Amiko is not new, simply new to the UK in many respects but they have had and continue to support products from years gone by and I can assure you the Amiko Alien 2 will be no different, and of course comes with 2 year hardware guarantee.

The Amiko brand and backing is as big and probably bigger than anything similar you will find in the UK and as distributor we take our role very seriously, these are not receivers being sold from a bedroom like so many others these days, you have the very best backing possible on terms of hardware, software, third party firmware and continued commitment to support.

[stevenpc]

at my age if it does half as well as my old linux relook 400s still in use with an image about 4years old still getting the chans i want ill be more than happy.
@ satshop thanks for your reassurance im going to my youngest grandsons wedding in france this week and he has got the box waiting for me thats why im not getting one from uk.

[|ih4x|]

just got my self a amiko alien 2 twin tuner. running smooth on spark but wish to try out enigma

is it possible to flash via usb and spark enigma addon or do i need to power off the box and hold and hold ok button?

which method is the safest

[genam]

I am looking at possibly buying one of these and have a couple of questions.
Enigma is Linux so it makes sense that the PVR drive is ext3 but for media playback can any file format of drive be used through the 2nd USB port.

My current ....................... so can I......................... into this box.

Is the owners manual any good for general setup and is the UI intuitive.

Are the bouquet channel lists numbered as per Sky......thats a biggy according to the wife...insisted I got a list for the wee F5 we use at the moment.

What gains does this box have over the likes of the Optibox Spider for the average user.

[kulli]

hi all.... my first post regarding the AA2 STB Twin Tuner. My brother got me this box a few months back. I ran it first first on the default Spark, then upgraded to to an E2 image... thanks to my bro. I've had no major issues with the box. Running on E2, just for the better GUI. Only problem I have is i have to reconfigure my wireless connection each time I power of from the mains.
Otherwise all is running 9/10... recording and playback via a WD hdd.

Happy Days...and would recommend though not the easiest for a novice!