Beiträge von ssh

    I realize this is an old thread, but I would like to add a few bits here.


    First of all, a short explainer why I was interested in this. When you open a "bouquet" (favorites list) on your Dreambox and it says <n/a> then you don't know what TV channel (or service) was at that position. Once it's gone, it's gone. There is no (easy) way to figure out what is missing (I don't have all my TV channels and their position memorized). So I was investigating what channel has been lost in one of my channel lists. I eventually figured it out by cross referencing the lamedb file (a lame database file).


    Secondly, I had not one but two complete lists of German channels lost today. One of my kids was messing around with the remote control and accidentally rendered two lists useless. Try to picture one of your channel lists looking something like this:


    Code
    <n/a>
    <n/a>
    <n/a>
    <n/a>
    ...
    
    <n/a>
    <n/a>

    Astra 19.2E was completely dropped it would seem. I didn't really lose anything from the lists, it's just that the system had no clue what to display for those given entries. I hypothesized that if I did an automatic scan, the system would probably restore the channel names. It worked as expected and all the channels have now been restored.


    Well, all but one channel it seems. But thanks to this thread, I was able to help myself and I have figured out what channel it was.


    The missing and unknown channel in the list:

    #SERVICE 1:0:19:526C:41D:1:C00000:0:0:0:


    Again, the pattern is:

    *:*:*:SID:TID:NID:NS:*:*:*:


    SID is a short for Service ID

    TID is a short for Transponder ID

    NID is a short for Network ID

    NS is most likely a short for Name Space (my best guess)


    So in this example SID is 526C, TID is 41D, NID is 1 and NS is C00000.


    To get a human friendly name for this nonsense you have to cross-reference it with the lamedb file. The format it slightly different though.


    It should translate to something like this:

    526c:00c00000:041d:0001


    You have to add some padding to the numbers, like TID for example is not 41d but 041d and so on.


    This appears to be an old channel by the name of "Anixe Serie HD". A reference from another user's list is given below.


    https://forums.openpli.org/top…annels/page-3#entry584095


    A reference from another user's lamdb file is given below (I'm surprised I got this right and got this match from Google).


    https://github.com/teamblue-e2…blob/master/lamedb5#L1150


    No one sane will probably ever go through all this trouble. I keep telling myself that I only do this to keep my sanity (not so sure about that though). In any case, if you want to play detective like I do, maybe write your own decoder for this sort of thing I hope you find this useful.

    Note! The reference numbers you find in a user bouquet is different from that of the lamedb that stores the service name.


    Content of userbouquet.favourites.tv file:


    Code
    #SERVICE 1:0:1:2F:21:85:C00000:0:0:0:

    Pattern: *:*:*:SID:TID:NID:NS:*:*:*:


    Only the significant ID numbers and their position are marked up.


    Content of lamedb file:

    Code
    p:BetaDigital
    002f:00c00000:0021:0085:22:0
    REGIO TV


    Pattern: SID:NS:TID:NID:*:*


    Using the lamedb when available is by far the easiest way to figure out the name of any given service or channel, without using any utility software.

    I just wonder if there is a website or some other resource that would allow me to find a service based on TID and SID? I mean something like LyngSat or KingOfSat, only with better search and filtering options.


    For example, I would like to figure out the name of the service with TID 33 and SID 47. I think this is a German regional TV channel. But I don't remember its name. All I have is the reference number.

    Devices supporting CEC usually provide somehow there identity when there’re plugged in the very first time. So did my PS3, and now stays in and is shown even if another device is now attached to that HDMI port.


    So I’m asking if that could be altered somehow manually or just deleted?


    Nothing to do with its roomly location …

    Aha! OK!


    Well... have you tried rebooting your Dreambox?


    But yes, that info should be saved somewhere in your Dreambox. You might be able to modify it manually with a text editor.

    No firmware for linux boxes is perfect. This is an open source code. However, some Enigma2 authors have finally joined a common "alliance". And that's the main thing.

    Hey imagine replacing the first sentence with "Linux is not perfect", and then also replacing "Enigma2" with "Linux" in the second sentence... :winking_face_with_tongue:


    I have heard this story before. The main weakness of a Linux based system is its own strength. The flexibility of these systems comes with a price. It allows any idiot to create his own "distro" and act like a hacker wannabe. It's sad, but true. How many distros are there out there anyway?... 3000? 4000? Let's not stop creating new distros until we make it to 100,000 and then let's only use 2% of them. Brilliant idea! Or not... That time can be better used to further develop one of the major Linux distros instead of creating 100,000:th distro for the sole purpose of selfpromotion.


    The story of Enigma2 is not too different from Linux systems in general. One guy creates it, another guy copies it, a third guy pawns it and makes a profit out of it, a fifth guy clones it and makes a profit while giving nothing back to the original project. So on and so forth. Very simplified version! But that's how it usually goes.


    Sorry, but people are not mentally ready for the age of free and open source software.



    The problem with DM500-HD is that it is already very old.

    Old? Age has nothing to do with it. It's a Linux box. It can run for many decades to come. The problem is its limited hardware. But that limitation was there from the beginning. It did not come with age. It has only 8 MB of Flash memory and 128 MB RAM if I recall correctly. That's very little. So we can't run Windows on it. But we can run Linux on it.


    The main problem is that the so called Linux programmers have lost their touch. They no longer take it as an interesting challenge to make a piece of hardware with very limited resources run on Linux. The beefier the hardware, the easier their day is. They just want to click a button and be done with it. Where is the fun in that? :face_with_tongue:



    For example, OpenATV develops firmware for Dreambox, but not for the old DM500-HD.

    Like I said, they have lost the touch. They no longer see it as a worthy challenge. What we need is Xfce equivalent for Engima2 boxes and it should be no problem to run it on DM500 HD.



    Also, there is no OpenATV image for DM500-HD, but OpenPLi image yes exists (at least partially).

    What does "partially" mean? :thinking_face:


    It either exists... or it doesn't... unless you're a house cat and your master is Erwin Schrödinger. :grinning_squinting_face:


    Lastly, does either OpenATV or OpenPLi offer any more HDMI CEC options for the DM500 HD than what is available with official Dreambox images?

    Unfortunately, the truth is that Dreambox has laid the foundations for today's set top box boxes.

    Sadly, that's not entirely true.


    What do you mean by "foundations"? You mean Enigma2, right? That's only one of the components that make up such a machine. What about the Linux kernel? Or how about TuxBox? These two components are much more important I think, they are more foundational/fundamental than Enigma2. To put it differently: you can have a Linux STB that works without Enigma2, but you can't have an Enigma2 STB that works without the Linux kernel or the TuxBox component.


    You know, Enigma2 is only the front-end, and it's not the only one out there. But it has been influential, thanks to the widespread use of the original Dreambox STBs. So everyone started to copy them. But where did Dreambox get their ideas from?...


    DBox predates Dreambox... :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:


    "The hardware was developed and produced by Nokia though later also produced by Philips and Sagem under license."
    "For the DBox2, an effort was created to port the Linux operating system."
    "The combination of third-party developers and network connectivity which facilitates card sharing, makes DBox2 (and the DBox2 based Dreambox) use particularly common among enthusiasts and those who intend to obtain services without payment."
    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DBox2


    So you see Sherlock, good ideas are worth stea... spreading! :winking_face:


    But today there are much better and cheaper Linux set top boxes than Dreambox. And they're quality set top boxes.

    The argument was not that Draembox is better than other Linux/Enigma2 STB brands. The argument was that official Dreambox firmwares/images are better suited to genuine Dreambox devices. We are not even talking about clones. We are talking about Dreambox software running best on Dreambox hardware. Just like Mac OS X runs best on a genuine Apple Mac, rather than a clone or a hackintosh.


    It's hard to beat that argument you see. The only way you can do that is by producing a software that works better than the original software on the original hardware. And that's a very tall order to match up to. Given that all these different alternative software/images like OpenATV need to keep a more generalist profile in order to be able to run on all the different brands and models out there, rather then being a specialist and showing its best on one single device. You can't have it both ways, you either take the highly optimized specialist approach or give your software a more sloppy/loose generalist design that works everywhere but with potentially a higher number of errors and lower performance.


    I have nothing against alternative firmware or their makers. I just think that they are less optimized for Dreambox devices, compared to original Dreambox firmware. That's all.


    I personally also use OpenATV for many years, but I think OpenPLi is better. There is better support in the English language, while OpenATV unfortunately is mainly supported in German. OpenATV has very poor support in English (few users, few topics, and few forum moderators - in the "English" thread).

    So OpenPLi is beter than OpenATV because there are more English speakers in the community? Is that what you're saying?


    I have also noticed that most of the forum sections for OpenATV are in German. This whole Linux/Enigma2 STB scene in general is flooded with German speakers. That's normal! Because Dreambox originates from Germany, and so does DBox, and so does DBox2, and so does the old Kirch Media – a "German provider of digital television that later merged with Premiere" (source above) – that commissioned the creation of DBox.


    Also, given how many German FTA channels you have at your disposal it should be clear that satellite reception was and still is a popular hobby in this country. Availability of FTA channels also has to do with culture and politics. It should come as no surprise that the first Linux based STB was made in Germany.


    Do I think it's frustrating to get help from a community that only speaks German? Sometimes, yes. Why do you think I hang out in this part of the forum on this board? Take a guess. But there are surprisingly many Germans that understand English well enough that they can help out when needed. Now... I know this is not true at all for the general population in Germany... last year I was in Germany for the first time and hardly anyone knew a single word of English, and those that did only knew the basics. Believe it or not, it was easier to communicate with them in Russian than in English. Yes, I was in the eastern part of the country, not too far from Berlin. But I hear that western Germany is not much different when it comes to their knowledge of English (and their willingness to speak it). Younger generations are usually the ones that excel at English and they are brave enough to speak it. :smiling_face:


    So what's the solution then? Simple! Learn German! Or use Google Translator. :thumbs_up:


    Hey whatever happened to Dr. Dish TV? :smiling_face_with_sunglasses: I learned a lot about satellites by watching that show... apart from learning some basics of the German language.


    Seriously, English doesn't help you much in this community. It's a very small tech/sat community. English is not my first language. And neither is German. The only reason I know English in fact is because I was once exposed to computers and had to seek help, either by talking to people or reading documentation which was all in English. But try asking for help with Dreambox, or OpenATV, or Enigma2, or OpenPLi on IRC or on an English forum for Linux. You will get zero responses, or you will end up educating them about everything you know about the Dreambox, before they can begin to answer your first question. It's just the way it is. Every community has its own rules and characteristics. One characteristic about the "Dreambox community" if we can call it so, is that German language dominates in these circles. Try to get used to it, don't resist it.

    Is there a way to modify / change the entries in Settings -> Devices -> HDMI CEC -> HDMI CEC Setup -> Devices as in the attached OSD screenshot ?

    You mean change their names to something like "Bedroom", "Living Room", etc.? Or for example changing "Unknown" to "Xbox One"?

    I am not sure if anything was modified at all by DBE regarding tuner configuration. I don't think it was. I think BDE can only backup tuner configuration, it cannot restore it.


    It is true, "settings" file holds tuner configuration. After sending the backup file set to the box using BDE, all services and bouquets were restored. Except for multi-bouquet setting which I had to enable manually. And the settings file was only 2 kB when it should have been 3 kB after restore.


    So this whole section was missing in the restored settings file.


    Code
    config.Nims.0.powerMeasurement=false
    config.Nims.0.simpleDiSEqCOnlyOnSatChange=true
    config.Nims.0.diseqcB=160
    config.Nims.0.diseqcC=130
    config.Nims.0.diseqcD=50
    config.Nims.0.configMode=simple
    config.Nims.0.diseqcMode=diseqc_a_b_c_d


    So it's no wonder I was getting the "Service unavailable!: Check tuner configuration!" error.


    I then sent it to the box via FTP (WinSCP is better than FileZilla for this in my experience) and rebooted. The 3 kB file was uploaded and overwrote the old 2 kB settings file on the box. But that didn't help. So I had to go in and configure the tuner manually. After that I was able to tune into my TV channels. No need to reboot. Everything works fine now.


    How come tuner configuration is not applied? Not even after I uploaded it back to the box over FTP?... it's as if the box needs to run some init command before it accepts modified settings file.

    Flashed and all bouquets and services restored.


    DBE doesn't seem to backup the tuner configuration. I keep seeing this over and over again, where I have to reconfigure it manually. I thought this was done in one of the XML files. But I guess not.


    Also, I had to enable multi bouquet setting manually to be able to see my personal user bouquets. I dropped out of the configuration wizard right after configuring the video output, otherwise the wizard will ask about this.


    Now where is the tuner configuration stored? Is it not in the "settings" file?

    Setting Active mode did not help. It causes the program to freeze and stop responding for a few seconds.



    So I guess I will have to do this manually again after I flash the box a second time? At least I was able to download everything with DBE.

    I tried to send the modified files (without bad references) back to the box and the transfer failed.



    I think I ran into the same issue with File Zilla recently where the FTP connection breaks when trying to upload or download some file, but directory listing and login works fine. This may have something to do with FTP mode.

    Everything (!) else is Python.

    That's awesome! That makes another plus for Python in my book. :winking_face: C#, JS and PHP on Windows is where I am at, but I may pick up Python when I have a hard pressed need for it, like making a plugin for Dreambox.


    How are plugins distributed for Dreambox?

    I see that you found some posts explaining most of your questions

    I sure did. :thumbs_up:


    about Enigma2


    Opendreambox is the dev environment of Dream Multimedia.

    So everything that makes up the software on a Dreambox is in those repos, except the engima2 core?


    Dream is the "inventor" of enigma2 and provided everything up to release 3.2 (sometime in 2011) with a special open source license.

    I am sad to see that other manufacturers didn't contribute anything to the original software, that they just used it to put money in their own pockets. I remember reading about Dreambox clones back in the day. I decided to go with the original. Because many people said that the clones had technical issues.


    This is when I bought my DM500 HD. I think it had some 3.2.x build already from day one. So this was right around the time when the license was changed and code was closed, so the clone makers were left on their own, and without full insight into the engima2 code you can't do a good job of optimizing it for your own Dreambox clone.


    The OpenAlliance images needed to "hard fork" with enigma2 3.2 and have since evolved in other directions.

    Do you know any webpage that explains the history of enigma2 and the family history of the different forks? I know about OpenPLi and now also Open ATV... are there others?


    Where does Tuxbox fit in? I read somewhere that this was the first successful attempt at making a fully functional Linux based STB. As I recall, this was the DBox by Nokia. I see my Dreambox also uses Tuxbox.


    Sorry for the many questions! Curiosity... that's always my problem. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: I started learning Linux because of Dreambox and DD-WRT on my router. Then I got hooked by it.

    alternative branches (OpenAlliance)

    Link?



    Especially as OpenPLi has suspended Dreambox support quite a while ago.

    How do these groups get the source code? Is OpenPLi a fork of the system that Dream Property GmbH uses on their boxes?



    Dream is the ONLY enigma2 manufacturer that still provides a very useful and good official image.

    Is Dream Multimedia/Property the original author of Enigma2? Is it open sourced?



    Reading from other threads in this board, @ssh is already using an alternative image, but one based on the official OE 2.0 branch

    I don't think so. I use this one:
    https://dreamboxupdate.com/ope…mage-dm500hd-20170216.nfo


    This should be the official build. It's just not a release build but an experimental/beta build.

    It is mainly in the front-end software and its configuration options.

    Which should not be too difficult to enable. Is the source code for Enigma2 available for download? I don't fully understand this whole scene surrounding Enigma2. What is it? Is it a Linux dist? It seems like Enigma2 is the front-end software, Tuxbox is the back-end, and Linux is the kernel? How does "Open Dreambox" fit in?... is this the name of the distribution?

    I tried to modify the settings for Penthouse TV by adding all the flags (K, H, P, N).


    Before...


    1:0:19:26B3:43E:1:C00000:0:0:0


    After...


    1:0:19:26B3:43E:1:C00000:0:0:0


    Nothing changed in the reference. I also tried modifying the service type and ID to 2 and 9999.


    Before...


    1:0:19:26B3:43E:1:C00000:0:0:0


    After...


    1:0:2:270F:43E:1:C00000:0:0:0



    DVB:FLAGS:

    What did you mean by flags? The K, H, P, N flags? They don't seem to be included in the service reference.