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Closed Poll Do you use the modified firmware?

Do you use the modified firmware for the HD[R] T2?

  • Total voters
    27
  • Poll closed .
Does the EPG keywords web interface depend on the SMTP email settings just above af123? I'm stuck setting it up?

P.s. Keep up the good work, very much appreciated.
 
Jfirth8187 said:
Does the EPG keywords web interface depend on the SMTP email settings just above af123? I'm stuck setting it up?
Click to expand...

Yes, that's he SMTP server that is used by the EPG keywords emails. The 'Show matching EPG records' should work without that though. I should add a 'send test email' option..
 
I've been using it from the minute I discovered it. You've basically shunted the HDR up to a level of usefulness that HUMAX should have provided long ago - so I salute you for that. I was fairly new to Linux, but having this, and a QNAP box has forced my hand into learning it (a good thing). Keep up the great work.
 
Dan said:
I use it and would rate myself as reasonable savvy although not very experienced outside of a windows environment (I have a linux box in the house but its mostly a dust trap). Id be happy to contribute to a userguide / wiki.

For those considering taking the plunge I would say that its easier than I expected and apart from teaching my other half to also check the virtual folder for recordings (where my unencrypted stuff is) I don't think she can really tell the difference. Ive had no failed recordings since I installed the new firmware and I havent (yet) crashed the box.

That said I do use the web interface to switch features on and off as I need them and my main usage is having the hummy show up as a drive and dragging and dropping things as I need them. I don't stream very often, I just normally wait the two minutes to transfer it to my pc.

The web interface is nice and has great promise but if I'm being honest I just use it to turn on and off SAMBA (windows file sharing for the none techies). Im waiting for remote recording where it will really come into its own. Personally one feature I would love would be if we could get a sexy looking icon for people who add it to their iphone /ipad (I wish I had one!) home screen.... (done via: <link rel=”apple-touch-icon” href=”http://127.0.0.1/icon.png”>).

edit: it doesn't seem to let me not have the above as a hyperlink.
Click to expand...

Here's an iPhone/iPad icon for the home screen. it needs to be added to the root folder of the web interface on the Humax.

apple-touch-icon.png
 
For anyone still not sure whether to download the hacked firmware be assured I was an absolute complete beginner when I found this site. At that stage there was only the Telnet controls but I followed the instructions on the first post of the thread and it did exactly what the instructions told me it would do! Like others I did have problems getting the Windows Telnet client working but I went and got Putty and it worked perfectly first time. I understand peoples nervousness around this as I'd only had the HDR T2 for less than a month so wasn't sure whether I'd make myself very popular if I b********d it up messing about with it!!!

If you're not sure I can say that from my experiences the main things to remember are that

1. the installation process uses Humax's own update process not something customised - put the file (af123's or Humax's) on a USB stick, put the box in standby, plug in the USB, press the big round button on the front, wait til it says 100%, remove usb, press big round button, find IP address in Humax systems menus and enter it in web browser (no intention to patronise - this is about as technical as I get :)). My box seems to prefer it if I unplug the usb drive from the rear socket so bear that in mind if you do have any other usbs connected. The reason I put this first is so that you know you can rely on this update process when you get to step 2. Some USB sticks have been reported as troublesome - I tried a couple before one worked.

2. you can download official Humax firmware from their site here http://beta.humaxonline.co.uk/freeview-hd-t2 (updates for other models are available!) and follow the process above to return your HD or HDR to that official version of firmware. There are files/folders on the hard disk which can be cleaned up but in terms of functionality it will be back to the Humax version. There's instructions on the Hacked Firmware thread to fully remove all traces if you really need to http://www.hummy.tv/forum/threads/customised-hdf-file-released.232/

3. Once you have the web interface running you don't even need to mess about with Telnet if you don't want to but if you do the only commands I ever really needed (as the complete beginner that I am) were OPKG UPDATE to refresh the package list, OPKG INSTALL nnn with nnn being the package name and OPKG UPGRADE to upgrade anything that needed it once installed.

Honestly it is as simple as that and fully recoverable by applying an official Humax update. I have read a lot of posts on this site and only ever seen one mention of a problem when someone wanted to see what would happen if you tried to convince an HD T2 box that it was an HDR t2!! They found out and they even recovered that as well!!

I hope this helps people make their decision - so all that's left for me to say is thanks af123, raydon and all the other clever people that can do all this stuff for people like me and come on in the water's lovely!!
 
I'll get there, and then it will be on the blog (it's only a question of having the time, energy, and ethusiasm all at the same instant).

Thanks for your post, and thanks to the BYTs.
 
Black Hole said:
I'll get there, and then it will be on the blog (it's only a question of having the time, energy, and ethusiasm all at the same instant).

Thanks for your post, and thanks to the BYTs.
Click to expand...
What about the BOT's ? It is a misconception to assume that all modders must be youngsters !
 
The poll has closed now, and I don't suppose I could change my vote even if it was open, but...

I'VE INSTALLED!!! :)
 
Yes - been using for about a month. Fantastic. Only odd thing I've noticed is having to hard reboot occasionally as the HD signal becomes too weak. Once rebooted the signal strength is good enough again to display the HD channels. I don't think I had to do this before...
 
The custom firmware will NOT affect signal strength. Perhaps there is an underlying reception problem? Transmitter work, ariel cable degradation...

edit: Post edited to correct a schoolboy error...;)
 
Interesting - I'm reverting to standard for now. 24 hours since last reboot approx and just got a load of screen garbage. Rebooted and now clear again.
 
well guess what? The box still needed a reboot this evening when I got home from work.... Logically reverting back to "standard" firmware wasn't going to cure this, but I had to try.... Anyone got any suggestions or theories about why I could have intermittent signal strength affecting the HD channels only seemingly at at similar time or after a similar period of time (24 hours!)? I have moved the aerial cable further from the wireless router and will see ow it goes, but any other thoughts would be appreciated..... tia. Allan
 
af123 said:
Yes, that's he SMTP server that is used by the EPG keywords emails. The 'Show matching EPG records' should work without that though. I should add a 'send test email' option..
Click to expand...
Yesterday I have entered smtp address then saved changes which are still saved. When I enter the email address and save changes, it does not save, just sits there with the timer going round. Any ideas/more detailed instructions of how to operate epg keywords?
 
af123 said:
Ok, here's a brief list of what is available once you have loaded the customised firmware. There are a lot of packages which are aimed at developers or people who want to hack around with the internals so the general rule of thumb is that if you don't know what a package is then you probably don't need it. These are the ones that I think are for end users.
  • FTP Server - the custom firmware includes a modified FTP server which has the restrictions added by Humax removed. It allows access to the whole filesystem.
  • FTP Server package - for the HD model which does not have a built in one.
  • Web Interface (webif).
    • Browsing of the recorded media from a computer with a handy summary of how much space each folder and file is taking up. You can view details about the recorded programme too (like using the info button on the remote control). Options to lock/unlock, delete, download files. There is also an option to rename the file and change the title which is shown in the on-screen EPG - much easier from a real keyboard.
    • View the list of scheduled recordings with links off to see details of what will be recorded for each event. Quite useful too to bring up on screen before doing a rescan so that you can quickly re-enter the recordings. Next version will include backup/restore of the schedule with automatic resolving of channel changes (already half written).
    • EPG interface, shows now/next, allows searching and showing by channel or genre. Single click searches taken from the keywords you have defined via the remote control. Clicking on a programme opens an information window, again like using the info button on the remote control. EPG display can be restricted to a set of favourite channels defined via the remote control.
    • Service management - quickly turn installed services (see below) on and off and control whether they are started automatically at boot time.
    • Package management - a little basic at present but allows packages to be installed, removed and upgraded.
  • EPG Keywords web interface plugin (webif.epgkeywords). Allows you to define keywords and then you will receive an email every 6 days showing you matches in the EPG so, for example, you can set it to check for 'Doctor Who' on BBC1 and email you once it appears in the EPG. You can also view matching entries on demand via the web interface.
  • Automatic removal of ENC flag (auto-unprotect) - background task which periodically scans the disk for new HD recordings and removes the ENC flag so that the Humax will remove the encryption when the recording is copied off to an external disk.
  • Virtual disk (virtual-disk) - Creates a virtual disk to which recordings can be copied, triggering the removal of encryption. Since the copy is disk-to-disk, it is much faster than disk-to-USB. Once decrypted, files can be streamed to other devices on the network using mediatomb or downloaded via the web interface.
  • Mediatomb (mediatomb) - A media server which can stream content from the Humax once decrypted.
  • Samba (samba) - Windows file sharing server - allows access to the Humax disk via windows file sharing so that it appears as a drive (works from a PC, MacOSX, Linux and other UNIX systems).
  • Transmission (transmission) - a Bit Torrent client with a nice web interface.
And for more advanced users:

  • De-duplication (dedup) - a command line tool allowing consolidation of programmes in a folder. Duplicates are removed and programmes are renamed to match the episode name. Very useful for folders of children's programmes or things like American Dad and Family Guy where episodes are repeated often.
  • Dropbear (dropbear-ssh) - an SSH server allowing secure file copy on and off the Humax.
  • Rsync (rsync) - file synchronisation server to make it easy to keep the Humax in sync with another device.
  • CIFS (cifs) - allows the Humax to mount drives from windows servers.
Also, neilleeds got me thinking and the next custom firmware version will include a tiny web server, running by default, that does nothing more than allow you to confirm successful initialisation of the firmware, install the full web interface and view logs. That will remove the need to use telnet completely.

The big feature that people want is the ability to schedule recordings remotely. The next phase of development for the web interface is going to attempt to add this but it isn't going to be straightforward. Once that's working, I'm going to look at a practical way of scheduling recordings while away from home, probably using an intermediary service. (not everyone can create a VPN back to their home network to do it via the web interface!)

Let me know if anything doesn't make sense or if I've missed something out!
Click to expand...

This list is a bit out of date now - the web server installation mechanism has been put in place, so for most users Telnet is completely unnecessary now. The Remote Scheduler is well established - registered users can monitor the EPG and recorded content from their HD/HDR-FOX remotely via the Web, and set up new recordings.

Some things that have proved crucial (or at least highly convenient) to me:
  • a means to set the system time from an Internet time source (this allows you to run without an aerial connected - otherwise the box doesn't know what year it is and the TV Portal won't work).
  • Complete read/write access to an external NTFS drive.
  • WebIF (detailed monitoring of the Humax from the convenience of a web browser).
  • flatten, which means series recordings that you don't want filed away in a series folder can (selectively) be dumped into the general pool of recorded programmes vor viewing and deleting without having to search through folders.
Some more things that are going to become important to me:
  • Cross-mounting of the HDR internal drive on the HD-FOX by network file share (Samba/CIFS) - the DLNA streaming client in the HD/HDR-FOX has a bug which means it can't stream a file beyond the 4GB point (crap if you are trying to do what it should be very good at - streaming a HiDef recording from the HDR to the HD - when it gets clipped off after about 55 minutes). Accessing the file as if mounted locally will solve that (and also increase the transport control options), but also depends on:
  • Automatic decryption of recorded content. There is a process in place that will not only unprotect the content as soon as it has been recorded, but go on to decrypt it as well! Once decrypted the content becomes accessible to share and stream (via Mediatomb if you like) at will.
  • With the content decrypted, another process is able to take radio recordings and strip them down to MP3 files.
And the new kid on the block (under development):
  • The ability to choose whether a scheduled recording is made with padding or AR - meaning the best of both worlds: AR tracking on trustworthy channels and padding insurance on channels which don't have a good reputation with AR.
I used to think the custom software (what are we going to call it guys?) would be take-it-or-leave-it, handy for people wanting to expand the functionality in esoteric ways, but actually it is now adressing severe limitations in the standard firmware which Humax may never get around to fixing, and adding such a rich set of extra features that only those with a very restricted horizon or fear-factor could call esoteric.

It's a no-brainer. Do it!
 
Oh yes, and that (not looked at it yet)... I'm not saying I've given a definitive list, the whole lot needs updating, but for those interested the Wiki is probably (or should be) the most maintained list HERE (click).
 
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