The following is a checklist of settings which may need to be configured during or following a Restore Factory Defaults (AKA "factory reset") operation
Menu >> Settings >> Installation >> Factory Default (including a self-initiated startup wizard, which can occur any time - we believe if internal errors are detected).
Make a note of current settings before performing the factory reset, so you don't have to remember/guess how you had them prior, and just check the custom firmware (CF, if installed) made a recent backup of your schedule (and take another one if not, or just in case anyway). Regarding the recording schdule, if you are not a CF user this will need to be "backed up" manually:
Guide >> Schedule (yellow), then make a record of the list (possibly multiple pages). A phone camera is handy for this. It will not be possible to reinstate recordings for which there is no future broadcast within the next 8 days (these are shown by dashes in the date and time fields, and are automatically removed after 3 months).
The factory reset also offers to format the HDD. While this
might resolve some problems if they are the consequence of file system errors, we generally have less destructive ways to deal with them via CF. Accepting the option to format the HDD will destroy all existing recordings and other content, including the elements of CF that are stored there (after reformatting, accessing the WebIF will offer to install again, but the user will need to configure packages etc thereafter).
- Configure your display format (default is 16:9/auto/1080i - I prefer 'pillar box' because otherwise 4:3 material gets stretched to fill 16:9)*
- Configure power saving in standby (default is ON; needs to be OFF if you want aerial pass-through)*
- Turn on antenna power, if you need it (only if you have the HDR powering a remote aerial amplifier)
- Configure automatic power down (default is ON, which goes into standby if the HDR is idle for three hours)
- Configure content sharing (default is OFF; needs to be ON if you want CF decryption)
- Configure FTP (default is OFF, which is correct if you are using the CF FTP client betaftpd)
- Configure LAN/WiFi (default is DHCP; CF can look after WiFi settings)
- Configure Auto-Padding / AR (default is padding = 0, ie AR)
- Configure Digital Audio Out (default is multichannel; stereo is required for volume control compatibility with some TVs)
- Configure lip sync (default is 0, I find I need 80ms)
- Adjust the services (channels) population (the tunefix package can do this automatically on reboot if configured to your preferences)
- Restore favourites and recording schedule (restore from WebIF >> Schedule >> Backup/Restore, the auto-schedule-restore package can do this automatically on reboot)
* These get configured during the factory reset dialogue.
There are other settings which may need adjusting to your liking (if your liking isn't the default), eg Instant Replay Time and Skip Forward Time (ie what the skip buttons on the handset do when you are playing a recording), but they are less crucial to the basic operation.
For CF users, the boot-settings package can apply a range of user-specified configuration options at each and every boot. In the context of the Restore Factory Defaults operation, this means the user can pre-configure their preferences and they will be re-applied automatically if the user reboots after the factory reset - overriding the default settings.
Thus, with the appropriate use of
boot-settings,
tunefix, and
auto-schedule-restore, the only thing left to configure manually after a factory reset (followed by a reboot) is the networking.