Just some notes regarding AZBox recording

[AcWxRadar]

Thought I would start a new topic regarding recording favorite shows from our popular FTA TV stations to a DVD (or other media) using an AZBox Premium receiver.

I leave this thread open to any and all discussions related to the main theme, so you can present any ideas or questions you like. Please just keep it in the overall realm of recording programs and dealing with them afterwards. Mainly, this should be a fact-finding and HOW-TO discussion.

Some of us have touched base on this subject slightly in other conversations, but I would like to devote this thread to the specifics of every detail. Please give a TITLE to each response to indicate any new direction that you are going in or to indicate the subject that you are responding to. This will help a little in making the thread easier to follow, I think.

I will start by replying to my own initial post.

RADAR

 

[AcWxRadar]

Setting up recording events on the AZBox

This was previously a slight dilemna as the earlier software (firmware) didn't seem to support this properly. I had read from others on other forums dedicated to the AZBox that there were problems setting up the reserved record program menu. If you set up a schedule to record, there was a prompt that appeared right before the recording event was to occur and you had to click on OK to enable the recording, otherwise it wouldn't perform the recording.

This has apparently been repaired with the more recent firmware versions as I have not had any problems with this issue. I am currently using 0.9.3686 firmware, which seems really stable in this and many other regards.

I can configure several reserved programs to record on different satellites and the box will wake up, drive to the sat desired, select the channel and begin recording right on schedule. It works really nice.

I have been generally setting the "BEGIN" recording time to 2 minutes prior to the start of the program. This allows the box time to wake up, pan the dish and lock onto the signal in plenty time to begin recording right on schedule.

I have not experimented to see how close I can time this so that I don't miss the front opening of the program. For instance, if the last program I watched was on Montana PBS on 125W and the program that I want to record is on RTV at 83W, would the AZBox wake up, drive the dish to 83W and lock in on the signal before the program started? Or would I clip the opening scenes off? I don't know this yet, so I set the timer to begin a little early.

That presents a problem at the end of the program as there is not STOP TIME select. The only options so far are how long of a record period you may select. You can select 1 hour, 1 hour and ten minutes, 1 hour and 20 minutes, etc. So I set mine to record 1 hour and ten minutes as the duration. Works fine, unless you want to record another program just as soon as the first one has ended and you cannot overlap the times.

This issue needs to be addressed and I plan to submit a bug report to opensat for this in the future. Hopefully they can correct this somehow. Of course, it still won't address the fact that a motorized dish has to have time to pan to a new sat, they cannot do anything about that. Fixed point dishes and a switch matrix will be the only way to get around this.

RADAR

 

[AcWxRadar]

Where to record the program - HDD

I have experimented with three media destinations so far... An internal HDD, an external USB HDD and a USB flash drive (greater than 4 GB capacity).

These all work great, but the internal HDD seems the most friendly to me. I bought a 1TB Samsung eco-friendly (green) HDD for my Premium AZBox and love it.

You have to be cautious and informed of how to connect the HDD to the main PC board connections. You don't want to foul this up or you will harm some components and be screwed. But, with a little research you can easily determine what and what NOT to do here. It isn't too difficult.

I had to modify some connectors and splice in a proper connector for the power supply, but it wasn't too intense.

My first HDD that I tested was a 500GB Samsung that I robbed from my AB IPBox. I used the cables and connectors from that unit and just modified them to retrofit the AZBox. It slipped in just fine and after formatting the drive (the AZBox will format for you through a menu selection) everything has worked flawlessly since.

RADAR

 

[AcWxRadar]

What to do with the recording after it has been saved on the HDD?

Now that the program has been recorded, what can you do with it?

Well, I want a video library for the future. I don't know how long RTV will remain on the air, so I want to save my programs. I can only store so many on the HDD and then it becomes confusing as to which program is which. Therefore, I want to convert the recordings to DVD.

How do I do this?

First of all, I use the FileZilla FTP proggy. I set up a wireless (WiFi) connection between my PC and Router and the AZBox first. This takes some doing if you are not a techno-geek, but I assure you that you will manage if you read before you do anything. The WiFi and FileZilla are superb avenues for ease and access. You will really appreciate them.

The first matter of the WiFi is to set up everything (PC, router and AzBox) to utilize STATIC IP addressing and not DHCP. Problems arise with connectivity (changing addresses) when using DHCP, so STATIC permanent IP addressing is the route to go.

When setting up any connection with the AZBox, unles you are very good at IT issues, use the default login and password (root and azbox). Leave this login information as is from factory because all the supporting software is written with this login info as the default. If you change the login info within the AZBox, you have to change it for all application programs, too. Troublesome mistake to do this.

Ok, if you are set up with WiFi or ethernet cabled from AZBox to the Router you can begin if the connection is good.

Using FileZilla, you can open the FTP program and you will have a split screen. One screen is your local (PC) files and one is your remote (AZBox) files. You can do just about anything you want to here. Transfer files back and forth between the two at will. You can use several approaches. Drag and drop, cut and paste or transfer queue. They all seem to work nicely.

This is the process that you should use to save backups of your satellite, transponder and channels (data files). But, you can also do a host of other procedures here as well. Installing plug-ins and uploading recorded programs.

I know you can upload a program more expediently using an ethernet cable directly attached to your PC, but the WiFi is so much more convenient. This is why I would recommend the Premium AZBox over the Elite. You just don't realize how much more friendly it is until you try it (or have to do without it).

Ok, so I am utilizing the WiFI and using FTP via FileZilla to copy my recorded program to my PC. This requires about 15 to 20 minutes for a one hour SD program. That's slow. Not much I can see that a person can do about it, except for going back to an ethernet cable and uploading that way. And I am not sure how much faster it will be then.

NOTE: During this lengthy transfer process, FileZilla may present you with a notice that the connection has been terminated or timed out. Ignore this. The file is still being uploaded/downloaded.

Also note that I am not trying to be very specific with instructions on the entire setup here. I am simply attempting to present an overview of the major steps involved. There is far too much detail to list here in a short summary, but we can expound on such as they arise.

RADAR

 

[AcWxRadar]

I have the file in my PC now what do I do with it?

I sucessfully managed to FTP my recorded program from my AZBox over to my PC. Now, how do I view it or put it on a DVD?

The file will be in a *.ts format (or transport stream). If you load VLC Media Player, you can watch the recording directly on your PC.

If you want to burn the video to a disc, you may use the freeware program DVDVideoSoft Free Studio to convert the file type and aut-burn it to a file or directly to a disc or both.

If you want to edit out commercials and leading/trailing junk and make a nice DVD copy of just the program itself, there are several proggys available. I have been using VideoReDoTVSuite. This is not freeware, you have to purchase this, but it works good for SD programs.

VideoReDoTVSuite does NOT support HD.254 (? not sure if that is the appropriate identification for an HD program format, but I think you will understand what I am referring to). This should be coming soon in a future upgrade to VideoReDoTVSuite.

There are other avenues to accomplish this, but I am simply using what I have currently. My main reason for using what I do and following my own specific procedure is that I am merely working with the software that I currently have on my PC. Trying to make what I have work the best for me, rather than purchasing something else at this time.

So... I FTP my recorded program from the AZBox over to my PC. I open the recorded program file with VideoReDoTVSuite and edit ou commercials, add chapter marks, add a title page and other little quirks. Then I save the file to a temporary folder on my PC and close VideoReDoTVSuite. This all takes ~45-50 minutes (15-20 minutes to FTP and 30 minutes to edit, author and save the file).

My next step is to open DVDVideoSoft Free Studio and start the conversion process. You may convert almost any format to any other format with this freeware software and It has a DVD burner program built-in. So, I use it because it is free and it works.

I open the file with DVDVideoSoft Free Studio and select free video to dvd converter and select the option to auto-burn a DVD when the conversion is completed and I am actually done. The DVDVideoSoft Free Studio program does everything from there on out, including a double check of the original vs the DVD file to ensure that no data is corrupted. This process takes about 30 minutes plus 10 - 15 minutes for file verification.

Eventually, I hope to find a better way to accomplish what all I am doing here, but I haven't found it yet and I am just getting my feet wet with the programs that I do have already. I know these work and my discs playback really fine in all the DVD players that I have tried so far. So, I am happy with that fact, now I just need to find something that is better and quicker! This is a lengthy process.

RADAR

 

[AcWxRadar]

Please add your detailed experiences and suggestions

I now turn the game over to you all for your input and suggestions (or questions and comments).

Please note how I have been titling each post. Please try to title yours in this manner to help this thread be more fluent.

Hopefully, we can create a really great thread on this subject with lots of information and guidance and tips/hints. We can all help eachother out on this avenue as I am sure that you all have ideas and concerns regarding this topic.

Thanks everyone!

RADAR

 

[concord]

Note that on some routers, even when using DHCP, you can enter in the MAC address of the network card and assign it to a particular IP address, thus it's a de-facto static address...

 

[guapoharry]

Video Library Issues

Instead of recording to the local hard drive and then copying over files to the library, why not record .ts files from the Azbox over the network directly to the library?

I recall seeing a smb:// address in the Azbox somewhere. So, it should be possible to set up a file share on the library PC and write directly to it.

 

[adm22]

THE TIMER HAS MAJOR ISSUES

If you are not using an expensive hard drive of some type and just want to record the SD signal coming out on a stand alone device (DVD recorder, Betamax etc) the timer does not behave like that of any other receiver. Been using an outside device for many years and since I have a MAc not a PC- would need to play back the hard drive off the AZbox to an external recorder to get something that can be archived or viewed in another location.

You need to set the timer to play a prgramme not record it (it will tell you no device is hooked up if you select record) When the appointed time comes, one of two things will happen.

1) If the AZBox is turned on. A screen will come up telling you a reserved programme is about to start and asks you if you want to change the channel. The screen stays up until you select yes or no. It will stay up even if you are on the channel you selected to record and wil stay there for a day (or longer) if you do nothing. Not very good if you want it to change the channel while you are away. So you would be better off just not setting a timer and leaving the AZBox tuned to the channel you want to record.

2) If the AZBox is off. It WILL turn on to the desired channel at the desired time. But it will not turn itself off when the prgramme is over. If you have more than one timer scheduled you are back to scenario one.

FIX- there is a seperate menu in the settings for making the AZBox "sleep" or turn itself off. You can have it go to sleep between the multiple events you want it to tune to. The only problem with this is the first timer used to change the channel will let you select a programme to record weekly. The sleep timers will not (but they do allow every day) I have a sleep timer set for the middle of the night every night and try to recall that i need to set other ones once a week.

It would have been nice if this thing just changed the channel when you wanted it to like every other sat receiver I have owned has done.

The outside recording device needs to have its timer also set to record from the external input at the proper time. However since this technology has been around and working for 30+ years you should not have problems with it. And if you have your dish being moved by another receiver (such as a 4DTV) you need to have its timers also set to work with the other 2.

The tapes or DVDs can then be used just like you would a tape or DVD acquired from any other source.

 

[Babadem]

Quite a wealth of information here.

 

[AcWxRadar]

Response to ADM22 regarding TIMERS and record/play reservations

If you are not using an expensive hard drive of some type and just want to record the SD signal coming out on a stand alone device (DVD recorder, Betamax etc) the timer does not behave like that of any other receiver. Been using an outside device for many years and since I have a MAc not a PC- would need to play back the hard drive off the AZbox to an external recorder to get something that can be archived or viewed in another location.

You need to set the timer to play a prgramme not record it (it will tell you no device is hooked up if you select record) When the appointed time comes, one of two things will happen.

1) If the AZBox is turned on. A screen will come up telling you a reserved programme is about to start and asks you if you want to change the channel. The screen stays up until you select yes or no. It will stay up even if you are on the channel you selected to record and wil stay there for a day (or longer) if you do nothing. Not very good if you want it to change the channel while you are away. So you would be better off just not setting a timer and leaving the AZBox tuned to the channel you want to record.

2) If the AZBox is off. It WILL turn on to the desired channel at the desired time. But it will not turn itself off when the prgramme is over. If you have more than one timer scheduled you are back to scenario one.

FIX- there is a seperate menu in the settings for making the AZBox "sleep" or turn itself off. You can have it go to sleep between the multiple events you want it to tune to. The only problem with this is the first timer used to change the channel will let you select a programme to record weekly. The sleep timers will not (but they do allow every day) I have a sleep timer set for the middle of the night every night and try to recall that i need to set other ones once a week.

It would have been nice if this thing just changed the channel when you wanted it to like every other sat receiver I have owned has done.

The outside recording device needs to have its timer also set to record from the external input at the proper time. However since this technology has been around and working for 30+ years you should not have problems with it. And if you have your dish being moved by another receiver (such as a 4DTV) you need to have its timers also set to work with the other 2.

The tapes or DVDs can then be used just like you would a tape or DVD acquired from any other source.

ADM22,

This is precisely the information we need to discuss between ourselves and with OpenSat techs and programmers so that they make modifications to the image files so that our AZBoxes behave as we wish them to.

I think that some of these issues have been somewhat corrected with the later image files (firmware) but possibly not all.

With firmware 0.9.3686, I am no longer seeing the prompt regarding "A program is set to record/play, do you wish to continue?" remain on the screen. The prompt does appear, but if you do not select yes or no, it defaults to yes as soon as the program start time is to be executed and proceeds as you would desire it to. The message prompt then goes away. So the programmers have made some progress in this direction.

Great input and thanks ADM!

RADAR

 

[AcWxRadar]

Response to Guapoharry regarding Video Library issues

Instead of recording to the local hard drive and then copying over files to the library, why not record .ts files from the Azbox over the network directly to the library?

I recall seeing a smb:// address in the Azbox somewhere. So, it should be possible to set up a file share on the library PC and write directly to it.

GuapoHarry,

This is a good point and something that I personally plan to incorporate/adopt in the future. I have a new Gateway (don't chuckle please) media center PC in the other room that I plan to set up for this specific purpose.

My laptop doesn't seem to have enough resource power to perform too many tasks at once and these endeavors, I have found, really bog my system down. Setting up a dedicated PC for this purpose only and using my laptop for internet browsing and portable connections is what I probably should do.

It would make it much more convenient to do as you suggest. A very positive step and an automatic one at that. I wouldn't have to transfer the file/s manually as they would simply take care of themselves - I would hope, making the overall process much more expedient and in the end, simpler.

RADAR

 

[AcWxRadar]

Response to Concord regarding "faking a static IP"

Note that on some routers, even when using DHCP, you can enter in the MAC address of the network card and assign it to a particular IP address, thus it's a de-facto static address...

I wonder how many routers and which ones allow this and how to go about it. It could possibly resolve many issues in setup procedures and possibly make it more simple.

Thanks for the idea! If you have done so already and had success in this specific purpose, please write a step-by step instruction if you have time. This might be a really beneficial direction for many to take.

I don't understand the entire set of rules regarding this notion, so it is out of my league at this time, but it does sound good.

RADAR

 

[AcWxRadar]

Commentary response

Quite a wealth of information here.

Thanks Babadem,

I am hoping that this thread will prove to provide valuable information and instructions as well as leads to new and different avenues / software for everyone wanting to do something similar with the recording venture.

RADAR

 

[adm22]

ADM22,

This is precisely the information we need to discuss between ourselves and with OpenSat techs and programmers so that they make modifications to the image files so that our AZBoxes behave as we wish them to.

I think that some of these issues have been somewhat corrected with the later image files (firmware) but possibly not all.

With firmware 0.9.3686, I am no longer seeing the prompt regarding "A program is set to record/play, do you wish to continue?" remain on the screen. The prompt does appear, but if you do not select yes or no, it defaults to yes as soon as the program start time is to be executed and proceeds as you would desire it to. The message prompt then goes away. So the programmers have made some progress in this direction.

Great input and thanks ADM!

RADAR

I have not yet gone through the time and trouble required to get the latest formware since the big fix list did NOT say it corrected anything I was having problmes with AND there is reportedly issues with audio dropping out that are a newly introduced bug.

I did get an email a few days ago in a foriegn language I was able to make out AZBox firmware and new . There was also a link that took me to a webpage with a message saying I was not permitted access.

 

[delta_charlie]

---cut---

When setting up any connection with the AZBox, unles you are very good at IT issues, use the default login and password (root and azbox). Leave this login information as is from factory because all the supporting software is written with this login info as the default. If you change the login info within the AZBox, you have to change it for all application programs, too. Troublesome mistake to do this.

Ok, if you are set up with WiFi or ethernet cabled from AZBox to the Router you can begin if the connection is good.

Using FileZilla, you can open the FTP program and you will have a split screen. One screen is your local (PC) files and one is your remote (AZBox) files. You can do just about anything you want to here. Transfer files back and forth between the two at will. You can use several approaches. Drag and drop, cut and paste or transfer queue. They all seem to work nicely.

This is the process that you should use to save backups of your satellite, transponder and channels (data files). But, you can also do a host of other procedures here as well. Installing plug-ins and uploading recorded programs.

I know you can upload a program more expediently using an ethernet cable directly attached to your PC, but the WiFi is so much more convenient. This is why I would recommend the Premium AZBox over the Elite. You just don't realize how much more friendly it is until you try it (or have to do without it).---cut---
RADAR

Hi Radar and the group, I just wanted question the wisdom of leaving the AZBOX with the default password on a wireless network. If the wireless network is open or secured with WEP it would not take much of a script kiddy to get into your wireless network and perhaps use the Linux OS of the AZBOX to compromise other computers on the network.

If you are going to use a wireless router make sure it has WPA encryption and use a strong password.

Also, because the AZBOX has telnet open by default you might want to make sure the WAN side (Internet) of your router has the telnet port blocked. A easy way to check it to go to grc.com and run the shields up test near the bottom of the page. Run the common ports scan and see what happens.

BTW - wired Ethernet runs much faster then wireless. It could make a big difference on large file transfers and other then running the wires is easier to setup then wireless.

Got to run, DC

 

[Jim S.]

Note that on some routers, even when using DHCP, you can enter in the MAC address of the network card and assign it to a particular IP address, thus it's a de-facto static address...

You can also set the DHCP address pool of the router to be smaller than the entire subnet, then you can have static addresses on some devices and dynamic on others without ever having to look up a MAC address.

 

[Larry1]

You are using VideoReDoTVSuite to edit the files then another program to create your DVD. VideoReDoTVSuite will also create the DVD for you. However, if you are using a media centre to play the files, why not play the files directly off the hard disk? (save the time of re-encoding and burning a DVD). Also, will the AZbox allow you to connect a portable (USB) hard disk to it to copy the files off the internal hard disk to a portable hard disk? This would save time in the FTP transfer process. Myself I don't like to re-encode the recordings, as you loose quality. VideoReDo does a good job of repairing the streams when editing the files.
I don't have an AZbox, but with my PC cards I record my TV (from either satellite or OTA antenna) on my PC, edit it with VideoReDo and save it on external hard drives. I then just plug in the hard drive with the show I want to watch and play then directly off the hard disk. Also makes it easy to take the hard drive over to my friends TV to play on his system as well. Nameing of the files and folders for different shows make sorting easier. With my TiVo I record a lot of TCM. I save a text version of the monthly schedules for show information reference. You can also search on the TCM web site for show info. My TiVo puts program name and date info in the title. I have not did any text version of the program guide information for my satellite and antenna recording though. Maybe a cut and paste from TitanTV guide in the future.
My thoughts are record what you can now, as tomarrow it may not be there. I have a nice collection from RTN of My Three Sons, The Lucy Show, etc.

 

[zamar23]

I noticed a 4-star rating given to this thread (opps, it may be more already... ), so I wonder how such rating system works, and if any democracy & public validation component is involved in granting "stars" in numbers? Not that content isn't reach, but is it extraordinary or in extreme demand, given small number of people who red this material so far?

 

[AcWxRadar]

Why am I using two programs? Why that's just crazy.

You are using VideoReDoTVSuite to edit the files then another program to create your DVD. VideoReDoTVSuite will also create the DVD for you.

Hi Larry,

I know that it sounds strange, but I do have a reason. First of all, I am going to have to place some blame on my DVD media - SONY DVD-RW. MadMadWorld and I discussed this together in a few PMs recently. He has recommended another brand to try that he has had good luck with. I'll allow him to introduce that himself, but I plan to test them myself.

When I used VideoReDo at first, I was bombarded with errors such as the file was not a valid DVD title/format or that there was no recordable disc in the drive or the disc was write protected or that it was full, etc. etc. etc. I tried multiple discs from the same stack and kept getting this message.

Then I tried using the video to DVD converter and burner in the VideoSoft free studio and it burned right away. I simply got it into my head that it was simpler to edit the program with VideoReDo and then allow VideoSoft to convert the format and burn it.

Now, I have found that I have a problem with my DVD media, which may have been the initial problem all along (and not the fault of VideoReDo). I am finding quite a few discs in this stack that absolutely won't record (burn) with either of these programs or any other for that matter.

I also found a problem with the latest version of VideoReDo as does not support H.264 format (please excuse me if that is not the correct title for the format, but you know what I refer to). So in this case, I use the VideoSoft to convert the file format and then VideoReDo to Edit it afterwards.

I guess you can say that I developed an oddball procedure due to the bad DVD media and the different file types.

However, if you are using a media centre to play the files, why not play the files directly off the hard disk? (save the time of re-encoding and burning a DVD).

I am not yet using my media center PC for replay, but I can. I just pulled it back out of the box the other day and set it up. I do have a Maxtor 750 GB USB HDD that I can easily record to and then connect to any PC for replay or to have quicker access to the files but, I am simply not using it much at this time. Currently I am just experimenting with the internal HDD of the AZBox and trying to learn all the ropes here.

I guess you could say that I am trying to become proficient at one avenue at a time.

Also, will the AZbox allow you to connect a portable (USB) hard disk to it to copy the files off the internal hard disk to a portable hard disk? This would save time in the FTP transfer process.

Yes, it does. With the AZBox Premium, there are two USB ports (one in rear, USB-1 and one in the front, USB-2). You can record to and copy and paste or otherwise move files between any of the drives you wish. I have an 8GB USB flash drive that I have recorded a program to and then transferred to my PC as well as copied files from each of the other drives to it and then transferred them to my PC. So it is very versatile indeed.

Myself I don't like to re-encode the recordings, as you loose quality. VideoReDo does a good job of repairing the streams when editing the files.

Yes, I do worry about that, too. But, I haven't been able to detect any degradation personally. My eyesight may not be that great any more, so I don't notice or really care about any slight video quality degradations. I should also add that most of the programs that I do record are SD from RTV - so the original video quality isn't that great to begin with.

I don't have an AZbox, but with my PC cards I record my TV (from either satellite or OTA antenna) on my PC, edit it with VideoReDo and save it on external hard drives. I then just plug in the hard drive with the show I want to watch and play then directly off the hard disk. Also makes it easy to take the hard drive over to my friends TV to play on his system as well.

I have been using a video projector out at my campground along the river for fun on the weekends. I bring along a cheapie CyberHome DVD player (which is actually quite impressive for its price - it plays any DVD or CD and you can throw it off a cliff and not hurt it! LOL). I don't like to take anything nice or very expensive out there where there is a lot of fine sand, dust and water. That is one of the reasons for burning DVDs rather than using my portable HDD and/or my PC.

Naming of the files and folders for different shows make sorting easier. With my TiVo I record a lot of TCM. I save a text version of the monthly schedules for show information reference. You can also search on the TCM web site for show info. My TiVo puts program name and date info in the title. I have not did any text version of the program guide information for my satellite and antenna recording though. Maybe a cut and paste from TitanTV guide in the future.
My thoughts are record what you can now, as tomarrow it may not be there. I have a nice collection from RTN of My Three Sons, The Lucy Show, etc.

Yes, you have to rename the files to keep them straight. When you get so many on the HDD, they get confusing if you don't. I like to create folders for each show, then name each episode by its own title or episode number to help keep them straight.

And, of course, I always record as much as I can for the same reason, it may not be available tomorrow!

RADAR