AZBOX AzBox miniMe American edition version 2.00 beta firmware

[iBoston]

Jeez... I wasn't even aware the new firmware had come out. But, I am SO VERY GLAD i didn't. My frustration level was so high on 1.86 firmware. I don't wish to go through that again with 2.0 - Hearing about the lockups, and firmware reflashing and the fact timeshift still isnt working, I cannot use this stb in real world. I actually watch tv on my working STB's.

I am in the return process of this Azbox. If the 2.0 firmware resolved the issues, i was gonna cancel the return, but since reading this, i will let the return process continue and it will be the happiest trip to the post office to return the Azbox. I might re-purchase the unit in some future date if i actually see positive posts in some unknown future date. But as of right now, i am OFFICIALLY DONE with the AzBox MiniMe

 

[pwrsurge]

I was back to the endless flashing "AzBox Starting" situation again.

Did you properly change your longitude and latitude with the decimal point correctly specified? Do the values you entered show properly in USALS options after first exiting out of the menu to save and then going back in? Is your H to H motor moving to the proper positions using USALS? If the answer to the above 3 questions is yes then you should not be having the flashing "AzBox starting" issue.

Please try entering your longitude and latitude values again and after scanning a few satellites, reboot the receiver from the shutdown options menu to confirm it boots properly. You can then continue scanning the remaining satellites and make a system configuration backup once everything has been scanned in.

We will release a new version 2.01 firmware today or tomorrow which will add proper error validation for these fields so that no matter what values are entered by the user, the system won't allow invalid values to be used.

And guess what? The problem with the black screen was back again. I had to turn the TV off and on to wake it up again so I could see what was going on with the box.

This issue only seems to be impacting certain TV's as the Samsung LCD displays that our development staff is using never experienced this issue. One thing you can try is try disabling the HDMI-CEC or Anynet feature of your TV to see if that fixes this. By doing research online, you will see certain other devices have the same issue when the above feature is enabled. On our end, we will try to test on other TV brands to see if we can replicate this issue.

Now I have to reconfigure and scan the sats again.

You would not have to do this again with if you restored a backup of your system configuration off your USB drive.
A system configuration backup not only includes all settings in the system settings menu but also all configured satellite parameters, scanned channels and other settings from the Installation menu. Restoring a backup only takes a few seconds and once your STB automatically reboots, everything will be back the way it was when the backup was made. Instructions on how to backup and restore are on the first post of this thread.

scanning problems such as not being able to cancel a scan (you start it, you are stuck with it until done)

There are no issues aborting a manual transponder or automatic satellite scan, just not a blind scan. This will soon be fixed now that we cleared our major hurdle of transitioning to a new kernel platform.

cannot seem to blind scan the NBC MUX on AMC-6 (Quick or Detailed)

Thank you for reporting this. From what I can see, it does not seem to be a difficult issue to resolve. Will try to replicate over here and fix in the next firmware update.

 

[pwrsurge]

The YouTube player is very limited because when I do a search on something particular, it searching for personal posts of people, nothing official.

Not sure what you mean exactly as I got a whole bunch of official artist videos by searching for "VEVO" as part of the keywords. A default of 10 results get displayed at a time so to go to the next page of results, press menu then the green button.

 

[scopus]

Well mine is a complete brick, no signal from the HDMI even the analogue output is dead, tried different TV's, HDMI leads, cannot even ping them, great, left with two expensive bricks!! might as well hit the recover button on the back and see if I can load some Enigma sw. With being in the UK I'm not prepared to ship these back to Canada unless Surge wants to pay the postage. Must have been some killer sw in there for Europe!

 

[pwrsurge]

Once I got past the struggle of the actual upgrade process (using the USB method was the more successful option for me), I am finding that My AzBox miniMe American is now a far more stable box! My frustration level with it has dropped considerably. Is everything fixed with the new version? Of course not, but it does appear that a more solid foundation is there to build on now. I am trying to put this thing through all of the paces I can, but I am admittedly new to this STB and have much to learn yet. I will post what I find still needs some work here, but I have to say that it is worth the effort to upgrade to this new firmware. I have not had to do any kind of reboots or power cycles to fix any problems at all yet! That alone is a big difference. I am no longer ready to just toss it in the drawer.

We appreciate the positive feedback you have provided and keep in mind this is a beta version of the 2.x firmware series. Even though some minor adjustments still need to be made, we wanted to release what we have so far before the holidays so that our users have something to play with. We were also contacted privately by a few users as well such as iBoston who wanted us to release a beta version before the holidays.

As you stated, stability and channel changing performance was greatly enhanced with this new firmware which was our primary focus. With a now stabilized foundation of dvb modules and kernel base, we can now focus the remaining issues with certain specific functions.

 

[pwrsurge]

Must have been some killer sw in there for Europe!

I can assure you that we would never do such a thing so there is something else at play here. With the unit on after about 30 seconds, does unplugging and reconnecting the HDMI cable in the back of your receiver or TV restore your picture?

Please confirm the make and model of the television you are using. Also, as I stated in another post, try disabling the HDMI-CEC or Anynet feature on your TV if you have it.

 

[scopus]

I cannot see anything at all on the screen to change any settings, it is Black, no signal, tried on Samsung, Panasonic, and a supermarket cheapie TV's. I have tried eveything believe me.

I could perhaps understand a bad flash on one receiver, but for this to happen to 2 is very suspect.

 

[pwrsurge]

Jeez... I wasn't even aware the new firmware had come out. But, I am SO VERY GLAD i didn't. My frustration level was so high on 1.86 firmware. I don't wish to go through that again with 2.0 - Hearing about the lockups, and firmware reflashing and the fact timeshift still isnt working, I cannot use this stb in real world. I actually watch tv on my working STB's.

As you were one of the few people who contacted me via private message for a beta firmware, could you please have the courtesy to at least try the new version and offer your feedback?

Unlike subscription satellite services such as Dish Network or DirecTV, part of the FTA satellite hobby is about experimentation and testing out new enhancements to released products. No satellite STB out there is 100% bug free in this day and age, not even Dish Network or DirecTV receivers! This is why regular firmware updates are released on a regular basis in order to resolve issues as they are discovered.

 

[pwrsurge]

I cannot see anything at all on the screen to change any settings, it is Black, no signal, tried on Samsung, Panasonic, and a supermarket cheapie TV's. I have tried eveything believe me.

Do you have a USB drive connected to the receiver? If so, please disconnect it and try booting again.
Also, which color is the LED ring light around the power button? Solid blue?

 

[scopus]

Nothing is connected to either receiver apart from the HDMI lead. Yes the light is solid blue, but won't go to standby with the RCU, i.e Red, the power button press starts the blue light flashing, but still no picture on any TV. I even tried pinging them and that won't happen either.

 

[pwrsurge]

Do you have a USB drive connected to the receiver? If so, please disconnect it and try booting again.
Also, which color is the LED ring light around the power button? Solid blue?

Please try to pull the power cord after holding down the power button and it starts flashing blue. Wait for at least 60 seconds then plug it back in and closely monitor the power button light while the unit boots and you should see the following:

- A few seconds after the power button was pressed, the solid blue light should briefly turn off then back on to solid blue.
- After about 30 seconds while booting, the solid blue light should change to solid orange for a few seconds then change back to solid blue.
- After about 45 seconds while booting, you should normally see the "AzBox booting..." or "AzBox booting in safe mode..." message on your TV while the booting process completes.

Please confirm which of the above occurs or does not occur for you. Also, I assume you tried booting to safe mode by holding down the "1" key after turning on the unit from a cold boot. The 1 key must be held down for at least 45 seconds which is when you should see the "AzBox booting in safe mode..." message.

If you still don't see anything 60 seconds, try replugging your HDMI cable to force a resync.

 

[scopus]

Please try to pull the power cord after holding down the power button and it starts flashing blue. Wait for at least 60 seconds then plug it back in and closely monitor the power button light while the unit boots and you should see the following:

- A few seconds after the power button was pressed, the solid blue light should briefly turn off then back on to solid blue.
- After about 30 seconds while booting, the solid blue light should change to solid orange for a few seconds then change back to solid blue.
- After about 45 seconds while booting, you should normally see the "AzBox booting..." or "AzBox booting in safe mode..." message on your TV while the booting process completes.

Please confirm which of the above occurs or does not occur for you. Also, I assume you tried booting to safe mode by holding down the "1" key after turning on the unit from a cold boot. The 1 key must be held down for at least 45 seconds which is when you should see the "AzBox booting in safe mode..." message.

If you still don't see anything 60 seconds, try replugging your HDMI cable to force a resync.

The power light comes on then turns off briefly as you describe, but then stays solid blue, none of the other actions happen. I have tried holding the '1' key but still no picture and the light always stays solid blue. I tried the HDMI resync, still just a black screen.

 

[scopus]

Looks like a brick then PwrSurge!

 

[iBoston]

As you were one of the few people who contacted me via private message for a beta firmware, could you please have the courtesy to at least try the new version and offer your feedback?

Unlike subscription satellite services such as Dish Network or DirecTV, part of the FTA satellite hobby is about experimentation and testing out new enhancements to released products. No satellite STB out there is 100% bug free in this day and age, not even Dish Network or DirecTV receivers! This is why regular firmware updates are released on a regular basis in order to resolve issues as they are discovered.

The problem is - It's how you presented the new firmware. Oh, that is fixed, that is fixed, that is fixed. Ofcourse people would ask for the beta firmware. You also promised it out before christmas before I made that request. But, my major issue was that lack of stability of the system. From reading the previous posts of users it doesn't sound like this has been addressed much. I am a software programmer, i sell a product myself on the Internet, but i run my software for a day or two in real world before releasing any changes, and if i find a bug, i fix it within the day and release another version. - I WILL install the update, and ill post my results.

 

[scopus]

The problem is - It's how you presented the new firmware. Oh, that is fixed, that is fixed, that is fixed. Ofcourse people would ask for the beta firmware. You also promised it out before christmas before I made that request. But, my major issue was that lack of stability of the system. From reading the previous posts of users it doesn't sound like this has been addressed much. I am a software programmer, i sell a product myself on the Internet, but i run my software for a day or two in real world before releasing any changes, and if i find a bug, i fix it within the day and release another version. - I WILL install the update, and ill post my results.

Let's hope it doesn't brick your box iBoston!

 

[pwrsurge]

But, my major issue was that lack of stability of the system. From reading the previous posts of users it doesn't sound like this has been addressed much.

Although I did not have a chance to post a changelog for this new firmware yet, the stability issues of the previous firmware such as the receiver going to sleep mode by itself due to IR corruption of remote control commands and the slow channel changing speed on certain transponders were definitively addressed.

Please realize that the 2.x firmware operates under a different kernel version which has a fresh new set of modules and library versions. This is similar to an upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7 in the PC world. As a software programmer, I'm sure you are aware of the challenge in resolving issues with your software every time a new operating system or supporting plugin version comes out.

 

[pwrsurge]

Let's hope it doesn't brick your box iBoston!

So far, you are the only one who had an issue with the upgrade process. Will discuss your issue with the development team to find out what we can try next.

 

[iBoston]

Unable to flash. I start the flash process and this is what happens.

Flashing Kernel
Programming flash
ERROR - Can't open file.
Retuns me to Information Software Update

 

[iBoston]

So far, you are the only one who had an issue with the upgrade process. Will discuss your issue with the development team to find out what we can try next.

Well - You spoke too soon. What do i do with this error?

 

[pwrsurge]

Unable to flash. I start the flash process and this is what happens.

Flashing Kernel
Programming flash
ERROR - Can't open file.
Retuns me to Information Software Update

Is this via Internet or USB? You are currently using version 1.86 right?