Recording question

TIMER RECORDING: AZBOX



Now if you want to do a timed recording …
step 1) follow the directions here to set up your time correctly
http://www.satelliteguys.us/azbox-discussion/196733-updating-your-azbox-firmware-tutorial.html

After that is done now you want to do the following…
Using the “Menu” button arrow down to” Reserve Record/Play “
The top box will display the channel you are going to record from, make sure it is correct.
The second box is “Part” set this to “Record”
Repeat box is next, if you want to do a 1x recording set it to “ Once “
Start Time:
This is where I kept hitting the arrow key and found that is not correct.
to change the am/pm use the “OK” button on your remote and this will toggle between am/pm. now > arrow over to the time.

(be careful as the time always want to change back to AM when you go to the next line so make sure your time is set correctly before moving on)

to get the correct time you want to highlight the time and then enter it using your remote or keyboard numbers. Same with the date
Then set the time duration. Again these are preset so you have several choices to choose from using the > arrow key on the remote.
(I do not know if there is a way to manually enter the duration any other way else except here)
The target on my receiver is HDD
The last line is “Program” this is where you can enter the name of what you are recording.
Now after this is set up arrow down to the Reservation button and hit ok
Another box comes up quickly asking if this is ok (Hit the “OK” on the remote quickly,
and it is now in your reserved list of recordings.

If your going to be out and do not want the receiver on all the time put it in the “Sleep”
mode and your timed recording will go off properly.
If you turn off the receiver it will not record the program. and it clears it out of the reserved list. At least it did it on mine when I powered off the receiver.
Yes I had to do it both ways just to make sure.

While in a timed recording I also found that if you had it in the sleep mode you will not be able to see the picture you are recording on your tv /monitor, while it is recording.
 
As with anything in life there are givers and there are takers.
I have learned alot about these receivers from this site and just wanted to give a little back.

As for the recording on the azbox I found that it will only do a timed recording in increments of 10 minutes. I have not found a way yet to have a fixed recording for just 45 minutes or a specific start and end time.

If anyone has please do tell....

I have it Stargaze!

MazEdit 3.0 is the way to go here! If you can get it to run on your PC. I am having excellent luck with it so far and I am using it on two PCs, one with Windows XP SP3 and one with Windows Vista.

Install the MaZEdit 3.0 program. Go to the configuration menu. Set it up with the appropriate IP address for your AZBox, FTP port (21), TelNet port (23), login (root) and password (azbox) and background and language that you desire. Get it to connect to the AZBox.

Click on CHANNEL LISTS and then the "DOWNLOAD" arrow to transport your current channel list from your AZBox to your PC.

Find the satellite that the channel is on, find the channel in the list and LEFT click on the channel name. A sub menu will appear. Look for the option "SCHEDULE RECORDING" and right click on it. A new menu box will open.

The CHANNEL box should now be fully filled out for you with the satellite, TP and channel information required.

In the EVENT box, fill in the blanks as you wish to name the recording title, select the destination device (HDD/USB1 or 2) and the start date. Then, you can select the start time and the length or duration of the program. Then select the repetition of recording (one time, daily, which day, etc). Then click on ACCEPT.

Next, move over to the panel on the left side of MaZEdit's screen and click on RECORDING (RED SQUARE) and locate your newly created recording (reserved record) and either edit it if you wish or locate the upload arrow near the bottom of that one panel to upload the changes to your AZBox. You will be prompted with a message that states that box will reboot after the upload for the changes to be installed. Click on approve or continue or YES or whatever it says and your box will reboot and the recording session will be installed.

You may edit this recording event down to the minute of the start time, and adjust the end time by fixing the DURATION time. Works really good!

RADAR
 
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Thanks Radar!
Now I have one more question.
does Maz 3 work with windoze 7 ?
My new laptop which is being set up even now came with 7 on it. My plan as it stands is to get another premium plus in the next 2 weeks and to set it up with my channel list that I have typed out and then get into the ftp'ing part and trying to edit satellite lists but if I end up having problems I can fall back on the other PP receiver if need be.
By the time the new unit arrives I will have 2 more SATA Hard Drives so each receiver will have them.
 
Thanks Radar!
Now I have one more question.
does Maz 3 work with windoze 7?

Stargaze,

I don't see why it wouldn't. If I can make it work with VISTA, it should work with just about all other OS's. Vista is a real pain in the ass, if you will pardon that. MaZEdit seems happy with Vista, if I don't use any shortcuts. Windows 7 should be better, but you won't really know until you try iit out.

I know that many people are not having good luck with MaZEdit, but I managed to get it to work on both my PCs sufficiently and to the point where I am pleased. And can experiment with it at my leisure.

I guess you will have to be the guinnea pig for Windows 7. Please tell us how it works out.

RADAR
 
The WD HD has been working great with the plus that I decided to go and get 2 more for my other receivers.

I installed another WD 1 TB SATA hd for my Ultra and it acted a bit different then the Premium plus receiver.

When I went to format the drive the tv monitor went black for almost a full minute before the screen returned showing the drive being formatted. I mention this so if anyone else has this happens do not try powering off the receiver.
Just be patient while the receiver does it's job.

This did not happen like this on the Premium Plus receiver, the screen appeared immediately showing the drive being formatted on that receiver.

I am using the same type of HD's that I mentioned in an earlier post here for 3 different Azboxes.

Now it appears that the other Premium plus is arriving on Friday.
 
Other than the fact that I can't get the language to load english (or any other language) Maz seems to work fine with Windows 7 here.



Stargaze,

I don't see why it wouldn't. If I can make it work with VISTA, it should work with just about all other OS's. Vista is a real pain in the ass, if you will pardon that. MaZEdit seems happy with Vista, if I don't use any shortcuts. Windows 7 should be better, but you won't really know until you try iit out.

I know that many people are not having good luck with MaZEdit, but I managed to get it to work on both my PCs sufficiently and to the point where I am pleased. And can experiment with it at my leisure.

I guess you will have to be the guinnea pig for Windows 7. Please tell us how it works out.

RADAR
 
Other than the fact that I can't get the language to load english (or any other language) Maz seems to work fine with Windows 7 here.

Paraclipse,

This must be some quirk with the MaZEdit application file as that is one of the troubles that I have been having, too.

On my Windows Vista system, I downloaded the zip file folder and when I extracted all the files, I extracted them to the PROGRAM FILES directory. Then, I deleted all language library programs, except the one for English. Then, when I open the MaZEdit application, I always go straight to the PROGRAM FILES directory and open it from there, opposed to trying to put up a shortcut on my desktop. So far, so good. But, It has not been very long since I changed my setup method this way, so I may be premature in stating that this was a fix. I have to wait and see.

RADAR
 
I notice that it takes a while for Maz 3 to start up. But I can download the channel lists, satellite lists and settings, and the recorded programming. Neat!
I looked at the AZBoxedit and I think I like the Maz 3 better, but I sure wish there is a tutorial on how to use it... I searched the internet but no luck.
 
I notice that it takes a while for Maz 3 to start up. But I can download the channel lists, satellite lists and settings, and the recorded programming. Neat!
I looked at the AZBoxedit and I think I like the Maz 3 better, but I sure wish there is a tutorial on how to use it... I searched the internet but no luck.

MrFTAMan,

Yes. MaZEdit takes a while to load. It is becuse it has to access several websites in the process. It keeps track of the daily and the official AZBox firmware download sites and the PlugIns and News areas, too.

I wish it didn't do all of that, most of that is not necessary for me, but I guess the author wanted it to be all encompassing.

It definitely has some excellent perks, doesn't it? Like I mentioned, now that I got it to quit crashing on me, I really find it useful.

I would write a tutorial on it, but it is still just too "buggy" for me to give out perfect information. I use it often, and I have some good things to say about some of its applications, but not all of them. Just when I think I have it figured out, it foils me in some way. The more of us who test it, and experiment with it, the more we will learn how to get around some of its little quirks.

What we really and truly need is someone here in the USA or Canada or Mexico who is well versed in Linux systems and virtual basic or C+++ to create a program for us. I wish I knew this stuff myself, but I don't. I am just an old electronics guy, not a programmer.

I wonder if we could hire someone to create a program for us that would truly do what we desire? I would be willing to donate to such a person or group. Would anyone else be inerested as well? Is anyone here able to program such things?

RADAR
 
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I am just an old electronics guy, not a programmer.

I wonder if we could hire someone to create a program for us that would truly do what we desire? I would be willing to donate to such a person or group. Would anyone else be inerested as well? Is anyone here able to program such things?

RADAR

That would be something I would be willing to invest in if they made it to work properly with the azbox.
I would think that it could also be sold to other people who are using these boxes as it would be a great enhancement to these receivers.
 
That would be something I would be willing to invest in if they made it to work properly with the azbox.
I would think that it could also be sold to other people who are using these boxes as it would be a great enhancement to these receivers.

Stargaze,

Absolutely. I wonder how we should go about getting something rolling here?

The individual or group wouldn't have to worry about programming the actual firmware for these boxes, unless they were very enthusiastic. What we really need is a reliable channel editor and management program. Something akin to and a cross between MaZEdit 3.0 and Channel Master - but something that works flawlessly every time. No crashing and no hiccoughs!

It would have to be someone who is familiar with FTA, like we are, so that they think like we do and understand what we want and need.

One thing that I don't like about MaZEdit, is that the program has to go out and seek several websites for extraeneous information (like the latest firmware, plug-ins, channel creators i.e. Kingofsat - and news). These are not necessary and they seem to be geared more to the European markets. These specialty site searches are part of what require MaZEdit to take so long to load up and sometimes crash. If it cannot find the site, it wants to generate an error, or so it seems.

An option to retrieve the latest official or daily firmware would be nice, if it were simply an optional menu that didn't run automatically when the program is opened.

When the satellite and channel list is opened / downloaded / uploaded, it should default to listing the satellites by their orbital position (with an option to sort alphabetically by name if desired). Then, sort by TP frequency and polarity and then sort by channel by SID with the option to sort alphabetically by name.

Editing of the satellites and channels should be foolproof and direct, obvious. Like a text editor or an excel program spreadsheet. Something similar to what you can do with Channel Master by SharpC.

Yes, a hybrid between Channel Master and MaZEdit would be wonderful, provided it works.

So, how do we go about commissioning someone or a group to create this manager for us? I cannot program, but I would be totally willing to be a beta tester and provide design support ideas and monetary support as well.

Is there anyone here that could or would tackle this challenge? If someone was able to manage it, they would be my hero for certain! :)

RADAR
 
MazEdit 3.0 is the way to go here! If you can get it to run on your PC. I am having excellent luck with it so far and I am using it on two PCs, one with Windows XP SP3 and one with Windows Vista.

Install the MaZEdit 3.0 program. Go to the configuration menu. Set it up with the appropriate IP address for your AZBox, FTP port (21), TelNet port (23), login (root) and password (azbox) and background and language that you desire. Get it to connect to the AZBox.

Click on CHANNEL LISTS and then the "DOWNLOAD" arrow to transport your current channel list from your AZBox to your PC.

Find the satellite that the channel is on, find the channel in the list and LEFT click on the channel name. A sub menu will appear. Look for the option "SCHEDULE RECORDING" and right click on it. A new menu box will open.

The CHANNEL box should now be fully filled out for you with the satellite, TP and channel information required.

In the EVENT box, fill in the blanks as you wish to name the recording title, select the destination device (HDD/USB1 or 2) and the start date. Then, you can select the start time and the length or duration of the program. Then select the repetition of recording (one time, daily, which day, etc). Then click on ACCEPT.

Next, move over to the panel on the left side of MaZEdit's screen and click on RECORDING (RED SQUARE) and locate your newly created recording (reserved record) and either edit it if you wish or locate the upload arrow near the bottom of that one panel to upload the changes to your AZBox. You will be prompted with a message that states that box will reboot after the upload for the changes to be installed. Click on approve or continue or YES or whatever it says and your box will reboot and the recording session will be installed.

You may edit this recording event down to the minute of the start time, and adjust the end time by fixing the DURATION time. Works really good!

RADAR

Ok I installed Maz 3.0 on the windows 7 laptop here.:)
I followed the directions with just a small twist or two but it does work and I uploaded the timed program for tomorrow night to the azbox. Now is there a way to see if it is actually in the azbox?
The azbox rebooted just as the program said it would so I knew or figured it uploaded the program details. But I have not figured out a way to see if I have a timed program to record in the azbox.:confused:

Edited* Note to myself... Operator error don't delete the timed program item from Maz program ... before you close it...

BTW, using windows 7 you can set the maz icon on the desktop and it works properly every time finding it's files.:up
It just does not remember the ip address each time I open it up.
Everything else it remembers.
 
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Ok I installed Maz 3.0 on the windows 7 laptop here.:)
I followed the directions with just a small twist or two but it does work and I uploaded the timed program for tomorrow night to the azbox. Now is there a way to see if it is actually in the azbox?

Stargaze,

Yes, there is a way to doublecheck what you have set up for the timed record program. While you are on any TV (sat) channel and simply viewing TV, press the MENU button on the remote (to the upper left of the OK button and just below the REC button). This will bring up your DETAIL menu. Scroll down to the RESERVED PROGRAM listing (not the reserved play/record option) and press OK. This will display ALL of the programs that you have attempted to set up.

Highlight any one of them (if more than one). Press the CHECK button on the remote (to the upper right of OK and just below the MUTE button) and press OK again and it will display the specifics of how you set up the recording event.

Here you can doublecheck to ensure that the event was set up properly and logged into the record event timer queue.

RADAR
 
I finally figured out what I did.... (wrong):eek: Radar, it was my error, or rather jumping ahead of myself and not practicing what I tell others, ...take your time!
I deleted the recording after I uploaded it in Maz. Not realizing that this also deleted it from the azbox.

I did a test run to see as this was eating at me for hours, then I figured it out.
But hey, not a bad thing for the 1st time using the Maz program.
 
I finally figured out what I did.... (wrong):eek: Radar, it was my error, or rather jumping ahead of myself and not practicing what I tell others, ...take your time!
I deleted the recording after I uploaded it in Maz. Not realizing that this also deleted it from the azbox.

I did a test run to see as this was eating at me for hours, then I figured it out.
But hey, not a bad thing for the 1st time using the Maz program.

Stargaze,

Yes, you really have to experiment with this to learn all the ins and outs. That's why this is a hobby and you have to be persistent (and patient).

No instructions? We don't need no stinking instructions! LOL :D

RADAR
 
Well, I am about to give up on having the receivers ftp'ing the different movies to another receiver and am using maz to download it for me instead... That's where i'm at now.
 
I have made it to the point where I have maz3 working fine on windows 7 here and have been able to ftp a recorded movie from the azbox to the laptop using windoze 7. Is there any way that the windows laptop can play that movie?
Saw something like the flie name was incorrect or something to that effect, I do know that the windoze media player in this laptop seems to play hd movies soI was wondering if I need to change the file ext or something.
Anyone know if this is possible?
 
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