We have a new firmware update available for the IceBox that is recommended for all users.
We have worked long and hard on this release to ensure that a soft reset is not required as part of the upgrade, however if you do experience issues after the upgrade then we would recommend performing a 'soft reset' using the procedure at How do I reset the network or IceBox or rescan channels? (https://support.icetv.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/8420395441423-How-do-I-reset-the-network-or-IceBox-or-rescan-channels-)
This firmware has the following updates:
- All new firmware based on version 11.0.6 of the LibreELEC operating system with lots of stability and performance improvements.
- Massive overhaul of IceBox's timer handling to ensure you never miss your scheduled recordings.
- We have changed the format of recorded shows to ensure that subtitles (closed captions) are now available on recordings. This will apply only to newly recorded shows.
- Timeshift has been enabled to allow for automatic rewinding of live tv.
- AutoSkip has been added to this firmware, so when possible commercials will be automatically detected and then skipped during playback. This will apply only to newly recorded shows.
NOTE: If doing an upgrade subtitles will be enabled by default on all recordings (after performing a soft reset it will default to off). To change this:
- Start watching a previously recorded show then press the "OK" button on the remote control.
- Go across to the "Subtitles" option along the menu at the bottom of the screen (it's the second last option) and select it by pressing the "OK" button on the remote control.
- Change the setting to off for "Enable subtitles", then scroll down to "Set as default for all media" and press the "OK" button on the remote control.
- It will ask you confirm the change, select "Yes".
- Go across to the "Close" button on the right of the window, then press the "OK" button on the remote control.
Automatic commercial detection is enabled by default on this firmware. If you wish to disable it, please follow these steps:
- On the home screen of the IceBox if you go down to "Add-ons".
- Then go across to the big "IceTV" logo and press the "OK" button on the remote control.
- On the settings screen select "Automatic Commercial Detection" to disable it.
- Go across to the "OK" button on the right hand side, then when highlighted press the "OK" button on the remote control.
The update to this firmware is almost completely automatic, the IceBox checks with our servers for a new release and will download it automatically for you.
Once it has downloaded you will get a notification in the top right hand corner of the screen that advises that an update is available.
When you see this message all you need to do to apply the firmware update is to reboot the IceBox.
Press the power button on the remote control and a menu will come up for "Power Options", go down to "Reboot" and press the "OK" button on the remote control.
The IceBox will reboot twice, after the first reboot you will see some text on the screen as the update is applied, then it will reboot again into the new IceBox firmware. You will know the process is complete once the normal IceBox home screen is shown.
The first time the new firmware loads a migration of your settings will occur, this will include a re-scan of channels, this is all automatic and you will be updated on the progress through it. Once the migration is complete your IceBox will reboot one last time.
Thanks Daniel.
For some more technical info this release also has a much more updated version of TVHeadEnd (it's from just after the parental labels patch) and some other wireless tweaks as well.
Thanks Daniel.
Do you need to have the IceBox on a particular screen or just up and running?
Is there also a KODI update in this release?
No particular screen at all, as long as you are running 1.11.3 already it will auto update in the background, and once it's downloaded automatically a simple reboot will apply the update.
Kodi was updated to 20.3, so just a point release.
A few things to note about the automatic commercial detection...
- The detection process runs after the recording has finished. It can take a while, depending on which channel you were recording (SD vs HD), and how long the recording was (i.e. file size). Be patient!
- The detection process handles one recording at a time, to prevent overloading the CPU. This means you may need to be extra patient if you have multiple recordings finishing around the same time.
- The commercial detection works really well on most recordings - but not all. There are some shows where it really struggles (most notably The Chase Australia), but I'd suggest that it does a great job on 95% of recordings. Hopefully Dan will have time to continue tweaking it, now that this major release is out the door.
Having tested this firmware over the last few weeks, I think it's a massive improvement on the previous firmware. Dan has done an awesome job. Hopefully all the users will appreciate the hard work he has put into improving the product as much as he has.
Quote from: Daniel Hall at IceTV on March 21, 2024, 03:50:27 PM(it's from just after the parental labels patch)
Do you enable this feature in your setup process?
If not, I can give you some code to add the Australian rating labels plus icons.
Another beta tester testimonial.
The advertising break detection is sufficiently accurate for a good user experience. Occasionally I have seen the detected break being short than the actual break. I do not recall problems with the start. Very occasionally I have found an break not being detected.
Closed captions (subtitles) now work reliably, and in color - sometimes multiple colors to differential what different characters are saying. To get the best closed caption experience the recordings are now use MKV container rather than *.ts (transport stream). I did not test the new build with *.ts rather than *.mkv, but have done so with earlier builds.
The process worked as advertised, except for one small (or large if you ask my better half) issue: the rescan completely ignored Channel 7. Got everything but 7 back.
What now?
Quote from: Hati on March 21, 2024, 06:51:44 PMThe process worked as advertised, except for one small (or large if you ask my better half) issue: the rescan completely ignored Channel 7. Got everything but 7 back.
What now?
Soft reset, and hope that it picks up the 7 network next time around.
Quote from: Hati on March 21, 2024, 06:51:44 PMThe process worked as advertised, except for one small (or large if you ask my better half) issue: the rescan completely ignored Channel 7. Got everything but 7 back.
What now?
I found that my Ice-supplied USB tuner is susceptible to loose antenna connections. Giving the antenna connection a bit of tweak and re-seating helps when I have tuning issues.
Quote from: vader1111 on March 21, 2024, 06:57:04 PMSoft reset, and hope that it picks up the 7 network next time around.
Did that, no joy. As a matter of fact, going to Settings/General/Channels and selecting Channel scan, gives me a "None of the connected PVR backends support scanning for channels". WTF??
Quote from: DeltaMikeCharlie on March 21, 2024, 07:37:08 PMI found that my Ice-supplied USB tuner is susceptible to loose antenna connections. Giving the antenna connection a bit of tweak and re-seating helps when I have tuning issues.
Tried that too. No joy. I am using proper crimp on RG6 connectors, but I moved them a bit anyway. Still no 7 network.
I know it for a fact it was present before the update.
Quote from: Hati on March 21, 2024, 06:51:44 PMThe process worked as advertised, except for one small (or large if you ask my better half) issue: the rescan completely ignored Channel 7. Got everything but 7 back.
What now?
On my system, I got all the Sydney channels except the 9 Network ones.
Started a topic on this in the "Getting help" section.
The solution is to do a soft reset to get the system to do a rescan. Bit of a pain as you need to set up your account and all that but got the channels sorted.
Yes, at this stage the only way to perform a channel re-scan is via a 'soft reset', we are looking at other options now though.
Hi,
Is the update notification persistent? My Icebox is always on, but I am frequently watching TV from another source, and so would likely miss a temporary message.
Ned
Hi Ned,
Sadly no, I would say it would have downloaded at some point today, if you just do a reboot on the IceBox it will apply if already downloaded.
Thanks, Daniel. I'll reboot today.
Regards,
Ned
Well, I rebooted and the update uccured. However, I now have no guide data. The guide is in the headend. How do I make the Icebox load it into the quide? I tried rebooting again (I thought the Icebox reloaded the guide on reboot), but no joy.
Ned
Hi Ned,
Did the migration happen after the upgrade, this would include scanning of channels and downloading a fresh guide?
Also did it reboot after the migration finished?
Yes, both of these things happened.
I'm also having problems getting the guide to look the way I had it. Whether I use backend channel number or not, I don't get anything I want. Some of the channel numbers are over 10000 randomly scattered among transponders.
I finally gave up and did a soft reset. I now have guide data.
I just have to continue to work on getting a usable guide. And also finding out over continuing operation which other settings I've done that have been lost :-(
As far as I can work out, to use a technical term, the guide on the IceBox is %%@&*. It worked properly throughout the beta testing but decided to go feral in the last build (the release build). If you use "All channels" all the channels are present (but no necessarily in the order you would expect). ["All TV Channels" may also work.] If you select the guide for a particular network, some channels can be missing (indeed some networks can be missing), similarly the SD Channels and SD Channels can have channels mission.
The incorrect ordering of channels may be due to channels numbers not being assigned when the scan is run (I have this on the Nine and Seven networks on my two BYOB), or channel tags going missing. The cause is still being investigated. Once a solution is found, as the problem is with TVHeadend, new firmware will not be needed, just an update to the TVHeadend add-on, which requires no user intervention.
It is possible to "fix" some or all of the problems using the TVHeadend web server, but it may not be worth the effort.
Quote from: IanL-S on March 22, 2024, 03:42:26 PMIt is possible to "fix" some or all of the problems using the TVHeadend web server, but it may not be worth the effort.
My experience of the update (BYO Intel NUC 8th gen) was a bit mixed, but it worked out OK in the end.
After the "migration" dialogue, several channels (two out of five providers) appeared to be missing. They were also missing from the web UI channel configuration. However, after one or two reboots they all turned up in the the web UI, but not all were displayed in Kodi.
I like to see my channel lineup in a certain order, and also with some channels not selected for display. For this I edit the channel lineup in the web UI by selecting/deselecting channels, and numbering consectively those channels I wish to see displayed.
Some of this was preserved in the update, some not. Half an hour or so's effort fixed all that. However, I suspect that some users either would not wish to go to that amount of trouble, and some wouldn't even want to get into the web UI to do it.
I don't know, but suspect that if the web UI channel lineup had been edited prviously then it would definitely need to be revisited after the update. If it hadn't, then again I don't know but suspect that all channels would be displayed, in whatever order was selected within the Kodi PVR guide settings. I have mine set to use channel order from the back end.
Quote from: nedsnow on March 22, 2024, 01:48:05 PMSome of the channel numbers are over 10000 randomly scattered among transponders.
If I recall correctly: I have seen something similar with a script that I was working on. It seems to happen when a service is scanned, but the LCN is not detected. I had to change my script to test that a scan was not marked as 'Failed' AND there were also LCNs detected. A 'Passed' scan had to be rerun if no LCNs were found on the mux.
I'm kind of getting there, but I'm having trouble with edits that I do to headend not being reflected in the guide. I deduced (and found verification in a forum post) that the LCNs over 10000 corresponded to headend LCN being 0. I changed all of those that were enabled to the correct number, but I'm still seeing the 10000 numbers in the guide. I have rebooted after each change attempt.
I have a couple of other questions. Some of the channels are repeated (for example there are two 10 HD). Should both be enabled or only one? If both are enabled, should they have the same LCN?
What is the significance of the "Use the network provided name" column. Should it be enabled or disabled?
Grateful for any help.
Ned
In capital cities 10 HD has two (logical) channels, 1 and 15. There are other instances such as 7 SD (7 and 71), ABC SD (2 and 21), 9 SD (9 and 91). [9Go! also has two LCNs.] Changes to the TVHeadend configuration has resulted in "duplicates".
Duplicates can also result when you can receive transmission from two or more transmitters - I now get two C31 (both identified as being LCN 44). Previously only one was activated; presumably the one with the best signal.
Quote from: nedsnow on March 22, 2024, 05:30:59 PMI'm kind of getting there, but I'm having trouble with edits that I do to headend not being reflected in the guide.
Be sure to hit the "Save" button after making changes, or they won't stick. Caught me out a time or two.
Thanks, Raymond. I'm doing that, though I'm assuming I can hit save at the end of a bunch of changes, and don't have to do it after each one.
No hints about the "use network name" column anyone?
Ned
Quote from: IanL-S on March 22, 2024, 05:52:12 PMIn capital cities 10 HD has two (logical) channels, 1 and 15.
I believe that that's the case in all state capitals except Hobart, plus Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast in Queensland.
It's not the case in Canberra and Hobart, where 10 HD is on channel 50, and 10 is on channels 5 and 51, and in Darwin where 10 HD is on channel 10, and 10 is on channels 1 and 11.
I have finally succeeded in getting the guide I had before. What I did:
- I went into my IceTV account and disabled all the channels I didn't want, and set all the desired ones to the correct channel number.
- In headend, I selected only the channels I wanted, and only one of the duplicates.
- I went to the Icebox to delete the group I had created in previous attempts. While I was doing that, the Icebox went to the boot screen, and when it came back, the guide had just the channels I wanted, in the correct order with guide data.
A quick test of the channel skipping on a program recorded last night looks good! Great work!
Ned
So.....
I copied the new firmware to the Update share and rebooted the IceBox.
It took a while, but I eventually saw a message about unpacking the firmware or something.
Once the IceBox came back on, I was still on release 1.11.3.
I rebooted again, but it seems that the upgrade did not work.
What next?
Quote from: DeltaMikeCharlie on March 25, 2024, 02:57:50 PMSo.....
I copied the new firmware to the Update share and rebooted the IceBox.
It took a while, but I eventually saw a message about unpacking the firmware or something.
Once the IceBox came back on, I was still on release 1.11.3.
I rebooted again, but it seems that the upgrade did not work.
What next?
What was the filename that you copied across to the Update folder?
Well spotted. I copied the wrong file. They were next to each other in the list and I must have mis-clicked.
Sincere apologies.
Quote from: DeltaMikeCharlie on March 25, 2024, 03:37:08 PMWell spotted. I copied the wrong file. They were next to each other in the list and I must have mis-clicked.
Sincere apologies.
I have done the same thing more than once
Quote from: DeltaMikeCharlie on March 25, 2024, 03:37:08 PMWell spotted. I copied the wrong file. They were next to each other in the list and I must have mis-clicked.
Sincere apologies.
When going through testing of different firmwares it's easily one I have done before, so all good.
Quote from: IanL-S on March 25, 2024, 03:53:41 PMI have done the same thing more than once
Quote from: Daniel Hall at IceTV on March 25, 2024, 03:54:17 PMWhen going through testing of different firmwares it's easily one I have done before, so all good.
Thanks gentlemen, but I still feel like a complete dope.
v1.11.6 is up and running.
My after-market RCU has stopped working. I will need to track down the configuration changes that I made to get it working and then do some troubleshooting.
I just noticed a lot of missing LCNs. ABC, 10 & 7.
In the TVH WebUI, I went to the muxes and changed their scan status to 'Active' and the 7 & 10 LCNs showed up in services the first time, however, ABC turned up after a good dozen tries.
It also looks like my AutoRecs may have been deleted.
Quote from: DeltaMikeCharlie on March 25, 2024, 04:50:35 PMMy after-market RCU has stopped working.
I had the after-market RCU connected via a USB hub and before the update it was working correctly.
If I plug the RCU directly into a USB port on the IceBox, it works, it is only through the USB hub that it does not work. There is a USB keyboard connected to the hub and that still works fine. Perhaps the underlying LibreELEC has altered its drivers somehow.
Quote from: Daniel Hall at IceTV on March 22, 2024, 08:53:44 AMYes, at this stage the only way to perform a channel re-scan is via a 'soft reset', we are looking at other options now though.
Please do. A soft reset means that I will again have to reinstall all my addons. It was interesting to see that the update was able scan the channels without a soft reset.
I don't suppose there is a way to trick the icebox into believing that it has not installed the update?
Quote from: TimC on March 26, 2024, 01:26:52 AMQuote from: Daniel Hall at IceTV on March 22, 2024, 08:53:44 AMYes, at this stage the only way to perform a channel re-scan is via a 'soft reset', we are looking at other options now though.
Please do. A soft reset means that I will again have to reinstall all my addons. It was interesting to see that the update was able scan the channels without a soft reset.
I don't suppose there is a way to trick the icebox into believing that it has not installed the update?
This was required as a much newer version of tvheadend was installed, and after testing it was decided this was the quickest option, to set that new version up instead of trying to copy the settings across.
The ability to re-scan though is definitely on our to do list.
In order to get my EPG working properly, I ended up having to do a soft reset and in the process destroying all of my custom configuration.
For the next iteration of the upgrade process, I'd recommend deleting the TVH and Kodi EPG databases and let them get repopulated from scratch.
Ok, a soft reset did the trick but the channel order is all over the place. I thought I'd fixed the missing channels but as the list below shows all the ABC channels are missing.
I seem to recall there was an option to have the channel number the same as the LCN, but cannot find it now.
Previously the channel numbers were.
11 - 10 Peach
12 - 10 Bold
13 - Nickelodeon
15 - 10 HD
20 - ABC HD
22 - ABC 2
23 - ABC 3
24 - ABC News 24
30 - SBS HD
32 - Viceland
35 - World Movies
70 - 7 HD
72 - 7 Mate
74 -
75 - 7 Bravo
76 - 7 Flix
90 - 9 HD
94 -
95 -
96 -
99 - 9 Go!
Now it shows as:
1 - 10 Peach
2 - 10 Bold
3 - Nickelodeon
4 - 10 HD
5 - SBS HD
6 - Viceland
7 - World Movies
8 - NITV
9 - World Watch
10 - 7 HD
11 - 7 Two
12 - 7 Mate
13 - 7 Bravo
14 - 7 Flix
15 - 9 HD
16 - 9 GO
17 - 9 Life
18 - 9 Gem
19 - 9 Rush
The automatic ad skipping is great, however something that might be even better is what my Beyonwiz does and that is to place a bookmark at the actual start and end of a particular program. What is being used to detect the end of an ad break could be done here.
So, looks like I am going to have to do a few more soft resets to get all channels, or is there another way to achieve this and not have to go through setting things up?
Any tips or pointers appreciated.
Quote from: Ian_AW on March 26, 2024, 04:38:21 PMAny tips or pointers appreciated.
You should have a look at the channel configuration in the Web UI. In my experience a few reboots are all that is necessary for all your channels to show up, but some may not be enabled so they won't be displayed in Kodi.
Hi Ian,
The option to show 'backend channel numbers' is still there, it's in "Settings" under "PVR & Live TV" and then under "Channels" on the side. The option is "Use channel numbers from backend".
You will need to have your settings set to "Advanced" to see the option (this can be changed in the bottom left hand corner of this page).
Thanks. The channel numbers are back.
Any reason as to why the ABC channels have gone AWOL?
Hi Daniel,
I have a problem with the ad skipping. While watching a new recording (after the update), the sound frequently cut off and on for about 1/2 a second. However, the most significant problem was with the ad skpping whereby after the ad break, the video repeatedly cut off and on, until finaly there was just a blank screen. I have checked the recording (using my PC) and it is fine, so I turned off the ad skipping feature and now it looks and sounds OK.
Regards — Russell
Quote from: GreyNomad on March 27, 2024, 10:08:00 AMHowever, the most significant problem was with the ad skipping whereby after the ad break, the video repeatedly cut off and on, until finally there was just a blank screen.
That looks more like a HDMI issue. Do you have a HDMI cable connected directly to your TV or is there something else in between, e.g. an AV Amplifier, a HDMI extender, HDMI splitter, HDMI switch, etc.)?
Sometimes with HDMI, something that interrupts the data flow can trigger the receiving device to go through a housekeeping check which results in a bit of flashing while the HDMI reconfigures itself. Sometimes the result can be a blank screen. The more devices in the chain, the worse the flashing can get.
Usually a directly connected TV doesn't do that, but a bad cable may cause something similar.
Also check the video output setting - should be 50 not 60.
Thanks for the replies.
The video output is set to 50 although it was 30. Not sure how that happened.
The HDMI cable is less than 12 months old and is connected directly to the TV.
When turning off the ad skipping function, the recordings play normally. For now, I have left it off and will revisit the issue at a later date. In the meantime, I can easily use skip forward via the remote.
Are you using an IceTV IceBox or a BYOB? If a BYOB what CPU does it have, and how much RAM?
I started this thought on another thread, but brought it here as it is more relevant to the recent update.
The point I was making was regarding ongoing development and how the recent update worked.
I expressed a desire for a reset that didn't wipe my addons and a channel scan independent of a reset and was more effective and capturing both the channels and their relevant channel numbers.
With the recent update there seemed to be something close to what I have been looking for. The update was able to be implemented without wiping my addons and implemented a channel scan as well. However, whether there was anything reset related involved in the update, I don't know. There also seemed to be something off about the related channel scan as well. It seemed that even the more experienced users were having missing channel and missing channel number issues. In my case the channel scan missed entire channels, as well as many channel numbers. Unfortunately, there was no way the redo the channel scan without a reset. As a result, I had to spend another day reinstalling all my addins and tweaking the various settings to get the IceBox back to where it was.
I suspect the Channel scan with the update may need a slightly longer sample period for each frequency to be more reliable at capturing the all the channels and the related channel numbers. i.e. it would take longer, but return more data.
It looks like the possibility of a channel scan Independent of a reset is within reach. If you can have one with the update, it shouldn't take much more to put an option in the IceBox UI to allow it to happen.
Hi Tim,
Yes we are aware of the missing channel issue which we believed had been fixed during testing and we are still investigating as to the cause, amongst other development tasks. We will implement the ability to do a separate channel scan asap as it is also important to be carried out outside of a soft reset should a network bring out a new one.
Quote from: TimC on March 27, 2024, 06:59:29 PMI suspect the Channel scan with the update may need a slightly longer sample period for each frequency to be more reliable at capturing the all the channels and the related channel numbers. i.e. it would take longer, but return more data.
I recently wrote an addon for LibreELEC that touches on scanning channels.
During the channel scanning process, I found that two possible errors could occur. The most common error was no LCNs, but also less frequently, no service name.
My solution was to not take the TVH scan return status at face value. If the scan 'passed', I still looked to see if there were any LCNs found on that mux, if not, I would rescan until I either got LCNs or exceeded and arbitrary number of scan attempts.
From what I can see from the DVB specs, the LCNs are broadcast separately to the central channel definitions. Perhaps the TVH scanning process is not waiting long enough and may need some further investigation.
Hi
My icetv is 11.03 but have done several reboots yet no 11.06 install has happened.
I even did a soft reset still no update.
Any thoughts on how to get the update?
Thanks Ron
Quote from: TimC on March 27, 2024, 06:59:29 PMI suspect the Channel scan with the update may need a slightly longer sample period for each frequency to be more reliable at capturing the all the channels and the related channel numbers. i.e. it would take longer, but return more data.
It looks like the possibility of a channel scan Independent of a reset is within reach. If you can have one with the update, it shouldn't take much more to put an option in the IceBox UI to allow it to happen.
You could try the Force Scan option in the Web UI Configuration|Networks|Force Scan. I haven't done it myself in IceBox, only LibreELEC test installations, but I can't think of a reason why it would upset IceBox to do one. No guarantees!
Quote from: panio-man on March 28, 2024, 09:26:47 AMHi
My icetv is 11.03 but have done several reboots yet no 11.06 install has happened.
I even did a soft reset still no update.
Any thoughts on how to get the update?
Thanks Ron
I cannot find a link for downloading 11.06 - I am chasing it up with the development team.
Quote from: IanL-S on March 28, 2024, 11:18:16 AMI cannot find a link for downloading 11.06 - I am chasing it up with the development team.
https://releases.icetv.com.au/generic/IceBox-Generic.x86_64-1.11.6.img.gz
Quote from: panio-man on March 28, 2024, 09:26:47 AMHi
My icetv is 11.03 but have done several reboots yet no 11.06 install has happened.
I even did a soft reset still no update.
Any thoughts on how to get the update?
Thanks Ron
Hi Ron,
I can copy in here the email we sent to people without 1.11.3, and it's the manual firmware upgrade instructions:
The updated firmware is available for download from https://releases.icetv.com.au/generic/IceBox-Generic.x86_64-1.11.6.img.gz (https://releases.icetv.com.au/generic/IceBox-Generic.x86_64-1.11.6.img.gz)
To update the firmware on the IceBox, download the update file, then get the IP address of the IceBox by going into the settings (the cog icon on the main screen), then going across and selecting "System Information". On "Summary" tab write down the "IP address" (this will be referred to as IP_ADDRESS for the rest of this guide)
Then choose the steps for you depending if you are using a Windows PC or a Mac:
For a Windows PC:
1. Open the Run box by pressing the Windows and "R" keys together on the keyboard
2. In the Run box that comes up type in "\\IP_ADDRESS" (without the quotes, and put in the actual ip address that you wrote down above, for example "\\192.168.0.89"), then click on OK
3. If it comes up asking for a username and password then put in a username of just 'guest' and don't put anything in the password field.
4. On the list of folders that comes up go into the "Update" folder.
5. Copy the file you downloaded above with the filename of "IceBox-Generic.x86_64-1.11.6.img.gz" to this "Update" folder and wait until the you are sure the file has finished copying.
For a Mac:
1. Full details on this process is available on the Apple website at https://support.apple.com/lt-lt/guide/mac-help/mchlp1140/mac (https://support.apple.com/lt-lt/guide/mac-help/mchlp1140/mac)
2. In the finder under the "Go" menu select "Connect to Server"
3. In the "Server Address" field type in "smb://IP_ADDRESS" (for example "smb://192.168.0.89")
4. Click connect
5. Select to connect at "Guest"
6. Select the "Update" share as the one to connect to
7. When the folder opens copy the file you downloaded above with the filename of "IceBox-Generic.x86_64-1.11.6.img.gz" to this "Update" folder and wait until the you are sure the file has finished copying.
Once the update file is in the correct location, the rest of the process is on the IceBox itself.
Press the power button on the remote control and a menu will come up for "Power Options", go down to "Reboot" and press the "OK" button on the remote control.
The IceBox will reboot twice, after the first reboot you will see some text on the screen as the update is applied, then it will reboot again into the new IceBox firmware. You will know the process is complete once the normal IceBox home screen is shown.
The first time the new firmware loads a migration of your settings will occur, this will include a re-scan of channels, this is all automatic and you will be updated on the progress through it. Once the migration is complete your IceBox will reboot one last time.
Quote from: raymondjpg on March 28, 2024, 10:01:59 AMYou could try the Force Scan option in the Web UI Configuration|Networks|Force Scan.
Youve lost me there Raymond. How do you get to "Web UI Configuration|Networks|Force Scan"?
Quote from: TimC on March 28, 2024, 11:25:24 AMQuote from: raymondjpg on March 28, 2024, 10:01:59 AMYou could try the Force Scan option in the Web UI Configuration|Networks|Force Scan.
Youve lost me there Raymond. How do you get to "Web UI Configuration|Networks|Force Scan"?
Go to the Web UI, then:
Configuration
Networks
Left click on DVB-T Network and Force Scan
Force Scan.jpg
You may need to also try map all services after Force Scan - Services two away to the right from Networks.
Quote from: TimC on March 28, 2024, 11:25:24 AMQuote from: raymondjpg on March 28, 2024, 10:01:59 AMYou could try the Force Scan option in the Web UI Configuration|Networks|Force Scan.
Youve lost me there Raymond. How do you get to "Web UI Configuration|Networks|Force Scan"?
Sorry. Missed out a step!
Configuration
DVB Inputs
Networks
Left click on DVB-T Network and Force Scan
Force Scan.jpg
You may need to also try map all services after Force Scan - Services two away to the right from Networks.
Quote from: TimC on March 28, 2024, 11:25:24 AMQuote from: raymondjpg on March 28, 2024, 10:01:59 AMYou could try the Force Scan option in the Web UI Configuration|Networks|Force Scan.
Youve lost me there Raymond. How do you get to "Web UI Configuration|Networks|Force Scan"?
In the TVHeadend web interface (i.e. Web UI)...
- Select the Configuration tab
- Select the DVB Inputs tab
- Select the Networks tab
- Select the DVB-T Network
- Click on the Force Scan button
NOTE: I have never tried this, and it has never been a part of the beta testing. I have no idea whether or not it would work. I suspect it would force TVHeadend to re-scan the network, however it would not map any newly discovered channels to the respective IceTV EPG data.
Quote from: vader1111 on March 28, 2024, 12:13:31 PMNOTE: I have never tried this, and it has never been a part of the beta testing. I have no idea whether or not it would work. I suspect it would force TVHeadend to re-scan the network, however it would not map any newly discovered channels to the respective IceTV EPG data.
There is also a map all services option that IIRC was necessary when setting up my LibreELEC tests.
Map Services.jpg
Quote from: TimC on March 28, 2024, 11:25:24 AMQuote from: raymondjpg on March 28, 2024, 10:01:59 AMYou could try the Force Scan option in the Web UI Configuration|Networks|Force Scan.
Youve lost me there Raymond. How do you get to "Web UI Configuration|Networks|Force Scan"?
The reference is to the TVHeadend webserver, which is localed on the IceBox. To accessit, in your preferred web browser, enter the following location:
http://{IP address of the IceBox}:9981/
The click on the "Configuration" tab, then on "DVB inputs", then on "Networks". I have never tried this; but that is where you go. Cannot say if it will do what you want.
Thanks Everyone. I'll give it a try when I can pry the IceBox from my wife.
All,
I tried the Force Scan option and after a quick flash of a message (too quick to read) nothing happened.
It was all over in less than 1/2 a second.
I would have expected an extended delay while all the frequencies were scanned. So what it scans is outside my limited knowledge.
The remapping of the services was similar. I tried both the Selected service and Map all to no avail.
Quote from: TimC on March 28, 2024, 01:34:55 PMAll,
I tried the Force Scan option and after a quick flash of a message (too quick to read) nothing happened.
It was all over in less than 1/2 a second.
I would have expected an extended delay while all the frequencies were scanned. So what it scans is outside my limited knowledge.
The remapping of the services was similar. I tried both the Selected service and Map all to no avail.
My installation updated with all Add-ons and configuration intact, but I'm pretty sure that not all channels were found initially, but eventually turned up in the Configuration|Channel/EPG|Channels section. I also recall that some channels that should have been enabled, were not enabled. So look there and you may find those missing channels you are looking for.
******************************************************************
N.B. This is something I would definitely NOT recommend, but only try if prepared to do a soft reset, or possibly even a complete re-install:
You could select all services and delete them, then re-tun Force Scan then Map all services.
As I recall, Map all services only returned results other than 0 after an initial scan. The total displayed equated in some way to the number of services discovered.
Quote from: TimC on March 28, 2024, 01:34:55 PMAll,
I tried the Force Scan option and after a quick flash of a message (too quick to read) nothing happened.
It was all over in less than 1/2 a second.
I would have expected an extended delay while all the frequencies were scanned. So what it scans is outside my limited knowledge.
The remapping of the services was similar. I tried both the Selected service and Map all to no avail.
You could try going into Config->DVB Inputs->Muxes and changing the 'Scan Status' to "ACTIVE' and then saving the mux one by one for the muxes in your area. See if any new services turn up or missing LCNs appear.
Would not tinker with TVHeadend except when the IceBox is a backup. And if you are happy with the possible need to do a soft reset.
The IceBox team (aka Daniel Hall) is working on a fix, so I would not resort to tinkering unless channels are "physically" absent or have not been mapped, and a soft reset has not fixed things.
Quote from: IanL-S on March 28, 2024, 04:33:07 PM...so I would not resort to tinkering unless channels are "physically" absent or have not been mapped, and a soft reset has not fixed things.
I think "channels are physically absent" is the main issue here. It looks like services are not easily remapped in the TVHeadend config unless radical surgery is performed to muxes and services, so probably not a ready fix for the issue.
Soft reset is what TimC is trying to avoid!
Quote from: raymondjpg on March 28, 2024, 01:58:25 PMN.B. This is something I would definitely NOT recommend, but only try if prepared to do a soft reset, or possibly even a complete re-install:
I think this is the key advice here. Especially when it takes me a day to recover all the addons I have running.
I had already done a Soft Reset to fix the missing Channels and LCN that were missed in the update scan (along with a bit of Channel Maintenance).
I am not looking for an immediate fix. My setup is now working.
I am really looking for a more inbuilt solution that less experiences users would look for if they had channel/LCN issues.
Quote from: TimC on March 28, 2024, 08:06:09 PMQuote from: raymondjpg on March 28, 2024, 01:58:25 PMN.B. This is something I would definitely NOT recommend, but only try if prepared to do a soft reset, or possibly even a complete re-install:
I think this is the key advice here. Especially when it takes me a day to recover all the addons I have running.
I just tried this on a test installation of IceBox in a Virtualbox VM.
Best results came from starting from scratch, by deleting all Services and Muxes at the DVB Inputs Configuration. Then (to save time scanning) edit the DVB-T Network config by selecting your Pre-defined mux in the drop-down menu, or if you cannot find one for your area, Generic autoAustralia, and Force Scan. The latter has to go through 50 frequencies, and probably reflects what happens with a Soft reset. A Pre-defined mux completes much faster.
Then at the Services tab, Map all services.
In my case the scan returned 7 Muxes and 56 Services.
After mapping, the Channels tab showed 108 entries, 54 of which were (name-not-set). It looks like the remaining 54 did not add up to the 56 Services found because of duplicate enrtries for ABC TV (LCN 2 and 21) and 10 Canberra (LCN 5 and 51). LCNs 21 and 51 somehow got lost in the mapping, I don't know why. In my production IceBox, in both cases the duplicates showed up named in the Channel list, and curiously the Channel numbers 21 and 51 could not be changed but always reverted to 21 and 51 on Save.
The Guide was empty at first, and I hit Re-run Internal EPG Grabbers, but it may not have been necessary. A couple of reboots of IceBox saw some of the Guide populated. Inspection of the Channels config showed some Channels with no EPG source. That is fixable with the drop down menu, as there is only one source configured, the Internal XML tv_grab_file.
So doable, but with some effort needed to clean up the Channels and Guide EPG source.
Quote from: DeltaMikeCharlie on March 28, 2024, 03:13:38 PMYou could try going into Config->DVB Inputs->Muxes and changing the 'Scan Status' to "ACTIVE' and then saving the mux one by one for the muxes in your area. See if any new services turn up or missing LCNs appear.
That probably works too. If one or other of the Muxes for your location indicates FAIL for any reason, then setting to ACTIVE initiates a re-scan.
I saw FAIL quite a lot during my unsuccessful attempts to get IceBox working reliably in a VM, probably because the LibreELEC USB tuner drivers were not up to coping with the tuner attached via a Windows host PC. Persisting with Force Scan mostly led to discovery of all Services. Today I didn't have that problem, but deleting services on one of the muxes then setting it to ACTIVE, forcing a re-scan on that Mux, resulted in services restored at the Services tab.
I suspect that, unless the scan has failed on a mux for some reason, channels may have been discovered but not enabled at the Channels tab, so I'd recommend looking there first before initiating any re-scans.
Hi
I have managed to install the latest update.
Since then on a regular basis.
Icetv wants me to load my icetv account and password again. Then do a channel search. It does the search and cannot find any new channels. This latest time it managed to end with see error message in the log.
Have Tried soft reset.
Do I need to do a hard reset and start from fresh?
Quote from: panio-man on April 14, 2024, 10:29:19 PMDo I need to do a hard reset and start from fresh?
If you don't have any recordings, a hard reset might be worth a try.
A hard reset will wipe them. If you don't care the go ahead.
If you do have recordings you want to keep, you could try copying them off onto another computer (provided you have space.
I find that a computer on the same network will show ICEBOX in the Network folder.
Open it and navigate to the recordings folder and copy the contents to somewhere that has enough space (if you have space).
When the Icebox gets to the Login point, copy them back and log back in.
Note: I haven't tried this, so there may be issues. It may be that you may need to follow with a soft reset the recapture the recordings.
Good Luck.
Quote from: TimC on April 16, 2024, 09:07:54 AMQuote from: panio-man on April 14, 2024, 10:29:19 PMDo I need to do a hard reset and start from fresh?
If you don't have any recordings, a hard reset might be worth a try.
A hard reset will wipe them. If you don't care the go ahead.
If you do have recordings you want to keep, you could try copying them off onto another computer (provided you have space.
I find that a computer on the same network will show ICEBOX in the Network folder.
Open it and navigate to the recordings folder and copy the contents to somewhere that has enough space (if you have space).
When the Icebox gets to the Login point, copy them back and log back in.
Note: I haven't tried this, so there may be issues. It may be that you may need to follow with a soft reset the recapture the recordings.
Good Luck.
If you do this, then you must get the '.backups' folder from the "Recordings" share as well, and ensure that they are copied back onto the IceBox before completing the IceTV setup wizard.
AdSkip is fabulous! There are a few shows where it never works (eg Seven News) but when it does work, watching is a dream. I particularly like the display at the end of each skip showing the duration of the skip. It really shows how many ads the networks are squeezing into their supplementary channels (up to 5.56 for example on 7bravo!).
Quote from: pargy on April 17, 2024, 02:25:50 PMThere are a few shows where it never works (eg Seven News) but when it does work, watching is a dream.
I don't know why 7 News wouldn't work, but there are a few things that may cause Add Skip to fail. A small reception glitch at the wrong time. It is also worth being aware of the fact that there is a bit of serial post processing done (one program at a time) on the recorded material. At a rough estimate 1 hour of recording requires 1 Hour of Post Processing. I have no idea of timeframes really, but it is not seconds or a few minutes.
If for example, you recorded 9 and 7 news at the same time and tried to watch them both an hour later, there is a chance that 9 news had finished post processing, but 7 news hadn't (or vice versa).
I suspect that the processing time is dependent on the transmission codec (for example h.264 HD is more resource intensive than MPEG2 HD), the resolution, and bit-rate.
HD channels use h.264 codec (although in some regional areas some HD uses MEPG2). Most SD channels use MPEG 2 - notable exceptions include 7Flix (Melbourne and probably elsewhere) and racing.com. The bitrate used on a particular (logical) channel is not fixed and can change from on program to the next.
Quote from: TimC on March 27, 2024, 12:44:55 PMQuote from: GreyNomad on March 27, 2024, 10:08:00 AMHowever, the most significant problem was with the ad skipping whereby after the ad break, the video repeatedly cut off and on, until finally there was just a blank screen.
That looks more like a HDMI issue. Do you have a HDMI cable connected directly to your TV or is there something else in between, e.g. an AV Amplifier, a HDMI extender, HDMI splitter, HDMI switch, etc.)?
Sometimes with HDMI, something that interrupts the data flow can trigger the receiving device to go through a housekeeping check which results in a bit of flashing while the HDMI reconfigures itself. Sometimes the result can be a blank screen. The more devices in the chain, the worse the flashing can get.
Usually a directly connected TV doesn't do that, but a bad cable may cause something similar.
I don't think HDMI is the issue. I am having the same symptoms on various recordings. Today, I was watching a recording of the PBS Newshour, when it started having intermittent black screens, then just went back to the menu. When I tried to restart it, it said "Failed to Start" on both Resume and Play from Beginning. I tried to reboot from the power menu, but the box crashed (looked like a kernel panic), so I did a long press of the Power button and it rebooted successfully. I then played the same recording, and it played without any black screens or other issues.
I'm also having a number of other anomalous problems. Sometimes when I select a recording to play, I just get a black screen. When I press "Back", it goes back to the menu, but I can see the recording playing in the background. When I select it again, it plays.
Something new today: I tried to watch live TV, but I get a message from TVHeadEnd saying "No Free Adapter Available". I rebooted a few times, but got the same result. I looked at the TVHeadEnd web page, and Configuration->DVB Inputs->TV Adapters is an empty folder. Something must have gone wrong during my efforts to watch the PBS Newshour this morning. I unplugged the tuners and plugged them in again, and they have come back. Unfortunately, I didn't do it in time to get today's recording of the PBS Newshour.
During one of the many reboots I've done this week, the box updated itself, so I'm on 11.6.2 now. It retained my channel settings, which is one good thing.
Yes, updating to 11.6.2 does not require a service scan let alone a full setup wizard.
I do not recall seeing the black screen artifact. I have seen greenscreen on my Toppys which is caused by problems with the HDMI handshake between the Toppy and the TV. But that tends to stay rather than coming and going and you can see the output but it is green.
If you are lucky then the move to 11.1.2 may resolve the problem.
Quote from: nedsnow on April 20, 2024, 01:29:16 PMQuote from: TimC on March 27, 2024, 12:44:55 PMQuote from: GreyNomad on March 27, 2024, 10:08:00 AMHowever, the most significant problem was with the ad skipping whereby after the ad break, the video repeatedly cut off and on, until finally there was just a blank screen.
That looks more like a HDMI issue. Do you have a HDMI cable connected directly to your TV or is there something else in between, e.g. an AV Amplifier, a HDMI extender, HDMI splitter, HDMI switch, etc.)?
Sometimes with HDMI, something that interrupts the data flow can trigger the receiving device to go through a housekeeping check which results in a bit of flashing while the HDMI reconfigures itself. Sometimes the result can be a blank screen. The more devices in the chain, the worse the flashing can get.
Usually a directly connected TV doesn't do that, but a bad cable may cause something similar.
I don't think HDMI is the issue. I am having the same symptoms on various recordings. Today, I was watching a recording of the PBS Newshour, when it started having intermittent black screens, then just went back to the menu. When I tried to restart it, it said "Failed to Start" on both Resume and Play from Beginning. I tried to reboot from the power menu, but the box crashed (looked like a kernel panic), so I did a long press of the Power button and it rebooted successfully. I then played the same recording, and it played without any black screens or other issues.
I'm also having a number of other anomalous problems. Sometimes when I select a recording to play, I just get a black screen. When I press "Back", it goes back to the menu, but I can see the recording playing in the background. When I select it again, it plays.
Something new today: I tried to watch live TV, but I get a message from TVHeadEnd saying "No Free Adapter Available". I rebooted a few times, but got the same result. I looked at the TVHeadEnd web page, and Configuration->DVB Inputs->TV Adapters is an empty folder. Something must have gone wrong during my efforts to watch the PBS Newshour this morning. I unplugged the tuners and plugged them in again, and they have come back. Unfortunately, I didn't do it in time to get today's recording of the PBS Newshour.
During one of the many reboots I've done this week, the box updated itself, so I'm on 11.6.2 now. It retained my channel settings, which is one good thing.
I believe that you are correct in your interpretation that much of what you experienced was related to the initial playback of the PBS recording. Something glitched and caused most of the follow-on issues you experienced.
You seem to have successfully diagnosed the issues and found suitable actions to resolve them.
You shouldn't really be having the Black/Flashing screen issue, but...
I have something similar, but part of the issue in my case is that I have a bunch of devices (HDMI Switches, extenders, splitters and converters) between the IceBox and my TVs. Every time I go from a menu to playing a recording, I get a Black screen and occasionally some flashing. It takes a few seconds while everything settles down.
I would love to find a way to get it more stable, but nothing I have tried has worked. From what I understand it just comes down to how each device in the HDMI chain, including the IceBox, deals with changes in the video data.
It may be that the way your TV does the HDMI handshaking with the IceBox is particularly sensitive to something the IceBox does (or vice Versa).
Have you tried plugging in a different TV to see if the behaviour changes?
Thanks, but my IceBox is plugged directly into the TV. I don't have another TV I can test it on. In any case, I didn't have any of these issues prior to the firmware upgrade, and the upgrade is the only change to my setup.
Ned
Quote from: nedsnow on April 21, 2024, 01:21:06 PMThanks, but my IceBox is plugged directly into the TV. I don't have another TV I can test it on. In any case, I didn't have any of these issues prior to the firmware upgrade, and the upgrade is the only change to my setup.
Ned
I don't know how the Update might affect video behavior. Note: That comes from lack of knowledge, not certainty.
However, from memory, I recall someone mentioning tweaking their TV to work with their IceBox.
The IceBox video is supposed to work best at 1920x1080 @ 50 Hz.
Is that the setting you are using?
Is there anywhere in your TV's settings where you can specify the screen resolution to 1920x1080 @ 50 Hz?
Quote from: TimC on April 21, 2024, 02:02:33 PMQuote from: nedsnow on April 21, 2024, 01:21:06 PMThanks, but my IceBox is plugged directly into the TV. I don't have another TV I can test it on. In any case, I didn't have any of these issues prior to the firmware upgrade, and the upgrade is the only change to my setup.
Ned
I don't know how the Update might affect video behavior. Note: That comes from lack of knowledge, not certainty.
However, from memory, I recall someone mentioning tweaking their TV to work with their IceBox.
The IceBox video is supposed to work best at 1920x1080 @ 50 Hz.
Is that the setting you are using?
Is there anywhere in your TV's settings where you can specify the screen resolution to 1920x1080 @ 50 Hz?
Much as I hate to say it, as I love the feature, but I suspect the video issues are coming from the ad skipping function.
Isn't the resolution set by the by the input source, i. e. the IceBox? When the box boots, it starts in 1920X1024, but shortly switches to UHD (3840x2160@60). I looked for a setting in the IceBox for the resolution, but couldn't find one.
Quote from: nedsnow on April 21, 2024, 02:34:26 PMI looked for a setting in the IceBox for the resolution, but couldn't find one.
Settings|System|Display lets you change resolution and refresh rate.
However the IceBox switching to 4K looks more like something arising from the TV, Do you have the ability to disable enhanced video (4K) mode on the TV, and set the default to 1920x1080?
Thanks for that. When I looked at that settings page, for some reason I assumed it was read only. I changed the resolution, and also set the UI resolution limit to 1080. When I rebooted, it came up in HD.
Quote from: nedsnow on April 21, 2024, 03:53:21 PMThanks for that. When I looked at that settings page, for some reason I assumed it was read only. I changed the resolution, and also set the UI resolution limit to 1080. When I rebooted, it came up in HD.
How is the Black Screen/Flashing?
One thing I have noticed with software updates in general (Windows, Office, Internet Explorer, etc.) over the years is that sometimes settings that the person who set up the update had for their setup can sometimes end up in the update. It would explain the alignment of the Black Screen/Flashing with the installation of the update.
I am not saying that happened here, but weird things do happen.
So far, so good, though I've only watched one recording since making the change. Fingers crossed :-)
Quote from: TimC on April 21, 2024, 04:06:57 PMsometimes settings that the person who set up the update had for their setup can sometimes end up in the update
I had to read this sentence a few times!
Quote from: srto2 on April 22, 2024, 10:14:00 AMI had to read this sentence a few times!
I see what you mean, and I used to be a technical writer. Duuhh