Beyonwiz going backwards with less inputs available

[kentdorf72]

it appears as though BW are going backwards, now with the V2 there is an arial input only - no HDMI In, no RCA, it appears as though they expect everyone to be watching TV through an arial only or online subscription.
What happened to the ability to run Xbox / pay Tv thru these units & to be able to record?
considering the crap that is on free to air TV, who would bother to record half of that crap let alone needing 2-4 tuners for it

[exitguy]

now with the V2 there is an arial input only - no HDMI In, no RCA, it appears as though they expect everyone to be watching TV through an arial only

Arial = The name Arial is a Hebrew Baby Names baby name. In Hebrew Baby Names the meaning of the name Arial is: Sprite; lion of God. A biblical alternate name for Jerusalem. Name of a prankish spirit in Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Aerial = A television antenna, or TV aerial, is an antenna specifically designed for use with a television receiver (TV) to receive over-the-air broadcast television signals from a television station.

[Gully]

Arial = The name Arial is a Hebrew Baby Names baby name. In Hebrew Baby Names the meaning of the name Arial is: Sprite; lion of God. A biblical alternate name for Jerusalem. Name of a prankish spirit in Shakespeare's The Tempest.

If you are going to be picky, it is also the name of a font, and to pick up on your spelling the character in The Tempest is Ariel!

Back on topic, kentdorf72 it feels like a few mixed messages as I really cannot see why you would buy most PVRs anyway given your comments. Sounds more like you need video capture hardware?

[prl]

Also, the T/U/V series Beyonwizes have never had RCA inputs. Only the DP-P2 and LiDiC (compatible with the other DP series PVRs) had that.

The most recent Beyonwiz to have RCA outputs was the V2.

[kentdorf72]

sorry - english is my second fkn language

[kentdorf72]

i'm also too cheap (or should that be cheep) to upgrade the foxtel box so have one that doesn't record itself so the recording / editing / watching is done by BW, where i also save rugby matches for a mate who's a quad.

could do this with DPP2
can be done with U4
looks like it's impossible with V2 due to only AERIAL input

[Paul_oz53]

I think the real point kentdorf72 is raising is that some models of Beyonwiz PVRs have enabled us to record external video sources but no current model has that capability.

Of course, whether to offer the capability is a commercial decision for Beyonwiz (i.e. Korea). That it is not offered suggests that the demand is not sufficient for Beyonwiz to offer the option. Possibly the problem is a lack of suitable chipsets. Maybe this is temporary or maybe not.

Therefore, I read this topic as a frustrated user unable to identify an upgrade option.

I have kept my P2s only because of their capacity to record analogue sources but they are really at end of life. I have collected two U4s and a T4 for their capacity to record HDMI and as insurance against there being no future option as streaming edges out conventional recording.

I feel that we may be at the end of an era and others have expressed similar sentiments in other posts on the forum. At this juncture, we really can't offer any comfort pending announcements from the factory that may never come.

[prl]

I think the real point kentdorf72 is raising is that some models of Beyonwiz PVRs have enabled us to record external video sources but no current model has that capability.

The issue is that the chip set manufacturers for the System-on-a-Chip devices in the T4 and U4 no longer make the chips. It's hard to continue production when the heart of the device can't be obtained.

Of course, whether to offer the capability is a commercial decision for Beyonwiz (i.e. Korea). That it is not offered suggests that the demand is not sufficient for Beyonwiz to offer the option. Possibly the problem is a lack of suitable chipsets. Maybe this is temporary or maybe not.

I'm not sure that there is a Beyonwiz (Korea) entity any more. The T/U/V series boxes are all Beyonwiz branded OEM boxes.

Chipset availability is a big issue, and I don't expect that chipsets will start to be made again for any of the discontinued models (T2, T3, T4, U4). Those models have also all had support dropped for their proprietary driver code.

Therefore, I read this topic as a frustrated user unable to identify an upgrade option.

That's how I read it, too. I think the OP has a reasonable point, but I think that the decisions to discontinue those models was pretty much forced on Beyonwiz (and the OEMs) by chipset availability.

At this juncture, we really can't offer any comfort pending announcements from the factory that may never come.

Agreed. Just to clarify, "the factory" isn't Beyonwiz's factory. I don't even think they do much in the way of hardware design (either in-house or contracted) any more.

[IanSav]

Hi Paul,

Beyonwiz no longer designs and manufactures its own devices. They choose from existing designs and have them manufactured to suit Australian needs. Given the decline of DVB-T/T2 the range of choices for use in Australia is limited.

The Beyonwiz V2 is actually a Octagon SF8008 with the satellite tuner replaced with a second DVB-T/T2 tuner and the WiFi option removed. If my memory serves me, all Beyonwiz models since the Classic models are OEMs from other manufacturers.

There are still currents specification, feature rich, devices available with HDMI recording capability. Whether or not Beyonwiz chooses to offer more feature rich models is up to them.

Since I was invited to no longer be a Beyonwiz contributor I have become an OpenATV, OpenPLi and OpenViX developer. Many of the code developments I wanted to offer Beyonwiz are now integrated into those main images and many of the other derivative images. I am also working to unify those images to make code and skin interchange significantly easier and more reliable. I still work hard to ensure that all my code changes support Australian conditions even though Beyonwiz still refuses to merge most of the recent code improvements.

I now use a Zgemma H7C unit that has two DVB-T/T2 tuners and one DVB-S2 tuner. It works perfectly in Australia. I am hoping to one day get something like a Gigablue UHD Quad 4K or a VU+ Ultimo 4K as my high end receiver. These days most of the Enigma2 hardware and firmware available for receivers works fine in Australia. The issue is now many DVB-T/T2 tuners are available. Apparently the VU+ Ultimo 4K supports 5 internal DVB-T/T2 tuners along with a host of other features including HDMI V2 input. My point is that full featured units are very much available and will work in Australia even if Beyonwiz chooses to not offer them.

Regards,
Ian.

[raymondjpg]

My point is that full featured units are very much available and will work in Australia even if Beyonwiz chooses to not offer them.

I think many of us would like to hear more information/details about these, and maybe this forum might not be the place to spell that out!?

[MrQuade]

I still work hard to ensure that all my code changes support Australian conditions even though Beyonwiz still refuses to merge most of the recent code improvements.

Please be a little more diplomatic IanSav. It genuinely upsets me to see you get so distressed about this repeatedly.

We all know that the Wiz firmware image is at this time too far off the upstream projects to easily merge changes. Doing it in pieces will introduce even more differences that are tricky to unpick when the time comes to properly merge/realign with upstream.

When time permits (given the PeterU is currently the only developer who can undertake this rather daunting task), I am sure we will see another *big* merge with upstream, the same as was done with the 17.5 series (or was that 16.1 argg!).

I would like to hope that at that time, things can be brought into closer alignment and we can share code more easily, and have all your improvements rolled in, and future improvements can be easily incorporated.

This just needs some time and patience, and we rely on the donation of that time by one very busy volunteer.

[IanSav]

Hi MrQuade,

Please be a little more diplomatic IanSav. It genuinely upsets me to see you get so distressed about this repeatedly.

I am far from distressed. Since moving on things have become much better, easier and friendlier for me. My concern is for all the Beyonwiz users who are not getting the support or updates they deserve. For example, why can't all Beyonwiz users get timely updates for Australian picons? This should be easy to fix.

We all know that the Wiz firmware image is at this time too far off the upstream projects to easily merge changes. Doing it in pieces will introduce even more differences that are tricky to unpick when the time comes to properly merge/realign with upstream.

Sorry, I strongly disagree with this. Beyonwiz by not merging sooner is only allowing the Beyonwiz firmware to drift farther away from the other images. That makes catching up all the more daunting the longer it takes.

This just needs some time and patience, and we rely on the donation of that time by one very busy volunteer.

This no longer affects me, I don't need to wait for anything. My work is happily being accepted by many of the other images usually in a matter of minutes or hours. It is nothing like the months I had to wait for beyonwiz before my contributions were begrudgingly accepted or, more commonly, rejected.

I also think you are doing Prl a big disservice given the level and quality of his contributions to Beyonwiz and Enigma2 in general.

Regards,
Ian.

[Paul_oz53]

An instant education on what's happening in the PVR world!

I wasn't aware off the change in sourcing arrangements obviously. I rather suspect that some of the European options may become attractive but support will remain a factor that keeps Beyonwiz front of mind.

The VU+ Ultimo 4k looks very interesting. If I win Powerball I'll buy you one Ian for the tip...

[IanSav]

Hi Raymondjpg,

I think many of us would like to hear more information/details about these, and maybe this forum might not be the place to spell that out!?

You are correct, the Beyonwiz forum is not an appropriate place to discuss such matters.

People, please don't PM me to ask me for information. It is not appropriate to use Beyonwiz resources for such discussions. The purpose for my post was simply to reassure Kentdorf72 and others that the end is not nigh.

Regards,
Ian.

[MrQuade]

I also think you are doing Prl a big disservice given the level and quality of his contributions to Beyonwiz and Enigma2 in general.

What role does prl take in maintaining the repository code-base changes during major upstream merges? I mean, there is some general cleanup to do in the aftermath, but the heavy lifting is all on PeterU surely?

We all know of and appreciate his enormous contributions to the ongoing feature development and bug elimination, but that's not what this is about.

[prl]

I have no role in major upstream merges.

[IanSav]

Hi Prl,

I have no role in major upstream merges.

With all due respect the efforts you make with OpenATV and other Enigma2 images, either directly or indirectly, help reduce the merge differences and difficulties. You don't need to press the button on image merges to help make them happen.

Regards,
Ian.

[kentdorf72]

the P2 was also sweet because it had S-vid out which connected to a projector
nuthn better than watching SOO on the wall of the loungeroom with the vol cranking out of the stereo

are there backwards technology adapt that give good quality image that converts HDMI or RCA to a coax aerial plug?
but if there was, would the BW detect it if it were plugged in instead of a standard aerial?
i presume no because of the frequencies n stuff & how the channel tuner is set for that input

something like this with the RF coac OUT plugged into the BW Antenna IN

https://www.amazon.com/RadioShack-HDMI- ... 717&sr=8-4

[Paul_oz53]

A search on Google for HDMI to DVB-T converter returns a number of options priced around $300. It may require a splitter to defeat HDCP.

One I looked at offered a choice of 80 channels. Offers 1080p and basic LPCM audio but a viable option. You would have to swap the aerial connection to use it or try an rf diplexer to combine the signals. No idea of the quality but you could make it work.

[MrQuade]

There would be little point covering HDMI to dvb just so you could use the Wiz to make the recording. An HDMI capture adaptor for the PC would be far less effort.