New Freeview SmartVU streaming device: Chromecast, 4K HDR, Android TV

Forums › Freeview (DVB-T/DVB-S) › New Freeview SmartVU streaming device: Chromecast, 4K HDR, Android TV

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#2169930 29-Jan-2019 21:20

freitasm: @dratsab came here for a churrasco last weekend... For him, living on a dead Freeview area, this product is ideal.

Dead for terrestrial :-)

I'm holding off buying a smartvu device based on this thread. I do have Gen 1 Amazon Fire TV stick attached (along with a chromecast and sat box which won't power the dish - all of which could potentially be replaced with this one device) with Kodi installed, but have found Kodi unreliable in the past - it would start to significantly stutter and eventually freeze. For now I think I'll just update Kodi and see how that goes.

Jimmy22

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#2170025 30-Jan-2019 08:02

The T2200 and MTV3600TD were just as bad to begin with, its a typical DishTV process except this time i am wiser. I cant seem to find if this upscales to 4K , its the only reason I'm interested.

vulcannz

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#2170116 30-Jan-2019 12:23

Righto rang the DishTV number. Please note I am not trying to make claims around truth just relaying what I heard.

I was told they are aware of an issue, and they believe that switch the channel or restarted the app fixes the issue. They say this is what happens in their lab.

I did explain that for me (and others) this is not the case but they stuck to their guns.

A FreeView "switch" server was discussed, DishTV claims that all resources that are access are done so via what Freeview tell them to use and what the Switch server tells them to use. They claimed the switch server had bandwidth limitation issues. There was also a mention of an "internet related" aspect, I ask what this was as I am a network engineer - but no other information was provided.

I did mention the custom app build found here that fixes the problem, and my belief that they were pointing to an old (expired) URL. This was vigorously denied.

They are aware of an issue but the guy across it is away til next week.

Getting a "when will it be fixed" date was avoided as well.

So, that leaves me with 2 options. Either something in my network could be causing the issue, entirely possible - for example it may be a DNS cache issue. Or they are flat out lying to me. tbh I have no idea which as the statement around their observations seemed to be very genuine to me.

Tonight I think I will have a play with the device DNS - and perhaps some packet capture (my firewall can do pcaps for me). I may even try my phone as a hotspot. If the issue persists I might just take it back for a refund (if the issue persists across two independent WAN connections it's not my issue).

sdavisnz

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#2170138 30-Jan-2019 12:56

The pre-loaded Freeview app is using the sandbox epg url! (WHY??) eg.

https://fvnz-capi-sandbox.switch.tv/content/v1/epgs/222A::04B0?sort=start:asc&include_related=1&related_levels=1&related_entity_types=shows,episodes&expand_related=full&limit=100&start=2018-12-12T00:00:00

(doesn't work)

The modified apk linked earlier switched it to the production url: eg. https://fvnz-capi-prod.switch.tv/content/v1/epgs/222A::04B0?sort=start:asc&include_related=1&related_levels=1&related_entity_types=shows,episodes&expand_related=full&limit=100&start=2018-12-12T00:00:00

(does work)

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vulcannz

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#2170148 30-Jan-2019 13:22

So if the sandbox URL is hard coded into the current build the support guys is lying, and probably the app dev is on leave til next week and there is SFA they can do about it?

Just checked my DNS servers cache, only has the sandbox name queried.

Running a pcap on the boxes dns requests, the DNS record TTL is 30 minutes so I should be able to prove they are bs'ing me fairly quickly.

sdavisnz

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#2170157 30-Jan-2019 13:43

You don't have a SLA with dish tv, it's prob in their terms that they will offer best effort service.

Its a bit amateur hour on dish tvs part but good to see the community rally together to figure it out.

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vulcannz

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#2170244 30-Jan-2019 14:33

The CGA and FTA have it covered. The Freeview app is not fully functional for a long period of time, the product is not fit for purpose as sold.

Dratsab

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#2170266 30-Jan-2019 15:53

This is starting to sound like something that needs to be referred to the ComCom.

sdavisnz

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#2170278 30-Jan-2019 15:56

No, it's just a bug thay needs to be fixed, like most upgradeable ip connected hardware, build a bridge and get over it.

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Dratsab

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#2170281 30-Jan-2019 16:06

A bug they're denying exists, whilst continuing to peddle a fundamentally broken product. Pleased I decided to hold off buying one.

rp1790

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#2170552 31-Jan-2019 08:43

It is a bug that prevents the device working as advertised so I think anyone is entitled to a return if need be.

I installed the patched freeview apk last night and now the EPG works but not being able to press enter and change channels while in the EPG is a very basic requirement. How on earth could that get through any sort of user level acceptance testing prior to being released for sale??

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Jimmy22

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#2170564 31-Jan-2019 09:16

They don't ask for permission, they ask for forgiveness. On the Dish Tv supported MTV3600TD it was worse , the devs were in india and it took a long time to sort it , by X.18 it peaked and i stopped updating as the builds then degraded again. If you see Dish TV expect V1.0 to be less than perfect , the first update fixes 60% then tails are chased for at least 6 months to get stability. The guy who is away is the one who can sort this , and possibly the one who overlooked the address being default/incorrect, i call that a friday job at the workshop, when everyone just wants the day to be over and things get missed and short cuts made. The box seems like it will be good in a while, im hoping 50% off is offered when retailers panic and purge like last time , then Im in :)

Lostja

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#2170574 31-Jan-2019 09:36

Dratsab:
freitasm: @dratsab came here for a churrasco last weekend... For him, living on a dead Freeview area, this product is ideal.

Dead for terrestrial :-)

I'm holding off buying a smartvu device based on this thread. I do have Gen 1 Amazon Fire TV stick attached (along with a chromecast and sat box which won't power the dish - all of which could potentially be replaced with this one device) with Kodi installed, but have found Kodi unreliable in the past - it would start to significantly stutter and eventually freeze. For now I think I'll just update Kodi and see how that goes.

I updated my FireTV to Kodi 18.0 and it seems to run smoother than 17.6 The TVNZ app runs without issue on my ADSL connection.

robjg63

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#2170614 31-Jan-2019 09:58

Lostja:

Dratsab:
freitasm: @dratsab came here for a churrasco last weekend... For him, living on a dead Freeview area, this product is ideal.

Dead for terrestrial :-)

I'm holding off buying a smartvu device based on this thread. I do have Gen 1 Amazon Fire TV stick attached (along with a chromecast and sat box which won't power the dish - all of which could potentially be replaced with this one device) with Kodi installed, but have found Kodi unreliable in the past - it would start to significantly stutter and eventually freeze. For now I think I'll just update Kodi and see how that goes.

I updated my FireTV to Kodi 18.0 and it seems to run smoother than 17.6 The TVNZ app runs without issue on my ADSL connection.

You are running the TVNZ on demand Kodi plugin? I saw there was a plugin, but it didnt work on Kodi 17 because of some digital rights thing. It's working under 18 though?

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

vulcannz

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#2170639 31-Jan-2019 10:54

Got the packet capture, confirming above the device is looking for fvnz-capi.sandbox.switch.tv

493 10613.833334 192.168.9.85 192.168.5.248 DNS 92 Standard query 0xafaf A fvnz-capi-sandbox.switch.tv

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