BT Vision - Mwwhhaahaaaahaaaaaa (work in progress!)

[karym6]

The work being carried out is to make the box more usable, keep an eye on the forum.

 

[little_pob]

He's still posting on the t-hack forum but he's not been on DW since mid-September, cannot say I blame him. Most of the forums he's posted this info on (google his user name) people have been interested but unable to help - mainly through not having a vision box...

Those that do have a vision box generally fall into one of 2 groups; not got the knowledge to help (myself included) or not willing to hack their 'subbed' box.

In addition the second version of the vision box is due out sometime in 2009. From what I've read its being made by Motorola rather than Philips. Also the new one appears to have been commisioned by BT rather than buying the UK rights to an existing OEM box. Further details are lacking at the moment, even the staff on the BT support forum don't know if the v2 vision box is going to support HD freeview (also due 2009 via DVB-T2).

 

[karym6]

I have spoken with him before, his aims and what he is trying to do are a little dubious. It goes from working with the BT Vision service to altering the way the box works...

BT has done quite a good job with this box and with the service, there isnt really that much you can do to it. So when people are presented with the opportunity of changing the box into a media hub they say "why? I would loose BT Vision", and I would have to agree.

Will be interested to see if the second box will stand up as well as the first one. Motorola is in trouble financially, so this has all the hallmarks of a bodge from day 1

 

[is0-mick]

is0-mick, did you give up mate ?

Nope,
just had other family issues to deal with...

One of the guys on T-hack reversed the app back to C#, and it compiles and works now, so we are modding the source code. (its a huge app, and complicated!)

One of the main problems is... its only half a box.

A lot of the work for recording is done at the bt server end (such as sheduling etc), so obviously this would need rebuilt on the box.

Also EPG is usually obtained from BT servers, we have some EPG info from the DVB-T stream working (now and next) but need to implement the full epg somwhere along the line.

But because were working at source level now... anything is possible

As said before, the intention is give people the opportunity to use the boxes that you can pick up on ebay for peanuts as an pvr / mediacentre / web browser. i.e. offer people a choice who would want to modify there box.. Its not compulsary

If people are happy with BT Vision all well and good, I don't have BT, and I'm not interested in the BT vision service.

I just bought a box (some hardware), which is effectively a doorstop and I'm sure other people have as well.

I just want to do something else with it than use it as a paperweight
I dont see that as something "dubious"... no more than running xbmc on your xbox...

Mick

 

[karym6]

If the project does allow the device to be used as a media center, then this is good - it is much more an enthusiasts project.

Myself, well I am happy with the BT services, but as a DVB-T box it doesnt work so well for me.

If the box can be altered to work with both the BT services and allow it to be used as a media center, then this would be interesting.

 

[CAROLANN]

yes is0-mick, good to hear theres guys such as yourself trying to do something with the box rather than letting it gather dust, well done mate even to get as far as you guys have already got

 

[little_pob]

If the project does allow the device to be used as a media center, then this is good - it is much more an enthusiasts project.

Myself, well I am happy with the BT services, but as a DVB-T box it doesnt work so well for me.

If the box can be altered to work with both the BT services and allow it to be used as a media center, then this would be interesting.

I'm now thinking of it this way; provided BT let people keep the old box, with Mick's current progress, when the V2 box comes out he might have put us in a position to be able to use/sell it as a freeview PVR + media centre rather than let it gather dust or returning it under WEEE regs.

 

[karym6]

I'm now thinking of it this way; provided BT let people keep the old box, with Mick's current progress, when the V2 box comes out he might have put us in a position to be able to use/sell it as a freeview PVR + media centre rather than let it gather dust or returning it under WEEE regs.

I would imagine the V2 box will work slightly differently. BT is very good at rearranging whole services like this.

Also, if you contrast it to AppleTV, there is no online store interface with the PC. It wouldnt be a major shock to see BT add in some application like this to the next version.

I cant see BT not letting us keep the old box, what would they do with it?

 

[little_pob]

V2 is being developed by a different OEM - Motorola rather than Philips - and rather than buying the exclusive rights to an existing product, BT appear to have commisioned V2. But I guess it depends on the OS and GUI used as to whether the end user notices a difference. Certainly the inards would have to be different, if only for intelectual property reasons.

I thought the V box had a VOD/PPV element to it, or is that not what you ment by the store interface? (Seeing how BT won't deliver VOD content to non-vision subscribers.)

True, the only reason BT would conceivably take the box back is under the WEEE regs. And even if they did want the original boxes back for reclemation I don't think they have any legal 'right' to demand them - option one customers where made to pay for it after all.

As an additional note the origianl box, despite its HDMI connection, is unlikely to be FreeviewHD compatible. Now, I've not checked the BT's vision support forums recently but the tech guys weren't sure if the new box would be FreeviewHD compatible either. It would be nice if it is, but with both due 2009, and DVB-T2 only ratified in the last few months, it might be cutting it a little fine?

 

[karym6]

When I mention a store interface, I mean on a PC over the internet, like with iTunes. You can buy content there and sync it to any AppleTV on your network (or indeed just get it straight onto the AppleTV). Something akin to the BBC iPlayer, or the Sky online service.

Motorola is going down the pan fast, so they may give in to all of BT's demands on the box, making it even tighter to their service.

I have never tried the HDMI port on mine, so not sure about any of the HD aspects. However - the recent ratification of the standard and the release of the 2gen box may not be a problem. If the device is modular, then it may only require a different tuner.

It would be very nice (although unlikley) if the 2gen box also handled freesat.

 

[little_pob]

Right, got you now. That would be a nice system/service, even if that side of it was just a media receiver for the PC.

Despite a resurgence a few years ago with the RAZR and its derivatives, moto does seem to have fallen by the wayside; even more so since Apple went to Intel for thier CPUs.

I haven't had chance to try the HDMI on mine either, as its still connected to a CRT EDTV, but the pics of the innards at least show there is an upscaling chipset in there. Some of the current VOD programming (films?) is supposed to be available in HD.

 

[karym6]

Yup, you can download HD films onto the box, but you need to wait for the film to be downloaded before you can do this.

With regular films, you dont need to wait, which is good.

Overall, the picture quality without an HDMI connection is great.

 

[gkinghrn]

Excellent series of posts and up-to-date too.

I have a pile of recordings on my BT vision box i had not seen and now i have moved ISP's I need to get into it some way..

Happy to 'test' on my BT box for you guys...

Have you yet got it to play any recorded stuff?

Also has anyone pulled the disk (is it IDE??) and tried to examine it to see what can be seen?

Anything downloadable to use yet?

Sorry lots of Questions but I am curious as hell...I really want this to work..

 

[is0-mick]

Excellent series of posts and up-to-date too.

I have a pile of recordings on my BT vision box i had not seen and now i have moved ISP's I need to get into it some way..

No one has managed to decrypt recordings afaik. They are also stored in a filesystem within other large files,

Happy to 'test' on my BT box for you guys...

Cool

Have you yet got it to play any recorded stuff?

Nope, but I managed to stream from a pc.

Also has anyone pulled the disk (is it IDE??) and tried to examine it to see what can be seen?

Yes. Standard fat32 file system. Usually 2 partitions. Partition 1 stores the OS/ Boot files / EPG and settings. Partition 2 holds some large files (recordings are stored within these).

Anything downloadable to use yet?

Check out www.t-hack.com
There is some stuff which will help in the wiki, altho you will need to fit a mod chip into your box to enable it to boot any altered files.

Sorry lots of Questions but I am curious as hell...I really want this to work..

No Problem, I always thought that was the idea of forums

Mick

 

[Garyizzle]

great work mate!

 

[chichi]

Hi I have a new vision box that is usable for tests I am very interested in using it as a media centre over my lan
I am a bit of a techie and have installed Linux and run some basic commands
Hmm just noticed the dates on this thread
Will await to see what happens

Chi