|
Table of Contents
|
Firmware, hardware
Where do I find the newest firmware?
the page Official Firmwares keeps track of all firmware's released. The posted firmware's have been tested and confirmed working, see Compatible Devices. If you know newer versions please let us know.
Irregular behaviour
Try switching off the lights in your house, it has been reported and confirmed that the EMC-R shows irregular behaviour caused by "energy saving lights". Also the player responds to other remote controls.
How to update the firmware without a windows pc?
When you have lots of trouble flashing the Emtec, or made an error flashing the emtec then this solution might help you. This method also applies to users who do not have a windows pc. What you need for this method is a USB key with enough free memory for the flash files (about 35 mb).
1 copy these files to the USB key:
- arial.ttf
- install.img
- install_a
- logo_pal.bmp
- video_firmware.bin
- part.txt
In part.txt you can change the settings you like (number of partitions etc)
When you want to keep the Multimedia Partitions
For this you need the part.txt located at _Reserved_ (shown when you connect the EMC-R using USB) and replace the part.txt on the USB key with this one. (it might be wise to make a backup of part.txt so you can use it when the disk is no more accessable).
In the part.txt add this line:
option:upgrade
2 disconnect the EMC-R from power
3 Connect your USB stick to the EMC-R
4 Push in the power button of the EMC-R en reconnect power while holding the power button pressed. Wait 30 seconds and the update process should start
My firmware flash went wrong, anything I can do?
Yes, if flashing goes wrong it sometimes helps to disconnect the MEC-R from power and restart it. If that does not help either try the USB trick described above.
While booting the process hanged, what should I do?
Disconnect the EMC-R from power and after 30 seconds reconnect it see if it boots now. If it still does not boot well reflashing the firmware works in most cases. The bootproblems can be caused by uploading bitmaps in the wrong format. I have had this several times.
Can I flash back to an old firmware version?
Yes, this is possible without any problem.
I want to flash the disk but my pc does not recognise it?
It has been reported that an external usb card reader connected to the pc can prevent the software to recognise the player
Add a not existing language language
In most cases english is supported anyway, you can also use a file that contains all the commands in your language from a previous firmware. For that you need to save a file before upgrading to the new firmware. Language Pack We asume the language "French" to replace the language file for "German" (firmware 2.0.9).
Unpack form the downloade file the file "FRENCH.str" and replace the name to "GERMAN.str"
Copy the file to the first FAT32 partition of the EMC-R
Now login to telnet and give this command:
cp /usr/local/etc/hdd/volumes/HDD1/GERMAN.str /usr/local/bin/Resource/
now reboot and choose german as language, it should be french
You can also translate an ENGLISH.str file to a language not yet supported. In that case I would like to have the file so i can add it to the language.zip
Software problems and possibility's
Recording small separate files with a strange format.
The file format .VRO is a camcorder format. it can be renamed to .mpg without conversion. The multiple files are a bug that is solved in firmware 2.0.9UP. The files can be joined using a file joiner.
What codecs are supported?
TomsHardware has been nice and has tested a lot of codecs:click to see the chart
Some of my files are not read correctly by the player.
See Converting Video.
Can I watch a movie and record at the same time?
It is possible to record (record on the fly and scheduled record) a program and watch a movie at the same time. It has been confirmed by several users.
The player is connected to internet, do I need security?
On most common router configurations you will be safe, in fact, if you would want to access files via internet you would have a hard time. Nothing is 100% secure though.
Rotate a photo while watching a slideshow
Press Right Arrow key(rotate clockwise)or Left Arrow key(rotate anti-clockwise) during photo sliding. You have to press PLAY key to continue the slide show.
In timeshift mode I see a green timer bar, how to hide.
On your remote control there is a button next to the red power button called "display" press it once to hide the timer.
Large files (> 4GB)
To support large files you can convert a partition to NTFS, but then the OS only has reading capability's.
Or copy the files to the record partition when you have FTP/SAMBA acces to it.
Also, you can convert a partition to ext3 to which the linux OS can write and read.
Hardware problems and possibility's
Can I save my recorded programs to my PC?
Yes you can, there are several ways to do this:
- In the "playback" menu you can choose the option "edit title", the last option of this submenu is "Copy to FAT32". It copies the recorded movie to the accessable FAT32 multimedia partition
- make FTP or Samba access, for that read the Tweaking the official firmware.
What resolutions are available?
- NTSC
- PAL
- 480P
- 576P
- 720P
- 1080i
Can I enable WiFi on my player?
Yes but you will need a specific type of WiFi USB key. It has been confirmed working. This USB Wifi Key is working fine on the RTD1261.
jimbobjoe:
The Trendnet USB adapter model TEW-424UB also works (same chipset as the emtec)
Confirmed negatives:
- Siemens GigaSet USB adapter 108
- Zydas ZD1211 USB adapter
Albert Wałczyk:
The Emtec WiFi card uses RTL8187B. We found one card with RTL8187 chipset (non "B") on our market, it is from TechnicLan. But it does not work with MC (and our HMC-39) at all. So probably only RTL8187B chipset is accepted
Can I enable a DVB-T tuner on my player?
Not sure, I have seen some signals USB tuners with a DVB-T Realtek 2830 could be working fine
Albert Wałczyk:
Latest news from the producer is that analog TV tuner is planned within 2-3 mounts. But this is not confirmed yet. Drivers for DVB-T tuner are installed in the firmware (2.0.8) now, but I am not sure if it works. It can be for tests only.In the Polish translation we made in Nov'2007 there was a TV tuner menu and all the settings. We have it translated - so they are working on it from the begining.
Can I use my external USB DVD-rom drive?
No, at least for now i did not got it working, this might change in the future. On the Emprex me1 blog i found some info about people succesfully sharing a PC internal DVD-rom over network. It is not the most perfect solution, but i guess it could be nice for some users.
Can I record directly to an USB Hard-Disk?
Yes it is possible to record to an external USB drive. look in the Setup menu for these settings
Can I put another (larger) disk in the player?
Yes that is possible as long as it is a s-ata disk
Flashmemory card compatibility
Please add models if tested
Working cards
- SD-card (Adata 128mb, ICIDO 2GB)
- SDHC-card (Emtec 4GB)
Not working (not fitting, HMC-3902 have CF adapter port see hardware pictures)
- Compact Flash (SanDisk Extreme III 2 GB)
Not working (although (sort of) fitting)
- Memorystick classic (Sony 128mb)
External USB Cardreader compatibility
It is possible to use a generic USB multi in 1 cardreader on one of the USB ports. I was able to read photos from a CompactFlash card using the external reader.
TV -in not working
try to swap the in and out cables from the SCART cable that came with the EMC-R, the labels are wrong (in is out and vice versa)
Extend the number of USB ports.
I have tested with a 7-port USB hub and connected it succesfully. I connected 2 USB sticks to the hub and I could read from both disks.
Customise or other OS
Can I install my own version of linux?
Maybe in the future it will be possible, for now we just tweak the linux distro that is shipped with the cube. For now it is possible to chroot into a dedian distro. This is explained in the Tweaking the official firmware. If you are an experienced linux user with knowledge of crosscompiling for MIPS32 platforms, please be so kind to share your knowledge here.
Can I change the screens (boot and menu’s)?
Yes you can, please check out Tweaking the official firmware, where is explained how to do it.
Can I install alternative applications?
Well we are working on it, there are two torrent clients with webinterface working, in the near future we hope to have more applications. Check out tweaking the official firmware
