Is there a Manual or any other Documentation on Black Hole...

[fuzzfilth]

...that doesn't require a PhD in Linux combined with advanced WebStreamServerSetupKnuckledownHiccup knowledge and (preferably) eight years of job experience in the field ?

I can't believe there's no one out there like me who wants to set this thing up once and then actually use it to comfortably watch/record/stream TV instead of endlessly tweaking it. I realise that nerding-out is a kind of recreational activity and I've seen lots of it in the past two weeks that I've skimmed this forum, but I'd rather get a functional grip on what this machine can do (and will do, under my command) and move on.

Is there a source which explains Black Hole on the level of what a plugin is and how its different from an extension and which rules over the other and how I determine which one of 5+ EPG plugins is the active one and why do I have several to begin with and why do the Channel up/down buttons everything else but zap channels up/down (like their name would suggest) and do I really, like I actually have, dive five folders deep into a cryptic .xml file to map Zap Down to Channel Up ?

Thanks

 

[AlexWilMac]

You are too much in a hurry. There is no manual. Or do you think that we had the BH infused in our DNA since our birth?
No, we've learned day by day, reading, studying and trying. This forum is full of useful posts.
But... no patience, no results.

Just an answer: yes, a plugin is an extension; or you can name it also addon.

 

[fuzzfilth]

Thanks for your speedy reply.

This forum is full of useful posts.

I'm sure it is. However, there's 250000+ posts, so actually finding these might prove either highly difficult or highly time consuming and I'm not keen on either option. The Search function is useless unless you know exactly what you're searching, in which case you know it already and don't need to search. And if I do search according to my level of expertise, I find either unanswered posts by other noobs like me or a brisk "Has been asked before, use the Search button". Ohhh, helpful.

do you think that we had the BH infused in our DNA since our birth?

That's what I get from many posts, to be honest.

There is no manual

Airplanes are also powerful yet complicated and they do have a manual. Why wouldn't they ? Pilots would not want to spend their days trying what the buttons do ? Neither do I. I begin to suspect that this OS is its own purpose. Like, just keeping you busy in the maze without ever getting to the exit, because what would you occupy yourself with then ? I want my (M)TV.

So, in essence, I tell my mother in law who is babysitting occasionally "This is indeed a mighty machine, but watching TV on it might prove too difficult for you, and, please, for the love of God do not attempt to switch channels up or down, willya ?" (EDIT: I already fixed that but I couldn't lose that punchline.)

 

[AlexWilMac]

My dad is 85 and has been successfully using a VU+ since 2016, much more efficiently than any other previous decoder.
And your approach is typical, I'm sorry to say, of lazy people: yes, a Linux-based box is mighty and this means you need to search and to learn. And d'you know what? You comparison with an airplane is totally inappropriate because the most important thing many of you user forget is that BH is a free product, born from the free contribution of volunteers, not from a company.
But above all: if you had just had a look at the home page of the forum, without even using the search function, you'd discover sections like "HowTo and Guides", full of guides, indeed, and written for free by the same volunteers who have developed and are still developing our beloved images BH and OBH and written also by other people.
Because these images are not produced and sold by a company: or did you pay for them?

You want everything, now and without any effort.
I don't like this lazy approach and you resemble some of the customers of my former computer shop that, buying their first PC, claimed they could ask me: which button do I have to press to do this?
Computers (and this box are like computers) are the most difficult technology and they are not the smartphones that should be called stupidphones, because made all people stupid about what really is IT.
Since we have these tablets and smartphones, people became much more ignorant in IT and they often don't even know what is an email, while in the early 2000 years they were becoming more aware about IT and its components and its functioning.
So, starts reading the guides and all new posts, and you'll learn. And you can also use a general search engine to STUDY, not only the one included in this forum.

 

[fuzzfilth]

BH is a free product, born from the free contribution of volunteers, not from a company.

You do have a point there. I didn't take that into account. Nor did I know.

However, I still stand by my word that a television receiver (something that should enable people to watch television which I consider recreational activity) should not send folks out on an uncharted journey figuring out how it works.

You want everything, now and without any effort.

So that makes me a spoiled Millenial then ? I'm working as an audio engineer on computers for 40+ years, I have more than paid my dues, I dance circles around anyone in ProTools or Logic Pro X, yet I'm not above simply telling someone where the Play button is if asked, I'm fluent and active in many audio-related forums and telling the newbs that they just need to sit down and try random stuff until they find out themselves does not cut it in any of these.

You see, I've found BH, installed it, fixed those Channel Up/Down buttons, made it Timeshift permanently, found how to log in from the Mac to *quickly* assemble Favourites and manage recordings, and maybe five other marvellous stunts, so I'm not shy of doing the deed if necessary. I just have the constant notion of aimlessly stabbing in the dark and that to me is a waste of resources (me). Again, I'm in front of this machine to watch television, not geek out while the kids want to see their favourite show.

I do get your point that this is by users for users (or should that be 'admins for admins'?).

 

[AlexWilMac]

So, I'm even more surprised: for me, who bought its first computer, a terrific Spectrum 48K, in 1984, it's normal to gain knowledge from my devices, day by day, try after try.
The VU+ ARE NOT TV RECEIVERS, as well my MacBookPro is not a typewriter. They are, first of all, PVRs, able to even cut movies, and they are also multimedia players and IPTV devices, for instance.
But, above all, when I bought my first satellite receiver, a Humax, I could do nothing more than... watching TV.
Then I had other a bit more complex STBs, but they were still "closed machines".
But VU+, day by day, has allowed me to do unimaginable things, like watching my TV from outside my home and in FullHD, even the ones I regularly decrypt, or many other things impossible for traditional STBs.
VU+, as a Enigma2 box, is the only one that I don't regret I bought (OK, apart for the poor 1st Humax, because at the time, it was not possible to do more with a receiver; but today's Humax or similar products don't even allow you to copy a video file by their USB port into their HDD! And if you pull out their HDD, they are not readable because they use a proprietary file system! I was so hungry.
But now I have the full control of my VU+ and it's like flying.
I promise, when you'll read this post in the future, maybe also in 6 months, you'll feel a bit... and you'll get my point. I promise you.

 

[Richard Symes]

So, I'm even more surprised: for me, who bought its first computer, a terrific Spectrum 48K, in 1984, it's normal to gain knowledge from my devices, day by day, try after try.
The VU+ ARE NOT TV RECEIVERS, as well my MacBookPro is not a typewriter. They are, first of all, PVRs, able to even cut movies, and they are also multimedia players and IPTV devices, for instance.
But, above all, when I bought my first satellite receiver, a Humax, I could do nothing more than... watching TV.
Then I had other a bit more complex STBs, but they were still "closed machines".
But VU+, day by day, has allowed me to do unimaginable things, like watching my TV from outside my home and in FullHD, even the ones I regularly decrypt, or many other things impossible for traditional STBs.
VU+, as a Enigma2 box, is the only one that I don't regret I bought (OK, apart for the poor 1st Humax, because at the time, it was not possible to do more with a receiver; but today's Humax or similar products don't even allow you to copy a video file by their USB port into their HDD! And if you pull out their HDD, they are not readable because they use a proprietary file system! I was so hungry.
But now I have the full control of my VU+ and it's like flying.
I promise, when you'll read this post in the future, maybe also in 6 months, you'll feel a bit... and you'll get my point. I promise you.

Alex, I found it very interesting reading your comments here. I too have evolved through the stages, from BSB (yes, I had a squarial on my house) and then sky, but things really changed after a chance encounter with a proper satellite dealer where I asked the question “ How much for a motorized setup then?” to which the reply was “200 quid”! So I bought one, and after a two minute verbal guide as to how to install it I drove home with a Protek box, a Technomate motor and a 90cm dish. After a lot of surfing the net and trial and error I got the whole thing set up in a day which was very satisfying, and even more so after plugging the box into my PC and installing a little patch to get me more channels! All this did was make me want more so after a few months I bought a Technomate 9100 which bought me all the challenges and ‘extras’ that came with a Linux box. Again, a lot of surfing eventually gave me what I wanted then but it was only when I got my first Dreambox (a 7020) that this really turned into a hobby as well as being able to watch TV programmes. There isn’t a lot of printed material out there but the information is if you’re prepared to look for it (although I have just bought a new(!) Triple Dragon that I would love to get up and running fully but I might have met my match on that one!). I have been without a sat box for a few years and am looking to get a second hand Vu+ Ultimo. I thought I may have to reinvent the wheel on how to set it all up but once I started looking into it, it all came flooding back, so it really is like riding a bike – you only have to learn once! So the moral of the tale is take your time at the beginning and the world of satellite will become more rewarding in the long term. Here endeth the lesson for today!

Stay safe guys.