Dreambox Guides, Tutorials, Tips and Hints

How to build a complete image for your dreambox

Choosing your Platform

First of all, you will need a platform to create your image. There are many versions of linux that you can use, I have used VMWare with Ubuntu and also a dedicated linux PC running Ubuntu. Both variations will work just as well.

If you want to use VMWare, you can download it at http://www.vmware.com/download/player.

If you want to use a dedicated PC, either with Ubuntu as the main OS or as a dual-boot system, you can download Ubuntu for free at http://www.ubuntu.com.

The VMWare method is probably easier if you are trying it out for the first time. You can always uninstall it if it’s not for you.

Configuring your Ubuntu

The following packages need to be installed in your ubuntu before you start creating any images.

Click on System, Administration, Synaptic Package Manager.

You will need to search for the following packages and install them:

- cvs
- autoconf
- automake
- libtool
- gettext
- make
- makeinfo (texinfo)
- tar
- bunzip2 (bzip2)
- gunzip (gzip)
- patch
- infocmp (ncurses-bin / ncurses-devel)
- gcc
- g++
- flex
- bison
- pkg-config
- wget
- libpng2 or libpng3 (DirectFB)
- ftpd (or other ftp server)

The latest versions of these packages should work ok. Click Apply to install them.

If you have installed the necessary packages, you don’t need to download the pre-configured environment.

Compiling an Image

Now we’ll move on to downloading and compiling our image. Most of this will be copy and paste but you’ll get used to the commands.

Open a terminal window and paste the following commands:

Creating a working directory
mkdir tuxbox-cvs

Change into the working directory

cd tuxbox-cvs

The following can now be copied and pasted in, line by line. Wait for the command prompt to be displayed before pasting the next line.

export CVS_RSH=ssh

cvs -d anoncvs@cvs.tuxbox.org:/cvs/tuxbox -z3 co -P -rdreambox .

### Note the dot at the end of the command, this is important ###

cd cdk

chmod 755 prepare

Now we need to alter the ‘prepare’ file to personalise our image

Go to /tuxbox-cvs/cdk and open the ‘prepare’ file with the text editor. It should look like this:

#!/bin/bash
cd .. && CURRENT_PATH=`pwd`;
cd cdk
./autogen.sh;
# boxtype dm500 dm56×0 or dm7000
TYPE=$1
if test -z “$TYPE”; then
TYPE=dm7000 //change to box type
fi
./configure \
–with-boxtype=$TYPE \
–with-webif=standard \ //change to webif=expert
–prefix=$CURRENT_PATH/root \
–with-cvsdir=$CURRENT_PATH \
–with-cpu=405 \
–enable-maintainer-mode \
–with-targetruleset=flash \
–with-epg=private \ //change to -epg=standard
–with-mhw-epg=no \ //change to -epg=yes
–with-flashtool=standard \
–with-reiserfs=no \
–with-ext-flashtool=yes \
–with-enigma-debug=yes

Change the lines in red. Save the file and return to the terminal window.

Back to the copy and pasting.

./prepare dm500

make checkout

make dreamboximage_root

The last command will take a long time to complete, depending on the speed of your PC and internet; up to about 2 hours.

The following command creates the folders that you normally see on your box, i.e. /bin, /etc, /var, /var_init, etc.

make rebuild-flash

The following command compresses all your folders into an .img file.

make flash-compress

If all has gone ok and you didn’t get any errors, you should have a file called complete.img in /tuxbox-cvs/root/cdkflash. This is your actual image file that you flash to your box. There will be two other .img files but don’t worry about them.

Now this will be a basic image, no addons or emu managers or anything. It will be like the dream original image only up-to-date.

Next you need to modify it to your needs.

Good luck!

If you have any questions, please visit our Dreambox Forum.

Making Your Dreambox Wireless

There seems to be an ever increasing want to connect your dreambox to the internet. New images are being created with Addon menus which allow you to download plugins, emu, games, etc. direct to your dreambox. Your dreambox just needs to be connect to the internet!

Via Router

This is by far the easiest method of connecting it to the internet.

First of all, we’ll assume that you can already connect to your box via FTP via a crossover cable. If you can’t, you might want to read up on that before attempting this.

Now, what we’ll need is…

• Ethernet cable (crossover or patch)
• Router
• Modem

We’ll also assume that you have a router (wireless or not) and that your modem is connected to the ‘Internet’ or ‘WAN’ port.

If you have a free port on your wireless router, you can connect your dreambox to this. Use the ethernet cable (crossover or patch, most modern routers will accept either) connect one end to your dreambox and one end to a free port on your router. You don’t need to change any settings on your router or PC.

Over to the dreambox. Navigate to the networking page on your dreambox.

Setup -> Expert Setup -> Communication Setup

There is a section in this page called ‘Default Gateway’. You need to put the ip address of your router in there. It’s usually 192.168.0.1, 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.2.1 (depending on the manufacturer). You can find out my opening your browser and typing one of the ip addresses in to the address bar. If you are presented with the router config page or a box asking for a username and password, this is the ip address for your router.

If you have enabled DHCP support on your router, all you have to do it tick the DHCP box in this page, save settings, reboot box and that’s that. The router will automatically assign the dreambox an ip address and it’s now connected to the internet.

If you don’t have DHCP enabled, you will need to assign a static ip address to the dreambox manually. This needs to be in the same subnet as your router ip address. The subnet is the first 3 ranges of the ip address, i.e. 192.168.1.*. Make the last range anything between 2-254 as long as another PC or laptop on your network doesn’t have that ip address. Each device must have it’s own ip address. Save settings and reboot box and you should be connected.

Via Wireless

There are devices which can make any ethernet equipped device into a wireless device. They are called a ‘Wireless Ethernet Bridge’ or a ‘Wireless Gaming Adapter’. The settings on the dreambox are exactly the same as if you’re using a router on it’s own. The gateway to the internet is still via your wireless router so the router ip address needs to go into the ‘Default Gateway’ section. You’re best getting these devices on Ebay or at a website like broadbandstuff.co.uk. You will need to follow the instructions that come with the device to connect it to your own network.

Via Modem

If you have a spare modem lying about, clone or original, you can use this to connect directly to the internet without any wireless devices or routers.

First of all, you will need to connect a PC or laptop to the modem to find out it’s ip address. This ip address goes into the ‘Default Gateway’ section of the network settings page on your dreambox. Also enable DHCP on your dreambox. This is all that’s needed.

So, now you have no excuse to get your dreambox connected to the internet. There are loads of great plugins out there that could enhance your dreambox experience. Some examples include an RSS Newsreader (for viewing RSS feeds from your favourite website or even the forum if the RSS option is enabled, DreamNetCast Internet Radio (listen to your favourite internet radio station) or Dream Weather X (gives you access to weather information).

I hope this has helped you and good luck!

If you have any questions, please visit out Dreambox Forum.

How Do I Hide/Lock Bouquets On An Enigma Image?

For this example, we will use the Adult bouquet to lock and hide.

• Select Setup menu then Parental Lock
• Select Parental Lock button and change pin to what you want and re-enter
• Select Save
• Select Service Organising
• Select Lock/Unlock Services
• Enter pin code
• Select Adult bouquet then select NO to lock it

You should have a padlock icon next to the bouquet now. You will be prompted to enter the pin when selecting this bouquet.

If you now want to hide the bouquet from the list…

Setup > Parental Lock > Hide Locked Bouquets > Save

How Do I Lock A Single Channels On An Enigma Image?

• Select Setup menu then Parental Lock
• Select Parental Lock button and change pin to what you want and re-enter
• Select Save
• Exit menus
• Press OK then RED (All Services)
• Scroll to channel you want to lock
• Press MENU
• Select Lock

Now even if the box is rebooted that channel will always be locked.

If the box is rebooted on a locked channel, it will ask for the unlock code on bootup.

How Do I Unlock A Single Channels On An Enigma Image?

• Press OK then RED (All Services)
• Scroll to channel you want to unlock
• Press MENU
• Select Unlock
• Enter Unlock Code

Good Luck!

If you have any questions, please visit our Dreambox Forum.

How Do I Use Dreamup?

If, for any reason, your dreambox won’t boot, you will have to use Dreamup to flash an image instead of Flash Wizard Pro or any other method. You won’t be able to connect via ethernet so no ip address is required. It may be that the process simply hung up during flashing or you accidentally pulled the plug half way through (yes it did happen to me). This will get you back on track.

Required

• Null Modem Cable
• Image File (.img)
• DreamUp Program

Instructions

• Disconnect all cables from your dreambox, including the power
• Connect the null modem cable to the dreambox and to your PC
• Load Dreamup.exe
• Click Connect and you will see a message like this

• Connect the power and the bootloader should be copied to the box
• The message should now say ‘Box attached and Ready’
• Click Flash on the right hand side and select the image to be flashed
• Click Yes or Ya (depending on the version)

Note: If you’re flashing a backup image, select NO.

• The image should then be uploaded to the box
• There will be a countdown timer at the bottom of the program

• After the image is uploaded, it will be flashed to memory
• The finished process should look like this:

• Click OK and close down Dreamup
• Power off the dreambox for 30 seconds then power up
• If any errors appear, check all cables are connected properly and repeat the process but do not use the PC while it’s running

Good Luck!

If you have any questions, please visit our Dreambox Forum.

This is my first blog and I should be updating it regularly.

If you have a dreambox problem or you’re stuck and get it setup, then this is the place to visit. Over the next few weeks, we should have loads of guides and tips to make your dreambox experience all the more pleasurable.

Maybe you’ve flashed an image to your dreambox dm500 and you’re only getting free to air channels? This sounds like an emu problem and it’s not decrypting the channels. We can help you get this working and get all the channels working.

Do you want to connect your dreambox to your router or home network? Why? Well there are loads of things you can do if it’s connected to your network; access the internet, ftp from any PC on your network, record to a shared folder, stream movies or mp3 from your shared folder, loads of things. But we’ll get into that at a later date.

Bookmark us and we’ll keep you updated!