Icefilms not showing content

There is currently a problem with the domain name of the IceFilms site.  This problem causes no content to be displayed.  The problem will be fixed shortly.

Missing Metadata being worked on

There is an issue being worked on with missing metadata; fanart, thumbnails and information.

You may notice a lack of fanart, also known as "Backdrops".  This is high quality artwork that is displayed in the background as wallpapers of media selections.

Some thumbnails, also known as movie covers, are also being displayed with poor resoloution.

Servers not working like they use to?

The content you view originates from various servers and after a while you get to know what servers work best for you.  But then things change!  A server you have been using for a while without any buffering or judder suddenly becomes "messed up".  It happens for various reasons but we thought you should know about one particular reason and a server that most of our customers use, Putlocker.

The server has been and still is under a DDoS attack; nothing to worry about but it does cause problems for users.  These DDoS attacks are normally carried out by competitors who think users will stop using Putlocker and start using their servers.  A bitter battle then pursues within the server realm.

Mash Up unavailable

When you power up and select Mash Up you will see the above message from Mash Up.  After you click "OK" a YouTube video will play from Mash Up.  We would ask you to ignore this video at this stage and do not attempt any Mash Up installation.

Mash Up has decided to start a new project based on an advert delivery system.  We are not convinced that our customers want advertisements within their viewing experience.  The adverts will require Google Analytics and an open portal to all machines.  We do not feel confident at this stage that your safety, privacy and security will be maintained.

You may see a pop-up like this after you try to launch Mash Up, please just click OK and ignore.  As always, we will keep you informed.  At this stage we do not know if we will be able to continue to recommend Mash Up.

ADDENDUM

If you have not powered the system for some time you may see something like this:

Do not carry out any uninstalls.  Let things settle down over the next week and follow our advice.

Patching root filesystem

When you power up you may see a message saying "Patching root filesystem".  The message sits there on your TV screen for quite a while, do not power down OpenView, be patient and wait. After several minutes OpenView will be up and running.

Blue screens mean major software is being updated or fixed, this normally takes place toward the end of each month.

BBC iPlayer Unable to open stream

You might get a screen similar to the one below when using the BBC iPlayer.  It can occur when you put a stream on hold and then come back to restart the stream, really annoying but there is a simple fix.

Navigate from the Home screen to,

SYSTEM : Settings : Add-ons : Enabled Add-ons : Video Add-ons : iPlayer

Select Configure

Navigate to Advanced tab

Select Force release resume lock

then this will pop up

Click OK and return home.  Job done.

XBMCHUB Music fixed

This was broken but is now fixed with Version 3.0, it will automatically update for you.

XBMCHUB Music is broken

You may see a message like this

select No and wait for a fix.  The website XBMCHUB Music scrapes has changed, the fix will be scheduled for month end.

When you select XBMCHUB Music

You will get a list displayed but when you try to play any content you will get a script error in the bottom right of the TV screen

Virgin Super Hub Ethernet connection

There are currently two flavours of the Virgin Media Super Hub ; "New Super Hub" and "Super Hub".

Connecting OpenView through a wired Ethernet is highly recommended.  Plug the Ethernet cable into one of the 4 Ethernet ports on the back of the Super Hub

and the other end into the Ethernet port on your OpenView.

On our Super Hub router the LEDs work differently to that described on the Virgin Media site under "Set up a wired connection"!  We never get a green Ethernet light illuminate.

This is what happens

1)  With OpenView powered down (power lead to OpenView still connected or not) no Super Hub Ethernet LEDs illuminate.

2)  Power cycle (turn the power off to OpenView then to on when it has been powered down properly) OpenView, the yellow Super Hub LED illuminates, then after a second or so flashes on and off. (Ethernet Link Layer up when yellow LED illuminates, IP Network Layer activity when yellow LED flashes)

Do you have HD stutter?

Some movie sources are streamed in the highest HD called 1080p.  A source of these movies can be found lurking with HackerMils.  To watch them we recommend a high performance home network.

If you want to know whether the movie is really being streamed at 1080p then select "i" (for Info) on your remote control.

You will see the 1080p displayed and also information about the audio.  Typically the source audio will be AAC 2.0 (Stereo speakers) or ACC 5.1 (surround sound).

You will probably get HD stutter if the audio has been encoded as 5.1, there is nothing that can be done about this at this time.  You should not get HD stutter on AAC 2.0.

Powering Down

Please follow this procedure to power down OpenView.  The system executes on a Linux operating system, simply turning off the power without following this procedure will lead to damaged software files and render your system unusable.

• From the Home screen click the power icon located bottom left.

• A context menu will be displayed, please click "Power off System".

After about 10 seconds the system will fully power down.  If you are using the Wi-Pi dongle then the blue LED will remain illuminated.  You can now turn the unit off at the mains rather than unplugging the micro USB power lead; this will prolong the life of the micro USB as they do tend to get damaged over time.

To turn the system on again simply turn on the mains and ensure your TV is tuned to the correct HDMI input.

Wireless Problems?

The Getting Started page on OpenView Helper is a starting point for getting your wireless connection working.  If you have any comments that you think may be helpful to others please feel free to add them below.  Many thanks.