Openbox not displaying anything on TV

[ARK24]

I just got my FTA Openbox S9 HD PVR, It's connected to my HDTV right now (the RG-6 cables aren't connected to it right now) but there is nothing showing up on the screen, is there supposed to be some GUI or something?
How would I get it set up and working, with the latest firmware? Thanks.

[bighun]

have you scanned for channels yet press the menu scan for 1 sattelite only and use blind scan to find them on astra hotbird 28.2e you can use scart but if you use hdmi the picture will be excellent

[ARK24]

The satellite dish is not set up yet. I'm just wondering if the receiver is supposed give me any picture on my TV even if there is no input from the LNB (like some kind of GUI)?

[bernado]

Yes, you should see something displayed on the monitor, without any dish connected. I came upon the exact same thing when I plugged mine in to have a peep at it before setting up a dish. Most likely the receiver has the wrong display setting for your TV. You will need to cycle through the video output formats, eg. 576i or 720p etc, until you select the setting which matches your display device. You do this with the remote, which has a VF or Video F button (or something similar). The LED display on the receiver will show these screen formats as you flip through them. With the correct format set, you should see all the menu options on your telly.

[ARK24]

Thanks bernado I have picture now. It tells me the resolution is 480i, when I try to switch it I lose picture, can't I output 1080p?
Now, where would I get the latest firmware?
This is my first time setting up a satellite dish/receiver. Why would I wan't to connect the receiver to my network? Is this so I can run programs from my PC to help align/set up the satellite dish and check signal strength?

One more question, how would I know which way to position the satellite dish. For example, If I want to get a signal from a DISH Network satellite how do I know where to point the dish and if it's actually getting a signal from that specific satellite?

[kondor10001]

What cables are you using to link them?

[bernado]

480i is an NTSC standard definition resolution. Are you in the USA? The equivalent UK PAL SD resolution is 576i. You would really only want these settings if you are outputting video via a scart socket. For higher resolutions such as 720 and 1080, you'll need to output via an HDMI cable. If you are going to an HD TV via HDMI, I don't know why you can't select those resolution settings. I did notice when I looked at mine, the video format changes took a while sometimes to register after a remote click, which sometimes led to impatiant remote clicking from myself cycling past my intended resolution output.

For setting up info, you might want to have a look at a really helpful post from hypersonic here - (post #283) http://www.digital-kaos.co.uk/forums/f184/openbox-s9-hd-pvr-linux-satellite-box-158127/index19.html#post863336

This extract from the post above, may answer your question about HD resolutions, if you are still having trouble (note reference to YUV) - in the Menu select -> System Setup -> TV System -> Video Out here you get two options RGB & YUV, if you select RGB then you have only two resolution options 480i & 576i, there is also an Auto option, if you wish to access the full resolution options the set the YUV then you get them all [480i - 480p - 576i - 576p - 720p 50 - 720p 60 - 1080i 50 and finally 1080i 60] the 50 and 60 options shown refers to the refresh rate of your television, so if your television refresh rate is 50Mhz then set the output to 50, for example [1080i 50] you will the get a crystal clear picture.

[ARK24]

Thanks for the reply, I will take a look at that link later. I'm not using the SCART output, but HDMI, to my HD TV. So the 1080i would be the highest... I'd rather have 1080p but I guess I wouldn't really notice it that much (it's a 54" TV).

Also, where do I get the latest firmware?

[dagenham67]

this sight is very useful to help align dish
Satellite Finder / Dish Pointing Calculator with Google Maps | DishPointer.com (http://www.dishpointer.com/)