Amiko Viper 4K V40 ALPHA (TESTERS ONLY)

Installing the alpha image (testers only) on the Amiko Viper 4K V40, step by step

The image for the Amiko Viper 4K V40 is an alpha image (testers only): it is made for the receiver, but it has not been tried yet on any V40. It is installed from a USB stick, through the receiver's update mode, without opening it, the same way as on the V20. Below are the risks, the steps, a short list of tests, the restore and how to send us the logs.

Alpha, testers only: read this first

The image has NOT been tried on any Amiko Viper 4K V40. It is made from comparisons: the V40 has the same processor (HiSilicon Hi3798MV200) and the same kernel as the Amiko Viper 4K V20, on which the image is tested (beta). The drivers are the manufacturer's drivers for the V40; we unpacked them and compared them with those for the V20: the same code, except two programs of the board (the one that holds the HDMI output and the one of the full shutdown) and three more messages in the tuner driver. Whoever installs it on a V40 takes on the role of a tester: there may be problems we have not seen. The image comes without any warranty (GPLv2).

• The archive is only for the Amiko Viper 4K V40. On the V20 and the V30, install their own images, from their own pages; do not install it on the first Viper 4K or on any other receiver.
• Only the kernel and the system of the image are written (kernel.bin and rootfs.tar.bz2). The receiver's start-up (the loader, the partition table), its own data and its update mode stay untouched, so the receiver can be restored from a USB stick with an image made for the V40.
• The 0.6.25 image brings to the V40 the same interface as on the V20 and the V30, with everything added up to 0.6.25, in all languages. On the 0.6.0 image the V40 interface could not be updated from the menu; from 0.6.19 on, the V40 can get updates from the menu, under Software update, like the other receivers.
• Never put on the USB stick a usb_update.bin file (a full copy of the memory) made on another model. That one also rewrites the receiver's start-up; the Viper receivers that, according to posts on the internet, no longer start at all were given such a copy from another receiver.
• Writing erases the current image, with its channel list, settings, plugins and everything you set by hand. Without a copy made beforehand, nothing can be brought back: in step 2 you make the settings copy (your channels come from it) and a copy of your current image.
• While the receiver is writing the image, do not unplug the power and do not remove the USB stick.

What could not be tested without a V40

• Whether the board and the layout of the memory are the same as on the V20. At start-up the image reads and compares them; if only the board or the sizes of the partitions differ, it starts and shows a note; if the processor or the place of the kernel and of the system in the memory do not match, the interface does not start, so that nothing is written on the receiver (then you restore it as in Restoring the receiver).
• The tuners: how many and of what kind the V40 has, the scan, the motor, the signal. The tuner driver is the same as on the V20, with three more debug messages, written to the system log.
• The HDMI output: the board program that holds it is a different one on the V40 (unplugging and plugging the cable, the resolutions, HDR).
• The full shutdown (deep standby), the automatic start at the time of a recording and the TV at shutdown: the full shutdown program is a different one on the V40 and no longer turns the HDMI output off by itself.
• The remote from the box, the front display, the internal memory (4 or 8 GB, measured by nobody) and the working memory.
• The folder on the USB stick where the receiver looks when writing and when restoring (step 4). At start-up, the HD Satelit image keeps e2/update, like the images for the V40, so that it does not change it.

At the first start the note “Unconfirmed model: software for testers” appears, with the values read by the image. It is normal: it shows that the image knows the model has not been tested yet. Take a photo of it or write down what it says; it helps us confirm the model.

What you need

• A USB stick of 32 GB at most, with a single partition, formatted as FAT32, with at least 1 GB free (the image sits on it in two folders).
• A computer (Windows, macOS or Linux), on which you download and unpack the archive.
• The receiver's remote.
• For a restore, if needed: an image made for the Amiko Viper 4K V40 (the one on the manufacturer's site or another image for the V40), which you can install from a USB stick.

Step 1. Prepare the USB stick

If the stick is already FAT32, skip the formatting. Formatting deletes everything on the stick, so do it now, before the settings copy, not after.

1. Put the USB stick into the computer.
2. On Windows: open File Explorer, under This PC right-click the stick and choose Format.
3. Under File system choose FAT32 and press Start. If FAT32 is not in the list, the stick is larger than 32 GB: use a smaller one.
4. On macOS: Disk Utility, choose the stick, Erase, the MS-DOS (FAT) format and the Master Boot Record scheme.

Step 2. Copy your settings and your current image (required)

The HD Satelit image erases everything now in the receiver's memory: the channel list, the settings, the plugins and programs you added, the skin, the picons in memory and everything you set by hand. Whatever is on a USB stick or disk stays. Without a copy made now, after the writing there is nothing to bring back. So you make two copies: the settings copy (the HD Satelit image brings your channels from it) and the image copy (so that you can go back exactly to what you have now). You need a USB stick, the remote, a computer and about half an hour.

1. The USB stick: at most 32 GB, formatted FAT32 (on the computer: right click on the stick › Format › file system FAT32 › Start). Put it into the receiver.
2. The settings copy: in many Enigma2 images it is under Menu › Setup › Software Management › Backup System Settings (in others: Settings › Software › Backup settings or Backup). If it asks where to save it, choose the USB stick. It takes about a minute. A folder with a .tar.gz archive appears on the stick (usually enigma2settingsbackup.tar.gz).
3. If your image has no settings backup: copy the receiver's /etc/enigma2 folder onto the stick with an FTP program on the computer (for example FileZilla or WinSCP, user root). The HD Satelit image finds it that way too.
4. The image copy: also in Software Management, Image Backup. Use the arrows to choose your current image (the row with Current image), press GREEN (Start), then choose the USB stick. It takes 10-20 minutes; do not turn the receiver off while it works. At the end, an images folder appears on the stick.
5. The copies on the computer: take the stick out, put it into the computer and copy both copies to the computer (the images folder and the settings copy folder). Then delete only the images folder from the stick, so that it does not get mixed with the new image's files; leave the settings copy on the stick. If you want to go back to your current image, you write it from a USB stick as in Restoring the receiver, below. Only use a copy made on this receiver.
6. Picons (channel logos): if they are on a USB stick or disk, in a picon folder, they stay there and the HD Satelit image finds them by itself. If they are in the receiver's memory (/usr/share/enigma2/picon), copy the picon folder to the root of the stick.
7. Plugins: take a photo of their list in your current image, or write it down. They are not moved over: after the installation you add them again from Menu › Extensions & Apps, from the list or from an .ipk file on a USB stick (the From file tab). A plugin made for another image may not work. Many things people add plugins for are already in the image: translated subtitles, DAB+ radio, HbbTV, the web interface.
8. The network: write down the IP address, if you use a fixed one, and the Wi-Fi password. After the installation you set them again under Main menu › Settings › Network & Internet › Network Connection Setup (MENU 6 9 1). You choose the language, the resolution and the time again in the first-start wizard.

With the stick in the computer, go on to steps 3 and 4: you also put the new image on it. Do not delete the settings copy; the stick stays in the receiver during the writing and at the first start.

At the first start, after the wizard, the question “I found the channels and settings from another image. Shall I bring them over?” appears: press OK on Yes. The channels, channel lists, antenna settings and scheduled recordings are brought over, and at the end you see what was brought over and what was not. If you said No or put the stick in later: Menu › Channel scan › Import channels and settings (MENU 1 5), or from your phone, in the web interface, on the Import page. The steps, with pictures: https://stb.hdsatelit.com/en/ajutor/01-pornirea-si-prima-impresie/canalele-din-alta-imagine/

Step 3. Download and check the archive

1. Download the newest archive from the table above, with the Download button. It is a .zip file, named after the version, the model and its date.
2. Check the SHA-256 checksum, so you know the archive arrived complete. On Windows, in PowerShell, in the downloads folder: Get-FileHash .\archive-name.zip -Algorithm SHA256. On Linux or macOS: sha256sum archive-name.zip.
3. The string shown must be the same as the one in the table. If it differs, download the archive again.

Step 4. Unpack the archive into the root of the USB stick and make one more folder

The archive is unpacked, and its folder must land directly in the root of the stick, not in a folder named after the archive. The receiver looks for the image in the folder left by the last image that started on it, and we do not know it for sure for every V40. That is why you put the same three files in two folders.

1. On Windows: right-click the archive and choose Extract All. In the window that opens, delete the suggested path and type the letter of the USB stick, for example E:\, then press Extract. On macOS: a double click on the archive makes a folder with its name; copy to the stick what is IN that folder, not the folder itself.
2. The folder e2\update appears on the stick, with kernel.bin, rootfs.tar.bz2 and imageversion.
3. Make the folder dinobot on the stick, with the folder u57 in it (dinobot\u57), and copy into it the same three files from e2\update.
4. Check the USB stick: it must look like the drawing below.

E:\  (the root of the USB stick)
├── dinobot
│   └── u57          (you make it: the same three files)
├── e2
│   └── update
│       ├── imageversion
│       ├── kernel.bin
│       └── rootfs.tar.bz2
├── CITESTE.txt
├── JURNAL-0.6.25.txt
└── (the settings copy from step 2)

Why two folders: after the images for the V40 (and after the HD Satelit image for the V40) the receiver looks in e2/update; when no image has left it a folder, in dinobot/u57.

Remove the USB stick from the computer safely (Safely Remove), so that the files are written completely.

Step 5. Write the image on the receiver

1. Put the USB stick into the receiver's blue USB port (USB 3.0).
2. Restart the whole receiver: from the power menu of the image you have now (the restart of the whole receiver), or unplug it and plug it back in.
3. Watch the front display of the receiver while it starts. When it shows MENU, press the GREEN button on the remote, pointed at the receiver.
4. The display shows UPDT: the receiver is writing the image. This takes a few minutes. Do not press anything, do not unplug the power and do not remove the USB stick.
5. At the end the receiver restarts by itself, with the new image.

Step 6. The first start

1. The note “Unconfirmed model: software for testers” appears. Take a photo of it; it closes by itself after half a minute, or with OK.
2. The setup wizard appears on the TV. On page 1, with “Language” selected, press LEFT or RIGHT (or OK for the list) until you reach your language.
3. Press DOWN and choose the resolution; if you do not know what to choose, leave 1080p Full HD 50 Hz. Press GREEN. If you changed the resolution, answer Yes to “Does the picture look right?” only if the picture really looks good; otherwise the previous one comes back by itself after 20 seconds.
4. On page 2 read about the receiver's features and press GREEN: the main menu opens.
5. Press EXIT to get to live TV. If the USB stick has another image's channels, the question “I found the channels and settings from another image. Shall I bring them over?” appears: press OK on Yes.
6. If you have no copy, search for the channels from the main menu: key 2 for the dish (if it is not set up yet or has a special LNB or switch), then key 1, Channel scan.

• The setup wizard
• Channels from another image

Tests for the tester (one hour is enough)

1. About the image (Main menu > System Information > About the image, keys MENU 4 1): version 0.6.25 and the model Amiko Viper 4K V40.
2. The web interface: open in a browser the address of the receiver and the page /paza-model (for example http://192.168.1.50/paza-model, with the address of your receiver). It shows what the image has read: the processor, the board, the board type (u57 is expected), the partitions and the label with the restore folder (after the first start it must be /e2/update). Save the page or take a screenshot.
3. The tuners: Main menu > System Information; how many tuners appear and of what kind. Scan a satellite and, if you have them, cable or a terrestrial aerial; then copy the system log (it has the new messages of the tuner driver).
4. Zapping: change 20-30 channels on each tuner, HD and SD; the picture and the sound must appear within a few seconds.
5. HDMI: unplug the HDMI cable and plug it back in with the receiver on; change the resolution under Main menu > Settings > Picture; the picture must come back by itself.
6. The remote: all the keys, including the coloured ones, TEXT, AUDIO, EPG, MENU and EXIT; the front display shows the time and the channel.
7. A recording on a USB stick or on a disk and playing it back; timeshift (PAUSE on a channel, then PLAY).
8. Standby, then the full shutdown: tell us whether the TV shows that it has no signal any more; then an automatic start at the time of a scheduled recording.
9. An update from the menu: Main menu > Settings > Software & Firmware > Software update (keys MENU 6 8 1). It must say, without an error, that there are no updates (those for the V40 come later).
10. A restart from the plug: the receiver must start again in the HD Satelit image.

The logs and where to write to us

• The logs are on the TV under Main menu > Settings > System & Devices > System Log Viewer and Crash logs, and in the receiver's web interface on the pages /jurnale-sistem and /jurnale-cadere, where you can copy them from.
• Write to us at [email protected], with the model (Amiko Viper 4K V40): which image you had before, the photo of the note from the first start and of the /paza-model page, which tests worked and which did not, the logs. With them we fix the image and move it to tested.
• The image sends nothing by itself: the logs leave only when you send them to us.

• Beta testers

Restoring the receiver

Writing from the USB stick (MENU, then GREEN) is done by the loader in the receiver, not by the image, so it works even when the image does not start. The HD Satelit image never writes the loader, nor the receiver's start-up.

Put on the USB stick an image made for the Viper 4K V40 (the one on the manufacturer's site or another image for the V40), unpacked into the root of the stick: it usually already has the e2/update folder. Put the same files (kernel.bin, rootfs.tar.bz2 and imageversion, if it has one) into dinobot/u57 as well. Then steps 5 and 6 above.

After the HD Satelit image, the receiver looks in e2/update, as after the other images for the V40; if our image did not start at all, it looks where it looked before. With both folders on the stick, it finds it in any case.

If it does not work

• The image forum: Amiko receivers
• The image forum: report a bug

The source code

The image uses programs under the GPLv2 licence. The source code of every published version is public on GitHub, in the Monea Software organisation; the link is on the Source page.

• Source code and licences