Octagon SF8008 4K UHD ALPHA (TESTERS ONLY)

Installing the alpha image (testers only) on the Octagon SF8008 4K UHD, step by step

The image for the Octagon SF8008 4K UHD is an alpha image (testers only). The complete 0.6.25 image replaces the archives before it; the table also keeps 0.6.19, the second image with no known start-up problems. It has everything they had (Wi-Fi, the start without a cable, the report of a failed start, the diagnostic screen, tuners set up by themselves, cable on the combined tuner, one-click assistance, updates from the menu) and the same 0.6.25 interface as the other HD Satelit receivers, with the fix for the start-up freeze on the 2024 Supreme board and for the restarts a minute after start-up that the 0.6.20-0.6.24 updates brought to that board. It is written from a USB stick, either from the image running on the receiver now or from the start-up menu of the receiver, without opening the receiver. Below are the risks, what we already know does not work, the steps, what to do if the interface does not start, a short list of tests, the restore and how to send us the logs.

Alpha, testers only: read this first

The 0.6.25 image replaces the archives before it (0.6.19, from 1 November, stays in the table, with no known start-up problems): 0.6.13 from 30 October, the diagnostic image for the Supreme from 31 October, 0.6.7 from 26 October (withdrawn on the 27th), r1 from 27 October, r2 and r3 from 28 October, r4 and r5 from 29 October. Their history, in short: On this family of boards (SF8008, SF8008 MINI and the first Amiko Viper 4K, V10) the video did not reach the TV over HDMI, although the interface, the sound and the network streaming worked; on a black TV it looked as if the interface did not start. The cause: the program that shows the start-up logo held the video decoder, and the board program that takes the picture to HDMI did not start as in the usual software for these receivers. A tester confirmed the cause on a Viper 4K V10. In r1: the board program for the picture starts before the interface, and the start-up logo stops in time, with the same steps as the usual software for these receivers, so the picture reaches the TV. The drivers stay the newest published for all SF8008 models, including the Supreme and the V3 Supreme, and the model check at start-up stays just as safe. r1 also has the diagnostic screen, which appears only when the start fails and shows what the receiver has read and a code, so that a photo tells us the cause; and a fallback, for the case where the interface does not start at all: the front display shows the error code and the address of the receiver in the network, the TV shows a screen with the same data, and a fallback web page shows them as text, to copy. In r2: the start no longer stops when the board program for the picture is not authorised, only the power button of the front panel is used, the driver of the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chip of the SF8008 Supreme finds its files, and if the slot chosen at start-up has no usable software, the receiver starts from slot 1. In r3: the remote control buttons (recording, pause and play, rewind and fast forward, stop, YELLOW for the sound, CH+ and CH-), the picture decoder started as in the usual software of the receiver, the SATA disk for recordings, the signal quality shown correctly, the blue Bouquets button, remote assistance and the beta tester programme. In r4 (version 0.6.11): the report of a failed start (if the receiver does not start and has a network cable, it sends us an anonymous technical report by itself, with no personal data, and shows its code on the front display), the receiver password you choose for SSH, SFTP and FTP (only from your home network), the channel editor, the forum on the receiver, the screenshot button, the blue Bouquets button with Favourites in the menu language, and beta testers are counted only once. In r5 (still version 0.6.11): Wi-Fi with the RTL8192EU, RTL8821CU, RTL8822CU and MT7601U USB adapters; the start without a network cable no longer waits for the network; again the wait of at most one minute for the board program (libreader), so that a board on which it does not bring up the interface still reaches the diagnostics, and the start step on the front display and on the screen; the system log is no longer filled with HDMI-CEC messages. In 0.6.13: Wi-Fi out of the box with the RTL8192EU, RTL8821CU, RTL8822CU and MT7601U USB adapters; the combined DVB-T2 and DVB-C tuner is also seen for cable; the first satellite tuner comes set up for your country (in Romania Thor 0.8°W on DiSEqC A and 19.2°E on DiSEqC B); commands for the motor and the DiSEqC switch are no longer taken as failed; the interface no longer freezes on the sound information; remote assistance in one click, for everyone, from Menu > Settings; updates from the menu, like on the other receivers. In 0.6.19: the same interface as on the other HD Satelit receivers, with everything added up to 0.6.19, in all languages; for the 2024 Supreme board, the HDMI-CEC link with the TV is read on the side, so a driver that does not answer stops only CEC, not the interface. In 0.6.25: the receiver watchdog no longer restarts the 2024 Supreme board a minute after start-up (in the 0.6.20-0.6.24 updates it took the HDMI-CEC thread set aside by the interface for a freeze). If you wrote 0.6.7, r1, r2, r3, r4 or r5, write 0.6.25 from the start-up menu of the receiver (way 2 of step 5). If you have 0.6.13, 0.6.19 or the diagnostic image, you also get 0.6.25 from the menu, under Software update.

The 0.6.25 archive has not been tried on a real SF8008 yet; 0.6.19, which it comes from, started well for a tester on a Supreme V3. The SF8008 has the same processor (HiSilicon Hi3798MV200) as the Amiko Viper 4K V20, but another driver package from the manufacturer, another kernel and another layout of the internal memory. The image is built from comparisons: we unpacked the manufacturer's drivers for the SF8008 and compared them with those for the V20, command by command, and we compared the public images for the SF8008 with those for the V20, from three teams. What was different is fixed in the image or is in the list of tests below. Whoever writes it to an SF8008 takes the role of a tester: there may be problems we have not seen. The image comes with no warranty (GPLv2).

• The archive is for the Octagon SF8008 4K UHD, in the Single, Twin, Combo and Supreme variants. For the Supreme with the 2024 board it has the fix for the start-up freeze, see below. Do not install it on an SF8008 Mini, an Amiko Viper 4K or another receiver.
• On some newer SF8008 Supreme receivers (the 2024 board), 0.6.13 froze shortly after start-up. We found the cause on 31 October, from a tester's report: reading the HDMI-CEC link with the TV held the interface still. In 0.6.19 the CEC link is read on the side, so the interface no longer waits for it, and 0.6.19 started well on a tester's Supreme V3. The 0.6.20-0.6.24 updates brought a restart loop to this board: the receiver watchdog took the CEC thread set aside for a freeze and restarted the receiver a minute after start-up. 0.6.25 fixes it. If you have such a Supreme, tell us on the forum whether 0.6.25 starts. A full recovery with a usb_update.bin archive stays uncertain on the V3: on the forums it has not worked for anyone yet.
• If you want to buy an Octagon for the HD Satelit image, choose the SF8008 4K UHD, not the SFX6018: that one has another, weaker processor and is not in the image's plan. The tested image (beta) is today on the Amiko Viper 4K V20 and V30.
• Only the kernel and the system of the image are written (kernel.bin and rootfs.tar.bz2), in the first place of the receiver's memory. The start-up of the receiver (the loader, the partition table) is not touched, and the HD Satelit image never writes it.
• The 0.6.25 image is a complete version, with the same interface as the other HD Satelit receivers, plus the changes for this receiver above. If you have 0.6.8 or 0.6.11 on an Octagon, write the 0.6.25 image once; from then on updates come from the menu.
• Never put on the USB stick a usb_update.bin file (a full copy of the memory) made for another model. It also rewrites the start-up of the receiver and can break it for good.
• Writing erases the current image, with the channel list, the settings, the plugins and everything you set by hand. In step 2 you make the settings copy (the channels come from it).
• While the receiver writes the image, do not cut the power and do not take out the USB stick.

What we already know does not work yet

• Some newer SF8008 Supreme receivers (the 2024 board): 0.6.19 started well for a tester; the 0.6.20-0.6.24 updates brought a restart loop a minute after start-up, fixed in 0.6.25. Tell us on the forum what you see.
• Some keys of the remote from the box do nothing yet: REC, PLAY/PAUSE, rewind and fast forward, STOP and YELLOW for choosing the audio; CH+ and CH- open the channel list instead of changing the channel; the TV/Radio key does nothing. We fix them in the next version. Until then change channels with the arrows or from the list, and start and stop recordings and films from their menus.
• Bluetooth is not in the image yet. The SF8008 board has it, and we are preparing it: Bluetooth remotes, keyboards, headphones and speakers, with a new screen in Settings > System & Devices and in the web interface. It comes with an update, without writing the image again.
• If you have 0.6.8 or 0.6.11 on an Octagon, write the 0.6.25 image once; from then on updates come from the menu.

What could not be tested without an SF8008

• Whether the board and the layout of the memory are those in the manufacturer's packages, on all variants. At start-up the image reads the processor, the board type given by the driver and the place of the kernel and the system in memory; if one of them does not match or cannot be read, the interface does not start, so it writes nothing on the receiver, and the diagnostic screen appears, with the code (see If the interface does not start). The other values, such as the board and the partition sizes, are only noted and do not stop the start.
• The tuners: how many and of what kind your receiver has (Single, Twin or Combo), scanning, the motor, the signal.
• Picture and sound: on the SF8008 the HDMI output is held by another board program, started with the receiver; the resolutions, HDR, AC3 and DTS, and what happens after Restart the interface.
• Films from a USB stick, IPTV streams and the picture of radio channels (on the SF8008 they go another way than on the V20).
• The front display (the digits and the brightness), the full shutdown and starting by itself at the time of a recording.
• The update from the menu from a USB stick, the VPN (WireGuard comes as a separate module on the SF8008), Wi-Fi on a USB stick and the speed of the menus.
• Starting from a place other than the first (several images on the same receiver), in the receiver's memory or on a Micro SD card. If you have a Micro SD card prepared for several images, do not initialise it from the HD Satelit image as a recording disk: the images on it are lost.

The diagnostic screen is part of the image, on all receivers, and appears only when the start fails. When the receiver starts normally nothing extra appears, not even a note at the first start. What the image has read you can see at any time in the web interface, on the page /paza-model, and on the TV, under Main menu > System Information > Start-up diagnostics. Take a screenshot of the page or a photo; it helps us confirm the model.

What you need

• A USB stick of 32 GB at most (at least 2 GB), with a single partition, formatted as FAT32.
• A computer (Windows, macOS or Linux), on which you download and unpack the archive.
• The receiver's remote and access to the switch on its back.
• Downloaded beforehand, an image for the SF8008 you can go back to (from the manufacturer's site or another image for the SF8008, with the folder octagon/sf8008) and, for the worst case, a recovery archive made for the SF8008 (usb_update.bin, with bootargs.bin, fastboot.bin and apploader.bin), with its steps.

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 channels

Put the USB stick into the receiver and make the settings backup from the menu of the image you have now, on the same USB stick. At the first start, the HD Satelit image finds that image's channels and settings on the stick and asks you whether to bring them over.

Then take the USB stick out of the receiver and put it back into the computer.

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. Put the archive on the USB stick

Some writing functions take the .zip archive as it is; others, like the start-up menu of the receiver, want the image folder unpacked on the stick. Put both: the whole archive and, next to it, its contents, unpacked straight into the root of the stick (not into a folder named after the archive).

1. Copy the .zip archive into the root of the USB stick.
2. On Windows: right-click the archive and choose Extract All. In the window that opens, delete the proposed path and type the letter of the stick, for example E:\, then press Extract. On macOS: double-clicking the archive makes a folder named after it; copy to the stick what is IN that folder, not the folder itself.
3. The folder octagon\sf8008 appears on the stick, with kernel.bin, rootfs.tar.bz2, imageversion and hdsatelit-model (the model mark, read by the image). The 0.6.25 archive has a single folder, like the images made for this receiver, and its name ends in _mmc.zip, as the start-up menu looks for it. octagon/sf8008 is the folder in which the images for the SF8008 and the start-up menu of the receiver look for the image to write.
4. Check the stick: it must look like the drawing below.

E:\  (the root of the USB stick)
├── octagon
│   └── sf8008
│       ├── hdsatelit-model
│       ├── imageversion
│       ├── kernel.bin
│       └── rootfs.tar.bz2
├── CITESTE.txt
├── JURNAL-0.6.25.txt
├── hdsatelit-0.6.25-sf8008-...._mmc.zip
└── (the settings copy from step 2)

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

Step 5, way 1. Write the image from the current image

If the current image starts and has a function for writing an image from a USB stick (almost every image for the SF8008 has one, in its software or image menu), this is the simplest way.

1. Put the USB stick into the receiver, with the current image running.
2. Open its function for writing an image from a USB stick (in the software, image or update menu, depending on the image).
3. Choose the archive hdsatelit-0.6.25-sf8008-...._mmc.zip on the stick or the folder octagon/sf8008, as the function asks.
4. If it asks in which place to write (the receiver has places in memory for several images), choose the first place (1). The image is prepared for the first place; the other places are not tested yet, and from the HD Satelit image you cannot yet choose another place at start-up.
5. Confirm. The receiver writes the kernel and the system for a few minutes and restarts by itself. Do not cut the power and do not take out the stick until the new image starts.

Step 5, way 2. Write the image from the start-up menu of the receiver

The SF8008 has a start-up menu in its loader that writes the image from the USB stick even when the current image does not start. The steps below are those described by users on receiver forums, not by the manufacturer (the manual does not describe them).

1. Switch the receiver off with the switch on its back.
2. Put the USB stick into the USB 3.0 port of the receiver.
3. Hold the Standby button on the receiver and turn the switch on. Keep the button pressed until Updt appears on the front display.
4. The start-up menu appears on the TV. Choose Recovery From USB with the remote and confirm.
5. The receiver writes the image from the folder octagon/sf8008 on the stick and restarts by itself. Do not cut the power and do not take out the stick until the new image starts.
6. If the remote does not respond in the start-up menu or the stick is not found, try another, smaller stick (for example 8 GB), formatted as FAT32.

Step 6. The first start

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. On page 2 read about the receiver's features and press GREEN: the main menu opens.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. If the diagnostic screen appears instead of the setup wizard, or the TV stays black, the interface could not start: follow the steps under If the interface does not start, below.

• The setup wizard
• Channels from another image

If the interface does not start

The diagnostic screen stays in all HD Satelit images, alpha, beta and stable, on all receivers: on the SF8008 it is there from the r1 archive, and on the other receivers it comes with an update. It appears only when the start fails, for example when the image is written to another receiver than the one it is made for, when the board drivers are missing, or when the interface crashes several times in a row at start-up. When the receiver starts normally, nothing extra appears.

The screen shows what the receiver has read: the processor, the board type, the board, the partitions and the kernel, plus the error code and the address of the receiver in the network. It does not show the serial number, the MAC address or passwords.

1. Write the 0.6.25 archive again from the start-up menu of the receiver, as in way 2 of step 5. The start-up menu belongs to the receiver's loader, so it works even when the interface does not start. If you wrote the archive of another model to the receiver by mistake, this is where you replace it with the right one.
2. If the interface still does not start, take a photo of the diagnostic screen on the TV, with all the text readable. If the TV is black, take a photo of the front display: it shows the code (for example E309), then IP and the address of the receiver in the network, in pieces of up to four digits (192, 168, 1, 50), one after another.
3. If the receiver is connected to the network, open in a browser, on a phone or a computer, the address of the receiver (for example http://192.168.1.50/, with the address from the front display or from the router's list). When the interface does not start, the fallback page is there with the same data, as text, and /diagnostic.txt to copy; it stays open for 5 minutes at a time, then the receiver tries the interface again. When the interface starts, the same data are on /paza-model, with the Copy all button.
4. Send the photo or the copied text on the image forum, under Bugs > Startup and updates, or to [email protected], with the variant of the receiver (Single, Twin, Combo, Supreme or V3 Supreme) and the image you had before. From them we quickly see which board and which processor the image sees.
5. Until we answer, you can put back the image you had before (Restoring the receiver, below).

• The receiver does not start?
• The image forum: startup and updates

The codes on the diagnostic screen

The screen, the front display and the fallback page show one main code, in large type; the screen and the page show all the codes found. The codes do not change from one version to the next. What they mean:

E1..: the software is for another receiver, or the receiver is different from what we know. Check the model on the label under the receiver and write the archive made for it; if the model is the right one, send us the photo.

E2..: a value could not be read, usually because a driver did not load. Write the 0.6.25 archive again; if the code stays, send us the photo.

E3..: the model check passed, but the interface does not manage to start. Write the 0.6.25 archive again; if the code stays, send us the photo and, if you can, the text of the fallback page.

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 Octagon SF8008 4K UHD.
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 (sf8008 is expected), the partitions (the kernel in linuxkernel1, the system in userdata). 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.
4. Zapping: change 20-30 channels on each tuner, HD and SD, with the arrows or from the list; the picture and the sound must appear within a few seconds.
5. HDMI: change the resolution under Main menu > Settings > Picture; unplug the HDMI cable and plug it back in with the receiver on; then Restart the interface (from the power menu): the picture and the sound must come back by themselves.
6. A film from a USB stick, an IPTV stream and a radio channel with a picture: they must start and the receiver must not crash; then copy the system log.
7. The remote: all the keys; tell us which do not work, apart from the known ones (REC, PLAY/PAUSE, rewind and fast forward, STOP, YELLOW, CH+/CH-, TV/Radio). The front display shows the time and the channel.
8. A recording on a USB stick or on a disk, started from the guide (EPG), and playing it back from the recordings list.
9. Standby, then the full shutdown; then starting by itself at the time of a scheduled recording.
10. An update from the menu: Main menu > Settings > Software & Updates > Software update (MENU 6 8 1). It must say, without an error, that there are no updates.
11. VPN (in the network menu, next to SSH access; in the web interface at /vpn): tell us whether WireGuard shows as available.
12. A restart from the plug: the receiver must start the HD Satelit image again.

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 on the image forum or at [email protected], with the model (Octagon SF8008 and the variant: Single, Twin, Combo, Supreme or V3 Supreme): which image you had before and which way you wrote ours, the screenshot of the /paza-model page (or the photo of the diagnostic screen, if it appeared), 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

The HD Satelit image writes only its own archives, not other people's images. To go back to the image you had before, or if the image does not start, put on the USB stick an image made for the SF8008 (from the manufacturer's site or another image for the SF8008, with the folder octagon/sf8008), as in step 4, and write it from the start-up menu, as in way 2 of step 5. The start-up menu belongs to the loader of the receiver, so it works even when the image does not start.

If even the start-up menu no longer appears, an SF8008 is fully restored with a recovery archive made for it: usb_update.bin, with bootargs.bin, fastboot.bin and apploader.bin, from the manufacturer's site or from another image for the SF8008. Put its files into the root of the USB stick and follow the steps that come with it. This restore rewrites the whole internal memory, including the start-up of the receiver, so use only an archive made for the SF8008. On the SF8008 V3 Supreme it is uncertain: on the forums it has not worked for anyone yet (the V3 also has the loader for DDR3 memory, although its data sheet says DDR4). Afterwards put the channels back from the copy of step 2.

The HD Satelit image never writes the loader or the start-up of the receiver, so the start-up menu and the manufacturer's restore stay at hand.

If it does not work

• The image forum: Octagon 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