As I mentioned a little while ago, the Digital Stream Freeview HD recorders are being updated to enable iPlayer, via the Red button on BBC channels. The firmware update has been released today, and you’ll find it available for download from their support site at MIT London.
There are two versions, depending on whether or not you want a Dolby Digital output from the box, so do make sure you download the right one – 4.14r8683 for Dolby Digital, and 4.14r8684 for the PCM audio output.
Download the appropriate file, which is a ZIP. Unpack it and you’ll have a folder containing eight items; copy these to a USB memory stick; mine is formatted as FAT-16 and works fine with the Digital Stream. Turn on the recorder, then pull down the flap on the right hand side of the front panel, and plug in your USB stick.
Press the Menu key on the remote, select ‘Others’ and on the next screen, scroll down to Maintenance, press OK, and select Software Update, and press OK again, then enter your PIN.
Next, a pop-up will ask if you want Over Air Download or USB; choose USB and press OK. The display may briefly return to the menu and then show a message that things are being updated; don’t turn off your box during this process. Wait for it to restart on its own, which may take a few minutes.
Eventually the box will restart; when the TV picture appears, you’ll see a message explaining how to remove the USB memory. First, though, select Others from the main menu, press OK on Diagnostics, then select System Information and press OK again. About half way down the screen, the Application version should reflect the update you’ve just installed – 4.14r8683 for Dolby Digital or r8684 for PCM.
You’ll also see your net connection details below that; if all the numbers say 0.0.0.0, make sure you have the box connected to your home network. From the ‘Others’ menu, select Peripheral Devices, then Network. For most home networks, ensure that the option at the top of the screen says DHCP, then select Apply; you may need to turn off and on again after changing this setting.
When the connection’s up and running, you’ll be able to get BBC iPlayer by pressing the red button on a BBC channel, like BBC One – but not until the 2nd of March.
Update: I gather the service will now not be live on the DigitalStream boxes until 6th March, rather than the 2nd
Incidentally, I updated without any problems, and my scheduled recordings weren’t affected, but it’s probably worth checking just in case; you can also save settings using the Backup/Restore DB option under ‘Others’ / ‘Maintenance’, which will store your channel and schedule information to the USB stick.
When you’re sure you’ve finished, go to the Media list, press Func+ and choose ‘Remove USB’ from the bottom of the menu before removing the USB stick from the front panel.
