The Main Gemini unit's ARM processor is updated using a file called NewGem.bin. But there are many files in up to 30 sub-directories, that support it. Not all have to be present, but the EN directory is a must for the English language. The Gemini-2 creates some of these directories itself, such as LOGS, CONFIG, PEC, and MODELS. Just pulled out my old D500 clone and was about to update the image from Gemini 4.2 to 4.7but then I remembered the chap in the sat shop were I bought it.
This is an effort to build a firmware image for the DreamboxDM500 set-top-box, that effectively turns it into afully-operational SAT>IP server, with the only job ofstreaming the transport stream straight from the DVB tuner.
The SAT>IP server can be accessed directly through various clientapps, or can be fed as input to Tvheadend. This last optionallows you to:
- Join multiple SAT>IP servers (and USB tuners) and use themas a pool: feed multiple clients, or watch TV on one whilethe other records another programme, for instance.
- Apply DVBCSA descrambling connecting to an oscam server.
- Schedule programmes for recording.
- Filter, demux and reencode streams.
And many more.
Install
You can download pre-made images from the Releases page,or you can build them yourself, see
BUILDING.md
.Building them yourself gives you full control over the generatedimage: you can add drivers for more devices, add software (suchas an SSH server), change the default root password and more.
Some important things to consider:
- The firmware is provided without warranty of any kind.It's been tested on multiple DM500S STBs though, and if itdoesn't work you should be able to flash another image.It has no time bombs (see last section).
- This image is currently for DM500S only. Flashing it ona DM500T or DM500C will get you a nice SAT>IP server with 0tuners, because support for the T/C frontends is missing.I've been unable to find a DM500T or DM500C at a decent price.If you have one to spare, you can donate it (contact me) andI'll happily implement the support, it shouldn't take much (notguaranteeing anything though).
If you aren't flashing via DreamUp, make sure you flash to partition0 (labeled 'CramFS + SquashFS' or similar).
The static version
Starting at version 2.3, a 'static' image is distributed along withthe regular one.
If the regular one won't boot on your box (probably because ofcorrupted flash memory) try to flash the static one. It's prettymuch the same, but uses a read-only FS so it'll probably workcorrectly.
Because of the read-only FS, all changes you make through SSH(including changing the root password, firewall, static IP, initscript) will go away on the next boot. If you need those changespermanently, build your own image.
Also, a different SSH host key is generated on every boot, so you'llneed to revoke the key each time SSH gets mad.
Usage
When powered, DM500 will obtain an IP by DHCP, and theSAT>IP server will start. To verify that it's working, browse to
http://<ip of DM500>/
, you should see a table listing onetuner.You then use it like any other SAT>IP server. For instance, touse it with a Tvheadend server, put it on the same network andyou should see the DM500 appear in the inputs tab.
Important: The SAT>IP server does not support full TSstreaming (aka
pids=all
)! For Tvheadend users, this means youshould untick the 'Full Mux Rx mode supported' checkbox if it'sticked, in the SAT>IP server entry.Important: The SAT>IP server does not support more than29 concurrent PIDs! For Tvheadend users, this means you shouldset 'Maximum PIDs' to 29, in the SAT>IP server entry.
Important: The SAT>IP server does not support DVB-S2 (akaHD channels)! An option has been added in TVHeadendto restrict the delivery systems for a DVB card, set it.
If you found a bug or have a suggestion for the firmware image,feel free to open an issue on this repo.
The DM500 also has an SSH server running, you can login with
root
and password dreambox
. Thus, make sure the DM500 isbehind a firewall.Design
This image is not based on the official firmware. Instead,it's an effort to build a firmware from scratch, basing on theefforts of the (currently abandoned) stbx25xx-linux project,which ported Linux 2.6.28 to the IBM STBx25xx (the SoC in DM500).
I forked the stbx25xx-linux project and added supportfor the DM500 and a few of its hardware (reverse engineered some ofthe closed-source drivers). Currently, the following hardware fromthe DM500 is usable and has been tested:
- DVB satellite frontend (STV0299), PLL tuner
- DVB demuxer
- GPIO (two LEDs, LNB voltage, etc.)
- I2C bus
- RS-232 UART
- NE2000-based network
- NOR flash memory
Hardware that has support but has not been tested, is not enabledin
config_kernel
or isn't finished:- DVB video decoder, audio decoder
- Audio output
- Video output
Unsupported hardware, or hardware which hasn't been investigated:
- DVB terrestrial and cable frontends
- Smartcard reader
- IR receiver
The files are put into a JFFS2 filesystem, which ends up in thepartition next to the CramFS (where a SquashFS would go, in traditionalfirmwares).
The audio and video decoders need firmware blobs to be supplied, so makesure to enable
FW_LOADER
and set COPY_FIRMWARE
to 1
in build-fs.sh
.Support for the video output and audio output are also in the works.Buildroot is what builds the toolchain, software, kernel, filesystem,and calls
build-img.sh
to produce the final firmware image.minisatip is the SAT>IP server implementation used by this image. It'sversion 0.4 with the modifications at the
dm500-satip-2.3
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This page contains information about installing the latest Gemini driver downloads using the Gemini Driver Update Tool.
Gemini drivers are tiny programs that enable your Gemini hardware to communicate with your operating system software. Maintaining updated Gemini software prevents crashes and maximizes hardware and system performance. Using outdated or corrupt Gemini drivers can cause system errors, crashes, and cause your computer or hardware to fail. Furthermore, installing the wrong Gemini drivers can make these problems even worse.
Recommendation: If you are inexperienced with updating Gemini device drivers manually, we highly recommend downloading the Gemini Driver Utility. This tool will download and update the correct Gemini driver versions automatically, protecting you against installing the wrong Gemini drivers.