Xoro DTV-M5 Irish Digital TV Receiver (Mheg5)

INDEX

• Overview of the Xoro DTV-M5 Irish Digital TV Receiver
• How to Program Xoro DTV-M5 Irish Digital TV Receiver
• How to Sort Channels on the Xoro DTV-M5 Irish Digital Receiver
• How to use the EPG & Info on the Xoro DTV-M5 Irish Digital Receiver
• How to use the Digital Teletext
• How to format a Hard Drive on the Xoro DTV-M5 Irish Digital Receiver
• How to Use the PVR Recording Facilities
• How to Use the Media Player on the DTV-M5 Receiver
• How to upgrade the firmware on the DTV-M5
• How to record subtitles on saorview channels
• Playing Video Games on the DTV-M5 Digital TV Receiver

Overview of the Xoro DTV-M5 Irish Digital TV Receiver

The Xoro DTV-M5 was developed by TVTrade.ie & Xoro Electronics in Germany specifically for Irish Digital terrestrial TV here in Ireland. It is the first generic MHEG5 (which is essential for digital teletext and future interactive services) receiver on the market in Ireland. We have create this manual with detailed instructions and video guides on the set top box installation & it's various features.

• Unpack the box: 
  • Xoro DTV-M5 Irish Digital Receiver
  • Remote control & Batteries
  • User Manual (in English)
• Push the lead from the UHF aerial into the 'RF IN' plug
• Connect a HDMI lead (or scart lead) from the box to your TV
• Plug in the power lead
• Turn on the power switch on the back on the box
• After 5-6 seconds the box will come on and will display the "Initial Install" menu 

How to Program the Xoro DTV-M5 Irish Digital TV Receiver

1. Go with all the default options shown on the installation screen by pressing 'Enter'
2. Once the scan has started it will go through all the possible VHF & UHF channels
3. If it picks up more than one transmitter it will add Radio & TV stations for each transmitter
4. At the end of the scan it will exit automatically
5. Only saving the channels from the transmitter with the strongest signal (cool feature !)
    

How to Sort Channels on a Xoro DTV-M5 Irish Digital Receiver

1. Press the menu button
2. Select the Channel Menu
3. Select 'Channel Manager' menu 
   • Enter password '0000'
4. To delete a channel:
   • 'Green' button to delete a channel
   • must confirm on exit
5. To move a channel
   1. scroll to that channel
   2. Press 'Enter'
   3. Enter the New location number e.g. 7
   4. Press enter - the channel has moved

How to use the EPG & Info on the Xoro DTV-M5 

This Irish Digital TV receiver comes with a really great 7 Day EPG

• Press the 'EPG' button on the remote control
• By pressing the Red button you can view the EPG Listings in 3 different formats
  • Now / Next - now and next info for all channels
  • Daily - displays information only for the currently selected channel
  • Weekly - contains EPG for all channels for the next 7 days
• Scroll down to the desired channel
• Scroll over the the desired program
• Use colour coded buttons
  • Green: record / reminder
  • Yellow: 24- hours
  • Blue: 24+ hours
  • Red: change view from , weekly, daily or now/next
• Press 'i' Information displayed includes:
  • Name of TV programme
  • Start and Finish Time
  • Programme synopsis

Also there is Info button option (only works for current & next programme

• Pressing the Info button once shows you 
  • Programme name
  • Channel #
  • Start & finish time
  • Transmission is SD or HD
• Press the Info button again and it shows 
  • Programme synopsis

How to use the Digital Teletext on the Xoro DTV-M5

• Press the 'TEXT' button
• Note due to the MHEG5 middleware this will work with
  • with both SD channels (traditional Telextext)
  • with HD Channels with the new Digital Aertel Teletext
• This is a really important and cool feature that other generic Terrestrial receivers do not have

How to Format a Hard Drive on the Irish Digital TV Receiver

This feature works brillantly - just super stuff.

• Connect your Hard Drive or USB Memory Stick to the DTV-M5
• Press the USB Button on the remote control
• Arrow over to disk manager
• Arrow down and highlight your drive
  • Press yellow for NTFS
  • Press Green for FAT32 

How to Use the PVR Recording Facilities

There is some really great PVR Facilities on the DTV-M5.

The first step is to add either a USB key or a Hard drive (it can handle either FAT32 or NTFS).

The main features outlined in the video below is:

• How to mark a future TV programme for recording using the EPG function
• How to record the current programme using the record button
• How to Pause & Record Live TV
• How to playback what you have recorded

How to Use the Media Player on the Xoro DTV-M5 

This is one of the best features on this excellent Digital TV Receiver

Due to its ease of use and the sheer range of files it can handle.

To access the media player - press the button under the 'USB' writing on the remote control

PHOTOS

• All the normal photo and image file types are handled including more exotic ones
• jpg, bmp, png, tif etc

MUSIC

• Listen to MP3 & WMA files among many others
• allows you select song from a screen

MOVIES

• Supports both SD & High Definition Films & TV programmes
• file types supported: MPG, AVI, VOB, DAT, ASF, MKV, RM, WMV, TSF, QT

TV RECORDINGS

• Play back your recordings made on the Xoro DTV-M5 Irish Digital Receiver

Upgrade the Firmware on the Xoro DTV-M5 Digital TV Receiver

After downloading the firmware update from the TV Trade website (available under download tab), unzip the file on your PC or Laptop and simply copy it to a memory stick.   Insert the memory stick into the front USB port of the DTV-M5 Receiver and wait for it to initialise.

If doing this from your first time turing on the box, start here

• Press the exit button, it displays
• Database empty (this just means that you have not scanned in any channels yet)
• Continued below

If doing firmware upgrade from after scanning in the channels start here

• Press the menu button
• Arrow down to setting
• Press the right arrow key. It may ask for password (0000)
• Arrow down to upgrade option
• Press enter
• This gives the USB upgrade option
• Press enter again
• This shows you the contents of your memory stick
• Use the arrow buttons to select rom.bin and press enter again
• This starts the process (takes around a minute)
• Once complete, the receiver reboots and it brings you back to installation menu
• Just arrow down to Start Search and press enter to scan the channels back in

Record Subtitles on Saorview Channels using the Xoro Irish Digital TV Receiver

This are just a few quick videos showing how to record subtitles on Saorview Channels using the Xoro DTV-M5.   It is for the Irish Channels only.   We recommend using the Humax Freesat+ Receiver if you would like to be able to record subtitles on UK channels such as the BBCs, ITVs, C4 etc

Procedure to Record Subtitles 

Using the Record Button on the Remote Control

• Plug in external hard drive, wait for it to initialise
• Turn on subtitles using the subtitles button on your remote control & select the desired language
• Press the record button (You can use the EPG Record feature for this or also the Timers menu)
• Press the Stop Button when you have enough content recorded
• To access your recordings
• Press USB button on the remote control
• Arrow over to the Record manager option
• Press the Arrow down button on the remote
  • This selects the hard drive
• Press the enter button
  • This lets you see the list of programmes recorded
• Use the up/down arrow to select which recorded programme you'd like to watch
• Press the enter button on the remote to select
• Note: There are no subtitles shown by default on the recording so
  • Press the subtitles button again and the recorded subtitles now appear

Record Subtitles on Saorview Channels using the EPG

• Make sure that your external hard drive is plugged in and initialised
• Press the EPG Button Use the arrow buttons to navigate to programme you want to record
• Use the green button to either set reminder or twice to set recording
• If recording is set, you will have a little green R over the name of the show
• The DTV-M5 is now set to record at the appropriate time
• To access your recordings press the USB button
• Arrow over to the record manager
• Press the down arrow to select the hard drive and press enter
• Use the up/down arrow to select the programme you want to play back
• Press the subtitles button and select language to show recorded subtitles

 How to use the Timer function to Record

• Make sure that your external hard drive is plugged in and initialised
• Press the menu button
• Arrow down to setting
• Press the right arrow to select timers
• Press enter
• Press the yellow button select edit to set timer
• Arrow down to type
• Pressing the right arrow will show options
• Select recorder
• Arrow up to start time
• Press the right arrow and use arrows and numbers to set time
• Press enter to save
• Arrow down to duration
• Arrow right and use arrow and numbers to set duration

You can also set mode ie daily, once, weekly etc

To access your recordings

• Press the USB button
• Arrow over to the record manager
• Press the down arrow to select the hard drive and press enter
• Use the up/down arrow to select the programme you want to play back
• Press subtitles button and select language to show record

Playing Video Games on the Xoro DTV-M5 Irish Digital TV Receiver

One of the more interesting and surprising features on the DTV-M5 is that you can actually play video games on the Digital TV receiver.  Simply by downloading the games off of the native32.com website and loading them on to a memory stick or external hard drive, you can access this feature.  The below videos show how to both download the games and also how to play them on the DTV-M5.

Downloading the games from Native32.com

Playing the games on the DTV-M5

 

The above map shows the main Saorview Coverage & Transmitters, the colour code of the best UHF Aerial to use and their catchment area.

The table above shows the Channel Range & Polarity of each of the Transmitters in Ireland. The Final column shows the UHF group colour code for the most appropriate aerial for the transmitter. Of course it is possible to use a Wide band UHF (either the high Grid or standard 10 element contract aerial) which will  work on all transmitters.

The table above shows the range of UHF TV Aerials available, their frequency range and the colour code associated with each aerial. View Coastal Transmitter Map [Here]

What Irish Digital TV Channels are Available ?

On the Digital Television System in Ireland it is possible to get to Receive 9 Irish Digital Channels:

RTE ONE

RTE 1 is the most viewed TV Station in Ireland. It offers a variety of home grown factual, arts, drama, entertainment & lifestyle programming.  It is also lauded for it's Domestic & international news and current affairs programming. 70% of the top watched TV programmes in Ireland are on RTE 1.

RTE TWO HD

RTE 2 is more focused on sport, documentaries, foreign TV series and childrens programming.  RTE 2 HD is the first domestic TV channel to broadcast in high definition allowing for the viewing of GAA matches in glorious HD for the first time.   Foreign TV series like desperate houswives & CSI will also be broadcast in HD.   More content will become available over time.

TV3

TV3 is a commercial free-to-air television broadcaster in the Republic of Ireland  which launched on September 20, 1998.

It was the country's first independent commercial broadcaster. TV3 is operated by the TV3 Group which also consists of television channel 3e. The main studios of TV3 are located in Ballymount, Dublin.

TV3 broadcasts a wide range of programming which in its early years depended heavily on international acquisitions.

3e

3e (3 entertainment) is a general entertainment channel operated in Ireland by Kish Media a subsidiary of TV3 Group. The channel launched on January 5, 2009 (replacing Channel 6 which launched on March 30, 2006). The channel provides a diverse mix of programming both local and international, targeting a demographic ranging between 16 to 35 year olds.

3e is particularly great for catching up or re-watching old TV series.

TG4

TG4 is Ireland’s Irish language TV channel.  The daily Irish language programme schedule is it's core service supported by a wide range of material in other languages.

Music, documentary & sports coverage have earned particular praise for TG4.

RTE News Now

RTE News Now is a 24 hour rolling news channel with live news bulletins, live current affairs programmes, catch-up on recent news and current affairs, live coverage of special events, breaking news and continuous sport, business and weather updates throughout the day.

RTEjr

The RTEjr is a dedicated daytime television service for children aged 6 years and younger. RTEjr shares channel space with RTE Plus and will be on from 11am to 7pm and is free of advertising.

RTE One +1

RTE One + 1 will share channel space with RTÉjr and will be on from 7pm to 2am. From May 2011 this channel will be an exact replica of RTE One, with a 1 hour delay.

RTE Aertel Digital

RTE Aertel Digital is an improved digital version of the RTE Aertel teletext service, which is modern, fast and user-friendly. The service offers up-to-date and accessible news, sport, weather and other information, including flight times, public information, local council information, information for deaf and hard of hearing audiences and subtitles.

When the irish Digital Terrestrial TV services are full rolled out it is expected that a range of additional free-to-air and pay-per-view channels will become available over time.

Q: What is Irish Digital TV ?

Irish Digital Tv also know as Saorview is the name given to Irelands new 'Free to Air' Digital Terrestrial TV service. The service officially launched in Ireland on the 29 October 2010. It is due to replace the old analogue TV signal, (which is due to be turned off by 2012). 

Q: What Channels are Available ?

See the 'List of Channels' Tab for a full list
 

Q: Will I need a new TV Aerial ?

Maybe but possibly not. A good rule of thumb is that if you are currently getting good reception on the 4 Irish channels (especially TV3 & TG4) on an existing aerial, chances are you will not need to invest in a new Aerial. Indeed the equipment and Installations are generally much simpler than with analogue systems where in Ireland we have the complication of VHF aerials & Diplexers in certain parts of the country.

Q: Will I need a new Television ?

You will need either

• A Digtal Terrestrial Receiver (Miniumum spec: MPEG4 & HD) to work with your existing TV
• A Saorview approved (or at a miniumum an MPEG4 HD) TV which can handle the Saorview transmissions

Q: What Is MHEG5 & is it essential ?

A receiver which has MHEG5 Middleware can recieve RTÉ’s Digital Aertel Service and also future proofs the receiver for down the line interactive services.

Q: Is it Possible to receive Irish & UK Digital channels on a single receiver ?

Currently (Sept 2011) there is no Saorview approved combo UK Satellite & Irish terrestrial Receivers on the market. There are a host of generic Combo Receivers on the market