Customize Buzztv 5 home screen ?

[alexb]

Hi.   Is it possible to customize the home screen?     Since we can't change the MAC address I do not use the built in LIveTV, VOD, EPG, etc and want to remove them.    I'm using TiviMate which is more flexible.  Can these be removed and possibly have functionality to add widgets in their place?    

[nbs.]

no its not possible

[dishuser]

why not just ask your provider for an xc api account?

[PapaS]

1 hour ago, alexb said:

Hi.   Is it possible to customize the home screen?     Since we can't change the MAC address I do not use the built in LIveTV, VOD, EPG, etc and want to remove them.    I'm using TiviMate which is more flexible.  Can these be removed and possibly have functionality to add widgets in their place?    

You can totally customize homescreen using a launcher manager and wolf launcher, with whatever widgets you want  

[dishuser]

27 minutes ago, PapaS said:

You can totally customize homescreen using a launcher manager and wolf launcher, with whatever widgets you want  

tried that a year or so ago

ended up doing a factory reset

[Emporium]

If you are going to change the launcher. and not use the included BuzzTV applications, then what is the point of buying a Buzz box in the first place ? 

If you are going to use a generic 3rd party launcher, and then use Tivimate or STBEmu as your primary IPTV app, then you can use any generic Android box.

If you only have one box, then a MAC based sub should not be an issue.  Just ask your supplier to switch your account to your new server ID.  If you have more than one box, then you are better off with an XC type login.

Don't get me wrong, I would have loved to be able to change MAC on these boxes also in some cases (when I want to test something for a friend or family member).  But that has been taken off the table since the 4000 series was introduced.  The last buzz boxes that I know that supported that was the xpl3000 which I had.  Not sure, but possibly the xpl3900 also (but I never had one of those - so can't confirm).  

[dishuser]

11 minutes ago, Emporium said:

If you are going to change the launcher. and not use the included BuzzTV applications, then what is the point of buying a Buzz box in the first place ? 

If you are going to use a generic 3rd party launcher, and then use Tivimate or STBEmu as your primary IPTV app, then you can use any generic Android box.

If you only have one box, then a MAC based sub should not be an issue.  Just ask your supplier to switch your account to your new server ID.  If you have more than one box, then you are better off with an XC type login.

Don't get me wrong, I would have loved to be able to change MAC on these boxes also in some cases (when I want to test something for a friend or family member).  But that has been taken off the table since the 4000 series was introduced.  The last buzz boxes that I know that supported that was the xpl3000 which I had.  Not sure, but possibly the xpl3900 also (but I never had one of those - so can't confirm).  

totally agree

and all xpl models use buzztv 2 which allows you to edit mac addy

after I upgraded from my xpl 3900 I only use xc api

[PapaS]

1 hour ago, dishuser said:

tried that a year or so ago

ended up doing a factory reset

I've been using it for a couple of months and it's working flawlessly. 

[dishuser]

I found it's a PITA to get to buzztv home screen settings

I only added at the time mainly for weather but buzztv now provides that

and not once have I ever felt the need to use a 3rd party app for iptv

if that were the case I would still be using my zoomtak t8u..lol

[PapaS]

10 hours ago, Emporium said:

If you are going to change the launcher. and not use the included BuzzTV applications, then what is the point of buying a Buzz box in the first place ? 

If you are going to use a generic 3rd party launcher, and then use Tivimate or STBEmu as your primary IPTV app, then you can use any generic Android box.

If you only have one box, then a MAC based sub should not be an issue.  Just ask your supplier to switch your account to your new server ID.  If you have more than one box, then you are better off with an XC type login.

Don't get me wrong, I would have loved to be able to change MAC on these boxes also in some cases (when I want to test something for a friend or family member).  But that has been taken off the table since the 4000 series was introduced.  The last buzz boxes that I know that supported that was the xpl3000 which I had.  Not sure, but possibly the xpl3900 also (but I never had one of those - so can't confirm).  

@emporium I guess people have different ideas about streaming and the devices that they like to use. Just because somebody uses or doesn't use certain features on any given device doesn't mean it is no good. Believe me in no way am I trying to take anything away from the x5, I'm actually bragging about it's versatility and ability to customize. I've tried  alot of devices and the x5 is far superior to anything I've tried. The specs are outstanding,  lightening fast speeds, with or without iptv I still think this box is the best streaming device I've used and worth every penny  

[PapaS]

10 hours ago, dishuser said:

I found it's a PITA to get to buzztv home screen settings

I only added at the time mainly for weather but buzztv now provides that

and not once have I ever felt the need to use a 3rd party app for iptv

if that were the case I would still be using my zoomtak t8u..lol

Oh.

[Emporium]

7 hours ago, PapaS said:

@emporium I guess people have different ideas about streaming and the devices that they like to use. Just because somebody uses or doesn't use certain features on any given device doesn't mean it is no good. Believe me in no way am I trying to take anything away from the x5, I'm actually bragging about it's versatility and ability to customize. I've tried  alot of devices and the x5 is far superior to anything I've tried. The specs are outstanding,  lightening fast speeds, with or without iptv I still think this box is the best streaming device I've used and worth every penny  

I hear you, and I know everyone is different.  They are  great boxes overall (and trust me, I have tried my share also).  It is just a shame to see that people feel they need to customize it to the point that they don't use the main reason for a buzzTV box, which is the IPTV app.

 

17 hours ago, dishuser said:

...

and not once have I ever felt the need to use a 3rd party app for iptv

if that were the case I would still be using my zoomtak t8u..lol

Same here.  Other than testing some friends MAC subs from time to time (which I use STBEmu for that), I have not seen any reason to use any other app for IPTV.  I have switched to XC api shortly after I upgraded from my xpl3000 also.

In my case, I came from a bunch of Xiaomi MiiBox 3 units which I had for many years, and they had native AndroidTV on them (it was the only box other than the Shield at the time).  And surprisingly, it was actually pushed 3 major Android TV versions OTA over it's lifetime.  Which is pretty impressive for a pretty cheap box.  If I did not have the advantage of the BuzzTV apps, I would have probably stuck with my MiiBox or upgraded to newer Nvidia Shield Pro boxes and just installed Tivimate.  At those also have all the required DRM for the 4k streaming of many of the services who require it.

 

Edited August 2, 2022 by Emporium

[PapaS]

1 hour ago, Emporium said:

I hear you, and I know everyone is different.  They are  great boxes overall (and trust me, I have tried my share also).  It is just a shame to see that people feel they need to customize it to the point that they don't use the main reason for a buzzTV box, which is the IPTV app.

 

Same here.  Other than testing some friends MAC subs from time to time (which I use STBEmu for that), I have not seen any reason to use any other app for IPTV.  I have switched to XC api shortly after I upgraded from my xpl3000 also.

In my case, I came from a bunch of Xiaomi MiiBox 3 units which I had for many years, and they had native AndroidTV on them (it was the only box other than the Shield at the time).  And surprisingly, it was actually pushed 3 major Android TV versions OTA over it's lifetime.  Which is pretty impressive for a pretty cheap box.  If I did not have the advantage of the BuzzTV apps, I would have probably stuck with my MiiBox or upgraded to newer Nvidia Shield Pro boxes and just installed Tivimate.  At those also have all the required DRM for the 4k streaming of many of the services who require it.

 

See this is the thing, the box for you is all about the iptv app which is cool but for me it's a high quality streaming device. Different strokes for different folks thats all. Appreciate your point of view. I also didn't make the buzz tv 5 app not accessible,  one button press on the remote and I'm in. Thanks again for your response  

[dishuser]

since they use tivimate just add shortcut to apps and it will be on the home page

[PapaS]

13 minutes ago, dishuser said:

since they use tivimate just add shortcut to apps and it will be on the home page

Oh!

[forkup]

19 hours ago, PapaS said:

See this is the thing, the box for you is all about the iptv app which is cool but for me it's a high quality streaming device. Different strokes for different folks thats all. Appreciate your point of view. I also didn't make the buzz tv 5 app not accessible,  one button press on the remote and I'm in. Thanks again for your response  

Agreed. I bought the buzztv box after playing with firesticks for years because of the far superior hardware. I considered the nvidia shield myself but it basically hasn't been updated hardware wise since what...2015?  Honestly if I'd known I wouldn't have root to be able to remove preinstalled software and customize it as I saw fit to take advantage of the superior hardware I'd have never bought it.  I also didn't understand how closely the remotes are tied to buzztv.  One stray click in the dark and the boxes iptv software kicks in...

Also the fact that (beta) updates are tied to my mac address and that it updates itself without user interaction is, no offense, kinda lame as I've never seen that before.  I recently had to do a factory reset because after I started the box it was, evidently, updating in the background while I was hitting buttons on the remote.  This caused the buzztv app to crash when it started resulting in a never ending loop of buzztv starting then crashing rendering the device unusable.  It seemed easier and quicker to do a factory reset rather than try to troubleshoot the issue without root.  With root it would likely have been as simple as booting to recovery and reinstalling the update or rolling it back with a system backup (more on that later...).

I really don't understand the thought process involved here.  We're not trusted to administrate a device we own?  To much grief to support users who bork their boxes?  I have to assume the tv sign guys and other normal users who don't experiment much are too likely to get into trouble with root?  Why not just not deny support for rooted users?

Another issue is there's no way to backup the box for when something does screw up.  What happened to the advertised " Full System Backup / Restore" as shown at https://buzztvglobal.com/collections/buzztv-boxes/products/buzztv-xrs-4900-ultra-hd-iptv-box-free-usa-canada-wide-shipping ?  With a way to fully backup and restore the box those mishaps wouldn't be as much of an issue.

Please don't take this as a rant trying to slam the entire project.  As I said the hardware is superior and as somewhat of a power user I'm just trying to objectively point out issues that I have encountered as I'm sure have others.

Altho I have enjoyed the xrs4900 hardware I think I'm gonna sell out if my current quest to obtain root fails.

As PapaS said 'Different strokes for different folks'.

My 2 cents...

forkup

[nbs.]

So you push the wrong button on remote and iptv kicks in and that's an issue?...lol

Backup/restore is  being worked on

Pm allaboutbuzz with your mac addy and you will stop getting beta updates

[allaboutbuzz]

1 hour ago, forkup said:

Agreed. I bought the buzztv box after playing with firesticks for years because of the far superior hardware. I considered the nvidia shield myself but it basically hasn't been updated hardware wise since what...2015?  Honestly if I'd known I wouldn't have root to be able to remove preinstalled software and customize it as I saw fit to take advantage of the superior hardware I'd have never bought it.  I also didn't understand how closely the remotes are tied to buzztv.  One stray click in the dark and the boxes iptv software kicks in...

Also the fact that (beta) updates are tied to my mac address and that it updates itself without user interaction is, no offense, kinda lame as I've never seen that before.  I recently had to do a factory reset because after I started the box it was, evidently, updating in the background while I was hitting buttons on the remote.  This caused the buzztv app to crash when it started resulting in a never ending loop of buzztv starting then crashing rendering the device unusable.  It seemed easier and quicker to do a factory reset rather than try to troubleshoot the issue without root.  With root it would likely have been as simple as booting to recovery and reinstalling the update or rolling it back with a system backup (more on that later...).

I really don't understand the thought process involved here.  We're not trusted to administrate a device we own?  To much grief to support users who bork their boxes?  I have to assume the tv sign guys and other normal users who don't experiment much are too likely to get into trouble with root?  Why not just not deny support for rooted users?

Another issue is there's no way to backup the box for when something does screw up.  What happened to the advertised " Full System Backup / Restore" as shown at https://buzztvglobal.com/collections/buzztv-boxes/products/buzztv-xrs-4900-ultra-hd-iptv-box-free-usa-canada-wide-shipping ?  With a way to fully backup and restore the box those mishaps wouldn't be as much of an issue.

Please don't take this as a rant trying to slam the entire project.  As I said the hardware is superior and as somewhat of a power user I'm just trying to objectively point out issues that I have encountered as I'm sure have others.

Altho I have enjoyed the xrs4900 hardware I think I'm gonna sell out if my current quest to obtain root fails.

As PapaS said 'Different strokes for different folks'.

My 2 cents...

forkup

We have a new way for Backup/Restore that were going to offer soon
Which is TWRP.

We removed our current solution because it wasn't working properly and took way too long to Backup.

If you want to be removed from the Daily Betas, please just PM me your MAC and I can do that
You're on an Internal Beta, so bugs and crashes can be expected.  I apologize that it happened to you though.
Sorry if automatic updates isn't what you're looking for, its just how we do it.  Not all companies are the same.

 

And we have never advertised that our boxes are rooted, so it shouldn't be implied that they come this way either.
If you would have emailed us or asked on this forum, that would have been answered for you right away.

 

Our remotes are designed mainly for IPTV, as that is what our boxes are being promoted and sold for mainly.