This guide will take you through connecting the IceBox and setting it up.
Table of Contents
- Plugging it all in
- The IceBox Remote Control
- The IceBox Setup
- Additional Setup Steps
- Using the TV Section of the IceBox
- Home TV Settings
- TV Settings on the IceBox
- Using the IceBox
- Software Updates
- Technical Questions and Nerdy Stuff
- Teach yourself
Plugging it all in
Set Up:
First base: unpack (note the thin protective film on the top of the IceBox), find remote wifi dongle in battery compartment of remote control, fit supplied batteries, fit remote control wifi usb dongle into either of the two USB ports on side of IceBox.
For two tuners (one dual USB tuner)
Plug the short USB cable into the tuner and into either of two rear IceBox USB ports. Connect a HDMI cable to one of the two rear ports on the IceBox and TV. Plug home antenna cable into tuner.
For four tuners (two x dual USB tuners)
For splitter if supplied and see helpful images below:
Fit four splitter "F type" to "PAL" adapters to splitter side-by-side outputs using male to male adaptors for "OUT1" and "OUT2" and male to female for "IN" and "OUT1". Adaptors only need to be finger tight.
Fit tuners into male connectors on splitter, short USB cables into tuners, USB cables into miniPC rear USB ports.
Fit home antenna cable in to the splitter "IN" adaptor, if needed plug TV antenna cable into splitter "OUT3" adaptor.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
If your home ever has a power cut your IceBox will stop. To enable the IceBox to automatically restart when power is restored so it can continue recording as needed we have changed its internal software.
To manually shut the system down either briefly press the power button on the front of the IceBox or the on/off button on the remote control. This will bring up a menu on the TV screen to "Power off system". Choose that function and it will shut down and its small light on the front will go off.
To restart the IceBox after a full "Power Off" press the IceBox "On" button for about 4-5 seconds, its small light will come on and the TV screen will display its start up.
The short press of the remote or IceBox Off/On buttons also show a "Reboot" option which takes the IceBox through its off and startup process without any intervention if needs a recycle to fully install new software update or it has become unstable for any reason.
"Custom Shutdown Timer" turns off the IceBox after a preset period.
To fully turn off the IceBox simply pull out its power pin or, better still, switch off its power supply at source.
Splitter and adaptors for standard antenna cable
Tuner
The IceBox Remote Control
The Remote Control
How to use the IceBox remote control skip buttons.
If you go to "Player" via the system cog you’ll see a list of skip times and underneath a default number of 750 milliseconds (3/4 second). These are defaults but can be varied if you choose once you have used the skip feature within recordings.
Each left or right button press done in under 750ms gives a skip of 10sec, 30sec, 60sec and 3minutes (our default settings).
Once replaying a recording, for a forward skip, if you quickly press the right button next to "OK" in less than 3/4 second per press you’ll move up the range of skip times to the maximum of our default settings limit of 3 minutes. However if you press the button more slowly once you have reached the skip time you desire then you can use slower presses to move forwards at that increment. It’s a smart way to skip variable times to accurately get to the end of an advert, or move forward within a show. The same applies backwards with the left button.
The speed of skip presses can be varied from 750ms in the Player as can the range of skip times, up to 30 minutes but we have reduced them by default to 3 minutes maximum so that errant presses don’t shoot to the 30 minute time and the end of a show.
It becomes easy and second nature with a little practice.
The up and down buttons give +/- 10 minutes.
The IceBox Setup
IceTV Setup Wizard
NOTE - For all on/off sliders within the IceBox, the "ON" is the white dot and the "OFF" is the grey dot.
When the IceBox is first switched on the IceTV Wizard will run, bringing up the following screens one-by-one:
English (Australian) is the default.
Next you can name the IceBox but that is the default and we advise leaving it as it is.
Choose your WiFi or Wired Internet connection by the up arrow. If using WiFi we recommend using 5G wherever possible to reduce any interference from microwaves or Bluetooth.
Then press "OK".
Choose "Connect".
For WiFi enter your Modem password.
IMPORTANT: if you are using a wireless network, please double check that the connection is established and is showing an IP Address before continuing through the setup wizard.
For sharing leave these defaults. Samba enables the IceBox to be found by home networked computers.
The Wizard then moves to set up your IceTV account details.
You will first see the IceBox carrying out software updates, wait for this process to complete.
The IceTV Setup will now start, select OK to begin.
You will also be prompted if you have an IceTV account or not, if you have purchased an IceBox from the IceTV online store, you will have created an account during that process.
Enter your IceTV email address, and confirm it is correct when prompted. If a new user you will be asked for your region too.
Enter your IceTV password.
Channel Scanning will now begin. The channels will be mapped to match your IceTV Guide Settings if you are already an IceTV user. If a new user your channels will match your region's broadcasts, but we do not include "shopping channels" or "horse racing channels". The broadcast channels can be found by logging into your IceTV account on our website and going to "My Account" - "Guide Settings".
Once the setup is finished the IceBox will return to its home screen as shown below.
Additional Setup Steps
Set correct timezone
The default is Sydney
On the Kodi main screen scroll up to the Kodi Settings "Cog"
Press "OK" on the remote and choose "Interface", press "OK".
On the left menu scroll down to "Standard", press "OK" on the remote and it will change to "Advanced"
"OK"
Scroll back up to "Regional" and the language, time zones and date, month, year and 12/24 hour clock etc options will appear on the right. Choose your Australian time zone which will be a default to Sydney. Some options such as date or time format have various choice which will pop up when they are selected and "OK" pressed and will become the display on the TV screen once they are chosen and "OK" is pressed.
Press the "Back" arrow to return to the Kodi Main Screen
KODI Main Screen Customisation
"TV" is the one used by IceTV and will always return to it once chosen.
Note that unused menu items can be removed by right arrow to choose by "OK" on "Remove this main menu item". To later replace any of these menu items removed, go to Kodi Settings "Cog" - "Interface" - "Skin" - "Configure skin" then back to Main Menu Items.
Using the TV Section of the IceBox
Channels
Kodi - Down to “TV” then “Channels”. A list of all scanned in channels will be present. These channels will match the channels you had activated in your IceTV account - "Guide Setting".
Left arrow for “Options”. Various options are present which are shortcuts to various choices as listed below. Simply needs exploring.
Guide
Kodi - Down to “TV” then “Guide”.
Scrolling up through the Guide to the top row enables the guide to be sorted to view just one Network group. "TV Channels" are your complete IceTV - "Guide Settings" ones.
To sort the guide channels into alphabetical order press the left scroll button of the remote until the EPG runs all the way back to its beginning at which point a sort menu will appear so you can sort by name etc.
Timers
Kodi - Down to “TV and across to “Timers”.
“Timers” lists all upcoming recordings and enables options such as varying padding time for a specific airing (good for tennis that may run very late!!).
To sort timers see the bottom left "left arrow/half cog" icon beside "Options". The left arrow means press the left button and the half cog means a setup menu. Press the left scroll button of the remote and a sort menu will appear the same at the one for the guide enabling the timers to be displayed in the order you choose. That option is available for "Channels" too.
Search
Kodi - Down to “TV”, across to “Search”.
Recording Preferences
All recordings set by the IceTV app or website currently have a padding default of -3 and +30. This will be able to be adjusted in a software update due soon. On the IceBox Guide the following padding can applied as you choose.
Kodi System “Cog” then across to PVRs & LiveTV.
Down left menu to “Recordings”, See “Default start and end padding time”.
NOTE - the bottom left menu needs to be set to "Advanced" or "Expert" for these settings:
Home TV Settings
Firstly disable any setting on your TV, usually under "Picture" or similar, that says:
- Frame interpolation
- Video interpolation
- Motion smoothing
- Motion plus
- Smooth motion
- Enhanced motion
- TruMotion (LG)
- Auto Motion Plus (Samsung)
- Motionflow (Sony)
These are settings to interpolate between frames to give a fake representation of a true smooth image and can cause judder/jitter in replay. Your TV may allow the "feature" to be disabled on the specific HDMI port used by your IceBox or it may simply be across all inputs. Either way it is commonly considered to be a nuisance (a Google search will answer any questions).
When the TV setting is disabled switch the TV off, wait a few seconds then on again.
TV Settings on the IceBox
NOTE: The IceTV Setup Wizard will set all these for you however occasionally the TV interaction with the IceBox via the HDMI cable can change them so in case they are needed for reference:
Kodi "Cog", then "System", then down that menu and set user to "Expert", then "Display" and choose "Resolution" = 1920 x 1080p and "Refresh Rate" = 50.00.
Note: If a 4K TV is used and the IceBox is rebooted for any reason these settings should be rechecked as the TV connection can change them. If so set them back to as above.
In "System" go down one to Audio.
In "Audio" press "OK and you should see your TV listed, choose it for the audio output. It will be confirmed if you can hear the "click" from your remote. If your TV is not listed work through the choices until you hear the "click".
Kodi "Cog, " then "Player".
"Videos, then set "Adjust display refresh" rate to "Always".
Finally down to "Processing" at the bottom of the Video main screen and check "Use MPEG-2 VAAI" which should be set it to "On". This improves the picture quality for SD channel recording.
Using the IceBox
Setting Recordings
Recordings can be set by either the IceTV app, website or on the IceBox Guide itself. Recordings set but not yet recording will show as a "tick" in the lower left corner of the Guide (EPG) or in the "Timer" list. Recordings currently recording show as a red dot.
NOTE: Recordings set on the IceBox Guide itself do not yet synchronise with IceTV so will not show up on your IceTV account website or app. They will show on the IceBox Guide or Timer list as described above.
View Recordings
Kodi - Down to “TV”, across, choose “Recordings”.
A list of your current and completed recordings are listed here.
SHORTCUT - press the “IceTV" logo on the remote to go straight to the list.
To play recording - choose from the list which will be a folder with number of episodes if a series is present. Press "OK". Press “Pause/Start” and "Stop” as usual.
Sort Recordings
Note the symbol above at the bottom left - "Options" - "Half a cog" and "Half a left arrow" combined. This means press the left arrow on the remote and the sort choices will appear. The same method applies to "Channels" and "Timers". For the EPG press the left arrow until the EPG scrolls to its end when the sort choices will appear.
Delete Recording
Highlight the choice and on the remote press , scroll to "Delete", (plus other choices will pop up).
Skip Adverts on Replay
Kodi System “Cog” - choose “Player”.
Choose "Videos".
Choose “Skip Steps" which can be +/- 10sec, 30sec, 60sec, 3min, 10min, 30min.
Blue is “On”, white is “Off”. Choose the list and it will appear vertically, then by scrolling the list one can choose which to remove by pressing “OK” for off or on.
Skip Delay is the time period between each right (forward) or left (back) arrow press.
For example a single press on the right arrow gives a 10 second skip, two quick presses give a 30 second skip, three quick presses give 60 seconds and so on. On the example shown above 30 seconds and 60 seconds have been disabled hence are in "white", so one press for 10 seconds, two quick ones for 3 minutes. The same applies going backward with the left arrow. The Skip Delay defines the "quickness" of the button presses.
Depends on your individual preference.
The up and down arrows give +10 or -10 minute skips. These may be re-configured if possible to give an option of fast forward or back at later updates.
Automatic Commercial Skip Usage and Settings
The IceBox has automatic commercial detection. The process runs after a recording has finished and on average it takes about 20 mins to process a 1 hour recording, however only 1 recording is processed at the same time so it might take longer if more than 1 recording finishes at the same time.
When commercial's have been detected the IceBox will automatically jump past them with a notice on the screen that it's jumped a commercial. If this was incorrect you can skip back into that skipped part of the programme.
You can see the detected commercials on the playback screen as such:
or
If you don't wish to use AutoSkip you can disable it by going into the IceTV settings by going down to "Add-ons" on the home screen of the IceBox.
Then pressing right to get to the IceTV logo icon and pressing the "OK" button on the remote control to select it
Then you will see the IceTV settings screen, where you can disable "Automatic Commercial Detection"
Then go right to the OK button and then press the "OK" button on the remote control
Screen Saver
This dims or blacks the TV screen to save any burn through.
Kodi setting "Cog" - choose "Interface".
Choose "Screensaver".
"OK" to choose Screensaver mode".
"OK" and down to your choice". Please NOTE "Get more" on the right. Choose that and other screensaver options can be selected such as "Google Earth".
Down to your "Wait Time" (when screensaver comes on) Then back arrow to get back to the main screen.
Power Saving
Kodi "Cog", then "System" and down to "Power Saving". Choose a suitable time to put the display to sleep when idle.
Enabling Subtitles on Playback
To enable subtitles for a particular recording you can:
Start watching the show then press the "OK" button on the remote control.
Go across to the "Subtitles" option along the menu at the bottom of the screen (it's the second last option) and select it by pressing the "OK" button on the remote control.
Change the setting to on for "Enable subtitles".
Go across to the "Close" button on the right of the window, then press the "OK" button on the remote control.
Software Updates
Software updates happen automatically in the background.
Technical Questions and Nerdy Stuff
Look around as there are many options and sometimes different ways in. See Kodi Settings “Cog” and look around - ie - Interface -choose different skins etc.
Unnecessary menu items can be removed by highlighting any one and the option appears in the centre of the TV screen. NOTE - please don't delete "TV" as it is the menu for all IceTV services, recordings etc.
"TV Shows" and "Movies" are for content viewed via the IceBox, either imported or, to save hard drive space, via an external drive or NAS etc. including recordings exported from other home PVRs.
Please use our IceTV forum page for all technical questions that our experienced users can answer.
https://forum.icetv.com.au/iceforum/
See "IceTV IceBox"
We will soon have a "wiki" as a compendium of all technical subjects and answers.
Teach yourself
Use the Kodi Wiki - https://kodi.wiki/view/Main_Page
Use the Kodi forum - https://forum.kodi.tv
Use the LibreELEC forum - https://forum.libreelec.tv
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