VBox Home TV Gateway

VBox Home TV gateway is a network TV tuner Live TV and PVR HDTV set-top-box, produced by VBox Communications Ltd.

The VBox Home TV Gateway is also known as:

  • V@Home TV Gateway PVR
  • V@Home TV Gateway
  • VHome TV Gateway
  • VBox TV Gateway
  • XTi

History

VBox Communication established in 2001 and received strategic investment from Optibase[1][2] (now part of the Vitec Group[3]). In Jan 9, 2002 VBox Communications acquired from BroadLogic (now part of Broadcom[4]) its Satellite Express(TM) and DTV product lines adding DVB core to VBox's IP [5]

VBox TV Gateway technology was first used in its XLV Professional product line unveiled at the Satellite 2006 Show in Washington DC, targeting the hospitality, digital signage and enterprise markets.

The VBox Home TV Gateway is based on VBox's 6th generation XLV Professional product line,[6] It was debut at the Mobile World Congress, ShowStoppers event in Barcelona, Spain on February 23, 2014[7] and was first reviewed by cnet UK [8]

Overview

VBox Home TV Gateway is a network TV tuner and digital video recorder providing both Front and back ends, capable of recording and streaming multiple channels to multiple devices at the same time.[9] Unlike standard set-top box it does not have an HDMI or other video or audio outputs that directly connect a television, instead its multiple DVB tuners receives the live TV RF signal from Satellite, Cable TV or Terrestrial Antenna and streams the decoded video over the local area network to any UPnP enabled player such as smart phone, tablet computer, smart tv, computer, or game console.

Main features
  • Live TV - Stream multiple broadcasts live TV channels simultaneously over the home network without using the internet or data plan
  • Remote Access - Watch live TV and manage the VBox TV Gateway from anywhere in the world
  • Whole World PVR - Record live or scheduled (with series) TV to a USB attached storage or a NAS (SMB/CIFS)
  • Multi-Device - Connect to any UPnP player device or application devices such as iPad, iPhone, tablet, smartphone, Smart TV and applications such as Kodi (formerly XBMC), VLC
  • Multi-Room - Distribute live TV over IP network avoiding complex TV installations and reception issues
  • Timeshift - Pause and rewind live TV using the Kodi VBox PVR add-on
  • Quality - Full broadcast quality up to UHD with 3D and surround sound
  • TV Guide - Free EPG captured from the DVB transport stream and provided as XMLTV or EIT
  • Offline Playback - Watch recorded the program on an Android mobile device without connecting to the home network or the internet
  • Simple Installation - No need for drivers, setup is done by scanning for available channels using the quick setup page

Technical specifications

Supported DVB standards
RF input SignalVBox Home TV Gateway Models
DVB-S and DVB-S2XTi-3332XTi-3332CIXTi-3334XTi-3334CIXTi-3340XTi-3350XTi-3340CIXTi-3350CI
DVB-TXTi-3342XTi-3342CIXTi-3340XTi-3340CIXTi-3442XTi-4144XTi-4174
DVB-T2XTi-3342XTi-3342CIXTi-3442XTi-4144XTi-4174
DVB-C (annex A/C)XTi-3352XTi-3352CIXTi-3350XTi-3350CIXTi-3452XTi-4144XTi-4174
ISDB-TXTi-4144XTi-4174
ATSCXTi-4174

Supported content

All VBox Home TV Gateway support Free-To-Air (FTA) content, models that end with CI also support encrypted Pay TV content with single or dual Conditional-access module (CAM) Common Interface (CI) slots, there is no support for CI+ CAM

Supported recordings

Recording of live or scheduled TV program is available from any of the free VBox apps, the recordings are stored on an external storage and can be played from any device. Supported recording devices:

Simultaneous streaming of different channels

VBox guarantee a single channel per tuner, however, in reality, the tuner locks on a transponder or MUX and can stream all the available channels in that bouquet up to about 40Mbit/s

Configuration

The VBox Home TV Gateway is a Linux-based TV DVB to IP server and a web server the web server is used to configure the device, change settings, see device status and to connect to developer API. To access the Home TV Gateways's web page:

  • On Windows - Right click on the device icon in Windows network folder
  • Write device IP in the web browser
  • Use the VBox free applications

Compatibility and apps options
  • UPnP - Any UPnP device or application (and DLNA although not officially supported) can discover the device and play live or recorded TV programs
  • m3u - The device generates a link to an m3u channel playlist for connectivity with supported applications such as, Kodi IPTV Simple PVR add-on, VLC, DVBLogic
  • XMLTV - The device generates a link to an EPG XML TV program file for integration with 3rd party applications
  • Web browser - A web browser with the VLC web plugin can connect directly to the device to watch and record live or scheduled TV and see the EPG
  • Kodi - VBox PVR add-on, provided as part of Kodi Isengard and provides live TV, EPG, timeshift, remote access, external EPG source
  • MythTV[10] - VBox is supported from MythTV version 0.2.28
  • Tvheadend - Is supported using m3u or manually using Conf -> DVB Inputs -> Network -> Add IPTV Add each channel as a mux for IPTV
  • VBRec for VBox XTi - iOS/Android 3rd party application, simplifying recording and search for epg.
  • VBox applications: iOS, Android, Android for the big screen (with remote control), Firefox add-on, VBox@TV PVR

See also

References
  1. "Securities and Exchange Commission : Form 20-F" (PDF). Gunamoi.com.au. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  2. "Optibase wins order for digital receiver cards". Globes English. 2003-01-06. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  3. "Background". VITEC. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  4. "Broadcom snags BroadLogic". Cedmagazine.com. 2013-01-30. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  5. "Satellite Broadband Summary" (PDF). Gunamoi.com.au. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  6. Holly Ashford (2014-11-24). "Watching TV 'when, where, what and how you want it'". TVBEurope. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  7. "VBox Unveils V@Home TV Gateway DVR – Watch Live TV: When, Where, What and How you want it!". Launch.It. 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  8. "Vbox V@Home TV Gateway Preview". CNET. 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  9. "VBox XTi 3340 review: TV gateway device lets you watch all of your TV, all over the house". PC Advisor. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  10. https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/VBox
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