Richtech Diskless V4

One of the best and easiest ways to access region blocked content is through a smart DNS service. For many people, configuring network settings can be a daunting task. Nevertheless, even for a technophobe, making these minor changes on your Internet enabled devices is a remarkably easy process – It really is not as hard as you may think.

The first thing you need to do is find and choose a smart DNS provider. Many of these are associated with VPN suppliers, but you do not need to sign up to a full VPN service as well.

The second thing is not to panic. Forget about the acronyms, they are only there to make technicians feel smarter. Trust me, it is quicker to say World Wide Web than www, so why do we always say the latter?

A capable and reliable smart DNS service is not free, but that does not mean it is expensive either. A good benchmark to look for is somewhere around US$5 per month. A good service for this price will unlock on-demand services and regions from the four corners of the globe. But every company unlocks different services on different devices; so do keep that in mind.

Once you have signed up to the service of choice, they will provide you with one or more DNS addresses. These look very similar to the well-known IP address: four numbers separated by three dots.

You will then be asked to activate your account with your smart DNS provider, usually at their website.

That is the first stage complete. You now only need to configure each device you wish to access television from.

Getting Started:

Configuring a Samsung Smart TV for smart DNS is very easy. The most complicated part is connecting your Samsung TV to the Internet at the beginning. If this has already been accomplished, you are already over the big hill. If not, follow the instructions on your Samsung’s manual.

Once the Samsung TV is correctly connected to the Internet and functioning properly, follow these instructions to configure a smart DNS service.

Step 1:
Press the menu key on the remote to enter the Samsung menu options and select

Network > Network Settings.

Step 2:
Whichever method of connecting to the network you use, whether Wi-Fi or through ethernet cable, select Start.

Step 3:
The television should perform a test of your network. If this test is successful, you should have two green ticks (check marks). In the event of a failed test, consult your television’s manual, otherwise when the Samsung TV has successfully tested your network status, select the IP Settings option.

Step 4:
You only need to change one setting here, i.e. the DNS Server. Switch the DNS Setting from Get Automatically, to Enter Manually.

Step 5:
Now take one of the DNS addresses your smart DNS provider gave you and enter the four numbers into the DNS Server setting on the Samsung TV. Just take care that the numbers are correct when you select OK.

And that is it! Simply restart your television to ensure the new settings take place. If you have any apps with geographical restrictions and if your smart DNS provider supports them on the Samsung TV, they should now work.

Just be aware that your ISP, the company that provides your Internet, may supply you with a dynamic IP address. This basically means that your external IP address may change daily or weekly. Normally you would never notice this, but this external IP address is how your smart DNS provider confirms your subscription. If your IP address is dynamic, you will need to revisit your smart DNS provider each time it changes to reactivate your account.

There are ways to speed this process up or even automate it, but since this does not affect everyone, that is going to be the subject of another article.

Potential issues:
• If your Wi-Fi service is not sufficient, it may be worth considering a cabled connection.

• Firmware is the software which works in the background of your television, and different firmware from different regions has been known to cause issues with some apps.

• Samsung produce a large number of different models and not all apps for all services are supported on every model. Check with the on-demand service webpage for a list of supported televisions.

SOURCE:

EyeOnDemand.com

how to combine widgets from multiple countries onto a single F-series Samsung Smart TV hub. If you want to have your BBC iPlayer sitting next to your ABC iView, or your Hulu Plus beside your Zattoo widget, this guide could be exactly what you need.

First of all, lets get through the red box stuff. Combining widgets from different stores onto a single Smart Hub is considerably more difficult than just changing country app stores. It includes installing a file on your television which involves a hack of sorts, allowing you to telnet or FTP into your television, copy files off the TV onto your computer and other files back on. Because of this, care should be taken as it is possible to accidentally wipe files off your television or potentially even brick it. Therefore Eye on-Demand considers this a job for “experts” and under no circumstances do we accept responsibility for any damage that may occur to your equipment.

Now that the scary bit has been mentioned, this hack can have the potential to create a truly universal and international Smart Hub with widgets from multiple countries all working together on the one platform. As you can see from the example image below, I have combined various widgets from different countries onto a single screen. The country store chosen here was the UK’s, but it could be any of your choice.

The instructions for this hack are as simplified as I could possibly make it. As you can see however, it does take quite a few steps. Expect a good hour the first time you do this. But in all honesty, that should drop down to about 5-10 minutes once you know the ropes. If you find the guide here too dumbed down, no worries, just head on over for the original instructions direct from the great guys at the SamyGO forums that created this in the first place, likewise, head there if there are any serious issues – they are the brains behind this, and are more likely to be able to help.

What can this hack do?

You can install widgets from multiple countries onto a single Smart Hub. i.e. combine UK widgets with selected ones from Australia, USA, New Zealand, Spain, Germany etc and access them at will.

You can back up your widgets on to your computer or network.

What are the advantages?

Normally when you change to a different country’s app store, all previous widgets would be deleted from the previous app store. However, now you will be able to retain all the widgets that you wish to keep.

When Samsung has problems with their Smart Hub, widgets often disappear. This will not happen to any widget you manually save onto your Smart Hub.

What are the disadvantages?

Outside of the country app store you are currently in, all widgets from other stores will need to be updated manually – i.e. repeating the process of this guide to save and move any new versions across.

Although this process has worked for me without issue on many occasions, there is always an element of risk involved.

Rooting your Samsung TV may or may not invalidate your Samsung TV’s warranty. This is a risk you must choose to take alone.

As long as the SamyGo widget is installed on your television, this may disable your TV’s camera (and thus Skype). To return back to normal, uninstall the SamyGo widget when finished. You may also have to reset the Smart Hub.

Not all F-series television models are supported, nor all versions of firmware. I have tested this on a German bought F-5470 model with firmware v1113

This only works on Samsung F-Series television and not the F-Series Blu-Ray players.

Some apps will not work on firmware from different regions. This is generally very unusual but it does crop up.

What do you need?

This works on an F-series Samsung Smart Television. As far as I know, it will not work on other models. Please don’t try this on a C, D or E series television. For the ES-series, head here.

A small USB memory stick to transfer files across to your television.

A computer within the same network that you can Telnet or FTP from.

An Apache server or alternative method to transfer the SamyGo widget to the television (explained later)

A Smart DNS service that works with the widgets you wish to use (see tip below) or here.

As each countries widgets often require a VPN or Smart DNS service to function correctly outside of their region, a normal VPN will generally be impractical as you will have to switch servers every time you use a widget from a different country. Therefore a smart DNS is a far better option. However, not every catch-up or on-demand service works with Smart DNS through the Samsung Smart Hub. There is no guaranty that the service you wish to use will work with your Smart DNS provider. With that in mind, any Samsung Smart Hub app reviewed by Eye on-Demand has been tested through Overplay’s Smart DNS service. For other on-demand services, please contact your Smart DNS service company and ask them to include this service for the Samsung Smart Hub.

Step 1: Preparing the USB memory stick.

a) Make sure you format the USB stick to FAT16 (This will erase any data currently on the USB stick)

b) Download the following file data.zip from this location.

c) Unzip to the root directory of your USB stick. (Make sure you do not modify the files in any way)

Step 2: Install Skype.

Skype is used as a launchpad for executing this hack, so you need to install Skype in order to proceed.

It is worth mentioning that Skype will no longer work on the television as long as the SamyGo hack is installed.

a) Install the widget from the Samsung App Store. (The app store widget is located at the top/right of the Smart Hub)

b) Once installed, run the Skype widget. (You may need to create an account with Skype if you don’t already have one).

c) When you are logged in, ensure that the setting for auto-logging in is selected.

d) Exit Skype.

Step 3: Plug USB stick into television.

a) The USB stick with the data.zip files extracted should now be plugged into any spare USB port on the television.

Step 4: Set up Develop Account.

You must now install the SamyGO widget onto your television. At the moment, this can only be done via the Samsung develop account.

a) Enter the Smart Hub by pressing the Smart Hub key on the remote.

b) Press the Menu button on the remote and drill down as follows: Menu >> Smart Features >> Samsung Account >> Log In (Note, you must have started this whilst in the Smart Hub)

c) type “develop” into the email field as shown below. You do not need a password, just select Log In afterwards.

You are now logged in as a developer.

Step 5: Download the SamyGO widget.

a) Download the SamyGO widget from here, and keep in a handy place.

Step 6: Install SamyGo widget.

There are several ways to install the SamyGO widget onto the television. Some tech savvy people will already have an Apache Server installed on their computer, and this can be used. (Xampp is very popular). And if you prefer to use this method, do so, then jump to step 7.

On the other hand, a rather clever chap over at SamyGO forums called Spooky has kindly provided an excellent little application that not only will assist in moving across the widget, but can manage widgets later on. Unfortunately, this currently only works from a Window’s machine, so if you don’t have one, you will have to go the Web Server route, or ask Spooky to port the app over to the Mac or Linux.

a) Visit Spooky’s web page and download the application. Keep in mind that when installing, agree to any firewall requests. This is important otherwise the television may not be able to communicate with the application.

b) Once the app is installed on your Windows PC, copy the SamyGO widget to the following folder: c:\\Sammy Widget Manager\widgets (This must still be in zip format!)

c) Press the Refresh button, and if you placed the SamyGO.zip file in the right folder, it will appear on the screen.

d) Tick the box next to the SamyGO widget.

e) You now need to find the IP address of your Windows PC/Laptop. If you don’t know how to do this, visit this page.

Step 7: Move SamyGO widget across via the develop account.

You should now have the following:

A USB stick plugged into the television with the data file extracted at the route level.

Skype is installed on the television and has been run.

An account called develop is logged in on the television.

A windows laptop with Sammy Widget Manager installed and a downloaded copy of the SamyGO widget on the laptop in the appropriate folder (still in zip form) as described in Step 6, or your own Apache server set up also with the SamyGO widget in the appropriate place.

The IP address of your windows PC where the Sammy Widget Manager is installed written down, or any other computer where you have the Apache Web Server.

a) On the television, within the Smart Hub, head to the bottom of the screen where it says More Apps, and select.

b) In the More Apps screen, use the remote to navigate to the Options button at the top/right of the screen.

c) Select the IP Settings option.

d) Type in the IP address here of the computer you have either the Sammy Widget Manager Installed and running, or the Apache server.

Don’t worry if you can’t see the full numbers, just use the Right button on the remote to go to the next box. When done, press the Enter button.

e) Select Start App Sync to transfer the SamyGO widget across to the television. If everything has worked well, you should see it on your Smart Hub

What could go wrong? Lots, but some pretty common errors could be:

The laptop or computer with the Apache server or Sammy Widget Manager has gone to sleep.

An incorrect IP address for the PC/laptop has been set up on the television’s develop setting.

The Sammy Widget Manager is not currently running.

The SamyGO widget is not ticked in the Sammy Widget Manager.

Step 8: Run the SamyGo widget.

a) Click on the SamyGo widget that is now installed on your television. You should see the following image on your screen.

NOTE: If there is an error message that says the activation files are not correctly found, this process will not work. Ensure the USB stick has the correct files unzipped and saved at the route level.

b) Press Enter to continue. If all went ok, you should see the following screen.

c) Press exit.d) Restart the television.

STEP 9: Select the widgets from the alternative country app stores.

Now is a good time to decide what default store you wish to use, and which widgets from other stores you may want to move across. Generally speaking, choose the default country by which widgets you use the most, as these will be automatically updated. I tend to default at the UK store, as this contains the largest collection of usable apps from any region, but this choice is entirely yours.

a) Change the app store to the country you wish to accumulate additional apps. For instructions on how to do this, follow the steps here.

b) When you are in the country store you wish to acquire further widgets, install the ones you want from the app store.

STEP 10: Telnet or FTP into your television.

Once you have all the widgets you want from the additional store installed, you will need to copy them across to a computer on your network. It is possible with some methods to simply copy them directly to the correct folder on your television, but I prefer this method as it also creates a backup of your favourite widgets.

There are a lot of different ways to connect to your television within your network, but I find using a good FTP application easy enough. For the purpose of this guide, I’ll be using Cyberduck on a Mac, but other FTP clients may work just as well or better.

a) Ensure your TV is on and note down its IP address. This can be found under the Samsung TV’s Menu => Network Status.

b) Fire up the television’s Smart Hub.

c) Open Cyberduck on a computer within your network and enter the television’s IP address into the top field and press Return to connect. (Sometime’s you may have to wait a minute or two before trying to connect)

If you can’t connect to the television at this point, there could be a number of reasons. 1st, make sure your computer is within the same network, 2nd, ensure the SamyGO widget was installed correctly.

d) Navigate to /mtd_rwcommon/common/wgtmgr/info.xml (or info2.xml) on your television using Cyberduck and examine this file (I find Quick-Look generally does the job but you can easily download it to your computer to view). Here you will find a list of widgets that are on your television.

Note: If you have tried to access another country’s apps, but find that the old list from the previous country is still showing, shut down and restart Cyberduck.

e) Look through the list and identify the ID numbers for the widgets you wish to retain. Generally speaking they are represented by a long number such as Zattoo which has the ID: 111299001432.f) Now, navigate to /mtd_rwcommon/widgets/normal on your television using Cyberduck and find the widgets you want by their ID numbers and download them to a folder on your computer (Right-click on folder in Cyberduck and select Download To…). Note: Download the entire folder which holds the widget ID as name, not selected contents within.

You now have a backup copy on your computer. If for some reason you accidentally delete these widgets on your television, or they disappear due to something Samsung has done, it is possible to easily reinstall back onto your television. All widgets manually copied across sit in the USER folder and hold a different status.

g) Navigate to /mtd_rwcommon/widgets/user using Cyberduck and Upload the widget folder now on your computer back to the television, saving it in the USER folder.

Opps, if you find the USER folder has disappeared, no worries. Just log back into the develop account.

That is basically it. You can repeat the process if you like, visiting other country app stores to acquire additional widgets. When finished, simply return back to your default app store and move the widgets around to more accessible positions.

It is your choice if you wish to delete the Install SamyGO widget on your television. If you do so, you will have to install it again to be able to FTP back into your television.

CREDITS

SamyGo Forums

EyeOnDemand.com

SOURCE

EyeOnDemand.com