Once every 5 minutes we send a signal to all the B.yond decoders which lets them know what the latest software version is. Your decoder can only act upon this signal if it receives it while in standby mode, so when you aren’t watching anything be sure to put your decoder in standby. The LED panel of the B.yond decoder displays the time when it is in standby.
All you need to do to update your software is to put the decoder into standby mode and wait. It will do everything for you. Once the process finishes the time will return to the display on the decoder and you can now turn the decoder on.
Software updates
If you turn the decoder to standby every night you will be ensuring that you are running the latest software version.
Software updates get released to fix bugs and enable new features. You can only get an update if you put the decoder in standby mode and wait till it receives our blast telling it to update. This could be up to 5 minutes.
Once the decoder receives the blast it can take another 5 minutes to run through the updating process. You know when it is finished this process once the time displays on the LED on the B.yond decoder.
An example of a bug fixed by letting the decoder do a software update is the “Copy Protection Failed” error message appearing on some peoples TV’s. This was an HDCP issue that we have corrected.
NB:We will be releasing version notes on our website shortly so you can track what is happening on our software updates
Rebooting
It hasn’t happened to me yet but if your box hangs you can reboot it by simply turning the power off at the wall socket, wait a few seconds and power on again.
Its important to note that a reboot is not a software update. Leave your decoder in standby after turning the power on and if it needs to it will perform the software update as described above.
Stinkyfruit's Blog 
Hi
This is a great blog, very useful. For my case, I think sware is updated (v3.0s2), but I get a LOT of hanging. Subscribed only 4 mths ago, this is my second decoder (replaced abt a month ago). 2 things happen, the first more often than the second: 1) Picture freezes and sound continues live, and can reboot at the decoder without switching off at the plug/electricity mains, or 2) black screen, no pic or sound, and have to reboot by switching off at the plug.
Seems to happen when I try to go to Home>Planner to access recordings. I’m on PVR, no switcher, have HD, have about 20 recordings (episodes, not movies, mostly non-HD). Worried that constant rebooting – I have to do this a lot – will spoil the decoder. If you need more info pls let me know. Appreciate any help you can give.
Thanks bro.
Sorry AI but I no longer work there.
Possible your decoder is getting too hot. Make sure it’s not sitting on top of other equipment and has good air circulation.
If it continues you’ll need to call them.
Good luck
Justin
After days of using b.yond, i noticed that astro b.yond is using linux? correct me if i’m wrong. btw, usb port is will be used, right? (with full hopes it used to watch movies, plays music or bla3..and turn astro b.yond decoder to a home entertaiment system.) haha im a bit dreamy
Yeah I think its linux but don’t really know for sure.
There is absolutely no technical reason why that front USB couldn’t allow you to plug in and play your personal stuff. All that needs to happens is a flick of a switch in HQ. I think Astro is missing the point by not turning it on especially with things like WDTV on the market.
Me too. I just registered Astro Beyond but the official said I have to wait 2 weeks to see the program. Well I can wait only till 20 December 2010, otherwise I will complain and I regret buying a new HDTV, installing Astro Beyond 😦
Complain about what?
Look this is a, or was a, blog about the technical aspects of the decoder. It’s not a sounding board for complaints, go to the lowyat forums or better still CALL ASTRO
really f#ck astro b.yond!!!! i have spent nearly rm50 to call the really #ucking customer services to solve the ‘please insert your correct astro smart card’ problem. if you think i have the wrong card you bullshit!! almost 6 month i subscibe the b.yond what i get is nothing than the blue screen and FU*CK message!!!!!! SAY NO TO B.YOND!
I don’t know what you think venting on here is going to do? I don’t work there anymore and you have given no real information to help trouble shoot what your problem is which is probably why you still aren’t getting anywhere.
There is no blue screen when there is an error, it’s black.
Suggest you claim down and write an email to Astro detailing exactly what is wrong if you are not happy about waiting on a call.
Make sure to include
Your smart card number,
Account number and IC number
Tv brand and module
How you are connecting (hdmi, composite cable?)
Take a screen shot of the error and attach it for them to see. Is there an error code?
Lastly if you post on here again with that language I will delete you, so grow up.
I just installed Astro Byond today. When i start the byond it comes out first “Your Smart Card is inactive. Please call Astro customer service to activate”. The installer told me that astro system can’t activate it and ask me to wait for few hours. Two hours later i switched on the decoder and this message on the screen “Please insert your Astro Smart Card”. So what’s should i do??
Dude , what are the new updates for v3.0s ?!
hey justin , i am just wondering what are the new updates of the new Astro Byond Software V3.0?
Mostly it’s enabling the decoder for some stuff that will be released shortly
cool ! Do you know anything about the new stuff?
Maybe it is about the USB cable ?
Hi Justin,
Good forum here.
I’ve a query about recording on a HDD of non-WD (as you’ve specified in earlier post here). I was wondering if ASTRO will in the near future allow a recording on the Byond to be transferred to another HDD other that the specified WD My Passport AV 320? I’ve lots of recorded cartoons and other programs that I’d like to save. Pls advice.
Technically it is possible but when your none approved HDD fails you will blame Astro even thought it is not our fault.
I think once HDD become more stable for media storage like this Astro will allow other brands but ultimately future will tell, sorry I don’t know
just changed to byond, upgraded the software to 2.0 but it still give me the smart card problem, try standby, on/off power from wall plug but still it said that the smart card is incorrect. why???? already compare the smart card and the astro byond documentation… it matched but still get the smart card is incorrect? Already complain to astro about this. This problem occurred since 1.30pm today until now.. Got any hints? Tq.
Hi Anwar,
It’s not clear from your message if you are using the card which came with the decoder or a different card? A different card will not work, it must be the card that came with it.
If it is still not working this morning call again and say “my Astro b.yond smart card is not activated”. Then ask them just how long it will take. Activation normally takes around 30 minutes.
Hey justin , just wondering whether Astro would be introducing new HD Channels in the near future ? hehe , i’m kinda of getting bored of this 8 channels , and oh yeah i know about the new Astro Supersport 3 but can u tell Astro to make a Astro Supersport 3 HD? just wondering if u know whether Astro will introduce new HD Channels in the near future
Cheers ,
Ariff
Hi Mate
Definitely will be more channels. ASSP3 won’t be HD though, sorry.
I don’t know dates or channels, that’s a closely guarded secret with the programming team. I’ll find out a few days before they do a press release so basically I know about it when you do too.
Thx Mate
Oh great , i Changed my faulty byond box bcoz of the error , it was okay untill NOW , this time though, IT IS THE STUPID SMART CARD , it says : Invalid Smart Card , Please insert smart card properly , but the problem is , IT IS INSERTED PROPERLY , i try taking it out and put it back again , its ok for a few SECONDS and the same stupid message keeps coming out , i calledd Astro Customer Service , the girl said this happens to A LOT of byond subscriberss bcoz the factory that producces this box is not doing their job very WELL, so i gonna change to a new byond box tmmorow , but just in case , stinkyfruit , do u know how to fix the problem that i mentioned above ? BTW : I Have already inserted the smart card properly , i have already blown out the dust or watever in the smart card or the place where i insert it , I Have already shut it down for 1 HOUR and on it back , but it still is the same , so any other ideas? is it the smart card that is faulty right now?
The only time I’ve seen that error is when you put a card that is not paired to the b.yond decoder into the box.
You can not inter-change smart cards with b.yond it must be the card that comes with the decoder.
That said, I’m sorry I can’t give you any more advise as you’ve done the right thing by contacting the service centre.
thx for ur response anyways , i have grown tired of this astro byond problems , so i am gonna change to normal astro in the next few months , sorry , but ur service of astro byond really bugs me a lot , so now i prefer the older box becoz after 10 years of using that box , it didnt give me A SINGLE PROBLEM ..so now i prefer SD eventhought HD is awesome
I’m sorry to hear that. Hope you will reconsider once this issue gets resolved.
Cheers,
Justin
Hi, im having the infamous Copy Protection Failed blank screen when trying to watch HD channels. Strangely, the FWC HD channels worked fine (825+). My firmware version is V2.0s2 so i dont think a firmware update is required? Hope u can help, thanks!
What model TV do you have?
Are you connecting the HDMI direct to the TV?
Pull the HDMI cable out turn the tv off and then plug the cable back in. Turn the TV on.
Hi, thanks for your response. My TV model is NEC PX-50XM3, it comes with DVI-D 24-pin HD input instead of HDMI. I have HDMI-DVI cable and bought another HDMI-DVI adaptor (used with normal HDMI cable) just for Byond. I have tried connecting with WDTV, Bluray player and HD laptop via HDMI and receive the HD signal perfectly. It just doesn’t work with Byond.
I have tried your suggested method a few times but still no luck. Any ideas?
PS: Now having recording problems (using PVR), sometimes can record sometimes cannot; a lot of recorded programs are lost for no reason. Contacted Astro and they said this is being experienced by a lot of other customers, and will be resolved with future firmware upgrade. WTH??
Hi there again
Must be HDMI in to transfer the copy protection (HDCP) from B.yond to the TV. Adding a step in-between stops the copy protection from handshaking with the TV and therefore no signal
It’s one thing we have been very clear about. You need an HDMI connection to view HD.
Failed recordings could be due to many reasons. The firmware upgrade will help pinpoint by giving an error code telling us what happened.
Any ideas bro?
Sorry mate, I missed your reply earlier.
We didn’t have any HDCP on our World Cup channels this is why it was no issue then but now our channel partners have made us use it.
As far as I know we have never supported HDCP over anything but a HDMI-HDMI connection and this is why all our marketing has been pushing that message about using a tv with a HDMI connection.
Hi, thanks for your quick reply!
I wish to disagree on your conclusion for the HDMI-DVI connection to view HD. When using HDMI-DVI cable, there no “step in-between”, the cable has HDMI plug on one end and DVI plug on the other end. As you may know, HDMI is (for video signal) electrically compatible with DVI and no conversion is required.
Otherwise, my Bluray player will not be able to output a signal due to HDCP failure. Also, any explanation why the FIFA World Cup HD channels on Byond worked fine?
Since even TVs with HDMI inputs are having the same HDCP problems, I would suggest that the issue is with the Byond decoder and not my TV. Hope you can check and reconfirm.
Thanks for the info on recording, hope this will be resolved very soon! Cheers.
Hello Sir,
Just received my byond and installed last saturday without any problem. However, my firmware still 1.0 and yet to upgraded to 2.0. I’ve tried several method written here like on off, plug in plug out the cable, wait 5 minutes etc but my decoded still did not go into update mode. Is the updating stops already? So far no problem with the current firmware, but I did missed out the likes of red button interactive action especially on world cup 2010.
Hi Shamsul
Leave the decoder in standby mode and go to bed. It will do it when it’s ready to. Normally 5 minutes is enough but some times longer is needed.
wow, did u also watched the game?haha…alright. now i’m leaving the decoder in standby mode. Will let you know if my decoder update itself when I wake up to work in anothr 2 hours :-S
morning Justin,
Just on my decoder and nope, mine still has not been updated. Gonna leave the decoder on standby again until this evening and see how.
Hi Justin,
I guess my decoder simply refused to update it self over the 12 hours duration i left it be. Any other reason why this is not happening? Satellite point selection perhaps? I received a great signal from point 18 of measat 3a.
Nah satellite point is just a monitoring tool. I think you need to call up and let them know you are unable to perform a firmware update.
okay..was hoping i dont have to ring them up coz most probably they’ll give everything that was already written here. Thanks anyway!!!
Hello , i hve a problem with my Astro B.yond box , like most of the people above me , the picture ‘freezes’ and the box displays the no.1 only , its like the whole thing just ‘HANG’.I tried to off the byond box and on it again . it worked for a moment untill the whole thing just ‘freezes’ again.and i keep trying this but the SAME thing happens …What SHOULD I DO?!!!(Called The Astro Customer service 1000x but they say they will send someone here but so far no one has came …=.= 😦
Hi Ariff,
Put B.yond in standby
Turn the power off at the wall.
remove the plug.
wait 30 seconds
put the plug back in
turn the power on.
Do nothing. Don’t touch the decoder or the remote, go and get a coffee.
While you are getting your coffee the decoder will firstly reboot and then it will do a software upgrade this could take 5 minutes to start so don’t interrupt it by turning the decoder on or pressing any buttons on the remote either.
If after 10 minutes there has been nothing turn the decoder on.
Take note of the version number by pressing the TV button and looking at the bottom right, it should be something like v2.0s
let me know how that goes.
i found out that many of the Astro B.yond Subscribers face this problem ..The Box ‘Hangs’ a lot of time .While we are watching tv , the picture ‘freezes’ and the box displays various numbers , i think this problem is mentioned below me , If u reboot it , like i did , its okay , but only for a limited time b4 it goes into ‘hang’ mode , i think Astro reallly needs to fix thiss problem or their sales of astro byond might fall , is it the problem with the Astro B.yond box ? ( If it is , why so many Astro byond boxes have the SAME problem ? ) Or is it a bug that astro havent fixed yet ? i hope u can answer this as it might play a big role for Astro byond’s popularity within the malaysian citizens.
Ariff,
If the box is faulty it will be replaced.
It is NOT something affecting a lot of boxes.
You have not replied to my questions and I don’t think you have allowed the decoder to perform an upgrade properly as described.
mcm mne nak record vid dlm byond? saia cube memasukkan thumdrive di decoder byond dn press button rec tapi dia kata “PVR functionality not availble’ dan ‘your smart card is not authorised for pvr functionalities,please call astro costumer service for assistance’ apa prlu saya buat?????? boleh x kalian menerangkan 1 pr 1? my byond 2.0.1.002
Sorry my Malay is poor.
Currently only the WD My Passport AV 320GB hard disk drive works with the byond decoder and you also need to subscribe to enable it’s functions. A thumb drive is too small to record anything and will not work
Cheers
Just got my astro b.yond installed yesterday afternoon. Was working fine for 15 mins when the installer was here. Signal strength is about 198-214… signal quality is full.
Problem was, when I tried it again last night.. the decoder couldn’t stop hanging. I re-booted it many times over and it still hangs after less than 5 mins. What could be the problem?
Could it be due to the concealed cabling? Signal strength seems ok though… Thanks.
Is this still happening today?
Look at the version number on the home screen, it should say b.yond v2.0
hi, mine is version 2.0, but the problems is still exist…hangs all the time even in stand by mode…with various numbers, 6,2,1…care to clarify?tq
What do you mean by various numbers? Discribe what you mean by “hangging’ please. The more specific you are the easier it is to trouble shoot.
Try completely diss connecting the unit from power. Pull the power plug out of the wall.
Let it sit for 5 minutes then plug it back in and let it sit for another 5 minutes in standby mode, it might go into update mode.
Make sure it is well ventilated, don’t put anything on it.
The screen will ‘freeze’ and instead of the channel numbers at the decoder screen e.g. 825 for WC HD, the numbers that appear is either .1 , .2 , .3, or .6. I’ll need to shut down the power and reboot it again.
I’ll try to pull the power plug off for 5 minutes and put it on. see whether it work.
Please let me know what happens
it’s still happening…:(
I’m afriad something could be wrong with the box. I’m sorry you’ll need to call the customer service centre
The Astro tech came and change the box. That problem solved then but now a new problem occured i.e whenever I switch channel from HD to non-HD, most of the time the screen from the previous HD will ‘freeze’ with the sound ‘move’ on in the new non HD channel. It is kind like the sound ‘follows’ while the screen is not. is there something wrong with my setting? hope you understand though..
Not sure I understand properly.
When you change from HD to SD the picture freezes but the audio changes?
Can you describe your set up? Is it PVR or is it HDD enabled and connected or normal B.yond with no HDD,, have you got any recordings scheduled. Are you connected via a switcher etc etc
latest problem how? non-HD channel (SD) has become “super-zoom” / pillar boxed…..
haiya ass-telo wat happen….
If you read my blog you would know that this is getting replaced tomorrow morning.
hello! 🙂 Nice article on the software update. U work in astro? Gosh..I’ve installed the b.yond..but am at the verge of sending it back! Yeah, went and googled ‘b.yond + copyright protection failed’ coz after calling astro’s customer service for 10+ times about it…realize I’m getting nowhere with them. Hah. Still stuck with the same problem…along with an irritating 3-second blue screen that appears on my tv while watching astro. Gosh..I do miss my old school decoder..never had a problem till I installed b.yond. what to do..what to do…
Hi Kimmy,
Yes I work at Astro.
So you’re still getting this message?
Put the TV & B.yond in standby then turn the power off at the wall.
Pull the power cable for the TV & B.yond out of the wall socket.
Plug back in & power up the B.yond & TV.
Let me know if that fixes your problem.
it does work…thanks
Hello! Sorry for the late reply, was away for quite a bit.
Thanks so much for the tip to overcome the “copyright protection failed” problem. Yeah, the switching on and off again helped – was able to resume my tv watching!
H’ver, this problems keeps on repeating..at least 3-4 times a week. It’s pretty frustrating coz I always need to reboot the Box whenever I wanna watch the HD channels. Any longer term solution to this prob?
Been wondering if the problem originates from my TV since its a 4 year old Toshiba DLP Projection TV.
Thanks…greatly appreciate your suggestion..
Hi Kimmy
Welcome back. If your using a splitter or switch that can cause issues but if you’re connected directly then it should be fine. The lenght of the HDMI cable shouldn’t be too long as that can cause issues. I thing 13 ft is about the limit.
Appreciate that, cheers
You noticed the thumb drive. This is how we load beta software onto our decoders so we can do testing from home.
It has no other use yet so don’t worry about sticking a USB in there.
BTW, noticed that you have a handy drive plugged in. Testing anything? Hehe.
Yea man. I’ve always been intrigued with the engineering aspects of Astro. Bookmarked your blog dy.
Thanks Terence
Its great to have someone from inside Astro giving most up to date info of B.yond.
Thanks and keep the updates coming. 🙂