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Connect a MAG box or Formuler receiver to Tivo8k

Tivo8k on a MAG or Formuler receiver is set up differently from every other screen here, and for people with good speakers it often gives the best result. These boxes exist for one job: they plug into Ethernet, decode in hardware, and can pass audio to an amplifier without re-encoding it on the way. If you have spent money on speakers, this is the device that justifies them. Instead of typing a username and password into a player, you register the box against a portal using the MAC address printed on its underside.

A hand plugging a streaming stick into the HDMI port of a TV
About 8 minutes

The MAG and Formuler box setup in 7 steps

What this setup asks of you

  • A MAG box or a Formuler receiver, any current model
  • The MAC address from the label under the box (on a MAG it starts 00:1A:79)
  • An Ethernet cable, which is the whole point of this hardware
  • The Tivo8k portal URL, which we send once the MAC is registered

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  1. Understand why this setup is different

    Every other guide here has you typing a username and password into a player. These receivers work the other way round: the box is identified by the MAC address printed on its underside, and we register that address against the Tivo8k portal at our end. Nothing is typed into the box except the portal URL. That is why the MAC address is the first thing to find, and why it must be exact.

  2. Send us the MAC address

    Turn the box over and read the label. It is twelve characters in pairs, and on a MAG it begins 00:1A:79. Send it to the WhatsApp chat exactly as printed, colons included. A single wrong character produces a box that sits on a loading screen with no useful error, which is the most common support conversation on this hardware.

  3. Plug it in properly while you wait

    Use the Ethernet port. This is the one category of device bought specifically for wired decoding, and putting it on Wi-Fi discards the main reason for owning it. Connect the HDMI to the television, and if you have a receiver or amplifier, run the box into that rather than into the television, so the audio reaches the amplifier first and undiminished.

  4. Enter the portal URL

    On a MAG, open Settings, System Settings, Servers, Portals, and put the portal URL we send into Portal 1 URL; the name field above it can say anything. On a Formuler running MyTVOnline, add the portal in that application under its portal or connection settings, using the same URL. Save, then restart the box from the menu rather than by pulling the plug.

  5. Let it load the line-up

    After the restart the box fetches the whole line-up from the portal. This takes longer than a player on a phone does, sometimes a minute or two, and the screen will look static while it happens. Leave it. When it finishes you will have the groups, the guide and the on-demand sections.

  6. Set the audio output to pass through

    This is where this hardware earns its money. In the system settings, find the audio output or HDMI audio option and set it to pass through, AC3 pass-through, or whichever wording your model uses. That tells the box to hand the audio stream to your amplifier untouched rather than decoding it to stereo first. Set up this way, a MAG or Formuler typically gives the cleanest surround of any device covered on this site; on the wrong setting it gives you the worst of both worlds.

  7. Check the guide and the sound together

    Open a familiar channel and confirm the guide is filling with program names, which tells you the portal is fully connected rather than merely playing. Listen to what the amplifier reports. Then find a channel you know carries a second language and confirm you can reach it. If the guide is filling and the amplifier reports surround on a surround channel, the box is set up correctly and will stay that way.

Troubleshooting

MAG and Formuler box troubleshooting with Tivo8k

The fixes below are the ones we hand out most often for this hardware. If nothing plays on any screen at all, start with what to check when Tivo8k is not working.

The box sits on the loading screen and never finishes

Nearly always the MAC address, either mistyped when sent to us or not yet registered at our end. Send it again exactly as printed and we will check it against what we have.

The portal loads but every channel fails to play

Usually the portal URL rather than the registration, particularly a missing character at the end of it. Re-enter it carefully, save, and restart the box from the menu.

The amplifier reports stereo on a channel that should be surround

The audio output is still set to decode rather than pass through. Change it in the system settings as above. If it is already on pass through, the feed itself is stereo, which is normal for a large part of any line-up.

Everything worked and then stopped after a power cut

These boxes occasionally lose the portal setting when power is pulled rather than being shut down from the menu. Re-enter it and shut down properly in future, which takes a few seconds and prevents the whole problem.

The picture is perfect and the guide is empty

The line-up loaded but the guide data did not. Restart from the menu, and if it is still empty after that, tell us and we will look at it, because that is at our end rather than yours.

The remote is unresponsive after the portal loads

Give it a moment: these boxes are busy while the line-up and guide download, and the remote can lag noticeably during it. If it persists past a couple of minutes, restart from the menu rather than pulling the power.

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MAG and Formuler box questions about Tivo8k

Can one Tivo8k plan cover a MAG box and a phone?

Yes. The portal registration and the username and password are two doors into the same account, so use whichever suits each device. What the plan limits is how many screens play at the same moment, so a one-screen plan covers both as long as they are not playing together.

Is a MAG or Formuler worth buying?

If you have spent money on speakers, it is the device that justifies them, because it passes audio through cleanly and decodes in hardware over a wired connection. If you are watching on television speakers, a cheaper stick will do the same job.

Why does this use a MAC address rather than a password?

It is how the portal system these boxes were built around works. The account is tied to the hardware rather than to credentials you type in, which is convenient day to day and means telling us if you replace the box.

What happens if I buy a second box?

Send us the new MAC address and we register it. Whether both can play at once depends on your plan rather than on the boxes, so check the screen count if two televisions will be running together.

Do I need the newest Formuler model?

No. Any current MAG or Formuler decodes these feeds comfortably and passes audio through. The newer models are quicker in the interface rather than better at the thing that matters here.

Can I move the box to another house?

Yes, and nothing needs changing. The registration follows the MAC address of the box rather than an address or a connection, so it works wherever you plug it in.

Why does this hardware still exist?

Because it does one job properly. A wired decoder that passes audio through untouched is exactly what somebody with an amplifier wants, and few general-purpose streaming sticks quite match it. For everyone else it is more box than the job needs.

Written by Tivo8k Team · Last updated