GEOSATpro HDVR3500 - New DVBS2 STB - Photos and Initial Testing

[Titanium]

A few members and resellers have received samples of the new GEOSATpro HDVR3500 DVBS2 STB for testing. I received a unit to test and thought that we should start the thread with some product photos, features and our impressions. The suggested retail is $165.

The unit is a DVBS2 STB with IPTV and Linux Applications powered by a HiSilicon 3788M quad core ARM Cortex A7 @ 1.5GHz. Impressive 64GB internal flash memory. Front and rear USB, LAN and WiFi is standard. External 12Vdc/2A power supply. Single tuner with loop-through. HDMI and AV outputs with closed captioning overlay. The IR remote feels well balanced and sits well in my hand. I did notice that the remote needed to be aimed directly at the STB. Tons of buttons and I haven't started to explore them.

The satellite installation was simple and the menus feel familiar. The first screen has the user select the location and city for time zone. Next screen gave the option of selecting FTA or the Glorystar mode. North American satellite list is preloaded and are separated by C and KU bands. Supports 22KHz, DiSEqC 1.0/1.1/1.2 and USALS.

The scanning was accurate and blind scan was lightning FAST. Only 1:45 on for a full blind scan of 116.8W C-band! The tuner is sensitive and it found the same TPs and TV channels as the TBS 6983 card. As I surfed through the channel list, the SD deinterlace looked very good and pleasant to view with the 1080p output setting on a 42" monitor. The often problematic HD NBC channels played smooth without stutter. The channel banner shows a ton of information without having to go to the service information screen. The time display is in 24hr mode. Tested the closed captioning on a few channels when the CC indicator was displayed. As expected, Dolby audio is decoded onboard and plays through HDMI and AV L/R. I did not test the coaxial digital audio.

Was told that new firmware is about to be released, so I won't go into testing details until it is finalized. Overall, I like the look and feel of the unit and in reviewing the chipset specs, it has a lot of potential.

Next I will capture some screens...

 

[Comptech]

A few members and resellers have received samples of the new GEOSATpro HDVR3500 DVBS2 STB for testing. I received a unit to test and thought that we should start the thread with some product photos, features and our impressions. The suggested retail is $165.

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The unit is a DVBS2 STB with IPTV and Linux Applications powered by a HiSilicon 3788M quad core ARM Cortex A7 @ 1.5GHz. Impressive 64GB internal flash memory. Front and rear USB, LAN and WiFi is standard. External 12Vdc/2A power supply. Single tuner with loop-through. HDMI and AV outputs with closed captioning overlay. The IR remote feels well balanced and sits well in my hand. I did notice that the remote needed to be aimed directly at the STB. Tons of buttons and I haven't started to explore them.

The satellite installation was simple and the menus feel familiar. The first screen has the user select the location and city for time zone. Next screen gave the option of selecting FTA or the Glorystar mode. North American satellite list is preloaded and are separated by C and KU bands. Supports 22KHz, DiSEqC 1.0/1.1/1.2 and USALS.

The scanning was accurate and blind scan was lightning FAST. Only 1:45 on for a full blind scan of 116.8W C-band! The tuner is sensitive and it found the same TPs and TV channels as the TBS 6983 card. As I surfed through the channel list, the SD deinterlace looked very good and pleasant to view with the 1080p output setting on a 42" monitor. The often problematic HD NBC channels played smooth without stutter. The channel banner shows a ton of information without having to go to the service information screen. The time display is in 24hr mode. Tested the closed captioning on a few channels when the CC indicator was displayed. As expected, Dolby audio is decoded onboard and plays through HDMI and AV L/R. I did not test the coaxial digital audio.

Was told that new firmware is about to be released, so I won't go into testing details until it is finalized. Overall, I like the look and feel of the unit and in reviewing the chipset specs, it has a lot of potential.

Next I will capture some screens...

Sounds like a nice unit, any idea when they might ship? Sounds like a new toy to play with, can't wait.

 

[N5XZS]

Looking forward to it and thinking to upgrade to a new baby!

 

[Titanium]

The STBs are available for us to sell now, but I am going to hold off on selling until they finalize and release the new firmware.

You guys know me, I only sell products that I will use in my own home. I think the unit is getting real close to something that I would buy for myself.

BTW... I have tested the chipset before in Android STB samples and have been very impressed with it. Be interested in what else can be loaded! Maybe some SDR or other linux based applications? DVBUpdate, VLC, TS snooping?

 

[Martyn]

I don't see a USB socket ... is the DVR storage built in?

 

[Titanium]

It has 64GB flash internal and two USBs. One rear and one front behind the cover with the navigation buttons.

 

[. Raine]

That's nice that it has navigation buttons and a power button on it. That's one thing I really do not like about the MicroHD, no remote = useless. Big plus there.

 

[N6BY]

I saw it in person Tuesday at Titanium's shop when I went to pick up the LNBFs I won. He opened it up and the first thing that caught my eye was the 64GB internal memory SD card on a riser that plugs into the internal USB (inside the case). The unit is physically bigger than a MicroHD.

I plan on buying one when they become available.

 

[DK_Sat]

Does the GEOSATpro HDVR3500 do the XBMC/CODY

 

[Titanium]

XBMC is installed. I will ask how to upgrade to Kodi.

 

[Larry1]

Now I do realize that you have said that new software is on the way, buy with the microHD you had to trick the box if you wanted to have overlapping recordings on the same channel by making a second channel with the same specifications. This was a limitation in the ALI software. Do you know if this receiver, as it having a different CPU (with its current software, you have stated new software is coming) will allow you to overlap your recording timers? (satellite timers)

 

[Titanium]

Here are some screen captures of the satellite scan and the set-up screens

 

[Titanium]

And more screen shots.

 

[fred555]

Brian, in your opinion,
not having good Internet should not discourage someone from having one of these?
Looking at the screen captures, it does not seem to be as Internet dependent as the A3.

 

[. Raine]

I see in one picture that there's a USB priority option, choices of Internal, front and back. Can only one USB port be used at a time or is it that the STB will look at which ever one has priority first?

 

[Titanium]

The latest firmware has been released and I am very impressed with what they have accomplished! They have additional releases scheduled, but in my opinion, the HDVR3500 is ready for some playtime!

The update via the internet was simple and took about 30 seconds. I am running the unit in FTA mode. It kept my WiFi password, but I realized that I should have backed up my channel list first. They are aware that in the FTA mode the satellite settings and channels are overwritten with the default during the firmware upgrade, and this will be corrected in a future update. No biggy for me at this time, but good that it will protect user settings in the near future.

The USALS and DiSEqC 1.2 motor control is working very well and satellite / transponder list editing is available in the install menu. YouTube, Google Maps, Weather (in Celsius) work well. I am blown away at the streaming format types that it supports! I just realized that it supports both CC types of CC-608 and 708! I did notice that the channel banner does not always show CC is present, but if CC is activated, it is displayed. They are aware of this and it is being worked on. I was incorrect yesterday about having North American satellites installed.... Not only does it have the North American satellites, it is a global list.

I would agree that the unit seem much less dependent on an internet connection. I need to see how the time setting works in manual mode and how it keeps sync without internet connection, but that would be my main thought at this point. Easy enough to test, but haven't yet. It is updated via either Internet or satellite via G19 KU band as an automatic or manual function.

The USB option is just that. What is the first USB drive option presented by default. I was told that if a USB drive is plugged in the front port, it automatically becomes the default. If no USB drive is connected, the internal 64GB is the default.

Havent done any timer DVR yet, but the few things I did record have played back. Looks like there are good navigation keys during playback, but yet to be tested.

 

[fred555]

NTP uses so little bandwidth that it is not a show stopper for the Internet challenged among us.

(Network Time Protocol)

 

[N6BY]

Does it have a Sat->IP server for remote viewing on a smartphone, tablet, etc?

 

[N5XZS]

Will it handle 50 Hz video conversion to 1080p 60 Hz and any inprovement on video frame rate, less studder the better?

 

[PopcornNMore]

I like the graphics.