Inexpensive HD FTA receivers from Far East on e-bay

[DK_Sat]

How do you compere you new receiver to any other HD receiver you have.

 

[Hockeynut]

Thanks polygiver...your effort confirms it is an Ali 3510 processor.With that being said the Amiko mini HD has the Ali 3606 and its satellite limits are 62.I am not sure what the Pansat 9500 has for an Ali processor but its limits are 99 sats.Has anyone yet tried building a NA list for this box? and if so what are its limits with the # of sats.No biggie if this has not been done yet as I am wondering of this box`s limitations than anything else.This will be one of the first things I do once the 2 I have ordered arrive.

Another curious question.Has anyone tinkered around with all it`s switching options?.Diseqc commands?..Anything more than a 4x1..say a 8x1 or a 16x1 and 22Khz options?..I can answer these question in due time but it will be a couple weeks or so before my units arrive.Curious minds want to know now tho...lol...

 

[Titanium]

This is Ali's current basic 594MHz SOC chip. Designed for entry level integration. From a developers standpoint, light on expansion options, but potential for good FTA DVB S/S2 performance if paired with a sensitive tuner. Uses the standard ALI SDK.

The ALI SDK default DiSEqC 1.2 support is 64 positions. It is up to the developers if to increase. Supporting less than 99 positions is not a limitation of the chipset.

 

[Hockeynut]

So what do ya think Titanium..Are we looking at a list of 62 sats at the most?

 

[iBoston]

Has anyone tested USALS? I bought the Vigica 60. An android/DVBs2 STB and it didn't calculate USALS correctly for our side of the pond in the U.S. Other than that, it was a nice unit. If i had decided to use it, i would have had to use Diseqc instead of USALS for my KU band.

As for the number of satellites, it had way more than 60 satellites. They were all Eastern birds. I had to manually create the Western birds.

 

[Hockeynut]

iboston...This thread was started refering to the no name STB..The one if you type in STB DVBS2 over there at fleabay!.You have discussed a couple different STB`s and one being Android based so I have to ask......Are you saying this no name brand STB has way more than 60 sats?...Are you saying the no name STB does not work with USALS correctly?..And if you are refering to the no name STB did you use an ALI editor to create a NA list or the remote?

Thank you for clarification.

 

[Titanium]

So what do ya think Titanium..Are we looking at a list of 62 sats at the most?

My guess is that this is just a standard SDK with no additional development. If so, 64 max satellites and if they didn't mess with ALI USALS default should be accurate +/-70.

All speculation, but typical for all ALI chipsets. Make sure to use an Ali editor designated for that chipset. I would suggest to read and archive the ABS file (in case you must recover), edit and write-back as ABS. User databases memory allocations are usually where corruption happens on ALI chipsets during write-back.

 

[iBoston]

iboston...This thread was started refering to the no name STB..The one if you type in STB DVBS2 over there at fleabay!.You have discussed a couple different STB`s and one being Android based so I have to ask......Are you saying this no name brand STB has way more than 60 sats?...Are you saying the no name STB does not work with USALS correctly?..And if you are refering to the no name STB did you use an ALI editor to create a NA list or the remote?

Thank you for clarification.

This is a FAR east STB that was purchased on Aliexpress. If i am off topic then i digress. But, this was a cheapo unit i bought and it was totally geared towards the East as it had all Eastern birds. Being the USALS did NOT properly work on it, I just want to make sure others are aware that i ran into that problem. I did NOT use AliEditor, i manually created a few birds through the STB itself. I cannot do any further discovery on it, as I had ROOTED the device, and was being reckless with it, and ended up making it a paper weight.

Here are the specs i found on the unit :

CPU AML8726-MX Up to 1.5GHz ARM Cortex Dual-core A9 + 1080P
GPU Mali-400 GPU
Memory DDRIII 1GB
Flash Nand Flash 4GB (Support 8GB.16Gb.32GB)

 

[Corrado]

For someone that just wanted to get their feet wet with FTA and not spend much money, one of these receivers would be just fine. Someone that just wanted a few channels scanned in to watch without scanning the skies regularly. Maybe just a MeTV or PBS viewer.

The more advanced hobbyists are better off with a supported receiver with more features.

For those with one of these:

How is the picture quality? How is the timer recording? Does it keep time?

 

[DK_Sat]

I have order mine on Feb 4 i did not get it yet, i will compere it to my S10 and the Coship DVB-S2 Mpeg-4
receiver.

 

[Cosmo Blatz]

For someone that just wanted to get their feet wet with FTA and not spend much money, one of these receivers would be just fine.

Disagree. I think a receiver like the Amiko Mini HD SE would be more suited for a beginner. The few extra dollars spent would be worth it to avoid dealing with a unit that is not programmed for the area. And, there's plenty of instructional information available for the Amiko.

The advanced user could program a cheap-o box to use as a 'meter' out at the dish. Say three birds; true south, east limit and west limit.

 

[DK_Sat]

Why you disagree, this no name HD receiver that cost $26 does the the same thing that the Amiko Mini HD that cost $99.

 

[Titanium]

Yes, both are satellite receivers.....

Does the "no name" stream live channels including 4:2:2 to Android and PCs?

Two year warranty? Customer support? Regular factory firmware upgrades? North American satellite list? Compliance, certifications and licenses?

You do get what you pay for...

 

[Hockeynut]

I have no clue if it will stream live ch`s Titanium...Nor will I ever find out as I have other ways to watch 4:2:2..We shall see if a NA sat list will be incorporated...Last box I bought just happens to be the Amiko Mini HD.that was close to 2yrs ago..Very happy with that box and if this no name comes close it is a deal for sure..Now I see the Long Shoreman are still having labor disputes on the west coast lots of shipping going to Mexico and Canada..I can only assume my 2 no names are coming to the east coast but there is no tracking for this on a freighter..lol..

 

[eurosport]

I'm still waiting for the one (besides my AzBox) that will output 4:2:2 straight from the receiver to my T.V.
Price is not a concern if and when it finally happens. Because I imagine my AzBox won't last forever.

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[iBoston]

Yes, both are satellite receivers.....

Does the "no name" stream live channels including 4:2:2 to Android and PCs?

Two year warranty? Customer support? Regular factory firmware upgrades? North American satellite list? Compliance, certifications and licenses?

You do get what you pay for...

For the reasons stated above, that is exactly why the cheap knock offs are for the 'In the Know' enthusiasts.

 

[wallyhts]

For the reasons stated above, that is exactly why the cheap knock offs are for the 'In the Know' enthusiasts.

I think it just depends you can know everything in the world about FTA let's use your word 'in the Know enthusiasts' but if something comes up. Let's say for example a crazy mux in NA is throwing off the STB which does happen. So even if your an "ITKE" without access to the SDK it will never get fixed. That's the draw back but if your cool with that save the money. There are other reason but firmware fixes are the biggest issue.

Nothing wrong with playing around with low cost stb's I do it all the time I have at least 25 but getting anything fixed in firmware does not happen.

 

[wallyhts]

I'm still waiting for the one (besides my AzBox) that will output 4:2:2 straight from the receiver to my T.V.
Price is not a concern if and when it finally happens. Because I imagine my AzBox won't last forever.

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Why not just use a PC with TBS card?

 

[eurosport]

Why not just use a PC with TBS card?

Don't want the bother of another computer to set up and find a home for it near the TV. Prefer the STB.

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[ancient]

Why not just use a PC with TBS card?

Just as a comment, that actually works quite well but the problem with 4:2:2 is that you need decent hardware at the TV to play it. For example, a Raspberry Pi (original or version 2) will not play it, even if you have installed the MPEG license, which allows playback of pretty much anything that's not 4:2:2, at least on a Raspberry Pi 2 (tested on a Raspberry Pi 2 running OpenElec with Kodi). I've actually wondered what is out there that will play 4:2:2 reliably, short of a full-blown desktop or a modern laptop computer. I doubt we will see a $50 or even a $100 device that will do it for quite some time, but it would be nice to find something in the range between $100 and $200 that will play a 4:2:2 stream without a hiccup.