Amiko Mini HD SE North America

[anik]

I was just over at the FridgeFTA site and saw this post:

http://www.fridgefta.info/forums/showthread.php?tid=33423

The major differences with Mini HD SE are on the inside. Instead of the 400MHz ALi3606, Mini HD SE runs the latest dual core ALi3511 @ 600MHz. You can definitely tell that it is packing a ton more horsepower than any previous ALi box. It boots fast and responds pretty much instantly to everything. There really isn't the little lag you see with other boxes when opening menus or using features.

Unfortunately he doesn't say anything about the things I'd most like to know about, such as whether that extra processing power will let it receive 4:2:2, whether recordings can be saved to network shares or accessed from other computers on the network, whether you can schedule more than just a small number of recordings (eight is NOT enough!), etc. Also, in the past Amikos have been priced much too high for me to take a chance on, and he doesn't mention what the price of this one will be. But I am tentatively interested, and hope additional details will be posted soon!

 

[mmewrench]

No, no, no, and priced way to high (pretty near a C note). Don't insult yourself by thinking about it.

This is basically an updated version of the previous Mini HD with an updated processor, and a new gui. It is bare bones, probably only 64 sats, and a better than killer blind scan. I am sure it will be all that is promised, but nowhere near what you would expect. Ali based receivers don't do 4:22. If you want 4:22 along with bells and whistles, look for a sigma based receiver, or a DVB card for your PC.

 

[anik]

No, no, no, and priced way to high (pretty near a C note). Don't insult yourself by thinking about it.

This is basically an updated version of the previous Mini HD with an updated processor, and a new gui. It is bare bones, probably only 64 sats, and a better than killer blind scan. I am sure it will be all that is promised, but nowhere near what you would expect. Ali based receivers don't do 4:22. If you want 4:22 along with bells and whistles, look for a sigma based receiver, or a DVB card for your PC.

Thanks for that information. Two questions:

Can you give an example or two of a sigma based receiver?

Have you found a DVB device that works reliably for you? Note I did not say card, because none of my HTPC machines have card slots. From time to time I have looked at some of the TBS stuff, especially the TBS MOI which I had thought might be the answer to my dreams when i first heard about it, but for some reason it seems like hardly anyone uses those things, if forum posts are any indication, and the ones that do are guys like updatelee who uses them to chase signals, not watch TV. AND he writes his own software and even then it sounds like he has some difficulty getting them to work. Plus TBS wants way too much for that stuff (considering that the MOI is not even a full receiver there is no reason it should cost that much, IMHO, and the high price means that I cannot justify buying one with the idea that I MIGHT be able to get it to work, plus I don't think it will do 4:2:2). Anyway, while I have a small bit of familiarity with Ubuntu Linux, the minute you mention the word "compile" my blood runs cold and I start thinking those kinds of devices are not designed for people like me.

 

[pwrsurge]

The only brand of receivers that uses the Sigma processing platform is AzBox. The AzBox miniMe American Edition supports 4:2:2 and is the only current STB model that best meets your requirements.

 

[anik]

The only brand of receivers that uses the Sigma processing platform is AzBox. The AzBox miniMe American Edition supports 4:2:2 and is the only current STB model that best meets your requirements.

And if only you could buy them in the United States, I might actually consider one.

Show me just ONE web site that offers the miniMe (or any other AzBox product for that matter) on their web site. I don't mean a company that can get them, I mean a company that actually shows the receiver on its web site, with a price and feature list and everything. I go to the United States site in your signature and they aren't there. I see you have a link to dealers, and there are two in the United States (only two?) but one does not even appear to offer products on their site, and the other does offer a handful of receivers, but no AzBox models among them.

When I see that, I always wonder what is wrong with this receiver, that even the "authorised AzBox US dealers" won't feature the receiver on their web sites!

EDIT: After finding this review, I think I am starting to understand the problem in marketing these. Maybe if I could actually get my hands on one of these for a period of time, I could review it and see if any of the issues mentioned in that review have been resolved. But somebody would need to figure out how to get one to me first, since as I mentioned, it seems that for now, you can't buy them here. Only in Canada, pity!

EDIT 2: And then I noticed the last few comments on the MiniME in this thread. Not exactly a recommendation. But it also begs the question: Apparently Rick was an AzBox dealer at some point, so why is he no longer listed as one?

This is why I sometimes tend to think "f--- all this authorized dealer nonsense". There always seems to be so much drama surrounding who is or isn't an authorized dealer, and we are told we should not buy from this dealer or that dealer, but yet when you start thinking about maybe wanting to buy from an authorized dealer, they don't even list the receivers on their web site. And you distributors really wonder why people are buying clones off of eBay, when you make the authorized product hard to get AND it doesn't seem to be any more reliable than one of the clones?

Not that I would buy a clone, but I am starting to understand why it happens, given how difficult it seems to be to get a desirable and high-quality product from an authorized dealer. And it seems like every time a decent receiver does appear, a few are sold and then nobody seems to have any more of them in stock. What a stupid way to market equipment. :rant:

EDIT 3: Yikes! Found this post on Rick's that questions the reliability of AzBox receivers. I would hope what is being discussed there is not typical, because I would also be leaving my receiver on 24/7 (at least "on" enough to record scheduled programs).

 

[pwrsurge]

EDIT 3: Yikes! Found this post on Rick's that questions the reliability of AzBox receivers. I would hope what is being discussed there is not typical, because I would also be leaving my receiver on 24/7 (at least "on" enough to record scheduled programs).

That post is specifically related to the power supply sub-board manufacturing flaw of the now discontinued AzBox Me model which can cause the receiver to become unstable after extended use. The AzBox miniMe was not impacted by this issue as it was designed with only a single integrated main board with no sub-boards.

 

[anik]

That post is specifically related to the power supply sub-board manufacturing flaw of the now discontinued AzBox Me model which can cause the receiver to become unstable after extended use. The AzBox miniMe was not impacted by this issue as it was designed with only a single integrated main board with no sub-boards.

Out of everything in that post, that was the thing you chose to comment on? I can't figure you out, pwrsurge. You act like you want to sell AzBox receivers but whenever it is pointed out that you just can't buy one from any of your authorized dealers, you totally ignore that. Are you hoping to influence the Canadians on here, and just don't give a rat's behind about us Americans?

I just can't understand why anyone would have "Authorized Dealers" that won't even carry their products. What possible advantage do you get from disappointing potential purchasers in this way?

Are you hoping that people will want one so badly that they will order it from a Canadian dealer and then run the risk of having to pay import duty and/or having it tied up in customs for who knows how long? If so then why not just do away with the pretense of having American dealers?

Like I say, I just can't wrap my head around what is going on here, nor why you are so silent about it whenever this subject is brought up. If you weren't on here promoting your receivers that would be one thing, but to show up and promote something that's effectively unavailable to most Americans (since, by and large, Americans are not interested in ordering expensive electronic items from outside the country) just boggles my mind. And to lead us on by having a USA site that doesn't offer the products for sale, and then has links to dealers that don't offer the products, well that is an enigma that just makes no sense no matter how you look at it.

 

[pwrsurge]

Thank you for your feedback. Although I am not the person handling dealer relations, we are well aware of the current supply issues with our authorized AzBox US dealers. However, this will be fixed within the next few weeks one way or the other as we are in the process of signing up additional dealers in the United States who have recently expressed interest in carrying our products.

 

[mmewrench]

The only brand of receivers that uses the Sigma processing platform is AzBox. The AzBox miniMe American Edition supports 4:2:2 and is the only current STB model that best meets your requirements.

Stepped right into it, didn't you?

 

[Vondertrenk]

Going back to the original question ( New Amiko Mini-HD with Ali 600 Mhz), does anyone had a chance to test it? Is it worth to buy it? Price?

 

[anik]

Just an experiment I decided to call the two sites listed as dealers on the AzBox USA site. I first called "Davey Holdings DBA GotCband" in Prospect, KY, which offers receivers on their web site, but not any AzBox models. I actually got "Dave" and asked him if he sold the AzBox MiniMe and he replied, "no". I thanked him and just as I was about to hang up, he added, almost as an afterthought, "I could probably order one from the guy in Canada." I said no, that's okay, and thanked him and hung up. My thinking is, I would not want someone to special order one receiver for me, because if I have any problems with it they would likely be very reluctant to take it back, since they would have to pay return shipping on it.

I next called eScapes Network in Monroe, MI. Since they do not offer satellite receivers on their web site, my first question was, "Do you sell satellite receivers?" And the answer to that was, "No. Are you a network that needs a receiver?" I explained that I was not, that I was just an individual, and that I had found their company listed on a web site as an authorized dealer. The guy I was talking to seemed very surprised by that and asked for the address of the site, which I gave him. I assume he looked it up because he then said something to the effect that he remembered that they'd had a shipment of those come through but they had all been sent out, but (I didn't quite understand this part) one of the people they deal with might still have some. So he was going to check and send me an e-mail if they find any. Again, my fear is that I would be getting into a situation where whatever I get would have no support behind it.

The more I dig into this the less I feel I want to have anything to do with this company or their "authorized dealers". This in no way has anything to do with the quality of AzBox receivers themselves, which may in fact be very good, and everything to do with the company that claims to be the only authorized distributor for the US and Canada (I say "claims" because I have read a few things that cause me to question whether that is accurate). The funny thing is that the internet is a wealth of information. For example there is an article online at http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/canadians-buying-tv-antennas-to-watch-super-bowl-ads-1.1393287 that contains this quote:

In the Greater Toronto Area, Serge Cormier of Dr. Sat said he's seen a run on free-to-air satellite installations leading into the Super Bowl. Those satellites provide a higher quality picture.

Emphasis added. Now what happens if I type "whois azbox.us" into a terminal window?

$ whois azbox.us
Domain Name: AZBOX.US
Domain ID: D38653056-US
Sponsoring Registrar: FAST DOMAIN INC.
Sponsoring Registrar IANA ID: 1154
Registrar URL (registration services): whois.fastdomain.com
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited
Registrant ID: FAST-19461882
Registrant Name: SERGE CORMIER
Registrant Organization: AzBox Canada
Registrant Address1: PO BOX 64035
Registrant City: Oakville
Registrant State/Province: Ontario
Registrant Postal Code: L6L 0A1
Registrant Country: Canada
Registrant Country Code: CA
Registrant Phone Number: +1.4166696607
Registrant Email: info@azbox.ca
Registrant Application Purpose: P1
Registrant Nexus Category: C31/US
Administrative Contact ID: FAST-19461882
Administrative Contact Name: SERGE CORMIER
Administrative Contact Organization: AzBox Canada
Administrative Contact Address1: PO BOX 64035
Administrative Contact City: Oakville
Administrative Contact State/Province: Ontario
Administrative Contact Postal Code: L6L 0A1
Administrative Contact Country: Canada
Administrative Contact Country Code: CA
Administrative Contact Phone Number: +1.4166696607
Administrative Contact Email: info@azbox.ca
Administrative Application Purpose: P1
Administrative Nexus Category: C31/US
Billing Contact ID: FAST-19461882
Billing Contact Name: SERGE CORMIER
Billing Contact Organization: AzBox Canada
Billing Contact Address1: PO BOX 64035
Billing Contact City: Oakville
Billing Contact State/Province: Ontario
Billing Contact Postal Code: L6L 0A1
Billing Contact Country: Canada
Billing Contact Country Code: CA
Billing Contact Phone Number: +1.4166696607
Billing Contact Email: info@azbox.ca
Billing Application Purpose: P1
Billing Nexus Category: C31/US
Technical Contact ID: FAST-19461883
Technical Contact Name: Eric White
Technical Contact Organization: Netfirms
Technical Contact Address1: 10 Corporate Dr., Suite 300
Technical Contact City: Burlington
Technical Contact State/Province: Massachusetts
Technical Contact Postal Code: 01803
Technical Contact Country: United States
Technical Contact Country Code: US
Technical Contact Phone Number: +1.8663174678
Technical Contact Facsimile Number: +1.7812726550
Technical Contact Email: support@netfirms.com
Name Server: NS1.GOLDPHX.NET
Name Server: NS2.GOLDPHX.NET
Created by Registrar: FAST DOMAIN INC.
Last Updated by Registrar: FAST DOMAIN INC.
Domain Registration Date: Thu Dec 27 18:42:27 GMT 2012
Domain Expiration Date: Fri Dec 26 23:59:59 GMT 2014
Domain Last Updated Date: Wed Dec 11 12:24:03 GMT 2013

>>>> Whois database was last updated on: Thu Jan 30 19:44:50 GMT 2014 <<<<

Hmmm, Serge Cormier again. And what about azbox.ca?

$ whois azbox.ca
Domain name: azbox.ca
Domain status: registered
Creation date: 2010/11/11
Expiry date: 2014/11/11
Updated date: 2013/12/26

Registrar:
Name: Tucows.com Co.
Number: 156

Registrant:
Name: Gold Phoenix Consultants Inc. of Ontario

Administrative contact:
Name: Serge Cormier
Postal address: PO Box 64035
Oakville ON L6L0A1 Canada
Phone: +1.4162384123
Fax:
Email: serge@nubgc.com

Technical contact:
Name: Serge Cormier
Postal address: PO Box 64035
Oakville ON L6L0A1 Canada
Phone: +1.4162384123
Fax:
Email: serge@nubgc.com

Name servers:
ns1.goldphx.net
ns2.goldphx.net

% WHOIS look-up made at 2014-01-30 19:47:59 (GMT)
%
% Use of CIRA's WHOIS service is governed by the Terms of Use in its Legal
% Notice, available at http://www.cira.ca/legal-notice/?lang=en
%
% (c) 2014 Canadian Internet Registration Authority, (http://www.cira.ca/)

The problem with this is we have here a guy who keep promoting his "Authorized Dealers" and yet we find out that he actually IS one of his own authorized dealers, unless by sheer coincidence there are two Serge Cormiers in the Greater Toronto area that are both in the FTA satellite business. And THEN in his most recent post, he says this:

Thank you for your feedback. Although I am not the person handling dealer relations, we are well aware of the current supply issues with our authorized AzBox US dealers.

(emphasis added)

Pardon me if I am a bit incredulous, but it's starting to sound to me like Dr. Sat, AzBox Canada, and AzBox USA are all one operation, so how can he not handle "dealer relations", especially if he's also the biggest dealer?

Now if I type "Dr. Sat" Ontario onto Google, it shows an address of 505 Pinegrove Rd, Oakville, ON L6K 2C2 - now I know Google is not always 100% accurate but what is interesting about it is that if you go to Google Street view you see this:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=505+...oid=2vhKUaX3F3_TqOPzT1BmVQ&cbp=12,312.34,,0,0

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=505+...oid=PMj8CaGeBzhdXrj6QlDulg&cbp=12,287.83,,0,0

There are two slightly different views there; one shows the front of the store (with satellite dish in front) more clearly, and the other shows the sign (move around a bit if you have trouble seeing either). Basically it appears the store is in a strip mall called Pinegrove Plaza. This is a close up view of the front of the store:

https://www.google.com/maps/preview...=X&ei=ZbHqUvPQIKKkyQGN3IGQCQ&ved=0CIQBEKIqMAs

Personally I have nothing against one-man operations, in fact it seems like many FTA satellite equipment retailers are one-man operations. What does leave a bad taste in my mouth, though, is when you are a one man operation but try to position yourself as the only authorized distributor for not one, but two countries, and then purport to set up a dealer network but you are one of your own dealers, and your other dealers act like they've never heard of your receiver until they think about it for a while, and then their response is to the effect of, "maybe we can get one."

I assume that part of the issue is that you can't sell enough receivers to run an international location. Otherwise, someone with a primary location in the GTA could rent a storefront, or even just a small storage unit in Niagara Falls or Buffalo, New York and store product there for the U.S. market, and hire someone to sell and ship them from there. Whenever that location needs more receivers, he could just load up his car or van with as many as he can fit and he (or his employee) could make the drive and take another batch through customs - as long as they are a legal product there should not be any issue.

I once knew a woman that had a small mobile home sales operation in a border city, and she used to sell mobile homes to Canadians occasionally, and I KNOW that was a lot more hassle because not only did she have to have special order a home and have the factory do the electrical work to Canadian standards (with some additional work once it reached her sales lot), but she also had to pay a Hydro inspector to come over and do an inspection before they would even let it cross the border, and if he found anything he didn't like (and he often did) she would have to get that fixed before it could make the crossing. So I have to think it would be a lot simpler to load up a car trunk and back seat with a bunch of satellite receivers and make the crossing every few weeks (after the first trip or two he'd know exactly what Customs wants to see), and that way he'd avoid having the receivers get stuck in postal customs hell. Plus, with the availability of tools like Skype and tablet computers, there is no reason he could not walk an employee through whatever needs to be done. But if you aren't selling enough receivers to sustain a U.S. location and/or an additional employee, then the point is moot.

I am not sure if there is any real point to this post other than that the more I find out, the less inclined I am to order an AzBox unless I can get one through some other channel, even though under ordinary circumstances I would probably have a preference for that receiver. But now I am leaning more toward one of the Amiko Alien models, since at least they will stream 4:2:2 to the local network (or so I am told), unless something better appears real soon now. I'm basically just trying to do my homework right now so that when spring comes I have a pretty good idea what I want to purchase.

 

[catamount]

Nothing new here! Alll been discussed before!

 

[anik]

Going back to the original question ( New Amiko Mini-HD with Ali 600 Mhz), does anyone had a chance to test it? Is it worth to buy it? Price?

The way they are talking at Fridge, there won't be any available to purchase until at least this weekend, but you knew that already. I haven't heard of anyone else bringing those in but kind of lost interest after the responses to my initial question in this thread. I don't care if a receiver sings, dances, and walks the dog; if it doesn't stream 4:2:2 to computers on the network in some way then it is not very useful to me. That's also why I never really put any effort into seeing if my old Diamond 9000HD could be fixed; it really did not do what I wanted it to do, and I figured my money would be better spent on a newer receiver if I could actually find one that does what I want and is actually available for sale from an at least somewhat reputable source.

 

[anik]

Nothing new here! Alll been discussed before!

Yeah, I am starting to figure that out, but either I didn't see it before or don't remember it.

 

[anik]

Not to beat a dead horse, but here's another thing. eBay user docsat which is actually Dr. Sat is selling "AzBox miniMe American Edition" receivers on eBay (a current link as I write this is here), from Canada of course. No problem with that, except at the bottom of the listing he displays this HUGE badge icon that says "Authorised Dealer" (note the Canadian spelling) and "Click to verify". And if you do click to verify, guess where it takes you? To the "Authorized dealer profile" on azbox.ca!

So, yeah, Dr. Sat (Mr. Cormier) is an authorized dealer of AzBox Canada (also Mr. Cormier). I don't know, but where I come from that seems an awful lot like trying to pull the wool over people's eyes. I'm not saying anything about the legality of something like that, since I am not a lawyer, but in my mind a trick like that just seems a bit deceptive. But that's just my own personal opinion.

 

[Kraven]

Not worth losing sleep over.

Cheers, K

Ps: if there's an fta receiver that will walk the dog...am buying two!


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