AZ Box

[rogerduncan100]

Is AZ Box the best? (It looks like I am in the market for a new receiver)

 

[brentb636]

I'd say it's the most complete receiver available. I prefer the simpler menus of the Sathawk, but there's no 4:2:2 video support with anything except the Azbox. We non-Azbox owners have to find other means to get the 4:2:2 .

 

[rogerduncan100]

Well how bad is it not to have 4:2:2? Does it just mean the picture quality is not quite as good as it could be or do you miss out on getting some channels?

 

[brentb636]

A certain number of sports feeds and special events are broadcast in 4:2:2 video. You would miss out on those with an Azbox. Some receivers show a "green screen" on 4:2:2 channels, others show "scrambled" when they receive it. The Azbox is the only current consumer receiver to support the 4:2:2 video.

 

[AcWxRadar]

Is AZ Box the best? (It looks like I am in the market for a new receiver)

Rogerduncan,

There sincerely is no "best" among FTA receivers. I happen to love my AZBox Premium Plus, but you might find it to be troublesome and too quirky in some aspects. I happen to love my Coolsat 5000, but you may find it to have limitations that don't suit your needs. Another receiver might seem to be overly expensive. Another one might be a total piece of junk, period.

My personal reccommendation to you would be to sit down and compile a list of features that you desire to have in your "new" receiver, first. Then research all the makes and models available and compare their qualifications / specifications.

Make sure that you scrutinize the features and the specifications of any receiver by asking direct questions aimed towards the people who actually own one, rather than taking the mfg's word for it.

If you think that you are interested in one of the AZBoxes, jump in on the AZBox area of the forum and start reading about all the pros and cons. Every receiver has their share. Everyone really must put forth their own effort to make the decision of which receiver to try.

Simply doing a lot of research and taking your sweet time before making your decision would be the best approach. You won't really know if your decision was right until you have spent some time with your decision. No one really wishes to coax you into making that decision, in case it isn't what you really and truly wanted. But, we would sure help answer some specific questions.

I hope that my reccommendations make sense to you and I wish you good luck in that.

RADAR

 

[rogerduncan100]

Thanks. Yes, I am just doing slow research right now.

 

[bruin95]

A certain number of sports feeds and special events are broadcast in 4:2:2 video. You would miss out on those with an Azbox.

I think you mean that you would get 4:2:2 with an Azbox.

 

[brentb636]

I think you mean that you would get 4:2:2 with an Azbox.

Thank you for the correction. You are SO-O-O Correct !

 

[comfrey]

I think I read somewhere that an OpenBox would record 4:2:2 but just not play it.
You would require playing the recorded file on a PC use something like VLC.
Just what I heard...

 

[brentb636]

Even SD receivers, like the Visionsat IV-200 can record 4:2:2 video for later playback. The Coolsat 7000 is another known for this capability. The receivers' chipset is simply incapable of displaying the video format.