Must not be the same company I am thinking about. <shrug>
Since the Azbox hit the market all they have done is ignore we U.S. users, we STILL don't have an ATSC tuner like they promised, we STILL don't have working recording like they promised. We STILL don't have a media player that plays all files.
Once again, we early adopters got SCREWED. And now we get to test Enigma 2 for them, and develop it for Europe, and they will forget us again.
Their product development certainly targets markets other than FTA in North America. Follow the money trail.... It is a box primarily designed for theft of service. If Openbox / AzBox were serious about the North American market the products would have the required UL and FCC certifications and provide features that are unique to this region, such as 608 closed captioning tuner support for open NA QAM.
Don't get me wrong, the AzBox is a feature packed receiver, but they certainly are not user friendly and are not targeting or developing the units for North America FTA.
My beef with Opensat, and more specifically Hugo Condessa is that I traded Emails with him prior to purchasing an Elite and it was my understanding from those messages I got from him that a blind scan tuner was in the works for the Elite as well as the Premium receivers. Ask me how that worked out? So now I got an Ultra just to get blind scan capability only to find that it has fewer hardware features than the Elite for around the same money??
I've got two more dishes to mount this spring and I'll likely buy at least one more receiver but I won't have another AZBox. Most likely will buy an Openbox s9 next time.
Gentlemen,
I must absolutely disagree with you. I do hear your laments and criticisms and complaints. However, I truly feel that you are laboring under misinterpretations, rumors and misquotes.
1] OpenSat does not promote nor claim that their equipment can "break in" to paid services, anywhere. That is a rumor started by those who want to excercise this as a promotion to sell the equipment to the unknowing and turn a profit on their own behalf. i.e. Sheisters who prey on the desires of the bad elements.
2] I have never read anything that promised anything that they did not come through with. The official sources that I have been reading all have stated that certain options were not possible due to limitations of the components that they had incorporated into thier equipment design at the time.
3] I find the equipment to be quite user friendly, if you are not a total greenhorn. In this light, there is no FTA STB that is truly perfect. There is always the unglamorous side of any box.
4] As for developing their equipment for North American specific uses, it is true that this was never their original intention, as far as I can tell. We adopted THEM and we are trying to adapt their equipment to our purposes. They are playing catch up to fulfil our whims, so you have to give them credit for doing this after the fact.
My AZBox sits side by side with my Coolsat 5K and my Fortec Star receivers. They are each unique in their own way. The AZBox requires some additional training, due to its operating system mostly, but it is not entirely foreign. Some people do not appreciate the AZBox because of its uniqueness. I say that it is excellent and well worth the trouble to learn a few new rules.
My personal experience with OpenSat and their customer support team has been extremely positive. They worked with me so diligently and personably. I felt as if they were speaking with me as if I was their one and only customer! Like a Mom and Pop shop in a small town far away from any big city. They couldn't have done a better job at satisfying me unless they came to my home and mowed my lawn or plowed the snow off my drive and said, "Here, we brought you a new AZBox to play with"!
Honestly. I am so impressed with OpenSat! Never have I witnessed such customer support! They are just that good!
As for promises, you will have to backtrack and read their statements from the past. TELESat magazine is a good source for official statements from OpenSat. The rag may be geared to selling stuff, but if you read between the sales lines, the truth and the facts are there. Hugo Condessa himself stated the facts and dilemnas regarding blind scanning perks. I think that if you go back and read the past articles, you will find that everything I say is true and your impressions and dissappointments were based upon what you wanted to hear and not what they actually stated.
I don't normally tout any receiver's capabilities or how prized it seems to be to me, but I must state that the AZBox is my favorite. And yes, it isn't as easy as our trusted old Coolsat 5k's, but it also does a lot more. I hope you all understand where I am coming from here. This is my opinion and I would not go through this much trouble to tell you about it if I did not believe in it whole heartedly.
RADAR
