Geosat 3500 VS Linkbox9000

[Titanium]

joshrr , Are you able to receive the 101w 4MHz spacing transponders for Decades, Movies! and Heroes & Icons channels? I had checked last month with new firmware and the PIDs are still getting jumbled after scanning and these channels cannot be viewed or recorded.

I don't believe that this and the switch control errors have yet been addressed?

 

[Mikey11]

The iptv works well for me also.

this is probably a dumb question but how does IPTV work, and what is it?.....i always thought IPTV was an "eye patch" thing???

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

this is probably a dumb question but how does IPTV work, and what is it?.....i always thought IPTV was an "eye patch" thing???

No, not at all. IPTV is Internet Provider TV, where you can watch TV channels from all over the world as they are live streamed free over the internet; Ethernet connection is best for this depending on your connection speed. As long as you have a good known active link for a TV channel streaming feed, you could copy and paste the link onto a Flashdrive, and load it into the IPTV App on the receiver; or you could take the long route and type it all in using your remote. If the TV Channel deactivates or changes the live streaming link for any reason, you can't watch it any longer. :-(
I have tried to enter a good number of Japanese IPTV Live Streaming Channels, I could barely get audio on some, but no video at all. Other IPTV channels stream fine for a good while.
IPTV channels is as legal as FTA satellite signals that are in the clear. It's the same as watching the live streaming feed with your PC over the internet, except it's through the Linkbox.
The major downside with IPTV is the live feed connection often goes down or lags so badly trying to buffer, that it's almost pointless to watch; you might as well watch it off the satellite if you are able to. It's not Eye Patch TV, but if your still uncomfortable with it don't use IPTV, I don't either.

 

[Mikey11]

No, not at all. IPTV is Internet Provider TV, where you can watch TV channels from all over the world as they are live streamed free over the internet; Ethernet connection is best for this depending on your connection speed. As long as you have a good known active link for a TV channel streaming feed, you could copy and paste the link onto a Flashdrive, and load it into the IPTV App on the receiver; or you could take the long route and type it all in using your remote. If the TV Channel deactivates or changes the live streaming link for any reason, you can't watch it any longer. :-(
I have tried to enter a good number of Japanese IPTV Live Streaming Channels, I could barely get audio on some, but no video at all. Other IPTV channels stream fine for a good while.
IPTV channels is as legal as FTA satellite signals that are in the clear. It's the same as watching the live streaming feed with your PC over the internet, except it's through the Linkbox.
The major downside with IPTV is the live feed connection often goes down or lags so badly trying to buffer, that it's almost pointless to watch; you might as well watch it off the satellite if you are able to. It's not Eye Patch TV, but if your still uncomfortable with it don't use IPTV, I don't either.

thanks for that,

i guess my next question would be, what can IPTV get that FTA can not?

 

[Titanium]

IPTV is very legit as it simply refers to delivery of video streams via the Internet protocol. Most broadcasters offer select, if not all of their programming via IP streaming. Yes, there are streams and services that distribute unlicensed content, which is theft of service. Like any technology, it is really up to the end user and their own moral compass... IPTV is likely to become the primary distribution method over the next few years. Nothing illegal about IPTV, but if the viewer sees "Free HBO" for example, subscription type programming without payment is likely to be a theft of service.

The IPTV streams look good on the STB, but the neutered version of XBMC limits some streaming options as it cannot be updated to KODI and run all add ons. If you want a true media box with DVBS2, there are much better OS options out there than either STB.

Edit: posted while Christopher already provided his excellent reply.

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

thanks for that,

i guess my next question would be, what can IPTV get that FTA can not?

There may be some channels that used to be on FTA at one time, that you could find on IPTV. I don't know where you could find a complete list for sure, but if there is a TV channel you want to see on IPTV that's no longer FTA, do a search on Google or whatever to see if there's a good active stream link you can use for the Linkbox. Not all live streaming links work with the IPTV App, that play fine on your PC, go figure. :-/

I do know that the Manhattan 1997 Receiver has the most extensive IPTV listings I know of. They are always on the lookout for more IPTV Streaming Links that they can load onto the 1997 receiver that they test on their end.
If you go to the Manhattan Digital website, you can find the latest IPTV Downloadable File on their website under the Manhattan 1997 Receiver Downloads Section.
The IPTV File contains all of the latest links, and you could download that file onto a Flashdrive and see if the Linkbox will accept the file using the IPTV App. I have not done this yet, as I'm more happy with the satellite feeds I get. I'm not too much into IPTV.

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

IPTV is very legit as it simply refers to delivery of video streams via the Internet protocol. Most broadcasters offer select, if not all of their programming via IP streaming. Yes, there are streams and services that distribute unlicensed content, which is theft of service. Like any technology, it is really up to the end user and their own moral compass... IPTV is likely to become the primary distribution method over the next few years. Nothing illegal about it.

The IPTV streams look good on the STB, but the neutered version of XBMC limits some streaming options as it cannot be updated to KODI and run all add ons. If you want a true media box with DVBS2, there are much better OS options out there than either STB.

Edit: posted while Christopher already provided his excellent reply.

Thank you Brian!
Even though IPTV is all legal for everyone to use, many or some consider IPTV to still be the "Dark Side" of true FTA watching; the "Good Side" of FTA is of course satellite!
I tend to watch all of my FTA off of my satellite dishes, I tried IPTV for a little bit and just didn't care for it too much.

I spent well over a thousand dollars or more over the years investing in my FTA setup on the roof. I feel kind of guilty peeking into the IPTV World even for a little bit. Gives me a sour feeling somehow.

 

[Lehman bud farm]

I spent well over a thousand dollars or more over the years investing in my FTA setup on the roof. I feel kind of guilty peeking into the IPTV World even for a little bit. Gives me a sour feeling somehow.

Would not know why you would feel bad about it.
All it is, is another source of transmission.
Back in the early 80's if you had a satellite dish you could fins about anything you wanted FTA.
IPTV (if you have a decent internet download stream), is just another source of transmission of a TV signal.
Technology is advancing and those who keep up with it are the ones who benefit the most.

I remember one of our large satellite dishes costing over $3,000.00 back in the 80's.
It is still in use today 33 years later along with several other large dishes.
As for IPTV, we recently upgraded to a much higher bandwidth and now stream feeds quite a bit.

If the programmer does not want you to see it they can secure those IPTV feeds and if they don't care they leave it open.

 

[N6BY]

.... I feel kind of guilty peeking into the IPTV World even for a little bit. Gives me a sour feeling somehow.

I like the challenge of FTA and better picture quality than IPTV. Compared to FTA, IPTV is like 'hunting in the zoo'.

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

Would not know why you would feel bad about it.
All it is, is another source of transmission.

What I meant was, with IPTV, I could always watch live streaming feeds alot easier anytime I want on my gaming PC I built. So it makes it almost pointless having IPTV on the satellite reciever when the App is buggy to begin with anyway. Especially when I have satellite dishes to use instead.

I figure that it makes alot more sense to watch FTA on the satellite dishes I invested alot of money into. Everything else Internet can stay on the computer or smartphone.

There's something about the added coolness of watching my FTA Dish turn itself to a satellite the size of a large bus in space; and make contact with it. You don't get that kind of cool factor with IPTV.

But IPTV does have its followers, which is great too! :-D

 

[joshrr]

joshrr , Are you able to receive the 101w 4MHz spacing transponders for Decades, Movies! and Heroes & Icons channels? I had checked last month with new firmware and the PIDs are still getting jumbled after scanning and these channels cannot be viewed or recorded.

I don't believe that this and the switch control errors have yet been addressed?

Movies is the only feed I cant get on 101 . I forgot about that one. I forgot because I get it fine on 99west. If I do a channel scan maybe three times in a row Ill have to rename the channels correctly but all will come in except Movies on 101. Thats the only feed on the whole arc I cant get. I have 22khz on my dual c/ku lnbf and it seems to work fine. I think the issues a few others are having are when there are disec switches in line too. So yes two issues but only one affects me in a minor way. Id still like to see both fixed for sure

 

[. Raine]

There is still many other issues with the 3500. Just this past week, mine erased all my channels and reset itself to default after I had made a custom sat slot for testing a new dish on and then deleted it. I deleted the sat entry I'd made, because after I'd made it, the receiver shifted all channels on each sat to the next higher one. Another user has confirmed the shifting channel aspect of it.

The Movies issue was a easy fix on mine, that should've been fixed long ago. It could be a nice receiver, it does perform good, but all the un-addressed/ignored bugs with it make it not worth buying, IMO. The high price tag, too.

I nearly drop kicked mine across the room this past week when it lost all my sats and scanned channels and reset itself to factory default. As it is, I unhooked it, set my MicroHD back up as my primary receiver and a different firmware other than the garbage that came with the 3500 is eventually going into it.

 

[Lehman bud farm]

What I meant was, with IPTV, I could always watch live streaming feeds alot easier anytime I want on my gaming PC I built. So it makes it almost pointless having IPTV on the satellite reciever when the App is buggy to begin with anyway. Especially when I have satellite dishes to use instead.

Using a satellite dish is usually the first way to go around here as well for FTA.
However, my thoughts are to just never discount technology when it comes along but to use it as we would use anything else.
As for streaming and IPTV we had a computer built especially for that and since that is all it is used for the setup is already done and I found it much nicer then using any FTA receiver with IPTV, but that is just my preference.

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

Using a satellite dish is usually the first way to go around here as well for FTA.
However, my thoughts are to just never discount technology when it comes along but to use it as we would use anything else.
As for streaming and IPTV we had a computer built especially for that and since that is all it is used for the setup is already done and I found it much nicer then using any FTA receiver with IPTV, but that is just my preference.

I would agree!

IPTV suits some people's preference if they don't have a computer or satellite dish or whatever the situation might be for them. If they can get IPTV to work reliably enough to enjoy just on a satellite receiver, that's always a good thing for those groups.

I tend to get quickly frustrated when technology develops, and the potential is definitely out there to improve on it, but rarely or too very slowly acted upon.

 

[Mikey11]

thanks for all the comments, opinions, and replys, they are very much appreciated, after doing about a month worth of research on my own and asking questions (on this site and elsewhere) i have decided to go with the linkbox 9000 (no offense to geosat or geosat owners), i have always liked pansat products, so that was one of the determining factors, i just ordered it, so hope to get it sometime next week

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

thanks for all the comments, opinions, and replys, they are very much appreciated, after doing about a month worth of research on my own and asking questions (on this site and elsewhere) i have decided to go with the linkbox 9000 (no offense to geosat or geosat owners), i have always liked pansat products, so that was one of the determining factors, i just ordered it, so hope to get it sometime next week

I'm pretty sure you will be very happy with the new Linkbox 9000i!
The 9000i does have a few IPTV Links built in to it that you can try out and see if you care for it or not. It does have other cool features like a calculator and even an Othello game!

Late last night, I reconnected my Manhattan 1933 receiver to do more blind scans with the Norsat LNB'S I have. Even though the 1933 receiver has a Sharp brand tuner in it, it missed collecting several or more channels per satellite that the Linkbox 9000i can bring in. I'm going to try blind scanning again more with the Geosatpro 3500, but after that, I'm reconnecting the Linkbox back up!

 

[mr3p]

Is there a list a legal IPTV links anywhere? Are their legal IPTV subscription services? IPTV ts a nice feature for an FTA box but from what I can tell the overwhelming majority of IPTV is currently TOS. Even those website that stream freely, ie CBSN, Bloomberg, etc don't provide .m3u8 links so I'm just wondering what exactly people are doing with the IPTV feature in their STB.

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

Is there a list a legal IPTV links anywhere? Are their legal IPTV subscription services? IPTV ts a nice feature for an FTA box but from what I can tell the overwhelming majority of IPTV is currently TOS. Even those website that stream freely, ie CBSN, Bloomberg, etc don't provide .m3u8 links so I'm just wondering what exactly people are doing with the IPTV feature in their STB.

Go to post 26 in this thread for a website that has the most extensive IPTV List I know of, that you can download to your USB Flashdrive.

I'm not doing anything with the IPTV in my receiver, satellite signals are better to watch for me.

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

Ouch!! I just found a bad downside to the Linkbox 9000i. I updated the receiver to the latest firmware update just released late last night. After the receiver successfully rebooted, I lost all of my custom satellite positions and channels. I had to set the positions back up and blind scan all over again from scratch! :-\ There's no way to make a backup of anything on the receiver to the Flashdrive, which would be a good thing to add. I double checked through the menu's, there's no feature to make a backup; unless maybe I didn't dig quite deep enough yet. I do have the ALI Editor software, but I'm unfamiliar with it, as I have only toyed with a spreadsheet maybe once or twice. I don't think I will have the patience to manually type everything into a spreadsheet and save to the flashdrive; I much rather just make a backup of my channel/satellite lists on the receiver to reload back on. Far easier for me.
Oh well, it is what it is.

Oh, nevermind. Some other forums instruct you on how to make a channel backup to USB, which I didn't see at 1AM. Other people have said that it still doesn't work for them. I can toy with it later.

 

[armadillo_115]

I still have not tried a back-up on my 9000i or tested the Ali Editor yet,so I can't comment on whether the process will work.(I have read that some owners have been unable to copy the files BACK to the receiver.IDK )But to be on the safe side,make sure you have the receiver updated before you do all the blind scanning and Sat positions.That way you are ok at least until you need a FUTURE update.

Turn the internet on the receiver and do the internet update.It was foolproof here.