Neusat HD 9000

[kestep]

Success! With a caveat...

I can watch the PBS HD national feed! I also just finished scanning G25 and am comparing to lyngsat...

So here's what happened:

Factory defaults: No PBS HD
Reloaded factory bin: NO PBS HD
Loaded 'non-factory' bin: PBS-HD LIVES!!!! :up

Again, to be clear, I want no part of the hack scene. It is interesting that a non-vendor released bin fixed my ability to scan a TP and register a totally legit channel. For the record, this bin is from a time before the latest ECMs, so technically it can't be used to hack channels anyway!

I'd be interested in knowing how many people have resorted to using 'non-factory' bins to make the $%^$ receivers work like they are supposed to... Maybe that's another thread.

Wow.

If anyone is interested, I can try to provide a more in-depth look at the box. I guess the question is, would users want an HD FTA box (albeit a cheap one) that requires 'non-factory' firmware to work.

Short list of features:
HD (PBS at least)
AC3 Audio (passed via HDMI)
Fast channel scan
Blind Scan (still checking this out)

For the record, the unit does NOT do 4:2:2.

Mine was $165 delivered and it works, with the caveats above. This model is going for $120-150 on ebay and recently it looks like someone is dumping a lot of them.

 

[Kb Cool]

I got the "no channels found" thing again today even though I had good signal and quality. How do you actually do the software upgrade? The manual has instructions but do you power on the box or leave it unplugged during the upgrade? That parts confusing me.
Thanks

 

[Kb Cool]

Also did the different software change anything about box other than it just works better now.

 

[turbosat]

Sounds good, glad you got it to work. I've seen those being sold off too, maybe they have a newer model they're pushing (one with pvr or something) If it blind scans halfway decent,
not a bad purchase. Too bad these co's dont seem to care whether they operate as advertised
for legal use.

 

[kestep]

Also did the different software change anything about box other than it just works better now.

There are other menus that provide access to the 'non-factory' features. Other than that, everything looks the same.

 

[kestep]

If it blind scans halfway decent,
not a bad purchase.

I'm still testing the blind scan. It seems to find the channels I see for a given satellite on Lyngsat, but I'm not sure it saves the TPs to the list for later access (i.e. it looks like it stores the channels so they are accessible, but not the TPs themselves).

I'm still pretty new at all of this, so I'm going to keep at it to make sure I know what I'm doing (and what its doing)

 

[Kb Cool]

I opened the top of mine and their appears to be reset button of some sort on the main board. Do you know anything about it or what it does? Also did you power the unit on during the update or is it left un-plugged.
Thanks

 

[kestep]

I have not opened my receiver, so I don't know what that button might be. To update, I used a PC, the Neusat loader software and the serial cable that came with my receiver. The serial cable is connected to the PC and receiver.

The procedure to update the firmware is to power down (unplug) the receiver. Then start the loader program on the PC, load the bin into the loader program, and power up (plug in) the receiver. The loader automatically starts to load the firmware. When done, the loader reports the job is complete and you wait for the receiver to reboot.

Keep in mind that if something fails, you can turn your receiver into an expense paperweight.

I took that chance, and it worked, but there are no guarantees.

 

[Mr Tony]

I can watch the PBS HD national feed! I also just finished scanning G25 and am comparing to lyngsat...

So here's what happened:

Factory defaults: No PBS HD
Reloaded factory bin: NO PBS HD
Loaded 'non-factory' bin: PBS-HD LIVES!!!! :up

Again, to be clear, I want no part of the hack scene. It is interesting that a non-vendor released bin fixed my ability to scan a TP and register a totally legit channel. For the record, this bin is from a time before the latest ECMs, so technically it can't be used to hack channels anyway!

that's just nuts

I'd be interested in knowing how many people have resorted to using 'non-factory' bins to make the $%^$ receivers work like they are supposed to... Maybe that's another thread.

I done it twice...
Had a Digiwave 7000 that after loading old non factory software I got AC-3 and USALS (factory did not) and the Coolsat 8000 originally I had to load non factory software (the original batches came without satellite software..just OTA)

Wow.

indeed

 

[kestep]

I done it twice...
Had a Digiwave 7000 that after loading old non factory software I got AC-3 and USALS (factory did not) and the Coolsat 8000 originally I had to load non factory software (the original batches came without satellite software..just OTA)

I would think that the hackers wouldn't waste time with AC-3, USALS, etc. No doubt some vendors (or at least people intimately familiar with the code) are working with the hackers on occasion. Either that or someone is reverse engineering this stuff.

I'm stunned.

Happy that it is working, but stunned.

 

[Kb Cool]

I would think that the hackers wouldn't waste time with AC-3, USALS, etc. No doubt some vendors (or at least people intimately familiar with the code) are working with the hackers on occasion. Either that or someone is reverse engineering this stuff.

I'm stunned.

Happy that it is working, but stunned.

I have noticed my NuesatHD sometimes hangs at the "BOOT" light lit on the front panel. I then hit the power off switch and turn it back on. Front panel displays "BOOT" again but then turns on real quick.
Did you notice this problem too and if so did the hack software fix it?

 

[kestep]

kbghdg, I have not experienced any hangs at boot time either before or after the firmware change.

 

[Kb Cool]

kbghdg, I have not experienced any hangs at boot time either before or after the firmware change.

Did neusat mention that they were working on a new factory update for the box? There site is showing April 2007 and my box under system information has the same date. So i guess they haven't released an update in 8 months.

 

[Kb Cool]

Also I just noticed something else going on with it. If i turn the box off it actually reboots itself and turns back on and continues displaying the picture on the tv. But instead of scrolling the channel name on front panel it only displays the clock. I would say this thing is a POS but the HD i am getting off of it is the best I've ever seen on satellite. It's just buggy.

 

[kestep]

When I spoke to the tech and specifically asked if there was updated firmware that might fix the problem, he responded that the April bin was the latest factory firmware.

 

[Kb Cool]

When I spoke to the tech and specifically asked if there was updated firmware that might fix the problem, he responded that the April bin was the latest factory firmware.

Alright,
I may just try to reload the factory bin and see if it does anything with the boot issue or the not turning off thing. Maybe it wasn't loaded right and at least my warranty will not be voided.

 

[Kb Cool]

When I spoke to the tech and specifically asked if there was updated firmware that might fix the problem, he responded that the April bin was the latest factory firmware.

Sorry to bother you again.
But someone from sat forums wants to know if the hack software fixes the blind scan issue of taking a long time to complete.
Thanks

 

[kestep]

I'm still playing with the blind scan.

I'm not convinced it actually does a blind scan. I tried AMC2/16 (85W) and it races through VERY fast and finds nothing. If I manually scan the TP with the Dish Network Test Card, it finds the channel.

On AMC1 it consistently takes 8 minutes and finds the same channels, although I think I did find two feeds today. One disappeared about 20 mins later. I don't know enough about feeds to know how persistent they are, if the TPs are always active even with no channel active, etc.

I'm going to delete the TP list and try again...

 

[qwert1515]

Feed transponders are only active during the feeds, Sometimes the EchoStar test channel is not active, so it might be a better idea to scan another satellite if possible.

 

[updatelee]

Factory defaults: No PBS HD
Reloaded factory bin: NO PBS HD
Loaded 'non-factory' bin: PBS-HD LIVES!!!! :up

Shows who they are marketing the ird to eh ?