Reviews: SatHawk PVR800 WorldDVB DVB-S2 HD FTA Receiver

[i4tas]

got mine...

No AC3 audio output from composite connections. MyNetwork TV feed on Gal16 has video stutter. I guess I have to go buy hdmi cable. Hit info button twice yeilds signal meter. Blind scan got everything that has good signal on gal 16 s and s2.

USB drive can be FAT or NTFS.

I had a problem updating the firmware, for whatever reason it freezed when updating by USB. So I turned it on and off and it would just say "oN". I thought i had a major problem, but i realized it doesn't reset itselft by turning power on/off and waiting 3 seconds, this thing needs like 20 seconds to be completely reset. After I got it on again then I formated the usb from the receiver and did the firmware update again and it worked. Quick firmware update process.

It does timeshift. But it seems it only time shifts a program you are recording, so you have to hit record then pause to time shift, and your time shifting content is recorded. You can't just hit pause and then hit stop when you are done like other receivers, and you are left with the file when done timeshifting. To turn time shift on you must go into menu and under DVR setup there is an option.

 

[Blindowl1234]

i4tas what is the purpose of the firmware update? Just curious what I'll gain with it.
Still curious if the second shipment will already have the firmware with it.
Thanks Blind

 

[melgarga]

Sounds like some gooood caps in the PS. Unplug it with the main switch still on and they should drain quicker.
AC3 via analog out? I guess I'm not following that. I have some channels that present output on both the analog and AC3 (toslink) outputs at the same time, and some that either can be selected via AID setting.

Some of the channels I've tuned that output AC3 via the optical dont have any audio at the analog output, PBS comes to mind..........

 

[Lak7]

what is the purpose of the firmware update?

I'm not positive, but the PVR feature did not work, I updated (lost my channels) and the PVR features started working.

 

[Lak7]

AC3 via analog out?

Usually an HD Receiver can decode AC3 internally and output via the Red and White Audio connections.

 

[i4tas]

Usually an HD Receiver can decode AC3 internally and output via the Red and White Audio connections.

Yes. Exactly this feature isn't supported. Good thing i usually use HDMI, just don't have my cable arround right now.


as to the firmware upgrade:
I also noticed that the pvr began to work. also the boot logo is different i think.
download the one that says: "HDS2_flag_0125-2MC.zip" not "HDS2_flag_0124MC.zip". Both were uploaded here.


Yea it has some big capacitors i guess as it takes some time to completely turn off / reset. Also for those who are wondering, this box comes with european plug and requires an adaptor that Sadoun supplies in the box.

 

[Jim S.]

The reason is processing power. On a computer you need 3Ghz+ P4HT (or equivalent) processor to properly play a 4:2:2 HD feed using a software codec. My guess is the processor is not quite powerful enough for that! If it is a hardware based, then processing power is a non issue as the chip would have the functionality built in.

It doesn't take that much power to do 4:2:2 SD though. I run across more than a few 4:2:2 SD feeds.

One other thing that could be a possibility, if we're extraordinarily lucky: what if the video decoder can do 4:2:2, but the firmware doesn't know how to enable it because the authors didn't have any 4:2:2 signals in their area? That's why it would be nice to know exactly what all the hardware in the unit is. But the pictures Sadoun posted make it look like the chips have been scrubbed clean, and one of them (presumably the CPU, but could be the video decoder if they used an ultra-low-power CPU) has a heatsink glued on.

 

[Jim S.]

I also noticed that the pvr began to work. also the boot logo is different i think.
download the one that says: "HDS2_flag_0125-2MC.zip" not "HDS2_flag_0124MC.zip". Both were uploaded here.

Thanks for pointing that out! I saw that the company rep posted a firmware upgrade in two different threads, but I had assumed that it was the same upgrade, and all I remember him saying about it is that it added CAM support.

I hope they implement some way of saving channel lists before an upgrade though. Globecast has a lot of channels with no name, and even though I rarely look at them, I like to know what they are. I spent quite a bit of time naming them on my Coolsat. Having to do it again is going to suck, but having to do it every time I upgrade the firmware is going to suck worse...

 

[melgarga]

That does make sense Lak, thanks. I guess the FW would have to be written to pass the AC3 data to the audio portion of the STB for it to work as well? IOW, possibly corrected via a FW update if the chip supports it?

 

[zamar23]

I guess , generally there may be several reasons to scrub the chips. One would be to avoid "clone" lawsuite, another to block users from estimating extend of possible firmware upgrades thus furthering sales of a unit that can't be significantly upgraded. There may be others as well, like protection from being cloned for the time being, etc., which sounds less likely under the circumstances.

One request though: if you guys want to report the STB test results like channel scan etc., could you mention the equipment used, at least your LNB and dish size, type & model. If you talk about PVR work, mention what kind of stream you were recording or playing back and its parameters. You certainly understand, "I just scanned all TPs on G15" tells nothing to no-one about the STB performance from repeatability standpoint unless you describe your setup.

 

[melgarga]

Cloning the clone of a clone. Now there's a business concept.......lol

 

[1inabillion]

No AC3 audio output from composite connections. MyNetwork TV feed on Gal16 has video stutter. I guess I have to go buy hdmi cable. Hit info button twice yeilds signal meter. Blind scan got everything that has good signal on gal 16 s and s2.

So this means you need a AC-3 decoder :rant:

damn

 

[Mr Tony]

you can use HDMI or an ac-3 decoder

Thats the first thing I noticed when I went to AMC21....most channels were no audio through the rca plugs

 

[1inabillion]

you can use HDMI or an ac-3 decoder

Thats the first thing I noticed when I went to AMC21....most channels were no audio through the rca plugs

Thanks for the info, got my order in. just a wating game now. :rant:

 

[Mr Tony]

wont record high bit rates

st-st-stutters on it. Just tried a Big10 feed

 

[Mr Tony]

Usually an HD Receiver can decode AC3 internally and output via the Red and White Audio connections.

all the other HD boxes I've worked with could do that (AC-3 audio through the RCA plugs)

 

[brentb636]

wont record high bit rates

st-st-stutters on it. Just tried a Big10 feed

Tony, Did the Big Ten feed play okay? Or did that stutter , too. ?
:?

 

[Mr Tony]

plays fine
records stutters

just like the azbox

 

[brentb636]

plays fine
records stutters

just like the azbox

Better than the Vantage, though. It stutters on the feed itself.
Thanks, Tony.

 

[Lak7]

Little more playing.....
No PID Channel entry