Reviews: SatHawk PVR800 WorldDVB DVB-S2 HD FTA Receiver
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blind scan results
I put the receiver up against the Coolsat 5000 on quick (or whatever the normal is)
105W
Sathawk found
16 TP's
21 channels
2:23 to scan
Coolsat found
13 TP's
19 channles
3:18 to scan
91W
Sathawk
22 TP's
26 channels
3:32 to scan
Coolsat
21 TP's
26 channels
3:46 to scan
74W
Sathawk found
6 TP's
5 channels
4:39 to scan
Coolsat found
6 TP's
4 channels
3:37 to scan
I chalk the Sathawk taking longer on 74W as it scans from 11700-12900 whereas the Coolsat scans to 12200. Since there is a DBS sat 3 degrees away it seems to slow down on those DBS TP's (but not log them)
so the blind scan DOES work.....and works well
I put the receiver up against the Coolsat 5000 on quick (or whatever the normal is)
105W
Sathawk found
16 TP's
21 channels
2:23 to scan
Coolsat found
13 TP's
19 channles
3:18 to scan
91W
Sathawk
22 TP's
26 channels
3:32 to scan
Coolsat
21 TP's
26 channels
3:46 to scan
74W
Sathawk found
6 TP's
5 channels
4:39 to scan
Coolsat found
6 TP's
4 channels
3:37 to scan
I chalk the Sathawk taking longer on 74W as it scans from 11700-12900 whereas the Coolsat scans to 12200. Since there is a DBS sat 3 degrees away it seems to slow down on those DBS TP's (but not log them)
so the blind scan DOES work.....and works well
Besides 74W, I thought it was taking an inordinately long time when I tried 91W too. Maybe this was also because of the DBS satellite there, although I was wondering if it was because of the data transponders since it didn't log any of the DBS transponders. My Coolsat usually logs two or three of them if I let it scan that far up.
But in no case does it ever take longer than my Coolsat, and usually it takes much less time. So I'm happy with the blind scan.
I don't think it found any S2 transponders on 103W, and if it did it didn't log any channels on them. I'm assuming that this is because I'm using a 30" dish with an off-center LNB. It's probably not peaked very well either, but that'll have to wait for warmer weather. (On the up side, it scanned 103W very fast. My Coolsat takes longer on 103 than any other satellite I've scanned so far. Maybe it's because of the S2, I don't know.)
But in no case does it ever take longer than my Coolsat, and usually it takes much less time. So I'm happy with the blind scan.
I don't think it found any S2 transponders on 103W, and if it did it didn't log any channels on them. I'm assuming that this is because I'm using a 30" dish with an off-center LNB. It's probably not peaked very well either, but that'll have to wait for warmer weather. (On the up side, it scanned 103W very fast. My Coolsat takes longer on 103 than any other satellite I've scanned so far. Maybe it's because of the S2, I don't know.)
Jim
I should note that my DBS LNB is off by 6 degrees (sideways) but it didn't take that long for 91W to scan
I should note that my DBS LNB is off by 6 degrees (sideways) but it didn't take that long for 91W to scan
I put in the two S2 transponders that are listed in the WUT for 103W manually to see what would happen. One comes up as 41% strength and 10% quality, so I didn't expect anything to happen there. The other comes up as 83% strength and 60% quality, but nothing comes up there either. I am going to try to peak that LNB, I just don't know when yet.
I wonder why it doesn't detect at least one of them on a blind scan? It detects DVB-S transponders that are a lot weaker than that regardless of whether it can find any channels on them. In fact, it detects more transponders than my Coolsat. Case in point, my 18" dish on 74W. The Coolsat gets ONN and the Haiti feeds loud and clear. Occasionally it will get one of what Rick's board calls the "drunken test patterns", but just barely. The SatHawk gets one of them rock-solid, and the other one breaking up but still always there.
I wonder why it doesn't detect at least one of them on a blind scan? It detects DVB-S transponders that are a lot weaker than that regardless of whether it can find any channels on them. In fact, it detects more transponders than my Coolsat. Case in point, my 18" dish on 74W. The Coolsat gets ONN and the Haiti feeds loud and clear. Occasionally it will get one of what Rick's board calls the "drunken test patterns", but just barely. The SatHawk gets one of them rock-solid, and the other one breaking up but still always there.
Jim
I just blind scanned 103W with the oddball skew (motorized) and picked up them up just fine
Yeah guys I'm curious on 125W how it does on the PBS stuff. If I'm right it sounds like we need either the sonic voom I'm using already, or an hdmi cable for audio? Thanks Blind
I used a HDMI cable and it worked fine for audio
The rca plugs right now DO NOT ouptu AC-3 so if you want to record to an external source you need the Sonic Voom
It picked up all the TP's on 125W...even LPB which was really low signal quality
The rca plugs right now DO NOT ouptu AC-3 so if you want to record to an external source you need the Sonic Voom
It picked up all the TP's on 125W...even LPB which was really low signal quality
Here are some other things I've found in a few hours of playing with the receiver.
First, the remote control has a terribly narrow range of angles at which it will work reliably. If you look at where the "signal" LED is on the front panel, you can see that it's set VERY deep in the case. If the IR receiver is in a similar location, it's got a serious case of tunnel vision. Terrible design decision! The remote buttons are also hard to push, and very noisy. Hopefully this will settle down as they get used more, but as it comes out of the box it's the clunkiest remote I've ever used -- certainly not what I expected from Sadoun's remark about good ergonomics. Last but not least in the remote arena, I HATE the text-messaging style of alphabetic entry. Maybe this is because I don't do text-messaging, but give me an onscreen keyboard any time!
Moving on, there's an inconsistency in the user interface. Menu items that offer you a list of options to choose from usually pop up a list box when you push the OK button. But not ALL of them! Some of them can only be selected with the left and right arrows. Bad interface design, I hope they correct it, because it's VERY disconcerting in connection with the clunky remote operation.
In the Installation menu, under the Other category, there's a setting for BER on or off. I'm assuming that BER stands for Bit Error Rate, but if you turn it on, where is it ever displayed? I haven't found it yet. (A manual would be nice.) Similarly, right above BER is Beeper on or off, but I haven't heard any beeps when the meter is running in the antenna setup menu.
I don't have a clue what the ethernet port is for, unless it's third-party software. The original description of the box that was posted here seemed to indicate that it could be used for firmware updates, but I don't see a menu option for that, and I thought it looked like a typo anyway.
The box does respond to pings, but not telnet or ftp. I haven't tried ssh yet, and I'll also try ftp after I hook up a hard drive, which I haven't even tried yet.
The features list on the box says "upgrade software & update channel database through usb 2.0 port". But how can you load a channel database when there's no way to save one?
The last item on the feature list says "Directly Bouquet-lists." I think that bouquet is the European term for a group of channels from one provider. Or is it just the list of channels in one mux? But anyway, I haven't seen anything that indicates the ability to group channels that way in the lists. Maybe I just haven't found it yet. Or, maybe they're being redundant and referring to the NIT search that they already mentioned.
Deleting channels seems incredibly annoying. Obviously not designed by feed-hunters. Is there some way I'm missing? All I can see is Menu, Channel List, Edit, Delete, select channel, exit, OK. You've got to be kidding me! Please somebody tell me I'm missing something!
First, the remote control has a terribly narrow range of angles at which it will work reliably. If you look at where the "signal" LED is on the front panel, you can see that it's set VERY deep in the case. If the IR receiver is in a similar location, it's got a serious case of tunnel vision. Terrible design decision! The remote buttons are also hard to push, and very noisy. Hopefully this will settle down as they get used more, but as it comes out of the box it's the clunkiest remote I've ever used -- certainly not what I expected from Sadoun's remark about good ergonomics. Last but not least in the remote arena, I HATE the text-messaging style of alphabetic entry. Maybe this is because I don't do text-messaging, but give me an onscreen keyboard any time!
Moving on, there's an inconsistency in the user interface. Menu items that offer you a list of options to choose from usually pop up a list box when you push the OK button. But not ALL of them! Some of them can only be selected with the left and right arrows. Bad interface design, I hope they correct it, because it's VERY disconcerting in connection with the clunky remote operation.
In the Installation menu, under the Other category, there's a setting for BER on or off. I'm assuming that BER stands for Bit Error Rate, but if you turn it on, where is it ever displayed? I haven't found it yet. (A manual would be nice.) Similarly, right above BER is Beeper on or off, but I haven't heard any beeps when the meter is running in the antenna setup menu.
I don't have a clue what the ethernet port is for, unless it's third-party software. The original description of the box that was posted here seemed to indicate that it could be used for firmware updates, but I don't see a menu option for that, and I thought it looked like a typo anyway.
The box does respond to pings, but not telnet or ftp. I haven't tried ssh yet, and I'll also try ftp after I hook up a hard drive, which I haven't even tried yet.
The features list on the box says "upgrade software & update channel database through usb 2.0 port". But how can you load a channel database when there's no way to save one?
The last item on the feature list says "Directly Bouquet-lists." I think that bouquet is the European term for a group of channels from one provider. Or is it just the list of channels in one mux? But anyway, I haven't seen anything that indicates the ability to group channels that way in the lists. Maybe I just haven't found it yet. Or, maybe they're being redundant and referring to the NIT search that they already mentioned.
Deleting channels seems incredibly annoying. Obviously not designed by feed-hunters. Is there some way I'm missing? All I can see is Menu, Channel List, Edit, Delete, select channel, exit, OK. You've got to be kidding me! Please somebody tell me I'm missing something!
anyone have this receiver lock up on them yet?
Mine has locked up twice and is having problems booting. I turn it on and off from the back and the receiver does not boot up and the display just shows 88:88 or oN or something else (seems to be quite random). I have been waiting minutes with it off and it still won't come back to life.
It froze watching and hd feed, remote stoped working and I couldn't control it anyone, but video kept going.
Mine has locked up twice and is having problems booting. I turn it on and off from the back and the receiver does not boot up and the display just shows 88:88 or oN or something else (seems to be quite random). I have been waiting minutes with it off and it still won't come back to life.
It froze watching and hd feed, remote stoped working and I couldn't control it anyone, but video kept going.
I went out and did a little blind twisting of the LNB brackets (it wasn't hard, it's so cold that they aren't even screwed down tight anymore) and soon had the quality up over 70%.
It now picks up the two strongest S2 transponders on a blind scan and plays the channels on them. But the other S2 transponders didn't go up at all. Strangely, none of the non-S2 transponders increased either. It's very possible that the satellite is right at the tip of a tree. I'll know for sure in the spring. But at least I know that I can get some S2 with my dish.
I've had it lock up twice more. This time I think it's caused by trying to change the volume after changing a channel and while the info bar is still on the screen. I'm not certain though.
Question: when you put you box into standby what does it do? Does it show the time (act as a clock)? Does the display stay off except for a red light? If it does say off, look very close and can you tell if the second digit shows a faint 8? My receiver has done all three, I think my display board is messed up.
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