so what model and how much would an AZBox cost if I want 4:2:2 DVB-S2 and HD

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John Popper

John Popper

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Dec 11, 2009
788
5
Central Mexico
Im checking out ebay and there seems to be only 1 or 2 people who sell these things. AZbox elite is listed at $290, AZBox Premium at $345, does anyone know where else I can look? I kinda browsed through the gold sponsors' websites but I didn't see anyone selling them. Also what is the main difference between the elite and the premium models? would I be able to get 4:2:2, HD and DVB-S2 with the cheaper elite?
 
John Popper said:
Im checking out ebay and there seems to be only 1 or 2 people who sell these things. AZbox elite is listed at $290, AZBox Premium at $345, does anyone know where else I can look? I kinda browsed through the gold sponsors' websites but I didn't see anyone selling them. Also what is the main difference between the elite and the premium models? would I be able to get 4:2:2, HD and DVB-S2 with the cheaper elite?
Click to expand...

This thread talks about the differences:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/183410-azbox-hd-elite-premium.html

And yes, the Elite will handle 4:2:2, HD and DVB-S2.
 
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Elite is the base model ( Hard drive by USB2.0 port attachment )
Premium adds built-in wireless and internal hard drive ( external power supply for Premium )
Premium Plus ( in Europe ) adds hardware blindscan ( not tested here, yet ) .
All models support DVB-S, DVB-S2, SD & HD, 4:2:0 & 4:2:2 chroma video.
:)
 
John Popper said:
Im checking out ebay and there seems to be only 1 or 2 people who sell these things. AZbox elite is listed at $290, AZBox Premium at $345, does anyone know where else I can look?...
Click to expand...

Az I said in another post, the same place that sells on ebay sells for about $35 cheaper if you go to their web page instead of ebay.
 
John Popper said:
Im checking out ebay and there seems to be only 1 or 2 people who sell these things. AZbox elite is listed at $290, AZBox Premium at $345, does anyone know where else I can look? I kinda browsed through the gold sponsors' websites but I didn't see anyone selling them. Also what is the main difference between the elite and the premium models? would I be able to get 4:2:2, HD and DVB-S2 with the cheaper elite?
Click to expand...

Try Azboxusa Home page Azboxusa

The Elite is $255.00, the Premium is $325.00 today. The premiun was $305.00 a week or so ago. I paid $325 in December. That price included shipping.

Comments on the premium:

I could not get the wireless to connect to my network. It finds the network, but won't connect.
The WD Internal Drive that I added is not recognized on power-up, but is recognized on subsequent reboots without removing power.
Some internal drive recordings are corrupted. External USB Drive recordings are OK.

There's lots of firmware bugs that need to be fixed.
 
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I had a email discussion with Azbox last week and they will consider an Elite "plus" with hardware blind scan. I might suggest a people send them an email to voice your opinion as an Elite plus would be a few bucks cheaper than the Premium.
 
Since I do not really care much about the wireless function or the internal drive, and since I can blind scan with my coolsat 6000 seems the wise/economical choice would be the Elite
 
John Popper said:
Since I do not really care much about the wireless function or the internal drive, and since I can blind scan with my coolsat 6000 seems the wise/economical choice would be the Elite
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That's what I mainly do, works just fine for me. I rarely use the Vantage, which is why I am selling it...:)
 
I went with the purchase of the Premium and I really enjoy it. I don't think that there is any great cons or pros whichever direction you could go here, but I am fond of my Premium AZBox.

Having the WiFi option is a plus for me. The internal HDD VS the external HDD doesn't make a big difference, but having the external power supply is a very nice option. However, you probably wouldn't need it if the HDD is external. This is all related to heat build up concerns.

I guess what I like the most is the WiFi as I can access the AZBox from any PC in the house without running cables or juggling USB sticks. It is really convenient, but, not entirely a necessity.

The Premium receiver that I purchased was just shy of $350 from either of two sources. One was less for the unit but charged more for shipping, the other was free of shipping but charged more for the unit. It was a washout between the two. Virtually the same price in the end and both shipped equally as fast (3-4 days).

RADAR
 
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mr3p said:
I had a email discussion with Azbox last week and they will consider an Elite "plus" with hardware blind scan. I might suggest a people send them an email to voice your opinion as an Elite plus would be a few bucks cheaper than the Premium.
Click to expand...

They really need to replace the SMP8634 with something faster. This processor is the reason for slow file transfers and the inability to record high bit rates.

They should be looking at the SMP864X or the SMP865X families. They're both faster and have native support for SATA drives. The SMP8634 requires a SATA to PATA converter chip. This is partly responsible for the poor file transfer rate, drive recognition problems, and sluggish performance.

Popcornhour used the SMP863x chips in their first generation boxes and had the same problems. Most of the problems cleared up when they went to the SMP8643 processor in their "C" series boxes.

I like the plus boxes, but they don't fix anything other than blind scan.
 
vc2 said:
They really need to replace the SMP8634 with something faster. This processor is the reason for slow file transfers and the inability to record high bit rates.

They should be looking at the SMP864X or the SMP865X families. They're both faster and have native support for SATA drives. The SMP8634 requires a SATA to PATA converter chip. This is partly responsible for the poor file transfer rate, drive recognition problems, and sluggish performance.

Popcornhour used the SMP863x chips in their first generation boxes and had the same problems. Most of the problems cleared up when they went to the SMP8643 processor in their "C" series boxes.

I like the plus boxes, but they don't fix anything other than blind scan.
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I agree with everything you said. Send them an email and make the suggestion, info@azbox.com Assuming your email is constructive, they will likely respond.
 
mr3p said:
I agree with everything you said. Send them an email and make the suggestion, info@azbox.com Assuming your email is constructive, they will likely respond.
Click to expand...

I've been in contact with Hugo at the email address you've referenced on a couple of other issues. I think that we have a good working relationship, however, they are already over burdened with other issues. I don't want to stir the pot with anything new right now.

You've probably noticed that the AZBox firmware releases have slowed down. There hasn't been anything new in a couple of weeks. I was under the impression that most of their resources are being diverted to a new product that they are trying to release called Mediacenter. This is a media player (no receiver) based on one of the newer Sigma designs chip sets. There was some discussion on their forum about this.

It was also stated on their forum that a new hardware platform for the satellite receiver is at least a year away. I didn't want to wait, so I bought the Premium box. With all of it's faults, it still out performs the Pansat 2700 box that I was using.

They need more software developers to get things done and there have been advertisements to this effect on their web site.
 
vc2 said:
I was under the impression that most of their resources are being diverted to a new product that they are trying to release called Mediacenter. This is a media player (no receiver) based on one of the newer Sigma designs chip sets.
Click to expand...

Wow... There must be at least a dozen models of media player on the market already. I can't imagine what they think they're going to bring to the table... I'm not even going to bother looking it up.
 
brentb636 said:
Elite is the base model ( Hard drive by USB2.0 port attachment )
Premium adds built-in wireless and internal hard drive ( external power supply for Premium )
Premium Plus ( in Europe ) adds hardware blindscan ( not tested here, yet ) .
All models support DVB-S, DVB-S2, SD & HD, 4:2:0 & 4:2:2 chroma video.
:)
Click to expand...

Anyone know if WPA2 encryption is available for the wifi? If not, I wouldn't recommend using the WiFi for security reasons and to prevent copyright violations. :eek:
 
brentb636 said:
Elite is the base model ( Hard drive by USB2.0 port attachment )
Premium adds built-in wireless and internal hard drive ( external power supply for Premium )
Premium Plus ( in Europe ) adds hardware blindscan ( not tested here, yet ) .
All models support DVB-S, DVB-S2, SD & HD, 4:2:0 & 4:2:2 chroma video.
:)
Click to expand...

Is the hardware blindscan only available for Premium? From the posts, I get the impression that both the Elite and the Premium have the same DVB tuner so I'm wondering why no one has mentioned if it'll be available for the Elite.
 
mr3p said:
I had a email discussion with Azbox last week and they will consider an Elite "plus" with hardware blind scan. I might suggest a people send them an email to voice your opinion as an Elite plus would be a few bucks cheaper than the Premium.
Click to expand...

I just sent an e-mail asking for blind scan to be made available for the Elite. They said they'd respond to my comments as soon as possible but that's unlikely, of course. :)
 

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