Sonicview FTA Receiver ?

[jayelem]

Not cheap, but has anyone on the forum seen this stb or played with it.

I really think I'll hold off on buying another receiver until a FTA HD receiver comes out, hopefully after x-mas.

What seems to stand out on this stb is that it supposedly has the bext picture quality, there also is a pvr model which would be my second choice after HD FTA whenever that comes out.

The Sonicview USA site also has a nice intro which hypes up this stb.
heres the link http://www.sonicviewusa.com/

 

[SatelliteAV]

The set top box is a rebadged BUZZ .....

 

[Mr Tony]

That looks identical to my Buzz box

edit: checked around and its made by the same people

 

[GaryPen]

Not only that, but the word down at Huggy Bear's is that ViewSat has bought or partnered with SonicView. Also, that there will be no new models from Buzz.

It's so hard to tell with these companies, as they seem to come and go. It all seems a little incestuous. Plus, there are probably only a couple three manufacturers making these boxes in the first place.

BTW, the SonicView and Buzz use the same chipset as the Neusat. I wonder how similar they are inside?

 

[SatinKzo]

The only reason I think the price is currently inflated is due to the other market that only a few receivers work in right now. If you lok at prices on ebay, you can tell which ones are sought after for illegal means

 

[nauticat38]

I'm a real newby to FTA.. Bought a Sonicview 1000 and am trying to make it work.. The manual is a little lacking for a biginner.. Anyway I can aquire a satellite and the screen shows 75 on Signal strength but no Quality signal strength..??
I've played with peeking the dish but still no quality line..
Anyone have any ideas? Tried to call SonicviewUSA but they are gone for the day I guess.. I have downloaded their user guide which seems to have a little more info than the guide that arrived in the box..
:-/
Nauticat

 

[PSB]

What satellite are you aiming for? What channels?

We need to know a LOT more about your system, is it motorized and what kind of LNBF do you have? Any numbers on it?

Where are you?

 

[nauticat38]

PSB,
Thank you for your response... The dish I have is a "Winegard" 18" portable Mod.#RD9046... It has a duel LNB (though I'm only useing one) and the label says as follows: Compatible with "Direct TV Multi Satellite, Direct TV Para TODOS and Direct TV dish Antennas..
12.2 to 12.7 GHZ, SN: SF2-D3, 6A406226S
It is a fold down type as it's intended use is on a camper and boat. It has no motor.. The antenna is hooked directly to the "IF IN" connection on the Sonicview 1000. The output is from the "AUTIO&VIDEO" on the SV1000 directly to the TV "AUTIO VIDEO input..
The problem so far is that I have from 65 to 75 on the green Signal strength bar but regardless of what I do I get no Quality signal strength on the red bar.. Consequently scanning result fails and no channels can be captured or saved for use..
The Satellite I am aiming at is: Intelsat Americas 5 at 97.0W, though many satellites show good strength at the current dish alignment.. (Azmuth=144.8, Elevation=32.9)
I took a pic of the set up screen that I could email if it would be of any help
I hope you can shed some light..
Thanks
Nauticat

 

[Tron]

You will not be able to get IA-5 (or any other linear satellite) with a DBS (DirecTV style) dish. There are several reasons why these dishes won't work. First, they are too small. You'll need a 30 inch (minimum) dish to pick up most FTA channels out there. Secondly, the LNBF on the Winegard DBS dish is for circular polarized signals (for DBS) and not linear polarized signals (for Ku). Also, you cannot turn the LNBF to skew it on a DBS dish. Winegard does make a very good (and popular) 30 inch dish that many of us here use for FTA.

You'd need a minimum of 30 inches (larger is better) with a Ku standard or universal LNBF to pick up IA-5, G-10, or most other satellites with FTA content. There are a few free channels you can get with the 18 inch Winegard from the DBS satellites, mostly free audio channels.

 

[jayelem]

The only reason I think the price is currently inflated is due to the other market that only a few receivers work in right now. If you lok at prices on ebay, you can tell which ones are sought after for illegal means

Youre absolutely right , more expensive doesn't neccesarily mean better or as you pointed out cost was relative with hackable working 3rd party software.

I'm glad it was pointed out that this stb is a Buzz with a different name plate, I've searched high and low and even looked at foreign FTA forums to see the overall pleasure and displeasure with current receivers on the market, it seems that many people are looking for true FTA receivers that set a standard for both quality and accuracy when blind scanning.

A forum member from Australia pondered if Coolsat or Viewsat were any good, and the main issue was that some popular FTA receivers in their market were missing PID's when scanning causing unfavorable results.

So I was mislead reading into the hype on the Sonicview on Ebay, I'll still keep my eyes open looking for the next STB that truly caters to true FTA and sets a new standard in performance and quality.

 

[PSB]

PSB,
Thank you for your response... The dish I have is a "Winegard" 18" portable Mod.#RD9046... It has a duel LNB (though I'm only useing one) and the label says as follows: Compatible with "Direct TV Multi Satellite, Direct TV Para TODOS and Direct TV dish Antennas..
12.2 to 12.7 GHZ, SN: SF2-D3, 6A406226S
It is a fold down type as it's intended use is on a camper and boat. It has no motor.. The antenna is hooked directly to the "IF IN" connection on the Sonicview 1000. The output is from the "AUTIO&VIDEO" on the SV1000 directly to the TV "AUTIO VIDEO input..
The problem so far is that I have from 65 to 75 on the green Signal strength bar but regardless of what I do I get no Quality signal strength on the red bar.. Consequently scanning result fails and no channels can be captured or saved for use..
The Satellite I am aiming at is: Intelsat Americas 5 at 97.0W, though many satellites show good strength at the current dish alignment.. (Azmuth=144.8, Elevation=32.9)
I took a pic of the set up screen that I could email if it would be of any help
I hope you can shed some light..
Thanks
Nauticat

That dish will not work for 99% of the FTA channels "Up There"

You will need at least a 30" dish and a Linear Ku LNBF, here is a list of the few channels you WILL be able to get using your dish and LNB.....

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=34131

NO SKEW is needed when using a Circular LNB (That's what you have)