U4 Quad Hybrid: New UHD DVB-S2 + OTA receiver

[Comptech]

My A3 (working only as a media player) is crashing constantly. I updated from .73 to .78 and I think its worse now. I might order a USB air-mouse for the Vigica and put it back in service as a media player only.
Is there a sat box coming out soon that isn't a media player?

I agree my A3 was fine for almost a year, now it is a POS. After reset and loading positions back in and not putting any apps on it it will work fine for a day or two, then lockup and revert to European and the loop continues. We used to make fun of Dee Anne with her problems, but they are starting to show in mine now. I wish Joe would stop looking for new adventures and address the problems with the current box.

 

[Titanium]

Didn't try to make fun of her or light of the situation, just repeatedly encourage her to RMA the dang thing!

I just got weary of the repeated story of the same problem, but never RMA'd it.... AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!

 

[N6BY]

I agree my A3 was fine for almost a year, now it is a POS. After reset and loading positions back in and not putting any apps on it it will work fine for a day or two, then lockup and revert to European and the loop continues. We used to make fun of Dee Anne with her problems, but they are starting to show in mine now. I wish Joe would stop looking for new adventures and address the problems with the current box.

Glad I never got one. Makes me hesitant to buy the new A3 "Quad Combo" too.

 

[fred555]

My three Amiko Mini HD SEs are still working like a champ.

 

[danristheman]

Keep things plain and simple I want a FTA receiver just by itself get a roku if you want iptv.

 

[fred555]

My three Amiko Mini HD SEs are still working like a champ.

Keep things plain and simple I want a FTA receiver just by itself get a roku if you want iptv.

And the only time they get rebooted is when I power them down when working on the system.
The Amikos stay powered on for many many months straight 24x7.

 

[pacificrim]

I'm happily using my A2. Is there a place to download older versions of firmware? I'd like to put mine back to .73 or earlier.

 

[Cham]

I had to do a complete reset on the A3 and loaded the original ROM version it came with. Now it seems to work ok most of the time, not running XMBC or any other apps or updates and it makes a decent sat receiver. Seems like it can function as a sat receiver OR media center, but to use it as both... not so good.
Would rather just see a receiver that does all the known formats that plays UHD directly to a TV/monitor, and maybe able to stream so that it can be "used" by a real media center/Kodi type interface on another box through the LAN.

 

[Lone Gunman]

I think that over time the channel lists become corrupt from all the deletes and scans we are constantly doing. I've run into this with my S9s, AZ Ultra and also with the Micro HDs. The "fix" for these has been to do a factory reset and use either an OLD channel list, or, reprogram the satellites all over again from scratch. I've tried using a current saved channel list to restore the user data but that usually doesn't work as well as a "Do Over".

 

[iBoston]

Well, glad i never hopped on the A3 train. To be honest, I'm gonna let this UHD transition go more mainstream before i fire a shot at one of these units.

 

[Elkview]

Can you record over the air with this unit?

 

[Comptech]

I think that over time the channel lists become corrupt from all the deletes and scans we are constantly doing. I've run into this with my S9s, AZ Ultra and also with the Micro HDs. The "fix" for these has been to do a factory reset and use either an OLD channel list, or, reprogram the satellites all over again from scratch. I've tried using a current saved channel list to restore the user data but that usually doesn't work as well as a "Do Over".

I think android gets corrupt. The box is a great piece of work, but I think it is the android core that is the problem, I see it in my phone also. My phone has been locking up for a week now and I haven't added anything. Nice thing is I can reset my phone and reload from cloud and it will work fine for another year. The A3 with a custom ROM is a roll of the dice. Right now it is behaving again, but no Kodi and no apps.

 

[Cham]

Don't think it's the channel list(s). I loaded my latest channel data after re-doing the A3 and it has been working fine with it. Pretty sure it is some of the apps that come with or are added later, as well as updates.

 

[N6BY]

I'm wondering if anyone is planning on getting a U4 Quad?

Would you get the twin DVB-S2 or the DVB-S2 + OTA version? (I confirmed with Vivant that the Twin DVB-S2 really is available.)

 

[KE4EST]

If I ordered one, I would personally go the the DVBS-2 and the OTA.

 

[Titanium]

I have always wanted a reliable dual tuner satellite STB, but never have found one that properly managed motor control and timed events. If it properly managed the dual DVBS2 tuners, I would lean towards that configuration.

The ATSC option would need to have an exceptionally sensitive tuner and EPG XML database integration. Otherwise, it will just be another unused ATSC STB tuner.

Hard for me to get excited over a product announcement of an untested STB. Seen too many manufacturers provide STB samples that are big on promises and specifications that end up being worthless pieces of junk!

My personal Amiko A3 continues to perform without any problems. It is running .72 and I don't load any other apps. I continue to enjoy the exceptionally sensitive tuner that catches almost any feed and the reliable daily recording of the network feeds.

I strongly disagree with the suggestion that the Android OS is the problem with multi media STBs. The loading of other apps and allowing automatic updates cause conflicts and database errors with the Android STBs and tablets that I test and own.

 

[pacificrim]

I switched back to the A2 because the A3 wasn't consistently moving the ASC1 - reselecting the satellite was sometimes what it took to move the dish. I was using .73.
I never had that problem using USALS, but moving to a BUD and using Diseqc motor positions changed that.
The second thing was crashing issues. I had to decide pretty quickly before I invested too much time into scanning and motor positions that my best move was to go back to the A2.

 

[N6BY]

I just ordered the dual DVB-S2, since I have a TiVo with lifetime service for OTA. Also, if I am not mistaken, it may be quite a long time before there are UHD broadcasts over the air.

I'll use one DVB-S2 input for C Band and the other for KU.

But given where this is coming from, my expectations for a trouble free experience are low. If it receives NASA UHD I'll be happy.

 

[FTA4PA]

I just ordered the dual DVB-S2, since I have a TiVo with lifetime service for OTA. Also, if I am not mistaken, it may be quite a long time before there are UHD broadcasts over the air.

I'll use one DVB-S2 input for C Band and the other for KU.

But given where this is coming from, my expectations for a trouble free experience are low. If it receives NASA UHD I'll be happy.

Good luck! Hope it functions as stated. Looking forward to a review.

 

[Titanium]

The ATSC tuner will not support OTA 4K UHD. The ATSC 3.0 format is not yet finalized. Maybe a future tuner upgrade might be available?

NASA UHD shouldn't be an issue as it is received on a sample STB using this same chipset.

Good luck and let know your testing results!