Digiwave HD9003PVR

[Mr Tony]

yup that looks like a 4:2:2 picture on a receiver that can't decode 4:2:2

 

[Jim S.]

Here's the other box it runs Linux so I hope I can get SSH access.

I know it runs Linux, but what's it running on top of Linux? Spark? Enigma? Neutrino? Titanium? None of the above?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

yup that looks like a 4:2:2 picture on a receiver that can't decode 4:2:2

Well it IS displaying a 4:2:2 picture!

 

[Jim S.]

So since this doesn't do 4:2:2, what on Earth are its selling points supposed to be, compared to every other receiver out there? I mean, it's not an Ali box, but it's almost as if the menus and the rest of the screens are laid out to look like one! And the small case isn't unique either, it's almost identical to an Optibox Gekko.

 

[wallyhts]

So since this doesn't do 4:2:2, what on Earth are its selling points supposed to be, compared to every other receiver out there? I mean, it's not an Ali box, but it's almost as if the menus and the rest of the screens are laid out to look like one! And the small case isn't unique either, it's almost identical to an Optibox Gekko.

Blow out price perhaps.

 

[wallyhts]

The HD9008i is a different story. Looks awesome so far.

Update:
Well YouTube will not play

 

[Jim S.]

That's probably not their fault. YouTube is run by morons who change the API at will without regard for anyone viewing it via anything other than their web page. (Some people would go so far as to claim that they do it intentionally to prevent watching videos on a TV.)

[EDIT>>>>>>> I deleted some speculation, based on what little I could see of the user interface, that the 9008I might be some variant of the Optibox line. The Optibox line runs STi chips, the Digiwave 9008I apparently runs a Realtek chip. This chip is used in a ton of media players, most of which get pretty good reviews.]

If the 9008I actually works as advertised, it sounds like a winner. I found one Canadian website selling it for $209.99 (Canadian) before tax and shipping, a lot better than the price on Amazon, but I don't know if they ship to the US. (I'm not sure if I'm in the market for another receiver right now or not. I'm working with an Amiko Alien2, but it has a few problems, and they keep saying they're working on them, but updates seem to take forever to come out.)

 

[wallyhts]

That's probably not their fault. YouTube is run by morons who change the API at will without regard for anyone viewing it via anything other than their web page. (Some people would go so far as to claim that they do it intentionally to prevent watching videos on a TV.)

From what little I see in your pictures, the 9008I software looks somewhat like what I remember the Optibox software looking like, just with a different skin. I don't remember what CPU the Optibox runs; the name in the 9008I specs doesn't ring a bell but I'm not sure I ever even knew what the one in the Optibox is so that's not conclusive. I'd need to see more menus to tell for sure.

The entire Optibox line, EXCEPT for the overpriced Raptor, had huge problems with the blind scan, the last time I heard anything about it. Sometimes it would hang, sometimes it would speed through without detecting any transponders. Sometimes it would actually work, sometimes it would even work for a few scans in a row, but once it screwed up, it would screw up forever after until you pulled the power. Also it was usually pretty slow, because it (apparently) spent too much time trying to make sense out of non-DVB transponders, or weak or interference-plagued transponders. The one good thing I can say about it is that if you renamed a channel, it WOULDN'T overwrite the name on the next scan. I never saw that on any other receiver. (Did it ever get implemented on the MicroHD?)

If the 9008I actually works as advertised, it sounds like a winner. I found one Canadian website selling it for $209.99 (Canadian) before tax and shipping, a lot better than the price on Amazon, but I don't know if they ship to the US. (I'm not sure if I'm in the market for another receiver right now or not. I'm working with an Amiko Alien2, but it has a few problems, and they keep saying they're working on them, but updates seem to take forever to come out.)

I have been trying to get blind scan working for about an hour now with no luck.

 

[primestar31]

I have been trying to get blind scan working for about an hour now with no luck.

Have you gone blind yet trying to get it to scan? See..............they didn't lie! lol

 

[Jim S.]

So what does it do when you try to scan? Just not find anything, or doesn't it run at all?

Can you input channels manually? The reason I'm wondering is, I've got a media player with a Realtek chip that's a few years older than the one in this new box, and it plays 4:2:2.

 

[SatelliteAV]

Tested the 9003 and the 9008 yesterday and don't have to much good to report.

The 9003 has one of the worst picture quality with SD channels. Confirmed no 4:2:2. Very few North American satellites and VERY old names (97w is named Galaxy 25. DiSEqC Motor control moves dish the wrong direction (yes, I have it set up correctly with location west longitude and north latitude). No LO 10750. Defaults to PAL format. No Signal Level reading, only Signal Quality meter. 24 hour time mode. Single page manual. Don't think that anyone tested this STB before importing and selling. I would never recommend to anyone with present operation.

The 9008 has no motor control (USALS or DiSEqC 1.2). Only select 32 fixed satellites by DiSEqC switches. Cannot play YouTube. Web browser cannot navigate (only shows index page) IPTV has several low resolution channels that have bad decoding issues and buffering. The movie selection has 54 titles with very poor quality and buffering. Blind Scan isn't working. Major microblocking on satellite channels with movement and scene changes. Much aliasing on standard definition programming. No 4:2:2 on satellite channels. Nice hardware build. Easy to connect to WiFi. Upnp for sharing files on LAN.

 

[wallyhts]

Nice review I think I have a better one and only need to use one word.

"JUNK" in my opinion.

I'm trying to be nice and not look like a total jerk.

 

[wallyhts]

Update: quoting from email reply "We will update the software. But it will take some time." So I give them props for telling the truth that it will take some time and not just saying soon. Looking forward to when I can blow the dust off it and load a new firmware.

Until then its still junk sitting in my trunk LOL!!!

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[KE4EST]

Everybody is jumping on the DVB-S2 band wagon and looks like most are just pumping out junk...looks like deja vu..