Especially those days when all my body parts just worked!
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How to tell if FTA product is legit
- Thread starter drg
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Yes, its definitely better when there is an importer (like Edision) who supervises the quality of what comes out of the Chinese factories.Still, there is very often a difference between manufactured in China and designed or cloned in China. Edision is a company in Greece.
That said, I see that Dish and DTV have their share of issues with their STBs as well.
But given our current situation with China I make every effort possible to avoid products made there.
I was trying to imply that Manhattan-Digital's RS-1933 was a pioneer in the development of MPEG-4 consumer receivers specifically designed for the N.A. market. The AZ box was not designed for our market, and was imported for sale in North America, warts and all. It had a lot of things under the hood, but most people that have used it generally agree that it was not the easiest box in the world to operate or program. The RS-1933 was very user friendly, and had a number of updates issued throughout the years. If stecle would have contacted Jeff Schumann directly (EMail jeffschumann@centurytel.net) then or now, he could have enjoyed use of the receiver, with a number of updates. But Jeff never heard from him. Jeff is still willing to discuss things, if you would take the time to send an Email or phone.
Software is up-to-date for its operating system, if you download the latest version. Satellite channel charts can be manually updated by the user. While I used to have a service supplying satellite and channel memory updates for a small fee, the death of my wife in 2014 forced me to sell the home and property that once housed over 20 satellite antennas, in mid 2016. I do not have the space or abilities to re-create a similar antenna farm in this day and age. I spent many years creating satellite antenna charts on my own time, free for anyone to use, on my website for Global Communications, from about 1998 to 2016. Nobody else is doing this any more, and the spirit of sharing such information seems to have vanished from the industry. Those that lament the loudest about this loss should think about how they could do similar research to assist anyone in maintaining up-to-date charts. I am still working on the edges of the satellite industry on several fronts, and hope to return to a more visible role on a few projects. This has been a fun hobby, but will never return to the levels of intensity that it had 10 years ago. Enjoy what you can find, and also consider getting a good Internet connection, to at least connect a basic Roku device, for both free and subscription programming. We used to think that a few hundred radio and audio channels were a big deal, on analog satellite systems. I now count at least four radio Apps available on Roku, with hundreds of thousands of radio stations and other audio sources available free of charge. It does not take a lot of bandwidth to run a Roku for audio. Get high speed internet, and the number of video services is mind-boggling. Mix satellite and internet technology, and you cannot go wrong.
Software is up-to-date for its operating system, if you download the latest version. Satellite channel charts can be manually updated by the user. While I used to have a service supplying satellite and channel memory updates for a small fee, the death of my wife in 2014 forced me to sell the home and property that once housed over 20 satellite antennas, in mid 2016. I do not have the space or abilities to re-create a similar antenna farm in this day and age. I spent many years creating satellite antenna charts on my own time, free for anyone to use, on my website for Global Communications, from about 1998 to 2016. Nobody else is doing this any more, and the spirit of sharing such information seems to have vanished from the industry. Those that lament the loudest about this loss should think about how they could do similar research to assist anyone in maintaining up-to-date charts. I am still working on the edges of the satellite industry on several fronts, and hope to return to a more visible role on a few projects. This has been a fun hobby, but will never return to the levels of intensity that it had 10 years ago. Enjoy what you can find, and also consider getting a good Internet connection, to at least connect a basic Roku device, for both free and subscription programming. We used to think that a few hundred radio and audio channels were a big deal, on analog satellite systems. I now count at least four radio Apps available on Roku, with hundreds of thousands of radio stations and other audio sources available free of charge. It does not take a lot of bandwidth to run a Roku for audio. Get high speed internet, and the number of video services is mind-boggling. Mix satellite and internet technology, and you cannot go wrong.
BS. I myself and many others scan the skies every day to provide accurate and up-to-date information on which services are available. We post to this site, Lyngsat, and others.
comfortably_numb I am going to assume you do not know who Mike Kohl is. Perhaps you also misunderstand him. He maintained a website with daily scans of satellite lists and what was there. Yes, many of us still enjoy this hobby, but none of us upload daily to our own site that gets updated daily. Lyngsat and the others can take a few days at times to get updated.....and it can take months for stuff to be removed that is no longer valid.
Mike, I admit I don't know who he is, but I also don't like him insinuating that there aren't current hobbyists who work hard every day to keep this hobby alive.
Well, I'll have to disagree with your statements. There were several MPEG-4 consumer receivers available at the time (Pansats, Coolsats, etc.) which as far as I am aware seemed to be designed for the N.A. market. Plus, other than a strictly N.A. satellite list (which, by the way, the dealer I got the AZBox from included in the firmware) there really doesn't seem to be anything "North American" that needs to be added to any imported receiver. As far as the AZBox, I have never had any major problems with it, whatever quirks there were usually had work-arounds, and many ended up being fixed. As well, I would say it has a very user-friendly menu with many important options.
Don't get me wrong, though, I always applaud any attempt by any North American company to develop a receiver for the FTA market.
As an aside, your charts where definitely the "go-to place" when I first became involved in FTA to decide where to aim a newly added LNB or dish!
My first interaction with Mike Kohl was when I purchased some equipment from him when he was working for Sky-Vision. I also listened to him when he was on Sat-Talk. Mike seems to have a chip on his shoulder or some bittnerness towards the satellite industry.
Mike is one among many people who have pioneered and made sacrifices to build this great industry. Perhaps he feels that the satellite industry owes him a living or something more.
When I first got into satellite hobby in 1994 Mike kohl designed satellite dishes and had his own program and participated in lots pf other satellite shows. I think the company he worked for was Paraclipse and they are very good dish. He lived in Wisconsin and tried to make a living selling from his home. Then he got the job at Skyvision and made many trips to minnisota hauling his wares there. Then when he lost that job and hadn,t sold his home he had to move all his stuff back to Wisconsin and try to make a living there selling from his home again. Then he lost his wife to cancer. I bought some of my satellite receivers from him and used his charts to program my fta satelites. So you see Mike had more than his share of roadblocks to deal with. Always wondered if he just gave up as he always talked about his wife he lost. Does anyone know if he is still alive? Another guy I purchased sat stuff was Tom Taylor from Kentucky.
Well, IF he's dead, then posts #15 & #23 above was made by his ghost...
Don't forget all Chinese are STATE owned that's why we get's the crappy stuff from them.
And poor China's people have no experience of democracy for 5'000 plus years give or take.
Really sad to say.
And do you realize that China's government does not allowed any private owned satellite dish other than State owned media broadcast!?
Just want let you know what your dealing with Red China, they are nothing be liying and cheating based on their State owned crappy system.
Nuff said... protected by First Amendment
Free speech..
And poor China's people have no experience of democracy for 5'000 plus years give or take.
Really sad to say.
And do you realize that China's government does not allowed any private owned satellite dish other than State owned media broadcast!?
Just want let you know what your dealing with Red China, they are nothing be liying and cheating based on their State owned crappy system.
Nuff said... protected by First Amendment
Free speech..
Maybe by the first amendment.
But is there no 'no politics, no religion' rule here on satelliteguys?
Bashing China isn't needed at all.
Greetz,
A33
First amendment free speech??? Huh???
When you have a product manufactured you get what you pay for... Period. Nothing to do with geography or politics.
Cheap junk knows no borders and it simply comes down to the quality which the seller desires to distribute and the price the buyer wishes to pay.
When you have a product manufactured you get what you pay for... Period. Nothing to do with geography or politics.
Cheap junk knows no borders and it simply comes down to the quality which the seller desires to distribute and the price the buyer wishes to pay.
That's why you should buy from Brian! Never had a bad experience.
These Sat boxes are cheap all of them. but it matters little they will get you thru till the next advancement comes along. then buy another one. for $25 - 150.
A PC and a good Sat card is the way to go.
Like Magic said I've got sat boxes from the 90s. only move dishes these days. but they still work. made in USA & Japan.
Of all the boxes this century the early Azbox's are by far the best. now near a decade old mine still work like new. the only real problem was blind scanning. that was fixed but just too much trouble and time for me to deal with. I doubt that Quality will ever be reproduced.
Love you Mike. he's a good guy.
Happy Holidays to All
A PC and a good Sat card is the way to go.
Like Magic said I've got sat boxes from the 90s. only move dishes these days. but they still work. made in USA & Japan.
Of all the boxes this century the early Azbox's are by far the best. now near a decade old mine still work like new. the only real problem was blind scanning. that was fixed but just too much trouble and time for me to deal with. I doubt that Quality will ever be reproduced.
Love you Mike. he's a good guy.
Happy Holidays to All
