Inexpensive HD FTA receivers from Far East on e-bay

[Titanium]

It is more difficult to verify if the STB is decoding AC3/Dolby without the AV output connection. The HDMI output may pass-through the raw AC3 data and decoded with a capable TV. Some TVs allow the decoder to be disabled, but most do not.

So the 125w PBS channels have audio?

 

[Al K]

I spent a little bit of time today and for 35 dollars it seems to be working pretty well. I'm more critical of picture quality than sound and don't even have a receiver hooked up to test AC3 etc. As expected, all satellites programmed in are outside North America but the blind scan appears to be pretty fast and finds most channels including 16apsk. I have a few screen shots I was going to post but can't figure out how to upload them so feel free to ask any questions.

I would like to buy one of these. Could you let me know by chat the exact unit and seller you used. There are so many different units for sell and I don't want to risk my whopping $35 on another vendor.

Thanks

 

[papabruski]

Has anyone tried a "Dolby Digital Optical Coax Toslink to Analog RL RCA Audio Decoder Converter"
as seen on the auction site to get dolby audio from one of these boxes? They are cheap enough and come with good ratings.

 

[migold]

Al K:
The "X2 HD DVB-S2" is available on both Amazon and Ebay, and it does AC-3 audio. I have two of them. They do run hot and need good ventilation. They perform well, and the menus are easy to understand, with a little practice... IT is also known as X2 M1 HD. Details and specs and software downloads are available at X2SAT.com.

 

[FTA4PA]

I just dug one of these receivers out of storage to experiment. It is like the ones mentioned in post one of this thread. It was in storage because it refused to scan in the Luken mux on 87W, always locking up during the scan and requiring it to be unplugged. Even when I let it go for about a half an hour there was nothing. So I put it away. I got to wondering whether I would get a different result now that Luken is on 83W. Didn't figure I would but to my surprise it worked on the first scan this time. So, with Luken being the same frequency, polarity and symbol rate but just on another sat, I'm wondering why it works now - not that I'm complaining.

 

[migold]

Well, not everything that doesn't work is the fault of the receiver....

 

[pacificrim]

Can anyone confirm working, accurate USALS on a Freesat v8 Super? Also, can you manually add channel by PID? Thanks

 

[Jim S.]

USALS was fine the last time I tried it. (I went back to my Alien3 when I managed to re-flash it to a working condition because I use the A3's web interface a lot, but nothing majorly wrong with the V8 Super.)

 

[papabruski]

I recently sold a 'no-name' box to a family that views foreign language programs on G19. They were glad to get it and I was glad to get rid of it. I spent $28 on the box and sold it for $20 and got more than $8 worth of education from it.
WooHoo!

 

[pacificrim]

Yup, there's a lot of junk out there. Some of it is cheap and some of it is expensive. Luckily you only paid $28 for it.

 

[PBSer]

Which inexpensive receivers have certification per say UL, Dolby Digital, USB, etc? Freesat V8 Super receivers?

 

[SatPhreak]

Good luck on that! Most have zero certifications. You get what you pay for.

Which inexpensive receivers have certification per say UL, Dolby Digital, USB, etc? Freesat V8 Super receivers?

Sent from my P00A using the SatelliteGuys app!

 

[primestar31]

Which inexpensive receivers have certification per say UL, Dolby Digital, USB, etc? Freesat V8 Super receivers?

Those terms make your sentence an oxymoron. Freesat are eyepatch stuff.

Tell us YOUR definition of "inexpensive" ($$?), and then we can better advise you. That term is too subjective for us to guess.

 

[PBSer]

primestar31, <~$99 (what a Manhattan RC-1978 goes for).

 

[comfortably_numb]

@primestar31 , <~$99 (what a Manhattan RC-1978 goes for).

Get an Amiko HD.265

 

[primestar31]

Get an Amiko HD.265

I second this. That's a really good receiver for the price, and it's all legit. The next good ones up, are pushing $200.

$94 here:
https://estsatellite.com/shop?olsPage=products/amiko-mini-hd265

 

[comfortably_numb]

I second this. That's a really good receiver for the price, and it's all legit. The next good ones up, are pushing $200.

$94 here:
https://estsatellite.com/shop?olsPage=products/amiko-mini-hd265

Yep, its my daily beater and its super solid. Zero complaints.