Whew! Cool beans! I don’t have the $$ this week but next week I can pre-order one.
This also gives me time to construct a proper tin foil hat since I will be having a google device in my home.
Introducing Amiko A3
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Whew! Cool beans! I don’t have the $$ this week but next week I can pre-order one.
This also gives me time to construct a proper tin foil hat since I will be having a google device in my home.
Yay! I got my order in early and got the introductory special price! 
My PC tuner card is still flaking out, not to mention it will not tune some of the new FECs so this will be a very welcome change.
So tired of the flakey PC stuff. In it’s day it was great but it’s day has come and gone.
Now I can add another motorized USALS KU dish. And another C-band dish. And probably some more stuff too.
edit: Question - On adding a disk to this thing. I see there are many speeds you can choose from. Mostly 5400 or 7200. Which would be the best? Considering that I will likely record stuff from PBS in 1080i, I’m thinking 7200. And if it record and play back like the MicroHD does, wouldn’t that require the faster disk? Or would the slow disk be adequate?
Thanks !
My PC tuner card is still flaking out, not to mention it will not tune some of the new FECs so this will be a very welcome change.
So tired of the flakey PC stuff. In it’s day it was great but it’s day has come and gone.
Now I can add another motorized USALS KU dish. And another C-band dish. And probably some more stuff too.
edit: Question - On adding a disk to this thing. I see there are many speeds you can choose from. Mostly 5400 or 7200. Which would be the best? Considering that I will likely record stuff from PBS in 1080i, I’m thinking 7200. And if it record and play back like the MicroHD does, wouldn’t that require the faster disk? Or would the slow disk be adequate?
Thanks !
Last edited:
The DVR files are uncompressed files of the transport stream (TS). The disk rotation speed of 5400 or 7200 will make little difference with file recording or play-out. Both disk speeds are adequate for the bandwidth used for DVBS/S2 TS. DVRs traditionally used lower RPM speed drives as they are likely to have greater longevity. Buffer size is much more important for DVRs usage. Drive manufacturers usually specify which models are best for DVR or data back-up usage.
Does this new tuner record multiple channels simultaneously like the MicroHD does? Or do a playback while recording?
Also, will it record to a network disk? Like if I share a disk on my Mac or a windows PC, can it record to that over the network?
Or will it only record to disks that are physically connected to it?
And lastly, is there a chance we can download the user manual in advance ?
Thanks!
Also, will it record to a network disk? Like if I share a disk on my Mac or a windows PC, can it record to that over the network?
Or will it only record to disks that are physically connected to it?
And lastly, is there a chance we can download the user manual in advance ?
Thanks!
Does this new tuner record multiple channels simultaneously like the MicroHD does? Or do a playback while recording?
Also, will it record to a network disk? Like if I share a disk on my Mac or a windows PC, can it record to that over the network?
Or will it only record to disks that are physically connected to it?
And lastly, is there a chance we can download the user manual in advance ?
Thanks!
As of the last test ROM it only records one while watching another. Not sure why since our other boxes do more than 1+1. Europe was checking on this for us to see if/when it can be increased. I haven't tried playback while recording but that is Android App driven and it does let me mess with the Apps while recording.
No clue what it can do with a Mac but with PC you just go to network shares and it scans in everything on your network automatically, unless you cover them in tinfoil LOL. Assign the ones you want A3 to use to a drive letter like X Y or Z and they behave like local drives for browsing, playback or recording. There is a setting for where you want recordings to go. Keep in mind if you are recording a 50Mbps stream you need more than that in actual network bandwidth. On any wireless system the advertised vs real bandwidth can vary greatly especially when far away from the AP. I recommend wired whenever possible for both HD network playback and TS recording. That said I haven't had issues with HD MKV's on my wireless N setup the few times I have tried it.
I haven't seen a user manual yet. Personally I don't like user manuals even for our simpler boxes. By the time they go to print we've already added 5 features and redesigned 5 others. Naturally the manuals tend to be "Chinglish" and of limited value anyway. For North America I am doing video and PDF guides for specific functions, mainly geared toward the satellite end and general setup. Will do some for XBMC too. Since 90% of the A3 is setup the way you want with your own App picks that kind of stuff is almost impossible to do guides for. Things like Netflix, Crackle and BBC are pretty easy to figure out anyway. That is if you choose them for your box.
I have the early channel editor already. Given it is a first release that I got 3 months before we release hardware there are some minor bugs. I'm sure we'll have a better one for public around release time. Since the early orders are -early- if a better version is not out when we ship I'll release what I have.
Joe let me preview the Spark PC based editor software with basic channel editor functions to edit/add/delete satellites/transponders/channels.I successfully edited, created and deleted. It worked fine.
Remember, the A3 is a Android OS computer, there really is no need to export, edit and reload. I connected up a keyboard and made quick changes directly on the unit. Tried the voice to text input for the satellite names and most were quite accurate, but some of the satellite names and abbreviations just didn't convert to text just right...I mean, seriously... how should the English voice input meaningfully create text for Eutelsat 117 West A, QuetzSat 1, and Simón Bolívar? LOL!!!
Edit: Joe beat me to the post....
Remember, the A3 is a Android OS computer, there really is no need to export, edit and reload. I connected up a keyboard and made quick changes directly on the unit. Tried the voice to text input for the satellite names and most were quite accurate, but some of the satellite names and abbreviations just didn't convert to text just right...I mean, seriously... how should the English voice input meaningfully create text for Eutelsat 117 West A, QuetzSat 1, and Simón Bolívar? LOL!!!
Edit: Joe beat me to the post....
Please tell me the ethernet connection will be gigabit and not slugnet !?? Everything I have is gigabit now because I had a media gadget that was only capable of slugnet on the wire. They told me to get a gigabit wifi so I did and that was rubbish. WIFI doesn’t run anywhere near gigabit speed and that was money thrown away. After going through several WIFI routers and WIFI N adapters I finally just tossed the stupid thing in the junk box. I’ll take a wired connection over WIFI any day ! But slugnet 100 is waaaaaaay too slow... I can copy huge files from the PC to my Mac in seconds where before they would take HOURS.
I read the specifications and it just says “Ethernet: RJ45” Well, some more specific details would be helpful.
Also, please consider making a Mac version of the channel editor, please? I despise the windows machine and once I get the A3 that windows pc is going to become a BSD server. I’ve been researching it for several years and am sure I can do it but I was locked in to using the pc as a satellite tuner. I can’t wait to be rid of windows !
Another thing, will the disk in the A3 be accessible to other computers? Like my Mac? The MicroHD disk can’t be seen or shared on the network so to get files out of it I have to go through the eject routine and physically remove the disk and carry it to the other room. I am hoping that if I put a disk in the A3 that I can have my Mac run a scheduled task to retrieve recorded files from the A3 at some specific hour every day then remove them from the A3 so I can put a small disk in it and keep it pretty empty. I would like my Mac to pluck recordings from it so it can process them into mkv files for long term storage on the Mac. It can hold a LOT of stuff.
On a manual, I wouldn’t expect there to be anything in there for the apps, that’s going to be about the same as using a cell phone. I’ve been with an iPhone for about 4 years and am well versed in how to install/remove apps. I would expect the google way would be somewhat similar. I’m sure I’ll figure it out. But it would be nice to see a manual about the basic functions of the tuner so we can get an idea of it will work.
But it not, oh well..
But please, let there be gigabit ethernet in it !
I read the specifications and it just says “Ethernet: RJ45” Well, some more specific details would be helpful.
Also, please consider making a Mac version of the channel editor, please? I despise the windows machine and once I get the A3 that windows pc is going to become a BSD server. I’ve been researching it for several years and am sure I can do it but I was locked in to using the pc as a satellite tuner. I can’t wait to be rid of windows !
Another thing, will the disk in the A3 be accessible to other computers? Like my Mac? The MicroHD disk can’t be seen or shared on the network so to get files out of it I have to go through the eject routine and physically remove the disk and carry it to the other room. I am hoping that if I put a disk in the A3 that I can have my Mac run a scheduled task to retrieve recorded files from the A3 at some specific hour every day then remove them from the A3 so I can put a small disk in it and keep it pretty empty. I would like my Mac to pluck recordings from it so it can process them into mkv files for long term storage on the Mac. It can hold a LOT of stuff.
On a manual, I wouldn’t expect there to be anything in there for the apps, that’s going to be about the same as using a cell phone. I’ve been with an iPhone for about 4 years and am well versed in how to install/remove apps. I would expect the google way would be somewhat similar. I’m sure I’ll figure it out. But it would be nice to see a manual about the basic functions of the tuner so we can get an idea of it will work.
But it not, oh well..
But please, let there be gigabit ethernet in it !
The pre-order specials ended on July 1st.
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