Looking for thoughts.

[bpalone]

I have a good friend that is making noises about possibly getting into this hobby. He isn't the most tech savy kind of guy and I will end up being the SUPPORT person, which I don't object to since is a very good friend.

I like my Amiko A3 and SAB AndroidHD receivers, but they are not what I would call newbie friendly. However, would it make my life simpler if my friend and I are using the same box? I start to lean that way, as I can be looking at same screen etc. while on the phone, trying to resolve issues.

Or, would it be smarter to just go with something like the Amiko MiniHD and hobble myself a bit?

Give me your thoughts. Thanks in advance.

 

[FTA4PA]

I have a good friend that is making noises about possibly getting into this hobby. He isn't the most tech savy kind of guy and I will end up being the SUPPORT person, which I don't object to since is a very good friend.

I like my Amiko A3 and SAB AndroidHD receivers, but they are not what I would call newbie friendly. However, would it make my life simpler if my friend and I are using the same box? I start to lean that way, as I can be looking at same screen etc. while on the phone, trying to resolve issues.

Or, would it be smarter to just go with something like the Amiko MiniHD and hobble myself a bit?

Give me your thoughts. Thanks in advance.

If I were in your position and was going to be his 'technical support team' I would get him the simplest box available that would still do the job. Less bells and whistles would hopefully mean less chance of messing something up and less need for support. Just my two cents.

 

[Brct203]

Hi Bpalone,

I have the Amiko Mini HD RE and am very pleased with it. I would describe it as a solid, dependable, easy to use receiver. It does have its limitations, but still, I think that's a great box that is a good choice for someone not too technical

 

[wvman]

I have a good friend that is making noises about possibly getting into this hobby. He isn't the most tech savy kind of guy and I will end up being the SUPPORT person, which I don't object to since is a very good friend.

I like my Amiko A3 and SAB AndroidHD receivers, but they are not what I would call newbie friendly. However, would it make my life simpler if my friend and I are using the same box? I start to lean that way, as I can be looking at same screen etc. while on the phone, trying to resolve issues.

Or, would it be smarter to just go with something like the Amiko MiniHD and hobble myself a bit?

Give me your thoughts. Thanks in advance.

There are some very inexpensive receivers out there, but most are very vague when it comes to using the menus. I have two Freesat V7's, two V8 Golden, two GeoSat Pro HDVR1200's and two HDVR 3500's. I learned that when it comes to screen formats, get one that has as many options as possible. I have been kicking around the idea of getting two of the Linkbox 9000i's. They are a little more expensive, but they are made in Korea rather than China.

They are loaded with features, and from the reviews, they are very good receivers with the HD and the ability to add an external hard drive to make a DVR out of them. As for ease of programming, all of them have their idiosyncrasies , but once you program one, the rest aren't all that different. I'm not getting the one with OTA capabilities because you can't get a single off air channel where I live. I'd go as simple and inexpensive as I could to see how your friend likes FTA, and then work him up to a better receiver.

 

[Cham]

I just set up a new Mini HD RE as well, works fine and intuitive to operate. Sold and supported by one of the members here KE4EST.

Hi Bpalone,

I have the Amiko Mini HD RE and am very pleased with it. I would describe it as a solid, dependable, easy to use receiver. It does have its limitations, but still, I think that's a great box that is a good choice for someone not too technical

 

[danristheman]

Amikos are good. My mom understands them she likes the easy to read menu. It would be the best way to go contact KE4EST he is a good vendor.

 

[kittyhas1000legs]

I have been kicking around the idea of getting two of the Linkbox 9000i's. They are a little more expensive, but they are made in Korea rather than China.

To this day I have not gotten the clock to work right on my 9000i Local. I've done factory resets, updated to the newest firmware, etc. It still grabs the time from the channel or satellite it's tuned to, making the DVR function useless. It makes me wonder by this point if I may have a dysfunctional box. Playback is fine, blindscan isn't too slow, no motor issues. If I can get the clock working correctly I'd love the box.

 

[wvman]

To this day I have not gotten the clock to work right on my 9000i Local. I've done factory resets, updated to the newest firmware, etc. It still grabs the time from the channel or satellite it's tuned to, making the DVR function useless. It makes me wonder by this point if I may have a dysfunctional box. Playback is fine, blindscan isn't too slow, no motor issues. If I can get the clock working correctly I'd love the box.

I have purchased several receivers to see how well they work, and so far none of them had clock functions that worked very well. I have been considering the 9000i, but haven't purchased them yet. With the clock not working, it makes it difficult to retrieve a program you recorded. Most of these receivers will allow you to edit the name of the recorded video, but you have to be careful how you rename it.

I've actually renamed shows like Hogan's Heroes, only to find it makes the receiver go bonkers when you tell it to name all the Hogan's Heroes as such. I hear good things about the 9000i, but it may have the same time quirks as the rest of them. I've never had one yet that will remember the time if there's a power failure and the receiver is not on a back up unit. I have back ups on everything.

The guide in most of these stink too. There's two settings, and one retrieves nothing, and the other shows programs in the guide, but they aren't accurate. I will eventually purchase 2 9000i's, but right now, I am preoccupied with getting the channels back I lost to TI. I have an LNB coming with the WiMax filters in it. I hope that will cure the problem, if not, it's back to the drawing board. Let me know how the 9000i pans out for you. I hear good things about it.

 

[Cham]

The mini hd re clock works fine, as long as it has an interweb connection. A3 clock also worked well (when the unit would boot up), as did the AzBox. As long as any unit uses NTP or SNTP it should be relatively accurate.

 

[ZetaMale]

I have purchased several receivers to see how well they work, and so far none of them had clock functions that worked very well. I have been considering the 9000i, but haven't purchased them yet. With the clock not working, it makes it difficult to retrieve a program you recorded. Most of these receivers will allow you to edit the name of the recorded video, but you have to be careful how you rename it.

The only receivers that I've owned that have accurate time sync is the Azbox Elite and Azbox Ultra as long as you have an internet connection. The TBS 6922SE PCIe card in my desktop computer has excellent time sync also, of course - too bad the software for it is difficult to use. None of the other receivers have accurate time sync mainly because you can't sync them to an internet NTP time server.