My OPENBOX S9 HD PVR Review

[carlospr43]

Well, just received mine , here is what I find:

Well packed, brand new included was a HDMI 6' cable.
Got confuse when I noticed the power cord plug was different. You need to use an adpter suplied in the box. The plug and the adapter are very lose so I need to wrap both of them around with tape.
The unit I received came with the European factory File. So I couldn't proceed any further. After downloading several files (most of them didn't work at all) I found out HDS2_CM_america. This one worked perfect since I'm not using a motor and this one has the Diseqc 1.0 problems fixed. Also it loads the American sats from 43W to 139W. After finishing entering my sats configuration I begin to scan one at the time using the BLIND SCAN option. I was in shock!!!!! Tooked less than a minute to scan each sat including all the S2 signals. Unbeliavable!!! After finishing scanning al the sats I noticed so many more chanels than before. Even some with low quality that I can't watch before now are watchable w/out any pixls at all. Picture quality is very similar or better than my Coolsat 8000HD. The menu are different but they are really easy to get used to it. After I finished scanning my sats, I downloaded the DUMP_abs to my pen drive, load the it to my PC, use the editor to add the 3 CW's at Gal 17 91W, re-save back the file to my pen drive and re-load back to my Openbox. A very smooth and easy to do update:up. Now, I have everything working perfect including my CW's. As of right now, haven't play at al with the PVR function but this is going to be in a later review.

FORGOT TO MENTIONED VERY IMPORTANT THE BOX CAN DECODE THE AAC AUDIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Con's:
The Power Cord Plug Adapter to loose
Channel Editing/ rename/ Move or add to Fav is a little time consumption
Finally what in the word this people was thinking when they decided to put the USB connector in the real of the box!!!!!!!!! My TV is approx 6' 1/2 tall, So I need to use a ladder to reach the back any time I need to load/unload the USB pen drive!!!
So Overall this box is in a scale of 1-10 in 8. If they make the decision to add an OTA Tuner, move the USB connector to the front and fix the power cord conn issue wil be realy close to a 10!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[dougruss]

Get yourself a USB Extension Cable.............Problem Solved !!

 

[greg harris]

Thanks for the review(s). It would be nice if more people would do things like this. GregH

 

[Mr Tony]

Got confuse when I noticed the power cord plug was different. You need to use an adpter suplied in the box. The plug and the adapter are very lose so I need to wrap both of them around with tape.

I dont know if there is a Radio Shack near you but they carry a heavier duty adapter. I had one when I had the SSO (when they first came out) and the cheapo adapter I had sucked. These were much better and works with various voltage adapters
Enercell™ Universal Grounded Adapter Plug - Foreign to U.S. - RadioShack.com

 

[carlospr43]

Get yourself a USB Extension Cable.............Problem Solved !!

View attachment 60201

Its not a matter of keep buying more stuff. This is my review/ suggestions. I'll ask elbandido to see if we can send your recomendation to the manufacturers in Europe so they can include an extension as part of the package.

Thanks for the review(s). It would be nice if more people would do things like this. GregH

Thanks Gregh,
It would be nice if people take the time to submit positive feedback like yours not the other way.

 

[carlospr43]

I dont know if there is a Radio Shack near you but they carry a heavier duty adapter. I had one when I had the SSO (when they first came out) and the cheapo adapter I had sucked. These were much better and works with various voltage adapters
Enercell™ Universal Grounded Adapter Plug - Foreign to U.S. - RadioShack.com

This is the same adapter that came inside the box. The 2 plug connector from the power cord is way too loose when you do the conection.

 

[FaT Air]

Here's another

My review of the SSO as biased by my previous experience with a Pansat 9200.

SSO = SatHawk/Solomend/Openbox
Model: Openbox S9
Firmware Version: HDS2-10-07-11.072AMT

Firmware is as recieved. Listed almost all CONUS satellites. Only on a few did I have to rename and reprogram or add. Sorting the satellite list to orbital position with the PVR800-Editor was a simple task. As was adding Channel information, PID, SR and freq.

Programming Sats. Well here I have to say I had an advantage as the GBox had already been programmed with all my sat positions. This saved me some time, but think it wasn't much.
To program the sat, Select the Sat in List, ENTER (check mark), then back out and re-enter Antenna Setup to program the location. Then back out and go into Single Sat Search to scan.
Blind scans are FAST! I would say it's 30 to 50% faster than the 9200. Does it miss anything? I would have to answer that with "sometimes" It has missed a few. On occasion, it has missed an active programmed channel when rescanning a sat. Scanning a second time usually gets it. So most of my blind scans are repeated, (wildfeed hunting) Some Weak signals have had to be TP scanned (in the TP List) to get.
Simutaneous operation of the GBox and Disqc switch by the Openbox has been flawless.

The SSO decodes more audio formats than the 9200. Unsure what they are, but all channels with no audio on the 9200 are fully functional with the openbox.

The clock works, meaning that timed recordings are possible. (The clock in the 9200 is "crap") The SSO must be left ON for the clock to keep time. (Software clock instead of a hardware clock) DVR operation, on a 8Gb usb stick and a spare HDD with a USB/SATA adapter cable, has been flawless. The receiver goes into the standby mode, showing the time, between timed recordings. The DVR function uses a common USB drive where the Pansat requires an eSATA drive. Use of an externally powered USB HDD seems to be required. Many USB powered HDD's may draw more power than the SSO can provide.
The clock format is Military and cannot be changed to 12 hour format.
The date format is also military, I.E: Day/Month/Year

Runs a whole lot cooler than the 9200, and doesn't need a fan. Might even be cooler than my Pansat 3500SD. Does audio formats that the 9200 doesn't. (did I repeat myself?)

Negatives:
The three things, I think, that the 9200 has over the SSO:

1) a more user freindly menu system.
I.E: It takes less keystrokes to program a sat, edit TP's or just normal operation with the 9200.

2) the SSO does not identify any info for the channel except for the PID's. No way to tell if it's S2, 8PSK or QPSK. No Pilot on/off in TP scan, or indication if pilot is used. This is not a big problem, unless you need that information for another receiver.

3) No way for manual PID entry. You must do it with the channel editor run on your computer. Easy to do, but just not as user friendly.

Other quirks: The composite video out has a noticable green tint. (only with 480i V Format selected) I don't know why. but some channels seem really "green" and others are not as noticable.

The Channel/Sat selection function: Hit OK to see the channel list, you can scroll up and down, then select another channel on the list with the OK button, and the receiver goes to that channel.
BUT, if you hit left/right, the receiver immediately goes to the next sat. I wish it would wait until I make a channel selection on another sat.
This flaw makes the Recall (last Channel) function almost useless. There is a way to use Recall, with two channels on different satellites, but it requires many, many more, keystrokes to set up. Although, utilizing the Favorites may allow this to work.
When recording using the (instant)Record Button, to stop the recording the keystrokes required are STOP, LEFT, OK. Why not make it STOP X 2 ? Hitting the stop button twice would be so much more convienient.
Hitting the Record button twice brings up a little window with 02:00 in it. The format is: Hours:Minutes (I don't know why I couldn't figure this out myself, I was stuck on minutess)

I miss, after a blind scan with the 9200, how it went to a preview mode where you could see the channels you just scanned in. Exiting the preview mode, with just one keystroke, put you back in the scan menu. With the SSO you must completely exit the programming mode to view the channels. Quite a few OK and Exit keystrokes are required. (but hey, I sometimes scream at my computer to "KEEP UP WITH ME")

Things that need to be fixed in the SSO's, in order of priority.

1) SOLVED - My ERROR! (DVR Timer operation)

2) The Left Right buttons should not cause an immediate change of channel/sat when in the channel list. Wait until I make a channel selection. Same should also apply when selecting a satellite from the satellite list, just show that satellites channel list, but don't change sat/channel until I select a channel. Fixing one of these functions, means they could delete the other function.

3) The green tint of the CVBS output has to be fixed.

4) A rescan of a satellite should not rename channels I have manually named. There is a work-around, but it results in double listing that channel.

Should these be fixed, would take a very good product, to the level of an exceptional product.

Overall, I like the Openbox S9 very much, But, I also like my 9200.

 

[crackt]

i simply opened the case and swapped the euro cord for an american cord. easy peasy. no adapter required.

crackt out,.

 

[phlatwound]

i simply opened the case and swapped the euro cord for an american cord. easy peasy. no adapter required.

crackt out,.

Did you happen to take any pics of the guts while you had it open......or does anyone else have any?

 

[Jim S.]

The clock works, meaning that timed recordings are possible. (The clock in the 9200 is "crap") The SSO must be left ON for the clock to keep time. (Software clock instead of a hardware clock) DVR operation, on a 8Gb usb stick and a spare HDD with a USB/SATA adapter cable, has been flawless. The receiver goes into the standby mode, showing the time, between timed recordings.

Mine, one of Sadoun's first batch, does NOT work that way, and as far as I know, never has. (I haven't tested recording with every firmware update that's appeared, I just assume it still doesn't work until someone says otherwise. Currently I'm using HDS2-10-11-08:1026CM)

After the first recording, when it goes into standby mode, the time does NOT appear on the display. When the time for the second recording comes, the receiver wakes up, but then does NOT record. The reason, I believe, is that the time is reset upon wakeup.

It occurs to me that if I would have it set to take the time from the satellite, and if the transponder I was tuned to carried the correct time, that subsequent recordings might work, but I haven't tested it. The reason I haven't is because some transponders don't broadcast the time, and some are set to the uplinker's local time instead of to GMT as they're apparently supposed to be, so it would be of limited real-world use. So when I need to do a recording, I set it to my local time manually. But then I can only do one recording, as mentioned above.

It is very strange that yours displays the time in standby mode. Mine never has.

 

[PopcornNMore]

I'm SO happy I never purchased one from the first batch from Sadoun. Sometimes it pays to wait.

I LOVE my Openbox S9 HD receiver even if it has a few minor flaws.

 

[woodheat/nooil]

I hope that they get the closed captioning to work soon and the shutter on some HD channels fixed as well. It's a big step up from my old IV-200 and it cost less than any receiver I have ever brought. Also which is the best channel editor to use for the Openbox S9? I am using PVR800-Editor DB42.1.0c 2009-07-22.

 

[Blindowl1234]

Mine was from the first batch back in February 2010 almost a year at this point for the $$$ spent I'm happy. Fat Air..your question # 4
4) A rescan of a satellite should not rename channels I have manually named. There is a work-around, but it still results in double listing that channel. I don't have the editor program in front of me right now...You find your list of channels in the editor, and I think it's the column under the channel name you change each one to "0"...Someone else can clarify this since I'm not at home to check this. Then the channel name won't change...you still get the duplicate channels though and you just delete the second set of channels...still a pain though. As for the A/C plug I wrapped electrical tape around mine the day I got it...Blind

 

[Jim S.]

I'm SO happy I never purchased one from the first batch from Sadoun. Sometimes it pays to wait.

Are you implying that the clock works on yours?

 

[TimLones111]

Okay,
If all goes well I should get the Openbox S9 by sometime around the end of January..Is there a way to get the newest software on the receiver out of the box?..I've never dealt with putting software, channel editors, etc..on a reciever before and I'd rather not have to deal with that, at least until I'm more comfortable with the process..Plus, I'll get a new computer at the same time, which should be a big help..

 

[Jim S.]

Got a USB flash drive? It's much more convenient to update the software that way rather than connecting with a serial cable.

What software you get on the receiver depends on who you get it from. There are a lot of recent updates that don't really do anything for American users though, so chances are you'll be fine with anything later than about March of last year.

 

[TimLones111]

Got a USB flash drive? It's much more convenient to update the software that way rather than connecting with a serial cable.

What software you get on the receiver depends on who you get it from. There are a lot of recent updates that don't really do anything for American users though, so chances are you'll be fine with anything later than about March of last year.

Ive never done anything with flash drives either, though they seem pretty cheap..With the new computer, I should have more than enough USB ports to connect the receiver to the computer..But as I said, the process is kind of new to me..I just dont want to mess things up..

 

[Jim S.]

You can't upload and download with a computer through the USB port (as far as I know, unless somebody's got different software than I know about), only an RS232 serial port. Or, load and save to a flash drive.

 

[T4Runner]

What software you get on the receiver depends on who you get it from. There are a lot of recent updates that don't really do anything for American users though, so chances are you'll be fine with anything later than about March of last year.

AGREE!

 

[Blindowl1234]

I update mine with a 4GB USB drive...This receiver is pretty hard to totally screw up. The one thing I have to watch is when you update..the screen has upgrade by usb and dump by usb....make sure you have your channel list,firmware etc backed up on your USB thumb drive etc..I made a mistake once and dumped everything and didn't have a backup...ouch. When it comes to locking in some of the harder to get channels, It is a lot more sensitive than my old Fortec Dynamic was....Blind