New GEOSATpro microHD Receiver

[Mr Tony]

Frankly, I don't get some of you. Many of you bitch and complain that no one develops for or solicits feature input from North American hobbyists..... someone does incorporate you into the process and keeps you updated and you can't handle the realities of product development. I don't regret the solicitation , but Scheesh..... Welcome to the reality of first run product release. Be thankful that I am not simply trying to separate you from your cash.... Otherwise, it would have been released a long time ago!

so true. When its released its released. I have been a beta or even an alpha tester on some receivers for way too long. Companies just want to push something out without even trying it first to say they have it out. When the Coolsat 8000 first came out they wanted to be 1st with OTA/FTA all in one...except one issue. They forgot the satellite software and for about a month you had to do pseudo hackware (it was hackware but to steal you had to load something else too).

Me...I'll wait until its ready to go and not have to worry about what is wrong with it

 

[rv1pop]

I am very glad all the rest of you are getting ALL or almost all the features you want. You get to ride in a box "just built for me!" I asked for a working box that was very small and used only 12 VDC. Brian and crew even saw the RV I wanted to put it in!

OK, JK is was not built just for me, but I do see my wishes are being granted. And yes, I am adding to the post count. Because of the disasters in the last 3 months, my budget is extremely tight, but the 12V spec. should reduce my generator gas bill next winter by $40 / month.

 

[SatPhreak]

I want one, but I can't get it till next month anyways so I'll just half to wait.

 

[melgarga]

Brian,
I'm pretty sure most are "joyfully anticipating" and are just anxious to get to play with this well conceived product. I dont think any disrespect was intended, well maybe almost none. There might be some but......Is there a politically correct way to say "Screw 'em"?.............prolly not, ...oh well.

Pixl,
Good catch. It didnt occur to me that some may not follow the discussion regarding the Software Development Kit. I didnt consider some may not understand the term, and what Brian and team were dealing with in the development phase. Perhaps your research will help others better understand some of what is involved in this project.

This has been an awesome journey, to be on the input level and inside track of this product development. We are fortunate to have been included. Such quality product development takes time, as we have all seen. I'm pretty sure most of the most anxious feel the same and can and do appreciate the effort that goes into such a project. Hopefully the Brian will come to us again for future development input, and realizes what appears to be "pressure" is actually appreciation and desire for the product, not disrespect and impatience.
As for any out there with unappreciative attitudes and condescending remarks , I think we are in agreement on this too.....what was that phrase..........oh yeah............Screw 'em.

 

[turbosat]

I'm waiting and when the time comes, I'll order! Bet Brian can tell us all what it's like to have a baby after this, lol.
The fact that "we" were asked for desires and ideas means a lot, and that he wants to give us the best-working product makes my wait a lot less stressful. Seems like the last box that was really created for stateside-users was the Traxis 3500....so we just should all be patient.

 

[chaskuchar]

solomend died last night again when i hooked up a shorted cable to the gbox. now i have to fix it again so ordered a azbox to play with while i wait for the microhd. ordered the az elite. no blind scan but know where most channels i want are at right now anyway. i think brian indicated which switch to get so i can run the az elite and the microhd together. charlie

 

[rv1pop]

Trust me when I say that I am the first one to want the microHD released and working perfectly!

I just bought 10 gallons of gas -- With the new generator burning about 1/3 GPH , I think I want it released as much as you do -- working ---

 

[Tron]

I, for one, am happy to wait as long as it takes for a solid, bug free receiver. Remember how the "SSO" was when it was first released? It wasn't capable of operating a switch and a motor at the same time! Then came the endless firmware upgrades (when they did FINALLY come), and endless new bugs!

Those who want to complain will always find something to complain about regardless of the situation. The rest of us will wait patiently and that wait will pay off in the form of the best product Brian can offer the FTA hobbyist.

 

[RT-Cat]

April fool? You re kidding. I got three units at an introductory price of $0.125 today! And Brian paid s&h

WOW! You got three units for only 12-1/2 cents! I sure want to know your dealer's phone number!

Meeeeooooww

 

[mucketbucket]

I am new to this and i may be way off base but as long as we are adding to the wish list, how about that microhd with a built in dish mover. I could really clear my shelf off with that. Just don't delay the sale of it because I definitely want it asap.

 

[rv1pop]

As I was pondering - well staying awake as I was driving - and mom was looking at the Camping World / Good Sams Club catalog, I got to thinking that the microHD might find a nice niche market for RVers there. Many of us (well them) want TV wherever they go. We boondockers do not mind setting up and aiming dishes. Four degree separation between birds give some choices, too.

What would it take to modify the GPS auto locating mechanisms to find FTA birds and handle a one meter dish? With a 12V system and the GPS is on all the time ...?? TV in motion is probably too small a niche market.

We park the RV, get out and set up the base. The unit get turned on and the motors plumb the pole, set the elevation, find the birds and then turns on the TV and coffee maker. As the coffee is brewing it sets up your recliner at the right distance from the TV and selects your favorite programs...... Oops... drifted off to sleep and started dreaming - but I did not hit the guard rail or anything else.

 

[SatelliteAV]

how about that microhd with a built in dish mover.

Incorporating a dish mover into the microHD would turn it into the MONDOhd..... LOL!

But seriously.....

The goal of the microHD build was to provide a STB with minimized footprint, strong feature set and capable of 12vdc operation. A dish mover requires higher voltage, current and would also require a much larger case.

G and V-boxes are very inexpensive, reliable and work great alongside the microHD using the 100 available DiSEqC positions.

 

[SatelliteAV]

What would it take to modify the GPS auto locating mechanisms to find FTA birds and handle a one meter dish? With a 12V system and the GPS is on all the time ...?? TV in motion is probably too small a niche market.

Several mobile dish manufacturers have models for linear satellites. These models are sold for Shaw Direct or Internet. Most systems sold in the past 10 years are programable for selecting any satellite and setting the skew. The Datastorm D3 internet system even has a DVBS receiver built-in.

 

[rv1pop]

Several mobile dish manufacturers have models for linear satellites. These models are sold for Shaw Direct or Internet. Most systems sold in the past 10 years are programable for selecting any satellite and setting the skew. The Datastorm D3 internet system even has a DVBS receiver built-in.

The dreaming was actually that. The marketing idea to Camping World was a conscious thought.

I will look into those, however. The only thing I was thinking about was a 2 Sat dish with a dual LNBF. I read that your new dish was sturdier and might take sliding into the RV's basement.

Size does matter!

For auto positioning, I was think of a unit that would set up while the engine was running - as when one is leveling the RV and using then jacks/pump and/or on campground power. -- I AM A BOONDOCKER!! I use manual set up!

 

[kodaz]

Several mobile dish manufacturers have models for linear satellites. These models are sold for Shaw Direct or Internet. Most systems sold in the past 10 years are programable for selecting any satellite and setting the skew. The Datastorm D3 internet system even has a DVBS receiver built-in.

nod, withe the coffee maker and PTO, i doubted there was room for that function also in the micro, although, when you do it, set it up for a 10' bud cruising at 55 mph
now there would be a cool thing to see.

 

[chaskuchar]

question: i just got my new az premium plus. i want to put the easiest receiver upstairs for my wife to operate. i am getting the new microhd as soon as i can also so probably you beta testers can tell me which is best for the wife. my preference is to give her the az box because all she will do is push the buttons. she will have the 6' dish with a gbox that i have finally gotten to go the right place from east or west. (that took 6 months of figuring out where the play was at in the polar mount) and i want the microhd in the basement with my 7.5' solid aluminum dish. maybe i should make a poll on this? in the meantime after easter i get to work on the solomend s9 again... charlie

 

[SatelliteAV]

At this time there is very few video services in North America (or for that matter, internationally) using Adaptive and Variable Coding or multiple input stream. We did not see the need to support our target markets with this level of feature without a demand or requests from broadcasters. As this market develops, set top boxes will be introduced to support any demand. For now the need is too niche and the TBS6925 PCI solution is much better suited to be adaptable for the hobbyists needs during the developmental period.

One of the reasons that we adopted the new SDK is that it will provide a better path to a future release chipset that will offer support for these. We did not select a STi chipset and those chipsets seem to have the best support for ACM/VCM/MIS at this time. ALI is releasing several new chipsets this summer that will be very competitive and we should be able to develop for any emerging market.

It keeps getting better...............

@party I just received a notice from our ALI representative that the chipsets that we are using for the microHD are indeed capable of supporting ACM/VCM and MIS. The SDK development module has now been provided to our team to start development! This is a truly a surprise as there was no documentation on the current chipset indicating support of these features! :

It appears that our current microHD hardware design WILL support VCM and MIS and we will work on providing support in a future firmware update.

Of course, ACM could not be supported for a hobbyist receiver as it is a two way "handshake" between the downlink receiver and the Uplink encoder to optimize the delivery. ACM is typically used in commercial delivery and I am not aware of any implementation of ACM on a DVBS/S2 Set Top Box for an end user (especially a hobbyist) for this two way interactivity be established unless it is contracted and supported by the broadcaster. If anyone has information regarding the implementation of ACM in a DVBS/S2 DTH (Direct To Home) delivery model, please PM me.

We are developing the ACM / VCM / MIS support for the commercial rack mount version.

 

[KE4EST]

Dang Brian....this is going to be one truly remarkable receiver.

 

[SatelliteAV]

Post 999 in this thread...... WOW!!!!!

The 1000th post will receive a FREE microHD

Let's see who is a night owl and up at the same time that I am working on the microHD firmware.....

Ready.... Set..... Go!!!

 

[rocket69]

Free!!! Yay thanks for the free box. We use alot of your rack mount FTA from some of our customers and love the cost vs 5K for boxes that we have to dumb down to just get ITC channels.