New Pansat 9500HDX

[yankee495]

Don't know ICE...I emailed Pansat a few mins ago asking for a manual. I emailed an ebayer and he said check Pansatusa...duh...I did that first and thought if he is selling them he'd have one!

 

[SatelliteAV]

I think all the new H2 receivers are good news and forcing Openbox to fix their FW

I seriously question that notion..... Openbox has minimal interest in the extremely small North American Market.

What you are seeing is the results of a few Chinese knock-off manufacturers releasing several versions of firmware to small quantity resellers to try and establish sales in North America. The S9 and S10 type receivers are very popular receivers internationally as they are currently very well supported for card sharing and theft of services. Follow the money trail and you will see development!

 

[yankee495]

I found this program for browsing through ALI firmware. I have compared the Megasat to the S9...does not match.

Go download the 8-8-2011 FW for the S9 and for the 9500HDX (at pansatusa).

Compare them.

The first block is the boot loader. They are listed different. The 9500HDX Sat & TP DB block is listed as Default DB in the S9 version. Just take a look.

The program is in German I think. The left button opens the file to be viewed and the right one saves the displayed data. If anyone knows anything about boot loaders & FW clue us in on what all this means. I have not seen this program discussed or this data posted so I'll post it:

9500HDX:
_________________________
Identifiant du Block : 23010010
Offset : 0
Taille : 65536
Nom : Bootloader
Version : Ver 1.5
Date : 2011-07-15


Identifiant du Block : 01FE0101
Offset : 65536
Taille : 1310720
Nom : Maincode
Version : V3.3.3
Date : 2011-8-8


Identifiant du Block : 02FD0100
Offset : 1376256
Taille : 65536
Nom : background
Version : 1.0.0
Date : 2010-04-13


Identifiant du Block : 02FD0200
Offset : 1441792
Taille : 65536
Nom : RadioBG
Version : 1.0.0
Date : 2010-10-14


Identifiant du Block : 02FD0300
Offset : 1507328
Taille : 65536
Nom : BootLogo
Version : 1.0.0
Date : 2010-04-13


Identifiant du Block : 08F70100
Offset : 1572864
Taille : 65536
Nom : User Data
Version : 1.0.3
Date : 2011-04-16


Identifiant du Block : 03FC0100
Offset : 1638400
Taille : 130944
Nom : Sat&TP DB
Version : 1.1.2
Date : 2011-05-23


Identifiant du Block : 04FB0100
Offset : 1769344
Taille : 1835136
Nom : Ch Data
Version : 1.0.0
Date : 2011-8-8

Openbox S9:
_________________________
Identifiant du Block : 23010010
Offset : 0
Taille : 65536
Nom : bootloader
Version : SMT---1.0.0
Date : 2009-08-27


Identifiant du Block : 01FE0101
Offset : 65536
Taille : 1900544
Nom : maincode
Version : SMT 1.0.0
Date : 2009-08-27


Identifiant du Block : 02FD0100
Offset : 1966080
Taille : 65536
Nom : Radioback
Version : 1.0.0
Date : 2009-08-27


Identifiant du Block : 02FD0200
Offset : 2031616
Taille : 65536
Nom : Bootback
Version : 1.0.0
Date : 2009-08-27


Identifiant du Block : 05FA0100
Offset : 2097152
Taille : 65536
Nom : upgcode
Version : upg 1.0.0
Date : 2009-05-4


Identifiant du Block : 03FC0100
Offset : 2162688
Taille : 130944
Nom : defaultdb
Version : 1.1.0
Date : 2011-5-6


Identifiant du Block : 04FB0100
Offset : 2293632
Taille : 1900672
Nom : userdb
Version : 1.0.0
Date : 2011-8-8

 

[eurosport]

Well that's over before it got started. I was excited to see a new box from Pansat but not now. Looks like a piece of junk in disguise to me now!

Sent from my DROIDX using SatelliteGuys

 

[yankee495]

Eurosport! Didn't aim to pop no bubbles but from what I'm finding this program will list most ALI FW...even for different chips..and remember really great FW with quality hardware is what everyone is after.

The Manhattan uses ABS files too and has manual PID!

I did email Pansat a couple of days ago and ask for a manual, never got a reply...

Take that for what it is worth...I said I was interested in one and wanted to see the manual. You'd think they'd be happy to supply one to me (or post it) if that is all it took to swing buyers.

 

[eurosport]

I've been thinking about getting a Manhattan and then I saw this Pansat and I love my 9200, so I was reading up about both. No offense intended to anyone who has an Openbox but from my reading, those seem to have troubles. I just don't want to buy a Pansat and it's really an Openbox in a different housing!

Sent from my DROIDX using SatelliteGuys

 

[eurosport]

Eurosport! Didn't aim to pop no bubbles but from what I'm finding this program will list most ALI FW...even for different chips..and remember really great FW with quality hardware is what everyone is after.

The Manhattan uses ABS files too and has manual PID!

I did email Pansat a couple of days ago and ask for a manual, never got a reply...

Take that for what it is worth...I said I was interested in one and wanted to see the manual. You'd think they'd be happy to supply one to me (or post it) if that is all it took to swing buyers.

Good info. Thanks!

Sent from my DROIDX using SatelliteGuys

 

[Gordon Corbett]

Well that's over before it got started. I was excited to see a new box from Pansat but not now. Looks like a piece of junk in disguise to me now!

Sent from my DROIDX using SatelliteGuys

Dear EUROSPORT,

First, I think that the program is in French.

Please explain why you think that the 9500HDX is junk. The ALI folks have created a desirable set of chips, and everybody and his dog are sticking them into their new receivers. Given that these chips perform well, keep cool, and cost relatively little, I see no reason why Pansat's mere decision to use them should exclude the 9500HDX.

I can think of one reason, though: ALI's chips cannot decode 4:2:2. For discovering that Pansat included those chips, I thank Yankee495. Some people see 4:2:2 as a fading phenomenon. Others think that penny-pinching broadcasters will want it more and more. I know only that I would like to see the 4:2:2 programs now being broadcast. Many potential customers feel the same, and that desire will cost Pansat many sales.

Pansat's failure to send Yankee495 a manual troubles me. If I were offering a new receiver, I would delay it until I had finished the manual. Too, I would want my customers not to need a programmatic revision right after unpacking the just-announced receiver. I would want them to unpack it, connect it to their other equipment, and begin enjoying it. Therefore, I would delay my new receiver until I had had installed the already-created revisions. Of course, that idea would not apply to later buyers.

I do like Pansat's giving their new receiver skew control. Those of us who have been slaving our receivers to our DSR-920s and DSR-922s might want a 9500HDX so that we can visit satellites listed for which we lack "tiles." That tile-less list is growing, and I want to see it.

I will buy nothing now. I expect that from October through December, we will see a number of new receivers. OpenSat, OpenBox, Satellite AV, and Manhattan will almost certainly join Pansat in offering new, or newly-refined, receivers. New owners will discover their good and bad points and describe them to us. Then, I will decide which of the pack is best and buy it.


Gordon F. Corbett

 

[mr3p]

FWIW, I stopped by Pansat's SoCal office last year around the time of the release of the TC1000 and was told they had no plans to support and would not be releasing a receiver which could decode 4:2:2 as those feeds were for "broadcasters."

 

[Anole]

I have nothing against the Pansat nor Manhattan, over their chipset (maybe just the price).
It's what you DO with the chipset that matters.
Good firmware, means good receiver.
Apparently all the manufacturers started out with the basic OEM firmware that came with the chipset.
And they probably had to license it.
How much they debug it and make it their own, will determine the user-experience.
Based on what he's said in public, I would be shocked if SatelliteAV rolls out a receiver with anything else.
However, I'd bet my long green tail that he'll give us a good interface and feature-set.

If you look to history, many of the SD receivers all had the same chipset.
That never stopped manufacturers making good, better, best FTA receivers.

 

[Gordon Corbett]

FWIW, I stopped by Pansat's SoCal office last year around the time of the release of the TC1000 and was told they had no plans to support and would not be releasing a receiver which could decode 4:2:2 as those feeds were for "broadcasters."

Dear mr3p,

Thank you very much for relaying that statement. To my ears, it sounds like the kind of thing that someone would say if he had been told by an attorney to say it. Pansat, like a great many other distributors and designers, was haled into court because of their alleged connivance with so-called "pirates." They may have been forced to sign a so-called "consent decree." A consent decree is like the "contract" we all remember from school. An authority summons the alleged miscreant and makes him or her promise in writing not to do misdeed "X" again. Sometimes the miscreant also is given orders to do, or not to do, certain other things in the future.

To me, the statement, "those feeds are for 'broadcasters'" sounds very official. Pansat may have been told to obtain permission for any design they may want to launch in the future, and especially, not to fool around with 4:2:2. This idea, which I admit is nothing but rank speculation, does not explain why OpenSat is still selling AZ Boxes that decode 4:2:2. We may get something of an answer if and when OpenSat launches the "Me." If the "Me" receiver does not decode 4:2:2, my theory will have been made more plausible. If my theory is right, the remaining questions are "how" and "why": how the broadcasters were able to demand of Federal courts and regulators that 4:2:2 be placed off limits to private parties like us, and why they would even want to do that.

But, first, let us wait to see what happens. If the "Me" and / or perhaps Satellite AV's new machine can decode 4:2:2, my theory will have been knocked into a cocked hat--which would suit me just fine.

Gordon F. Corbett

 

[SatelliteAV]

There seems to always be a conspiracy theory for everything! Jeez.....

There is no conspiracy behind 4:2:2 availability. The market demand is minimal, useage is in decline and the chipsets are more expensive.

The new GEOSATpro Micro HD will not support 4:2:2, but SatelliteAV will have a rack mount 4:2:2 receiver on our site within the week.

AzBox developed an unique DVB box based on a multimedia chipset. By chance they had chosen a chipset which could support 4:2:2 when they were approached with the feature request by a few hobbyists. 4:2:2 is supported by the new Me and Me mini units as these new units are also based on the Sigma Design chipsets.

Want more solutions? PCI and USB tuner solutions for computers are very inexpensive 4:2:2 options and on the high end are the name brand commercial decoders.

4:2:2 is not a protected industry secret. Simply put, there are no major run DVBS/S2 SoC products produced that natively support 4:2:2. It is all about ROI.

 

[crackt]

There is no conspiracy behind 4:2:2 availability. The market demand is minimal, useage is in decline ...

you must not frequent many euro forums. demand has actually increased by the posts ive read.

It is all about ROI.

you hit the nail on the head there. its not about a product the end user wants but instead about a product the end user will purchase and the distributor can profit from. why make a box that could do it all when you could sell three seperate units that only partially fit the bill instead. this isnt aimed at anyone specific but rather the whole hobby in general.

crackt out,.

 

[SatelliteAV]

you must not frequent many euro forums. demand has actually increased by the posts ive read.

I am a member of several European forums for many years and am quite aware of the increased awareness and forum chatter on 4:2:2. I believe that the European hobbyist are becoming more familiar and exploring what is out there besides the fixed dishes on Astras and Hotbirds.

As for our market in North American, 4:2:2 uplinks are becoming more infrequent. Many of my friends run uplinks and they have frontline knowledge of uplink trends. 4:2:2 uplink requests peaked 3 or 4 years ago and fell off rapidly a few year back coinciding with the truck upgrades with MPEG4 encoders during the terrestrial DTV / HD transition.

It is exactly about knowing and providing our demographic customers with what they are wanting to purchase. Like it or not, there aren't many of us hobbyists buying feature packed receivers for top dollar! Luckily now we do have several very good equipment options that are readily available if we want to view 4:2:2 programming.

For now, I remain in agreement with the majority of consumer equipment providers. The North American 4:2:2 market is too niche and the hardware cost too high to successfully distribute another 4:2:2 consumer STB. Maybe a SoC will come along, but I believe the best bet in the near future is in media players supporting DVBS/S2 tuners.

 

[eurosport]

I'll just say this. If this Pansat has as much in common with that Openbox as I think I see, from all the reading I have done do far, then to me it is a waste of money. It will be another problem ridden mess. My opinion. YMMV.

Sent from my DROIDX using SatelliteGuys

 

[Anole]

...It will be another problem ridden mess.

Maybe, maybe not.
I refer you to post #30.

 

[Anony55]

...I know only that I would like to see the 4:2:2 programs now being broadcast...

See point below.

...I do like Pansat's giving their new receiver skew control...

Agreed! I bet it's fairly low-cost for a manufacturer to include. My guess is that most don't include it because of that ole "it's really not made for NA" thing. But that's just a guess.

...Those of us who have been slaving our receivers to our DSR-920s and DSR-922s might want a 9500HDX so that we can visit satellites listed for which we lack "tiles." That tile-less list is growing, and I want to see it...

Stay tuned!! Tvropro has been reporting good results about the Map Master project. When that comes to pass... tiles will no longer be a problem.

FWIW, I stopped by Pansat's SoCal office last year around the time of the release of the TC1000 and was told they had no plans to support and would not be releasing a receiver which could decode 4:2:2 as those feeds were for "broadcasters."

In other words, they don't wanna pay the licensing fee for 4:2:2. The most common Mpeg2 license includes 4:2:0, but not 4:2:2.

They may think that 4:2:2 is a fading phenomenon, and decided it wasn't worth the added expense. I think that's a mistake. It really doesn't matter if 4:2:2 will continue to be used or not. What matters is, do their customers want it? Reading FTA boards makes one thing very clear... 4:2:2 gets talked about a lot.

One would think that 4:2:2 would be feature worth adding for the marketing value alone. They really shouldn't even care if it's actually "needed" or not. They should care that it's "wanted".

Cheers

 

[Mr Tony]

4:2:2 was really good a few years ago when there were still lots of SD sports feeds
Now that most have gone to HD they switched to 4:2:0

 

[costactc]

I've had Pansat receivers for many years and still use my old reliable 2500 outside when I'm skewing my lnb or tweaking my dish. I have to disagree that 4:2:2 or 4:2:0 feeds are in decline. I have noticed the opposite, not only sports feeds but many channels as well have gone to this video format. Being able to handle a servo is great if your using a feed which requires it but without 4:2:2 I wouldn't make the investment, I have 2 azbox with my c and ku setups just for that.

 

[yankee495]

Pansatusa now has the manual listed in the download section!! Last on the page...

Looking it over now.