Receiver Full Circle

[pacificrim]

I am right back where I started 3 years ago - currently using my Openbox S10. I have purchased a new receiver each year for the last 3 years. Openbox S10, then GeosatPro MicroHD, then the Amiko Alien2 this past January.

The openbox was good enough, but the MicroHD had the promise of North American support and the Amiko Alien 2 was LAN capable.
In the end the Openbox had bugs, the MicroHD had recording playback bugs and conflicted with my Toshiba TV remote (show stopper), and the Alien2 has enough annoyances and apparently has hit the end of its development and it seems is no longer getting updates, so its bugs will live on as well.

A few weeks ago I pulled the Alien 2 and put in the MicroHD and quickly remembered why I replaced it. Then having only the S10 left, I put it in. I'm still using it and am more or less ok with it for now but actively looking and reading reviews.

I'm not spending another $300 on a receiver. Any ideas for a good DVB-S2 receiver with LAN / SAMBA capability? What about the Openbox Z5? Thanks.

 

[Jim S.]

It's not what you want to hear, but I bought an Amiko A3. It isn't here yet, but I hope it lives up to my expectations. I did wait quite a while after it was released for them to fix some bugs, but the latest firmware release sounds like a winner. The only thing I'm not enthused about is that the blind scan doesn't sound much faster than my Alien2, but none of the fast-scanning boxes on the market did what else I wanted them to do!

I didn't like the idea of paying $250 for a receiver just 2 years after paying $250 for a receiver, but I didn't see anything better on the market. I was unaware of the Openbox Z5 until you mentioned it, and I'm surprised that someone finally did come up with a cheap receiver that can read network drives. (I've only been asking for this since the S9 days!) But it would be a no-sale for me unless I could find proof that it actually works, and I can't seem to find any reviews of it at all. I can't even find a downloadable manual for it! Also, streaming channels FROM the receiver is a big thing for me, and I don't see anything saying that the Openbox can do that. Finally, back on the media-player front, I don't want to have to rely on the manufacturer to support the formats I want to play! (I've only been asking for FLAC support on the Alien2 since I bought it...) With the A3, I know that if something doesn't play in the native player, it'll certainly play in XBMC, or any other player I decide to install.

Now, having said all that, if you want to live dangerously and get a box with questionable support (and is the Openbox support really going to be any better?), there ARE other CHEAP (like, Openbox-priced) Android boxes on the market that have DVB-S2 tuners, but the very few reviews of them that I can find say that while the media player works fine, the satellite part sucks -- and I see no mention of blind scan in any of the ads!

 

[pacificrim]

Hi Jim - I saw your post a week or so ago asking about the A3 and if certain things had been dealt with but nobody responded. I'm interested in an Android satbox for all the same reasons and have been looking into several models. The ones on ebay are the A9 and c60 and c70 models as well as a few more expensive from UK and Germany. I have found no useful info on any of them. The Openbox AS100 is poorly reviewed in the one review I read on another site. I hope the A3 is super cool, but I just can't drop another $300.
I'd drop $100-$150 on a box that does everything any of mine do now if they were relatively bug free, don't conflict with other devices and had some ongoing development. I mostly want SAMBA share so I can access the box's recordings over the network - I'm not positive the Z5 can do this.
Anyone want to buy all 3 of my boxes?

 

[ancient]

This is probably not what you want to hear, but I have a suspicion that if you have any Linux experience at all, you would be happiest in the long run if you were to build a media center backend server based on TVHeadEnd, running a Linux O/S such as Debian or Ubuntu - use the server version if you are not also using the box as a frontend. The system would need compatible tuner card or two - most current model TBS tuners will work, although I'm not sure about the very newest ones that just came out this month, and also some other brands but I am not sure which offhand. You do need to install drivers for the TBS cards, and possibly for some other brands, but at least for the TBS cards it's not horribly difficult.

One tip, when installing TVHeadEnd using apt-get (after adding their repository), if it shows you a list of suggested packages, add them to the install, otherwise things may not work. You can leave out apache (apache2) and any apache related packages, I am not sure why those are suggested but TVHeadEnd doesn't need them and it's not a good idea to have an unconfigured Apache server running on your backend.

Then at your Television, you use frontends running XBMC. Note that if you are receiving DVB-S2 then your frontends shouldn't be too wimpy - a Raspberry Pi won't work in this case. In this situation all your recordings are available via Samba, assuming you set it up - you can install Webmin which helps with things like configuring Samba if you're not all that Linux-savvy.

One caveat, AFAIK a system such as this will not blind scan. Well, maybe I should say it won't, it's just that I've never heard of an easy to install program that will do it, and will not overwhelm you with technical data, 99% of which is irrelevant. All I would like to see is a program that I can run that will blind scan a satellite, tell me which transponders are active and what channels are on them, and show me the data I would need to enter them into TVHeadEnd. Any information beyond that is totally useless to to most TVHeadEnd users. If a satellite receiver can do it, someone should be able to write a program that essentially does the same thing, but apparently the people who are smart enough to write such a program don't think it worthy of their effort, unless maybe there is such a program out there and I have just never heard of it.

 

[KE4EST]

.....or he could just buy an A3 and save a lot of money and headache and have his cake and eat it too.

 

[pacificrim]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the input. I already have a small HTPC and at this point am only looking for a replacement STB.
I have already said I'm not coughing up another $300 for another Alien.

 

[bobsav2001]

I was just about to post (what receiver capable of s2 and 4:2:2 with no bugs do you suggest i should buy).
I think you just answerd my question.
I am waiting for an update for my minime and hope it will fix a few bugs.

 

[pacificrim]

It really is a tough call and probably why it is such a common question on this site "Which box should I get". I am by no means a novice, but find it hard to get past researching the bugs, clones, and vendors who want to sell their stuff. The bugs don't go away on their own, the clones are the risk we take from buying on ebay and questionable dealers, and vendors here and elsewhere are largely helpful but generally working in their best interest, which is to be expected.
I am interested in selling the MicroHD and Alien2 as a bundle - if anyone is interested. Make an offer.

I'm reading more about the X5/Z5 and it seems that it probably doesn't do network sharing. Also doesn't have NA sat list. Still looking.

 

[Christopher Cromwell]

I would agree with ke4est and Jim S, it's not what you want to hear either but I just plugged in and set up the new Amiko A3 box this weekend. Late Saturday night it downloaded and installed the latest firmware. I did run into some problems for a good while, but they have since cleared up by noon Sunday and it's working great! (Happy dance thing.) Like you, I wasn't real keen on spending more than $140 for a receiver, but I need something a little faster and more importantly, produced a much better quality picture. My Manhattan RS-1933 receiver still works fine and will keep it as a backup, but the A3 far exceeds the picture quality put out by its processors. I can watch a 780i resolution much better, than I could from the Manhattan. The Manhattan was a good 2-3 years old new out of the box, so I needed something more up to date. The A3 has much better looking useful menus and options. I don't intend to use the apps on the A3, I can always use my phone or computer for that. Anyway, try to get by with what you have and maybe in the next few months or so, the price for the A3 will come down some. My only complaint about the A3 is that it didn't come with a fancier name like, Satstar or Galaxy Watch or Orion or Satellite Tracker for example. Amiko always makes me think of the Great White North of Canada doncha' knnooow.

 

[pacificrim]

The A3 with shipping is $340 CDN and won't get me 1 more channel, so all I am looking for are fixes for the A2 or the MicroHD Since that won't happen, I'll keep using the S10, which is working better than the other 2 that I only bought because of the dealers on this site.

 

[straffer44]

I have had my A2 for a year now and it would be sad if support ended with the launch of the A3. What bugs in the A2 make you prefer the S10 to it? The A2 replaced an S10 I thought was dead after a lighting strike but it turned out to be a bad lnb not the s10. The clock in the A2 is spot on for timer recordings compared to the S10 which drifts. No lip-sync issues with the A2 either.

 

[pacificrim]

The A2 has some random reboots and the recording won't move the dish, it takes a long time to reboot, it doesn't add satellites without editing the xml. Its not bad, just not that worth it.
The S10 sync issue is removed by changing the the audio type away from LPCM. Also there is other firmware out there - I just tried a "Red version" somone posted up from 2012 that is really solid.
I am looking for another STB but would not spend as much again as I paid for the A2.
I never would have stopped using the MicroHD but remote conflict was insane.

 

[mc6809e]

Whether or not a receiver "works" depends on what each individual wants, needs, or expects from it. If it doesn't perform as needed then a new receiver is necessary.

I've had both an Alien1 and Alien2 since their initial releases. I don't mind the xml editing and prefer it to a channel editor for most of my editing. Most of my scheduled recordings are on fixed dishes so there's no dish movement required. If I do schedule an A1 or A2 recording on one of the motorized dishes I know to schedule an event to move the dish to that satellite before the scheduled record time.

Like I said, it all depends on what you want/need.

Ernie

 

[pacificrim]

I forgot to add that the A2 doesn't scan multiple sats on a motorized dish.
I only learned about the event to move a dish and .xml editing very recently. This stuff aint in the manual and not in any other place I found. It was you guys who told me and I really appreciate it too. Once again, these are all non-issues on the S10, which is why I have gone full circle.
Anyway, I plan to sell the A2 if there is anyone interested in it for $100.

 

[pacificrim]

I need to correct something- the A2 didn't reboot - it locked up and I had to power it off and back on - fairly often.

 

[Blindowl1234]

I think I've been looking for a great receiver without any issues for 5 years lol. Best one I ever had was my Fortec Star that I got used about 2008. Its long gone now and then I tried the Openbox S9 which I might still have in the garage as we all know they had their issues too. Then I moved on to the Micro HD which I've had since they came out...no real issues except when I had to order the cable to stop the reboot issue. I've got another Micro still in the box as a spare. As little as I watch FTA nowadays I can't see spending the $$$ for any of the Amiko line. The two Micro's will probably last me for a long time. I waited for a long time for a decent motor for a KU dish that worked past the warranty period...none of the typical ones SG2100 etc..ever lasted

 

[pacificrim]

That's the ironic part of my upgrade, each one was a downgrade, each more expensive with bigger problems.
Anyway, if someone has a suggestion - of something with LAN access, I'd love to hear it.

 

[Bongu]

Check out some of the receivers at mixeshop. The skybox f3 is a fairly compenent box. There is some support for NA satellites if that is what you are after. It does drive a SG2100 or a DG380 much better than the MicroHD (IMHO of course). The price was right and the shipping took just under 10 days for me.

 

[SScheidt]

I love the MicroHD, I'd get rid of the Toshiba if it was an option.

 

[pacificrim]

I'm probably never going to find another TV with:
3 HDMI
2 component
2 composite
1 VGA
1 analog audio out
1 optical audio out

I'm using all of them.