after checking the setting on everything and they were all good i decided to boot the receiver that did not help then i booted my sony receiver and it started working.
Reviews: SatHawk PVR800 WorldDVB DVB-S2 HD FTA Receiver
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after checking the setting on everything and they were all good i decided to boot the receiver that did not help then i booted my sony receiver and it started working.
Ok guys I got my receiver last night and let me politely say this receiver is junk! Sorry for what will probably be a long post. Here's what I noticed.
1. Doesn't appear to have S video..Did come with 120V adapter though.
2. Says it has signal beep feature...I turned it on and off ....NO beep!
3.Went to 87W seems to find "H" Tp's not "V"...never did find THIS TV
4. I'm guessing the couple of software fixes that were posted here weren't
in my unit? I thought this new shipment had the latest firmware changes? I had to load a couple of channels on the wrong sat to get them
Looks like the same problem Iceberg had where some satellites in the unit
weren't set up with either a V Tp or a H Tp...whichever it was
5. NO manual TP entry which is a total bummer...this needs to be fixed ASAP
With this fixed it could be at least an entry level unit. I think I get more
channels on my Fortec receiver than this unit.
6. How does one hook up more than one dish ? You have LNB ON or LNB OFF
I had to go outside and bypass my switch and hook up my KU dish for KU
Then I had to unhook the KU dish and hook in my Cband for Cband stuff. No
way to set it to LNB 1, 2,3,4. Looks like you'd need two RG-6 lines coming
in the house...one for a KU dish and one for a Cband dish and manually
switch them....this ain't right.:rant:
7. It misses channels No THIS TV, My FAMILY TV and others. Can't manually
enter them is a major drawback!
8. Lack of a good updated owners manual....at least we have one though
9. Remote is cheaply made. I had to be within 3 feet of the receiver to get
it to work.
If at all possible I don't plan to keep it. As it is it should've never left the factory in my opinion. Without some major firmare updates I don't see this being anymore than it is. Some of the flaws have already been posted I know but for almost $200 I was VERY disapointed.....Blind
1. Doesn't appear to have S video..Did come with 120V adapter though.
2. Says it has signal beep feature...I turned it on and off ....NO beep!
3.Went to 87W seems to find "H" Tp's not "V"...never did find THIS TV
4. I'm guessing the couple of software fixes that were posted here weren't
in my unit? I thought this new shipment had the latest firmware changes? I had to load a couple of channels on the wrong sat to get them
Looks like the same problem Iceberg had where some satellites in the unit
weren't set up with either a V Tp or a H Tp...whichever it was
5. NO manual TP entry which is a total bummer...this needs to be fixed ASAP
With this fixed it could be at least an entry level unit. I think I get more
channels on my Fortec receiver than this unit.
6. How does one hook up more than one dish ? You have LNB ON or LNB OFF
I had to go outside and bypass my switch and hook up my KU dish for KU
Then I had to unhook the KU dish and hook in my Cband for Cband stuff. No
way to set it to LNB 1, 2,3,4. Looks like you'd need two RG-6 lines coming
in the house...one for a KU dish and one for a Cband dish and manually
switch them....this ain't right.:rant:
7. It misses channels No THIS TV, My FAMILY TV and others. Can't manually
enter them is a major drawback!
8. Lack of a good updated owners manual....at least we have one though
9. Remote is cheaply made. I had to be within 3 feet of the receiver to get
it to work.
If at all possible I don't plan to keep it. As it is it should've never left the factory in my opinion. Without some major firmare updates I don't see this being anymore than it is. Some of the flaws have already been posted I know but for almost $200 I was VERY disapointed.....Blind
Ok guys I got my receiver last night and let me politely say this receiver is junk! :rant:
Some of the flaws have already been posted I know but for almost $200 I was VERY disapointed.....Blind
Sorry to hear about the issues, I'm not buying one until all the issues are fixed and it gets 4:2:2 and AC3 out of the box...otherwise AZ box is the way to go for me. Thanks for the review, are you going to return it?
Bill, I'm sure going try. I called Sadoun first thing last night about a few issues. If it doesn't go back you'll hear me scream in Kentucky lol....Blind
You can enter a TP manually. Look for TP List in the Setup Menu, in there you press one of the remote's Color Buttons to manually enter a TP. Manual PID entry is not an potion yet.
Menu, Antenna Connection, Select Fixed Antenna, that will allow the use of a Switch in the Sat Setup Menu. Keep in mind that you can't use a Motor and a Switch at the same time. Section 4 of the manual gives a little insight on how to set up. If you must have a Motor / Switch setup, slave the Sathawk to another receiver.
If you have North American Sat listed, you have the latest Firmware
It's found everything I've scanned for, but have not tried for those specific channels. What you could do to experiment, slave the Sathawk to another receiver, set the "master" receiver on the missing channel (peak Quality if necessary) then Blind Scan with the Sathawk.
Double check Antenna Setup Menu, make sure polarity is set to "Auto"
Until some Firmware changes are made, this unit is just a Blind Scanning machine, not to be used as a main receiver.
Lak7,
Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll play around with it some more. Another question....It won't do 4:2:2 out of the box i know. I thought I read somewhere that if you attached a hard drive to it you can record 4:2:2 and then play back on a computer? I thought maybe Ice said he did this using Windows media? Perhaps I was wrong on that? thanks Blind
Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll play around with it some more. Another question....It won't do 4:2:2 out of the box i know. I thought I read somewhere that if you attached a hard drive to it you can record 4:2:2 and then play back on a computer? I thought maybe Ice said he did this using Windows media? Perhaps I was wrong on that? thanks Blind
I did have some "success" using a Channel Editor and adding the CW channels, however the Audio PIDs did not save properly. I will try another Editor. It is a very slooooow process, all done using RS232 connection.
Yes, this runs 110 to 240V (automatic switching).
The factory forgot to include the flat pins plugs or adapters with each receiver. For those who ordered the PVR800 and waiting for it in the mail, you will be getting another mail in a couple of days with the plug adapter included.
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Ok guys I got my receiver last night and let me politely say this receiver is junk! Sorry for what will probably be a long post. Here's what I noticed.
1. Doesn't appear to have S video..Did come with 120V adapter though.
2. Says it has signal beep feature...I turned it on and off ....NO beep!
3.Went to 87W seems to find "H" Tp's not "V"...never did find THIS TV
4. I'm guessing the couple of software fixes that were posted here weren't
in my unit? I thought this new shipment had the latest firmware changes? I had to load a couple of channels on the wrong sat to get them
Looks like the same problem Iceberg had where some satellites in the unit
weren't set up with either a V Tp or a H Tp...whichever it was
5. NO manual TP entry which is a total bummer...this needs to be fixed ASAP
With this fixed it could be at least an entry level unit. I think I get more
channels on my Fortec receiver than this unit.
6. How does one hook up more than one dish ? You have LNB ON or LNB OFF
I had to go outside and bypass my switch and hook up my KU dish for KU
Then I had to unhook the KU dish and hook in my Cband for Cband stuff. No
way to set it to LNB 1, 2,3,4. Looks like you'd need two RG-6 lines coming
in the house...one for a KU dish and one for a Cband dish and manually
switch them....this ain't right.:rant:
7. It misses channels No THIS TV, My FAMILY TV and others. Can't manually
enter them is a major drawback!
8. Lack of a good updated owners manual....at least we have one though
9. Remote is cheaply made. I had to be within 3 feet of the receiver to get
it to work.
If at all possible I don't plan to keep it. As it is it should've never left the factory in my opinion. Without some major firmare updates I don't see this being anymore than it is. Some of the flaws have already been posted I know but for almost $200 I was VERY disapointed.....Blind
(1) There is not a S video port anywhere on this receiver.
(2) The BEEP feature does not work for me either
(3) Press the Menu button Then goto Installation--->Antenna Setup. Press OK to enter Antenna Setup, scroll down to Polarity and set it to Auto
(4) Do This: Menu--->Tools--->Information. Then post the string of numbers and letters beside Version
(5) Menu--->Installation. Then Highlight and Press OK on TP List. Then press the green remote button to add a TP
(6) Menu--->Installlation--->Antenna Connection. Change the setting to Fixed Antenna and the diseqc switch settings will work but you lose the motor controls.
(9) The remote is about as cheap as you can get!!!
IMO, Sadoun should do the right thing and refund full price plus shipping costs to anybody that wants a refund because this receiver is below beta. I doubt many refunds will happen, and I expect them to tell you that the receiver is fine and it is operator error.
What we can and should do is tell anybody that is looking to buy one of these receivers what we have honestly experienced with it. I am sure that Sadoun will lose credibility with a lot of people over this receiver but it probably won't be enough for him to notice. It is all about Money. My total cost for this receiver and buying what was needed to make it operational was over $200. Greg
mine picked up ThisTV but did miss My Family
I was able to add it in the TP list and scan it in
its a receiver normally used in Europe/Asia so usually they dont have s-video. None of my 3 receivers like that (azbox & Quali-TV) have svideo either
eh Ive seen worse
Let me ask you this. Were you part of the 1st batch of receivers? Since you just posted your thoughts in the last day, I'll take that as a no. So now I'll ask
Did you not read the numerous pages in this thread of the bugs that some of us (myself, lak7 and a couple others) posted? Not to be a pissant but man most people who read through the review could see there are bugs. Hell when I got mine I couldnt use the motor to move the dish if I had a horizontal transponder selected. Makes it hard to move the dish to 74,79,85,107, 113 as examples when there is just H transponder channels live 24/7.
I'm sure Sadoun would have allowed you to cancel your order before it was shipped. I know he allowed me to cancel mine when at the time we didnt know if the blind scan was legit or not. Since it did have a legit blind scan I ended up getting one.
Thanks Ice and everyone...If I can get time tonight I'll mess with it some more. I was so aggravated last night I put it away and refused to look at it lol...sorry little patience here in my old age. Greg I went out and spent $20 on a 6 foot HDMI cable this morning so we'll see how that works. Told the wife the HD will really look sharp and she gave me that look...guys you know the look. I'm thinking of slaving this unit with my Fortec maybe...Never tried to slave a unit so guess that will be another learning curve as well. Final thought for now is this unit is ok for someone to experiment with, but certainly not the dream box we hoped for back in january. Nothing in FTA is plug and play that's for sure. Thanks ! Blind
I agree completely !
Too much carping going on about this immature receiver. It has a VERY attractive price point, and "feature set", if they ever get the features to work. Only time will tell. There has been no coverup by Sadoun or anyone else about the Sathawk's current shortcomings. I'm sure Sadoun is more unhappy than everyone else at the moment about the lackluster pace of firmware progress.
By the way, "googling" on SCART adaptors returns some Scart to composite/s-video adaptors for as little as $2.99 . No telling if they'd work , or not, but the one on my Vantage 1100S worked just fine.
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I have one of those 2.99 SCART adapters hooked up and it works fine on my SatHawk. Just a tip some of the cheaper adapters are directional only one way so make sure you get the right one.
I received my PVR800 Tuesday afternoon. Did not try it ou till
yesterday due to taking my mother to Toledo, OH for back surgery.
(a 2 hour drive for me) Did not get home till 8:00 P.M. Wednesday
eve. After a day of playing with the receiver, here's my thoughts:
1) I agree, the remote has to be right in front of the receiver to
work.
2) I have mine on my motorized 30" (no switch) and USALS is working
well but it seems to be only USALS or DiSEqC 1.2 so I cannot go
beyond 30 deg. On other recievers I can use DiSEqC independently
to go beyond USALS limitations.
3) Blind scan works well except for low SR's, gets touchy below 3000
but have entered some manually and they all have locked right in.
4) Blind scanning DVB S-2 seems to be working well but as been stated
in many posts I've read, it takes a healthy signal. This one did
scan in a mux (scrambled) on 125 that I had in my AzBox a while
back and thought it had disappeared and the AzBox is on the 36"
and still shows no signal on that mux.
5) Also on the blind scan, when I scanned 83 and 91, I also pick up
several transponders from the Nimiq birds. Would be nice to be able
to limit the upper scan limit. I had one clear up to 12661.
6) Guess I was lucky on the AC3. I hooked up to my TV with a HDMI
cable, had to set the Sathawk to BS and I miss nothing. My TV is
only a couple months old though and I have an optical cable from
the TV to my Pioneer Audio/Video Receiver.
I'm not that unhappy. I ordered mine towards the tail end of the first
batch but just missed out so I knew most of it's quirks ahead of time
but did not cancel my order. I don't have a perfect receiver out of the
5 that I have. If I could roll them all up into one, it would be pretty
close. (for me anyway) I think some firmware updates would make me very
happy with this receiver even knowing no 4:2:2 is probably possible.
Oh and to Sadoun, got the adapter in the mail yesterday, thanks. I was
getting by with the cheesy one tha came with my AzBox. Later on I'll
cut that Euro plug off and wire on a US plug.
My 3 cents...
yesterday due to taking my mother to Toledo, OH for back surgery.
(a 2 hour drive for me) Did not get home till 8:00 P.M. Wednesday
eve. After a day of playing with the receiver, here's my thoughts:
1) I agree, the remote has to be right in front of the receiver to
work.
2) I have mine on my motorized 30" (no switch) and USALS is working
well but it seems to be only USALS or DiSEqC 1.2 so I cannot go
beyond 30 deg. On other recievers I can use DiSEqC independently
to go beyond USALS limitations.
3) Blind scan works well except for low SR's, gets touchy below 3000
but have entered some manually and they all have locked right in.
4) Blind scanning DVB S-2 seems to be working well but as been stated
in many posts I've read, it takes a healthy signal. This one did
scan in a mux (scrambled) on 125 that I had in my AzBox a while
back and thought it had disappeared and the AzBox is on the 36"
and still shows no signal on that mux.
5) Also on the blind scan, when I scanned 83 and 91, I also pick up
several transponders from the Nimiq birds. Would be nice to be able
to limit the upper scan limit. I had one clear up to 12661.
6) Guess I was lucky on the AC3. I hooked up to my TV with a HDMI
cable, had to set the Sathawk to BS and I miss nothing. My TV is
only a couple months old though and I have an optical cable from
the TV to my Pioneer Audio/Video Receiver.
I'm not that unhappy. I ordered mine towards the tail end of the first
batch but just missed out so I knew most of it's quirks ahead of time
but did not cancel my order. I don't have a perfect receiver out of the
5 that I have. If I could roll them all up into one, it would be pretty
close. (for me anyway) I think some firmware updates would make me very
happy with this receiver even knowing no 4:2:2 is probably possible.
Oh and to Sadoun, got the adapter in the mail yesterday, thanks. I was
getting by with the cheesy one tha came with my AzBox. Later on I'll
cut that Euro plug off and wire on a US plug.
My 3 cents...
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