Suggest a receiver to solve these problems

[pokepork]

Hi All,

I'm hoping to tap the collective knowledge here about receivers and their capabilities before I spend money on the next one. Essentially this is a complaint / wish list of my current receivers, and I'd love to hear from anyone who knows either a better way or a better product. They are in order of importance to me.

Just for reference, I'm currently running a Fortec Lifetime Classic NA paired with a motorized 80cm, and a Viewsat Xtreme using a T-90. It ended up this way mostly because the Viewsat didn't seem to want to play nice with the motor all the time.

1. I'm terribly disappointed in the speed of scans on either unit. Okay, so short of buying a spectrum analyzer to identify active TPs, I realize one can't expect miracles. But it seems like just identifying the presence of a signal could be a lot quicker. Do any other units excel in this area?

2. A feature I would like to have is the ability to identify and watch active IDs in streams simply by tuning an active transponder. As in, not having to go into the menu and scan the transponder and enter channels. This seems somewhat contrary to the architecture and standard mode of operation FTA boxes appear to employ. But maybe there is something out there..

3. The selectivity of the tuner in the VS is horrible. The same channels will be found on adjacent transponders. This rarely happens on the Fortec. I'm unsure if this is common among Viewsats, or it's just my particular box, although I'm willing to bet it is a common problem. The VS gives me the general feeling of having been hastily designed, without much thought going into it.

4. A lack of control other than the remote. Several of my other STBs (and the television itself) can be computer controlled via serial port. The serial ports on these two FTA units are apparently only for firmware upgrades, essentially useless for my purposes. Right now, they are integrated into my system via an IR blaster, which just barely meets acceptability. This uncovers a secondary issue, particularly on the Viewsat: There isn't a standard entry point into the list of satellites in 'channel scan' or 'antenna setup'. (Stated another way, if you might not be familiar, it would be a lot more helpful if, say satellite #1 always appeared as a default when entering these modes. The Viewsat defaults to the last satellite selected in this mode, the Fortec is only slightly better by defaulting to the satellite currently being watched.)

 

[pokepork]

Hmm. Unexpectedly quiet in this thread. It's prompting me to change my request slightly: Let me know if looking for a receiver that can address these things is, well, unreasonable.

It may very well be that I am the only one looking for such features. Or possibly they all already exist and I haven't done enough homework yet. I'd also like to hear from those who might agree with my earlier post, as it's also conceivable that there is an actual problem here but truly nobody is aware of any boxes which answer them.

 

[stogie5150]

I'll wade in....I don't think what you are looking for exists. The closest you might find is a DVB card for your PC with the full version of Tsreader for stream ID...the other stuff.....I don't think it exists...there's just not a market for the geek type stuff IMO....

My Coolsat 5000 does a pretty good job. That's about all I can offer. But then all i want it to do is move the dish well, blind scan well, and give me a decent picture. It does that, and I am happy.

 

[updatelee]

if you want to know what transponders are there super fast, like 1/2sec, a specturm analyzer will help ya there, I got mine broke on ebay for $350, replaced the battery $35, and the serial port $2 and I was up and running

if you want to know exactly whats going on with the stream, tsreader is great, take a look at their site to see what pc hardware is supported, you can get a twinhan pci dvb card for less then $50 shipped.

 

[pokepork]

Thanks guys. I was vaguely aware of TSReader before, but I will give it a serious look now. I wasn't entirely sure it would be what I was looking for, in terms of real-time stream identification, but at a $50 price tag for a DVB PCI card, it certainly seems worth it. The worst thing that happens is I end up with another receiver!

Bid on a spectrum analyzer last night, in fact. They always seem to get away from me at the last minute. Someday, I suppose.. In the interim:

My readings have raised an eyebrow towards a Neusat offering. The 6000 to be specific. In the advertising literature, they claim to have an 'oscilloscope/spectrum analyzer' function. I cannot, however, find independent reviews, nor screenshots, nor anything to expand upon the concept. As such, I am disposed to believe it is merely an over-hyped dressed up signal meter. If anyone can confirm or rebuke my suspicion, it would be appreciated.

I have also thought of another addition to my initial post: The Viewsat purportedly has a 'multi-picture' mode. Experienced VS users know the mode is not implemented correctly, or at least as one might expect. So the question (make this equal to maybe my #3 above) is: Is there a box which implements a multi-picture mode in a reasonable way?

Thanks again all,
-Poke