I purchased the X2 Premium Mini HD from
Amazon. This is a low priced satellite receiver, and yet it has many features. I have not tested all the features, but I will report on what I have seen so far. I had hoped to use this to stream video over my WiFi to my Android 4.1 Netbook. This receiver has the capability to do this, but I was not totally successful. I believe that the problem was with my netbook, and not the X2 since the netbook did confirm a connection to the X2. I did receive audio with partial video from the receiver. My purpose was to use this to stream the video to my netbook, so that I could adjust the dish remotely. This is not going to work for me, but with a smart phone you may find this feature very beneficial.
Nevetheless, the receiver is so small – a little larger than the size of a pack of cigarettes – that it is easy to use at the dish for adjustments, with a display that takes either HDMI or NTSC video as both are output from the receiver. The cables going to the unit take more room than the set itself.
The receiver presents video in 480i/p, 576i/p, 720p and 1080i/p formats. The picture quality is excellent.
Connection to in home WiFi is made through USB dongle with antenna, which is supplied. I found no problem with this.
The menus show selection for DiSEqc 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 0/22k Hz and USALS. I have tested the DiSEqc 1.0 and the 0/22k Hz functions and they are working on my system. I have not tested the other selections.
Menus are available for a variety of channel editing functions, using the remote. I am not aware of any software for editing the channel list on a PC.
The unit comes with 2 remotes. One is a full function remote, and the other is a simple remote with only the basic functions.
I found the unit easy to setup and get started. It scans channels well, and the tuner seems quite sensitive.
One feature that I found unique is the remote sensor. The sensor is not on the receiver itself, but is a separate piece, which connects with a mini-USB cable. The sensor unit can be attached to the TV set, or another smooth surface. The current channel number is displayed on the unit, or if turned off, the display says “OFF”, and when turned on it says “BOOT” until the system comes up. The letters and numbers are of good size to be read across the room, and the illumination from the display has enough brightness to be useful as a night light in the room.
It does not do 4:2:2, but it does do DVB-S2.
For the price, in my opinion, this makes an excellent spare receiver, or good choice for a receiver to use for dish alignment.
