WARNING: AzBox Premium HD Plus counterfeit units now being sold in the North American market!

[pwrsurge]

Please be advised that counterfeit AzBox Premium HD Plus units are now being manufactured by several companies in China. These companies include but are not limited to:

Shenzhen Manruta Technology Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, Guandong, China
[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Shenzhen Hua Gang Electronics Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, Guandong, China
[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Shenzhen Splendid Electronics And Plastics Co., Ltd.,Shenzhen, Guandong, China
[Only registered and activated users can see links]

As genuine AzBox Premium HD Plus units were manufactured in Korea, all the above companies from China are producing AzBox clones. Shortly after these companies began producing counterfeit AzBox units, the following unauthorised AzBox retailers began to appear in the Canadian market.


Worldwide Satellites [Only registered and activated users can see links]
7222 Torbram Rd. Unit 16, Mississauga, ON
Unauthorised retailer report: [Only registered and activated users can see links]

GO Satellite [Only registered and activated users can see links]
B3-1410 Parkway Blvd #16, Coquiltlam, BC
Unauthorised retailer report: [Only registered and activated users can see links]

Incredible Entertainment [Only registered and activated users can see links]
106 - 13569 76th Ave., Surrey, BC
Unauthorised retailer report: [Only registered and activated users can see links]

"watching-tv and accessories" eBay store [Only registered and activated users can see links]
eBay ID: tv-watcher - Gloucester, ON
Unauthorised retailer report: [Only registered and activated users can see links]
Store now shut down by eBay

Research Electronics [Only registered and activated users can see links]
100 Frobisher Dr. Unit # 12, Waterloo, ON
Unauthorised retailer report: [Only registered and activated users can see links]

Please note that we are currently analysing AzBox counterfeit products sold by unauthorised retailers in collaboration with OpenSat Lda. and all subsequent firmware releases will include code in order to permanently disable these devices. Also, our newest AzBox products such as the AzBox miniMe are manufactured with a proprietary security dongle installed inside the unit which makes it impossible to counterfeit.

In order to avoid purchasing a counterfeit AzBox unit, we strongly recommend only purchasing AzBox products from authorised AzBox Canada dealers which are listed on our website at [Only registered and activated users can see links] or from Rick's Satellite who is authorised for the U.S. market.

AzBox Canada remains committed in protecting the AzBox brand in the Canadian market by taking several measures up to and including legal action in collaboration with OpenSat Lda. against unauthorised usage of its AzBox trademark and preventing the sale of counterfeit units in the Canadian marketplace.

If you accidentally purchased an AzBox product from any unauthorised retailer listed above, please contact us and we will assist you in going after the unauthorised seller to try and get your money back!


Best regards,


PwrSurge
AzBox Canada
[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[eastof111]

"and all subsequent firmware releases will include code in order to permanently disable these devices"

Sincerely hope you don't disable legitimate products as some makers have done in the past.

[mountaineer]

I've never understood punishing the consumer for buying something. Go after the people selling them, YOU the manufacturer should know who is selling them legitimately and who isn't. Go after them. It is not our job as consumers to figure out what is or isn't a clone and who is or isn't illegitimately selling them. in fact why can't you buy from many manufacturers, Az included. Have to buy from someone else, who is an "authorized dealer". Who is one and who isn't. they don't update their sites very often etc. etc. Someone will sue them one day and win.

[easily confused]

Good point, mountaineer. Why punish the consumer when the manufacturer claims to know who is making the clones. Go after the ones who are producing the illegitimate boxes. A few years ago I bought two boxes from a reputable dealer and they turned out to be clones. It was traced back to neat little scam but he was not in on it and was also a victim. As far as code that will disable these clones, I had a provider dish destroyed back when piracy was in full force and Bell TV issued an ECM. My legitimate sub box was fried and their response was, oh well. Haven't had a sub since. I still say it should be up to the manufacturers to go after to clone makers. hy not notify the feds and have the shipments stopped when they arrive in North America?

[Costactc]

Please be advised that counterfeit AzBox Premium HD Plus units are now being manufactured by several companies in China. These companies include but are not limited to:


"[Only registered and activated users can see links]"]Shenzhen Manruta Technology Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, Guandong, China

"[Only registered and activated users can see links]"]Shenzhen Hua Gang Electronics Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, Guandong, China

"[Only registered and activated users can see links]"]Shenzhen Splendid Electronics And Plastics Co., Ltd.,Shenzhen, Guandong, China

As genuine AzBox Premium HD Plus units were manufactured in Korea, all the above companies from China are producing AzBox clones. Shortly after these companies began producing counterfeit AzBox units, the following
"[Only registered and activated users can see links]"]unauthorised AzBox retailers began to appear in the Canadian market.



"[Only registered and activated users can see links]"]Worldwide Satellites [Only registered and activated users can see links]
7222 Torbram Rd. Unit 16, Mississauga, ON


"[Only registered and activated users can see links]"]GO Satellite [Only registered and activated users can see links]
B3-1410 Parkway Blvd #16, Coquiltlam, BC


"[Only registered and activated users can see links]"]
Incredible Entertainment [Only registered and activated users can see links]
106 - 13569 76th Ave., Surrey, BC


"[Only registered and activated users can see links]"]"watching-tv and accessories" eBay store [Only registered and activated users can see links]
eBay ID: tv-watcher - Gloucester, ON
Store now shut down by eBay


"[Only registered and activated users can see links]"]Research Electronics [Only registered and activated users can see links]
100 Frobisher Dr. Unit # 12, Waterloo, ON

Please note that we are currently analysing AzBox counterfeit products sold by unauthorised retailers in collaboration with OpenSat Lda. and all subsequent firmware releases will include code in order to permanently disable these devices. Also, our newest AzBox products such as the AzBox miniMe are manufactured with a proprietary security dongle installed inside the unit which makes it impossible to counterfeit.

In order to avoid purchasing a counterfeit AzBox unit, we strongly recommend only purchasing AzBox products from
"[Only registered and activated users can see links]"]authorised AzBox Canada dealers or from Rick's Satellite who is authorised for the U.S. market.

AzBox Canada remains committed in protecting the AzBox brand in the Canadian market by taking several measures up to and including legal action in collaboration with OpenSat Lda. against unauthorised usage of its AzBox trademark and preventing the sale of counterfeit units in the Canadian marketplace.

If you accidentally purchased an AzBox product from any unauthorised retailer listed above,
"[Only registered and activated users can see links]"]please contact us and we will assist you in going after the unauthorised seller to try and get your money back!


Best regards,


PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

Do me a favour for your future posts, please enclose all live links.

[pwrsurge]

Do me a favour for your future posts, please enclose all live links.

Sorry, was not aware that live links are not allowed here. I have just edited my post again and removed all live links.


Best regards,


PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

[Costactc]

Live links leading to site forums are permitted.

[Costactc]

Sorry, was not aware that live links are not allowed here. I have just edited my post again and removed all live links.


Best regards,


PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

Thank you and good info to know about peeps looking to invest in an azbox.

[pwrsurge]

Thank you and good info to know about peeps looking to invest in an azbox.

Thank you but I believe the edited post still needs to be approved again.


Best regards,

PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

[Costactc]

I didn't realise that it was still being moderated, all good now.

[pwrsurge]

I've never understood punishing the consumer for buying something. Go after the people selling them, YOU the manufacturer should know who is selling them legitimately and who isn't. Go after them. It is not our job as consumers to figure out what is or isn't a clone and who is or isn't illegitimately selling them. in fact why can't you buy from many manufacturers, Az included. Have to buy from someone else, who is an "authorized dealer". Who is one and who isn't. they don't update their sites very often etc. etc. Someone will sue them one day and win.

We are taking action against the unauthorised retailers selling them but regardless, we need to ensure that their customers can't take advantage of the technical support, firmware updates and warranty provided by AzBox Canada in collaboration with OpenSat Lda. for the Canadian market. As you know, there is a cost to provide these services and the only source of revenue to fund these comes from genuine receiver sales via authorised AzBox dealers.

Unauthorised AzBox clone manufacturers and dealers selling counterfeit products don't contribute at all, financially or otherwise, in order to support and further develop the AzBox brand and are essentially stealing from OpenSat and authorised distributors such as AzBox Canada since these units are using our firmware. If everyone purchased clones instead of authentic units, we would no longer have enough revenue to pay our software developers and firmware updates would cease.

Regardless of this, we fully agree that it's not the consumer's fault that they were misled in purchasing a clone unit which is why we are assisting anyone who purchased a counterfeit unit by providing a full 10 page report analysing pictures of their counterfeit unit with pictures of a reference authentic unit. The consumer can then use this report to file a claim with their credit card company to get their money back and or the authorities as the item purchased was not as described. (i.e. fraud as the clone sellers are advertising their units as authentic when they are clearly not).

Once the outcome of their claim is known, we then arrange for a discounted genuine unit from an authorised AzBox Canada dealer of either 20% off the regular price or 50% off the regular price if the consumer forfeits their counterfeit unit to AzBox Canada. Some credit card companies require the counterfeit unit to be shipped back to the seller even if they already refused to provide any sort of refund which is why we first have to wait for each claim's outcome before being able to provide a replacement genuine unit.

In order to ensure that you are purchasing an authentic AzBox unit in Canada, you may always check our website at [Only registered and activated users can see links] which contains a current listing of authorised dealers. Furthermore, we have recently created a dynamic logo which can be embedded besides each AzBox product sold online in order to confirm the status of each authorised dealer.


Best regards,

PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

[hags]

By counterfeit you mean what?

Actual AzBox product overruns made at the same factory or all out counterfeit copies made elsewhere with different parts, firmware, software, etc?

Most of the time it turns out to be the actual product made with all the same parts and software at the contracted factory in China, then moved to unauthorized sellers.

This happens all the time.

You usually only see big dollar items being copied outright, with the rest being the real deal.

[el bandido]

I think there is some good information here. IMO, the majority of what I have read in this thread is not a good idea. Let me explain why.

(1) Somebody produces a receiver which gets copied or cloned.
(2) A clone kill firmware is released to destroy the copied or cloned receivers.
(3) AzBox receivers that are copied or cloned are adversely affected, including some genuine AzBox receivers being disabled by the clone kill firmware.

The clone kill firmware is the way things were done years ago. Is this the best AzBox can do?
Why not tighten up how the firmware is distributed? The AzBox could be updated over the internet or over a satellite as other developers have done.
Why try to destroy a receiver? The anti-clone firmware could be designed to not run except in genuine or designated receivers.

Post some evidence:
All I have seen so far in this thread is one salesman saying not to buy from another salesman. I have yet to see the first clone picture posted here.
Where are ALL the pictures of the clones and where are the pictures of genuine receivers so people can compare them now?
Where is any evidence at all? Be fair and post some evidence instead of just posting a list of distributors and saying they are the bad guys!

I do not support clones, and as far as I know, I do not own any clones.
A few years ago, I had a genuine receiver with all of the correct manufacturer markings that was disabled by anti-clone firmware. How would you feel if that happened to you?

IMO, trying to destroy a piece of equipment that you did not pay for does not make any sense. This clone kill firmware may end up hurting AzBox more than it hurts the illegal receivers. Especially if the illegal receivers produce a way to recover a disabled receiver. EB

[pwrsurge]

By counterfeit you mean what?

Actual AzBox product overruns made at the same factory or all out counterfeit copies made elsewhere with different parts, firmware, software, etc?

Most of the time it turns out to be the actual product made with all the same parts and software at the contracted factory in China, then moved to unauthorized sellers.

This happens all the time.

You usually only see big dollar items being copied outright, with the rest being the real deal.

As per our advisory, by counterfeit we are talking about the AzBox Premium HD Plus being manufactured by several factories in Shenzhen, China which is considered as the clone capital of the world. Lower quality parts are used on these devices and external and internal physical differences are clearly visible when comparing with an authentic unit. However, the units are designed to use the same software as original AzBox products so they do appear legitimate to the untrained eye.

On the other hand, genuine AzBox Premium HD Plus units are made in Korea and NOT China. We already analysed a fair amount of the counterfeit units sold by unauthorised retailers and we were able to see differences on every single one of them within 5 seconds when comparing with an authentic unit.


Best regards,

PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

[Pixl]

Mr. Power Surge,

I bought one of your genuine miniMe receivers from Dr. Sat after reading numerous posts from you stating it was customized for N.A., did not have any of the problems of the ME, and was ready to go right out of the box. This was not true, the mimiMe was riddled with problems. All you did was post work arounds, but no fixes. All of your effort and work to attack clones should be put toward fixing the receivers instead of breaking them.

[hags]

As per our advisory, by counterfeit we are talking about the AzBox Premium HD Plus being manufactured by several factories in Shenzhen, China which is considered as the clone capital of the world. Lower quality parts are used on these devices and external and internal physical differences are clearly visible when comparing with an authentic unit. However, the units are designed to use the same software as original AzBox products so they do appear legitimate to the untrained eye.

On the other hand, genuine AzBox Premium HD Plus units are made in Korea and NOT China. We already analysed a fair amount of the counterfeit units sold by unauthorised retailers and we were able to see differences on every single one of them within 5 seconds when comparing with an authentic unit.


Best regards,

PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

Well, thanks, that certainly clears it up.

[ViP3R]

Well, thanks, that certainly clears it up.

Yaa Sure does...lol

Questions have been asked in this thread and no reply of proof,, he said she said.

Where's the beef PW ?

I think many have follow up questions should you choose to reply. Including myself.

[TunaDude]

Wow Just the az box mini me importer drama of his box getting cloned according this person here at legit aka powrsg of the real north amercian approved official special editon of the az box Canada mini me is warning us not to buy this box elsewhere cause it might be a cheap clone !

thanks for warning us at legit BUT after pixl PAID for your imported mini me maybe its not even worth the price of eggs in china even to talk about clones cause if the original does not live up to a good pixl review then who cares if they make clones of a crapy box!

[hags]

I might take advantage of a free and open forum such as this to post pics and technical descriptions/discrepancies between real and clone units.

This has been done countless times with audio products at various websites.

Also, memos, bulletins, and product notices have been posted.

As far as killware, how do you know who has bought a clone willingly or unwillingly?

I'm not defending the grey market but I'd hold you personally responsible if you disabled a unit I purchased

Seems like the proper legal and diplomatic channels need to be utilized.

[hags]

Yaa Sure does...lol

Questions have been asked in this thread and no reply of proof,, he said she said.

Where's the beef PW ?

I think many have follow up questions should you choose to reply. Including myself.

I was trying to come across as tongue in cheek w/o getting rude.

If there are in fact clones that are so distinguishable from the real deal let's see them side by side as a service to your customers as well as others.

Otherwise I get what people are saying, someone maybe wants to be the sole source for these units.

[ViP3R]

I was trying to come across as tongue in cheek w/o getting rude.

If there are in fact clones that are so distinguishable from the real deal let's see them side by side as a service to your customers as well as others.

Otherwise I get what people are saying, someone maybe wants to be the sole source for these units.

Oh, Yes I recognized the sarcasm of your post right away..and appreciated it.

PW should understand that killing someone elses property may and should make him liable for the cost of the box to the person who bought an AZ not knowing if it was a clone or not.

Does he really think that when he kills someones box and offers a small discount for a genuine, that those people would actually buy something from him/drsat ?

There are other way's to secure your firmware rather than hurting innocent users that had no idea that they had a clone/ if they did.

As other have posted, concentrate on fixing issues!

If we don't see proof or some solid evidence and explanation here then this will be closed as nothing more than a sales pitch or rumor.

[pwrsurge]

I think there is some good information here. IMO, the majority of what I have read in this thread is not a good idea. Let me explain why.

(1) Somebody produces a receiver which gets copied or cloned.
(2) A clone kill firmware is released to destroy the copied or cloned receivers.
(3) AzBox receivers that are copied or cloned are adversely affected, including some genuine AzBox receivers being disabled by the clone kill firmware.

The clone kill firmware is the way things were done years ago. Is this the best AzBox can do?
Why not tighten up how the firmware is distributed? The AzBox could be updated over the internet or over a satellite as other developers have done.
Why try to destroy a receiver? The anti-clone firmware could be designed to not run except in genuine or designated receivers.

Post some evidence:
All I have seen so far in this thread is one salesman saying not to buy from another salesman. I have yet to see the first clone picture posted here.
Where are ALL the pictures of the clones and where are the pictures of genuine receivers so people can compare them now?
Where is any evidence at all? Be fair and post some evidence instead of just posting a list of distributors and saying they are the bad guys!

I do not support clones, and as far as I know, I do not own any clones.
A few years ago, I had a genuine receiver with all of the correct manufacturer markings that was disabled by anti-clone firmware. How would you feel if that happened to you?

IMO, trying to destroy a piece of equipment that you did not pay for does not make any sense. This clone kill firmware may end up hurting AzBox more than it hurts the illegal receivers. Especially if the illegal receivers produce a way to recover a disabled receiver. EB

We perfectly understand everyone's concerns about potentially impacting genuine AzBox units as well which is why new firmware updates will only disable clones if they can be identified 100% via software. At this moment, we are still analysing a counterfeit unit internally and if we are unable to find a 100% accurate way of identifying it via software, we will simply display an alert message to the user and prevent certain components from being used instead.

Distributing the firmware via a secure site won't do much as someone will eventually upload the firmware on one of those free file sharing websites if they are forced to create an account before being able to download the update. Having online only updates also is not an option as not everyone has their box connected to the Internet or even have Internet access where the receiver is being used.

Please note that AzBox Canada is the exclusive authorised distributor of AzBox products for the Canadian market and does NOT sell directly to the consumer but via its authorised dealers. We decided not to release a public document outlining all the differences between the Premium HD Plus clone v.s. authentic units like OpenSat did in the past with the Premium HD (non-plus) clones because it would allow the company importing these clones to get their Chinese factory to fix the identified differences and make it harder to identify these in the future. However, we do fully outline all these differences in a customised detailed analysis report for each person who was a victim in purchasing one of these counterfeit units once they contact us.

Regardless, we do understand that some people want to see evidence or are simply curious so we will post the most obvious difference between an AzBox Premium HD Plus authentic unit and a clone which is the layout of the ventilation holes on the top cover above the tuner cards.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]
Counterfeit unit --------------- Reference authentic unit

[Only registered and activated users can see links]
Counterfeit unit --------------- Reference authentic unit

As you can see with these images, the clone unit clearly has differences with the layout of ventilation holes on the top cover
above the tuners. The reference authentic unit on the right only has two parallel columns of 16 holes each while the clone unit on the left has three parallel columns, the first one with 16 holes and the last two with only 6 holes each.



Best regards,

PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

[Pixl]

Looks like the clone has better ventilation. Maybe you should copy it into your genuine version.

[ViP3R]

We perfectly understand everyone's concerns about potentially impacting genuine AzBox units as well which is why new firmware updates will only disable clones if they can be identified 100% via software. At this moment, we are still analysing a counterfeit unit internally and if we are unable to find a 100% accurate way of identifying it via software, we will simply display an alert message to the user and prevent certain components from being used instead.

Distributing the firmware via a secure site won't do much as someone will eventually upload the firmware on one of those free file sharing websites if they are forced to create an account before being able to download the update. Having online only updates also is not an option as not everyone has their box connected to the Internet or even have Internet access where the receiver is being used.

Please note that AzBox Canada is the exclusive authorised distributor of AzBox products for the Canadian market and does NOT sell directly to the consumer but via its authorised dealers. We decided not to release a public document outlining all the differences between the Premium HD Plus clone v.s. authentic units like OpenSat did in the past with the Premium HD (non-plus) clones because it would allow the company importing these clones to get their Chinese factory to fix the identified differences and make it harder to identify these in the future. However, we do fully outline all these differences in a customised detailed analysis report for each person who was a victim in purchasing one of these counterfeit units once they contact us.

Regardless, we do understand that some people want to see evidence or are simply curious so we will post the most obvious difference between an AzBox Premium HD Plus authentic unit and a clone which is the layout of the ventilation holes on the top cover above the tuner cards.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]
Counterfeit unit --------------- Reference authentic unit

[Only registered and activated users can see links]
Counterfeit unit --------------- Reference authentic unit

As you can see with these images, the clone unit clearly has differences with the layout of ventilation holes on the top cover
above the tuners. The reference authentic unit on the right only has two parallel columns of 16 holes each while the clone unit on the left has three parallel columns, the first one with 16 holes and the last two with only 6 holes each.



Best regards,

PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

I don't see any proof of clones here apart from some holes in a case for ventilation, and you have accused some web stores in this thread with zero proof that they are selling clones.

We at Legit do not condone clones to be clear.

In saying that, since you have stated the next firmware will possibly contain a kill code or message..

I would advise all Azbox owners to stay with their current firmware...Simply do Not update...as the new firmware will NOT fix any issues of your box...but perhaps harm or KILL the box you payed hard earned money for.

[pwrsurge]

Looks like the clone has better ventilation.

Actually it doesn't. The ventilation holes are supposed to be right on top of the two tuner slots as the tuners can get hot when in use. The counterfeit version only has proper ventilation holes above one of the two tuner slots.


Regards,

PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

[pwrsurge]

I don't see any proof of clones here apart from some holes in a case for ventilation, and you have accused some web stores in this thread with zero proof that they are selling clones.

As stated, there are other differences as well but we won't post them publicly in order to avoid them being corrected in the next clone version.
In addition to the physical differences, the serial number of each counterfeit unit being analysed was checked with OpenSat who confirmed that they are invalid.

If you look at any genuine AzBox Premium HD Plus unit, I can guarantee you that you won't be able to find one with the ventilation holes like the counterfeit units have.


Regards,


PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

[pwrsurge]

I would advise all Azbox owners to stay with their current firmware...Simply do Not update...as the new firmware will NOT fix any issues of your box...but perhaps harm or KILL the box you payed hard earned money for.

This should NOT be a concern as we will thoroughly test the new firmware on a variety of units before releasing it. If it ever occurs that the new firmware causes issues on a genuine unit, we at AzBox Canada will repair or replace the unit FREE OF CHARGE INCLUDING SHIPPING, regardless of warranty status or where the unit was purchased from.


Best regards,

PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

[ViP3R]

As stated, there are other differences as well but we won't post them publicly in order to avoid these differences being corrected in the next clone version.
In addition to the physical differences, the serial number of each counterfeit unit being analysed was checked with OpenSat who confirmed that they are invalid.

If you look at any genuine AzBox Premium HD Plus unit, I can guarantee you that you won't be able to find one with the ventilation holes like the counterfeit units have.


Regards,


PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

I understand that..and as stated there are other ways, such as securing your firmware properly. Rather than trying to kill a box that may well be very legit..parden the pun..

And if you are not willing to show all the proof, then you should not be pointing out stores with the lack of it.

I understand you are trying to protect your Brand in Canada.. but it should be done the proper way, otherwise the Azbox name will suffer from this.

[Pixl]

Hey Mr Power Surge,

Since you are on this board tonight, how about explaining what I asked earlier in the thread. You seem to have skipped over it.


Mr. Power Surge,

I bought one of your genuine miniMe receivers from Dr. Sat after reading numerous posts from you stating it was customized for N.A., did not have any of the problems of the ME, and was ready to go right out of the box. This was not true, the mimiMe was riddled with problems. All you did was post work arounds, but no fixes. All of your effort and work to attack clones should be put toward fixing the receivers instead of breaking them.

You promised the miniMe would work out of the box.
You promised the issues would be fixed.
You promise a lot, but don't deliver.

[ViP3R]

This should NOT be a concern as we will thoroughly test the new firmware on a variety of units before releasing it. If it ever occurs that the new firmware causes issues on a genuine unit, we at AzBox Canada will repair or replace the unit FREE OF CHARGE INCLUDING SHIPPING, regardless of warranty status or where the unit was purchased from.


Best regards,

PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

That's all well and good,, but this will not help innocent people who have bought a clone unknown to them and now have a dead box.

[pwrsurge]

Hey Mr Power Surge,

Since you are on this board tonight, how about explaining what I asked earlier in the thread. You seem to have skipped over it.



You promised the miniMe would work out of the box.
You promised the issues would be fixed.
You promise a lot, but don't deliver.

Our dealers have sold several miniMe American Edition units and have generally received positive feedback from their customers. It does work out of the box for North American use as long as it is properly configured. The only systems it won't work with at the moment are those using bandstacked LNBF's which we publicly stated in the review we did on another discussion forum before the unit was even launched so there should be no surprises there. However, we will be adding support for bandstacked LNBF's in the near future with a firmware update.

Since we released the miniMe back in late November of last year, we have released 4 firmware updates so far (i.e. versions 1.10, 1.15, 1.17 and 1.20) which means an average of two firmware updates per month so far for the miniMe. This is pretty good considering the fact that we also had to deal with the Premium HD Plus clones issue and had the Christmas holidays during the same time period. As you know, there is no receiver out there in the market which was released with perfect firmware from day one but we at AzBox Canada are committed in bringing the very best FTA receiver for hobbyists in the North American market.


Best regards,

PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

[pwrsurge]

That's all well and good,, but this will not help innocent people who have bought a clone unknown to them and now have a dead box.

As stated, we are assisting victims who got tricked into purchasing a clone in getting their money back through various means such as filing a fraud complaint with their credit card company. Fortunately, all the victims who contacted us so far used their credit card to purchase the counterfeit unit and some of them even already got their money back from their credit card company. This is the easiest way for full restitution but there is a time limit that people have to file a complaint like this (usually 6 months) which is why it's important that anyone who suspects having purchased an AzBox clone get in touch with us ASAP in order to get their unit analysed.


Best regards,

PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

[hags]

As stated, there are other differences as well but we won't post them publicly in order to avoid them being corrected in the next clone version.
In addition to the physical differences, the serial number of each counterfeit unit being analysed was checked with OpenSat who confirmed that they are invalid.

If you look at any genuine AzBox Premium HD Plus unit, I can guarantee you that you won't be able to find one with the ventilation holes like the counterfeit units have.


Regards,


PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

Uh, how are they cloning these units at all if they haven't gotten there hands on a "legitimate" unit?

Also, any counterfeiter could purchase a unit to copy.

By not releasing any info you are, again, going after the end user who will probably go out and purchase another clone.

[hags]

I was seriously considering an AzBox product for 4:2:2, the Premium Plus I think . After reading this thread and searching online I wouldn't get involved with any of this nonsense surrounding AzBox.

Follow the appropriate legal and diplomatic channels like others do.

If you're spending this much time on something like this, in such a manner, who is promoting, selling and servicing your product?

[ViP3R]

As stated, we are assisting victims who got tricked into purchasing a clone in getting their money back through various means such as filing a fraud complaint with their credit card company. Fortunately, all the victims who contacted us so far used their credit card to purchase the counterfeit unit and some of them even already got their money back from their credit card company. This is the easiest way for full restitution but there is a time limit that people have to file a complaint like this (usually 6 months) which is why it's important that anyone who suspects having purchased an AzBox clone get in touch with us ASAP in order to get their unit analysed.


Best regards,

PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

With limited sales answers like this, it's plain to see why we have very few azbox discussions or members who own one or want to own one here at LegitFTA.

4:2:2 is the only claim to fame of this overpriced box, you may state we have put out x amount of files in a certain time period, but IF they don't fix what needs fixed it's all smoke and mirrors.

See the attached pdf for your consideration. since you did not want to..

[worldwidesatellites]

WorldWideSatellites is finally responding to these false accusations. We want to clear the air, all our AZbox premium HD Plus are 100% original. A particular Retail Vendor is bashing Canadian dealers in order to gain more sales themselves. This is a dirty business strategy and currently were pursuing legal action against this individual. To read more details check out Rick Caylor Forum or worldwidesatellites blog.


Regards,


WorldWideSatellites

[x302]

Glad to see this getting cleared up. So is Worldwidesatellites purchasing their units from Rick?

[worldwidesatellites]

Glad to see this getting cleared up. So is Worldwidesatellites purchasing their units from Rick?

Yes, all our stock is coming from Rick Caylor.

"Rick Caylor is a stand up individual and conducts a very professional business. WorldWideSatellites was referred to Rick Caylor from Azbox.com early 2012. From the first transaction to our most recent transaction the service has always been top notch. Fast Shipping, Helpful for technical issues, Installs latest stable factory firmware prior to shipping, Pre-tests each box prior to shipping and provides a master list of serial numbers on each invoice. We don’t get this type of service from any other supplier. We’ve purchased all our Azboxes from Rick Caylor and have no doubts about its authenticity."

[hags]

Ooops, clicked one too many there, sorry.

[iq180]

ok i had not seen this, after reading all this, i will say this to opensat, DO NOT KILL THE CLONED RECIVERS, you can setup the firmware
so it dont load on a cloned reciver and you will have no problem with me, if you kill the cloned recivers then we have a problem, i will find
and remove your clone kill code and i will post a how to recover the cloned reciver.
YOU KNOW WHO I AM AND YOU KNOW I CAN AND WILL.
thanks

[GetBit03]

There not killing anything, They do not even know what a REAL cloned receiver is!

[iq180]

There not killing anything, They do not even know what a REAL cloned receiver is!
yes they do know what a cloned reciver is and how to id it and how to kill it, if i know they know, you can bet on it, but killing the cloned
reciver is not the answer to the problem, what they need to do is fix the firmware so you cant load it on a cloned reciver,JMO.

[el bandido]

So far, Nobody has posted anything that shows what a clone AzBox is. Differences in paint, vent holes or the color of the USB port does not identify a clone.

Good luck on producing a killer firmware for something that does not exist. EB

[iq180]

We perfectly understand everyone's concerns about potentially impacting genuine AzBox units as well which is why new firmware updates will only disable clones if they can be identified 100% via software. At this moment, we are still analysing a counterfeit unit internally and if we are unable to find a 100% accurate way of identifying it via software, we will simply display an alert message to the user and prevent certain components from being used instead.

Distributing the firmware via a secure site won't do much as someone will eventually upload the firmware on one of those free file sharing websites if they are forced to create an account before being able to download the update. Having online only updates also is not an option as not everyone has their box connected to the Internet or even have Internet access where the receiver is being used.

Please note that AzBox Canada is the exclusive authorised distributor of AzBox products for the Canadian market and does NOT sell directly to the consumer but via its authorised dealers. We decided not to release a public document outlining all the differences between the Premium HD Plus clone v.s. authentic units like OpenSat did in the past with the Premium HD (non-plus) clones because it would allow the company importing these clones to get their Chinese factory to fix the identified differences and make it harder to identify these in the future. However, we do fully outline all these differences in a customised detailed analysis report for each person who was a victim in purchasing one of these counterfeit units once they contact us.

Regardless, we do understand that some people want to see evidence or are simply curious so we will post the most obvious difference between an AzBox Premium HD Plus authentic unit and a clone which is the layout of the ventilation holes on the top cover above the tuner cards.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]
Counterfeit unit --------------- Reference authentic unit

[Only registered and activated users can see links]
Counterfeit unit --------------- Reference authentic unit

As you can see with these images, the clone unit clearly has differences with the layout of ventilation holes on the top cover
above the tuners. The reference authentic unit on the right only has two parallel columns of 16 holes each while the clone unit on the left has three parallel columns, the first one with 16 holes and the last two with only 6 holes each.



Best regards,

PwrSurge
AzBox Canada
why would you post this wrong info with these pic, yes i did say wrong, you did not think you could slip that past me did you,
i dont understand what you are trying to do here.

[Costactc]

IQ my friend your taking this matter too personal, not worth the aggravation.

[TunaDude]

also iq 180 this site is the wrong site to bitch go to sat guys and make powersurg look bad! he posted this shit here about the clone and other sites as well but this powersurge dude is nothing here other than a shitstirer of mis guided info or better yet greed! he want you to buy it from him ///

[iq180]

also iq 180 this site is the wrong site to bitch go to sat guys and make powersurg look bad! he posted this shit here about the clone and other sites as well but this powersurge dude is nothing here other than a shitstirer of mis guided info or better yet greed! he want you to buy it from him ///
i just dont like it when poeple try to get over on us, and i will say no more about it unless they start killing recivers, then they will here from me and they want like it.

[ViP3R]

We like to give everyone a chance to voice their opinions , views and thoughts here at Legit and this will continue.

I did have this thread closed after zero proof was produced by pw and that remains the case.

The thread was re-opened after I invited WWS to come and respond and state what we all thought to be the truth that this was just a sales thread..Buy from me don't buy from them.

It can remain open, but pw has not been here since Feb 19th after perhaps seeing we were not to sympathetic or buying into his pitch.

Discuss all you like, but I doubt we will see anything further from pw here.

[iq180]

We perfectly understand everyone's concerns about potentially impacting genuine AzBox units as well which is why new firmware updates will only disable clones if they can be identified 100% via software. At this moment, we are still analysing a counterfeit unit internally and if we are unable to find a 100% accurate way of identifying it via software, we will simply display an alert message to the user and prevent certain components from being used instead.

Distributing the firmware via a secure site won't do much as someone will eventually upload the firmware on one of those free file sharing websites if they are forced to create an account before being able to download the update. Having online only updates also is not an option as not everyone has their box connected to the Internet or even have Internet access where the receiver is being used.

Please note that AzBox Canada is the exclusive authorised distributor of AzBox products for the Canadian market and does NOT sell directly to the consumer but via its authorised dealers. We decided not to release a public document outlining all the differences between the Premium HD Plus clone v.s. authentic units like OpenSat did in the past with the Premium HD (non-plus) clones because it would allow the company importing these clones to get their Chinese factory to fix the identified differences and make it harder to identify these in the future. However, we do fully outline all these differences in a customised detailed analysis report for each person who was a victim in purchasing one of these counterfeit units once they contact us.

Regardless, we do understand that some people want to see evidence or are simply curious so we will post the most obvious difference between an AzBox Premium HD Plus authentic unit and a clone which is the layout of the ventilation holes on the top cover above the tuner cards.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]
Counterfeit unit --------------- Reference authentic unit

[Only registered and activated users can see links]
Counterfeit unit --------------- Reference authentic unit

As you can see with these images, the clone unit clearly has differences with the layout of ventilation holes on the top cover
above the tuners. The reference authentic unit on the right only has two parallel columns of 16 holes each while the clone unit on the left has three parallel columns, the first one with 16 holes and the last two with only 6 holes each.



Best regards,

PwrSurge
AzBox Canada
i was not going say any more about this but the members here need to know this, from what i have seen of a clone and a true azbox the
pic on the left is a true azbox and the one on the right is a clone, now this could have changed in the past year, i dont know,

[el bandido]

The problem with this whole thread is nobody knows. Most of the information here is what people think they know.
AzBox has been through a bunch of changes. AzBox receivers could very well be made in China now using the original information provided by somebody at AzBox.

It is obvious that this thread is not making any progress. I have asked for definite proof of what an AzBox Premium Plus clone is and how to identify it. The response to my question has been mixed.
I just made payment for 1 AzBox Premium Plus straight form China. This purchase was made in order to answer my question and to show all concerned what a China made AzBox Premium Plus looks like inside and out. Maybe doing this will help some members here.

I Do Not Support Known clones or normally purchase them. We will see what arrives from China. Then maybe we can determine if it is indeed a clone or if the manufacturing was changed to China when the AzBox ownership changed. This is all I know to do. EB

[Costactc]

Looking forward to doing some comparisons EB, pics and all.

[iq180]

yep i would like to see what one of the new clones look like my self.

[ViP3R]

I think this should be very interesting to see the findings in the coming weeks. :bigthumbup:

[pwrsurge]

The following is our official statement in regards to this clone issue explaining all events that occurred since early 2012:


In early 2012, we at AzBox Canada were informed by a business associate that GTA Electronics (aka. Worldwidesatellites.com) was planning to attack the markets of its rival competitors and our authorised dealers Angel Electronics and Dr. Sat by engaging in various unethical business practices and suggested to keep an eye on them. Angel Electronics and GTA Electronics have historically always been fierce competitors as their retail stores are both located in the same city within 8.9 km (5.6 miles) from each other.

Shortly thereafter, GTA Electronics added AzBox to the list of carried brands on their worldwidesatellites website without any prior contact to AzBox Canada. However, no products were listed under this brand but a message stating: “Coming in March 2012” was posted. At this time, we did not take any action in order to allow the opportunity for GTA Electronics to contact us on their own in order to become an authorised AzBox Canada dealer.

At around March of 2012, AzBox Canada ordered some AzBox Premium HD Plus units through our regular OpenSat shipments. These units were identical to all the other AzBox Premium HD Plus units we previously ordered with two rows of ventilation holes on the top cover. These were the last authentic AzBox Premium HD Plus units available from OpenSat as this model ceased being manufactured in late 2011.

As GTA Electronics still had “Coming in March 2012” posted on their worldwidesatellites website in May of 2012, it was believed that they had abandoned their intent to carry AzBox products and had simply forgotten to update their website. They eventually removed the date reference and simply stated “Coming soon...”. At this time, we believed that they had abandoned their intent of carrying AzBox products and simply wanted to improve the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ranking of their website by keeping the AzBox keywords on their website as it is a popular search engine keyword.

In August of 2012, AzBox Canada discovered that production began in China of AzBox Premium HD Plus counterfeit units. Many competing companies in Shenzhen, China quickly began producing this unit as listed on trade websites such as alibaba.com. As all AzBox Premium HD Plus units were made in South Korea, it is clear that any unit made by a Chinese factory is a clone. Furthermore, authentic AzBox Premium HD Plus units are no longer being made as manufacturing of this model ceased in late 2011.

On October 3rd, 2012, GTA Electronics added the Premium HD Plus on their worldwidesatellites website. As Chinese companies began production of AzBox Premium HD Plus counterfeit units about 2 months earlier, we strongly suspected that they had directly imported these units from China. Shortly after GTA Electronics began selling these units, one of our business associates purchased one in order to analyze and compare to our authentic units.

After inspecting and comparing the GTA Electronics unit with one of our authentic units from our March 2012 shipment, we immediately noticed many differences between the two units with some of these described below. Please note that with all these pictures, the test unit being analyzed is on the left while our reference authentic unit is on the right:

The test unit clearly has differences with the layout of ventilation holes on the top cover above the tuners as shown below. The reference authentic unit only has two parallel columns of 16 holes each while the test unit has three parallel columns, the first one with 16 holes and the last two with only 6 holes each.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Differences in the ventilation fan attached to the back panel of the unit as shown below. The test unit uses a different fan than our reference authentic unit. With the core of the fan being larger on the test unit, we can clearly see the white and blue sticker on the fan through the ventilation holes. As well, the wires leading up to the fan are at a different location as indicated by the red arrow. By using a fan that is too large to fit inside the unit's ventilation holes, the test unit may have ventilation issues down the road as the fan blades are partially obstructed by the unit's chassis.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

As indicated by the arrows in the picture below, we can clearly see that the test unit is missing two plastic "dimples" on each side of the CAM slot visible when opening the front panel door on the left. These dimples are found on all authentic AzBox models which have a CAM slot and includes the Elite HD, AzBox Premium HD and AzBox Premium HD Plus units. Please note that this same difference was also reported by OpenSat with the now discontinued AzBox Premium HD (non-plus) clone units.


[Only registered and activated users can see links]



Shortly after GTA Electronics began selling these units, we then identified other unauthorised AzBox Canada dealers in the Canadian market selling the same units. At this time, we had to take action in order to protect our Canadian market so we contacted every one of these unauthorised dealers in order to provide them with 48 hours as a courtesy to voluntarily stop selling all AzBox products and to remove all references from their online and/or retail store. At least one of these retailers collaborated with us and ceased to sell AzBox products but all others either refused to take action or failed to reply to us. After about 72 hours, all retailers who refused to take action or failed to reply to use were listed on our website at [Only registered and activated users can see links] ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) as unauthorised AzBox Canada retailers in order to advise the general public. This tactic is also used by other FTA receiver distributors such as Amiko Alien North America. ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) On their clone seller master list, they even identified GO Satellite which is also an AzBox Canada unauthorised retailer. ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

A few people from Canada contacted AzBox Canada concerned that they had purchased an AzBox Premium HD Plus unit from an unauthorised AzBox Canada retailer. We then had them take pictures of their unit in order to compare the same differences that we identified earlier on in order to confirm the authenticity of their unit. AzBox Canada then provided these people with a detailed analysis report outlining the differences identified between their unit and our authentic unit we received from OpenSat back in March of 2012 and all units analyzed had the same differences.

We then sent pictures of these differences to a few representatives from OpenSat for analysis. None of these people were able to recognize the differences identified as being legitimate. Later on, we even had a meeting with an executive member of OpenSat and when asked about the differences we identified, he stated: “other one you show is definitivly a clone” (sic)

Recently, we published a picture showing one of these differences associated with the ventilation holes on the top of the unit. Shortly after this occurred, Rick Caylor posted on his discussion forum admitting that he has been the one supplying these units stating that he purchased these receivers from Opensat. We at AzBox Canada were surprised by this revelation as none of our authentic AzBox Premium HD Plus units have any of these differences, even the ones from our last Premium HD Plus shipment ordered in March of 2012. Up until Rick Caylor's revelation, we had no idea that the units he is currently carrying were physically different than our authentic units nor did we know that he was supplying units to GTA Electronics (aka. Worldwidesatellites). Furthermore, the picture that Rick Caylor had on his website of the AzBox Premium HD Plus before he made his post did NOT show any of these differences and it was only updated after one of his members pointed out this discrepancy to him. ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

Based on the above, our claims of AzBox Premium HD Plus clone units were well founded. Please note that using the unit's serial numbers by itself as a means of validation is generally not sufficient in determining if a unit is a clone as the serial numbers of AzBox Premium HD Plus units are sequential so the series can easily be reused.


Best regards,


PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

[Costactc]

These are merely exterior features, how about interior? By the way, my premium+ is identical to what you deem to be the authentic unit(all 3 pics on the right). It will be interesting to see what type of unit is sent to EB.

[pwrsurge]

i was not going say any more about this but the members here need to know this, from what i have seen of a clone and a true azbox the pic on the left is a true azbox and the one on the right is a clone, now this could have changed in the past year, i dont know,

Really? Then please explain why the pictures that Opensat had on their azbox.com ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) website shows otherwise?!?

Even though azbox.com is currently under construction, the site can still be accessed as it was in the past thanks to archive.org's Wayback Machine ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) which is a website archiving most websites over time around the world. The following are pictures of an authentic AzBox Premium HD Plus unit straight from the source, Opensat's AzBox.com website as of October of 2012 and the entire website can be viewed at [Only registered and activated users can see links]


[Only registered and activated users can see links]
Source: [Only registered and activated users can see links]


[Only registered and activated users can see links]
Source: [Only registered and activated users can see links]


If you look closely on the top left of the unit in these pictures, you can clearly see two identical rows of ventilation holes. Furthermore, the fan in rear panel picture clearly matches our authentic units.

So far, it appears that all the Premium HD Plus units with 3 rows of vents came from Rick's. We even contacted all authorised European AzBox distributors and from who we have heard from so far, none of them have ever heard of a new version of the Premium HD Plus with 3 rows of vents.



Regards,

PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

[easily confused]

Oh, I am so damn easily confused. In post #38, worldwidesatellite states that they get all of their stock from Rick Caylor. If Rick caylor is an authorized seller and wws gets their stock from Rick, where is the freakin' issue? After reading all of this garbage I don't personally care if an AZboz does 4:2:2, 8:4:4 or 16:8:8, I wouldn't touch one. Furthermore, if they are now being produced in China, what is to really set them apart from my OpenBox S-9 other than 4:2:2. Sounds like one distributor trying to put another one down. We called that jealousy when we were kids. JMHO and I just fell off my soap box.

[pwrsurge]

See the attached pdf for your consideration. since you did not want to..

The PDF you attached only applies for the now discontinued Premium HD (non plus) unit and NOT the Premium HD Plus unit

[hags]

easily confused, right on.

That's the conclusion I've come to as well.

The hell with it. The company has been bought out and doesn't plan on continuing any of the old models except for the mini.

[x302]

Wow, PWRSERGE really has some big cahonas! I love how everywhere you look he keeps referring to Dr Sat as a separate entity when it is plain as day that they are both him, as was pointed out at digital home. Yet he keeps denying it. I think he really stepped into a big pile of dung and that stench will never fade. If I had ever harbored a thought of purchasing an AZBOX in the past that has changed now.

[ViP3R]

The PDF you attached only applies for the now discontinued Premium HD (non plus) unit and NOT the Premium HD Plus unit

I was not aware of that , Just what is in production now?

To me a big PLUS would be that you answer members questions, rather than being selective or evasive on what you answer.

We have intelligent members here , they can handle the truth or the lack of it.

[x302]

I was not aware of that , Just what is in production now?

To me a big PLUS would be that you answer members questions, rather than being selective or evasive on what you answer.

We have intelligent members here , they can handle the truth or the lack of it.

I believe he follows the old saying "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullsh*t".

[el bandido]

I think pwrsurge has done pretty good here, all things considered.
We are going to bring in a Made In China AzBox Premimum Plus and examine it. This is being done because we asked for answers and did not get them. So we will come to our own conclusions and post our findings for all to see.

What really strikes me as being funny here is the production of Premium Plus AzBoxes was stopped in 2011. In March of 2013 we have vendors who are still selling these receivers. Not just one or two vendors either. We have several vendors trying to sell them, and ALL of them deny having clone receivers.
Why is pwrsurge wasting so much time and resources on a product that has been discontinued for this amount of time? IMO, the stock of Korean made Premium Plus recivers should have been depleted a long time ago.

[Pixl]

Can you actuality tell if a box is made in Korea vs. China? What clues would you look for?
I've had recent vintage receivers apart such as the Raptor, X2, and Jynxbox. The parts and layout all look the same.

[el bandido]

It is really hard to tell Pixl. Almost All fta receivers are made from low end electronic parts. Korea usually has better quality and Made in Korea is usually stamped somewhere on the receiver.

[GetBit03]

I would really like to see the outcome of this el bandido, The so called CLONE AzBox Premium Plus HD from China is crazy expensive to me??? I agree the stock of Premium Plus HD's should of run out long long ago considering it is one of few STB's that decode 4:2:2.

[iq180]

first thing i want to do is say thank you pwrsurge for trying to answer the ?????? we have, now i have one of the oldest azbox hd premium plus recivers in north america,
MFG date 2008, it was sold to me by ricks sats in early 2009, i know this reciver inside and out, what it can do and what it cant do, how to fix boot loop with jtag, how to recover
it stuck loading, my work with the azbox has been copy pasted all over the world for legal use and some not so legal use that i did not want.
now the PICs you posted that you say are clones are not, i can prove this, so now i will ask, are the recivers you are selling clones and you dont know it or do you, or was the
first azboxes the ones the copy was made from, if they were why would opensat copy a clone for there newer recivers??????.

[pwrsurge]

now the PICs you posted that you say are clones are not, i can prove this, so now i will ask, are the recivers you are selling clones and you dont know it or do you, or was the
first azboxes the ones the copy was made from, if they were why would opensat copy a clone for there newer recivers??????.

All of the AzBox Premium HD Plus units we distributed in the Canadian market were obtained directly from OpenSat Lda. or its sister company DTInnovation both located in Portugal and we have the purchase invoices and serial numbers to prove it. Furthermore, the pics we posted of our authentic unit exactly match the pics that were on the AzBox.com website as late as of October 2012 as per our previous post #56. ([Only registered and activated users can see links]!&p=51645#post51645)


Best regards,

PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

[iq180]

well its time for me to clean my azbox hd premium plus, i will do it this weekend, i will take some PICs of the mother board and the case, labels, & the spot where you say the
2 dimples should be on a true azbox hd premium plus, that my box dont have.

[el bandido]

All of the AzBox Premium HD Plus units we distributed in the Canadian market were obtained directly from OpenSat Lda. or its sister company DTInnovation both located in Portugal and we have the purchase invoices and serial numbers to prove it. Furthermore, the pics we posted of our authentic unit exactly match the pics that were on the AzBox.com website as late as of October 2012 as per our previous post #56. ([Only registered and activated users can see links]!&p=51645#post51645)

Funny how serial numbers can be offered as proof by PwrSurge but not Rick Caylor




Recently, we published a picture showing one of these differences associated with the ventilation holes on the top of the unit. Shortly after this occurred, Rick Caylor posted on his discussion forum admitting that he has been the one supplying these units stating that he purchased these receivers from Opensat. We at AzBox Canada were surprised by this revelation as none of our authentic AzBox Premium HD Plus units have any of these differences, even the ones from our last Premium HD Plus shipment ordered in March of 2012. Up until Rick Caylor's revelation, we had no idea that the units he is currently carrying were physically different than our authentic units nor did we know that he was supplying units to GTA Electronics (aka. Worldwidesatellites). Furthermore, the picture that Rick Caylor had on his website of the AzBox Premium HD Plus before he made his post did NOT show any of these differences and it was only updated after one of his members pointed out this discrepancy to him. ([Only registered and activated users can see links])

Based on the above, our claims of AzBox Premium HD Plus clone units were well founded. Please note that using the unit's serial numbers by itself as a means of validation is generally not sufficient in determining if a unit is a clone as the serial numbers of AzBox Premium HD Plus units are sequential so the series can easily be reused.


Best regards,


PwrSurge
AzBox Canada
[/LIST]

IMO, You need to do better than this. If it is fair for you to use serial numbers as proof then it should be fair for Rick Caylor to use them. He claims to have the same supporting papers as you do! EB

[Keith Brannen]

Funny how serial numbers can be offered as proof by PwrSurge but not Rick Caylor

IMO, You need to do better than this. If it is fair for you to use serial numbers as proof then it should be fair for Rick Caylor to use them. He claims to have the same supporting papers as you do! EB

I don't think that is what he is saying. What he said was "Please note that using the unit's serial numbers by itself as a means of validation is generally not sufficient..." In other words, a serial number database would be fairly useless. A serial number can be copied. What you need is the addition of the paper trail, as he noted (purchase invoice, etc.), from Opensat/DTInnovation to the authorized distributor (either Rick's or AZBox Canada) and then to their dealers (and to the purchaser would be even more ideal).

[easily confused]

I don't think that is what he is saying. What he said was "Please note that using the unit's serial numbers by itself as a means of validation is generally not sufficient..." In other words, a serial number database would be fairly useless. A serial number can be copied. What you need is the addition of the paper trail, as he noted (purchase invoice, etc.), from Opensat/DTInnovation to the authorized distributor (either Rick's or AZBox Canada) and then to their dealers (and to the purchaser would be even more ideal).

While that may be so, I, and I think everyone else here, is still waiting for undsputable proof from pwrsurge to back up his statements and accusations. So far, I have seen nothing but heresay and innuendo and neither of those are worth as much as the horse manure I cleaned out of my barn today. We have been asking for proof and so far I have not seen proof to back up any of his statements and I stand by what I said earlier. These sound more like the rantings of a spoiled child who has not gotten his way. What he has done, however, is convince me that I will never buy an AZBox. If this is how AZBox Canada is represented, they are, indeed, in dire straights. JMO.

[Costactc]

Looking forward to comparing with EB and IQ. I am totally satisfied with my 2 azbox receivers for picture quality, tuner sensitivity and of course the 4:2:2 feeds which I scan in on a daily basis. Both my setups for ku and c band wouldn't be complete without those receivers.
I too would like to more substantial proof then a couple of dimples or an extra air vent on top of the receiver............

[Keith Brannen]

While that may be so, I, and I think everyone else here, is still waiting for undsputable proof from pwrsurge to back up his statements and accusations. So far, I have seen nothing but heresay and innuendo...

Well, I thought it was quite well explained (post #54) why he thought the units being sold by WWS were clones. Having worked in an industry (on the retail side) where branches of the same company jealously guard their territory from each other to extreme measures (all to the detriment of the customer), I certainly understand that when you are the authorized distributor for a territory, you do not expect incursion from another authorized distributor, as did happen here (regardless of how, who, or why).

It is very similar to what I have seen the authorized distributor of the Akimo products do to unauthorized dealers in North America and the other territories they have.

Perhaps I'm not seeing the innuendoes or accusations that you, and others, seem to be reading "between the lines" of rather a straightforward explanation of what happened (post #54).

As far as the differences in the units that Rick Caylor shipped (and has) from the standard units, I am wondering whether it could be that those units he got were from the end of a production run (maybe the last run?), and the company simply ran out of the standard covers, etc., and used other parts that they had, instead of re-tooling and making more to the original specifications. After all, it is not an Opensat owned company that put the units together, but one hired to do it. Could all come down to a quality control issue.

[easily confused]

As far as the differences in the units that Rick Caylor shipped (and has) from the standard units, I am wondering whether it could be that those units he got were from the end of a production run (maybe the last run?), and the company simply ran out of the standard covers, etc., and used other parts that they had, instead of re-tooling and making more to the original specifications. After all, it is not an Opensat owned company that put the units together, but one hired to do it. Could all come down to a quality control issue.

This is possible, but in post 22 pwrsurge offered those very differences as proof that some receivers were clones so, were they really clones? If it is as you say, these "clones" may well be legitimate so, again, where is the proof?

[Keith Brannen]

This is possible, but in post 22 pwrsurge offered those very differences as proof that some receivers were clones so, were they really clones? If it is as you say, these "clones" may well be legitimate so, again, where is the proof?

Post #54 explains why he thought they were clones at the beginning (as in post #22): "Recently, we published a picture showing one of these differences associated with the ventilation holes on the top of the unit. Shortly after this occurred, Rick Caylor posted on his discussion forum admitting that he has been the one supplying these units stating that he purchased these receivers from Opensat. We at AzBox Canada were surprised by this revelation as none of our authentic AzBox Premium HD Plus units have any of these differences, even the ones from our last Premium HD Plus shipment ordered in March of 2012. Up until Rick Caylor's revelation, we had no idea that the units he is currently carrying were physically different than our authentic units nor did we know that he was supplying units to GTA Electronics (aka. Worldwidesatellites)."

[el bandido]

PwrSurge and Rick claim to have the same supporting documents from the manufacturer that proves their units are not clones.

PwrSurge still contends Ricks receivers are clones. He has not retracted his statement, issued an apology, or even admitted to be wrong. EB

[Keith Brannen]

PwrSurge and Rick claim to have the same supporting documents from the manufacturer that proves their units are not clones.

PwrSurge still contends Ricks receivers are clones. He has not retracted his statement, issued an apology, or even admitted to be wrong. EB

What? Where does he ever say any of that? What I quoted shows why he thought the units were clones (WWS not an authorized Canadian dealer, and the differences in units). Pretty clear to me. He has never accused Rick of selling clones. Even in the first post on the subject he stated: "In order to avoid purchasing a counterfeit AzBox unit, we strongly recommend only purchasing AzBox products from authorised AzBox Canada dealers which are listed on our website at [Only registered and activated users can see links] or from Rick's Satellite who is authorised for the U.S. market."

[el bandido]

Yep.
Then he goes on about the number of vent holes in the Premium Plus and points to that as being an undeniable clone receiver which Rick admits to selling.

[Keith Brannen]

Yep.
Then he goes on about the number of vent holes in the Premium Plus and points to that as being an undeniable clone receiver which Rick admits to selling.

No, in post #54 that was explaining the difference in the unit purchased from WWS and the comparison test they did (and why it was thought at the time to be a clone). The paragraph I quoted is after that, when it was found out later that the units had been supplied by Rick Caylor. Nothing there about accusing Rick of selling clones, is there?

[el bandido]

OK.
So now the clone information originally posted by PwrSurge is wrong since it describes the receiver Rick is selling?

You cannot have it both ways. Either the pictures clone receiver's vent holes posted by PwrSurge are actually legitimate receivers or Rick is selling clones. One of the two.

[Keith Brannen]

OK.
So now the clone information originally posted by PwrSurge is wrong since it describes the receiver Rick is selling?

You cannot have it both ways. Either the pictures clone receiver's vent holes posted by PwrSurge are actually legitimate receivers or Rick is selling clones. One of the two.

Post #54 is a detailed history of the sequence of events, why it was originally thought to be a clone, posts, photos, and information that were released at the time, and then the later discovery that the units were supplied by Rick Caylor, the authorized US distributor, to a Canadian company. They are not clones (nor is it suggested that Rick Caylor is selling clones), so the original information and posted photos were incorrect, and post #54 details all of that. That is the way I read it.

When the unit you purchased from China arrives, then we will know what the differences are, as we know that unit is definitely a clone.

[x302]

I don't know who you are Keith, but I would almost assume that you work for Serge. That's irrelevant. You keep pointing out post #54 but have completely failed to mention anything about post #56, especially where Serge wrote

"So far, it appears that all the Premium HD Plus units with 3 rows of vents came from Rick's. We even contacted all authorised European AzBox distributors and from who we have heard from so far, none of them have ever heard of a new version of the Premium HD Plus with 3 rows of vents."

at the bottom of his post. That definitely sounds like someone accusing the other. I've never dealt with this Serge guy, and I never will, but I have dealt with Rick, more than once, and I can tell that he is leagues above Serge both professionally and as an individual.

[Keith Brannen]

I don't know who you are Keith, but I would almost assume that you work for Serge. That's irrelevant.

Yes, it is an irrelevant comment. No, you don't know me, but many here (including some moderators) do know me (hopefully!) from other sites. Just to set your mind at ease, I don't work for Serge, or have any connection with any dealers or distributors in any capacity. By your logic, am I to assume that everyone who disagrees with me works for Rick?


You keep pointing out post #54 but have completely failed to mention anything about post #56, especially where Serge wrote

"So far, it appears that all the Premium HD Plus units with 3 rows of vents came from Rick's. We even contacted all authorised European AzBox distributors and from who we have heard from so far, none of them have ever heard of a new version of the Premium HD Plus with 3 rows of vents."

at the bottom of his post. That definitely sounds like someone accusing the other.

That whole post was in reply to IQ180's claim that the so-called clones were real, and the real ones clones! He pointed out that so far none of the other authorized dealers that he was able to contact had similar units to the ones that Rick Caylor has. You say he is inferring that they are clones, I see it differently. No big deal, we disagree.

Look also at the changes between post #22 and post #54, post #22 says "counterfeit unit" whereas post #54 says "test unit", big difference.



I've never dealt with this Serge guy, and I never will, but I have dealt with Rick, more than once, and I can tell that he is leagues above Serge both professionally and as an individual.

Sounds like you do work for Rick! LOL!

[iq180]

at the end of all of this i think this is what we find, this is JMO, back in 2011 when opensat got there hands on the first clones and saw how well they were made, they had them
start making there azboxes for 1/4 of the price of the KOREA made azboxes, so i think the new clone and the so called new azboxes, there will be no DIFFERENCES, as for my old
axbox hd premium plus there will lots of DIFFERENCES,JMO.

[iq180]

Ok, I've taken apart my AZBox, which you all know I've been running since early 2009. In this post I'm just going to post a lot of high rez pix.
If you want to comment on any of them, please give me the Pix # that I've associated with that particular image. I have at least 80 images, so that means 8 posts with 10 in each post. Here we go 1 of 8.
Pix# 1
4660
Pix# 2
4661
Pix# 3
4662
Pix# 4
4663
Pix# 5
4664
Pix# 6
4665
Pix# 7
4666
Pix# 8
4667
Pix# 9
4668
Pix# 10
4669

[iq180]

Ok, I've taken apart my AZBox, which you all know I've been running since early 2009. In this post I'm

just going to post a lot of high rez pix.
If you want to comment on any of them, please give me the Pix# that I've associated with that particular image. I have at least 80 images, so that means 8 posts with 10 in each post. Here we go 2 of 8.
Pix# 11
4670
Pix# 12
4672
Pix# 13
4671
Pix# 14
4673
Pix# 15
4674
Pix# 16
4675
Pix# 17
4676
Pix# 18
4677
Pix# 19
4678
Pix# 20
4679

[iq180]

Ok, I've taken apart my AZBox, which you all know I've been running since early 2009. In this post I'm just going to post a lot of high rez pix.
If you want to comment on any of them, please give me the Pix# that I've associated with that particular image. I have at least 80 images, so that means 8 posts with 10 in each post. Here we go 3 of 8.

Pix# 21
4680
Pix# 22
4681
Pix# 23
4685
Pix# 24
4686
Pix# 25
4683
Pix# 26
4687
Pix# 27
4688
Pix# 28
4689

[iq180]

Ok, I've taken apart my AZBox, which you all know I've been running since early 2009. In this post I'm just going to post a lot of high rez pix.
If you want to comment on any of them, please give me the Pix# that I've associated with that particular image. I have at least 80 images, so that means 8 posts with 10 in each post. Here we go 4 of 8.

Pix# 31
4690
Pix# 32
4691
Pix# 33
4692
Pix# 34
4693
Pix# 35
4694
Pix# 36
4695
Pix# 37
4696
Pix# 38
4697
Pix# 39
4698
Pix# 40
4699

[iq180]

Ok, I've taken apart my AZBox, which you all know I've been running since early 2009. In this post I'm just going to post a lot of high rez pix.
If you want to comment on any of them, please give me the Pix# that I've associated with that particular image.
I have at least 80 images, so that means 8 posts with 10 in each post. Here we go 5 of 8.

Pix# 41
4700
Pix# 42
4701
Pix# 43
4702
Pix# 44
4703
Pix# 45
4704
Pix# 46
4705
Pix# 47
4706
Pix# 48
4707
Pix# 49
4708
Pix# 50
4709

[iq180]

Ok, I've taken apart my AZBox, which you all know I've been running since early 2009. In this post I'm just going to post a lot of high rez pix.
If you want to comment on any of them, please give me the Pix # that I've associated with that particular image.
I have at least 80 images, so that means 8 posts with 10 in each post. Here we go 6 of 8.

Pix# 51
4711
Pix# 52
4712
Pix# 53
4713
Pix# 54
4714
Pix# 55
4715
Pix# 56
4716
Pix# 57
4717
Pix# 58
4718
Pix# 59
4719
Pix# 60
4720

[iq180]

Ok, I've taken apart my AZBox, which you all know I've been running since early 2009. In this post I'm just going to post a lot of high rez pix.
If you want to comment on any of them, please give me the Pix # that I've associated with that particular image.
I have at least 80 images, so that means 8 posts with 10 in each post. Here we go 7 of 8.

Pix# 61
4721
Pix# 62
4722
Pix# 63
4723
Pix# 64
4724
Pix# 65
4725
Pix# 66
4726
Pix# 67
4727
Pix# 68
4728
Pix# 69
4729
Pix# 70
4730

[iq180]

Ok, I've taken apart my AZBox, which you all know I've been running since early 2009. In this post I'm just going to post a lot of high rez pix.
If you want to comment on any of them, please give me the Pix# that I've associated with that particular image.
I have at least 80 images, so that means 8 posts with 10 in each post. Here we go 8 of 8.

Pix# 71
4731
Pix# 72
4732
Pix# 73
4733
Pix# 74
4734
Pix# 75
4735
Pix# 76
4736
Pix# 77
4737
Pix# 78
4738
Pix# 79
4739
Pix# 80
4740

[iq180]

Ok, I've taken apart my AZBox, which you all know I've been running since early 2009. In this post I'm just going to post a lot of high rez pix.
If you want to comment on any of them, please give me the Pix# that I've associated with that particular image.
I have at least 80 images, so that means 8 posts with 10 in each post. Here we go with some Bonus Shots

Pix# 81
4744
Pix# 82
4745
Pix# 83
4746
Pix# 84
4747
Pix# 85
4748
Pix# 86
4749

This is all of the images for now. Please note that I know there are several duplicates. My Bad!
If you want more or need something more specific, let me know.
Now let's talk!

[Costactc]

Awesome job as usual IQ. Your like an azbox surgeon bud.............now just wondering as to the authenticity of your receiver, maybe PS would or should know?????

[el bandido]

My China AzBox premium Plus should be here next week. Do you want to leave all of your pictures, plus the pictures I will post in this thread or do you want to move your picture posts to a new thread of its own? IMO, It would probably be a bit neater to move it but you decide. EB

[iq180]

It is up to you as far as moving them or not.

[iq180]

This AZBox of mine was purchased from Rick's Satelites early in 2009 before any clones were produced.
It is authentic!

[el bandido]

Noooo. You have a clone and I have the original. Lol

My Clone AzBox was delivered today. To put it very simple, Everything that has been posted about clone Premium Plus AzBoxes is way off track. It is obvious my clone is a clone. I will be posting pictures of my clone Az as time permits. But after seeing this receiver, I am convinced that every Az Premium Plus picture posted so far in this thread is of genuine AzBoxes and not of clones. EB

[Keith Brannen]

el bandido, before you start tearing it apart (LOL!), I am curious as to whether is does 4.2.2 (Sigma chipset)? Definitely would be telling if the clones don't do 4.2.2.

[el bandido]

4:2:2 Would be a good test. It is probably a moot point because it ha Az firmware in it.
My question is: Where is a 4:2:2 feed to test at this hour?

[el bandido]

The clone shipped with a 0.9.5020 AZBox Premium HD+ firmware.

[Keith Brannen]

4:2:2 Would be a good test. It is probably a moot point because it ha Az firmware in it.
My question is: Where is a 4:2:2 feed to test at this hour?

CBC feeds at 107.3 Ku might be up, but I don't have that satellite currently on my system so don't know for sure, they use to have some of the feeds (colour bars usually) 24/7.

[el bandido]

Thanks. i will check 107.3 in a bit.

I am not in a position to take pictures yet but I can describe some obvious differences my clone has.
(1) The AZBox logo is missing on the front of the receiver.
(2) There are 5 rows of vents on top.
(3) The bottom plate of the receiver is completely covered with rows of vents.

The clone shipped with what appears to be a very well constructed, genuine, AZBox remote.

[GetBit03]

All the clones I have looked at had the sigma chipset. I would think if it's running real Az firmware and has the sigma chipset it should in theory play 4:2:2. I have been looking at the clones quite a bit and it seems the quality varies quite a bit depending on who built the box and the price! but who knows it's hard to tell by pictures you could be looking at pics of the real deal! I'm still scared to buy a real or clone. The prices on the clones IMO is way way too high, and don't even get me started on the real deal, I mean they have been out of production for two years! SHEESH

[Costactc]

4:2:2 Would be a good test. It is probably a moot point because it ha Az firmware in it.
My question is: Where is a 4:2:2 feed to test at this hour?

Permanent CBS 4:2:2 feeds on Galaxy 28 and Galaxy 19 on c band. They are always colour bar feeds unless a sporting event is being broadcast or a tv show.

[Pixl]

Hmmnn.. looks like the fan is not from Korea. Pix #76


[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Costactc]

Hmmnn.. looks like the fan is not from Korea.


[Only registered and activated users can see links]


Damn, it's a clone..............Production was probably transferred to China where it's cheaper.

[el bandido]

4:2:2 Works. Other Channels like Luken on 87 West C band do not. Upgrading to the latest firmware from 2012 did not help the Luken issue.

The clone was not shipped with an owner's manual.
The power supply looks identical to the original except it has generic markings on it. It is very easy to tell the difference between an original and clone power supply
The gift box does not have "Made in Korea" on it.

[Keith Brannen]

Thanks! I figured that 4.2.2. would probably work, but always best to get confirmation. After all, it's not like these are being built to Opensat specifications! LOL!

[Costactc]

Luken channels a bit glitchy on my azbox as well, signal coming and going- no issue on the x2.

[el bandido]

Thanks! I figured that 4.2.2. would probably work, but always best to get confirmation. After all, it's not like these are being built to Opensat specifications! LOL!

That would depend on whether somebody from Opensat sold the Premium Plus and other AZBox information to China.
Opensat closed their operations, probably because they had enough vision to see that their profits would decrease substantially if they continued. I could see some folks at Opensat selling the receiver information to China in order to make a few more dollars.

The clone that I have is pretty well constructed. It was not sent to me broken or falling apart like some of the fta receivers I have seen. I am letting the AZBox clone run continuously for a few days to measure the heat and to see if it fails.

[iq180]

Hmmnn.. looks like the fan is not from Korea. Pix #76


[Only registered and activated users can see links]
all the azbox fans are china, pull out the DOM and look under it, it should say made in KOREA.
see pic,,,71,,, this is the DOM, you can remove the HDD cover to get to it, it is an IDE plug, just pull it out, you should see=made in KOREA
on it.

[Costactc]

That would depend on whether somebody from Opensat sold the Premium Plus and other AZBox information to China.
Opensat closed their operations, probably because they had enough vision to see that their profits would decrease substantially if they continued. I could see some folks at Opensat selling the receiver information to China in order to make a few more dollars.

The clone that I have is pretty well constructed. It was not sent to me broken or falling apart like some of the fta receivers I have seen. I am letting the AZBox clone run continuously for a few days to measure the heat and to see if it fails.

Cooling fan off?

[el bandido]

Cooling fan is ON right now.

[iq180]

4:2:2 Works. Other Channels like Luken on 87 West C band do not. Upgrading to the latest firmware from 2012 did not help the Luken issue.

The clone was not shipped with an owner's manual.
The power supply looks identical to the original except it has generic markings on it. It is very easy to tell the difference between an original and clone power supply
The gift box does not have "Made in Korea" on it.
did you do a factory reset after the update, if you dont it want apply the full update, it will say it is 5402, but will still be useing 5020,
factory reset is a must for the firmware to apply.

[el bandido]

The receiver weight that is stamped on the box says the receiver should weigh 2.11 Kg. I have a refrigeration scale that is pretty accurate. The clone comes up a tad short in weight. It should weigh 4.65175 pounds, bot my scales show 4.505 pounds.

Here is a picture of the clone receiver's bottom cover. IMO, ventilation has been improved in the clone.
4763

The back cover of the clone is very similar to the original. The center of the rear usb port is black, and the ventilation fan of the clone appears to be mounted correctly.
4764

4765

4766

The Front of the receiver does not have the AZBox logo.
4767

[iq180]

did you weigh it with the power supply or not, and i will pull my HDD and weigh my my azbox with my refrigerant scale.

[el bandido]

No. The power supply should not be weighed.
Also, please look on the side of your gift box and see what the weight is supposed to be. I assume that the information on the clone gift box was copied.

The inside of the clone is very similar to your original. I will post more pictures as time permits. EB

[iq180]

No. The power supply should not be weighed.
Also, please look on the side of your gift box and see what the weight is supposed to be. I assume that the information on the clone gift box was copied.

The inside of the clone is very similar to your original. I will post more pictures as time permits. EB
PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Dimension====340 x 243 x 66 (mm)
Gross Weight (w/o HDD)====2.65 kg
Gross Weight (with HDD)====3.04 kg
Net Weight (w/o HDD)====2.11 kg
Net Weight (with HDD)====2.49 kg
this is what is on the box just above the made in KOREA.
i think the extra vents in the bottom of the case on the clone will make it weigh less than my azbox.

[iq180]

i see somthing on the the back of your reciver is missing, one lable, see my pic # 22 & # 23, to the right of the fan.

[el bandido]

My clone receiver is missing more than one than one labeling as compared to yours.
As for other labeling, It Does Have an Opensat sticker on the bottom along with the receiver's serial number. This is the only reference I have seen to Opensat on the receiver. There is nothing mentioned about Opensat on the gift box or any reference to where the receiver is made.

[iq180]

My clone receiver is missing more than one than one labeling as compared to yours.
As for other labeling, It Does Have an Opensat sticker on the bottom along with the receiver's serial number. This is the only reference I have seen to Opensat on the receiver. There is nothing mentioned about Opensat on the gift box or any reference to where the receiver is made.
what i want to know is does DOM, have made in KOREA on it, as the DOM gives more trouble than anything, in fact i keep an extra one on
hand just in case i have a failed update then i can recover fast, then use the computer to clean the DOM with the bad update.

[Pixl]

My clone receiver is missing more than one than one labeling as compared to yours.
As for other labeling. There is nothing mentioned about Opensat on the gift box or any reference to where the receiver is made.

So EB, all this clone stuff set aside what do you think about the AZ box so far. Have you worked with one yet?

[chewie]

is this clone box takes about 45 min. to blind scan a sat ?

[iq180]

is this clone box takes about 45 min. to blind scan a sat ?
the clone reciver should work just as well as a true azbox, the new firmware 5402 will blind scan most sats in about 30 min and with a bit
of know how you can bring that time down to 15 to 20 min.

[el bandido]

What do you mean by DOM? I am not familiar enough with AZ to know what you info you want.

Overall, The premium plus is not a bad receiver. This is the first AZ receiver I have owned and it will probably be my last because I am not impressed with the way it operates overall. It doers do 4:2:2 but that does not mean much to me. So it opens a few 4:2:2 channels, but then it loses many more such as the Luken channels on 87 West C band. It will not open the NuVo channel on 105 West C band either. The Premium Plus only displays a black screen for NuVo but the sound works.
I have worked with fta receivers for a while, and I suspect that these channel issues could be fixed with a firmware update All I have heard about a firmware update is for clone kill which makes little since to me since the Premium Plus is beyond its life expectancy for fta receivers.
FTA receivers usually make most of their money in the first year or two. After that, support usually stops or becomes non-existent and a new model is introduced. So it really surprises me that all of these dealers still have genuine Premium plus receivers that were made some two years ago. Something is not right here...

The Premium Plus blind scan is extremely slow and it appears to have been added as an afterthought. The Premium Plus will blindscan a satellite, then scan the transponders it scanned plus the transponders it has in the satellite file. Deleting the transponders before a blind scan is a slow and clunky process. Then again, you are using 2008-2009 technology so what do you expect?
Overall, I think the Premium Plus does good based on what little I have used it, but I would be sore on the back side if I had paid about $400.00 U.S. for it. This high price for an out of date receiver might explain why the dealers still have original stocks of the Premium Plus some two years after original production ceased.

I will post more clone pictures, probably later today or as time permits. Most of what I took did not turn out very well so they will have to be done again. Explain what you mean by DOM and I will try to get an answer for that too.EB

[iq180]

What do you mean by DOM? I am not familiar enough with AZ to know what you info you want.

Overall, The premium plus is not a bad receiver. This is the first AZ receiver I have owned and it will probably be my last because I am not impressed with the way it operates overall. It doers do 4:2:2 but that does not mean much to me. So it opens a few 4:2:2 channels, but then it loses many more such as the Luken channels on 87 West C band. It will not open the NuVo channel on 105 West C band either. The Premium Plus only displays a black screen for NuVo but the sound works.
I have worked with fta receivers for a while, and I suspect that these channel issues could be fixed with a firmware update All I have heard about a firmware update is for clone kill which makes little since to me since the Premium Plus is beyond its life expectancy for fta receivers.
FTA receivers usually make most of their money in the first year or two. After that, support usually stops or becomes non-existent and a new model is introduced. So it really surprises me that all of these dealers still have genuine Premium plus receivers that were made some two years ago. Something is not right here...

The Premium Plus blind scan is extremely slow and it appears to have been added as an afterthought. The Premium Plus will blindscan a satellite, then scan the transponders it scanned plus the transponders it has in the satellite file. Deleting the transponders before a blind scan is a slow and clunky process. Then again, you are using 2008-2009 technology so what do you expect?
Overall, I think the Premium Plus does good based on what little I have used it, but I would be sore on the back side if I had paid about $400.00 U.S. for it. This high price for an out of date receiver might explain why the dealers still have original stocks of the Premium Plus some two years after original production ceased.

I will post more clone pictures, probably later today or as time permits. Most of what I took did not turn out very well so they will have to be done again. Explain what you mean by DOM and I will try to get an answer for that too.EB
look at my pic #57 & 71, that is the DOM, you can get to it under the HDD cover, just remove the 5 screws on the HDD cover and remove the HDD tray, it is gray, if you are looking
at the front of the azbox it will pull out to your right, the plug looks like an IDE HDD plug, on the bottom of the DOM a true azbox has made in Korea on it, i just want to see what
kind of parts they are using on the clone.
now as for the azbox hd premium plus being outdated, you are new to it, LOL, you have no idea what i can make this box do,LOL,

[Keith Brannen]

I posted something similar at another site, and thought it was appropriate to post here as well.

We have seen one known clone from China from one manufacturer there. Appears that there may be many companies that may be manufacturing the clones, and some may be closer to the real deal, I have no idea. I did find one listing where the clone unit was as pictured as the same unit posted here, without the AZBox label on the front. Others pictured did have the label (of course, they could have been copied from legitimate sources).

So, basically, buyer beware and do your research (though if it says it is from China, you can definitely assume it is a clone).

[Costactc]

the clone reciver should work just as well as a true azbox, the new firmware 5402 will blind scan most sats in about 30 min and with a bit
of know how you can bring that time down to 15 to 20 min.

If you know what changes to do in the blind scan menu and I'm sure you do IQ, I would say more like 10-15 min max per scan.

[rrob311]

It sounds like there is plenty of cloning with these boxes. Its obviously a convoluted mess sorting out what is what. Are they really that expensive to produce or are the prices still high from supply and demand or are they high from different brokers trying to remain "competitive" with one another?

[el bandido]

What does DOM stand for?
My clone dos not have made in Korea on that piece.
It would be nice to know what Premium Plus tricks are available. We have a section for AZBox where they can be posted. EB

[iq180]

What does DOM stand for?
My clone dos not have made in Korea on that piece.
It would be nice to know what Premium Plus tricks are available. We have a section for AZBox where they can be posted. EB
what does DOM stand, that is a good question and i dont have the answer, that is what the azbox dealers call it, but this is what is for,
Compact Flash Adaptador 8mb, that is where the firmware is stored on the reciver, & sat info, ch list, ip settings, in other every thing but
the kernal.
most of the other tricks i cant post here at this site

[Keith Brannen]

What does DOM stand for?

Disk On Module (had to look it up myself, learn something every day! LOL!)

[el bandido]

The DOM in the clone does not have a cover on it. Here are two pictures of the clone DOM back.

4779
4780


One picture of the clone DOM front.

4781

Another picture of the clone DM in the AZ case

4782

Now a picture of the clone with the top cover removed.

4783

[el bandido]

Clone power supply front
4787

Clone supply back
4788

Top clone cover showing 5 rows of vents
4789
4790

Side view of DVB-S2 tuner
4791

[iq180]

ok that power brick looks like the one that came with my azbox, hope they did not clone the problem as well, if they did it will only last
about 60 days,lol.

[iq180]

WARNING, to all who are thinking about buying this receiver, its very, very, very ADDICTIVE,LOL.

[madmadworld]

here's a new one for me.
anybody got this model ?

[el bandido]

LOL.
Nice first post! Welcome to Legit!

Where did that picture come from? It looks like it was copied from an advertisement somewhere.

[Keith Brannen]

So, who would want a receiver with only 2 rows of vents, or 3, or 5, when you can have 8 rows of vents! LOL! Though, I have to admit, I do like the 5 rows of vents on the HDD cover!

[madmadworld]

So, who would want a receiver with only 2 rows of vents, or 3, or 5, when you can have 8 rows of vents! LOL! Though, I have to admit, I do like the 5 rows of vents on the HDD cover!
more the merrier i say

[el bandido]

it was.
but there are a few places selling them couple here
[Only registered and activated users can see links]
[Only registered and activated users can see links]

OK.
Your first link goes to an advertisement from 2009. Google translated it for me and I copied the translation below. The advertised price was $420 Euro which would bring it to around $500.00 U.S. if there is a shipping charge.

"Thursday, November 19, 2009
AZBOX Premium HD + Dual DVB-S2 tuner

As we suspected, AZBOX well prepared for a new version of its popular AZBOX Premium HD AZBOX as the Premium HD +. The new version will be completely different from the first because the motherboard will be larger. On the other hand, the case will propose a hatch on the top of the unit for easier access to the location of the internal hard disk. As on the previous model, the location on the hard disk will be mounted on anti-vibration pads to reduce noise writing. Finally, there will be a priori no internal fan.

Price: about 420 € "


Your second link goes to a China website that starts out with the AZBox with all the extra top vents. That is the only time they show that picture. When you scroll on down, you will see Receiver pictures of the AZBox that are identical to mine.
My guess is this AZBox Premium Plus does not exist except in pictures, but I have no way to prove that.
I do know you have to watch China advertisers very closely because what they send you may only resemble what was in the picture.
About $300.00 U.S. shipped for your second link. I did not pay near that for mine! EB

[iq180]

more the merrier i say
no, no, no, more is not better if your receiver has a fan, you want the fan to pull the air over the parts that get hot so you put the vents over the parts that need to be cooled,
all the extra vents will take away from this.

[Keith Brannen]

no, no, no, more is not better if your receiver has a fan, you want the fan to pull the air over the parts that get hot so you put the vents over the parts that need to be cooled, all the extra vents will take away from this.

True, as long as there are enough to do the job, and I don't recall offhand heating issues with the Premium Plus, or with the unit I have, the Ultra HD. Only issues I recall hearing about have been after the installation of a HDD (and, of course, that depends on the type of HDD installed), therefore, my comment about the HDD cover vents. Of course, the number it has probably would be overkill and might detract from the air flow of the rest of the unit, but a couple of rows would have helped for those with a problem.

[iq180]

True, as long as there are enough to do the job, and I don't recall offhand heating issues with the Premium Plus, or with the unit I have, the Ultra HD. Only issues I recall hearing about have been after the installation of a HDD (and, of course, that depends on the type of HDD installed), therefore, my comment about the HDD cover vents. Of course, the number it has probably would be overkill and might detract from the air flow of the rest of the unit, but a couple of rows would have helped for those with a problem.
the arswer to the HDD heat problem is a simple fix, at the back of the HDD tray you need to drill some air holes, not in the cover or the
case, just the tray, if you take off the HDD cover and look at the back of the tray with the HDD still in it you will see there is no way for
air to pass over the HDD, putting some air holes in the tray will fix it.

[iq180]

el bandido you have had a few days to play with the azbox, what do you think of it, good or bad.
i have had my azbox 4 years now, i buy new receivers but nothing i buy can replace my azbox, this could just be me,lol.

[ViP3R]

el bandido you have had a few days to play with the azbox, what do you think of it, good or bad.
i have had my azbox 4 years now, i buy new receivers but nothing i buy can replace my azbox, this could just be me,lol.

If 4:2:2 is not a must for you,, then the Raptor will replace that azbox easy.

[iq180]

If 4:2:2 is not a must for you,, then the Raptor will replace that azbox easy.
so what will it do that my azbox want do, does it have YouTube, movie player, music player, photo viewer, file manager, ftp client,
RSS news, WEB Browser, and the option to add Plugins, like, I radio, Weather Forecast, google map, Streamrip, webcamviwer, LiveFeeds,
ok i will stop at that before i get in trouble,LOL.

[ViP3R]

so what will it do that my azbox want do, does it have YouTube, movie player, music player, photo viewer, file manager, ftp client,
RSS news, WEB Browser, and the option to add Plugins, like, I radio, Weather Forecast, google map, Streamrip, webcamviwer, LiveFeeds,
ok i will stop at that before i get in trouble,LOL.

Yes to most and more. and you can also install an internal hard drive,,It a huge beast, well built and very hard to kill..you may also load various firmwares from other compatible boxes that offers many different features,,some work well, some not as well..Best box I have ever owned.

Ask EB..LOL..have a look at the Raptor forums for more info..

I should add this is all done by the main operating system and you have the option of installing enigma2 for a second operating system to expand even more.

[Costactc]

As most of you know, I keep a seperate azbox for each of my feeds and they wouldn't be complete without them. The 3 things that I find unrivalled with any other stb is 4:2:2 feeds, picture quality and signal meter. I have mentioned tuner sensitivity in the past but since I've been scanning with the x2 premium, I take that back.

[ViP3R]

4:2:2 is the only thing an az can do that other boxes cannot, many can live a very happy life with no need for those limited feeds..I know I can.

I do not have an azbox and never will , So I can't compare the picture quality to the Raptor...But I have never seen a better picture on any box than the Raptor.
The versatility of the Raptor makes it a class box IMO and very hard to beat.

[Costactc]

I have never had a Raptor so I cannot comment on its picture quality either. 4:2:2 feeds are crucial in my feed posts and whenever I want to watch an NFL game or college basketball, I know those feeds will be there.

[ViP3R]

I have never had a Raptor so I cannot comment on its picture quality either. 4:2:2 feeds are crucial in my feed posts and whenever I want to watch an NFL game or college basketball, I know those feeds will be there.

What we discussed,, the az would be a dead box with no 4:2:2,

Thanks Costa for posting feeds for the az owners..

[iq180]

well i think i will buy a raptor just to see how it stands up to my azbox, now the ??? is where to buy?

[ViP3R]

well i think i will buy a raptor just to see how it stands up to my azbox, now the ??? is where to buy?

There are a couple left that will ship direct from my supplier.

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Costactc]

No better place then to keep it in the family:


[Only registered and activated users can see links]

[ViP3R]

If you need anymore info iq180, please feel free to send me a PM.

[askit]

It is good in a way this thread is here and someone has posted the info on the so called clone.
Good in the way that if my azbox ever died on me, and I wanted a receiver that could do 4:2:2 feeds and if Rick's ever sold out of the original receivers, there are other places to get a receiver that will pick up the 4:2:2 signals without supporting the people who started trashing other legit businesses without the hard evidence beforehand.

[el bandido]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Hypermegasat has a picture of the Premium Plus with the top covered in vents. IMO, this is not a clone picture but rather a sales flyer photo. I think the only AZBox Premium Plus clone being produced will closely resemble or be identical to mine.

I do not know if the Premium Plus clone that I have was produced with Opensat support, but my Premium Plus receiver has an Opensat sticker on it as does the gift box.
I do think everybody will agree that the Premium Plus clone, copy, or whatever else you want to call it was produced AFTER Opensat closed and AFTER the Premium Plus from Korea was discontinued. For this reason, I do not see anything wrong with people buying the Premium Plus from China if they chose to do so.

It appears that this thread was started in response to receiver pricing rather than the threat of a legitimate receiver being cloned.
I took a quick look at some prices for the Premium Plus and this is what I found:
Gosatellite = $349.99
Worldwide Satellites = $299.99
Incrediblefta.com = $379.95
Research Electronics = $329.95

I also looked at Dr.Sat or docsat on Ebay. It would cost me about $389.00 for the Premium Plus receiver, and another $30.00 to get it shipped here. So I would have to pay about 420.00 U.S. dollars in order to get a single tuner Premium Plus AZBox on Ebay from Dr. Sat!
I paid about $265.00 U.S. for the China made Premium Plus with TWO tuners! Fast DHL shipping was included in this price.

It is time to say Thanks to the people that helped us determine the differences between the China and Korean Premium plus receivers. I really appreciate the efforts made here to determine exactly what is going on here.
I cannot figure out why fta dealers would still have large stocks of a receiver that has been out of production for so long. Lower your prices to something more reasonable and you might get rid of these dinosaurs before you get stuck with them!
The Premium Plus is an excellent receiver but it has old and outdated technology. Crying about AZBox Premium Plus clones and illegal sellers at this point will only bring you more problems. EB

[hags]

Good detective work. Much appreciated.