Review of the Optibox Raptor FTA Receiver

[el bandido]

The Optibox Raptor is the second linux based receiver that I have looked at this year. Sometimes second is best because this receiver has the features and scanning abilities that I have been wanting for a long time. It really shines and stands out for me. I will discuss and describe what I experience with the Raptor in this thread. Feel free to ask questions or add comments.

Blind Scan:
I have missed the two step blind scan that my first Pansat receivers had because I have always felt that two steps was really needed to blind scan properly. The two step blind scan has returned for me in the Optibox Raptor.
Step one of the blind scan looks for transponders. Step two scans the transponders for channels. This Raptor blind scan technique has proven to be very accurate and fast within reason on the 10-20 ku satellites that I have tried it on so far. The number of transponders, radio, and tv channels that the Raptor has found is impressive to me. C band satellites will be scanned a bit later when I change antenna systems.

LNB Settings:
I asked Pansat for combination lnb settings that could be used for c/ku combination lnbs. These settings were universal 5150/10600 and 5150/10750. The universal settings in the Raptor appear to be user adjustable so I will try these settings when I change to a c/ku antenna system. Other lnb settings such as Unicable are also available in the Raptor.

Tuners:
The Raptor has tuners that can be changed, and it can hold two tuners at one time. My Raptor was shipped with what appears to be 2 satellite tuners and one terrestrial or OTA tv tuner. Only one tuner is installed, so we will go through the steps of changing tuners and running various tuner configurations. (The Raptor can also accept a cable tuner but I do not have cable to test.)

Stored Satellite Information:
I counted 100 slots for satellites. That should be more than enough for North America.

4:2:2 Video:
I scanned the ku channels on 107W to check the 4:2:2 capability. I get a red screen message saying The Video Format Is Not Supported on those channels but the audio works fine. Hopefully we can have 4:2:2 video capability in the future.

Out-Of-Sync Audio/Video Solution:
There is a feature that allows you to correct or allow for out-of-sync audio/video. This feature appears to be adjustable in milliseconds.

Esata Drive Support:
High speed internal and external Esata connections are available. I plan to install an internal Esata drive in the near future and will make comments about the installation.

(More to follow)EB

[el bandido]

I had some problems with the blind scan hanging so I updated the firmware and the problem seemed to go away.
Attached is a picture of a scan of 97W ku on a 1.2m Geosat.
The count is 25 Transponders 291 TV & 145 Radio.
Also, I understand the Raptor is made in Korea.

[rrob311]

Where is a good source for these? How are the multimedia features like the browser and whatnot?

[el bandido]

There is not a source in North America yet that I know of. Hopefully some people are talking, but we will just have to wait and see. Any new receiver needs to be reviewed before it is offered for sale here. A dealer has to invest money to buy a stock of receivers and the dealer may be stuck with that stock if the receivers do not sell.
There is a potentially serious problem with the Raptor for the North American market because it boots in PAL. The video format key does not work in this menu either, so you are stuck with a black screen until you can figure out how to get out of PAL and into NTSC. The manufacturer probably does not know about this(yet), but it should be fixed before somebody starts selling these receivers in North America...Fix the PAL problem and add a North American sat file. Do these two things and I think it would be Prime Time ready for North America.

The Raptor has been here the better part of two days, and I have not had time to look at many of its features yet. I have been on the internet some with this receiver and it seems to work there without any major issues. I need more time to look at the Raptor's internet capabilities, but the Raptor seems to be very similar to the Amiko Alien on multimedia features.

[rrob311]

I had that problem with the S9. Luckily my old 50" DLP shows a picture in PAL mode and so does my handheld. My 37 LCD that I use mostly does not however. Found that out the hard way.

[el bandido]

Another problem is there are about 100 satellites in the Raptor. I need to figure out a way to edit these satellites for North America, but I have yet find a channel editor for the Raptor.

[el bandido]

The Raptor's universal high and low settings are user adjustable, and this allows you to connect two lnbs together with a 22KHz switch and treat them as one satellite.
A favorite trick of mine has been to connect a c and a ku lnb together with a 22KHz switch and treat them as one satellite. This eliminates the need for me to have separate c and ku satellites.

[el bandido]

I purchased a SetEditFDU-HD program that will take care of the satellite editing issues. SetEdit is a good channel editor but it costs money. Anyway, this should be the end of any channel or satellite editing problems with the Raptor.

The only real problem I see now is the PAL boot. They need to give us a file named NA or some other designator that boots in NTSC. When this is done, IMO, the Raptor will be ready to sell in North America.

[el bandido]

I could not resist connecting the Raptor to the 7.5 foot c band dish for a moment and scanning 99W.
The raptor found 60 TV 30 Radio and 23 transponders.
It did not find the elusive Spanish channels on the 1500SR transponder. I may not be on the satellite good enough to get a signal on this transponder, the Raptor may not be able to scan this tp, or the tp may not be transmitting right now. Anyway, I will look harder for this 1500SR tp at a later time. EB

[Species]

Try scanning manually tat TP only and let us know of the results

[Species]

We will also request a Sat list for NA.....

[el bandido]

Try scanning manually tat TP only and let us know of the results
It did not find the 1500SR tp so I cannot manually scan it. That 1500SR tp may not be active on the satellite, or it could be hidden. Also, I may not be aimed directly at the satellite either. Missing this one tp does not bother me at the moment.
Thank You for introducing me to the best blind scan receiver I have ever owned!!!!:ter:


We will also request a Sat list for NA.....
A satellite file would be nice. But I am not worried about the satellite file as much with this receiver because it can blind scan. What is bothering me is it boots in PAL. Turning the receiver OFF or removing the power does not normally cause a boot in PAl but when I first got the receiver and when I upgraded the firmware, the receiver booted in PAL or in something my tv could not understand. If they can fix this for us, it would be a very big help!!

[rrob311]

Can you get it to scan in FSTV or PeaceTV on 123W KU? Those are pretty low. one is 1784 I think.

[el bandido]

Yes. Those 123W channels were easy.
The Raptor has been moved to a c/ku antenna now. A 30 inch ku, and a 7.5 ft. c band antennas.

It is finding transponders with a SR of 999. That is the lowest I have seen so far. I doubt I would want to watch a channel with a SR that low because I would not expect the picture quality to be good.

[rrob311]

Sounds like a good box. Is this one better than the anaconda?

[el bandido]

The Raptor has more features than the Anaconda. I think the blind scan and other basic features will be the same. The Raptor is a serious receiver. It is about the size of one of the older vcrs. In other words, It is huge by today's standards.

[el bandido]

The Raptor's blind scan has some nice features.
You may scan Horizontal or Vertical transponders. You can also change the starting and stopping points of the blind scan frequencies.:bigthumbup:

[Guest]

I could not resist connecting the Raptor to the 7.5 foot c band dish for a moment and scanning 99W.
The raptor found 60 TV 30 Radio and 23 transponders.
It did not find the elusive Spanish channels on the 1500SR transponder. I may not be on the satellite good enough to get a signal on this transponder, the Raptor may not be able to scan this tp, or the tp may not be transmitting right now. Anyway, I will look harder for this 1500SR tp at a later time. EB


I'm scanning for feeds at the moment EB. I'm at Galaxy17 but when I get to Galaxy16 I'll give the azbox a shot on blind scanning in those low sr tp and report back.

[easily confused]

The Raptor has more features than the Anaconda. I think the blind scan and other basic features will be the same. The Raptor is a serious receiver. It is about the size of one of the older vcrs. In other words, It is huge by today's standards.

Maybe this has been asked and I have missed it but, do we have a price on the Raptor, or are they available for order, yet?

[Species]

Anaconda has the same features as the Raptor. The only difference is that the Raptor can have two tuners at the time, and it is also a bit faster.
The Raptor was the first twin tuner STB with Linux and full media capabilities.

[el bandido]

Maybe this has been asked and I have missed it but, do we have a price on the Raptor, or are they available for order, yet?
No set price yet. Not available for order yet.
I expect this to change soon. Your two questions are being asked more & more by different people.

[Guest]

I could not resist connecting the Raptor to the 7.5 foot c band dish for a moment and scanning 99W.
The raptor found 60 TV 30 Radio and 23 transponders.
It did not find the elusive Spanish channels on the 1500SR transponder. I may not be on the satellite good enough to get a signal on this transponder, the Raptor may not be able to scan this tp, or the tp may not be transmitting right now. Anyway, I will look harder for this 1500SR tp at a later time. EB


Ok EB. The azbox ultra came up with 2 low sr tp after a blind scan on Galaxy16 at 99w:

Rps Puebla- 3932 H 1562
Telever- 3936 H 1562

They also scan in manually without any issues.

[el bandido]

I do not have a signal at all on those transponders Costa. Either my dish needs adjusted or it may be too small to see those transponders. I do think the Raptor would log them if my antenna system could see them.

An USB Wireless-N Adapter was shipped with the Raptor. I have been running an access point for internet, but now I am going to open this adapter up and try it.

[el bandido]

The wireless adapter worked without a problem.
Also added today was a Western Digital 1 terabyte internal hard drive. This hard drive was about $150.00 at a Best Buy Store. I could have gotten it for less money on Ebay but I wanted to make sure I got a good one. A WD 320GB HD had been installed earlier. This hard drive had some issues and it was causing the receiver's menus to freeze, and I also suspect it was the cause of at least one hard boot. A hard boot puts the receiver in PAL. Since I did not want to relive these experiences, I bought a new hard drive from Best Buy.
The Hard Drive Speed Test suggests I got what I paid for. EB

[el bandido]

Most of the problems that I have had with the Raptor have been hard drive related.
As I mentioned earlier, I installed a bad internal hard drive and this caused the receiver to hard boot into PAL. I have connected other discs and had problems too. Sometimes the receiver will freeze when I try to get a movie clip played that is not supported. To get out of the freeze, I turn the power off by using the rear rocker switch. Nothing good happens after recovering from a receiver freeze up. Either all of the channel and satellite information is dumped or the receiver does factory default putting it in PAL.

I do not have a lot of different video formats on hand, but I do have some .TS files. The Raptor would not play the .TS files but the Amiko Alien would.
I have several video clips in different video formats. The Raptor would play a couple of them where the Amiko Alien would play a lot of them. The Alien definitely has and advantage over the Raptor in this area.

[el bandido]

Press the blue button while watching a tv channel and you are greeted with a multiple picture screen.
This feature works best on a transponder with lots of channels. Only two pictures move. The center picture and its smaller side picture are the only two that move. The other pictures are snap shots.
You may use the remote's arrow keys and select a channel from this screen. Simply highlight a channel and press the OK button.

I like this feature.:D

[el bandido]

It is time to start thinking about adding a tuner. Running one tuner in a two tuner system is about like running a V8 engine on four cylinders.

Note to Team Amiko:
I need to know if the terrestrial(OTA) tuner is ATSC for digital and HD television. Our TV stations have been required to switch to this video format, and it is different than some other parts of the world. There is no need to open the terrestrial tuner and install it if it does not work in our part of the world.

Gold!!!....I see gold plating on the tuner connectors. I also have seen some gold plating inside the receiver on the circuit board. Gold is a very expensive metal and I have not seen it used much in fta receivers.None of my Ali receivers have has any visible gold in them. Some of my work is in the recycling business so I automatically look for gold and other precious metals.
Most of the Ali receivers we have been using are made in China where the cheapest parts and production methods are used.
I find the Raptor to have high quality parts inside its case and I expect it to run for several years without any electrical failures.

The terrestrial tuner is Samsung.
The satellite tuner is Sharp.

[el bandido]

I am starting to look at the record capabilities a little bit. The first thing to do was look around and see if there was any freezing on any channels. I have not found any channels freezing or having a jerky picture on any satellite. Some of the Ali receivers had hd picture problems, but the Raptor has no issues in this area that I can find.
I decided to record one channel on the 107W c band satellite. I chose the channels on the 4160 transponder.
The record was started on one channel, then two more channels were added for a total of three HD channels being recorded. The Raptor did this task with ease, and I verified that all three recordings played OK. Some channels are greyed out in the menu once you start recording. The white channels are the ones that are available for viewing or for recording. This cuts down on the confusion of what can be watched or recorded at the same time.

[rrob311]

Can this box easily manually enter pids for say CW on 91 and the itc locals on 118.8? Is it easy to tweak the dish one step at a time in the motor control menu?

[rrob311]

It is time to start thinking about adding a tuner. Running one tuner in a two tuner system is about like running a V8 engine on four cylinders.

Note to Team Amiko:
I need to know if the terrestrial(OTA) tuner is ATSC for digital and HD television. Our TV stations have been required to switch to this video format, and it is different than some other parts of the world. There is no need to open the terrestrial tuner and install it if it does not work in our part of the world.

Gold!!!....I see gold plating on the tuner connectors. I also have seen some gold plating inside the receiver on the circuit board. Gold is a very expensive metal and I have not seen it used much in fta receivers.None of my Ali receivers have has any visible gold in them. Some of my work is in the recycling business so I automatically look for gold and other precious metals.
Most of the Ali receivers we have been using are made in China where the cheapest parts and production methods are used.
I find the Raptor to have high quality parts inside its case and I expect it to run for several years without any electrical failures.

The terrestrial tuner is Samsung.
The satellite tuner is Sharp.

Did those tuners come with the box? Were they plugged in when you ran the box before? I am confused on the purpose of the extra slots. Is it to have another TV with separate remote?

[el bandido]

Can this box easily manually enter pids for say CW on 91 and the itc locals on 118.8? Is it easy to tweak the dish one step at a time in the motor control menu?
Manual pids cannot be entered for the channels you mention at this time. At least not for me. Let me explain.
There is an area in the receiver for manual pid entry. I am under the impression that when a pid is manually entered, the receiver scans the transponder trying to match the entered information. If no match is found then the information you entered is discarded.
In other words, if the receiver cannot find the channel you entered then it rejects your entry. This is what I THINK is happening. I need more time to look at this issue.

Diseq 1.2 has fine motor movements for tweaking and adjusting. There are some things missing in diseqc 1.2 such as changing the satellite's position number. I will try to focus more on this issue a bit later.
There is nothing in the USALS or the diseqc 1.2 area that has given me a problem where a solution was not available. These areas work good, they just do not have tons of features in them.

[el bandido]

Did those tuners come with the box? Were they plugged in when you ran the box before? I am confused on the purpose of the extra slots. Is it to have another TV with separate remote?
I do not understand what extra slots you are referring to, but let me see if I can clarify.
The Raptor was shipped to me with one tuner installed. The Raptor can handle two tuners, but it was shipped to me with only one tuner installed. I requested an additional tuner so I have a total of three tuners. This was done so I could test the receiver with two DVB satellite tuners and so I could test with 1 DVB satellite tuner and 1 terrestrial (ota) tuner.
The video below will show you how I received my Raptor. The Raptor in the video is(was) identical to mine.


[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Watch the video and let me know if you have any other questions.

[el bandido]

The Raptor's display is used for more than channel numbers and the time. It also displays the channel name and menu name information. If the number of words in a menu is too long for the display then the Raptor scrolls through the words. Scrolling may be set to continuous or once. I have mine set to scroll once. This was done because a long channel name will scroll too and this can be annoying while I am trying to watch tv.
The ability of the Raptor to display menu information has been nothing short of a life saver because I can no longer see the tv screen when the receiver boots into PAL. The menu information being displayed on the receiver is my only salvation from PAL mode.

[Species]

For NTSC mode please refer to page 48 section 2.6
Select NTSC instead of AUTO.

[el bandido]

NTSC Is what I have mine set to.
But I think the Raptor boots in PAL out of the box or when a hard boot or factory reset is done.

I cannot find much wrong with this receiver at all. There are a couple of things that do not appear to work, but it could also be something I am doing wrong.

A list of what is needed will be available to Team Amiko shortly. I assure you this is a very short list.

[el bandido]

I find it difficult to select channels for one satellite. The Raptor is different in this area than most other fta receivers that I own.
Pressing the OK button on the menu while watching a tv channel will take you to the Service List menu. Press the red button on the remote to select a satellite under group.

Most of our fta receivers have a satellite button and pressing it takes you directly to a list of the stored satellites. The Raptor is different in this area, but it may not be that bad because the Raptor's channel edit features are stronger than my other fta receivers. I believe after I figure out how to group my channels for easy access, everything will be OK.

Changing satellites is an area where other people that are using that Raptor become confused. I set the Amiko Alien up and nobody said a word about using it until the network features were demonstrated. I think it boils down to what people are used to, and I do not see this as a big problem.

[el bandido]

Going into the stored recording area is a pleasant experience.
I am testing the record timers now, and I currently have three of them set. The record timers have worked flawlessly so far. When you go to the play list for the hdd recordings, you get a small screen that shows you the content of a particular recorded file. The last tv channel you were on is also displayed in the background.
The playlist is not an easy picture to take on my cheap camera, so the quality of the attached picture is not very good.

[buzz]

NTSC Is what I have mine set to.
But I think the Raptor boots in PAL out of the box or when a hard boot or factory reset is done.

I cannot find much wrong with this receiver at all. There are a couple of things that do not appear to work, but it could also be something I am doing wrong.

A list of what is needed will be available to Team Amiko shortly. I assure you this is a very short list.


I have to admit, this sounds like a outstanding STB, but for me the PAL boot screen is a potential deal breaker. The box has NTSC functionality, would it be possible to make a small change to the code for NA so that NTSC is always it's first (or only) boot option? PAL format is of no use to us. In my opinion this is a basic key feature that needs to be addressed if the box is going to be seriously marketed for North America.

This box is bringing alot to the table, and in my opinion has the potential to take NA by storm!

Buzz

[el bandido]

I think default on a boot should be NTSC and 480i. I see the 480i resolution in NTSC, so would it not be better if the boot could be there? I think this would make it easier on the people who still have analog televisions.

I am going to turn in a list of what we need tonight, so any comments about these receivers would be appreciated. EB

[el bandido]

Here is the list that I sent.

(1) Change the firmware so the default boot is NTSC and 480i resolution.
(2) Add a North American satellite file
(3) Add 4:2:2 video codec
(4) Add 4:2:0 video codec

[Species]

The fist two should be feasible but 3 and 4 i dont see it happening at least for Raptor maybe Raptor 2......:)
However i will do my best to fit this into the new upcoming FW.

[buzz]

The fist two should be feasible but 3 and 4 i dont see it happening at least for Raptor maybe Raptor 2......:)
However i will do my best to fit this into the new upcoming FW.

OUTSTANDING, I look forward to hearing about your progress!!

Last night I thought of another request that would bring something to NA that no other receiver has offered...
Would it be possible to have a firmware loader and channel editor that are Linux based? This would bring functionality to not only North America, but also all the droves of linux users around the world. Again, in my opinion, a move like that would set you apart of your competitors.

Thanks for listening Team Amiko, I hope this market feedback will be helpful in designing software that will set the standard for the industry. You are on the cutting edge.
Buzz

[el bandido]

Here is a list of the problems or bugs I have found in the Raptor. This is a short list when you consider all the features this receiver has.

(1) Unable to manually add a PID in the receiver for the CW channels. (I need to look at this again.)

(2) Audible Beep feature for the transponder signal strength does not work.

(3) Problems with some hard drives causing the receiver to hard boot into PAL.

(4) I get an error when trying to play a TS file.

That is about all I have found so far. Here are a few comments about these items.

The manual PID feature probably works, but not the way we need it to work. I think the receiver has to be able to find the channel on the transponder before the channel can be added. I will try to check this later.

I think I see an option for a beep feature on the transponder signal but I have not heard it beep yet.

The hard drives that I have had problems with also have a windows operating system stored on them. These are back-up hard drives but they also have movies and music stored on them. i suspect the stored Winodws OS to be the booting problem.

The TS file problem needs to be looked at too. When I record, they are stored in ts format so I would expect the Raptor to play the TS files too. The Amiko was able to play these files.

Note: There may be an error on my part that is causing some or all of the problems on this list. More time is needed for me to study these issues. I have posted this list so you can see what kind of problems I have encountered. EB

[el bandido]

I added satellite tuner number two today. I added it first because I am unsure if the terrestrial tuner has the correct video format for North America. After a satellite is scanned with two tuners installed, the Raptor gives you the option of saving scanned satellites to the other tuner.

Tuner 2 has a 4ft. Geosat 1.2 meter dish attached to a Stab hh120 rotor. Its current lnb is an Invacom 031 quad with only linear connected.
Tuner 1 has a 7.5 foot c band dish and a motorized 30 inch ku dish connected together with a 22 KHz switch.

I Double checked the beep feature for the transponder signal and it Does work. There is no beep without a Q signal, and the beeps get faster as the signal gets stronger. Having an audible sound that changes with the transponder's signal strength is a big plus!!! This feature allows me to put a walkie talkie or a cell phone next to the tv and I can hear the transponder signal strength change while I am outside adjusting the dish!! The transponder signal beep feature is a very good option for any fta receiver.

I took a picture of the installed 1TB hard drive after I took the cover off the Raptor today. The power supply plug for the hard drive is factory installed inside the Raptor. The jumper cable that is needed for data was shipped with the Raptor.
All you need to install an internal hard drive inside the Raptor is a sata (esata) 2.5 notebook type hard drive and the 4 mounting screws for the hard drive. Everything else that is needed comes with the Raptor.

[el bandido]

You can manually add a channel in the Raptor.
This is done in the "Service List Manager" menu. So Yes, we can manually add a PID in the Raptor. I just added the PIDS for the CW channels, tp3720 at 91W. EB

[el bandido]

You may add a PID to a satellite's transponder in the "Satellite Search" menu. If you add a PID here, the receiver will search the transponder for the PID information you entered. If it does not find an exact match for your PID, then nothing is added.

You may also add a PID in the "Service List Manager" menu. The receiver doe not look for any information in this menu. It takes whatever you enter and adds it to the channel list for the selected satellite and transponder. This is where I successfully added the CW PIDS for 91W.

You nay change a channel name in the "Service List Manager". Once you change a channel name, it stays changed. Doing a blind scan or an auto scan does not have any effect on the channel name you changed. The receiver will find the channel in a blind or automatic scan, but it will assign the PID the name you changed it to.
As an example, I changed one channel on 118.8W to Unvision. Then I did a blind scan and an auto scan to see if the name would change. It did not. This is a smart receiver!!EB

[Species]

You may add a PID to a satellite's transponder in the "Satellite Search" menu. If you add a PID here, the receiver will search the transponder for the PID information you entered. If it does not find an exact match for your PID, then nothing is added.

You may also add a PID in the "Service List Manager" menu. The receiver doe not look for any information in this menu. It takes whatever you enter and adds it to the channel list for the selected satellite and transponder. This is where I successfully added the CW PIDS for 91W.

You nay change a channel name in the "Service List Manager". Once you change a channel name, it stays changed. Doing a blind scan or an auto scan does not have any effect on the channel name you changed. The receiver will find the channel in a blind or automatic scan, but it will assign the PID the name you changed it to.
As an example, I changed one channel on 118.8W to Unvision. Then I did a blind scan and an auto scan to see if the name would change. It did not. This is a smart receiver!!EB

INTELLIGENT BLIND SCAN :)

[easily confused]

"As an example, I changed one channel on 118.8W to Unvision. Then I did a blind scan and an auto scan to see if the name would change. It did not. This is a smart receiver!!"

This is great news, EB. This is one irritation I currently find with my S-9. I rename all the channels so my wife knows what they are when she checks different sats, I then do some blind scanning and have to go through everything and rename the channels again.

[el bandido]

The Raptor's channel editor is a very impressive and powerful item. It works so well that there is very little need for an additional channel editor such as SetEdit. I have always enjoyed being able to edit a sat file on a computer. If the Raptor had an North American sat file in it, I would have very little use for SetEdit because everything I need to do can be done in the receiver.

I scanned 87W ku today and now I need to delete the channels I do not want. This task is done in the "Service List Manager" menu. All I need to do is press the blue remote button while in this menu and select Delete Services. There are two columns for channels. The far column on the left contains the satellite's channels. Pressing the remote's OK button on a highlighted channel will move the channel to the center column where it can be deleted.
There is a small tv screen on the far right that displays whatever the highlighted channel in the far left column is playing. This tv screen gives you an opportunity to actually see what you are deleting. When you have all the channels you want deleted moved to the center column, press the remote's green button and you will be asked if you want to delete all of them or exit without deleting anything.
It takes very little time to delete channels on a satellite, even if there is a hundred or more that you want to delete.

[Yankee495]

My Viewesat did the tic-tac-toe tile of available channels. Only one was live but it really was cool. Good for when all channels have commercials and you have no guide. You can pop it up and see a shot of shows.

Boy, not much to complain about. The OS on the drive issue might suck for some people who only have a backup drive and don't wanna change it. Then again, any use of that drive on any device could ruin the backup so you shouldn't use it. I understand you was testing.

Great job EB. I thanked and liked every post you made except I didn't like the paid for editor. I'm sure this will change.

I posted a list a couple of years ago for a manufacturer to go by to successfully market a product in the US. It was a simple list.

First, it would be nice to have a dish and receiver combo package guaranteed to work together.

Here is the plan:

A dual tuner, dual band C/Ku receiver with an OTA tuner, USB, eSATA, & internal HDD, that can read and write all formats known to man & stream those same formats & browse the web, do Netflix, telepathic control and a 10 inch wireless dish that you stab in the ground and call it good, like one of those windmill flowers and all for only $99!

Such a simple setup!

SORRY!

The Alien and Raptor both seem very nice. The NTSC 480 is the way to go. My Vizio does PAL but when I fed it through a RF modulator to use a coax to the bedroom I thought the guy on ebay ripped me off. He said the converter worked good.

The S9 was in Pal and it couldn't convert that.

Again, thanks for the time to take and post the pics and info. I know it becomes work real fast.

[Yankee495]

With all my day dreaming I forgot to ask, does it use a wireless keyboard? The one Like the Alien?

I'm about to order the mini KB and figure I can just use it for something else if I end up with a receiver that don't/can't use it.

My desktop is hooked to my 32" on the wall in the bedroom and it would be useful for that...so not a waste no matter what.

[el bandido]

I have not seen a wireless keyboard option like the Alien has. I do not know if the Raptor supports it or not, but I doubt it does.
The SetEdit channel editor I bought is not really needed for the Raptor. You can easily edit almost anything you need to in the Raptor. The Raptor''s edit features are easy and fast. The only thing that I have not been able to do in the Raptor ios change a diseqc 1.2 position. For example, let's say that I have 119W at diseqc 1.2 position 50 but for some reason I want to change it to 30. This change or edit cannot be done in the Raptor...either it can't be done or I have not figured out how to do it yet.

One another note, the Raptor appears to be able to play AAC audio. There is a CNN feed on 87W ku that scans in as AAC in its channel label. It takes the Raptor a few seconds to figure this audio out, but it does play it. Somebody else might want to look at this AAC CNN feed on 87W ku. EB

[Yankee495]

I am watching CNN on 87 but it says Mpeg audio. Don't know which other one there is.

[el bandido]

Do a blind scan and see if you get it. The AAC CNN has not been up long.

[Guest]

Manhattan is having no issues with the CNN Newsource audio on Ses2 at 87w.

[el bandido]

Which one are watching Costa?
Currently there are two Newsource channels up on 87W.
The one I am referring to scanned in as Newsource HD AAC. Can you confirm this particular Newsource channel as having AAC audio?

[el bandido]

Pressing the FAV button on the remote will give you a list of the stored scanned satellites, plus your favorites list(s).
I have been looking for this option a long time. I can set up the universal remote now and make the Raptor function like the Amiko Alien and my other receivers. Sometimes the thing you are looking for the hardest is right in front of you!!!EB

[Species]

Raptor is compatible with normal keyboards and mini keyboards.
I will provide some more details later.

[Guest]

Which one are watching Costa?
Currently there are two Newsource channels up on 87W.
The one I am referring to scanned in as Newsource HD AAC. Can you confirm this particular Newsource channel as having AAC audio?

I didn't realise that there was another CNN channel on this tp, audio is instantaneous on the Manhattan:


3074

[easily confused]

I'm getting Newsource HD AAC on my Openbox S-9 Great pic and sound

[el bandido]

Raptor is compatible with normal keyboards and mini keyboards.
I will provide some more details later.
Thanks for the information.
After you posted this, I purchased a full size wireless ONN keyboard from Walmart, and it works on WebZeal.
This keyboard does not have a mouse pad on it so I tried my wireless mouse on the Raptor and it works too!!!

[el bandido]

Here is a demonstration of the Raptor's blind scan. This scan was done today under clear skies and windy conditions. The dish size is 7.5 ft. The dish needs to be adjusted a little bit. EB


[Only registered and activated users can see links] DOEgsToPDskJvs-bTcofQCizzMmkFUCIj

[ViP3R]

Very Impressive! I have not seen any box personally that can compete with that..

Intelligent Blind Scan! you can say that again..

[easily confused]

Scans in a similar way to my CW but at what is hyper speed compared to the CW. Very impressive.

[el bandido]

I expect the Anaconda to scan exaclty like the Raptor.

[Guest]

Impressive, looking forward to blind scans with the anaconda.

[el bandido]

Press the info button on the remote twice and you will get an extended event information window. Most of our channels are not transmitting any information here, but extended channel information can be found at the bottom of this window. Resolution, Frame Rate, Aspect Ratio, Video Type, Audio Type, and more can be found at the bottom of the extended event information window. The channel information is normally displayed in two groups that change back and forth every few seconds. Two pictures are attached showing the two groups. EB

[Guest]

I like that info EB but would be nice to also know if it's H.264, s2/qpsk or s2/8psk.

[el bandido]

I understand that kind of information(H.264, s2/qpsk or s2/8psk) is important when posting feeds, but I believe you can determine most of those by looking at what it does display.

I have noticed something on recording that I like very much.
Last night, I was watching METV before I turned the receiver Off with the remote. I have the receiver set to record PBS early in the morning before I wake up. The Raptor will turn itself On when it is time to record and then turn itself back Off when the recording is finished. I am used to this.
But when I woke up this morning and turned the Raptor On, METV was still playing. I checked the PBS recording that was supposed to take place while I was asleep and sure enough, it was there.
Apparently, the Raptor turned itself on, changed the METV channel and recorded on PBS what it was supposed to, returned to the METV channel I was originally watching, then turned itself Off! I think that is pretty neat. I will check this again and make sure I was not fooled. EB

[el bandido]

The Raptor is strong enough to turn two ku motors at the same time.
Currently I have a ku motor and a c band dish on tuner 1, and I have a 1.2 meter Geosat and StabHH120 on tuner2. Switching between tuners with this setup can cause both ku motors to move at the same time, depending on what satellites are being called. My Sonicview 360 Elite would do this trick too. Ku motors do not normally use much power when they are moving. They may surge up to around 250-350 ma on start-up but this figure usually decreases quickly once the motor is moving. Each tuner is rated at 400 ma so moving two ku motors at once is a good test for the power supply.

I have had a couple of problems.
The first problem is some channels will freeze the receiver, causing nothing to work after a scan. I do not know what the content of these blank channels are, but I have had the receiver lock up after I have scanned and started going through the channels individually. The first problem may be related to the second problem.

The second problem would be a corrupted satellite file. I have made several changes that I think may have corrupted my satellite file to the point that I probably need to dump it and start all over.
I did not have any problems at all until after I added the second tuner. I added satellite tuner 2, removed it and added the terrestrial tuner(which did not work), then removed the terrestrial tuner and added back the satellite tuner 2. I did all of these changes using the same satellite file, and I think I screwed it up.
Part of the corruption is some satellites that I have scanned previously will not scan again. If I delete the transponders and rescan, I miss transponders and channels. I can move to a satellite name that I have never used before, scan the same satellite and get everything. This is one of the reasons I think I corrupted the satellite file. More on this problem later. Let's see if we can fix this.

Apparently there is only one satellite file in the Raptor. There was two satellite files in the Sonicview 360 Elite, 1 file for each tuner. I find it interesting that the Raptor seems to share the same sat file between the two tuners.
It is possible to scan the same satellite with both tuners. As an example, I can scan SES2 at 87W under tuner 1, then change it to tuner two in antenna setup and scan it again. Doing this causes the scanned channels and transponders for both tuners to show up when SES2 is selected. For this reason, I think the Raptor is sharing one satellite file between the two tuners. EB

[el bandido]

The Raptor does not change back to the original channel channel after a recording is finished. I had the Raptor recording on tuner 2 while I was watching tuner 1. This led me to believe that the receiver was going back to the channel I was originally watching. But in reality, when you are recording on one tuner, it does not affect the other tuner.

Most other pvr receivers may drop a recording if there is no signal when it is time to record. For example, I have an old StabHH120 ku motor and it moves real slow. If I schedule to record something on 125W, the recording may fail if my motor is actually at 30W when the recording begins. My other receivers are not smart enough to know that you need to wait for a signal sometimes. In other words, give the slow ku motor time to move where it is supposed to be.
The Raptor waits and waits and waits. This receiver is intelligent enough to know that sometimes you do not have a signal. I have not lost any recordings on the Raptor because my motor took too long to move!

What happens if you lose the signal in the middle of a recording? The Raptor stops when the signal is lost and resumes recording when the signal returns.
As a test, I started a timed recording and let the receiver record for a few minutes. Then I placed a wet towel over the lnb causing the signal to disappear. The towel was left on for about 3 minutes and then removed. The recording was replayed, and the recording stopped when the signal disappeared, then resumed when the signal came back.
Most other pvr fta receivers do not know what to do when the signal disappears during a recording session, so they just stop recording. EB

[el bandido]

Attached is a 4:2:2 clip. This is about 45 seconds of 4:2:2 video.

The Raptor originally plays this 4:2:2 station as a black screen with audio. This is the way it is recorded. But when you play it back on the Raptor, you can see the sparkles or pixelation that is common on receivers that cannot play the 4:2:2 video format

[el bandido]

The 4:2:2 video clip has been sent to Optibox and I had a request for an American satellite file today. There is good evidence that Optibox is trying to give us an American file that boots in NTSC instead of Pal. EB

[Jim S.]

That's very disappointing that it won't record 4:2:2 when cheaper receivers will.

Do the Anaconda or Alien record it OK?

[Jim S.]

On further consideration, I wonder how it's playing anything back at all. If it plays back a recording with the pixellated look that you usually get from 4:2:2 on a non-compatible receiver, then I should be able to play the recording on my computer and see it normally. But not only do I get a black screen when I try to play it, but VLC also shows that there is no information whatsoever in the file, video or audio. It plays 4:2:2 recordings from my Openbox just fine.

[ViP3R]

On further consideration, I wonder how it's playing anything back at all. If it plays back a recording with the pixellated look that you usually get from 4:2:2 on a non-compatible receiver, then I should be able to play the recording on my computer and see it normally. But not only do I get a black screen when I try to play it, but VLC also shows that there is no information whatsoever in the file, video or audio. It plays 4:2:2 recordings from my Openbox just fine.

Hi Jim,

4:2:2 has not been ruled out on the Raptor,Anaconda,Gekko ect... they are still looking into to this last I heard.. I don't believe this is a format used in Europe, so they would not have had a need for for it.
It's not a deal breaker for me, but would be a nice addition if possible.

[el bandido]

On further consideration, I wonder how it's playing anything back at all. If it plays back a recording with the pixellated look that you usually get from 4:2:2 on a non-compatible receiver, then I should be able to play the recording on my computer and see it normally. But not only do I get a black screen when I try to play it, but VLC also shows that there is no information whatsoever in the file, video or audio. It plays 4:2:2 recordings from my Openbox just fine.

I cannot get VLC to play anything I have recorded with the Raptor. Remember, this is a new receiver to our part of the world. What works on your Openbox may not work for the Optibox products.

I attached a codec pack that will allow you to see the 4:2:2 video that I recorded on the Raptor. This codec pack works for the Windows Media Player. If you have this player, download and install the attached file. Pay close attention when you install the codecs because it will try to install some other "Free" stuff if you let it. Click on Advanced when you install so you can delete the free stuff.
Restart your computer after installing these codecs. When you try to play the 4:2:2 file, the media player will say it can't do it but it will ask if you want to try anyway. Tell it yes and it will play the Raptor's 4:2:2 file for you. EB

[Jim S.]

I can't get it to work. Media Player just hangs on "Opening media...", it never says anything about not being able to play it. This is on Windows 7, I don't have any other versions to try.

Does the Optibox allow you to record as .mpg files instead of .ts?

[el bandido]

ts is the only record format that I see.

Try the total video player. EXE file is attached.
Again, pay attention during the install or it will add some stuff for you.

[el bandido]

I have to admit, this sounds like a outstanding STB, but for me the PAL boot screen is a potential deal breaker. The box has NTSC functionality, would it be possible to make a small change to the code for NA so that NTSC is always it's first (or only) boot option? PAL format is of no use to us. In my opinion this is a basic key feature that needs to be addressed if the box is going to be seriously marketed for North America.

This box is bringing alot to the table, and in my opinion has the potential to take NA by storm!

Buzz

They did it Buzz!!!
I have a file that boots the Raptor in NTSC instead of Pal.
I did a factory default and noticed that an American satellite file was also included. This file has separate c/ku sat positions and it runs from 61.0W to 148W. I will make some changes to the sat file but I really appreciate them including it in the main firmware!
The Optibox Raptor is now designed for North America! I am told more changes for us are in the works. EB

[Guest]

That's awesome news, any way to get a working sat list from about 11w?

[el bandido]

That's awesome news, any way to get a working sat list from about 11w?
They do not know what we want, and different people want different things.
IMO, the best thing to do is build a sat file and give it to them so they can add it to future releases. I think this will be easier than asking them to change what they already have.

[Guest]

I'll just set up my own when I receive my optibox anaconda receiver which I ordered using our Legitfta shop.

[el bandido]

Be sure to upload it when you are finished so I can take a peek at it.:Smiley_wink:

[easily confused]

I'll just set up my own when I receive my optibox anaconda receiver which I ordered using our Legitfta shop.

Is the shop open? I just tried to take a look and received a message saying I didn't have permission to enter

[Guest]

I'm having no issues going into the shop and helped Viper see if we could order an anaconda, went down without a hitch.

[easily confused]

When I try to enter the shop, this is what I get;

"vBulletin Message

easily confused, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.

Log Out Home"

[ViP3R]

I just have to set permission for members to view the store. It's not 100% ready but will be very soon. this was a test run for Costa, everything is working correct, just a few things to add.

I'll make it so you can see it..send me a PM if you want to make a purchase..

[easily confused]

Thanks, Viper, got in fine and looking good. My pension comes in, in a few days and I will be placing an order, likely for an Anaconda.

[el bandido]

LoL. These guys do not quit. I am going through the new file now after checking it for stability.

I see they have added some stuff to the NTSC boot file.
Attached is a picture of the weather forecaster. I will look for other additions. EB

[el bandido]

Internet Radio was also added.

[el bandido]

I think they did the weather forecaster right. Enter a zip code for the U.S. and it displays the weather forecast for that zip code. It also recognizes airport codes such as ATL for Atlanta.
I did not know what to do about Canada. They have postal codes such as M4B 1B3. This is not a problem for the Raptor's weather forecaster. It knows where M4B 1B3is located. EB

[ViP3R]

Internet Radio was also added.


I love look of that Radio screen! does it have a screensaver to prevent burn in?

[el bandido]

I do not think so. But I believe burn in is a thing of the past. The eqalizer moves to the music so the picture has some movement to it.

[eastof111]

EB
Any idea when you will be restocking the Raptor? Just checked your gift shop and it was out of stock.
Would definitely like to try one.
Thanks

[ViP3R]

EB
Any idea when you will be restocking the Raptor? Just checked your gift shop and it was out of stock.
Would definitely like to try one.
Thanks


Hi eastof111, we should have some Raptors within two weeks, you can order one now if you like, just let me know and I will add one to store for you.

[eastof111]

Thanks Viper

Has anyone tested this with a Digiwave 8x1 switch yet? Digiwave currently works great with my Openbox S9's but hit and miss with my Sonicview sv8000HD. Can someone check the Raptor's menu to see if it has settings similar to the S9 for cascading upto 16 ports?
Thanks again.

[Jim S.]

How thoroughly has the media player been tested on the Optibox receivers? Is there a complete list of formats it will play?

[el bandido]

There are 16 positions in the diseqc 1.1 setting. I do not have a switch or enough dishes to test this feature.

Another member will be getting a Gekko soon. I expect it to arrive next week. He has a tremendous dish system and I am sure he will be testing the Diseqc 1.1 feature. EB

[el bandido]

How thoroughly has the media player been tested on the Optibox receivers? Is there a complete list of formats it will play?
There are only two working Optibox receivers in North America that I know of. I do not have many different types of media formats so I cannot check much. You need to wait a little bit for a good answer on this. Other people will be getting Optibox receivers soon! EB

[mengram]

EB, in the Raptor's details it says it supports DVB-T2 and DVB-C, can you explain what these formats relate to. Thanks

mengram

[el bandido]

T Is for the terrestrial tuner option and the C is for the cable tuner option.
The terrestrial tuner does not work because it does not support ATSC. A working terrestrial tuner has bee requested.
The cable tuner has not been tested yet by me.

[el bandido]

There needs to be some clarification as to what the Raptor can and cannot do on recording programs.
Note that I have a 1 TB esata hard drive installed in the Raptor.

*The Raptor can record three high frame rate hd channels at one time.

*You may watch something that has been previously recorded while recording something else.

*You may record on both tuners at the same time. My tuners are connected to two separate dish systems.

In general, all of the channels that are being recorded need to be on the same transponder. The ONE exception to this is recording on both tuners at the same time. When recording on both tuners at the same time, all recorded channels have to be on the same transponder of tuner 1 or tuner 2.

I have not tried to record more than three channels at once.

Some people have been confused about what can and cannot be done so I hope this clears it up. EB

[rrob311]

So how does the overall tuner sensitivity compare to other STB? I have a Coolsat 8000 that inches out my Openbox on weaker signals but I would like something better. I have some receivers that won't even find a weaker tranponder while another will scan it in with a signal that cuts in and out and another box that will hold it pretty stable with only minor dropouts.

[el bandido]

Overall, the Raptor has very good sensitivity. Sometimes it will miss a channel that another receiver will find, but you will have a hard time finding a receiver that does not miss anything that is in the same price range as the Raptor. I have noticed that the Raptor has a hard time locking some transponders that have a symbol rate below 1500, so the receiver is not perfect.

[rrob311]

Do you think the tuner is more stable than the Openbox? Also with the multimedia portion of it would I be able to plug Hulu or something into it or is it not compatible?

[el bandido]

I think the Raptor tuner is better than Openbox Period. I do not know what Hulu is or if it will work. more information on it is needed.

[rrob311]

Hulu is like an on demand website online that allows you to watch streaming shows kind of like Netflix I guess. I would be interested in being able to stream online channels with this if possible.

[eastof111]

Since the Raptor does not have video inputs, you can utilize media center software on your PC to play your collection of old movies or tunes. One such media center is XBMC which connects to the Raptor using the ethenet port and DLNA. It works very well.

Since I don't have Hulu, I found that XBMC on my PC has a plug in available to access Hulu. I will experiment and see what kind of results I get.

Attached are three Jpgs explaining the integration of XBMC and Hulu.

[eastof111]

Update-

Current plugin for Hulu not working reliably. Have to wait for new plugin from developer.

[wbarrett]

EB

What esata drive did you install internally?

===
Bill

[el bandido]

I installed a 1 terabyte Western Digital Scorpio Blue notebook hard drive.

[brr5]

EB- When you say the wireless adapter worked, did the Raptor recognize the usb adapter when you plugged it in or did you need to set-it up somewhere? I bought a Cisco usb wifi and after checking on the web I see it does not have a supported chipset. So I don't don't know if that is the issue or I just don't understand the manual on page 52 where it says to use the * key (check mark key?). Not sure what that means.
Thanks for all the help. So far I am really liking this box. (Just gotta be smarter than the material you work with-NOT :N_NO: )
Bob


The wireless adapter worked without a problem.
Also added today was a Western Digital 1 terabyte internal hard drive. This hard drive was about $150.00 at a Best Buy Store. I could have gotten it for less money on Ebay but I wanted to make sure I got a good one. A WD 320GB HD had been installed earlier. This hard drive had some issues and it was causing the receiver's menus to freeze, and I also suspect it was the cause of at least one hard boot. A hard boot puts the receiver in PAL. Since I did not want to relive these experiences, I bought a new hard drive from Best Buy.
The Hard Drive Speed Test suggests I got what I paid for. EB

[el bandido]

The wireless adapter that I have has an Amiko name on it. I got it when I purchased an Amiko receiver.
Not all wireless adapters will work, and there is supposed to be a master list of the ones that so work.

The receiver will recognize a Valid wireless adapter when you install it. There should be nothing special that you should have to do except go to the correct menu screen, do an AP search, then select the AP you want to connect to.

Attached are a couple of pictures showing the wireless menu and available AP points after doing an AP scan.