el bandido
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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.
Review of the Optibox Raptor FTA Receiver
- Thread starter el bandido
- Start date
I expect this to change soon. Your two questions are being asked more & more by different people.
G
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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
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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.
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
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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
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
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el bandido
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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el bandido
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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.
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
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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.
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.
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
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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
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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.
Watch the video and let me know if you have any other questions.
el bandido
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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el bandido
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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.
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
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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.
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.
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
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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
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
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Here is the list that I sent.
[FONT="](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
[/FONT]
[FONT="](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
[/FONT]