Openbox S9HD ..anyone using one ?

[Vipersan]

Hi friends ...
just put an offer in on one of these set top boxes...
Yeah I know ...a bit impulsive ...but I do like new toys..
SD and HD + usb pvr + hardware blindscan ...sounds like just what I need for feed hunting ..
I have my AZ box for viewing 4:2:2 once the feeds have been located..
Anyone using one of these ? and would like to share their opinion...
My particular concern is the tuner gain ..
I'm hoping its as good as my old Nokia 9600 .....but then that old box _is_ in a class of its own..
rgds
VS

 

[Vipersan]

"Anyone using one of these ? "

...I'll take that as a no then....

...and still no reply fromthe vendor to my 'offer'
rgds

 

[Lazarus]

...I'll take that as a no then....

A wise choice, if I may be so bold.

Don't you know there's a recession on. Allegedly.

 

[Vipersan]

Hi Gordon ..
Not exactly a box that would break the bank ...even in a recession..
at just over 100 squid ...it certainly looks the business...but looks can be deceiving
Which is why I wanted a bit of feedback.
rgds
VS

 

[femto]

It sounds bloody fantastic actually. If it had 4:2:2 capability it'd be amazingly great. :-)

 

[Vipersan]

Well ...in the end my offer was refused and ended up paying the going rate ..but you can't blame a bloke for trying to knock a few quid off..
Got one for £118 inc postage ..
Need a few winners on the geegees to pay for it now ;)
Seriously tho' it does look to be an excellent box ..according to the spec..but I'll not know 'till I try it out..
I'll report back when its arrived and been tested..
rgds
VS

 

[femto]

Looking forward to the review!

 

[sep990]

A few people on another forum have both one and are happy with it the only issue is epg and not many plugins as DM. But not bad for a HD box under 120 pounds. There are other similar boxes such as solomend hd pvr 800 and skybox s9. CCCam works as client and server as well.

 

[Vipersan]

Thanks for the input Sep
Interesting about cccam...but my main reason for buying was the hardware blindscan feature..
rgds
VS

 

[Lazarus]

Now now, VS .............. you're almost making me dig out the piggy-bank hammer.

 

[Vipersan]

Now now, VS .............. you're almost making me dig out the piggy-bank hammer.

I totally understand Gordon...
At that price it _is_ very tempting isn't it ;)
rgds

 

[Vipersan]

Hi friends..
My S9 box arrived today ...and initial tests of the blindscan and tuner sensitivity look good..
I chose Intelsat 9 @58W (C band )as my first target
a) because this bird isn't in the box's sat list ...so no transponder info available..
b) because there is a channel just below threshold when I try to scan it on the Azbox ..the IP9000HD...and even my Nokia 9600
..so a good test of the tuners sensitivity
The channel in question is fta CTN international 4122H (USA) ..broadcast on the weaker beam to Europe..
The IP9000
scans the frequency and finds nothing
The AZbox
scans and occasionally finds the channel ...locks it in but produces no picture or sound..
The Nokia 9600
Scans and locks in the channel but produces a heavily fragmented broken pixelated image with a lock and a picture for about 20% of the time
The Openbox S9HD scans and locks in the channel and produces a fairly solid picture for about 80% of the time ...occasionally pixellating and breaking up

The blindscan function obviously works well as no transponder info was given to the box...
Nice ! ;)
I can't however post up a snapshot of the channel in question as the pvr record function records in anon standard format (.DVR) ...which is not recognised by my PC..
If anyone is familliar with this file-type...perhaps they know of a codec ...or a format conversion utill..
I've tried all mine (and I have many)...nothing touches it..
All in all
first impressions are excellent..
rgds
VS

 

[Vipersan]

Ok ..had to get a snapshot the hard way ..with a camera...
Not very scientific ...but at least it proves the point.
appologies for the poor quality.
VS

 

[Lazarus]

Looking good, VS.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Vipersan]

I am loving this box ;)
Not only is it doing the business when it comes to controlling my very complex dish system ..
but the blindscan has pulled an extra channel not listed on lyngsat ..from
C band mux Startimes - Eutelsat W2A 10 East
3927 R
tp 7C

DVB-S2
8PSK
SR 8300
FEC 5/6

Its the only thing on Cband from this mux that isn't conax encrypted..
Granted its not a major find but my other boxes miss it totally..

Channel is MSNBC ....and is just a testcard with unencrypted audio
I've taken a photo showing the PID details
below..
I do have a couple of gripes with this otherwise amazing box..

a) I cannot hit a button and take jpg snapshots as I can on the AZbox
b) Dishes/motors remain live so you the dishes actually move as you sterp accross satellites..
Not a problem if they are next door to each other but a nightmare If you are currently on 30East and you want to skip rapidly to 55West ..
Worse still if the big 1.8 cband dish and actuator are en route ...as this assembly can be noisy and annoying late at night.
rgds
VS

 

[Vipersan]

Just in case anyone is thinking of getting one of these boxes ..
I found a nice little database editor which works on a full usb dump from the box..
Saves wear and tear on the remote ;)
rgds
VS

 

[korpen]

Greetings!

I´ve just ordered my second box.
It works a treat with built in Mgcamd as well as Cccam.
The picture is really crystal-clear, compared to several other HD-stb´s

I can't however post up a snapshot of the channel in question as the pvr record function records in anon standard format (.DVR) ...which is not recognised by my PC..
If anyone is familliar with this file-type...perhaps they know of a codec ...or a format conversion utill..
I've tried all mine (and I have many)...nothing touches it..

The enclosed program´s supposed to convert your *.DVR into a *.TS

//Korpen

 

[Huevos]

What's the latest on this box now you've had it a couple of weeks? Can you run a Sky card in it? Looks good on paper as a blindscan receiver.

 

[Vipersan]

Hi Huevos ...
Not tried a sly card in it yet ...but I only have a freesat card anyway ..
I can try that if you like ..but will have to reactivate it first ..as its gone to sleep..
The S9 works well with a g@mm@ ..that much I can report..
Loving the box generally ..though not tried it as a server...but from what I've read it performs well ...once the neccessary cs info's are input..
rgds

 

[Huevos]

The S9 works well with a g@mm@ ..that much I can report.

With a what?