Reviews: SatHawk PVR800 WorldDVB DVB-S2 HD FTA Receiver

[N5XZS]

My new baby, is coming home to New Mexico!! Can't wait to play this new DX machine!!:

 

[scottc98]

Stopped by sadoun on the way home from work tonight to check out this receiver in person. I must say, this thing BS really fast!!! Took under 2 min to BS 97W. I did check about my autoscan questions and it looks like that you can deselect the sats in the sat list and then autoscan all of the sats left. When you go back to the sat list to enable the sat back, it holds all of the orig settings. So I wouldn't have to set the LNB and switch settings each time. This will work when I want to disable scaning my cband sat that is motorized but connected to my switch.

I'm about at 85% on purchasing this thing

One thing that I did notice is that you can't to a manual pid/channel entry. That would be nice to add in the event that it will not scan the channel in like some recievers have done in the past. Don't see why this couldn't be added in a future release or by pc once you can download the channel list to a PC.

One other observation that I wasn't able to verify: Does the receiver tell you if the TP or channel is DVB-S2? Was only able to test on 97w which doesn't have any S2 tps, but for you with this receiver does it indicate FEC, pilot or just simply "S2"?

One last thing: There is a section on the menu under "other" (forgot the 1st menu) that has "BER" on or off. Assuming this is "Bit error rate" but does anyone know what it does? I turned it on and off and scanned but couldn't see anything different.

Oh yeah...might not be a biggie to some people but I like that you can enable "beep" for setting up a sat. All my FTA receivers don't have this and I kinda missed this from my Dishnetwork/BEV dish setups back in the day. Wireless headphones on the roof made it easier to install a dish than lugging a TV up there.

Otherwise, this seems like a pretty good receiver. Nice OSD and looks like it also has some nice switch options as well.

For me personally, there are 3 things that would make this the ideal receiver that I believe should be possible via firmware (no evidence, just my personal view):

1) Allow both motorized and fixed dish solutions: Enough said!
2) Import/export channel lists: Let me save it, back it up, edit, and load back on Eliminates the manual pid entry issue if it arises..
3) Network features!!! While not sure what it does now, make sure I can record to a remote drive. Don't need it to play DVDs or xvids, or youtube/hulu.....just LET ME STREAM FROM THIS BOX!!! If I can lock a Channel and stream the pids, then I don't care that it can't do 4.2.2 out of the box. Stream it to a device that can! If remote DVR storage is possible, then this should be too.

 

[Lak7]

One thing that I did notice is that you can't to a manual pid/channel entry

Correct, and we asked for that option

Does the receiver tell you if the TP or channel is DVB-S2?

No. It only give the basics: Freq, Pol, SR

There is a section on the menu under "other", that has "BER" on or off

Does nothing that I know of

 

[greg harris]

Ok guys if you had to order the receiver again would you? I'm expecting mine this week. Even without 4:2:2 seems like it will work ok for me. Maybe with future firmware it will gradually improve...let's hope anyway. Blind

I am expecting my receiver this week too, but right now I would not order this receiver today for many different reasons. Here is a partial list of my pros and cons for this unit, listed in my order of importance.

CONS:
(1) Extremely Poor firmware support.
(2) No TOSLINK port.
Looking at the published pictures of this receiver, there is no evidence of a TOSLINK port for digital ac3 audio. There is only a port for coaxial ac3. Other possible ac3 audio problems have been mentioned.
(3) Misleading information or discrepancies in the receiver's specs or notes.
The published pictures of the receiver show 450 milliamps MAX for the lnb, but the specs say 500 MAX. I wonder which value is correct?
"No 4:2:2 out of the box" is still listed in the receiver's notes. Hasn't it already been stated that this receiver will not do 4:2:2???
(4) No warranty information has been published.
(5) A complete owner's manual has not been published.

PROS:
(1) Sadoun is a well respected vendor that is located in the U.S.
(2) This receiver has some features that are appealing.
(3) Price.

Almost all of this receiver's problems that I have read about on the internet could probably be fixed by updating its firmware.This is a Linux based receiver so it should be fairly easy to find somebody here in the U.S. to fix it.

One other thing...
These receivers can be purchased at other places for less money. A Google search of Solomend shows Alibaba having them for $70-$85.00 if you buy at least 500 receivers and pay the needed fees to get them to your door. Most of us do not have 40K laying around for FTA receivers!!!
Other places on the internet have shown these same receivers at $150 per unit but you get hit pretty hard on shipping because it comes from overseas. This is probably not a good idea for most people because too many things can go wrong and you are not saving that much.

Hopefully things will get better, but this is not a good way to start a new product. Greg

 

[hd fan]

Scottc98 posted:

One last thing: There is a section on the menu under "other" (forgot the 1st menu) that has "BER" on or off. Assuming this is "Bit error rate" but does anyone know what it does? I turned it on and off and scanned but couldn't see anything different.

Do you see a change in the Quality values after BER on/off changes?

I am thinking maybe if BER is on , then the quality bar shows the exact value of BER instead of a mixed number that takes into consideration other factors as well. At least on my Birdog meter I think there is a setting that either shows quality as a value before of after BER or Error Correction is applied.

 

[crackt]

I am expecting my receiver this week too, but right now I would not order this receiver today for many different reasons. Here is a partial list of my pros and cons for this unit, listed in my order of importance.

CONS:
(1) Extremely Poor firmware support.
(2) No TOSLINK port.
Looking at the published pictures of this receiver, there is no evidence of a TOSLINK port for digital ac3 audio. There is only a port for coaxial ac3. Other possible ac3 audio problems have been mentioned.
(3) Misleading information or discrepancies in the receiver's specs or notes.
The published pictures of the receiver show 450 milliamps MAX for the lnb, but the specs say 500 MAX. I wonder which value is correct?
"No 4:2:2 out of the box" is still listed in the receiver's notes. Hasn't it already been stated that this receiver will not do 4:2:2???
(4) No warranty information has been published.
(5) A complete owner's manual has not been published.

PROS:
(1) Sadoun is a well respected vendor that is located in the U.S.
(2) This receiver has some features that are appealing.
(3) Price.

Almost all of this receiver's problems that I have read about on the internet could probably be fixed by updating its firmware.This is a Linux based receiver so it should be fairly easy to find somebody here in the U.S. to fix it.

One other thing...
These receivers can be purchased at other places for less money. A Google search of Solomend shows Alibaba having them for $70-$85.00 if you buy at least 500 receiver's and pay the needed fees to get them to your door. Most of us do not have 40K laying around for FTA receivers!!!
Other places on the internet have shown these same receivers at $150 per unit but you get hit pretty hard on shipping because it comes from overseas. This is probably not a good idea for most people because too many things can go wrong and you are not saving that much.

Hopefully things will get better, but this is not a good way to start a new product. Greg

another pro would be an extremely fast blind scan that is fairly accurate. i chose to buy an azbox elite and add this as my solution for the time being. from reading recent posts on the azbox premium plus the sathawk has its place slaved to my azbox elite. for sub 500 canadian it is going to be worth it. my only beef is pricey shipping from the us. but i have dealt with that for many moons. for 200 bucks what do you expect. i expect nothing more than my buggy coolsat 8.1k that has absolutely no support.

crackt out,.

 

[Mr Tony]

One other observation that I wasn't able to verify: Does the receiver tell you if the TP or channel is DVB-S2? Was only able to test on 97w which doesn't have any S2 tps, but for you with this receiver does it indicate FEC, pilot or just simply "S2"?

it does not indicate if its S2 or DVB-S

on the positive you dont need FEC, pilot etc...just load the TP like a DVB-S one

 

[qwert1515]

1) It can not Control a Motor and Switch at the same time. In the Setup Menu, you must choose Fixed or Motor

What happens if you have a switch connected after a motor and you select "Motor" ?
Would the receiver control the motor and only work with the switch's port 1? Or would it not work at all?

 

[Mr Tony]

when you select "motor" it completelly nukes all the settings in fixed dish

the only option is "motor setup" where you select a LNB LO and set up the DIseqc 1.2 or USALS. SO in motorized you only get one LNB LO (10750, 9750/10600, etc) you cant mix and match

 

[crackt]

when you select "motor" it completelly nukes all the settings in fixed dish

the only option is "motor setup" where you select a LNB LO and set up the DIseqc 1.2 or USALS. SO in motorized you only get one LNB LO (10750, 9750/10600, etc) you cant mix and match

mr. berg. can you test if the diseqc settings are residual or if it defaults to port 1 when a motor setting is selected ? some recievers will keep a diseqc switch port attached when settings are changed and saved and some will revert to port 1. i really need to test this reciever but its not on my purchase list for a week or so. sadoun is gonna hit me up for some shipping. i really need a partner in ND i can ship stuff too and pick it up.

crackt out,.

 

[qwert1515]

when you select "motor" it completelly nukes all the settings in fixed dish

the only option is "motor setup" where you select a LNB LO and set up the DIseqc 1.2 or USALS. SO in motorized you only get one LNB LO (10750, 9750/10600, etc) you cant mix and match

No, I mean what would happen if you have a motor and switch with many LNBs connected and you use this receiver with the "motor" option?
Would the receiver use the LNB connected to port 1 or would the receiver just move the motor and not be able to find/use any of the LNBs?

EDIT: I think Crackt and I have the same question.

Thanks.

 

[Mr Tony]

mr. berg. can you test if the diseqc settings are residual or if it defaults to port 1 when a motor setting is selected ? some recievers will keep a diseqc switch port attached when settings are changed and saved and some will revert to port 1. i really need to test this reciever but its not on my purchase list for a week or so. sadoun is gonna hit me up for some shipping. i really need a partner in ND i can ship stuff too and pick it up.

crackt out,.

I have a 4x4 switch hooked up to mine (KU on 0k and DBS on 22k) but it always defaults to the 0k side in motorized. I cannot turn on the 22k in the motorized settings...only the fixed dish setup

 

[Mr Tony]

No, I mean what would happen if you have a motor and switch with many LNBs connected and you use this receiver with the "motor" option?
Would the receiver use the LNB connected to port 1 or would the receiver just move the motor and not be able to find/use any of the LNBs?

EDIT: I think Crackt and I have the same question.

Thanks.

I do not have a diseqc switch so I dont know but assuming it defaults to port 1. Hope someone that had a diseqc setup can clarify

when you select motor you are pretty much limited to what you can work with

 

[qwert1515]

So the receiver will allow you to have a switch after the motor and it will be able to use a LNB connected to port 1 with 22KHz off.

EDIT - Answered Above.

I do not have a diseqc switch so I dont know but assuming it defaults to port 1.

 

[Mr Tony]

yes

any switches between the motor and LNB's are pretty much set to the default settings when you select "motor"

so it would be port 1 22k off as you noted

 

[crackt]

thank you iceberg for trying. i am still hyped about this reciever becuz of its blindscan. i only want to slave it off an azbox elite. and in that scenario its motor settings dont mean anything. thanks again

crackt out,.

 

[Mr Tony]

The blindscan is very good....only drawback of it is the low symbol rates it never seems to grab.
Anything below 2500 for sure it wont grab on a blind scan...I havent seen much below 3000 though

 

[Jim S.]

Oh yeah...might not be a biggie to some people but I like that you can enable "beep" for setting up a sat. All my FTA receivers don't have this and I kinda missed this from my Dishnetwork/BEV dish setups back in the day. Wireless headphones on the roof made it easier to install a dish than lugging a TV up there

At what point does it beep? I've always had mine set to beep, and it's never beeped.

 

[qwert1515]

The blindscan is very good....only drawback of it is the low symbol rates it never seems to grab.
Anything below 2500 for sure it wont grab on a blind scan...I havent seen much below 3000 though

Have you been able to find DVB-S2 feeds with a symbol rate around 2800?

I can PM you a location if you have not found any yet.

 

[Mr Tony]

PM it to me...I dont remember honestly