AMIKO Amiko MINI HD se observations.

[KE4EST]

You gotta be faster!!

 

[Cosmo Blatz]

Thanks Mr. T!!!
I've done the red button thing sitting on the couch, but not when tuning the dish. Why is that...n~e~v~e~r m~i~n~d.

 

[egnard]

egnard How is it coming along with your Mini HD SE?

I haven't noticed the clock reset again, maybe one more time after I did my test. It has missed some recording events, but getting mostly all. I may have worked around a weak signal issue by adding additional timing events which tune into the channel a few minutes prior to recording event. (I figured the channel would be tuned in before the unit tried to record.) And I noticed a daily recording event was deleted from the timer list, I re-entered it, but only yesterday, so I'll see how that works out.

I also noticed that regardless of whether I designate that the receiver go into "standby" after the event in the timer program, the unit always shuts down. (I thought that by leaving the unit on it might avoid the clock reset, but that may not be an issue now.)

 

[egnard]

I haven't noticed the clock reset again, maybe one more time after I did my test. It has missed some recording events, but getting mostly all. I may have worked around a weak signal issue by adding additional timing events which tune into the channel a few minutes prior to recording event. (I figured the channel would be tuned in before the unit tried to record.) And I noticed a daily recording event was deleted from the timer list, I re-entered it, but only yesterday, so I'll see how that works out.

I also noticed that regardless of whether I designate that the receiver go into "standby" after the event in the timer program, the unit always shuts down. (I thought that by leaving the unit on it might avoid the clock reset, but that may not be an issue now.)

An update/question on the loss of timer issue: the manual (section 11.5) mentions 8 timers. Anybody know about this? The menu in my unit has 16, and more depending on how it's operated. Since I live in eastern time zone I use many timers to catch western feeds. Maybe I am loosing timers because I "overbook" (?).

 

[KE4EST]

You know I did not even think of that before, but yes that could be a problem. There are only 8 timers. New firmware should be out in a couple of weeks or so that has expanded that to 20.

 

[egnard]

You know I did not even think of that before, but yes that could be a problem. There are only 8 timers. New firmware should be out in a couple of weeks or so that has expanded that to 20.

Actually, mine lists 20, so I probably already have the update, 2.0.91.

 

[spongella]

Just got my Mini HD SE today, from Michael's company, unboxed it, lots of accessories, manual well written. Watched the videos first and did the file backup as per his instructions, then hooked it up to my motorized Ku band dish. Was using a Manhattan 1933 prior to arrival of the little Mini HD, and the Mini blows the Manhattan away, it gets channels that the Manhattan could not get such as those on Satmex 5 and 6. Also gets more stations on Hispasat that the Manhattan was missing. I use a Universal LNB and the scans are super fast, never realized how slow all the past receivers of mine were; the Mini scans at an amazing rate, and does not miss any channels either.

Like the ability to see three columns of channels on the OSD; no need to scroll up and down so much. Editing/adding TP's a breeze. Deleting, sorting channels a breeze. The remote has lots of buttons with tons of options. Like the diminutive size of the Amiko, about 1/4 size of the Manhattan, and you can hide it behind the TV set and use the included IR extendable cable. An HDMI cable is included, another plus, no need to run off and spend extra $ for a cable. Like the fact that it shows you which programs are in HD too.

Since the Amiko worked so superior to my Manhattan I decided to see how it would perform on C band with that 4 foot dish I crafted, and the Amiko again worked superior to the Manhattan. Now I get about twice the number of channels on 99W! Of course, having the Titanium C band LNB also helped. Now it's back to the drawing board, so I will check out all the C band channels I can get with the new Amiko. In retrospect I wish I'd purchased the Amiko much sooner instead of waiting and hanging on to my old STB.

This is the best STB I've used so far. Nothing not to like about it. Good price, good vendor (thanks Michael), super-fast shipping, great product and a good Amiko website with lots of information; gives one a sense of security. Lots of YouTube videos also to see how others are using this little gem.

Highly recommended, A+++ in my book.

 

[fred555]

I just got my second one today! Thanks Michael!

 

[KE4EST]

Glad to hear you are guys are so pleased with your purchase. It is a great little receiver.

 

[egnard]

Mine has reset the time twice since my last post which apparently happens when it starts up to record a program. And still misses one some recordings for some reason, it seems the dish doesn't get to sattelite location quick enough. Other times it does work for the same program.

 

[primestar31]

With the MicroHD, I set 1 minute in between back to back timers to help "pad" the time. Are you doing that with this receiver? I also have my time set to Manual, and never let it turn off or sleep. Depending on your dishes moving speed between the sats you are recording, you might have to set more pad time.

 

[N6BY]

YouTube no longer works on my Mini HD SE. And I understand that this is due to changes Google made with the YouTube API. Will the Mini HD ever be updated to support the new YouTube API?

Also, the MiniHD SE is the only device that doesn't work with my Yamaha RX-V473. (Yes, I triple checked the cable, swapped it, tried all settings, etc.). And all my other devices work fine with the Yamaha, including the $39 X2 Premium Mini and and Micro HD (before I sold it). Any possibility of getting that fixed? If not, then I will probably get rid of it.

 

[KE4EST]

YouTube is working fine on two of my personal Minis that I have here using the latest NA firmware 2.0.38 and a beta firmware I am testing. I know that some devices don't work now because of Google changes, but glad to report the Minis are working fine for now on YouTube. I do have a request in to the factory to hear what and if any firmware changes will need to be made in the near future because of this.
On your Yamaha N6BY not sure why the Mini will not work with it while the microHD will, being that they are both running Ali chip-sets. Any how since the Yamaha RX-V473 is discontinued there likely will not be any firmware fix for this. They said it is very hard to test the hundreds of different HDMI devices to make sure of compatibility, especially something that is no longer made.

 

[primestar31]

Perhaps the Mini HD is only putting out PCM audio, and the Yamaha receiver is expecting Dolby?

 

[N6BY]

You know I did not even think of that before, but yes that could be a problem. There are only 8 timers. New firmware should be out in a couple of weeks or so that has expanded that to 20.

Actually, mine lists 20, so I probably already have the update, 2.0.91.

Mine still lists 8 timers. I have 2.0.38 firmware. What does it say in your 'Information' screen after 'S/W VERSION' ?

Perhaps the Mini HD is only putting out PCM audio, and the Yamaha receiver is expecting Dolby?

The audio works. The problem is no video if the Yamaha is on before the Mini is turned on.

 

[egnard]

With the MicroHD, I set 1 minute in between back to back timers to help "pad" the time. Are you doing that with this receiver? I also have my time set to Manual, and never let it turn off or sleep. Depending on your dishes moving speed between the sats you are recording, you might have to set more pad time.

Nope, that's not it. I think I posted earlier in this thread how I got the reciever to miss the recording due to dish moving. I've also seen that the clock has reset at least twice when recording through midnight. Once it stopped the recording, another it recorded the program successfully, but the dates had reset to 2005 or something.

Actually, what bugs me more than this is the lack of closed caption. It's pretty hard to for me follow some of the BBC mysteries with Irish or Scottish accents. Anybody have a solution for this?

 

[Cosmo Blatz]

Possible software changes?

Would it be possible to have the time bar stay on the screen the entire time the DVR is in FWD or REV. (Rater than having it go off the screen after a few seconds.) If there is a reason the bar has to go off please explain. Comments????

Also, is there a way to get a 'jump ahead' feature for the DVR. Something like...push the red button and the DVR jumps ahead 30 seconds each time the red button is depressed. Skipping commercials is a real pain using the existing commands (x2,x4,x8).

EDIT: Take me out and shoot me. I JUST discovered the TIME button! LoL! (I heard somewhere there's a manual for this thing!) Still, how about the 'jump ahead' feature? Please don't tell THAT is already in there too! Noticed that the time bar still goes off by itself and you have to keep hitting the 'time' button. It would be more convenient to just have the time bar stay on constantly during FWD and REV.

 

[primestar31]

Actually, what bugs me more than this is the lack of closed caption. It's pretty hard to for me follow some of the BBC mysteries with Irish or Scottish accents. Anybody have a solution for this?

ONLY the SatAv MicroHD receiver has close-caption capability as far as I know. At least it was the first to get it, 3 years ago. It works very well, and nearly every program has CC.

 

[FaT Air]

Something like...push the red button and the DVR jumps ahead 30 seconds

Hit the play button to show the progress bar. Then push the left/right button (beside the round center button) ((from memory))

 

[Cosmo Blatz]

Hit the play button to show the progress bar. Then push the left/right button (beside the round center button) ((from memory))

A useful feature, but the jump ahead is way more than required for a normal commercial break.