[07:53 UTC]
[Sun, 19 May 2024]
|
Hardware Reviews
|
Editorial Review [04 February 2002]
| | |
GbSat 2CI 20 - The Time Shifter (Page 3 of 6)
More setup
|
 The
GbSat 2Ci 20 comes pre-programmed with almost all the stations available
at the time of sale, so in most cases this is a "straight out of
the box" satellite solution and nothing more than channel organizing
is necessary. Obviously we wouldn't be ourselves if we didn't fiddle with
channel scan anyway.
There are two types of searches you can opt for - "Scan satellite"
and "Scan transponder". The first one allows a user to pick
up to 32 satellites at once and would be equivalent to an automatic search
while the latter is a precise tool for the manual selection.
|
|
 The
"automatic" search is very quick, slightly above 10 minutes
for both Astra and Hotbird, (that's way over 1000 channels). While breaking
speed records the search is also effective, picking almost everything
there is available on transponders including Internet data and non-standard
format, like video pids of interactive channels.
Neither of the search features however automatically pick up some of
the SCPC channels. Although, as we soon found out, it does NOT mean that
the receiver is not capable of SCPC reception.
|
 The
user can force the receiver to accept channel settings by manually entering
video and audio PID (in either decimal or hex form). The receiver will then
without further fuss store our program as "User Channel" and if
all the settings were correct there should be no problem whatsoever viewing
SCPC channels. Although this little bug in search should be fixed, forcing
an entry in the list by entering pids might come in useful when storing
feed channels of static PID values… |
|
Off to channel properties menu:
 The
first submenu leads to Channel Properties, which is a simplified option
to add channels to either of three Favourites or lock the channels with
parental key. It has a very clean and easy to follow layout with a picture
in picture window in the corner seamlessly following the channels as we
proceed with changes. Painless.
|
 Next
submenu to visit - Edit Channels is just as painless and cheerful - three
options, delete, move and rename, scrolling list, two fast scrolling buttons
on remote. Again, like in most receivers these days users can not simply
enter channel number from numeric keys on remote in "move" mode
but scroll through the long list for each and every entry to be moved instead. |
 An
interesting option in the User Preference menu is Uninstall Satellite.
At first we were expecting some tricky function hidden behind it, but
it actually does "what it says on the tin" - uninstalls satellite
entries. If the tree in your neighbour's garden doesn't give you a clear
view on Nilesat or perhaps you just can't stand those unfriendly channels
from Rupert M. on Astra 2? Get rid of them - bah, ka pow - all in one
go, make some space on the list for endless count of temporary feeds @
PAS. ;)
|
 The
Edit Satellite menu is a nice one - you can add custom satellites, edit
them or throw in extra transponders. That is if the birds on Clarke's Belt
migrate or multiply with time, because this box has the list of them as
long as Dostoyevski's War and Peace. There is absolutely everything the
human race ever launched, left or lost in space including meteo stations
and dancing flybys of a past era like Gorizon. All together there are over
100 satellites all packed with any transponder digital signal that was ever
transmitted. |
Last but not least in this part of the review is the CI info menu - clean
and fully transparent to CI CAMs also features OS and hardware version
info.
|
| | |
|
|
|
|
[User Hardware]
Tell us about your receiver.
Help others make a right choice!
Submit short
User Review.
We'll make new database for 2012
|
|
[ Forum Stats ]
8 forums
368 topics
1910 posts
2103 registered users
[ Usenet stats ]
361778 posts
18564 topics
1 guest
1 member
reading forum right now..
Register Now!
|
|
|
:]
:]