I have previously reviewed VideoStrong K1 Plus Android TV box, but the company also has another model with the exact same name “K1 Plus” that includes a combo DVB-S2 & DVB-T2 tuner. That’s rather confusing, but nevertheless, since I now have the tuner version of the device, I’ve installed the latest firmware, started to play with it, and today I’ll explain how to configure DTV app for both satellite and terrestrial digital TV reception. Hardware Setup and DTV App The first step is to connect both your satellite dish and indoor or outdoor TV antenna to the device, as well as all necesarry cables, and possibly a USB hard drive if you want to use PVR function. Now go to the list of apps start DTV app, or press the DTV button on the remote control. Each time the app starts you’ll be asked to select DVBT2 or DVBS2, and […]
Winsat V8 Angel Android Set-top Box Supports Satellite, Terrestrial and Cable Television
A few years ago, there were only a few Android TV boxes with digital TV tuners, but in the last year, more and more models have been coming to market. Winsat, aka Yuwhua Technology Limited, has been making satellite, terrestrial, and cable TV receivers for several years, but their latest V8 Angel model runs Android 4.4, and supports DVB-S2, DVB-T2 and DVB-C. The company has not provided a complete list of specifications, and the processor, memory and storage are unspecified, but here’s what we do know: Video Output – HDMI and AV Audio Output – HDMI, AV, and optical S/PDIF Tuners – DVB-S2, DVB-T2, and DVB-C support via LNB IN and RF IN antenna connectors Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, Bluetooth, and WiFi USB – 2x USB host ports Misc – Mechanical power switch, frontal panel LCD display Power Supply – 12V Dimensions – 156 x 92 x 26 mm The […]
WeTek Play Now Supports OpenPLi Open Source Linux Distribution for DVB Receivers
WeTek Play satellite receiver was initially launched with Android and OpenELEC support, but the community started to provide other operating systems such as Ubuntu, Elementary OS, Lakka and Enigma 2, and the hardware is even used to receive educational materials or emergency info via satellite thanks to Outernet project. The device now support OpenPLi Linux based distributions for DVB receivers. If you want to try, you can download one of the latest images of OpenPLi for WeTek Play by loading the firmware onto an SD card. Bear in mind that official has just started so some features may not be implemented, and OpenPLi documentation specific to WeTek Play is basically inexistent. Support is available on the forums. If you want to get an idea about what OpenPLi is capable, you may however check out th list of specific features in the wiki, including PLi Movieplayer to allow you to playback […]
EyeTV NetStream Streams Free-to-Air Digital TV to Any Devices at Home
A few months ago, I wrote about TBS AMD Moi Pro streaming server supporting up to 16 tuners and mostly targeting businesses, but I’ve also found out there are some consumers solutions such as Elgato EyeTV NetStream 4Sat that includes four antenna inputs for your satellite dish (DVB-S2/S), and the ability to stream live TV to any devices, using hardware video transcoding if need be, for example to Android or iOS smartphones. Versions with DVB-T2 and ATSC will soon be available. EyeTV NetStream 4Sat specifications: Tuners 4x satellite inputs: F connector for RG-6/U coaxial satellite cable DVB-S2 / DVB-S Digital Universal LNB: Single, Twin/Dual, Quad or Quattro Unicable Integrated multiswitch DiSEqC 1.0 Connectivity – Gigabit Ethernet USB – 2x USB 2.0 host ports Misc – Reset button, power switch Power Supply – DC 12V 3A Dimensions – 25 x 12.6 x 4.1 cm (suitable for wall-mounting) Weight – 806 grams […]
Specs, Unboxing and Teardown of KI Plus Android TV Box with DVB-T2/S2 Combo Tuner
If you’ve been following this blog, you must now that I reviewed K1 Plus Android TV box based on Amlogic S905 processor a little while ago. Videostrong has sent me yet another K1 Plus device, except this time it is an Android receiver with a tuner card supporting both satellite (DVB-S/S2) and terrestrial (DVB-T/T2) reception. Today, I’ll list the specs, take a few pictures of the device, before checking out the tuner board. K1 Plus Android DTV receiver specifications The specifications are exactly the same as the TV box, except for the added tuner: SoC – Amlogic S905 quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ up to 2.0GHz with penta-core Mali-450MP GPU @ 750 MHz System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 8GB NAND flash (4 to 32GB optional) + micro SD card slot Video Output – HDMI 2.0 up to 4K @ 60Hz with HDCP 2.2 support, and 3.5mm AV jack […]
Outernet Shares Knowledge via their Lighthouse Satellite Receiver
While many of us take Internet access for granted, about 60% of the world population did not have access to Internet at the end of 2014, and Outernet initiative aims to provide educational, emergency, and news content to this segment of the population, which still represents the majority, at a rate of 1GB per day via a satellite receiver called Lighthouse. Let’s check the hardware first: SoC – Amlogic AML8726-MX dual core Cortex A9 @ 1.5GHz with Mali-400MP GPU System Memory – 1GB DDR3 Storage – 4 GB NAND flash + 1x micro SD slot Video Output – HDMI, AV (CVBS + R/L audio) Audio Output – HDMI, AV, and optical S/PDIF Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi with up to 5 clients Tuner – DVB-S2 tuner with two antenna connectors (only one used) USB – 3x external USB 2.0 ports, 2x internal USB 2.0 ports (used) Misc – […]
WeTek Play Giveaway with DVB-S2 or DVB-C/T/T2 Tuner
WeTek Play is dual core set-top box officially supporting Android 4.4 and OpenELEC 5.0, and with support for several other Android or Linux distributions. I’ve recently written an updated review of WeTek Play with the latest Android 4.4 firmware, and it’s a pretty good device to watch Live TV either from the Internet via WeCloud Antenna app with over 180 free-to-air channels, or from satellite, cable or terrestrial TV thanks to the DVB-S2 or DVB-C/T/T2 tuner included in the box. EPG, PVR and timeshifting functions are all working very well, except some display issues with Asian languages. The company proposed to give away two WeTek Play STB to CNX Software readers. My model comes with a DVB-S2 tuner, but winners will be able to chose either DVB-S2 or DVB-C/T/T2 tuner as per their preference. Here’s what you have to do to enter the contest, and some terms and conditions: To […]
WeTek Play Review with Android 4.2.2 Firmware v1.1.1
I had already reviewed WeTek Play Android DVB-S2 STB this summer, but at the time it was still an early sample, so the company asked me to review it again with the latest firmware that includes bug fixes and new features such as WeCloud Antenna IPTV service with over 180 Live TV channels, now that they’ve officially launched WeTek Play with either a DVB-S2 tuner as in my sample, a DVB-T/T2/C tuner, or no tuner at all. You can find pictures of WeTek Play in my unboxing post. As usual the review will include my first impressions, video testing, and various benchmark, but I’ll also have sections for WeCloud Antenna Live TV over IP service, and WeTek Theater for live TV from my satellite dish. OTA Firmware Update But first of all, I’ll test OTA firmware update, as many companies claim to support OTA updates, but you often end up […]