04-05 - TELE-satellite International Magazine

filled it is worthwhile looking
at the settings menu: Here
you can choose your favourite
OSD language (German,
English and Italian are currently
available), the directory
for recordings and the
time shift buffer, you can
define whether recordings
exceeding a certain size
should be divided into several
files and select the used
hardware components. Even
a dedicated codec can be
selected manually for each
supported output format,
unless you decide to let the
FireDTV Viewer take care of
this by activating the ‘auto’
mode.
Whenever you tune into
a new channel the software
displays an info bar in the
lower screen area. It shows
EPG information relating
to the current event if the
channel provides this data.
Switching channels takes
approximately one second,
which is fairly impressive for
a PC solution.
The channel list that pops
up in the right screen area
can easily be sorted, edited
and adjusted to personal
preferences. You can sort
and display channels alphabetically,
according to providers,
frequency or satellite
and you can blank out either
TV, radio or encrypted channels.
Channels you never watch
can be deleted while channels
you watch on a regular
basis can be moved into a
favourites list. Another feature
we really appreciated is
the search mode which you
can use to find even channels
that are hidden way down the
channel list.
Simply press the EPG
button in the status bar to
open the cleverly laid out
EPG that displays information
for up to a week in advance,
if provided for the selected
channel. Naturally you can
mark EPG entries for recording
with a simple touch of a
button – we would not have
expected anything less for a
premium product anyway.
In case no EPG data are
available for certain channels
it is of course just as well
possible to create manual
timer entries or edit existing
entries through a dedicated
timer menu. The integrated
teletext decoder rounds off
the fine overall impression of
the FireDTV Viewer. Like all
other features, it performed
flawlessly during our test.
TELE-satellite tests the
reception capabilities of all
receivers that make it to our
lab, and the FireDTV was no
exception. It performed well
and was able to also pull in
weaker signals from NILESAT
7° West or EXPRESS AM1 40°
East with ease. The tuner
also did a good job with SCPC
signals and created a steady
signal with symbol rates of 2
MS/s and above. Only when
the symbol rate was just 1
MS/s from EUTELSAT SESAT
36° East did the FloppyDTV
not pass the test.
H.264 HDTV reception was
not a problem with our test
PC and we were able to run
other applications next to the
TV window without noticeable
limitations. But what
about older systems?
We stumbled across an old
Pentium IV PC in our basement
and revived it to check
how the FloppyDTV works with
less state-of-the-art PC hardware.
The result was far better
than what we had anticipated:
While it came as no surprise
that SDTV reception worked
brilliantly, we found that even
HDTV reception was possible,
albeit with some frozen
Selection of different codecs
+
The FloppyDTV card is an extremely versatile
and powerful extension to your existing
PC at home. It allows storing and editing TV
and radio contents directly on your hard disk.
The FireDTV Viewer also performed very well
during our test and stands out thanks to its
TECHNIC
DATA
Distributor DVB Shop Network and Television GmbH
D-04509 Neukyhna OT Pohritzsch, Germany
Email webmaster@dvbshop.net
Website www.dvbshop.net
Tel +49 (0) 34954/31960 (Mo-Thu 13:00-17:00)
Fax +49 (0) 34954/49233
Model FloppyDTV
Thomas Haring
TELE-satellite
Test Center
Austria
Function Internal PC Card for the reception of SD and HD content via
DVB-S/2 using FireWire connector
Channel memory unlimited
Satellites 153
Symbol rates 2-45 Ms/sec.
SCPC compatible yes (tested > 2 MS/s)
USALS yes
DiSEqC 1.0, 1.2, 1.3
EPG yes
C/Ku-Band compatible yes
frames every once in a while
and no way of working with
other applications simultaneously
as the processor was
really pushed to the limits with
HDTV viewing.
This proved once more
that HDTV solutions for PCs
require an enormous amount
of processing power as well
Expert Opinion
ease of use.
-
DiSEqC 1.1 switches are not supported and editing the prestored
satellite and transponder lists is rather cumbersome.
as an equally capable graphics
board.
Thanks to decreasing prices
for hardware components
and technological progress,
however, most modern home
PCs can be expected to meet
these requirements and
should be a perfect match for
the FloppyDTV card.
www.TELE-satellite.com — 04-05/2009 — TELE-satellite & Broadband
41