The Official N2News Conaxsat Nano Review

“It’s all about the file dates” is the first thing that I heard from a sales person at Conaxsat.   When I took a look for myself, I found something interesting I thought I would share with my readers.   The Conaxsat receivers have a track record of impressively long stretches of uptime and are always in the front of the pack when it comes to new bin files.    For TV lovers there is little else that matters sometimes, but the Nano also has an impressive list of features.

First, the Nano shares the same code system as the rest of the Conaxsat products.  This means that the coders have less work to do and get patches out quicker.   Updates are easily done through a usb key system.

The CNX Nano, along with all CNX receivers are priced around the same as similar receivers with similar features.    The PVR function is basic but workable.   If you are a heavy PVR user you’ll certainly want to avoid the Nano product as the pvr is really as basic as it gets.   

The Nano excels in two areas when compared to other receivers.   First is the video decoding chip.  The picture produced from the system is clearly better than other units.     It’s hard to put your finger on it exactly but when you see the picture, it just looks better.    The receiver also has a blinding blind search function that can scan an entire satellite in about 2 minutes.

Warranty and support seem to be pretty good as well.   Tech support in the US was difficult to reach but the Canadian contacts make up for that.     The Conasat Nano looks like your average set top box although it does have a lot of lights which Sammy finds annoying but it won’t both most people.

People in know claim to have a plan for the N3 card swap currently underway if this affects your buying decision.    Like the other teams, their plan isn’t well known or tested yet.  

For the price, around $130 USD street, the receiver may be worth looking at if you don’t like the idea of using an IKS receiver.

Features from the manufacturer:

• Upgrade Software & Update Channel Database through USB Port and RS232
• MPEG-II Digital & Fully DVB Compliant.
• C/KU band control for each antenna
• LNB Tone Switch 22KHz mode on/off’
• Multi-LNB controlled by DiSeqC =>DiSEqC 1.0, 1.2 and USALS
• Total 5,000 Channels Programmable
• Blind Scan
• Smart Card Reader(Optional)
• Picture In Graphic (PIG)
• Electronic Program Guide (EPG) for On Screen Channel Information
• Multi-language supported for Menu and OSD
• Zoom Function by 2x..4x
• Parental Lock
• Closed Caption Support
• Dolby Digital Bitstream Out through S/PDIF
• CVBS Video & Audio Output via RCA
• Component Y/Pb/Pr Output via RCA
• S-Video Output
• MP3/JPEG File Play via USB Port
• 7-Segment(4-digit) Type of Front Panel Display
• SMART CARD(Optional) 1 Slot: ISO 7816, GSM11.11 and EMV (payment systems) compatibility

Tuner & Channel

• Type 1 × F Type, IEC169-24, Female
• Frequency Range 950MHz to 2150MHz
• RF Impedance 75 Ohm unbanlanced
• Signal Level -65 to -25 dBm
• LNB Power 13.5/18.5Vdc +/- 5%, 0.5Amax, Overload Protected
• 22KHz Tone Frequency : 22KHz +/- 2KHz, 0.6Vpp +/- 0.2V
• DiSEqC Control Version1.0, 1.2, Tone burst A/B
• Demodulation QPSK
• Input Symbol Rate 2~45 Ms/s, SCPC/MCPC
• FEC Decoder Convolution Code Rate 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 5/6 and 7/8 With Constraint Length K = 7

System & Memory

• Main Processor 32-bit ARM946 RISC Processor
• Flash Memory 2 Mbytes
• System Memory 32 Mbytes
• Channel Capacity Digital Channel: 5,000
• Front 7-segment Display (4 digit)

MPEG Transport Stream & A/V Decoding

• Transport Stream MPEG-2 ISO/IEC 13818 Transport Stream Specification
• Profile Level MPEG-2 MP@ML
• Input Rate Max. 90Mbit/s
• Aspect Ratio 4:3, 16:9, Letter Box
• Frame Rate 25Hz for PAL, 30Hz for NTSC
• Video Resolution 720×576(PAL), 720×480(NTSC)
• Teletext Through VBI
• Audio Decoding MPEG/MusiCam Layer I & II
• Audio Mode Single Channel/Dual Channel Joint Stereo/Stereo
• Frequency Response 20~20kHz, <+/-2dB; 60Hz ~ 18kHz <+/- 0.5dB
• Sampling Rate 32, 44.1, 48KHz

A/V & Date In/Out

• RCA Output CVBS, L, R Output(Yellow, White, Red Jack) with Volume Control
• Component Video(YPbPr) Out
• S-VHS Output 4 Pin Mini
• SPDIF Dolby Digital Bitstream Out(Coaxal, Optical)
• Data Interface - RS-232, Bit Rate: 115,200baud
• Connector: 9-pin D-sub Male type
• USB: Type A Connector

RF Modulator

• RF-Connector 75 ohm F-Type
• Frequency Range VHF CH3, CH4
• TV Standard NTSC
• Audio Output Mono with Volume Control

Power Supply

• Input Voltage AC 90V ~ 250V, 50Hz ~ 60Hz
• Power Consumption Max 30W
• Standby Power Consumption <= 10W
• Protection Separate Internal Fuse

Physical Specification

• Size(WxHxD) 260mm x 50mm x205mm
• Weight 1.4 KG

Environmental Condition

• Operating Temperature 0 °C ~ 40 °C
• Storage Temperature -10 °C ~ 50 °C
• Operating Humidity Range 10~85% RH, Non-condensing
•  Storage Humidity Range 5~90% RH, Non-condensing

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Connecting your TV to your Receiver

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by Sammy Satellite. – Staff Writer for n2news

Here’s a great review of one of the receivers on the market gaining popularity the fastest.  The brand new release from Sonicview, the 360 Elite and Premier.

Complete feature list:

Sonicview FTA Receivers

* Fully MPEG-2 & DVB-S Supported
* Blind Scan Supported
* 2 USB 2.0 Ports for External HDD and USB Memory Stick
* S/PDIF for Digital Audio / Dolby AC-3 Bitstream Output
* RCA and Components Outputs : Y, Pb, Pr
* S-Video Output
* USAL Supported
* 16 Bit (65,536) Colors & User Friendly GUI for Easy Control
* Fast Booting and Scan Speed
* Signal & Multi-Satellite Auto Scan
* Manual Scan Supported
* High Speed Channel Changing Time
* 6,000 Channel Memory Capacity for TV and Radio Programs
* 8 Programmable Favorite Channel List Groups
* Channel Sorting by FTA, CAS, Satellite, Alphabetical and Network
* Picture in Graphic Available
* Software Downloading with Serial Port and or USB 2.0 Port
* Zoom In / Out function for TV
* Various Aspect Ratio with 4:3, Letter Box, Full Screen & 16:9
* Background Graphic Display for Radio Program Channels
* Parental Lock Function Using Master PIN Code
* 20 Step Volume Control
* Useful Remote Key Functions
* Record, Playback and Time Shift Supported Using External HDD
* Powerful Trick Mode Supported Using External HDD
* Music and Photo File Supported

This is the Sonicview SV-360 Elite

The Sonicview 360 Premier is an excellent receiver that is widely available around $130.00 making it the top receiver in the budget or entry level category.

The Sonicview 360 comes in three models and each includes the basic A/V cables, serial cable, diseqcs, and a remote. The back contains a simple but sufficient set of connectors to hookup your TV and glossy glass front will look great in your living room.

The Premier edition is a single tuner basic system and should be passed in favor of the Elite edition. For a few dollars more you get a second tuner pvr system that is hard to beat. The dual tuner system will allow you to watch one show and record another or use Picture in Picture to watch both.

The EPG (Electronic Programming Guide) looks very nice but displays only 3 hours of information for 7 channels at a time. If you like to surf around you may not be happy with the guide.

The PVR is very basic. If you’re a Tivo® fan you may be disappointed. Sammy found the video to be a bit jerky during playback, especially from a cheaper drive.

The Good: Slick looks and classy style. Simple menu system. Very well supported by Team Sonicview (possibly the best supported unit around). PVR features. Dual Tuner PVR for under $200. Three USB ports allow a lot of external storage and room to upgrade. A nice “Theme” based list of what is on TV.

The Bad: The remote is low end and should be replaced with a nicer universal remote such as the Unifier or Harmony. There is no automated setup wizard so you’ll have to read online guides unless you are a little more experienced. The satellite scan is very slow. PVR video playback could be improved.

The Ugly: There really isn’t anything really bad you can say about a dual tuner PVR from one of the best FTA companies out there. The Sonicview 360 Elite is a great deal for the money. If you’re looking for an HD unit, skip the 360 and go for the SV-HD8000 instead.

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• Do you have an LCD (thin and flat) TV that is larger than 25”? If so, a receiver that supports OTA (OVER-THE-AIR) ATSC HDTV is worth the investment. Look at the Viewsat 9000 HD, Captiveworks CW-800S PVR, Pansat 9200 HD, and the Sonicview HDTV models.

• Are you looking for a multi-media center that can play your MP3 files and show slideshows? Newer receivers with a front USB port generally let you plug and play with your music and pictures. The Captiveworks 800s will even play movies you are able to put on a USB drive.

• If you are new to FTA and you have a Wireless Internet configured in your home, consider a receiver from Nova combined with a WiFi bridge. The unit is simple and easy to operate and will keep you up and running all by itself. The Nova nFusion is a low cost simple introduction to the world of FTA.

• If you are installing the device in a mobile home, RV, or fifth wheel, look for a higher quality receiver from a manufacturer with a solid reputation such as the Sonicview 360 series. When you are mobile you’ll want a nice PVR for the times when no signal is available and you’ll want a unit that supports a rotation device as well as an external ATSC (local broadcast) digital antenna.

• A PVR is essential but if you really love your TV make sure you look at how the PVR works. Does it require a computer such as the nFusion or does it work with an External HD (Hard Drive)? If you want to watch a show and record a different show you’ll need a unit with a Dual Tuner.

• Are you adventurous? Consider a PC Card or USB Device such as the Nexus-S. These cards plug into your PC and use software to play FTA TV. Software has come a long way and can do some amazing things but requires a lot of trial and error to get it configuration and isn’t for the novice.

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A Guide to FTA Receiver - Part 2

by Sammy Satellite. – Staff Writer for n2news

In part 1 of this series we looked at what general features make FTA receiver models different.  In part 2 we’re going to look at specific FTA receivers that are all a good entry into the FTA hobby.   With dozens of models on the market it is important to find one that fits your exact needs.

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I know that owning a free to air receiver can be a pretty overwhelming and confusing situation at first. There’s so many different terms and words you’ve probably never heard before. Example: FTA, Autoroll, Nagra, firmware, software, flash cards, loaders, receivers, and many more. Hopefully after reading this article you’ll have a much better understanding of all of these words and you’ll be able to more knowledgeably navigate yourself through the setup or installation of your home Free to Air satellite TV system. Please keep in mind that I am going to keep this article as simple as possible. Free to Air satellite TV isn’t as easy as it sounds. Testing with FTA requires one to research and read up because FTA isn’t always fun. Sometimes it can be a very frustrating experience. So, before getting yourself a free to air receiver make sure you read as much on the subject as humanly possible because it will make the road to satellite TV much less bumpy for you. Alright I think we’re ready to get started now. Here is many of the most typical free to air terms you’d hear or read about.

FTA or Free to Air
Free to Air has been around for almost a decade now at least to the general public anyways. FTA is the abbreviation of the phrase “Free to Air”. FTA simply means what it says. Free satellite transmissions that are meant to be completely free to the public. Many different television networks around the world broadcast 100% free channels that anyone can intercept to watch TV in their home or business. This is sometimes referred to as “true free to air” because this is what FTA receivers are essentially designed for. Within recent years FTA has become much more than just this. The free to air satellite market is now a billion dollar industry. All over the world people have started using their FTA receivers to illegally intercept common satellite TV companies that offer channels for a cost by programming their satellite system to decrypt the signals. This is mostly how FTA gained it’s huge popularity.

True Free to Air
True FTA describes using free to air as it was intended. Intercepting satellite signals which are completely free and are in place for the general public to use at their own will. These satellites are completely legal to point your dish at. Some channels that are available for free as true free to air satellite feeds would include, weather channels, some sports channels, and other information type stations. There are some entertainment channels available as True FTA feeds. The only issue with True FTA is that there are not normally any more than one channel per satellite. This means that in order to have 10 channels of free TV you would either need to point 10 different satellite dishes at 10 different satellites or you would have to purchase and install / setup a dish motor. Dish motors are great if you set them up properly. The dish motor would mechanically move your satellite dish and point it automatically depending on which channel you decide to watch from all of the way inside the house.

FTA Receiver
An FTA receiver is a piece of electronic equipment that is connected to your television and a satellite dish pointed properly. Think of it as a cable box for your TV. Except it’s connected to a compliant satellite dish usually mounted on your roof or fence. FTA receivers come in almost unlimited makes and models. Some of the most popular brands of free to air receivers available today would include Pansat, Viewsat, Coolsat, Captiveworks, NFusion, Sonicview, and many more. Any of these brands are completely acceptable as a first receiver for anyone. Each brand has it’s own unique set of features and options. This is why, again, that reading and researching is so important when getting into the FTA “scene”. You want to pick out the receiver that you would benefit from the most. This part is completely up to you. I can’t really help you out with deciding which receiver to purchase. My only advise is get aware of what certain features are including “fast EPG” and “PVR”.

FTA Compliant Satellite Dishes

This part is easy. There are so many different satellite dishes on the market today that you could choose from to set up your FTA system. You are basically looking for any type of KU Band satellite dish. KU Band describes a style of satellite dish. You’ve definitely seen KU Band dishes before. They are the small dishes which connect to the side of someone’s house or on their roof. They are not the big ugly dishes that you may remember from the 1990’s. KU Band satellite dishes are very inexpensive and highly available. Starting out around $29.99 USD they can get as expensive as $200 USD depending on what you are looking for. Example: If you want high definition (HD) channels then you would need a dish with an extra LNB for connecting to the second satellite in space with HD channels on it. Many manufacturers sell FTA compliant dishes in electronic stores and online venues. Fortec Star and Ariza are probably the most well known dish names for FTA purposes.

LNB
LNB means low noise convertor. It’s easy to get very technical here but I’ll keep it extremely simple. The LNB is the little box at the end of the arm which extends from the actual dish part of the satellite dish. It’s the small piece of electronic equipment which points at the center of the dish. The LNB receives the signal that bounces off the satellite dish. You connect your LNB to the coaxial cable which runs directly to your FTA receiver inside your house. The coaxial cable runs down through the arm of the dish and to the FTA box. This keeps the cable protected from the elements. Most times an LNB will have 2 separate places on it’s underside to plug 2 different coaxial cables into. This basically means that you can connect two FTA receivers to the one LNB. These LNB’s are called Dual LNB’s. You will most likely want to get a dish with a dual LNB. That way you can watch satellite TV on up to two different TVs.

FTA Firmware
We’ll start with the meaning of Firmware. Firmware is essentially software which is built in to a hardware device. Firmware is built into almost all your home electronics. Even using your remote control on your television is using the TV’s built in firmware. This is the software that tells your TV to change a channel when you press “channel up” on your remote control. The firmware is usually always built directly into your electronic device’s hardware but sometimes using a flash drive that you connect to the device you can update, change or install the device’s firmware. This is what happens when you own a free to air receiver. The firmware which is installed on all FTA receivers today can be altered and changed by uploading a binary image file (BIN File) to the receiver and executing it via your FTA firmware. Your FTA receiver’s firmware is capable of opening BIN files to update, change, or rollback parts of it’s FTA firmware.

FTA Software
Because FTA receivers can be connected directly to a home PC or USB stick it’s sometimes necessary to update your FTA receiver by plugging it in to your PC with either a USB cable or Serial cable. In order for you computer to recognize and utilize the receiver connected to it, you will have to install software on your computer that properly uploads files depending on the model of box you have. Each FTA receiver has it’s own unique FTA software that you will need to download and install on your computer if you want to upload Autoroll BIN files to your FTA receiver. Depending on how old your receiver is, this may not be applicable to you. Newer FTA receivers don’t have the need for FTA software because they use USB flash drives to be updated rather than software on your actual computer.

FTA Files
You may of hear the term, “FTA files” used to explain many different types of files used by your FTA receiver. FTA files is a general phrase used to describe a number of different files, BIN files, software, firmware, and update files. Most of the time FTA files is another way of saying Free to Air autoroll BIN files. If you are going to keep your satellite TV up and running all the time you will always need to be downloading whatever new FTA files are available for your particular receiver model. By FTA files I could mean either new software, firmware, BIN, or update files. On average you will be required to download new FTA files via an FTA Support website at least once a week. This is why finding the right FTA file support is so important when owning a FTA system.

FTA Keys
Depending on what you are using your FTA receiver for, you might be interested in learning about what FTA keys are and what they are used for. FTA keys are sometimes needed in order to update your receiver’s firmware to decrypt certain channels and satellites. If you are changing your FTA receiver’s keys you should be aware of the laws and regulations in your area that in place about doing this. The only reason you’d be changing keys would be if there isn’t a new Autoroll BIN file available yet for your receiver and you really need to watch some TV. The FTA keys are a series of numbers and letters which are currently active with the satellite company for unlocking certain channels. Ultimately you would go to your FTA support website and find the new keys released that day. You would go into the menu of your FTA receiver via the remote control and your TV and change the numeric and alphabetic fields with the new or latest FTA keys.

Read Part 2

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