[palmman50k]

Hi,
hope someone is reading this during 'holidays'...
I am very keen on this product, especially as Amazon are selling it for £180!
BUT, I have one question I can't seem to find an answer to
does the Sling function enable you to watch whatever device you might have plugged in to the 'SCART IN' socket?? (e.g. if I also had a Virgin TIVO or Sky box that I connected to this via the SCART IN, can I watch it's output, not just the stuff on the HDS600 [I guess not as there is no remote blaster feature])
I am thinking of replacing my current SlingBox Classic and was looking at the SlingBox Pro HD which amazon have for £150, but then saw this for a bit more and thought it would be better, but wanted to be able to view another device.
Thanks!

[whiteswan]

Hi - no you can't view another device.

I have a slingbox pro as well and the pic tis sends is far superior - have no idea why it just is.

Dave

[logiciel]

What is HDS600?

[bighfishing]

Originally Posted by logiciel

What is HDS600?

i think we can safely assume its the HDS-600RS as thats what this thread is about.

[palmman50k]

Originally Posted by logiciel

What is HDS600?

shorthand for Echostar HDS-600RS in which thread this is in ???

[whiteswan]

Sorry to clarify the pic from the echostar is superior than the slingbox pro when viewed remotely.

Dave

[palmman50k]

Originally Posted by whiteswan

Sorry to clarify the pic from the echostar is superior than the slingbox pro when viewed remotely.

Dave

Thanks Dave,
I assumed that, but have now decided to just get a SlingBox Pro HD as I am likely to be sticking with either Sky or getting Virgin... (picture quality should be better than my current Sling Classic)
Thanks all.

[bellso]

my sky sub finally came to an end today and was ready to get a Humax, until i found details on the Echostar.

Anyone know if netflix will be available on it? Or is it just iplayer at the moment?

Ta

[wsb_champ]

Hi, just set mine up, so far so good like most people, many years with sky...had enough, was sure on the foxsat then saw this with sling.
No brainer.
The one minus is that my Sky had a magic eye - any suggestions on a good (low cost) solution?

thankshttp://www.avforums.com/forums/images/smilies/xyxthumbs.gif

[Jack_is_Back]

Can anyone comment on the user-interface of this box? Is it better than the Humax?

I still yearn for the ease of use of my old Sky HD box.

[Beddie]

I have had this box for two weeks now and have noticed a few issues with it. Has anybody else noticed these:

The sound is much quieter on HD channels compared to SD. Sky HD used to have this problem but fixed it years ago.
When fast forwarding, press play to go to normal speed and it skips forward anything up to another 20 seconds. Very noticeable on 8x. You cannot accurately search through a programme because of this.
The EPG takes a while to populate when taken out of standby.

These frustrations make the box harder to use then either a Sky or Humax box. So do I swap it for a Humax or hope they do an update to fix these and other problems?

[gbcasual]

Just purchased and setup the Echostar. Only £172.99 from Maplin at present

Got it running single feed only, as I have my Sky box, until such time as Sky is cancelled and past it's 30 day period.

All seems pretty straight forward so far so hoping it proves reliable!!!

[Beddie]

So, no other user has a problem with fast-forwarding or with the volume of HD channels being a lot lower than the equivalent SD channel?

Must be just me then

Originally Posted by Beddie

I have had this box for two weeks now and have noticed a few issues with it. Has anybody else noticed these:

The sound is much quieter on HD channels compared to SD. Sky HD used to have this problem but fixed it years ago.
When fast forwarding, press play to go to normal speed and it skips forward anything up to another 20 seconds. Very noticeable on 8x. You cannot accurately search through a programme because of this.
The EPG takes a while to populate when taken out of standby.

These frustrations make the box harder to use then either a Sky or Humax box. So do I swap it for a Humax or hope they do an update to fix these and other problems?

[rocket1963]

hi ..can anyone tell me how to access non freesat channels on the Echostar Freesat+ HD PVR Digital Box (HDS-600RS)..I'm having no luck trying

[375 driver]

Hi Rocket1963.
To view non- freesat channels on the Echostar, first you have to add the required channels as follows.
Main menu - Settings - Tuning - Manual scan.
Enter the frequency, symbol rate, LNB polorisation, etc. Then select scan.
You can only scan one transponder at a time.
When you have finished, do the following.
Main menu - Settings - Tuning - Viewing Mode, and select Non- Freesat mode, then press Exit.
Press OK to view the channel list. Channel numbers start at 5000.
As you can see, non- freesat mode is a bit of a pain on this receiver.
Stu.

[gbcasual]

Originally Posted by 375 driver

Hi Rocket1963.
To view non- freesat channels on the Echostar, first you have to add the required channels as follows.
Main menu - Settings - Tuning - Manual scan.
Enter the frequency, symbol rate, LNB polorisation, etc. Then select scan.
You can only scan one transponder at a time.
When you have finished, do the following.
Main menu - Settings - Tuning - Viewing Mode, and select Non- Freesat mode, then press Exit.
Press OK to view the channel list. Channel numbers start at 5000.
As you can see, non- freesat mode is a bit of a pain on this receiver.
Stu.

What channels can you pick up this way? Anything good?

[grahamlthompson]

Originally Posted by gbcasual

What channels can you pick up this way? Anything good?

Anything on this list

Astra 1N / Astra 2A / Astra 2B / Astra 2D / Eutelsat 28A (28.2°E) - All transmissions - frequencies - KingOfSat

[Johnyb]

I have received the unit yesterday and am generaly happy but would like to ask a couple of questions:
(1) Dissable Live Pause - Is this possible? I could do this on my sky box which i believe will increase the lifespan of the HDD
(2) Up / Down to view channels without turning over - Again on the sky box using the up / down buttons would allow you to view what on the other channels without turning over. Is this possible on this box?
(3) Volume Output - Seems low in this box (via hdmi). Any way of adjusting this?

[speculatrix]

Originally Posted by candg

Has anyone tried DNLA file sharing on this model yet ? I assume it will handle this. If so what is the streaming video quality like ? Also am I right in thinking it has ITV on demand too ? Are there any plans to make this smart app enabled?

the only remote viewing of recordings is through the sling website or an app you can buy/download for android or iphone.

there doesn't appear to be any DLNA server, or any DLNA client.

the USB port appears to be solely for installing firmware updates, you can't export/save movies to it, or play anything off it.

I have googled for HDS-600RS hacks and custom firmwares which might add/enable DLNA server or movie export/archive. I have a PlayTV on PS3 and you can export recordings by moving them to the XMB and then copying to USB storage (you get .m2ts files, i.e. raw mpeg2 transport streams), so I had been hoping for something similar. My guess is that this sort of thing is a copyright nightmare so Echostar probably decided to side-strep the issue.

[speculatrix]

p.s. if you want a freesat recorder which does do DLNA serving then the Pansonic units do, but they are mega expensive.

[375 driver]

Originally Posted by Johnyb

I have received the unit yesterday and am generaly happy but would like to ask a couple of questions:
(1) Dissable Live Pause - Is this possible? I could do this on my sky box which i believe will increase the lifespan of the HDD
(2) Up / Down to view channels without turning over - Again on the sky box using the up / down buttons would allow you to view what on the other channels without turning over. Is this possible on this box?
(3) Volume Output - Seems low in this box (via hdmi). Any way of adjusting this?

Hi.
Q1. No, this is not possible.
Q2. Press the "I" button then the up and down buttons.
Q3. Main Menu, Settings, TV, Audio & Library setup, Audio Adjustment.

Stu.

[meggie_dude]

Have a question about this unit and DiSEqC, plus any future enhancements.

Am trying to decide about either this unit or the equiv Humax.

I note that the Echostar now supports DiSEqC 1.0 and 1.1, but not 1.2 or USALS.
I currently have a cheap B&Q Ross sat setup which I have added a USALS compliant motor to.
So I can move between diff satellites and pick up lots of foreign channels, incl the Formula1 on RTL.

Is it likely that DiSEqC 1.2 or USALS will be added so I can l control the motor directly via the Echo star?
Also I understand the Humax when in non-Freesat mode will only use one of the LNB feeds which is a bit of a limitation. Is it the same with this unit?

[icstm]

Hi guys,

A couple of questions.

I am thinking of getting this or the Humax. One of the classic issues is often around response speed, response soon after waking from standby and EPG design and speed.

How does this box fare?

[gbcasual]

Originally Posted by icstm

Hi guys,

A couple of questions.

I am thinking of getting this or the Humax. One of the classic issues is often around response speed, response soon after waking from standby and EPG design and speed.

How does this box fare?

About 10-15 seconds at most for the box to be operational from standby.

EPG is very responsive, loads stuff almost instantly for 7 days in advance. The 8th day just indicates everything is unknown.

I'm liking it a lot

[icstm]

Does the EPG show your favourite channels, or do you have to wade through all channels?
If so can you delete alltogether the channels you NEVER EVER watch from the main EPG list if you cannot just view your favourites in the EPG?

BTW,
When showing the EPG is the current channel playing in the background (either sound or video?)

[gbcasual]

Originally Posted by icstm

Does the EPG show your favourite channels, or do you have to wade through all channels?
If so can you delete alltogether the channels you NEVER EVER watch from the main EPG list if you cannot just view your favourites in the EPG?

BTW,
When showing the EPG is the current channel playing in the background (either sound or video?)

You can set up different favourites lists then whichever list is in effect will be shown when you scroll through the channels/timings via the Info button, i.e. you are hiding the channels that are not in your favourites list.

When the full screen EPG is on you can hear the sound of the current channel. When you are using menus/options that only take part of the screen you see what is not covered by the menus and hear the channel. I have not tried to see if this is configurable at all.

[icstm]

Can you re-order the channels in your favourites?

I could live with the EPG showing everything, if the "info" view can be re-ordered.
BTW, does the Info view always show the programme description, or can the overlay take up less room by showing only the name and you pressing again to show the description?

[gbcasual]

Originally Posted by icstm

Can you re-order the channels in your favourites?

I could live with the EPG showing everything, if the "info" view can be re-ordered.
BTW, does the Info view always show the programme description, or can the overlay take up less room by showing only the name and you pressing again to show the description?

Not that I am aware of, on both counts.

[robby2k9]

The problem with the remote ceasing to work seems to be a major bug!
I have one of these & its happened 3 times now, the fix is easy, but its just plain annoying.
Use of other remotes near the box seems to cause the problem, I hope Echostar will improve the remote code handling in a future software update.
For anyone who runs into the same problem, this is how to restore the 'pairing' of the remote to the box:
- Point the remote at the box.
- Press & hold down the "OK" & ">" (to the right of OK) buttons on the remote for about 5secs.
- Remote LED will flash twice.
- Box should then respond to the remote.

[icstm]

^robby
apart from the remote issue are you generally happy with the box?
what else would you change?