Digital satellite HD-receiver GS-8306: manual, review of the model and reviews

Satellite TV tuner GS 8306 appeared in the summer of 2012, becoming one of the most compact devices "Tricolor TV". The model allows viewing the package of high-definition TV channels "Maximum HD".

Appearance

The digital display is missing, which reduced the power consumption of the receiver. The power source removed from the housing lowered the heating temperature of the device, which, according to users, increased its service life. The failure of the power supply unit is the main cause of breakdowns of satellite tuners, and now, if necessary, it can be easily replaced by another.

The tuner "Tricolor" GS 8306 is produced in a silver metal case of a small size. The side parts of the upper cover are rounded, which visually reduces the height of the receiver and gives it a modern look. The top, chassis and rear panel are made of metal, and the front panel is made of plastic. Above and below the ventilation holes are located. The front panel is bypassed with a minimum of control buttons. It contains a button for switching the mode of operation, channels and volume control.

The mode indicator is combined with the illumination of the Standby button. Its white and blue color, according to users, is poorly discernible against the background of the front panel. On the side of the case is a slot for the conditional access card.

The back panel contains:

• Input and output aerial connectors LNB IN and LNB OUT;
• Connector RCA-output composite video signal;
• RCA-outputs of the right and left audio channels;
• USB port;
• HDMI-connector;
• Connector for a 12 V power supply.

Filling

The central processor Neotion NP6 + is designed for low-cost MPEG 4 standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) devices and supports the use of secure data exchange technology. The chip does not require an additional radiator, since its heating does not exceed 45 ° C. The system board of the receiver contains two 512MB DDR2 memory slots. ROM - based on flash memory with a capacity of 16 MB. The data transfer rate is up to 35 Mb / s. There is a chip EEprom-memory 24C08RP of 8 KB, used to store important system parameters. In the receiving path of the presented receiver, the DVB-S / S2 unit of the Serit SP2230 MVb tuner is used. The input section of the unit uses the Montage Technology M88TS2022 tuner chip. The demodulator is built on the Montage Technology M88DS3103 chip.

Distinctive features of the tuner unit:

• Loop RF output;
• Automatic mode for determining the parameters of broadcasting;
• Functions of blind search and sleep mode.

The HDMI controller is implemented on the Analog Device ADV7520 chip supporting HDTV video format, with the built-in HDCP encryption module. The card reader is placed on a separate board and has additional plastic guides.

Power LNB is controlled by the Allegro A8293 controller, which generates up to 8 voltage levels with a tone of 22 kHz and monitors load consumption.

The regulator is controlled via the I2C bus. The card has a slot for connecting the SD card slot and the front panel display reserved for the following receiver models. The receiver is powered by a 12V DC adapter and 2A current. Also on the card is a 2A fuse.

Contents of delivery

The GS 8306 remote control is the same as the other satellite tuners "Tricolor TV". According to users, it is easy and convenient, since the control buttons are centered in the center. There are buttons for calling information and other functions of the provider: "TV Mail", "TV Chat", "Order a movie." "Input Signal" is used to switch the signal between HDMI and CVBS interfaces. They feed the remote control with 2 AAA batteries.

The set also includes a brochure "Tricolor TV" and a user manual.

Connectivity

To indicate the mode of operation of the GS 8306, a backlight is used, which is created by 2 LEDs. The indicator mode is determined by the sequence of their activation. These modes are as follows:

• No glow - the tuner is off. However, the receiver has a standby sleep mode, in which indication is absent. Input and output is made by the button Standby.
• Continuous glow - the receiver is loaded after power on or out of standby mode. If the GS 8306 does not turn on, the indicator lights, then it is most likely in the download mode.
• Flashing indicator - standby mode. Switching to the viewing state occurs by pressing the front panel switching button.
• The lower part of the indicator lights up - the operating mode, the signal is fed to the HDMI interface.
• The upper part of the indicator lights up - the operating mode, the signal goes to the CVBS connector.
• Simultaneous signaling to the HDMI interface and CVBS connector is not possible. During the first turn-on of the receiver, the video signal is routed to the RCA / CVBS connector as per the standard 576i.

The audio signal is output to the RCA outputs regardless of the interface.

Resetting the settings of the GS 8306 receiver will not affect the video output mode. There is no HDMI output resolution control - only 1080i is supplied. This can complicate the use of the tuner with TVs operating in 720 p mode.

If the connected device sets the resolution automatically, then it is possible that the setting of the image resolution by the external device is not perceived. Receivers "Tricolor TV" reboot, and the HDMI interface is turned off.

Power Consumption

Current consumption at 12 volts:

• Sleep mode - 100 mA;
• Standby mode - 450 mA;
• Viewing at standard resolution - 650 mA;
• High definition viewing - 750 mA.

In sleep mode, the loop output is disabled. The upgrade of the GS 8306 is via the USB interface of the tuner.

First steps

When the receiver is turned on for the first time or when resetting, the "First Installation Wizard" starts. The setup is simple and consists of the following steps:

1. Set the menu language from the three possible languages (English, Ukrainian, Russian).

2. Set the region from the list downloaded from the satellite. If you select "Main", channels will be found that are broadcast throughout the Tricolor TV zone. Choosing another region leads to the addition of channels.

3. Search for TV and radio channels "Tricolor TV". This mode starts after selecting a region. During the adjustment, the indications of the adjustment indicators (level and quality) and the progress indicator of the search are displayed. The last one lasts less than a minute, then the receiver goes into the viewing mode.

4. Repeated quick setting is possible with the function "Channel search" Tricolor TV "" from the main setup menu. Other search modes are missing. There is no need to configure the antenna parameters. Receiver GS 8306 is designed for use in the standard set of "Tricolor TV", and there is no corresponding menu.

Settings menu

The settings menu allows you to set:

• Primary and secondary audio and subtitle languages.
• Clock synchronization mode is automatic over satellite and manual.
• Display format (unchanged, Letter Box, PanScan, Combined).
• Parameters of analog video (PAL standard is accepted by default). The image quality, judging by the reviews, is decent. Switching to SECAM mode increases the brightness and leads to a loss of contrast.
• 4-digit access PIN. As users have noticed, the lack of protection for the setup menu makes setting the code meaningless, since you can reset the settings and PIN to the factory settings.

Look inside

The maximum number of television and radio channels that can be stored in the device's memory does not exceed 1000. Their location differs from the usual scanning of the "Tricolor TV" package. Numbering starts from zero. You can choose how to display the list (in 1 or 3 columns), sort by alphabet and in reverse order. The list editing function is missing. There is no age restriction. The channel can not be moved, deleted, renamed, blocked by a PIN code, assigned to one of 5 lists, which can include both TV and radio channels. Selection of favorite channels can be carried out with the help of filters. They can already be edited and changed in the list.

Switching the tuner to the sleep state leads to loss of information about the last viewing. When you turn on the receiver again, the Tricolor TV receivers enter the "zero" mode of the last selected list.

Broadcasts of "Tricolor TV" are encoded by the conditional access system DRE Crypt. Subscriber, buying a receiver GS 8306, receives a smart card with a 14-digit DRE ID. You can see the subscription status in the Subscriptions menu. Switching takes 3 days for SD and 4 for HD mode. It is made through a list on the screen or alternately. It is possible to quickly switch pages of the list.

Service functions

The firmware of the GS 8306 receiver supports the following service functions.

• Program schedule for the week, including data on the genre of programs and their description. EPG is loaded quickly. The TV Guide window displays the data on the transmissions of the 8 selected channels. There is a watch timer.
• Teletext.
• Subtitles.
• Alternate audio tracks.
• The cinema hall. The window displays a list of available movies, time to start watching, a genre, a description of the announcements and films. My Sessions allows you to create your own schedule. TV-mail. The service displays on the screen messages and attached images sent from the site "TV Post Tricolor".
• TV Chat. The service allows you to display text messages from your cell phone. Messages are displayed in the window in the playback mode.
• Banners displayed when switching between channels. Advertise the goods and services of the provider or other companies.

Change the firmware

To update the tuner software using the USB connector, you need to do the following:

• In the root folder of the USB-drive you need to write the downloaded file;
• Insert the drive into the connector;
• Turn off and on the power;
• After a while (about 30 seconds), a message should appear on the screen indicating that the program has started loading;
• When the download is complete, a corresponding message appears;
• Eject the drive;
• Turn off and on the power.

Please note that after updating the settings, the receiver is reset to the factory settings.

In the opinion of users, the receiver of the GS 8306 is not without drawbacks, but it is suitable for watching TV channels "Tricolor TV" in standard resolution and HD mode. The receiver allows you to receive all the packages that the operator Tricolor TV provides: Cinema, Night, Maximum HD, Superoptimum, Optimum. The tuner supports HDTV image format, MPEG2, MPEG4 encoding. Despite the fact that the operator's software does not allow viewing the channels of other satellites and operators, the number and variety of frequencies provided by "Tricolor TV" frequencies, according to subscribers, relieve this need.