TEST REPORT

Miniature DVB-S2 HDTV Receiver

Special Feature: receiver can be hidden; the IR receiver for the remote control can be placed anywhere Fully featured PVR thanks to the USB interface Integrated Internet for You Tube, Google Maps, etc. Automatic DiSEqC recognition, automatic recognition of channel and TV monitor video resolution LNB voltage can be increased to make up for voltage drops on longer cable runs

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TEST REPORT

Miniature DVB-S2 HDTV Receiver

A Satellite HDTV Receiver with Every Feature

With the Mini HD, Amiko has introduced a miniature DVB-S2 compatible HDTV PVR receiver to the market. It comes with the same features as its larger cousins. Its elegant black box is only 15 x 11 x 3.5 cm in size and at 250gm it is essentially feather-light. The front panel sports operaLNB input, an Ethernet jack, a USB 2.0 port as well as a jack for the external 12VDC power supply. With the help of three small jacks, Amiko has provided outputs for an A/V interface cable (CVBS and stereo audio) as well as an RS232 port; the necessary adapter cable is included with the receiver. The third jack is for connecting the external IR receiver; Amiko designed the Mini HD such that it can be mounted on a wall or placed inconspicuously behind the TV. two LEDs that indicate the receivers current tional status while all of the proper connections can be found on the rear panel. In particular, this includes an We especially liked that Amiko truly used every inch of space on the Mini HD; for example, a card reader for Conax Smartcards was incorporated on the underside of the receiver with the actual card slot facing the front of the box. Theres also a second USB 2.0 jack on the right side to let you quickly attach an external storage device. You wont find an installation assistant in the Mini HD; users will need to set up all the basic functions themselves. The new Amiko receiver can provide the video signal via HDMI in 480i, An absolutely perfect video signal is provided by the HDMI output, unfortunately though, crystal clear audio is only available via HDMI; theres no S/PDIF output for connection to a stereo system. The Amiko Mini HD is powered by a 400 MHz processor and comes with 64 MB of Flash memory plus 1 GB DDR SDRAM. This combination will later provide for the perfect presentation of HDTV as well as an OSD that reacts extremely fast to remote control commands. The remote control included by the manufacturer sits nicely in your hand, is ergonomic and is clearly labeled.

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AMIKO MINI HD Perfect mini Receiver

0.53

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480p, 576i, 576p, 720p 50 Hz, 720p 60 Hz, 1080i 50 Hz, 1080i 60 Hz, 1080p 50 Hz as well as 1080p 60 Hz; nothing was left out. The receiver even has an Automatic Mode where it adapts itself to the resolution of the TV channel that is currently age by 0.5V in those cases when longer coax cable lengths are used. The Auto DiSEqC function could save the day for the less-experienced users. With its help, the receiver can automatically identify what satellite is connected to the receiver through which DiSEqC port. Unfortunately, where the programmed this is prelist

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being received plus a Native by TV mode where the receiver adjusts itself to the maximum resolution of the TV. The Mini HD supports the DiSEqC Protocols 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 and is therefore able to handle multifeed, multifocus and/or motorized antenna systems. The receiver comes with 28 preprogrammed satellites but those satellites are limited to European entries only; a more expanded list would be nice to have. We appreciated the ability to increase the LNB volt1. The Amiko Mini HD Main Menu 2. Every possibility is available for editing the channel list 3. Individual channels can easily be renamed 4. Installation Menu 5. Satellite Settings 6. If desired, the individual PID values of a channel can be entered 7. With FastScan, all the transponders from one of the nine preprogrammed PayTV Providers can be automatically scanned

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limited satellite

comes into play; only those satellites in the list can be recognized. Testing this feature in Europe with the very popular ASTRA and EUTELSAT satellites showed that it functioned perfectly. Less popular satellites were not recognized. On the channel scan side of things, the user can run a satellite scan, transponder scan or blind scan. Of course its the blind scan that were particularly fond of: on the HOTBIRD satellite at 13 east it managed to find 1597 TV and 373 radio channels in a mere six minutes. Its quite a satisfactory result. Even on less popular satellites such as SES4 at 22 west, the blind scan feature delivered acceptable results with transponders using different symbolrates. The FastScan Option is an exceptional feature with the Amiko Mini HD. It can be used to read all the transponders from one of nine preprogrammed European PayTV providers. In our tests with the Dutch CanalDigitaal, this function worked without any problems. In no time at all every channel from a PayTV provider will be presented in the channel list without
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8. Auto DiSEqC Function 9. Calculation of the necessary angle for antenna alignment 10. User Settings 11. Time Settings 12. A total of eight timer slots are available 13. The output video signal can be set to a maximum resolution of 1080p HDMI 14. The user can customize the OSD 15. Three integrated video games pass the time during commercials

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16. The Amiko Mini HD's network features 17. IP settings; of course the DHCP protocol is supported 18. The receiver's software can be automatically updated via the Internet 19. Weather forecast 20. RSS Feeds are shown in an organized fashion 21. The video services YouTube and YouPorn can be accessed directly from the receiver 22. YouTube 23. The receiver supports the time shift function in addition to normal recordings 24. Google Maps on the Amiko Mini HD

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the need for any tiresome searching. After the receivers channel list has been filled with thousands of entries, the next task that comes to mind would undoubtedly have to be managing the channel list. And the Mini HD doesnt disappoint here at all; every possible option you can think of is available, such as deleting, renaming, moving, grouping or locking out specific channels with a PIN code. Thanks to the 32 Favorites lists all of your most-loved channels can be moved into one of these collections making them easier to access with the push of just one button.
25. Even Google Maps' satellite view is available 26. The OSD keyboard can be used to search for specific locations in Google Maps 27. Channel scan 28. Info bar with the EPG data from the current and upcoming programs 29. EPG view 1 30. EPG view 2 31. EPG view 3 32. Channel list 33. The channel list can be limited to individual satellites 34. The channel list can be limited to individual providers 35. Language selection 36. Satellite selection 37. OSD Teletext 38. The Amiko Mini can easily play back previously recorded programs 39. MP3 playback

After

the

receiver

has

been set up to your personal tastes, a push of the Exit button on the remote control takes you out of the Settings menu. The Mini HD can now get to work. It operates through a cleverly arranged OSD that presents a logically and well-thoughtout interface to the user. We especially liked the EPG, the contents of which can be displayed in three different modes. Thanks to additional function buttons on the remote control, options like subtitles, teletext or language selection can be accessed directly through the main menu. This saves time and makes things easier for the user. Since the Amiko Mini HD is a fully-featured PVR receiver, we wasted no time in connecting an external storage device on one of the two USB ports. We were able to record two broadcasts simultaneously in HD quality while at the same time watching a third channel live. For timer recordings there are eight programming slots available. In this day and age, though, thats not quite enough. In addition to PVR recordwww.TELE-audiovision.com 1 1-12/2013 TELE-audiovision International

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ings, the USB ports can also be used to play back videos in AVI, MPEG, MP4, TS, Flash and VOB formats. You can even listen to your favorite MP3 music files. Some of you out there will be also happy to know that JPEG pictures can be viewed on your TV through the Amiko Mini HD.

You

may

have

noticed

wirelessly.

Unfortunately,

while reading this test report that the Amiko Mini HD also comes with a network interface allowing you to access the wonderful world of the Internet. And if youre surrounded by WiFi signals in your home, the USB WiFi adapter would also let you browse the Internet

though, this adapter is not part of the package.

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40. The integrated picture viewer functioned perfectly 41. Video playback of various formats 42. DivX playback 43. Full HD video playback 44. Even Flash videos could be played back without any problems

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In addition to the ability to update the receivers software, the user also has access to current weather information, RSS feeds as well as services such as YouTube, YouPorn and Google Maps. The idea of adding Google Maps to a satellite receiver seems to be an innovative idea at first, but in reality its not all that easy to work with when all you have is a remote control and an OSD keyboard. To round it all off, three integrated video games are included that we had a

lot of fun with in our tests. There were also numerous settings capabilities as well as the ability to store the channel list on a USB storage device if needed. In general we were quite satisfied with the logical and well-organized OSD structure including its graphical presentation. Thanks to its very low power consumption at only 3W in standby, you can keep a little extra of your money in your wallet. And because of its small size, the Amiko Mini HD can easily be hidden deep inside your TV setup.
Model

TECHNICAL
DATA
Mini HD / PVR Receiver with Function Miniature external IR remote control Input frequency Input symbol rate Modulations 950 - 2150 MHz 2 - 45 Ms/s QPSK, 8PSK

EPG yes Video resolution DiSEqC 480i, 480p, 576i, 576p, 720p 50 Hz, 720p 60 Hz, 1080i 50 Hz, 1080i 60 Hz, 1080p 50 Hz, 1080p 60 Hz 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3

SCR no RS232 yes Ethernet yes USB 2.0 yes CI Slot no Card Reader yes (Conax)

HDTV yes MPEG4/H.264 yes OSD languages Power Supply Dimensions Weight English, German, Greek, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian, Rumanian, Hungarian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Czech, Slovenian, Slovakian, Serbian, Hebrew, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish 100 - 240V AC, 50/60 Hz AC / 12V DC 15 x 11 x 3.5 cm 250 g

expert
OPINION
AMIKO Mini HD DVB-S2 HDTV Receiver RECOMMENDED PRODUCT BY

ENERGY
Thomas Haring Test Center Austria
Apparent Power

DIAGRAM

Mode Apparent Active Factor Active 15 W 8W 0.53 StandBy 2W 1W 0.5

+ Very compact and space-saving construction, low power consumption, well-organized OSD, logical operation and every PVR feature you can think of are all plus points for the Amiko Mini HD. All in all, a perfect little receiver.

Active Power

The Auto DiSEqC function because of the limited number of

preprogrammed satellites in some cases doesnt provide convincing results. The eight timer slots for a PVR receiver are not enough.
Energy: The first 15 minutes active operation; the second 15 minutes standby

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