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04-05/2012
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TELE-satellite International — The World‘s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine
— 04-05/2012
— www.TELE-satellite.com
Satellite television (DVB-
S/S2) offers a virtually un-
limited range of channels
from all corners of the world,
while terrestrial broadcast-
ing in the UHF/VHF bands
(for example DVB-T in Eu-
rope) allows reception of
channels from closer to
home. Many of those local
channels cannot be offered
via satellite due to costs or
licencing restraints, but are
nonetheless part of what
viewers watch every day.
So why not launch a set-
top box that is able to re-
ceive and process DVB-S/
S2 signals just as well as
DVB-T channels? As we are
witnessing different types
of media converge, why not
do the same for satellite and
terrestrial television?
Hardware engineers at
AMIKO have achieved just
that. Their latest combo re-
ceiver bears the model name
STHD-8820 CICXE PVR.
When we opened the pack-
aging we noticed right away
that we were in for quite a
treat. Everything smacked
of high quality and attention
to detail, and the pleasant
surprises just kept rolling
on: We discovered a manual
boasting excellent design,
easy-to-understand text and
various different languages.
It came with a warranty card
that had the receiver’s cor-
rect serial number already
printed on it, so that cus-
tomers can easily register
the product online with the
manufacturer.
But let’s get to the heart
of the matter and look at
the receiver itself and the
remote control that comes
with it.
The remote sports an er-
gonomic design that makes
it sit nicely in your hand.
The material used is of high
quality, so that it doesn’t
only look nice, but has a re-
ally nice feel to it too. Added
to that is a user-friendly ar-
rangement of buttons, all of
which are clearly labelled
and have a convenient pres-
sure point. We found that
all buttons we needed were
positioned right where we
would have expected them
so that you’ll be best friends
with the remote control in a
matter of minutes.
The manufacturer’s atten-
tion to detail shows in many
ways, one of which is a strap
on the remote that makes
sure the cover of the bat-
tery compartment cannot be
dropped accidentally when
exchanging the batteries.
Big cheers from us for so
much thoughtfulness.
The receiver itself meas-
ures 300x231x64 mm and
weighs some 1.8 kg. If it
were a young woman we
could easily say it would be
fit for the world’s catwalks.
The core of the box is a 400
MHz CPU with 1024 Mbits
DDR SDRAM. The front panel
is made of a stylish reflecting
material and features a total
of five buttons for operating
the receiver without the help
of a remote control (on/off,
channel up/down, volume
up/down). Hidden behind a
flap we found the integrated
Conax card reader (hence
the CX in the model designa-
tion) as well as a CI slot for
TEST REPORT
Combo HDTV Receiver
The Best of Two Worlds
www.TELE-satellite.com/
TELE-satellite-1205/eng/amiko.pdf
AMIKO STHD-8820 CICXE PVR
Perfect Box to Receive all Available
HDTV Programmes