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www.TELE-satellite.com —
04-05/2012 —
TELE-satellite International — The World‘s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine
1. The Auto Install assistant automatically determines the existing
DiSEqC configuration
2. Menu items for channel list editing
3. System preferences
4. Both an integrated CA slot and a CI slot are available
5. The AMIKO STHD-8820 CICXE PVR is Internet-ready thanks to its
RJ45 socket
6. Channel search on EUROBIRD 9° East
7. SCR option
8. Useful azimuth/elevation calculator
9. Info bar
10. Extended EPG information
11. The channel list can come with one, two or three columns
depending on a user’s preferences
12. The channel list can be restricted to certain CA systems, if
required
13. The channel list can be restricted to favourites only
14. Current schedule for five channels
15. Complete EPG data for five channels
all standard common access
modules. All this makes the
new AMIKO receiver a rea-
sonable choice for pay TV
reception as well. The front
panel characteristics are
rounded off by a USB inter-
face which can be used to
attach a USB memory stick,
for example, to watch photos
or listen to music with the
help of the receiver. Thanks
to USB connectivity on the
front panel there is no need
any longer to fiddle around
in the back whenever you
want to present your holiday
photos on the TV screen.
Speaking of the back pan-
el: It will please most users
no end, since it sports all
required connection options
and some more, all neatly
arranged and demonstrat-
ing what makes a top-notch
set-top box these days. Ob-
viously, there is an antenna
input for each tuner as well
as loop-through output, fol-
lowed by an HDMI output for
connecting the receiver to
the TV panel, a USB 2.0 in-
terface for an external stor-
age medium to make full use
of the box’s PVR features,
an RS-232 interface, a total
of three RCA jacks for ste-
reo audio and CVBS video,
one optical and one digital
audio output, an RJ45 Eth-
ernet socket, a mechanical
mains switch and last but by
no means least a switchable
0/12V output – a specifica-
tion that is hard to come by
and will be appreciated all
the more by satellite DXers.
Altogether, we were highly
impressed with the level of
workmanship and the range
of features offered by the
AMIKO receiver.
After we had connect-
ed the AMIKO STHD-8820
CICXE PVR to our satellite
antenna, a DVB-T antenna,
our router and a TV display
our fingers were itching to
flip that mains switch and let
the receiver prove its worth.
One of the first elements
catching our attention was
the beautiful and perfectly
readable VFD display in the
middle of the front panel.
It permanently displays the
current time in the left sec-
tion, while the right section
of the display provides sta-
tus information or shows
the name of the currently
selected channel. A num-
ber of small icons light up
to indicate the reception
mode (DVB-S/S2 or DVB-
T) or a storage medium at-
tached to the USB interface,
among other things. While
these icons are too small to
be recognisable from a dis-
tance, we nonetheless found
them to be a useful addition
to the brilliant VFD display.
AMIKO has decided to
do without an installation
wizard, which means the
first piece of information
your TV screen will show
is ‘No Channel’. No need to
worry, though, as now is a
good moment to tap into
the main menu. It sports a
user-friendly design and is
based on a logical structure:
All main menu items are
neatly arranged in the left