Octagon SF918 HD

[Yazz]

For those interested, here is a brief summary of what my wonderful SF 918 mean machine holds:

It’s got an LG Tuner with 400Mb memory.
Less than 1 second switching between channels.
The back panel bears Ethernet LAN 10/100 Mbps which can be set up so easily, USB 2.0, eSATA port and HDMI connections fully equipped for software, emulator and any future upgrades .
Brilliant picture quality with colour adjustments for brightness, contrast and colour.
An imbedded blind search which gives fast and thorough search and indeed picks up all the weak channels.
2 Cam slots and 1 CONAX Card reader.
I find the menu user-friendly and quite simple to navigate.
254 satellite programmable with simultaneous Multi Search
DiSEqC 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 (USALS).
It has Video format in 4:3, 16:9 and letterbox, Zoom & Pause and Recall function which stores an incredible last 20 selected channels or radio stations.
You can search for channels alphabetically using the Find function with a very fast channel search.
Program timer, Sleep timer function and Parental Controls easily programmed
8 favourite lists for channels and radio stations: film, news, sports, music, children, drama, family with the usual Delete, Rename, Edit and Move.
Factory settings, Backup & Restore available and the ability to update the software via USB or RS-232 (PC to STB, STB to STB)
Menu has amongst many other options, has a selectable menu animation: Stripe, spray, Slide or Fade, no less than 24 languages, 6 Games, Calendar, Calculator, Automatic NTSC / PAL detection to name but a few.
Volume can be adjusted for each individual channel .
Power switch on / off at the rear, 2 Scart (TV / VCR) sockets, 2 RCA audio output (R / L), 1 RCA video output, Component output (YUV - YPbPr), eSATA port and HDMI connections.

I could go on forever describing this beauty but suffice to say that I am well and truly impressed with the look, the features and the functionalities of this receiver. I am told by a very reliable source that very soon there will be a software ready which will enable many other feature such as the Sata drive, the Conax CI slot and many other things which are left as a surprise.
And the support will continue to be available for as long as there is a demand for it.

[peter273]

I guess the 400Mb comes out of the same erroneous datasheet as was mentioned on the german support forum of octagon...

It should read: 400MHz processor, 1Gbit (read well, gigaBIT) memory

The real data is 400MHz, 64Mword (i know because I opened the box and found the memory chips, and through those the datasheets of those same memory chips, from there on it's just counting and adding)

The specs are identical to those of Sab Ultimate HD super plus, golden interstar 890 and Next 2000.
(it's in fact all the same box for what the inner works is concerned)

Where did you find the "blind search" option?
It has in fact a very sensitive receiver and picks out even weak TPs, that's for sure.

And yes, it's a very nice box, I know because I have the sab version of it

greetz

[harryoz]

is it open source linux:respect-067:

[Yazz]

Where did you find the "blind search" option?
It's embedded as it is a very sensitive receiver. But a software is coming out this week which will put the option on the menu.

[efeoglu]

It is Linux based but not open sourse just yet! can confirm Newcam CS works perfectly.:D

[Yazz]

is it open source linux:respect-067:
There will be soon a conversion to full blown Linux. I'll let you know when I have the exact date.

[Yazz]

It is Linux based but not open sourse just yet! can confirm Newcam CS works perfectly.:D

hehehe...you beat me to it, abi !!! :D

[sattekop]

So would you recommend to buy?
Why is it better then competitors?
It is nice that there are patches, but having been used for many years on the hummy to very good support I thought it was quite early yet to be able to say it has a great track record that will last into the future.
However buying HD is becoming tempting, as my 1080 screeen is not being used to its full potential.

[Keano]

I have ordered this box today and will give my honest opinion on it when it arrives.

To many people says its the dogs, so I need to see what all the fuss is about.

[ceyer]

And yes, it's a very nice box, I know because I have the sab version of it

greetz

Hi,

can you use the Octagon firmware on your Sab Ultimate HD?

[peter273]

Nope, it says "wrong stb version" or something similar.
But it's being worked at, look at forum (german language though) octagon.gmc.to

greetz

[ceyer]

OK,

thanks for that

[mrbleu500]

RULES
"Advertising
No personal adverts or dealer adverts what so ever."

Is it me, or are the various Octagon distributors, dealers and resellers taking the p*ss with their posts about this box? They are not even stocked by our sponsors, perhaps Octagon should sponsor the board as they are certainly using it for marketing purposes...

[Yazz]

RULES
"Advertising
No personal adverts or dealer adverts what so ever."

Is it me, or are the various Octagon distributors, dealers and resellers taking the p*ss with their posts about this box?

I am none of the above, mate. I'm a humble sat enthusiast. I bought one like everybody else and wanted to share my opinion of the box with the members.
No personal, no dealer adverts and no rule broken !!! :flowers-007:

[Yazz]

I have ordered this box today and will give my honest opinion on it when it arrives

DON'T...or you'll get accused of advertising :D

[mrbleu500]

I am none of the above, mate. I'm a humble sat enthusiast. I bought one like everybody else and wanted to share my opinion of the box with the members.
No personal, no dealer adverts and no rule broken !!! :flowers-007:

Same post, word for word, on all the sat forums... ;)

... and announcing development programme details before the UK distributor.

...if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck :rofl:

There has been too much bs surrounding this unit, and I'm not the only one who has noticed.

[peter273]

Same post, word for word, on all the sat forums...
... and announcing development programme details before the UK distributor.
...if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck :rofl:
There has been too much bs surrounding this unit, and I'm not the only one who has noticed.

Well, one could say the same of me for mentioning all four clones in a row :willy_nilly:
And neither am I affiliated to either of them, I'm just (recently) the owner of one of those four clones, and proud of it too since at current time it's the box generating about the most talk-about worldwide among sat-lovers (next to dreambox that is) :applause-003: despite at current time some definite shortcomings where every satpimp is aware of and looking more info for.

No, I'm not defending board-spammers if and when they advertise (hate that by the way), but with all respect let's all be realistic and acknowledge the fact that if a story of something new gets around it will also get mentioned here sooner or later (good or bad, the same to me), and die out if the novelty wears off after a few weeks.
In the long run nobody gets hurt, because if one of the sponsors here is somewhat later in releasing his product he most certainly has learned from all sorts of critics on the newcomer to avoid the same pitfalls that newcomer has made.
(besides dreambox that is, they were the first to release a multi-purpose box the others are trying to imitate :king-041:)

Regards
Peter

[Yazz]

Same post, word for word, on all the sat forums... ;)
... and announcing development programme details before the UK distributor.
There has been too much bs surrounding this unit, and I'm not the only one who has noticed.
If this was positive criticism, I would respond with constructive arguments but this is negative criticism (merely to impress your girlfriend) and therefore I shall ignore. :nopity:


...if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck
...if you don't like the heat, get out of the kitchen :king-041:

[AndyX]

This receiver does sound very interesting. It does tick a lot of boxes for me. I am concerned that functions like blind scan are not enabled at release, which does make me wary of being an early adopter.
Maybe I could pop in and see your box working, Yaz, once blind scan is enabled. I could give a second opinion on it. You can PM me if you are interested.

[mrbleu500]

I know a little bit about marketing, been part of my job for quite some time. When a product has a difficult birth (for example, inflated claims about it's hardware, software incomplete etc...) the normal reaction is to try and counter the negative perceptions of the product, by focussing on the positives, highlighting the future possibilities and managing expectations. One way to achieve this is to get a respected "industry" observer/commentator to review the product in a closely controlled environment, and make sure the market sees the review. I was involved in a similar launch a few years ago, and that's exactly what we did.

Now along comes a new product, it has teething problems, and expectations that have been built up by an incorrect specification sheet (possibly due to a genuine error). Soon after we get a respected guy saying it's the best thing since sliced bread, and giving out information unreleased by the manufacturer.

Perhaps I'm getting cynical in my old age, but I say things as I see them, and wanted to contribute my observations to the forum. That my opinions are met with personal insults shows that they have touched a nerve. ...And since when has fact been a negative criticism... ;)

It's up to everyone to make their own mind up about this unit, I considered it for a while but became wary after reading the German support forums at octagon gmc to. I would encourage all to do the same before spending your hard earned cash.

[Keano]

DON'T...or you'll get accused of advertising :D

One of the reason I bought this box is because of the comments made by certain members of this forum.
I hope with the experience I have that I will be able to give it my honest opinion and stop all this silly bickering.

If the box is poor then I will say its poor, if its OK but not great then again I will let members know and so on.

I think the problem was caused when a few new members came on saying how great it was, this caused alarm bells ringing with older members who see this as promoting a receiver that is not selling too well.

[bobothebear]

Well I for one am waiting for your review of it Keano as you always seem to mention the things i'm interested in with the products you get.
I nearly have enough cash together to buy an HD box and am just waiting for the one that ticks all the right boxes.
I'm still yet to hear anyones experience of using Gb0x on the Octagon. I can't seem to find any info about it on other forums regarding configuring and using it etc.

[Keano]

OK well got the box today and have spent the last hour messing with it.

I have to say it is very user friendly and fairly easy to use.

I have tried the latest emu software posted but couldn't clear polsat, this is nothing major just needs more looking in to.

One thing i have done is c/s with newcamd and it worked perfect.

I don't want to say to much because I have only scanned two sats in and only had it a hour but early signs are good.

[Keano]

OK well got the box today and have spent the last hour messing with it.

I have to say it is very user friendly and fairly easy to use.

I have tried the latest emu software posted but couldn't clear polsat, this is nothing major just needs more looking in to.

One thing i have done is c/s with newcamd and it worked perfect.

I don't want to say to much because I have only scanned two sats in and only had it a hour but early signs are good.

Update - Polsat working, just had to manual update of keys via menu, kinhell its long time since I've done that:respect-069:


Only down side is my m2+ card for c*nax will not work with it.

[barreiro44]

from spain I have a octagon 918 and I do not understand like a decoder that costs 300 euros cannot record , when a Mvision s4(70 euros) yes

[sattekop]

Is the Mvision HD, probably not.
I am looking for HD.

[paul01609]

i made my choice to avoid the box and go with dreamboix 800hd,i must say i ws tempted to buy the octagon but in the long run i think i made the best choice

[efeoglu]

from spain I have a octagon 918 and I do not understand like a decoder that costs 300 euros cannot record , when a Mvision s4(70 euros) yes

I love to have one 70 euro HD box you can record!!! Octagon HD do not record just yet will be when the software ready, Box is new so you have to give it time littel bit, Linux based receiver fully loaded and you can get it just under 300 euro i thing that is fear price if you look at some other makes dont do what octagon do you will find prise is same or more.

[peter273]

Linux ?
Then what's this doing in its firmware ?


...Copyright MGC 2003 - Nucleus PLUS -
ARM7TDMI ADS v. 1.14.
G,M,D,GB,GL,AG,KL,CR,HR,NH,DL,BH, LP,AP,HA,
ME,KC,KH,GF,RG,HS,DS,KY,BC,LC,TD.
Accelerated Technology
Internal Use Only -
Serial Number:

Maybe something about the processors


PHANTOM_DRIVER_ValidNim False..
nim is null.....CX24116.UNKNOWN
...................

When looking at the german group, there's some reversing going on :respect-017:

greetz

[Eugenie]

CX24116 is the Conexant DVB-S/DVB-S2 demodulator unit...also found in the DM800 and other receivers.

[barreiro44]

I know that the mvision s4 is not hd, but it can to record in a pendrive. the octagon no whith the firm original , I like the 918 but it have some goodable things (motor to go 0º, pvr, lose settings, it does not recognize cam matrix etc)

[Keano]

Well my 918 does not lose its settings, and my matrix cam works ok and I am sure its only a matter of time before the pvr is working.

[barreiro44]

how i can to do a reset of motor ?