TM-6900 Super review * Picture Heavy *

[Bazza]

I've been asked to post this review here so here it is:

This week I took delivery of my new TM-6900 HD COMBO Super High Definition Satellite & High-Definition Terrestrial Receiver. I already own a standard TM-6900 COMBO but it lacks the features the website claimed it had when I purchased it and I have always felt a little cheated. I really wanted blind scan and RF through and the Super version has both of these amongst other small changes and improvements.

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/2056/boxbd7.jpg

Interestingly the manual is for both the TM-6900 Super and TM-6800 Super although the latter is not currently mentioned on Technomate's website nor is is for sale anywhere as far as I know. Something to keep an eye out for if you don't want or need Freeview.

As I have a TM-6900 I thought I'd take some pictures of both of them together.

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/8614/frontsly3.jpg

The fronts.

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/9631/rearsfa6.jpg

And the rears.

The layout has changed on the Super variant to accommodate 2 extra RF sockets, Ethernet and eSata sockets. Nothing else has changed externally.

The remotes are identical apart from the Super one is now black to match the case colour.

I hooked up the 6900 Super and hit the power button. Up came BBC1 already tuned in so it appears there are plenty of channels available for it straight out of the box.

I did a firmware upgrade using a USB pen then saved the current channel list and restored one taken from my 6900 Standard (for want of a better word). No problems at all. Both machines use the same database structure so my 6900 Super was now set up identical to my previous model.

[Bazza]

Let's hit the menu button and see what has changed.

http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/1245/mainmenujc4.jpg

The first thing I noticed was blind search on the right. Ooh good, I'm going to have fun with this. Let's have a look at some of the other menu items first though.

http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/7535/avsettingsmz7.jpg

The AV Output Setting menu now has everything you need to set the RF channel for distribution via coaxial cable around the house. A quick sprint upstairs and hey presto, I was presented with a crisp clear picture from the 6900 Super. Excellent. Let's have a look at the IP menu.

I hooked the 6900 Super up to my router and selected the IP menu it allocated an IP address to the receiver instantly.

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/1226/ipgk8.jpg

I blanked out the mac address but everything else it is as it appears. There is an option to perform a "Firmware Update" but I have no idea yet how this is supposed to work. The manual as one might expect tells us nothing about how this is to be implemented. The important thing is it works for whenever details emerge and could be very useful.

Next I looked at the Blind Scan menu.

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/2999/blindscanrz1.jpg

[Bazza]

I selected Eutelsat W1 at 10E and did a fast scan. It took around 7 minutes to complete and it did find a lot of new frequencies and some new channels so that's a good a start.

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/7035/blindscaninprogressrk9.jpg

In all fairness I need to spend more time with Blind Scan to see how good it is.

Now for some hard disk tests.

I have been using a WD 120GB 2.5 inch drive in an external enclosure without any problems so I connected this up and the 6900 Super found it instantly. Previously recorded very interesting do***entaries ;) played back faultlessly and I was able to record and playback without any glitches. But what about this eSata connector I hear you say! Well I hooked up a 300GB Sata drive in an eSata box I had assembled a couple of days ago. I powered down the 6900 Super and connected it to the socket at the back. Next I turned the drive on and let it spin up before turning the 6900 Super on and it found the drive upon boot up but I couldn't access it. I then remembered I had formatted it in NTFS when assembling and testing the drive so I went into the management menu and formatted the drive. Hey presto, it worked.

I was able to record and playback channels using the external eSata drive.

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/2856/recordyo7.jpg

Is it worth the extra money? Well sadly some of the features like blind scan and RF through really out to have been included in the first incarnation as Technomate's specifications claimed. eSata will be useful for newer faster and larger drives, especially when recording HD content. We'll have to wait and see what the Ethernet port is going to be used for.

All in all the best has just got better. It feels complete now and there is nothing on the market to touch it. If you want to delve into HD content then this is the box you should most certainly consider. It is an absolute winner in my view.

I've performed some extensive test using blind scan. I chose Eutelsat W1 at 10E again for the test. Before each test I deleted all the channels, chose fast scan and all polarisations (V and H).

The Fast scan started at 10.700v and ended at 12.750h and was incremented in .004 mhz steps. It started at 15.33 and ended at 15.53. A total of 20 minutes

The Detailed scan also started at 10.700v and ended at 12.750hhtz and was incremented in .002 mhz steps. It started at 15.54 and ended at 16.53. A total of 60 minutes

It is not possible to select Tv/Radio/Data etc so it always finds TV and Radio stations whether you want them or not. I never use mine for radio so I tend to not scan for radio stations to keep memory usage down to the minimum. Here we have no choice.

Also the start and and frequencies cannot be altered, nor the symbol rate etc and this is not shown on screen whilst scanning takes place so we have no idea what is going on under the bonnet sadly.

I hope you find this useful

Bazza.

[Dreamcatcher]

Nice review there Bazza.

Stats I'd be interested in would be:

Auto navigation scan ... Number of channels and percentage FTA

and then the same for a fast scan so you could see the difference between both scans.

No hurry but in the next 10 minutes please.


Joking ... if you get time I'd be interested. :)

[holmroad]

Bazza M8 - I dont see you make mention of the TWO USB's - I thought there were supposed to be TWO on Super, with one much better situated at the back - but its difficult to tell from photos or description?:respect-057:

[tinto de verano]

Hi Bazza
Thanks for your great review.
I've been considering replacing my Humax HDCI2000 for some time... and replacing it with a 6900... now it's going to be the Super, when/if I can.
May I ask you something?
Network: how and what for:
I know it has an Ethernet port... can you connect it wirelessly to a router? Any adaptor/extender/gizmo known to work?
And, pardon my ignorance, what can a (wirelessly) router/network connection actually be used for?
Thanks in advance.
tinto de verano

[madsod]

Bazza M8 - I dont see you make mention of the TWO USB's - I thought there were supposed to be TWO on Super, with one much better situated at the back - but its difficult to tell from photos or description?:respect-057: by the sat input usb num 2 .:respect-057:

[Bazza]

There are 2 usb ports. One on the back and one on the front inside the flap as per the original 6900. I have an external hdd permanently connected to the rear usb port and I used the front usb port to upgrade the receiver using a usb pen.

I also connected an external drive using the eSATA port and used the management menu under USB to select this for storing recordings. It is possible to have all three ports active and set each one to a different functions using the management menu.

The ethernet connection is for future use and no further mention is made of its function in the manual other than how to set it up. Once an IP address is allocated the "Upgrade Firmware" option is available via the blue button on the remote but pressing this simply brings up a dialogue box prompting the user for, what appears to be, an IP address.

[_paddy_]

What about Channel 4 HD, are there any sound sync problems? Does ITV HD appear in a scan or does it have to be added by a channel list?

[Bazza]

The Super and standard 6900's share the same channel database so I used the list from my original unit in my Super. No problems with Channel 4 HD and no synch problems. ITV HD works 100%, if only there was some content to view :o10:

[Bazza]

Nice review there Bazza.

Stats I'd be interested in would be:

Auto navigation scan ... Number of channels and percentage FTA

and then the same for a fast scan so you could see the difference between both scans.

No hurry but in the next 10 minutes please.


Joking ... if you get time I'd be interested. :)

Not an easy question to answer. Unfortunately when blind scanning satellites the Super will often reset before completion and nothing found up to then is stored. Technomate are aware of the problem and are working on a solution. Once they do I'll recommence with some blind scan tests.

[holmroad]

Thats brill thanx M8 - can put MY PVR in back too as it looks SO unganely permamently in front with flap open all time - dust etc!
Lets hope blind scan prob gets sorted real soon then eh?:respect-050:

[moonbase]

After wasting a day messing around with one of these and giving it a good test I have come to the conclusion that they are not worth the money, especially if you are thinking of upgrading from a TM6900 original.

1. There is no selection available on symbol rates in the blind scan.
2. There is no selection available on frequency ranges in the blind scan
3. It crashes and reboots the receiver before completing the blind scan.
4. The ethernet port is dead and has no functionality whatsoever.

The only real new features it has over the TM6900 standard model is the eSata connection and the extra USB port. The other claimed new features such as blind scan and ethernet connectivity do not work. Anyone with an original TM6900 should keep it, there is no incentive offered from the new model to upgrade.

They have rushed it to the market without any consideration for their customers. Anyone buying one of these as currently available is a mug, me included.

Rgds

[dishdad]

After wasting a day messing around with one of these and giving it a good test I have come to the conclusion that they are not worth the money, especially if you are thinking of upgrading from a TM6900 original.

1. There is no selection available on symbol rates in the blind scan.
2. There is no selection available on frequency ranges in the blind scan
3. It crashes and reboots the receiver before completing the blind scan.
4. The ethernet port is dead and has no functionality whatsoever.

The only real new features it has over the TM6900 standard model is the eSata connection and the extra USB port. The other claimed new features such as blind scan and ethernet connectivity do not work. Anyone with an original TM6900 should keep it, there is no incentive offered from the new model to upgrade.

They have rushed it to the market without any consideration for their customers. Anyone buying one of these as currently available is a mug, me included.

Rgds

Thanks, your personal comments and findings are what members here need to evaluate.

Technomate is a proven name and hopefully will respond by their input and in turn updated firmware.

[thecaretaker]

Can I ask... It says it has a 'new super sensitive tuner'. Do you notice any difference on very weak signals compaired to the original?

[Bazza]

I've posted this on another forum but it might be of interest to people here.

I've spent 2 days experimenting with blind scan and I feel I may well have solved my problem at least. When I got my 6900 Super I downloaded my channel list from my 6900 standard and started viewing. Blind scan proved temperamental often causing the receiver to reset even before it started. After downloading the latest patched firmware I was surprised to see nothing had improved. Then I decided to try something I had already tried before, well almost. I went into factory reset and restored the default channels. These haven't changed since I bought the receiver and come pre-installed. Many of the satellites I had in my channel settings were missing so I set about finding them and locking onto them. Ok, 42E to 45W all found and locked on, save the channel list to my hard drive and let's go blind scan. 2 days on and the receiver hasn't reset once during blind scan. As soon as I restore my original 6900 Standard channel list it resets all the time. I have downloaded Magic's channel list and the receiver resets when I use that but starting from scratch seems to have cured the problem. Sadly it is going to take me days, maybe weeks to reorganise my channels by provider and encryption but if this fixes the problem then so be it.

So if you're having problems with your receiver resetting, why not try what I have done and report back here so that we can further track down the problem?

[oldjiver]

Returned my box Tuesday (recorded delivery) they got it wednesday. Like an idiot I left my dragon cam in the slot. Rang them immediately and they said they would return it. Now Sunday no refund no cam yet. No answer phone either Saturday. I wont name names yet, but watch this post in future.