Amiko Alien 2 - TELE-satellite

TEST REPORT Triple Tuner PVR HDTV Receiver

Amiko Alien 2

? for TV reception via DVB-S2, DVB-T, DVB-C as well as Internet ? two simultaneous recordings while watching a third channel live ? automatic DiSEqC detection ? integrated WebTV and IPTV ? Internet access via WiFi, cable, mobile phone network or modem

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TEST REPORT Triple Tuner PVR HDTV Receiver

Triple Tuner PVR for DVB-S2 and DVB-T/C Reception

0.57

06-07-08/2012 AMIKO ALIEN 2 Unbeatable combination of features and function ? for excellent viewing pleasure! w w w.T EL E - sat ellit e . com /12/07/amiko

Whenever a new receiver arrives at one of our test centers the first element of surprise comes when we unpack the device. This time we were met with a total of three tuner inputs on the rear panel, which at first sight seemed to be slightly over the top.

On second though, however, it makes perfect sense and only goes to show the amount of insight and attention to detail Amiko puts

into its products. By closely observing market trends the manufacturer rightly realised that satellite television offers unparalleled variety and a DVB-S2 tuner can whizz up thousands of channels to the living room TV. But what about the many smaller and local channels closer to home, which cannot afford distribution via satellite and consequently rely on DVBT, local cable networks or

Internet TV? It is precisely these non-satellite channels that Amiko targets with its new Alien 2, which is based on the popular Alien (see test report in TELE-satellite 04-05/2011) but comes with an additional DVB-T/C tuner. Fulan was again selected as the provider for the web TV software which means the Alien 2 is perfectly suited for IPTV as well.

But we digress, let's take one step at a time and be-

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gin with the outward ap- hard to imagine somebody

pearance of the new Amiko using an outdated analog

Alien2.

TV set in combination with

The front panel consists this high-end digital mira-

of seven buttons which al- cle box.

low operating the receiver Your HiFi system can be

without a remote control, fed with digital audio via an

as well as two Conax card optical and a coax output,

readers and a USB 2.0 con- depending on your hard-

nection, hidden behind a ware or preference.

slap door.

Moving further to the

The more features are right there is an RS232 in-

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packed into a receiver, the terface. All this is comple-

more important a perfect mented by a mechanical

user/machine interface be- power switch which can be

comes, and to make sure used to fully disconnect the

Alien 2 users are never left receiver from the mains.

in the dark Amiko has opted If you are in awe of this

for a perfectly readable VFD comprehensive list of con-

display, next to a small LED nection options, then you

which lights up red when may get an impression of

the unit is in standby mode. how we felt when our eyes

Turning around the re- began to wander across the

ceiver to have a look at the rear panel. If we had to find

rear panel it becomes evi- a missing feature it would

dent yet again that we are be a 0/12V supply output,

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dealing with a top-notch but don't get us wrong: We

device here that is a far cry don't want to sound like

from your average satellite we're complaining to high

set-top box.

heaven.

On the left there are a The remote control is just

total of three tuner inputs as impressive. It sits in your

together with correspond- hand brilliantly, sports a re-

ing loop-through outputs. markably clear layout and

Right next to those is the comes with easy-to-under-

Ethernet socket and the stand labelling.

USB 2.0 connection which Yet, looks are not eve-

can also be used for USB rything and thankfully the

hubs, thereby multiplying remote scores highly with

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the number of USB devices its touch-and-feel factor that can be hooked up to as well. Its buttons ? while

the Amiko Alien 2. This is easy to press ? offer just

followed by an HDMI out- the right amount of feed-

put for digital video and back and after a short while

audio and a scart eurocon- this remote stands a good

nector as well as three RCA chance of becoming your

jacks for analog stereo and best friend.

video ? even though it's The overall level of work-

1. The Amiko Alien 2 installation wizard first wants to know your preferred OSD language

2. Setting the time

3. Network configuration

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4. Resolution of the video output ? 1080p is also available 5. Various customisation options of the Spark software

6. Whenever new software is available a message is shown in a text ticker on the bottom of the screen

7. Main menu of the Amiko Alien 2

8. Pre-stored satellite list

9. Each satellite can be configured individually for each tuner

10. DiSEqC protocols 1.2 and 1.3 for motorised antennas are supported as well

11. Transponder editor

12. Automatic channel search on ASTRA 19,2? East

13. DVB-T frequency list

14. Individual names can be given to favourites lists

15. Adding channels to favourites lists

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manship and build quality presentation of 4:3 events

of the new Amiko Alien 2 is on 16:9 screens this feature

outstanding. If we had to loses importance all the

define the perfect receiver, time since most channels

this one could be it!

broadcast in 16:9 anyway.

Enough said about looks At this stage we would

and specs now. Let's pro- have expected to continue

ceed with connecting our with a channel search, but

TV panel, Dolby Digital the Amiko Alien 2 instead

home theatre system and wanted to find out some

of course all available an- specifics of our local net-

tennas to the receiver and work. It goes without say-

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finally press the magic ON ing that the receiver sup-

button.

ports DHCP for automated

After a short moment the communication between cli-

Spark software installation ent and router, even though

wizard says hello and starts you may elect to enter all IP

to guide us through the ini- details manually as well, if

tial setup routine. This con- need be.

sists of six steps, starting In case you want to do

with OSD audio offering a away with all cables for In-

vast range of languages for ternet access you simply

virtually all corners of the need to attach a USB WiFi

globe.

stick such as the TP-Link

Next, the receiver needs TL-WN321G and can then

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to find out the correct local use your wireless network time. You may select for the at home.

box to use the time signal To wrap up the initial

transmitted with the DVB configuration you're asked

data stream, or you may whether you want to create

also set the internal clock an individual four-digit PIN

manually.

and you can deal with same

If you use the automatic basic settings of the Spark

option you need to define software, such as automat-

your local time zone, i.e. ic message reception, new

the time difference between software alert and the like.

your location and GMT. An Now that all the basics

extra field is available for are taken care of the instal-

standard/daylight saving lation wizard says goodbye

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time.

and leaves us with an empty

This is followed by video channel list. So what next?

resolution. In order to make Well, you can either start

sure your TV panel is pro- a channel search or use one

vided with the best possible of the pre-defined chan-

video quality you need to nel lists that can easily be

enter the maximum resolu- downloaded from the Inter-

tion supported by your pan- net in the main menu.

el. The following options are As far as DVB-S2 recep-

available: 480i, 576i, 720p, tion is concerned the Amiko

1080i and 1080p. Thanks Alien 2 comes with 64 pre-

to 1080p output the Amiko stored European and Asian

Alien 2 is a perfect match satellite positions, all of

for maximum resolution TV which boast up-to-date

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panels as well as for future transponder details.

1080p transmissions.

No matter whether it's

The aspect ratio can be a single LNB antenna you

set in a number of ways, have, a multi-feed dish with

and while several different two or more LNBs or even

options are offered for the a motorised antenna, the

16. Basic settings 17. It is possible to set a specific timeslot during which children may use the receiver 18. Network and Internet settings 19. The Amiko Alien 2 also supports Internet access via an external UMTS modem 20. Recordings can be saved onto network drives thanks to the NFS protocol

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Amiko Alien 2 will be happy to work with any of these setups and make the most of all received signals.

But don't just take our word for ? here's a look at the specifications: It supports DiSEqC 1.0 for up to four LNBs, 1.1 for a total of 16 LNBs, as well as 1.2 and 1.3 for motorised antennas. A number of frequently used oscillatory frequencies are already pre-stored, yet if you need a more out-ofthe-ordinary setting you can always enter it manually as well.

DXers and owners of older reception systems will appreciate the fact that this receiver can either give out 13V/18V for switching between polarisations, or provide 13V or 18V permanently, if required. Both voltages can be increased by 0.5V, which is particularly helpful for high-length cabling.

The Amiko Alien is a receiver with two fullyfledged DVB-S2 tuners, which means that all settings can be adjusted individually for each tuner. In case you want or have to use this box with only a single line it is possible to hand over the signal from tuner 1 to tuner 2 ? this is neatly implemented in the operating software.

When you're ready to initiate a channel search you can either go for a fully automatic mode across one or several transponders, or

you may of course just as

well define a manual search

on one or more transpond-

ers.

Since we're dealing with

a top-notch receiver here

there is a blind scan option

available, and any search

can be restricted to TV, ra-

dio, FTA TV and FTA radio.

Network scan can be acti-

vated to make sure all tran-

sponders belonging to the 22

same provider are found

more easily.

Once again, DXers will

give high marks for manual

PID entry in the transpond-

ers search menu.

All of these functions are

presented clearly and in a

self-explanatory way, cre-

ating a very pleasing us-

er-experience overall. Not

once did we have to consult

the user manual and we're

sure even less technology- 23

savvy users will instantly

get along with the Amiko

Alien 2.

What's more, the per-

formance of the various

search modes left us just as

impressed.

The standard search on

HOTBIRD 13? East only took

four minutes and resulted in

1490 TV channels and 410

radio stations, while a blind

scan on the same position yielded 1745 TV channels

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and 477 radio station after

six minutes.

If you need to add addi-

tional transponders and edit

or delete existing entries

you'll appreciate the built-

in transponder editor, while

21. Spark online portal

22. Weather forecast

23. Go to `Networking' for access to YouTube, Shoutcast, Picasa or RSS feeds, among others

24. YouTube access with the Amiko Alien 2

25. A number of interesting applications for the Amiko Alien 2 are available from the Spark App Store

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26. Recording settings

27. The receiver's database can be saved onto an external storage medium

28. Channel list

29. Sorting the channel list according to satellites

30. This menu can be used to activate teletext, different soundtracks and subtitles

31. Integrated teletext decoder

32. A maximum of two simultaneous recordings (SD or HD) are possible

33. Channel list with all HD channels

34. Info bar with titles of current and next events

35. EPG overview covering several channels

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