Amiko

Testrapport

Miniatuur DVB-S2 HDTV Ontvanger

• Speciale optie: de ontvanger kan verborgen worden;
de IR ontvanger voor de afstandsbediening kan overal
geplaatst worden
• Compleet uitgeruste PVR dankzij de USB aansluiting
• Geïntegreerd internet voor Youtube, Google Maps enz.
• Automatische herkenning van DiSEqC, automatische
herkenning van kanaal en videoresolutie van de TV
monitor
• LNB spanning kan verhoogd worden om te compenseren
voor spanningsdaling bij langere kabels

56 TELE-audiovision International — The World‘s Largest TV Box Magazine — 1
1-12/2013 — www.TELE-audiovision.com

www.TELE-audiovision.com — 1
1-12/2013 — TELE-audiovision International — 全球发行量最大的数字电视杂志

57

TEST REPORT

Miniature DVB-S2 HDTV Receiver

A Satellite HDTV Receiver
with Every Feature
With the Mini HD, Amiko

LNB input, an Ethernet jack,

An absolutely perfect vid-

The Amiko Mini HD is pow-

has introduced a miniature

a USB 2.0 port as well as a

eo signal is provided by the

ered by a 400 MHz proces-

DVB-S2

HDTV

jack for the external 12VDC

HDMI output, unfortunately

sor and comes with 64 MB

PVR receiver to the market.

power supply. With the help

though, crystal clear audio

of Flash memory plus 1 GB

It comes with the same fea-

of three small jacks, Amiko

is only available via HDMI;

DDR SDRAM. This combi-

tures as its larger cousins.

has provided outputs for an

there’s no S/PDIF output for

nation will later provide for

It’s elegant black box is only

A/V interface cable (CVBS

connection to a stereo sys-

the perfect presentation of

15 x 11 x 3.5 cm in size and

and stereo audio) as well

tem.

HDTV as well as an OSD that

at 250gm it is essentially

as an RS232 port; the nec-

feather-light.

essary adapter cable is in-

We especially liked that

compatible

reacts extremely fast to remote

control

commands.

cluded with the receiver.

Amiko truly used every inch

The remote control included

sports

The third jack is for con-

of space on the Mini HD;

by the manufacturer sits

two LEDs that indicate the

necting the external IR re-

for example, a card reader

nicely in your hand, is ergo-

receiver’s

nomic and is clearly labeled.

The

front

panel

opera-

ceiver; Amiko designed the

for Conax Smartcards was

tional status while all of the

current

Mini HD such that it can be

incorporated on the under-

proper connections can be

mounted on a wall or placed

side of the receiver with the

You won’t find an instal-

found on the rear panel. In

inconspicuously behind the

actual card slot facing the

lation assistant in the Mini

particular, this includes an

TV.

front of the box. There’s

HD; users will need to set up

also a second USB 2.0 jack

all the basic functions them-

on the right side to let you

selves. The new Amiko re-

quickly attach an external

ceiver can provide the vid-

storage device.

eo signal via HDMI in 480i,

11-12/2013
AMIKO MINI HD
Perfect mini Receiver

www.TELE-audiovision.com/13/11/amiko


0.53

1

6
480p, 576i, 576p, 720p 50

when

Hz, 1080i 60 Hz, 1080p 50

through which DiSEqC port.

10

15

is connected to the receiver

being received plus a Native

14

cally identify what satellite

TV channel that is currently

9

the receiver can automati-

itself to the resolution of the

13

enced users. With its help,

matic Mode where it adapts

8

the day for the less-experi-

receiver even has an Auto-

12

DiSEqC function could save

nothing was left out. The

7

lengths are used. The Auto

Hz as well as 1080p 60 Hz;

2

age by 0.5V in those cases

Hz, 720p 60 Hz, 1080i 50

11

longer

coax

cable

by TV mode where the receiver adjusts itself to the

Unfortunately,

maximum resolution of the

where

TV.

programmed

the

this

limited
satellite

is
prelist

comes into play; only those
The Mini HD supports the

satellites in the list can be

DiSEqC Protocols 1.0, 1.1,

recognized. Testing this fea-

1.2 and 1.3 and is therefore

ture in Europe with the very

able to handle multifeed,

popular ASTRA and EUTEL-

multifocus

SAT satellites showed that
it functioned perfectly. Less

receiver comes with 28 pre-

popular satellites were not

programmed satellites but

3

motor-

ized antenna systems. The

and/or

recognized.

those satellites are limited
to European entries only; a

On the channel scan side

more expanded list would

of things, the user can run

be nice to have.

a satellite scan, transponder
scan or blind scan. Of course

We appreciated the ability to increase the LNB volt-

4

it’s the blind scan that we’re
particularly fond of: on the

1. The Amiko Mini HD Main
Menu
2. Every possibility is available
for editing the channel list
3. Individual channels can
easily be renamed
4. Installation Menu
5. Satellite Settings
6. If desired, the individual
PID values of a channel can be
entered
7. With FastScan, all the
transponders from one of the
nine preprogrammed PayTV
Providers can be automatically
scanned

HOTBIRD satellite at 13°
east it managed to find 1597
TV and 373 radio channels
in a mere six minutes. It’s
quite a satisfactory result.
Even on less popular satellites such as SES4 at 22°
west, the blind scan feature
delivered acceptable results
with transponders using different symbolrates.
The FastScan Option is an

8. Auto DiSEqC Function
9. Calculation of the necessary
angle for antenna alignment

Amiko Mini HD. It can be used

10. User Settings

5

exceptional feature with the
to read all the transponders
from one of nine prepro-

11. Time Settings
12. A total of eight timer slots
are available
13. The output video signal can
be set to a maximum resolution
of 1080p HDMI
14. The user can customize the
OSD
15. Three integrated video
games pass the time during
commercials


grammed European PayTV
providers. In our tests with
the Dutch CanalDigitaal, this
function worked without any
problems. In no time at all
every channel from a PayTV
provider will be presented
in the channel list without

61

16
6
16. The Amiko Mini HD's network features
17. IP settings; of course the DHCP protocol is supported
18. The receiver's software can be automatically updated via the
Internet
19. Weather forecast
20. RSS Feeds are shown in an organized fashion
21. The video services YouTube and YouPorn can be accessed
directly from the receiver
22. YouTube
23. The receiver supports the time shift function in addition to
normal recordings
24. Google Maps on the Amiko Mini HD

17

BluBox SOTx
• Up

to 16 SAT IF levels and
terresstrial over a single fiber
optic cable

• 19" base unit with redundant

switch mode power supply

21

• Distribution to up to 32 optical

nodes possible
• Configuration and monitoring

via LAN / IP

18

22

WhiteBox
• Modular headend for multiple

conversions
• 19" base unit with redundant

switch mode power supply
• Configuration and monitoring

via LAN / IP
19

23

SPAROS 711 Touch Series
• Intuitive operating thanks to a 10" Touch Screen
• DVB - S / S2, DVB - T/ T2, DVB - C, HDTV TV displaying

20

24

• Compact and robust aluminium die - cast housing

• Supplied in a stable carrying case!


25
6

After

the

receiver

35

26

the need for any tiresome

30

31

36

27

32

37

28

33

38

29

34

39

has

been set up to your per-

searching.

sonal tastes, a push of the
After the receiver’s chan-

Exit button on the remote

nel list has been filled with

control takes you out of the

thousands of entries, the

Settings menu. The Mini HD

next task that comes to

can now get to work. It op-

mind

undoubtedly

erates through a cleverly

have to be managing the

would

arranged OSD that presents

channel list. And the Mini

a logically and well-thought-

HD doesn’t disappoint here

out interface to the user. We

at all; every possible option

especially liked the EPG, the

you can think of is available,

contents of which can be

such as deleting, renaming,

displayed in three different

moving, grouping or locking

modes.

out specific channels with
a PIN code. Thanks to the

Thanks to additional func-

32 Favorites lists all of your

tion buttons on the remote

most-loved channels can be

control, options like subti-

moved into one of these col-

tles, teletext or language

lections making them easier

selection can be accessed

to access with the push of

directly through the main

just one button.

menu. This saves time and
makes things easier for the

25. Even Google Maps'
satellite view is available
26. The OSD keyboard can be
used to search for specific
locations in Google Maps
27. Channel scan
28. Info bar with the EPG
data from the current and
upcoming programs
29. EPG view 1
30. EPG view 2
31. EPG view 3
32. Channel list
33. The channel list can be
limited to individual satellites
34. The channel list can be
limited to individual providers
35. Language selection
36. Satellite selection
37. OSD Teletext
38. The Amiko Mini can easily
play back previously recorded
programs
39. MP3 playback

user.
Since the Amiko Mini HD
is a fully-featured PVR receiver, we wasted no time in
connecting an external storage device on one of the two
USB ports. We were able to
record two broadcasts simultaneously in HD quality while at the same time
watching

a

third

channel

live. For timer recordings
there are eight programming slots available. In this
day and age, though, that’s
not quite enough.
In addition to PVR record-



65

ings, the USB ports can

You

may

have

noticed

wirelessly.

Unfortunately,

also be used to play back

while reading this test re-

though, this adapter is not

videos in AVI, MPEG, MP4,

port that the Amiko Mini HD

part of the package.

TS,

for-

also comes with a network

mats. You can even listen

interface allowing you to ac-

to your favorite MP3 music

cess the wonderful world of

files. Some of you out there

the Internet. And if you’re

will be also happy to know

surrounded

that JPEG pictures can be

nals in your home, the USB

viewed on your TV through

WiFi adapter would also let

the Amiko Mini HD.

you browse the Internet

Flash

and

VOB

by

WiFi

42

sig-

40. The integrated picture viewer functioned perfectly
41. Video playback of various formats
42. DivX playback
43. Full HD video playback
44. Even Flash videos could be played back without any problems

40
6

43

41

44


In addition to the ability to

lot of fun with in our tests.

update the receiver’s soft-

There were also numerous

ware, the user also has ac-

settings capabilities as well

cess to current weather in-

as the ability to store the

formation, RSS feeds as well

channel list on a USB stor-

/
PVR Receiver with
Function Miniature

external IR remote control

as services such as YouTube,

age device if needed. In

Input frequency

950 - 2150 MHz

YouPorn and Google Maps.

general we were quite sat-

Input symbol rate

2 - 45 Ms/s

The idea of adding Google

isfied with the logical and

Modulations

QPSK, 8PSK

Maps to a satellite receiver

well-organized OSD struc-

EPG yes

seems to be an innovative

ture including its graphical

idea at first, but in reality

presentation. Thanks to its

Video resolution

480i, 480p, 576i, 576p, 720p 50 Hz, 720p 60 Hz,
1080i 50 Hz, 1080i 60 Hz, 1080p 50 Hz, 1080p 60 Hz

it’s not all that easy to work

very low power consump-

DiSEqC

1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3

with when all you have is a

tion at only 3W in standby,

SCR no

remote control and an OSD

you can keep a little extra

keyboard.

of your money in your wal-

RS232 yes

let. And because of its small
To round it all off, three
integrated

video

games

are included that we had a

size, the Amiko Mini HD can
easily be hidden deep inside
your TV setup.

DATA

Model

Mini HD

Ethernet yes
USB 2.0 yes
CI Slot no
Card Reader

yes (Conax)

HDTV yes
MPEG4/H.264 yes

expert
OPINION

AMIKO Mini HD
DVB-S2 HDTV Receiver

TECHNICAL

RECOMMENDED
PRODUCT BY

OSD languages

English, German, Greek, Italian, Russian, Spanish,
Ukrainian, Rumanian, Hungarian, Croatian,
Bulgarian, Czech, Slovenian, Slovakian, Serbian,
Hebrew, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish

Power Supply

100 - 240V AC, 50/60 Hz AC / 12V DC

Dimensions

15 x 11 x 3.5 cm

Weight

250 g

ENERGY
DIAGRAM

Thomas Haring
Test Center
Austria
Apparent Power

+ Very compact and space-saving construction, low power con-

Mode
Apparent Active Factor
Active
15 W
8W
0.53
StandBy
2W
1W
0.5

Active Power

sumption, well-organized OSD, logical operation and every PVR
feature you can think of are all plus points for the Amiko Mini HD.
All in all, a perfect little receiver.

– The Auto DiSEqC function because of the limited number of
preprogrammed satellites in some cases doesn’t provide convincing results. The eight timer slots for a PVR receiver are not enough.

Energy: The first 15 minutes active operation; the second 15 minutes
standby


Amiko

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