1. TEST REPORT Satellite Receiver
Eycos S30.12CI
from that, hidden deep in one
of the sub menus, satellites and
transponders can be manually
added. The receiver is both C-
Elegant Little Brother
band and Ku-band compatible
and in addition to the numer-
ous preprogrammed LOF values,
the user can also manually enter
LOF values that are not prepro-
After the test report of the Eycos S50.12PVR little brother, the S30.12CI. Naturally, what the grammed such as those for the
appeared in the last issue of TELE-satellite reader wants, the reader gets (well, most of the S-band.
magazine, we received numerous positive com- time anyway…). We contacted Satforce and they
ments on this receiver. At the same time we also were kind enough to send us the latest box from After matching the receiver
received many requests to test that receiver’s Eycos. to our antenna, it’s time to take
a closer look at all the differ-
ent settings possibilities in the
If first impressions mean any- output, you will also find a pair of become comfortable with this Setup menu. Next to basic set-
thing, then the S30.12CI is a Scart connectors, four RCA jacks box. The OSD, available in Eng- tings such as clock adjustment
winner: without question, it is for video, analog audio plus dig- lish, German, French, Italian, and video output selection (RGB
by far the most elegant receiver ital audio outputs, an RF modula- Russian, Farsi, Spanish, Dutch, or CVBS – S-video and YUV are
that we have ever tested. Even tor, a main power switch and of Turkish, Greek, Hungarian, Swed- unfortunately not available), you
this receiver’s bigger brother course an RS-232 serial interface ish, Romanian, Slovenian and can also select the desired color
does not measure up. Based for uploading new receiver soft- Portuguese, is divided into five standard (PAL, NTSC or AUTO)
on the motto “less is some- ware or channel lists. sections: Satellite Setup, Chan- as well as activate some optical
times more”, Eycos has hidden nel Scan, Channel and System effects (fade in/fade out after a
all of the buttons and card slots The included remote control Editing and Accessories (includ- channel change, etc.).
behind a large flap that covers is also elegant and ergonomi- ing calendar and video games). The unusually fast chan-
the entire front panel. Through cally shaped. It sits nicely in
the dark, yet still see-through your hand and the buttons are all
TEST
plastic panel, the receiver’s seg- clearly labeled and easy to read. Features
RESULT
mented display can still easily Thanks to the extremely detailed
Channel Memory
Channel
Scan Speed
SATELLITE
Channel
Switching Speed
INTERNATIONAL
Video Quality
Audio Quality
TELE
Tuner Sensitivity
be seen. With the front panel user manual written in both The S30.12CI supports all nel scan speed caught us by
flap open, the two CI slots (for English and German, the user of the DiSEqC protocols (1.0, surprise. A scan of 80 trans-
all CA modules including Irdeto, should easily become familiar 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 or USALS) and can ponders was completed by the
Nagravision/Betacrypt, Seca with this receiver without spend- therefore be used with almost S30.12CI in just about three
Mediaguard, Viaccess, Conax ing too many hours studying the any antenna configuration start- minutes with no network scan
etc.) as well as the eight buttons manual. ing from a simple fixed antenna With the network scan activated
for full receiver operation even to a multifeed system using up it was more like 4.5 minutes but
without the remote control can
be seen. Everyday Use to 16 LNB’s all they way to a
DiSEqC 1.3 motorized system.
in return an additional 328 TV
and radio channels were found.
Thankfully, Eycos did not The receiver comes prepro- The receiver can also perform a
The rear panel is logically change the menu structure in grammed with 55 satellites; this manual transponder scan (with
designed: in addition to the satel- the S30.12CI. This should allow list can easily be updated via the or without network scan) as
lite IF input with looped-through even total beginners to quickly manufacturer’s web site. Aside well as an expanded scan with
TELE-satellite International — www.TELE-satellite.com

2. PID entry for the more seasoned its daily and weekly program- 8-event timer function, the good to the practical update tools, this
users. The rather large channel ming data is available. As with functioning teletext decoder and is easily done via the PC.
memory is also something worth most of the other software func- the extra integrated accessories Eycos took great pains to
noting: up to 8000 channels can tions, Eycos kept the software such as the calendar, calculator make sure that the software
be stored without any problems. very much the same is with its and three video games. was designed with simplicity
There are quite a few other bigger brother; software that we and detail in mind. We did not
manufacturers that should take were also very happy with in the Eycos makes available a chan- come across any software prob-
note of this and perhaps consider previous issue of TELE-satellite. nel list editor for your PC free lems during our tests. We also
something similar. of charge on its web site (www. took a closer look at the various
Even on the hardware side eycos.de). Despite all of its OSD languages available in this
Thanks to multifeed recep- Eycos was thinking of quality capabilities, this editor is actually receiver and the overall impres-
tion, a scan of two or more satel- and, contrary to many other quite easy to use. A software sion on the presentation of these
lite positions could easily result manufacturers, included a very update via satellite is not avail- languages was generally posi-
in 1500 to 2000 channels being sensitive tuner that can handle able (not yet anyway) but thanks tive.
added to the receiver’s memory. even weak signals with low FEC
It would probably be a good idea
not to waste any time organizing
rates without any difficulties.
Various tests on weak satellites
TECHNIC Manufacturer Eycos Multimedia Systems
No.756, 189-1, Kumi-dong
DATA
all of these channels. Unfortu- such as Arabsat 2D or the hori- Bundang-ku, Seongnam
nately, the Eycos does not offer zontal transponders of Nilesat or 463-810, Korea
too many sorting possibilities Astra 2D always came back with Distributor Europa Satforce
other than sorting alphabetically positive results. Kommunikationstechnik GmbH
or by FTA/CAS in the channel list. Tel. +49 (0)86 54 773 851
Channels can, however, easily be We were a little disappointed Fax +49 (0)86 54 773 852
renamed, moved or deleted. The with the SCPC capability of the E-Mail info@satforce.com
more popular channels can be S30.12CI. The manufacturer
Model S30.12CI
transferred into Favorites lists so specifies 2-45 Ms/sec. in the
Function Digital Satellite Receiver
that they can be quickly recalled user manual and this turns out
with CI Slots
at a later time with just the push to be quite accurate in that the
Channel Memory 8000
of a button. test transponder on Pas12 at 45°
Satellites 75
east at with 1.320 Ms/sec. or the
It has generally become stand- 1.028 Ms/sec. signal on NSS7 at Symbolrate 2-45 Ms/sec.
ard in any receiver for the chan- 22° west could not be handled by SCPC Compatible ●
nel list to be accessed with the this receiver. Only symbolrates USALS ●
OK button on the remote control. starting at 2.0 Ms/sec. could be DiSEqC 1.0 / 1.1 / 1.2 / 1.3
This is also true for the S30.12CI. processed by the S30.12CI.
Scart Connectors 2
A push of the Info button displays
Audio/Video Outputs 3 x RCA
expanded channel information On the other hand, we were
UHF Output ●
while the signal strength and pleased with this receiver’s lack
quality bar graphs are first vis- of interference with cordless 0/12-Volt Output –
ible in the expanded Info menu. telephones (assuming of course Digital Audio Output ●
that high quality cables are EPG ●
If you can do without the opti- used); something that occurs C/Ku-band Compatible ●
cal effects such as fade in/fade quite often with other receivers
SatcoDX Compatible –
out with each channel change, according to our readers.
Power Supply 100-240 VAC, 50/60 Hz
channel switching is actu-
ally quite fast at less than one Our overall good impression Power Consumption max. 30W
second. Shortly after switching of this receiver was made even
to another channel, the EPG with better thanks to the integrated
Expert conclusion
+
If you can do without twin tuners and a PVR, the
S30.12CI would be a very good choice for you. The
receiver functions very reliably and is very easy to Main Menu (ex. Farsi) Channel Scan
use. The user manual is very detailed and can help in
Thomas Haring
almost any situation. The receiver would be an ideal TELE-satellite
Test Center
and above all a very optically pleasing addition to any Austria
living room.
-
Unfortunately, the Eycos S50.12PVR and the S30.12CI both function
using the same remote control signals.
SCPC EPG
TELE-satellite International — www.TELE-satellite.com