VU + SOLO2 performance above all A brand new model of popular digital satellite receivers series has come to the market. It is called SOLO2, but the number 2 in the name stands for superscript so it should be read as SOLO squared. I was provided with first and only piece of the receiver for testing by AB- COM Company, which is exclusive distributor of the receivers for Central and Eastern Europe. So I have been able to uncover a little bit the mystery of that device and share my experience with readers of the Parabola.cz server. Is the 2 just marketing trick or does it mean that performance and quality of new model are twice better? Since I also had tested the first model of the manufacturer called VU+Solo two years ago I can directly compare the improvement of the new receiver. There have been several other models of the same manufacturer released since that time (Solo, Uno, Duo, Ultimo) so I try to bring a general view as well. Because it is really hot stuff I expect quite wide discussion about my findings. So please, take this review as my personal opinion, I do not want to reserve any right to come to final conclusion or even to judge. At a beginning let us have a look at a package. The box is pretty simple no bright paper, no colorful pictures, no extensive text information. It is expected that a customer knows exactly what is he buying or ordering on Internet. The manufacturer probably tries to save costs as much as possible, so the package shows just basic information and features of actual model.
After unpacking you should find the receiver, an external power supply with cable, remote controller with two AAA batteries, HDMI cable and simple reference manual full of practical information about connection of the receiver and its initial setting up. The remote controller is standard the same as for DUO model. It includes all necessary buttons and does not overstress a user with number of useless functions.
There are not any buttons on the front panel of the receiver, just big 12- digit VFD display and the door on the right side that covers USB 2.0 connector, 2 slots for Access cards (Xcrypt) and 1 Common Interface fpr CAM module. The rear panel is equipped with (from left side) two DVB- S2 tuner inputs for connecting satellite dish (there are not any tuner s outputs the tuners are just software based), three cinch connectors with composite video and stereo audio outputs, digital optical audio output connector, HDMI 1.4 connector for connecting High Definition television (up to 1080p 60 Hz, including 3D), LAN network connector ( 10/100/1000 Mbps), two USB connectors for connecting external devices (mainly memory Hard discs or flash discs), RS- 232 connector for connection with PC via serial port, power on/off switch and power supply connector for connection of external 12V source. Ventilation slots that cover efficient fan are located on the very right side. To see an interesting heart of the receiver I had to unscrew upper cover. All the system is integrated into one mainboard and one rack for mounting of 2,5 "SATA hard disc. Even thought the receiver is fed by external power supply adapter there is power on/off switch on the rear panel. Its aim is
probably to protect the receiver s circuits against accidental electric discharge, but even after switching it off the consumption of electric power remains because the adapter still works (according the manufacturer the consumption in this standby mode is less then 1 W). For long- lasting switch off I would recommend to unplug the main electric cord. Front panel with a nicely illuminated display makes the second construction unit of the receiver. It also includes infrared remote controller sensor and USB 2.0 connector that is connected to mainboard with its single cable. The display is able not only display letters and numbers but also several icons for different functions of the receiver.
The hard disc rack supports mounting of 2,5 hard discs only, connected via SATA connector (data and power supply). The tested receiver was equipped with 500 GB hard disc. The disc is mounted with screws and rubber washers. This construction makes operation of hard disc quite silent.
The dominant part of the mainbord is cooler of powerful MIPS processor Broadcom 7356 operating on frequency of 1,3 GHz. It also consist of two access card readers and one connector for CAM module. The module is not equipped with remove button so it is necessary to use a little bit force when removing inserted module, but there is enough place for the job in the case. Two DVB- S2 tuners are implemented in mainboard. Signal from the connectors is processed and led to processor, all the decoding is done just by the software of the receiver.
RAM memory consists of four 256MB DDR3 1333 modules that makes total RAM memory of 1 GB. Network operation is managed by RTL8211E chip, the system supports IEEE 802.3: 10Base- T, 100Base- TX and 1000Base- T standards.
Several supporting integrated circuits (mainly for processing signals led into the processor) can be found on the bottom part of the mainboard. There is also a hard disc power supply chip on the very right side of the mainboard. Simply construction allows simple disassembly and subsequent assembly of the receiver. The system is managed by Enigma 2(VU+ basis) operation firmware. After switching it on for the first time it begins with well- known initial setting- up guide.
It is not aim of this report to describe all the functions of legendary Enigma firmware. I will try to pick up a special features and functions of this specific model. Powerful processor, huge memory and fast Ethernet are the best condition for enthusiasts of Enigma software to implement plenty of useful additional functions into the system of the receiver very soon. We can find some indications of its ability right now. For example - built- in Opera Internet browser. It shows web pages very fast and reliable, control is quite simple through navigation buttons on the remote controller.
When needed a virtual keyboard is displayed with diacritics support as well. It is very useful for some applications and when inserting a key word into a web search engine. Web pages are displayed correctly (even video content) as well as e- mails. For Internet operations the receiver is able to replace a personal computer in the most common cases. The receiver supports also HbbTV - Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV. I tested the function of it on Czech television ČT24channel and everything worked perfect.
Interactive information is much more detailed, well arranged and understandable. Even the control is simple with no need to use plenty of special function buttons. In my opinion this is the future of providing channel information, after wider spreading the standard teletext will be soon terminated.
There is one special event on Czech television archive database it is Olympic Games 2012 broadcasting. It gives a great opportunity to check a potential of HBBTV.
Also a program guide in HbbTV is much more sophisticated. It shows detailed information of every show as well as graphic samples within 7 days for all channels of Czech television.
Subsequently I tested a reception, recording and playback ability of the receiver. A picture quality (talking about HD reception only of course) is on high level the picture is sharp and smooth. Enigma information windows are nice and clear. Of course there is an option to download and change different Enigma skins from Internet. Switching over the channels is surprisingly fast free channels are switched over for about 0,6 0,8 sec, an audio of new encoded channel can be heard after 0,6 0,8 sec, a picture can be seen approximately after 1,2-1,5 sec. It is really not bad. I tried to switch over several channels promptly and the system always responded correctly and displayed corresponding channel.
The receiver allows recording programes and saving them on built- in hard disc. I used a connection with one tuner only, but there is not a reason not to work properly with two tuners as well. An instant recording is standard just press REC button on the remote controller and choose desired option of recording on OSD menu. I tried to switch over channels after launching a recording. In a channel list only available channels are highlighted.
When I tried to switch over a channel from different transponder a message appears on TV screen warning that the operation is prohibited. I tried to record three HD channels simultaneously and everything ran without any problem. Then I decided to test an extreme recording: the result is that I was able to record six HD channels and one SD channel simultaneously. I tried to do that on several different transponders. All the records were saved on hard disc and were on perfect shape without any errors. The receiver also supports well- known function of TimeShift. The TimeShift function worked precisely and reliable as well. Decoded recordings are saved in TimeStream Format (TS file extension) that allows simple processing in computer. And this is closely connected with another great advantage of the receiver its fast
Ethernet card. I connected the receiver to 1GB router Cisco E4200 (my PC with gigabyte network card was connected to the same router). Recorded values of data transfer rate were shocking so I repeated the measure several times. Download from the receiver to the computer showed 30 MB/s (roughly 240 Mbps), upload was about 9 MB/S (72 Mbps). Finally there are rates we have been waiting for so long! To compare it with older models equipped with 100 MB Ethernet card it is huge progress especially a download is much faster. Moreover I believe that after optimizing the firmware the results will be even better. I also tried to record three HD channels and watch HD movie from hard disc simultaneously. Playback was smooth in high quality. I only missed a description of available audio tracks, but it is just a small lack, that can be easily solved.
And it is still not over! We all know PiP Picture in Picture function. But the receiver brings several improvements e.g. it is able to show two HD channel perfectly. Moreover a user has an option to locate smaller picture wherever on the screen. Of course switching over the channels in PiP is available through one function button on remote controller detail that saves time.
Playback of different audio and video files is quite standard function nowadays. But the response time of this receiver was much faster than in any other device I had tested before. The receiver also supports reception and display of 3D channels but since I had no 3D TV I am not able to evaluate this feature from my personal perspective. The sample receiver is the only piece so I had it at my disposal for very short time. But the results are surprisingly possitive and show a huge potential of the device. I was really sorry when I had to give it back, but I understand that there is plenty of other curious users waiting for acquainting with it. I hope I will have opportunity to have a deeper look onto this great receiver soon. As I promised at the beginning of the article, here you can find comparison of some of VU+ models:
Receiver / features VU+ Solo VU+ Duo VU+ Ultimo VU+ Solo2 Processor 333 MHz MIPS processor 400 MHz MIPS processor 400 MHz MIPS processor 1300 MHz MIPS processor Flash memory 128 MB NAND Flash 128 MB NAND Flash 1 GB NAND Flash 128 MB NAND Flash RAM memory 512 MB RAM 512 MB RAM 512 MB RAM 1 GB DDR3 1333MHz Tuners 1x DVB-S2 built-in 2x DVB-S2 built-in 3x DVB-S2, C/T plug-in 2x DVB-S2 built-in Ethernet port 10/100 Mbps 10/100 Mbps 10/100 Mbps 10/100/1000 Mbps Card slots / CAM 1 / 2 2 / 2 2 / 2 2 / 1 Main differences can be seen in hardware the last model is equipped with powerful processor, big RAM memory and fast Ethernet. Enigma 2 operation firmware and construction with built- in (not plugin) tuners designate the receiver mainly for satellite users. I would like to thank to AB- COM (for Czech Republic: www.abcomcz.cz, for Slovak Republic: www.abcom.sk) company for lending the device. The company is exclusive distributor for Central and Eastern Europe. I hope we will have opportunity to order or buy it very soon.