TEST REPORT Miniature HDTV Receiver Skyworth HS18 Ideal for hidden installation on the back of TVs Perfectly suited as a fully featured camping receiver Fully functional PVR thanks to the USB interface Supports all of the standard picture formats Very sensitive IR remote control signal receiver 16 TELE-satellite International The World s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine 04-05/2012 www.tele-satellite.com www.tele-satellite.com 04-05/2012 TELE-satellite International The World s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine 17
TEST REPORT Miniature HDTV Receiver An HD Compatible Mini DVB-S2 Receiver 04-05/2012 Skyworth HS-18 DVB-S2 Sophisticated, fully-featured miniature receiver www.tele-satellite.com/ TELE-satellite-1205/eng/skyworth.pdf 0.56 The SCART connector is very widely used in Europe and for many years there have been small satellite receivers that you simply plugged into the SCART connector. But when the SCART connector was developed, there was at that time no HDTV and as a result these little SCART receivers don t measure up to today s requirements. In order to display HD content on a TV, you have to use the HDMI jack. And it s exactly this concept that Skyworth has addressed: the Skyworth HS18 is the first mini receiver with an HDMI output. With the HS18 the HDMI cable is a mere 10cm in length and not only that, it s incorporated directly into the receiver. This lets the set top box disappear completely behind the TV right next to the HDMI jack. Thanks to the included mounting material, the 100g HS18 can easily be fixed in place so that the tension on the HDMI cable won t be too much. It s small 11 x 7 x 1.7cm size takes up almost no space at all and yet comes with all the different connection capabilities you d expect to find in a modern receiver. This includes, of course, the satellite IF input, a USB 2.0 interface for external storage devices, a port for an RS232 adapter plug, a jack to plug in the external IR receiver as well as a jack for the external 12V power supply. The package also includes a small but handy remote control. The buttons are clearly labeled and provide a comfortable back pressure when pressed. One of the LEDs that is integrated into the infrared receiver shows the current operational status of the box, if it s red the receiver is in standby and if it s green the receiver is in operation. All in all, we were quite pleased with the workmanship quality of the Skyworth HS18 and we also liked that it s just a little bit larger than a pack of cigarettes. When you turn the receiver on for the first time, you re greeted with the main menu and its six submenus. As usual, we started with the system settings with which you can set up the receiver to your personal requirements. The very fist step is to select the desired OSD language. You can choose from English, French, German, Italian, Spanish Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Polish, Arabic as well as Farsi. The HS18 works quite well with the available TV equipment in that it supports picture resolutions in 480i, 480p, 576i, 576p, 720p 50Hz, 720p 60 Hz, 1080i 50 Hz, 1080i 60 Hz as well as 1080p 50 Hz and 1080p 60 Hz. Clearly, if you own the HS18, you will be perfectly prepared for the day when HDTV is transmitted via satellite in 1080p. We also found the two Auto modes quite practical whereby in the first mode the resolution is automatically matched to the incoming satellite signal while the second mode orients the receiver to the resolution of the TV. All of these capabilities are even further enhanced by the automatic time synchronization. Skyworth put some thought into this and doesn t ask the user to enter the local time difference from GMT but rather provides a list of countries and cities to choose from. We found this to be not only more practical but also much more customer-oriented! Other settings possibilities include the ability to individually set the sharpness, contrast and brightness of the video output. Once the Skyworth HS18 has been matched to the 18 TELE-satellite International The World s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine 04-05/2012 www.tele-satellite.com
1 6 11 2 7 3 8 12 13 available TV system, the next step would be to set up the correct connection to the satellite antenna. The HS18 supports all of the available DiSEqC protocols, that is, 1.0 for reception of up to four satellites, 1.1 for up to 16 satellites as well as 1.2 and 1.3 for motorized antennas. The list of preprogrammed satellite positions is made up of 46 entries and includes all of the standard European satellites. We were happy to see that the list itself was very upto-date. The transponder list as well as the satellite list can easily be edited so that it really only takes just a few button-pushes on the remote control to add, edit or delete transponder or satellite entries. lites and also a transponder scan. The user will like the ability to limit the automatic channel scan to FTA-only (freeto-air) and also to TV or radio only and to TV and radio. Added to this is the integrated network scan and as a special bonus there s also a BlindScan. The BlindScan feature functioned quite well in our tests and managed to find 1461 TV channels and 516 radio channels on HOTBIRD at 13 E in just four minutes. In comparison the automatic channel scan of HOTBIRD at 13 E with the help of the preprogrammed transponder data found 1478 TV channels and 522 radio channels in about six minutes. 4 9 14 On the LNB side of things there are a large number of preprogrammed LOF values available for the C-band and the Ku-band; manual LOF entry is not possible. Once the receiver knows exactly what satellites it can receive, the next step involves filling up the channel list. To accomplish this task, there are three search modes available: an automatic channel scan on one satellite, an automatic channel scan on multiple satel- Once the channel list has been filled with hundreds of channels, it would be nice for the user to have a decent channel sorting and editing function; the Skyworth HS18 doesn t disappoint here either. In a clearly and logically designed menu individual channels can be assigned a PIN code, deleted, moved, renamed or moved into one of the 32 freely namable Favorites Lists. It deserves to be mentioned here that if needed all the 5 10 15 1. Main Menu (Antenna installation) 2. Main Menu (System settings) 3. Main Menu (Tools) 4. PVR Menu 5. The extensive satellite list with all usable European orbital positions 6. Antenna settings including position entry for DiSEqC 1.3 7. DiSEqC 1.1 for up to 16 LNBs is also supported 8. The LNB LOF values can be selected from a preprogrammed list; manual entry is not possible 9. Channel scan on one satellite 10. Transponder scan 11. The HS18 also supports BlindScan 12. Thanks to extensive editing capabilities, the channel list can easily be matched to a user s requirements 13. All channels on a satellite can be deleted with the push of just one button 14. Setting the time by choosing the country and city 15. The receiver s software can quickly be updated via USB storage devices 20 TELE-satellite International The World s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine 04-05/2012 www.tele-satellite.com www.tele-satellite.com 04-05/2012 TELE-satellite International The World s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine 21
channel entries from a single satellite can be deleted at one time; this would save some users a lot of time and aggravation. In general we were quite happy with the quick reaction time of the receiver to remote control commands as well as with the sensitive IR receiver. Both of these displayed through the Skyworth HS18. For this purpose there are two modes available: a complete overview of a single channel and also a simultaneous display of five channels in a grid format. Both formats are clear- The new HS18 receiver from Skyworth comes with a fully functional and quite sensitive DVB-S2 tuner. Whether it was weak signals, such as those on BADR at 26 E that come in relatively weak here in Austria, or narrow band SCPC signals, the receiver could not be brought out of its rhythm. As a result, the same transponder. As you would expect with a highquality product, Skyworth also included a time shift function with the HS18 that allows the user to pause a live program and come back to it at a later time without missing a thing. In this way you can answer that telephone call or handle some other unavoidable interrup- make using the receiver that much easier and can put a smile on the lips of users when they re working with the receiver such as when sorting the channel list. Once the receiver has been completely set up according to the user s requirements, the main menu can be left simply by pushing the Exit button. This takes the receiver to the first channel in the channel list. An informative Info bar appears that displays the title of the current and upcoming programs plus provides information on the availability of teletext, subtitles or EPG data. As long as the programming provider offers EPG data for the next several days, it can be evaluated and ly organized and offer the user a good overview of the upcoming programs. Since the Skyworth HS18 is a PVR receiver, timer recordings can be set up directly from the EPG. Unfortunately, you can only set up a total of eight timers; considering the number of TV channels that are available today, this number is somewhat small. But this is made up for by the well-arranged channel list that can be easily accessed with a single push of the OK button. The list can be further refined to those channels from individual satellites or from specific groups (provider, CAS). A practical search function with the use of the OSD keyboard is also available to help make finding specific channels much easier. HS18 had no trouble at all receiving the 12634V transponder on TURKSAT at 42 E with a symbol rate of 2.222 MS/sec. We were also surprised at the picture and audio quality of the small HS18. It can be used in an RV with a 24 monitor just as well as with a 50 LCD TV in your living room at home. Even though the HS18 isn t much larger than a pack of cigarettes, it easily becomes a fully featured PVR receiver thanks to its USB 2.0 port and the use of an external storage device. Its capabilities exceed many other mini receivers in that it can record two HD channels simultaneously while showing a third TV channel live. Since the HS18 only has a DVB-S2 tuner, all three channels have to be on the tion in the middle of your favorite show without missing a beat. The incorporated media player in the HS18 plays back all the prerecorded TV and radio content but is trumped by an MP3 jukebox, a picture viewer and a video player for all of the standard formats (for example, MPEG, VOB, TS, MKV, AVI). This makes the small Skyworth HS18 box a fully-featured multimedia receiver with which you can not only enjoy TV and radio programs, but you can also enjoy listening to your favorite songs. And let s not forget that it can also play the latest video clips from the Internet and lets you present your vacation pictures and videos to all of your friends. 22 TELE-satellite International The World s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine 04-05/2012 www.tele-satellite.com
16 21 26 31 17 22 27 32 18 23 28 19 24 29 20 24 25 TELE-satellite International The World s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine 04-05/2012 www.tele-satellite.com 30 16. The Skyworth HS18 becomes a fully-featured PVR receiver with the addition of a USB 2.0 storage device 17. TimeShift is also supported 18. An Info bar appears at the bottom of the screen with every channel change and provides information on the current and upcoming program 19. EPG display of five channels 20. EPG display of one channel 21. Timer entries can be set up directly from the EPG 22. Channels can be easily searched for using the OSD keyboard 23. Two HD recordings can be handled at the same time; if a third recording is started, the receiver asks the user to stop a current recording 24. While a recording is in process, the channel list only shows those channels that are on the same transponder 25. The media player can play back content previously stored on a USB 2.0 storage device. 26. SCPC reception on TURKSAT 42 E is no problem at all 27. Thanks to language selection, multiple audio channels can be managed 28. The list with entries after scanning a satellite 29. The HS18 is also a fully-featured MP3-Player, picture viewer and media center 30. MP3 playback 31. Videos can be played back in a variety of formats without any interference 32. AVI playback We should also mention that the Skyworth HS18 is one of only a very few digital receivers that we have recently tested that can work with the NTFS data system. This is particularly advantageous because you are no longer restricted by the FAT system which would require another file for anything over 4GB. This makes it easier to edit any recordings and, for example, con- vert them into a DVD at a later time on your PC. On top of all these features that were just mentioned, the little Skyworth comes with yet even more small but practical features including a dedicated button on the remote control to adjust the video signal resolution as well as an integrated teletext decoder. The internal software of the HS18 www.tele-satellite.com 04-05/2012 TELE-satellite International The World s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine 25
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can also be easily updated through a USB storage device. And as long as we re talking about updates, the next software revision from Skyworth should include the activation of the RJ45 interface and the integrated card reader. All in all, we had a lot of Apparent Power Active Power ENERGY DIAGRAM fun thoroughly testing the Skyworth HS18. It s a sophisticated receiver that is loaded with features all of which are packed into a housing that is only a few centimeters in size. Thanks to its small size it can easily be used anywhere, whether it s in your RV or in your living room. Mode Apparent Active Factor Active 12.5 W 7 W 0.56 StandBy 0 W 0 W 1 The first 15 minutes active use with channel switching, recording, playback, etc. The second 15 minutes in Standby + Manufacturer Internet Email sales TECHNICAL DATA Shenzhen Skyworth Digital Technology CO., LTD. Unit A 13-16/F, Skyworth Mansion., Gaoxin Ave. 1.S. Nanshan District, Shenzhen 518057, China www.skyworthdigital.com ganweicai@skyworth.com Tel +86-755-26010018 Model HS18 Function Very small PVR Receiver with HDMI Input frequency EPG C/KU-Band 950-2150 MHz HDTV support (up to 1080p) RS232 Ethernet USB 2.0 Size Sophisticated and stable software, wide assortment of features and applications and excellent workmanship. Because of its small size it s an ideal receiver for RVs but would also make a very practical receiver for your living room Weight None Expert Opinion 11 x 7 x 1.7 cm 115 Gr Thomas Haring TELE-satellite Test Center Austria 28 TELE-satellite International The World s Largest Digital TV Trade Magazine 04-05/2012 www.tele-satellite.com