Satellite TV tuner GS 8306 appeared in the summer of 2012, becoming one of the most compact devices of Tricolor TV. The model allows you to view a package of high-definition TV channels "Maximum HD".
Appearance
There is no digital display, which reduced the power consumption of the receiver. Removing the power supply from the case lowered the heating temperature of the device, which, according to user reviews, increased its service life. The failure of the power supply is the main cause of failure of satellite tuners, and now, if necessary, it can be easily replaced with another one.
Tricolor tuner GS 8306 is produced in a small silver metal case. The sides of the top cover are rounded, which visually reduces the height of the receiver and gives it a modern look. The top, chassis and back panel are made of metal, while the front panel is made of plastic. There are ventilation holes at the top and bottom. The front panel manages with a minimum of control buttons. It has a button for switching the operating mode, channels and volume control.
The operating mode indicator is combined with the illumination of the Standby button. Its white and blue color, according to user reviews, is baddistinguishable against the background of the front panel. There is a slot for a conditional access card on the side of the case.
Back panel contains:
- input and output antenna connectors LNB IN and LNB OUT;
- RCA-out connector for composite video signal;
- RCA outputs of the right and left sound channels;
- USB port;
- HDMI connector;
- 12V power supply connector.
Filling
The Neotion NP6+ CPU is designed for budget MPEG 4 standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) devices and supports the use of secure data exchange technology. The microcircuit does not require an additional heatsink, since its heating does not exceed 45 °C. The system board of the receiver accommodates two sticks of DDR2 512 MB RAM. ROM - based on flash memory with a capacity of 16 MB. Data transfer rates up to 35 Mb/s are supported. There is an 8Kb EEprom memory chip 24C08RP used to store important system parameters. In the receiving path of the presented receiver, the DVB-S / S2 block of the Serit SP2230 MVb tuner is used. The input part of the unit uses a Montage Technology M88TS2022 tuner chip. The demodulator is based on the Montage Technology M88DS3103 chip.
Special features of the tuner box:
- loop RF output;
- auto-detect broadcasting parameters;
- blind search and sleep mode functions.
The HDMI interface controller is based on the Analog Device ADV7520 chip,supporting HDTV video format, with built-in HDCP encryption module. The card reader is located on a separate board and has additional plastic guides.
The LNB power is controlled by an Allegro A8293 regulator that generates up to 8 voltage levels at 22 kHz and controls load consumption.
The controller is controlled by the I2C bus. There is a slot on the board for connecting an SD card slot and a front panel display, reserved for the following receiver models. The receiver is powered by a DC adapter with a voltage of 12 V and a current of 2 A. There is also a 2 A fuse on the board.
Package set
The GS 8306 has the same remote control as other Tricolor TV satellite tuners. According to users, it is light and convenient, because the control buttons are concentrated in the center. There are buttons for calling information and other functions of the provider: “TV Mail”, “TV Chat”, “Order a movie”. "Sign In" is used to switch the signal between HDMI and CVBS interfaces. The remote control is powered by 2 AAA batteries.
The kit also includes a brochure "Tricolor TV" and an instruction manual.
Connection
To indicate the operating mode of the GS 8306, the backlight is used, which is created by 2 LEDs. The indicator mode is determined by the sequence of their activation. These modes are as follows:
- No glow - tuner is off. However, the receiver has a standby sleep mode in which there is no indication. Entrance and exit to it is made by the Standby button.
- Continuous glow - the receiver is booting up after turning on or exiting the standby mode. If the GS 8306 tuner does not turn on, the indicator is on, then most likely it is in download mode.
- Indicator blinking - standby mode. The transition to the viewing state occurs by pressing the channel switch button on the front panel.
- The lower part of the indicator is lit - the operating mode, a signal is being supplied to the HDMI interface.
- The upper part of the indicator is lit - the operating mode, the signal goes to the CVBS connector.
- Simultaneous signal input to HDMI interface and CVBS connector is not possible. When the receiver is turned on for the first time, the video signal is sent to the RCA/CVBS connector according to the 576i standard.
Audio is sent to RCA outputs regardless of interface.
Resetting the GS 8306 receiver will not affect the video output mode. There is no resolution control on the HDMI output - only 1080i is fed. This can make it difficult to use the tuner with 720p TVs.
If the connected device sets the resolution automatically, there may be a situation where the setting of the image resolution by the external device is not accepted. Tricolor TV receivers reboot and the HDMI interface turns off.
Power consumption
Current draw at 12 volts:
- sleep mode - 100mA;
- Standby mode - 450mA;
- view at standard definition - 650 mA;
- high definition viewing - 750 mA.
In sleep mode, the loop output is disabled. The GS 8306 is updated via the tuner's USB interface.
First steps
When you turn on the receiver for the first time or when resetting, the "First Time Installation Wizard" starts. The setup is simple and consists of the following steps:
1. Set the menu language from three possible (English, Ukrainian, Russian).
2. Setting the region from the list downloaded from the satellite. If you select "Main", then channels will be found that are broadcast throughout the "Tricolor TV" zone. Selecting another region will add channels.
3. Search for TV and radio channels "Tricolor TV". This mode starts after selecting a region. During tuning, the tuning indicators (level and quality) and a search progress indicator are displayed on the screen. The last one lasts less than a minute, then the receiver goes into viewing mode.
4. Repeated quick tuning is possible using the "Search for Tricolor TV channels" function from the main setup menu. There are no other search modes. There is no need to adjust the antenna parameters. The GS 8306 receiver is intended for use in the standard Tricolor TV subscription kit, and there is no corresponding menu.
Settings menu
Settings menu allows you to set:
- Main and secondary audio and sub title languages.
- Watch synchronization mode - automatic by satellite and manual.
- Display format (unchanged, Letter Box, PanScan, Combined).
- Analog video parameters (standardPAL is the default). The quality of the image, judging by the reviews, is decent. Switching to SECAM mode increases brightness and results in loss of contrast.
- 4-digit access PIN. As users have noticed, the lack of protection of the setup menu makes setting the code meaningless, since you can reset the settings and the PIN code to the factory settings.
View
The maximum number of television and radio channels that can be stored in the device's memory does not exceed 1000. Their location differs from the usual scanning of the Tricolor TV package. The numbering starts from zero. You can choose how the list is displayed (in 1 or 3 columns), sorting alphabetically and in reverse order. There is no list editing function. There are no age restrictions. The channel cannot be moved, deleted, renamed, blocked with a PIN code, assigned to one of 5 lists, which can include both television and radio channels. Favorite channels can be selected using filters. You can already edit them and change their position in the list.
The transition of the tuner to sleep leads to the loss of information about the last viewing. When turned on again, the Tricolor TV receivers go into the viewing mode of the “zero” number of the last selected list.
Broadcasts of "Tricolor TV" are encoded by the conditional access system DRE Crypt. The subscriber, buying a GS 8306 receiver, receives a smart card with a 14-digit DRE ID. Subscription status can be viewed in the "Subscriptions" menu. Switching takes 3 days for SD mode and 4 days for HD mode. It is made through the calledto the list screen or one by one. It is possible to quickly switch pages of the list.
Utilities
GS 8306 receiver firmware supports the following service functions.
- Program guide for the week, including data on the genre of programs and their description. The EPG loads quickly. The TV guide window displays program data for 8 favorite channels. There is a timer for watching programs.
- Teletext.
- Sub titles.
- Alternative audio tracks.
- Cinema. The window displays a list of available films, time before the start of viewing, genre, description of announcements and films. The My Sessions service allows you to create your own broadcast schedule. TV mail. The service displays on the screen messages and images attached to them sent from the site "TV Mail Tricolor".
- TV chat. The service makes it possible to display text messages from a cell phone. Messages are displayed in the window in view mode.
- Banners displayed when switching between channels. Advertise the goods and services of the provider or other companies.
Change Firmware
To update the tuner software using the USB connector, do the following:
- you need to write the downloaded file to the root folder of the USB drive;
- insert the drive into the slot;
- power off and on;
- after some time (about 30 seconds) a message should appear on the screen about the start of the downloadprograms;
- on completion of the download, a corresponding message will appear;
- eject drive;
- power off and on.
You should pay attention to the fact that after the update, the receiver settings are reset to the factory settings.
According to users, the GS 8306 receiver is not without flaws, but it is suitable for watching Tricolor TV channels in standard definition and HD mode. The receiver allows you to receive all packages provided by the Tricolor TV operator: Cinema, Night, Maximum HD, Superoptimum, Optimum. The tuner supports HDTV image format, MPEG2, MPEG4 encoding. Despite the fact that the operator's software does not allow viewing the channels of other satellites and operators, the number and variety of frequencies provided by Tricolor TV, according to subscribers, eliminates such a need.
