Amiko Alien A3 opinion please

cteixeira

Would like to know two things about this receiver:
- picture quality in SD channels
- sensitivity of tuner for weak signals
Thanks

kierc

Anyone have a Channel list setup with Sky numbers that they would share, thanks.

gate1

Guys

Now reading this post with interest as i have just purchased the AMIKO AS3. I'm afraid I don't find it operating properly.

There is a serious synch problem between the audio and picture (lip sync)!
The picture in HD is not crystal clear. Not as sharp as my dreambox 500HD or techno-mate 6900HD combo. Colours lack definition and overall have a very soft focus look about it.

I'm running firmware version 2.0.72 (latest release). I have already tried loading older versions, powering the box on/off and switching channels. No change !

Is anyone else having these problems? if I cannot resolve it over the next few days, I'm returning the box for a full refund. So far not impressed....

Will update later.

gate1

Box returned today.

Jay Dee

HI,

My old FTA box is no the way out.... picture goes red on the channel you are watching...
I want to replace it and have the following questions....

(a) Looking at Amiko Alien 2 Triple Tuner or AMIKO A3
Are theses hard to operate.... ?
Not very sat box savvy....

(b) Looking for a box with 2 FTA channels,... watch one record one .... plus Soarview..... plus Programme guide...
Am I being overambitious with my choices.....

(c) Is there something else... easier to operate available.....

Looking on line at Freetv.ie and I don't understand half of it....
eg.... " Although it does not have a 7 day EPG on satellite channels by default,
the Amiko Alien 2 can receive a 7 day EPG on the UK channels over the internet with Enigma2 "
What does that mean in plain english......
What is the with or without MPEG5 difference....

Sorry if some of the questions appear lacking in basic sat speak but that's why I'm posting.....

Would appreciate any assistance....

Thanks


Jay....

Irreverent

Jay Dee

What you want is a triple tuner box. That means a box with three tuners - two for satellite channels and one for saorview channels. In order for this to work you need two feeds coming into the house from your satellite dish (ie. two cables) and one feed coming from a UHF aerial. All three cables go into the back of your triple tuner box and you get all the Free to Air (free satellite) and Saorview channels.

The Amiko A3 will not do this for you. It is a single satellite tuner box so only one satellite feed and no Saorview feed.

The Alien 2 will do this for you. Other similar options are the Edision Optimuss OS3 and the Enfinity X2+ (both excellent boxes). I would go for one of the latter as you can install a hdd internally in both. Personally I have an OS3 and now that the latest software images have settled down, I find it a brilliant box. I also have an Amiko A3 in the spare room. It is a great box for tv and Kodi when configured correctly but not great for a main room box and is not suited to recording.

Things get confusing for newcomers to this area when you look for 7 day epg. Freetv are correct. All of the 3 boxes listed above are Linux based. As such they run a firmware known as Spark which is ok but limited in usage. You can install a custom operating system called Enigma which can offer huge functionality. Enigma is open source and is developed by teams of willing volunteers. As such it is not officially supported. You will see different types of Enigma varieties such as Openvix, HDfreaks, Openatv etc etc if you go down this route. These are the different teams that produce Enigma firmwares for these boxes.

Installing these images (as they are known) is a steep learning curve. If you are an interested techie minded person like most who invest in these boxes, then go for it and you will find lots of help on boards and elsewhere. If this is all completely double dutch to you then you are probably going to get a bit lost. You will find dedicated threads to lots of these boxes on this site so have a look through them and then make up your mind.

Hope that wasn't all too confusing

Jay Dee

Hi Irreverent,

Thanks for the post...

Paragraph one and two are fine.... I understand...

Paragraph three... I have an external WD 1TB external drive...will this do ??

Paragraph for ..As for the 7 day EPG... if you run Spark do you get it.?? if I get it Enigma loaded... does it come as part of the install ??.
...If I do not have a 7 day FPG ...what do you get ??? is it just " now & Next".....

Paragraph five.... If I get an Alien 2 or one of the other two you recommend.. can I just plug in and go , I'm not that interested in adding "extra" functions..... I just want the Channels and if possible the 7 day guide...

Thanks for the help....

Jay...

Irreverent

Yes your wd 1tb would be fine. You can use internal or external. It doesn't matter.

I have not run Spark for a long time but I think you can get 7 day epg on it these days. Maybe just google that to be sure. If you bought a triple timer from freetv they would have the 7 day epg ready to go with an enigma image preinstalled. and it was pretty much plug and play. I bought an os3 for my mother and she is using it happily. She has no clue about technology but is using it happily. Just takes getting used to using it.

Nowso

7 day epg is on spark , not as user friendly as sky etc but is there

no boxs are just plug and play , but spark is easier to set up

mass_debater

The Spark on the Alien3 is Spark2 and is nothing like the Spark on the Alien2 as the Alien3 runs Android. I'm not even sure if CrossEPG is working

Jay Dee

Hi,

Irreverent ::
Nowso ::

Thanks for the information.

The only reason I was looking at the Amiko Alien 2 was that it was € 150.00, rather than the os3, which was € 250.00
Is it possible to get the Amiko with both loaded... would that be any good....or is that just stupid.
" no boxs are just plug and play , but spark is easier to set up ".... I appreciate there has to be some set up but is it " follow the steps " sort of thing...
or if I get Enigma loaded, will the shop selling it not have to set it up to start with ??....

and to finish " " Although it does not have a 7 day EPG on satellite channels by default,
the Amiko Alien 2 can receive a 7 day EPG on the UK channels over the internet with Enigma2 "
What does that mean in plain english......

Mass Debater ::

Thank you for your comment.... I really do appreciate all offers of advice/information.... unfortunately your comment was in a different language to mine altogether..... but I do thank you for the post ...

Thanks


Jay...

mass_debater

Jay Dee wrote: »

H
Mass Debater ::

Thank you for your comment.... I really do appreciate all offers of advice/information.... unfortunately your comment was in a different language to mine altogether..... but I do thank you for the post ...

Thanks


Jay...

This thread is about the Amiko Alien 3 which is new hardware and runs a new version of Spark on Android. Your questions about the Alien 2 have already been answered in the relevant Amiko Alien 2 threads in the terrestrial forum and are dragging this thread of topic

Irreverent

mass_debater wrote: »

The Spark on the Alien3 is Spark2 and is nothing like the Spark on the Alien2 as the Alien3 runs Android. I'm not even sure if CrossEPG is working

Just to clarify for anyone looking for it, Crossepg is working fine on Spark 2 on the A3. It is an android app however and works differently to the Crossepg on Enigma.

Jay Dee

Hi,

mass_debater :: Sorry, it was not my intention to take the thread off topic.... I was originally interested in the Alien 3, ( but that is not suitable) .... that's why I posted it here.....

Nowso :: As a Mod is it possible to move this to the Alien 2 thread..... as I would still like to have a few queries cleared up... if possible....


Thanks

Jay...

Hootanany

Irreverent wrote: »

Just to clarify for anyone looking for it, Crossepg is working fine on Spark 2 on the A3. It is an android app however and works differently to the Crossepg on Enigma.

Hi how do i get this to work on my A3?

Irreverent

Have you got the Crossepg app in your list of Apps for Spark 2. If not you may need to update you firmware. Read this forum for more info:

http://www.sat-support.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?f=194&t=10319

It is in many languages but the Crossepg parts are in English. It's a good link for any info on this box to be honest.

Hootanany

Irreverent wrote: »

Have you got the Crossepg app in your list of Apps for Spark 2. If not you may need to update you firmware. Read this forum for more info:

http://www.sat-support.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?f=194&t=10319

It is in many languages but the Crossepg parts are in English. It's a good link for any info on this box to be honest.

Cheers for that:p
I have lost a good few channels any tips for getting them back? ie Food Channel & Horror keeps coming up as scrambled.

Gerry Wicklow

Hootanany wrote: »

Cheers for that:p
I have lost a good few channels any tips for getting them back? ie Food Channel & Horror keeps coming up as scrambled.

Several channels have moved to a new satellite recently. They are not finished just yet, with more changes expected before the end of this month. If you can manage without, I would hold off until then when things will hopefully stabilise again. Otherwise check here for new settings.

Tinder Surprise

Don't know how long it will last but you can pick up the A3 now for £79.50/€113 (ex ship) from Amiko.co.uk by using Promo Code: SANTA at the checkout.

jspuds

Its only €99 with free delivery on Freetv.ie website
http://www.freetv.ie/amiko-a3.html

Irreverent

An A3 combo is about to be released any day now with a dvb-t/2 tuner as well as a satellite tuner. Haven't heard any reviews yet but I know it is a step up in spec. Quad core Cortex A9 1.5GHZ chip with 1GB of RAM if I remember correctly. That probably accounts for the reduction in pricing for the older model.

massy086

jspuds wrote: »

Its only €99 with free delivery on Freetv.ie website
http://www.freetv.ie/amiko-a3.html

That 99 is ex vat so 127 with vat

Hootanany

Irreverent wrote: »

An A3 combo is about to be released any day now with a dvb-t/2 tuner as well as a satellite tuner. Haven't heard any reviews yet but I know it is a step up in spec. Quad core Cortex A9 1.5GHZ chip with 1GB of RAM if I remember correctly. That probably accounts for the reduction in pricing for the older model.

I wonder will they have fixed the shambles that is time shift on the new one?😥

Thargor

Is there a thread for the A3 combo anywhere? On a phone sorry for being lazy...

Irreverent

I don't think so yet. Some Irish retailers are selling it already for around 195 or so. No reviews yet.

Anchises

A review is here of the A3 combo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OREsMKCJts

twin tuners (SAt and Terrestrial).
Seems like they have removed the internal HD bay.

Has anybody bought yet ?

Indicated price is £59.00 on the blurb in the page referred to in the video. Seems too little (!) for what's described . Wonder if it's a typo.

A.

alanmacer

Has anybody bought yet ?

Indicated price is £59.00 on the blurb in the page referred to in the video. Seems too little (!) for what's described . Wonder if it's a typo.

A.[/quote]

I have Just recently purchased an Amiko A3 Combo , and even though it's very early days with the A3 Combo , I find the Box great value for Money , although I use the A3 Combo in a second room , my main receiver is a Edision OS3+ , and I find the picture quality on the Amiko as good as the OS3 , the Amiko was very easy to setup , and the Lavatronics Download for the older A3 single tuner , works perfect on the newer Combo model ,also there Oscam download works a treat with my N-line using the "Newcamd " option in the Oscam download from Lavatronics , and with 1 push of the button on your remote , your into the world of " kodi", I'm only into my 2nd day with the A3 Combo , but I'm very happy with Price , mine was €135.00 delivered , I'm sure as time goes on , I will probably find a few Cons , but as of now , I'm a happy punter ...

Irreverent

Where did you get the A3 combo for 135 delivered? Seems to be 175 odd on the Irish sites. That's a very good price that you got.

JonnyM

Would be interested as well at that price.

Praetorian

Did anyone ever manage to get the video / sound sync problem sorted?