Dells
03-30-2013, 01:30 AM
let me start off by saying the Linkbox company is amazing to work with. They are responsive, timely and a very nice group of people.
My Linkbox 8000HD Plus just arrived the other day, with additional components.......it includes
1 Linkbox HD 8000 Plus
A Pansat UHF remote kit
A WIFI "N" usb adapter
A Linkbox Remote
HDMI cable
Right out of the box the Link has a sleek design.....I like the contour of the buttons and the fact that if you need to use them, it's obvious what does what, as other boxes only have one or two unlabeled and it can be guessing game at times. The front right also has a flip down slot for the front USB port.
You should definitely visit their site for the specs on the box and great service.
www.linkboxusa.com
I always like to pull the top off the box and check the inside to make sure nothing got screwed up during shipping....with everything in it's place and all caps in tact I proceeded with the set up.
The menu is in good order for finding things, it's laid out well and breaks down into sub-menus accordingly. For those of you that get one don't forget to ask someone testing about the tools menu "trick" for additional options in the sub menu of tools.
There is a sat menu that allows you to select the sats you would like to scan only and adds preset settings for the ones you choose. A neat feature for when you do your antennae settings as very little information is required for the settings input......really great for the newbies to the hobby.
The scans didn't miss a beat and continued to get faster as more sats were scanned. This is one of the faster scanning receivers out there. I did have some issues scanning with network search turned on.
It has more than the usual settings for new TV's......adding 1080p as well as the others. Not many boxes out there are supporting 1080p.
After setting up and scanning the sats I exited out to see the picture this receiver produces. I'm not old to the hobby, but I'm not new either.......best I've had on my TV so far.....a very clear SD pic, not normal...lol And an outstanding HD quality pic. For those of you adding different HD modules I would expect nothing other than stunning results. I have the receiver hooked to my surround and sound and the the sound is crystal clear also.
I went ahead and adding the USB WIFI device to see how it would respond. Let me say I've tried a few different wifi devices with FTA receivers and have been less than pleased with the results. The wifi device comes with a connection manager CD, but I will say I have not installed it. I plugged the device into the back usb port on the receiver and it picked up the device immediately. I went into the menu and selected wifi.....Link is the only receiver I have seen with this, it asked to scan and picked up my wifi instantly.....as well as the neighbors...lol and showed me in a percentage what the quality of signal was. In the back of the house, router at the other end, it was reading at 89%. I hit connect and it asked for the WPA key and after entering, had an immediate connection. I will tell you...I'm a fan of hard lining FTA receivers, but it's not necessary with the Link. I watched the connection on it for several hours........it did not drop once......I can't say that about any other receiver.
The receiver remote responds a little slow in my opinion.......but the Pansat UHF remote kit works amazing with the unit. I can change channels and turn up the volume from the other side of the house. It does exactly what it's suppose to do.
The guide layout is very nice.......It does seem to come and go though. But again I think they are on the issue, but it looks similar to old VS menus......straight lines and easy to read!
I'm looking forward to what these guys put together in the near future. I will be back soon to add to this great review and more info as they continue to make even more improvements to this receiver.
Well done Linkbox........I recommend them first if your in line for a new receiver
My Linkbox 8000HD Plus just arrived the other day, with additional components.......it includes
1 Linkbox HD 8000 Plus
A Pansat UHF remote kit
A WIFI "N" usb adapter
A Linkbox Remote
HDMI cable
Right out of the box the Link has a sleek design.....I like the contour of the buttons and the fact that if you need to use them, it's obvious what does what, as other boxes only have one or two unlabeled and it can be guessing game at times. The front right also has a flip down slot for the front USB port.
You should definitely visit their site for the specs on the box and great service.
www.linkboxusa.com
I always like to pull the top off the box and check the inside to make sure nothing got screwed up during shipping....with everything in it's place and all caps in tact I proceeded with the set up.
The menu is in good order for finding things, it's laid out well and breaks down into sub-menus accordingly. For those of you that get one don't forget to ask someone testing about the tools menu "trick" for additional options in the sub menu of tools.
There is a sat menu that allows you to select the sats you would like to scan only and adds preset settings for the ones you choose. A neat feature for when you do your antennae settings as very little information is required for the settings input......really great for the newbies to the hobby.
The scans didn't miss a beat and continued to get faster as more sats were scanned. This is one of the faster scanning receivers out there. I did have some issues scanning with network search turned on.
It has more than the usual settings for new TV's......adding 1080p as well as the others. Not many boxes out there are supporting 1080p.
After setting up and scanning the sats I exited out to see the picture this receiver produces. I'm not old to the hobby, but I'm not new either.......best I've had on my TV so far.....a very clear SD pic, not normal...lol And an outstanding HD quality pic. For those of you adding different HD modules I would expect nothing other than stunning results. I have the receiver hooked to my surround and sound and the the sound is crystal clear also.
I went ahead and adding the USB WIFI device to see how it would respond. Let me say I've tried a few different wifi devices with FTA receivers and have been less than pleased with the results. The wifi device comes with a connection manager CD, but I will say I have not installed it. I plugged the device into the back usb port on the receiver and it picked up the device immediately. I went into the menu and selected wifi.....Link is the only receiver I have seen with this, it asked to scan and picked up my wifi instantly.....as well as the neighbors...lol and showed me in a percentage what the quality of signal was. In the back of the house, router at the other end, it was reading at 89%. I hit connect and it asked for the WPA key and after entering, had an immediate connection. I will tell you...I'm a fan of hard lining FTA receivers, but it's not necessary with the Link. I watched the connection on it for several hours........it did not drop once......I can't say that about any other receiver.
The receiver remote responds a little slow in my opinion.......but the Pansat UHF remote kit works amazing with the unit. I can change channels and turn up the volume from the other side of the house. It does exactly what it's suppose to do.
The guide layout is very nice.......It does seem to come and go though. But again I think they are on the issue, but it looks similar to old VS menus......straight lines and easy to read!
I'm looking forward to what these guys put together in the near future. I will be back soon to add to this great review and more info as they continue to make even more improvements to this receiver.
Well done Linkbox........I recommend them first if your in line for a new receiver