[tonypowell]

I have just taken delivery of a netstream4sat and have a couple of issues regarding it compared to previous elgato satellite receivers.


The first is that the Mac no longer connects directly to the mac via USB or firewire - it relies on an ethernet connection.


The mac has already lost its connection to the netstream4sat 3 times in 1 day. You have to restart the eyetv software or power cycle the netstream4sat to remake the connection. Pinging the netstream4sat shows that it has not gone to sleep.


The remote control no longer works.


The netstream4sat has two USB ports which don't seem to be for anything at all. It would have been nice if you could have connected a hard drive to it.


I am waiting for a unicable LNB to arrive, as it then promises that I will be able to record up to 4 channels at the same time.


The installation and usage instructions are pitiful, and why you can't set it up from a Mac, but have to use a tablet baffles me.


I am unclear as to how one records a program from an iPad and where the recording is kept.


You need 2 elgato apps on the ipad to use it properly- eyetv and eyetv netstream.


Anybody else using one of these?

 

[nexttoyou]



Quote:
Originally Posted by tonypowell  /t/1521392/eyetv-netstream4sat#post_24450382


I have just taken delivery of a netstream4sat and have a couple of issues regarding it compared to previous elgato satellite receivers.


The first is that the Mac no longer connects directly to the mac via USB or firewire - it relies on an ethernet connection.

Absolutely, it’s a satellite receiver converting the satellite signals into a format being distributed in your local network (SAT>IP standard). It also includes a transcoder enabling iOS devices with a hassle-free HD reception.

Quote:
The mac has already lost its connection to the netstream4sat 3 times in 1 day. You have to restart the eyetv software or power cycle the netstream4sat to remake the connection. Pinging the netstream4sat shows that it has not gone to sleep.

As a matter of fact early versions of the software and the firmware are not very stable. This now should have been changed. Firmware updates are done via your iOS or Android device and the Netstream app. OS X software updates are done the usual way by updating from within the EyeTV application.

Quote:
The remote control no longer works.

The Netstream 4Sat does not come with any remote control as it wouldn’t be useful at all to remote control a receiver that most probably is somewhere close to your satellite dish and an Ethernet switch. This is a very different concept compared to a "one computer solution" as the 4Sat has four independent receivers which can be activated by any OS X, iOS or Android device via your network.

Quote:
The netstream4sat has two USB ports which don't seem to be for anything at all. It would have been nice if you could have connected a hard drive to it.

Well, nope, none of the receivers following the SAT>IP standard should be used for something else as an Ethernet connection. There are models (other than the model from Elgato) that come with integrated hard drives, but those would not record in an EyeTV compatible format. The USB ports are for servicing purposes only.

Quote:
I am waiting for a unicable LNB to arrive, as it then promises that I will be able to record up to 4 channels at the same time.

Well it supports various possibilities to do this, you should absolutely read the specifications. It’s a multi protocol receiver which also can be used as a multi switch. I’m using mine with a separate external multi switch receiving two different satellite positions and no unicable at all. And yes, EyeTV can record four HD streams coming from the four integrated receivers at the same time.

Quote:
The installation and usage instructions are pitiful, and why you can't set it up from a Mac, but have to use a tablet baffles me.

I second your opinion but it’s not too much troubling me as it’s usually only the first setup if you do not change anything afterwards like the IP address etc.

Quote:
I am unclear as to how one records a program from an iPad and where the recording is kept.

It keeps the records on the device you’re recording with. So recording something from an iPad seems not to be such a good idea as your place on such a tablet is very limited.

Quote:
You need 2 elgato apps on the ipad to use it properly- eyetv and eyetv netstream.

At least I am recording nothing at all from any iOS device and am using my Mac as the only recording device. The iOS devices are pure SAT>IP clients and for watching only. But if you absolutely want to watch an EyeTV recording on the Mac from an iOS device than you need indeed the EyeTV app for watching you Mac recordings and the free Netstream app for just watching television or recording with the device itself. For me it’s not that illogical.

Quote:
Anybody else using one of these?

Well, yes, many people in Europe I guess at is is the first choice for those of us who are using OS X, iOS (or Android) and are receiving DVB-S/S2 satellite signals.

 

[tonypowell]

I have now installed a unicable LNB and connected it to the netstream4sat. The Mac is connected to the netstream4sat with a gigabit ethernet switch. Configuration of the LNB settings would have been helped with some decent instructions but I got there in the end. I will post screenshots later. I can now record four programmes simultaneously, on my my mac mini. Also, my wife can watch a different channel on her iPad whilst in bed.


The downside is that the eyetv software is a lot less responsive when changing channels - can sometimes take up to a minute. Also it freezes much more often, this is when the software is not recording anything.


The other thing I have noticed is that compared to my previous elgato satellite receivers the EPG update via DVB only downloads a few programs instead of the hundreds it did before.


What a pity that Elgato did not put a firewire port on this device instead of the two redundant USB ports.

 

[tonypowell]

Screenshots showing configuration of Unicable LNB:

 

[qz3fwd]



Quote:
Originally Posted by tonypowell  /t/1521392/eyetv-netstream4sat#post_24535497


I have now installed a unicable LNB and connected it to the netstream4sat. The Mac is connected to the netstream4sat with a gigabit ethernet switch. Configuration of the LNB settings would have been helped with some decent instructions but I got there in the end. I will post screenshots later. I can now record four programmes simultaneously, on my my mac mini. Also, my wife can watch a different channel on her iPad whilst in bed.


The downside is that the eyetv software is a lot less responsive when changing channels - can sometimes take up to a minute. Also it freezes much more often, this is when the software is not recording anything.


The other thing I have noticed is that compared to my previous elgato satellite receivers the EPG update via DVB only downloads a few programs instead of the hundreds it did before.


What a pity that Elgato did not put a firewire port on this device instead of the two redundant USB ports.

You mean a thunderbolt port!

+1 Firewire though.

 

[tonypowell]

well it would be nice, way to futureproof it, and Elgato do offer a thunderbolt hard disk ( at a whopping 899 Euros for a 512mb drive). In fact with their thunderbolt dock, you could connect it direct to the TV and set up the recording via your iOS device.