How does a digital set-top box work?
Any digital set-top box consists of elements such as a housing, a receiving and processing board and a control panel. The set-top box works as follows: it receives a signal, converts it and broadcasts it to the TV either in analog format (via RCA or VGA connector, you need to switch the TV to signal mode with AV), or in digital format (via HDMI connector, you need to switch to signal from HDMI ). Using a set-top box can significantly increase the quality of television broadcasting, regardless of how modern the TV is. If desired, the set-top box can even be used to connect to a TV with a kinescope. At the same time, you need to understand that the quality of the broadcast depends, among other things, on the screen resolution.
How to choose a set-top box for digital television?
The diversity of the market makes it possible to choose among dozens of models. It is important to know how to choose a digital TV set-top box that will fit your TV and can last for several years.
- Connectors . To connect the set-top box to the TV, both devices must have suitable connectors. These could be RCA or SCART connectors, typical of older TVs, as well as modern HDMI. If a suitable set-top box does not have the required connector, you can use an additional adapter.
- Screen resolution . Modern set-top boxes are capable of broadcasting signals in HD or Full HD resolution. Standard definition television SDTV is no longer used in many places and is gradually going out of fashion.
- Additional features . A digital set-top box can perform several functions in addition to receiving and transcoding a signal. Additions include the possibility of delayed viewing and even recording of a program on external media connected to the USB port of the set-top box. It is worth emphasizing that standard TV receivers are not equipped with Internet access and receive a signal either via an antenna cable or from an external antenna.
- Internet and TV . Many city Internet providers provide users with the function of watching TV over the Internet, and such television is called IPTV. This means that if the provider has problems with the Internet, then you will not have TV in your home. But with this connection you get 50 or more channels in excellent digital quality.
- IPTV function . It can also be used in media set-top boxes on Android through special applications. Such set-top boxes also include an Internet browser as part of the application. Such devices are connected to the Network via a built-in Wi-Fi module or via a LAN input using a twisted pair network cable.
Thus, for old TVs, it is quite possible to purchase a classic inexpensive (about 900 rubles) set-top box, and it will already be able to broadcast a signal in high quality Full HD.
True, in Russia, broadcast channels are currently broadcast only in HD quality. Most receivers have a USB input for connecting external media - flash drives and hard drives. This allows you to view movies and videos downloaded from the Internet or from a family video archive. The best manufacturers of digital set-top boxes include Defender, D-Color, Oriel, BBK and other well-known brands. Knowing which TV set-top box to choose for digital television, you can buy a suitable tuner with good sensitivity and an optimal ratio of cost and technical characteristics.
| Economy option: digital set-top box BBK SMP145HDT2 (Full HD) | |
Digital receiver “Signal” HD-200
Compact console HD-200 is designed to receive open digital DVB-T/T2 programs of standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD), providing, if necessary, the function of recording programs on an external USB drive, and can also be used as a multi-format media player.HD-200 receiver is the best domestic development (Novosibirsk) due to its high reliability, the best price/quality criterion and very high sensitivity.
Design and appearance
The HD-200 receiver is packaged in a compact, colorful, durable cardboard box with dimensions of 175x180x57 mm. All inscriptions on the box are made only in Russian.
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The HD-200 receiver is housed in a small black metal case.
The front panel of the receiver contains the following controls and indications:
Front Panel | |
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On the rear panel of the receiver are located:
Back panel | |
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The receiver has a small, very convenient, aesthetic and lightweight remote control. The remote control keyboard consists of 37 buttons and a joystick (additionally 4 buttons). The central part of the keyboard contains the most frequently used control buttons and information services. The recording and media player control buttons are located at the bottom of the remote control. The remote control is powered by two AAA batteries.
The purpose of the buttons on the remote control is shown in the figure.
Circuit design and setup
It is important to note that the receiver has a loop output with almost unity coefficient.
The receiver's electrical circuit and power supply are located on a common board. The Novatek78316 chip is used as the central processor. The chip supports processing HD and SD video streams (MPEG-2, MPEG-4/H.264) and audio streams, and provides communication with external devices via HDMI and USB 2.0 ports. A small radiator with four cooling fins is glued to the processor cover (see photo).
The receiver's motherboard contains DDR3-800 RAM chips Zentel A3R12E40CBF with a capacity of 512 MB and a flash memory chip with serial synchronous access Spansion FL032P with a capacity of 32 MB.
The elements of the RF input part (the tuner with additional elements) are soldered directly to the system board and protected by a tin screen. The top cover of the case and the receiver chassis are equipped with a sufficient number of ventilation holes (to eliminate overheating).
The receiver is supplied with a 3RCA-3RCA cable ("tulips") and a user manual in Russian. The technical characteristics of the HD-200 receiver are given in the main description table.
Setting up and receiving programs
When you turn on the receiver for the first time using the “Standby” or after resetting to factory settings, the quick setup mode starts. At the same time, the display lights up (yellow-orange color) with the numbers “0000” and the receiver’s power indicator itself (green). When you turn off the receiver, the display goes dark and the operating status indicator lights up red.
The user can select : Menu language. Several languages are supported, but Russian is used by default. Selecting a country. The user can specify the desired country. The default is Russia.
Tuner system. It is possible to select the reception of standard signals “T”, “T2” or “T+T2” . By default, the universal mode “T+T2” is set.
During auto-search, the center frequencies of the channels are written. Upon completion of the auto search, a list of all channels (both open and encrypted) appears. When you press the “INFO” , all detailed information is indicated for each channel (channel number, frequency, modulation format, FEC, etc.). The most important parameters for the consumer are the lines “Intensity” and “Quality” . The closer they are to 100%, the better. The most important line is “Quality”. The signal level (intensity) can always be increased by turning on the amplifier.
By pressing the "MENU" button, all other settings are accessed (Setup, Channel, Time, TV Setup, Language, Other and USB). The capabilities and principle of the settings are clear from the pictures.
In the same settings (Antenna setup), it is possible to supply supply voltage to the mast amplifier ( +5 V along the central core of the cable). In this case, we recommend using antenna amplifiers powered directly from the HD-200 receiver with a voltage of +5 V. By default, power is not supplied to the antenna.
Testing of the DVB-T2 receiver was carried out in Moscow . At this time, two federal multiplexes were broadcasting in the DVB-T2/MPEG-4 standard. The first is on the 30th frequency channel and the second is on the 24th .
The receiver has detected all broadcast channels. After completing the search, the receiver saved all detected channels in the list. In this case, encrypted channels are displayed on the TV screen in the form of a padlock. There were no problems with displaying channel names in Cyrillic.
When you press the “INFO” , complete information about this channel appears (see figure). “EPG” button can be very useful , with which it is convenient to view the program schedule for all received channels (see figure).
It is useful to immediately set the correct current time.
The principle of channel sorting (if required) is described in the attached data sheet. Thus, the test results showed that the presented DVB-T2 receiver HD-200 is quite functional, works stably and is adapted for receiving Russian digital terrestrial TV programs.
| Make an order |
Set-top boxes for digital TV. How to choose the best?
Starting from January 2021 in Russia, the usual terrestrial channels in the analog range are being replaced by the DVB-T2 standard - broadcasting a digital signal in the meter and decimeter wavelength ranges. Analogue broadcasting will gradually cease. This means that every family will have a digital receiver.
Many people already use digital television at home via a satellite dish and a Tricolor receiver. But they are forced to transfer a decent subscriber fee to the provider for this. But digital broadcasting will significantly expand the capabilities of your TV, including increasing the number of received channels to 20.
Using a digital set-top box will also allow you to:
- play media files from external media;
- record movies and programs on media (only in expensive devices);
- view the desired broadcast after a while (TimeShift option).
It is worth noting that not all set-top boxes have a powerful receiver capable of efficiently converting even a weak signal. Therefore, when buying a receiver, you should also take care of a high-quality antenna with a signal amplifier. In our review of digital TV set-top boxes, we selected the best models with a very high-quality and sensitive receiver.
How to choose the best DVB-T2 set-top box
DVB-T2 is a European standard for terrestrial digital television, belonging to the second generation. This is now the most common broadcast format.
Almost any digital set-top box supports the DVB-T2 format. Therefore, the question arises: which device is better to buy?
To choose the model that is right for you, you should pay attention to the technical specifications.
What criteria should be followed?
- See what information encoding methods your chosen device supports. Everything is simple here - in the best case, the receiver should support the maximum number of video and audio compression formats.
Note! The set-top box must support MPEG-4 signal encoding.
- What is the screen resolution of your TV?
The peculiarity of receivers is that they can only support HD and higher. And the broadcast standard for too old TV models is SDTV.
Important! If your TV is outdated, the picture quality will not change after installing the device.
- Connector type.
TVs may have different types of connectors. More often it is (RCA) “tulip” or SCART, for more modern HDMI models. However, there is always the opportunity to purchase an adapter if the selected set-top box does not fit only the type of connector.
Important! The presence of an HDMI connector allows the picture quality to improve significantly.
- Sensitivity parameter.
This criterion determines how high quality the image on your screen will be. In the characteristics of the model, this item is designated as “input signal level”.
- What media formats are supported.
The set-top box can be used to view photos, audio and video files. To do this, it must support the appropriate formats:
Video – MKV, AVI, AVC/H.264, DivX, MPEG4
Audio – MP3, WMA, AAC, AC3
Photo – JPEG, JPG, RAW
These parameters can be seen in the model characteristics.
- Cartographer.
It happens that the standard set of channels, of which there are more than 30, is not enough for the user. In this case, it is worth paying attention to the presence of a card reader in the device. This thing allows you to catch additional channels.
- Availability of additional features.
Using the receiver, you can watch not only TV programs in real time. The great functionality of modern devices allows you to surf Internet sites, connect external media and record broadcasts.
When studying the characteristics, you should pay attention to the TimeShift function and the number of USB connectors.
To ensure you are completely satisfied with your purchase, think about what exactly you want from a DVB-T2 set-top box.
Smart TVs and media set-top boxes
More and more TV manufacturers are offering devices that support Smart-TV, an option that allows you to use the Internet to watch programs. Thanks to this feature, any TV can access the media environment. Applications installed on such TVs have the ability to view TV channels from the Internet (IPTV). If your TV does not have this feature, it can be implemented using a separate media set-top box on Android OS. Connecting such a TV-box provides the following options:
- watching movies and TV shows in the best quality;
- ability to access video hosting sites;
- the ability to communicate on social networks;
- access to games downloaded through a special application.
By and large, such a set-top box is a computer running on its own operating system and connecting to the World Wide Web via cable or Wi-Fi.
Manufacturers of smart set-top boxes offer two types of devices: TV boxes and TV sticks. The former are very similar to routers and are able to operate as stably as possible due to radiators installed inside the case. Some TV boxes come with remote controls with a built-in keyboard.
The TV stick is more modest in size and looks somewhat like a regular USB flash drive. The stick costs noticeably less than the box, but has simplified functionality and fewer ports.
| Popular TV stick: Rombica Smart Stick Quad v001 | |
The advantages of a digital media set-top box with IPTV are obvious:
Firstly , buying a relatively inexpensive device allows you to actually turn an old TV into a modern model with Smart-TV support.
Secondly , such set-top boxes are good for creating a local network for viewing files located on a computer or phone via a TV.
Finally , the Android operating system allows you to install and play the latest games on your big screen TV. The applications require virtually no setup - everything is exactly the same as on a smartphone - install and use. And you don’t have to pay any subscription fee to watch movies. But there are advertising blocks before each film.
When choosing a Smart-TV set-top box, it is better to give preference to at least a quad-core model with a RAM capacity of 2 GB or more. If the console will be actively used for video games, it is better not to skimp on RAM. There can be as much built-in memory as you want; if there is not enough of it, you can install a MicroSD card.
The X96 TV Box has a more than competitive price (less than 3,000 rubles), an impressive amount of internal memory, and is very easy to manage and configure.
What is the difference between receivers of different price categories?
There is quite a large selection of digital set-top boxes on the market. All of them can be divided into groups according to price category. The functionality and additional features depend on the price. The more expensive the device, the more functions it has.
The price of receivers starts from about 700 rubles and up to 17,000. The cost of an auto tuner is influenced by certain characteristics:
- Possibility of Internet connection
- Number of connectors
- Country in which the device was manufactured. The cheapest models are made in China.
- Ability to control the set-top box using buttons on the display
- The ability to record your favorite TV show or series to watch it at any convenient time
All the devices that the market offers us can be divided into four categories.
Budget series
The peculiarity of budget options is their limited functionality. They can only be used for watching TV. Such models cope well with basic tasks, but they do not have any additional functions. Budget segment devices will be a good option, for example, for a TV in the country.
Economy options
Economy class is located a little higher. Such set-top boxes have the ability to expand the number of channels. This is done using a special card reader. Another nice feature is that receivers of this class have the ability to record various documents on external media.
Average price category
The best option for active use. Their main advantage over cheaper models is particularly high-quality sound and video transmission. In addition, they have all the additional features listed above. A good option for those who want to purchase a quality device without spending a lot of money.
Premium class
These are the most advanced devices on the market. Set-top boxes of this class have a powerful operating system. Because of this, the functionality improves. Their main advantage is a wide range of additional capabilities. These models are equipped with an Internet browser. This allows you to view any pages from your TV, listen to music and watch videos from the World Wide Web through the YouTube and Megogo applications.
Attention! If you are sure that you only need a set-top box for watching TV programs, you can safely go for budget or economy options.
How much does a digital set-top box cost?
The most budget model of a DVB-T2 set-top box will cost about 1,000 rubles, and depending on additional options, the cost can rise to 2,000 rubles. The presence of Wi-Fi increases the price by another thousand.
Smart-TV sticks start at 3,000 rubles, the cheapest TV box will cost 4,000 rubles. Set-top boxes with many additional functions, combining the capabilities of the Internet and television, and having impressive characteristics (RAM, processor) can cost more than 8,000 rubles.
How to choose digital set-top boxes for your TV? Individual needs must be taken into account. Thus, budget models of consoles are well suited for a summer house or garden, where numerous additional functions are not needed. Expensive and functional models are suitable for a home or apartment, provided that all functions will be constantly used. The choice of a suitable tuner should directly depend on the expected result.
