FTA Fever Free-To-Air (FTA) Satellite TV Receivers

Viewsat MAX HD PVR High Definition Single Tuner USB 2.0 FTA Satellite Receiver

Design & Features Review

The Viewsat Max HD has been introduced by Viewsat to replace the Viewsat 9000 HD in an effort to provide a more affordable HD unit from Viewsat. The Viewsat Max is a very powerful fifth-generation High Definition FTA satellite receivers, second only to the Sonicview 360 HD Air PVR and Sonicview 8000 HD PVR. Viewsat's Max HD PVR offers crisp High-Definition resolution, Personal Video Recording (PVR), and two USB ports: one rear USB port and one handy front-panel USB port.

The Viewsat Max HD PVR box is noticeably sleeker and more compact than the Viewsat 9000HD. It houses a powerful 200mhz processor, 32MB SDRAM, and can capture MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 — up to 1080 High Definition channels. The Viewsat Max supports both the current QPSK standard for High Definition satellite TV, as well as the new DVB-S2 standard 8PSK.

Fully compliant with MPEG-2 and DVB-S2, the Viewsat Max HD offers great picture and sound on High-Def channels, not to mention Watch-and-Record capability for Personal Video Recording, and, of course, true broadcast TV Picture-in-Picture (PIP) support.

The Viewsat Max's two USB ports let you connect an external USB hard drive to record your favorite satellite TV shows and a USB multimedia device for MP3 or JPEG playback. You can also plug in a USB flash drive to update Viewsat manufacturer software bin files. Or connect your personal computer via speedy USB or the traditional RS-232 serial connector.

The versatile Viewsat Max HD's user-friendly On-Screen Display supports 32,768 colors. And the Viewsat Max offers an impressive suite of component outputs, including S-video and S/PDIF for digital audio, HDMI, Component, and Composite. TheViewsat Max HD comes with 3 RCA output for Video, Audio L/R and 3 RCA Composite Video Output (Y, Pb, Pr).

Other features include: a 8-day EPG (Electronic Program Guide), 4,000-channel (TV and radio) memory capacity, and 100-step Volume Control.

The Viewsat Max HD PVR is noticealbly less expensive than the Viewsat 9000HD. It does give up some processing speed to the Viewsat 9000. The Viewsat 9000 HD had a 266MHZ proceesor while the Viewsat Max HD has 200MHZ.

The Viewsat Max HD outperforms the Viewsat 9000HD PVR Version V2.0, Viewsat PVR 7000, Viewsat VS Pro, Viewsat Ultra, Viewsat Ultra Lite, Viewsat Extreme, Viewsat Platinum and Viewsat Lite.

What's In The Box: The Viewsat Max HD PVR High Definition Single Tuner PVR ships with an authentic Viewsat 2.0 Diseqc Switch, a null modem cable, RCA cables, universal remote, and (2) AAA batteries, a Viewsat Max HD PVR User Manual.

Buy Viewsat Max HD PVR: $279 WITH FREE 2GB USB FLASH DRIVE!

CLICK HERE FOR CANADA

Comparative Buying Guide

Compare the Viewsat Max HD PVR to these High Definition USB 2.0 Single/Dual Tuner PVR receivers:

• Sonicview 8000 HD PVR — $229. Dual tuner HD PVR, 1 USB port.
• Viewsat 9000HD PVR — $369. Single tuner HD PVR, 2 USB ports.
• Viewsat Max HD PVR — $279. Single tuner HD PVR, 2 USB ports.
• Pansat 9200HD PVR — $329. Single tuner HD PVR, 1 USB port.
• Coolsat 8100HD PVR — $309. Single tuner HD PVR, 1 USB port.
• Neusat 9000HD — $179. HD, 1 USB port.

Comparison Highlights: All our High-Definition FTA receivers include PVR functionality except for the Neusat 9000HD. The Viewsat 9000HD Version 2 is a single tuner receiver, like the Coolsat 8100HD PVR and Pansat 9200HD PVR. The Coolsat 8100HD PVR is less expensive than the Viewsat 9000HD, but only has one USB output — the Viewsat 9000HD has two USB ports. The Sonicview 360HD includes 3 USB ports and a 1 Terabyte SATA hard drive output. SATA drive compatibility allows you to capture an almost unlimited amount of programming on one hard drive.

The Pansat 9200HD PVR and Neusat 9000HD receivers are less expensive than the Viewsat 9000 HD Version 2. The Pansat 9200HD PVR and Viewsat 9000HD PVR are both single tuner FTA receivers. The Neusat 9000HD does not have a PVR feature.

Sonicview 360HD PVR and Sonicview SV-HD8000 PVR are both dual tuner HD PVR receivers. And the Sonicview 360HD includes three USB ports and a 1 Terabyte SATA hard drive output. SATA drive compatibility allows you to capture an almost unlimited amount of programming on one hard drive. And the Sonicview 8000 HD PVR cost than the Viewsat 9000HD while offering two tuners as compared to only one tuner in the Viewsat 9000.

Ultimately, both the Sonicview 360HD PVR and the Sonicview 8000HD PVR offer more bang for the buck than the Viewsat 9000HD PVR. And Sonicview's stellar reputation for accessibility and support distinguishes the Sonicview 360HD PVR and the Sonicview 8000HD PVR from this pack of fifth-generation receivers. Sonicview provides frequent bin updates and impressive warranty processing of repairs and exchanges.

Looking for a High Definition FTA Satellite Receiver?
You may wish to consider:

• Sonicview 8000 HD PVR w/Fan — $369