Satellite Receiver TEST REPORT
Pixx Event
Twin tuner PVR with
CI slots and Blind Scan
The first Blind Scan receivers introduced a couple of years ago were very basic boxes,
because this new feature was enough to make them appealing for the DXer. In parallel, there
were receivers designed for common end users with PVR functions, CI slot, easiness of use
and so on.
Today, these two lines of products are
becoming convergent so that every user can
take advantage of the Blind Scan feature not
only to search for exotic signals, but simply to
keep his receiver up-to-date without having
to enter new transponders data either manu-
ally or connecting to a PC. The digital satel-
lite receiver Pixx Event introduced here is an
example of a complete box: twin tuner PVR
with Blind Scan feature and 2 CI slots for Pay-
TV reception.
The standard size silver colored cabinet
looks very elegant. In the middle of the front
panel the green display shows either the cur-
rent time or the active channel. The good
news is that this receiver is able to store up
to 10000 TV and radio channels. Below the
display a long flap protects the 2 CI slots for
pay-tv reception. On the left, three buttons
and a round shaped one with the four arrows
allow also the complete programming of the
receiver, except when a number (frequency,
symbolrate, etc.) has to be entered.
The stand-by on/off button is located near
the display, while the main power
supply switch can be found on the
back panel. Here is also a full set of
connections: two satellite IF inputs
with corresponding looped-through outputs,
two Scart connectors for TV and VCR, three
RCA jacks for analog audio and video out-
puts and a fourth RCA for the programmable
0/12 volt output. For a better video and audio
quality a S-Video connector and an optical
S/PDIF output are available too. Via the RS-
232 interface new software can be uploaded
either from a PC or from another receiver.
The PC can also be reached via the USB 2.0
port. The UHF modulator output with the cor-
responding terrestrial antenna input com-
pletes the well equipped rear panel.
The silver colored remote control is light
and comfortable to hold in hand, but there
are too many buttons and most of them are
too small. Except for the arrows keys, the OK
button among them and the on/off button
that lights up every time a command is trans-
mitted, all the other keys are almost unrec-
ognizable in the dark, especially those for the
HDD control that are very small and too close
to each other. However, the remote can be
programmed to control also a TV-set, a VCR
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and a DVD player. The user manual contains
the codes to emulate hundreds of different
brands.
Installation
The user manual, unfortunately avail-
able in German only, contains very detailed
instructions with pictures for connecting
the Pixx Event receiver to TV, VCR, satellite
dishes and terrestrial antenna. At the first
activation of the box, the user can choose
the language for the menu among English,
German, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Turk-
ish, Arabic and Russian. Then, the Main
menu is displayed and the user is expected
to select the Installation menu and the
Antenna Setup. Here, each different satellite
that can be received must be activated and
all the antenna parameters for its reception
can be entered.
On the right of the screen two graph bars
show signal strength and quality for the first
transponder of the satellite being setup, but
a different reference transponder can be
selected. A test tone to help the dish align-
ment without having to watch the TV screen
can be activated pressing the green button
on the remote.
If a DiSEqC motor is in use, a
specific submenu allows to enter
all the necessary parameters
and to control the motor. Unfor-
TEST REPORT Satellite Receiver
tunately, some of the 54 preprogrammed
satellites are associated to a fixed DiSEqC
position between 0 and 26, while user entered
satellites can be assigned a position from 27
up to 49. This is a problem because the user
could have different positions stored in his
motor and there is no way to change prede-
fined positions in the menu. The only solu-
tion would be to rename existing satellites so
that mandatory positions match those stored
in the motor, delete their preprogrammed
transponders and then use the blind scan to
search for actual frequencies and channels.
Fortunately, USALS motor owners don't have
to worry about this issue because the USALS
protocol uses the satellite relative azimuth
instead of fixed stored positions.
A separate menu called User Setup allows
to enter all parameters for the connected
equipment. A good idea is the warning mes-
sage that pops up if the user selects NTSC
output: “NTSC is the American type. Choos-
ing it will create a picture rolling problem
when using European PAL TV type set. Select
NTSC TV type ONLY in the area where this TV
type is used”. To confirm this choice the PIN
is required.
Channel
scan and
management
The channel scan can be setup to search for
FTA-only-channels, Scrambled-only, FTA +
Scrambled or FTA + Scrambled + Data chan-
nels. This setting is not remembered each
time the scan is started. There are several
scan mode available: Satellite scan, Network
Scan, Transponder Scan, Advanced Scan and
Smart Search. The first three modes use
the transponder data already stored in the
receiver memory. A Satellite Scan for FTA-
only-channels over 101 transponders of the
Hotbird satellites fleet took around 8 min-
utes and found 786 TV and radio channels.
During the scan signal level and quality for
each scanned TP are shown and the chan-
nels detected are separated between TV and
radio lists.
The Advanced Scan allows the user to
choose among stored transponder as well
as to enter a new frequency with its sym-
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bolrate and/or PID
codes. The signal
bars on the right
allow to verify if
there is a signal lock
before starting the
search. It would be
nice to be able to use
right and left buttons to increase/decrease
the frequency by 1 Mhz instead of having to
key in all the 5 figures.
The last option is the Smart Search, that is
how the Pixx Event names the feature more
often known as Blind Scan. After selecting
the satellite, the user can choose to scan
both polarizations or one only, and whether
to perform a search for all symbolrates, only
symbolrate less than 5.6 Ms/sec or only
those above 5.6 Ms/sec. This threshold value
let a doubt raise: if I'm looking for feed sig-
nals, which often has a symbolrate of 5632,
which option should I choose? No problem,
they are found in all cases regardless of the
selected option. Unfortunately, it's not pos-
sible to limit the scan within a frequency
range.
We performed a Smart Search at the
Hotbird position selecting both polariza-
tions and symbolrate above 5.6 Ms/sec
since these satellites host nearly no SCPC
signals. After almost 10 minutes the screen
listed 93 transponders, 6 of them not previ-
ously stored in the database. A second test
was performed on the PAS 12 satellite (still
named as Eurostar 1 in the receiver menu)
at 45° East. According to the coverage map,
at our location we can receive only vertical
transponders, so we selected this option
together with ALL symbolrates. In 7 minutes
the Pixx Event managed to find almost all
frequencies listed by SatcoDX, except the
most difficult one: 11627 V with a symbol-
rate as low as 1.320 Ms/sec. Performing an
Advanced Scan with these exact parameters,
the receiver found the Mosaique channel and
had no problem in keeping it locked, so we
can confirm the manufacturer specification
of the symbolrate range 1-45 Ms/sec.
Unfortunately, the channel switching time
is not very fast at about 1 second (a little
more for different transponders and scram-
bled channels). A very long interval is also
required for switching between different
audio subcarrieres.
Hard Disk
operation
The unit we got for our tests didn't come
with the hard disk installed, so we mounted a
standard 80 GB EIDE disk using the flat cable
and the four screws included in the package.
We recommend to let your dealer to install
the hard disk because opening the receiver
usually voids the warranty. Furthermore, the
user manual doesn't contain specific instruc-
tions even if this is not different than install-
ing a hard disk into a PC.
The Pixx Event is able to record two pro-
grams at the same time as well as to record a
channel while playing a previously recorded
program. Using the PIP (Picture in Picture)
feature, it's possible to control what is being
recorded while watching a different live pro-
gram. Up to 60 recordings can be scheduled
either manually or from the EPG. Stored pro-
grams can be edited to cut off unwanted por-
tions at the beginning and at the end of the
recording. Unfortunately, we didn't manage
to cut off commercials from the middle of a
movie.
Like every PVR receiver, there is also the
Time Shift function, but its behavior is some-
how different than usual. It doesn't need to
be activated by the user pressing the Pause
button, because the Pixx Event always starts
to record the current channel after a few sec-
onds of watching. So, it's always possible to
jump back and forth, to watch in both direc-
tions at increased or reduced speed and to
pause within the recorded section. Pressing
the stop button you are back at the live pro-
gram (either in full screen or in PIP mode),
while the receiver continues to record it in
the background.
Connecting the receiver to a PC via the
USB port, the hard disk is visible from
the PC as a removable storage device in
the Windows Explorer (Windows 2000 or
later required). With usual drag & drop a
new firmware version can be uploaded into
a specific directory of the hard disk from
where the receiver will read and install it.
In the same way, stored recordings as well
as MP3 songs can be copied from/to the PC.
The only drawback is that the hard disk can
be in use either by the receiver or by the
PC, but not by both of them at the same
time.
Other features include a built-in teletext
decoder, a MP3 player and the multipicture
features. It shows on the screen 4, 9 or 16
different channels, but it's very slow to acti-
vate (40 seconds to show 16 pictures) and of
course only the selected one is advancing,
while all the others are freezed.

It's a very good solution that allows in

Expert conclusion
every moment to watch again an important
scene that has been missed for any reason. +
The Pixx Event is a really complete receiver, suitable both for the
It's important to remember that this is not
DXer with its powerful features and for the family usage thanks to its
a standard recording, but it's stored in a
easy operation. We appreciate the way the Time-Shift function has
reserved portion of the hard disk that can be
been designed and the accuracy of the Blind Scan feature. A positive
up to 10% of its size and it's deleted as soon
point is the absence of unnecessary frills such as videogames. Alberto Boselli
as a different channel is selected to start the

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TELE-satellite
whole process again. Of course, pressing Test Center
Italy
the REC button the current channel can be
The remote control has too many and very small buttons. The channel switching
recorded (and the recording is kept) in the time is somehow slow.
standard way.

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TEST REPORT Satellite Receiver Info-Box

Main menu

Pixx Event
Digital Twin Tuner with
2 CI and Blind Scan
TECHNICAL Distributor WISAT GmbH Sat-Grosshandel
Bürgermeister-Berger-Str. 6 a
DATA
92436 Bruck – Germany Smart Search (Blind Scan)
Internet http://www.wisat-gmbh.de/
Phone +49 09434 202913
Fax +49 09434 202929
E-mail info@wisat-gmbh.de
Model Pixx Event
Function Digital Twin Tuner PVR
with 2 CI and Blind Scan
Channel Memory 10000
Satellites 54 + others
Symbolrate 1-45 Ms/sec
DiSEqC 1.0 / 1.2
Info Box
USALS yes
Programmable 0/12 V output yes
Scart Connectors 2
Video/Stereo Audio Output yes
Digital Audio Output yes (optical)
Color System PAL / NTSC
S-VHS Output yes
Modulator yes, UHF
PAL/NTSC compatible yes
C/Ku-Band compatible yes
SPCS compatible yes
EPG yes EPG
Teletext yes
USB 2.0 Connector yes
Picture-in-Picture yes
Multipicture yes (4 – 9 – 16)
Power Supply 90-250 VAC – 50/60 Hz
Power Consumption Max 55 Watts
Standby Consumption Less than 8 Watts

Features
TEST
RESULT

NTSC Warning
Channel Memory

Channel
Scan Speed

Channel
INTERNATIONAL

Switching Speed
SATELLITE

Video Quality

Audio Quality

TELE
HDD Interface
Tuner Sensitivity

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