A few issues ago we reviewed the Golden Interstar GI-S900CI – a single-tuner receiver with support for DVB-S2 and hi-def. As with other sub-£200 receivers, the S900CI can be upgraded to PVR status via USB. Now we have the GI-S980 CRCI HD, which provides a handful of new features in a larger case.

It also has one tuner and is PVR-upgradeable via USB – there's no provision for an internally fitting hard drive, despite the larger case. You also get blind search and an Ethernet port.

Features inherited from the previous model include HDMI and component hi-def outputs (to 1080i, with upscaling of standard-def video), CAM emulation and a pair of CIs. It's worth pointing out that the firmware underpinning the S980 is an embedded version of Linux.

Build and connectivity

Here's a receiver that looks more expensive than it is with a generously proportioned alphanumeric fluorescent display with a permanent clock section, as well as the usual menu and channel information. It peers out of a smoked-plastic frontispiece that has the same dimensions as the front panel.

This lowers to reveal a selection of operating buttons, two CI slots and a dual card reader. The front-panel flap is, like that of the S900CI, held in place by magnetic catches.

Construction is excellent – the bodge-free main board, which boasts a heatsinked 400Mips STi7100 'jungle chip' and a Samsung DVB-S/S2 tuner among other things, is partnered by a separate switched-mode power supply.

The range of connectors has been expanded relative to the S900CI – on the rear panel you'll find the LNB input/output and two USB ports for PVR use and firmware upgrades. One of these ports is designed to provide power to external USB-powered hard drives.

GI-S980 crci hd

In terms of AV connectivity, you get a HDMI port, composite/component outputs and a pair of Scarts for TV and VCR. Audio-wise, the S980 is well connected. There are two stereo analogue phono outputs and bitstream-capable coaxial/optical digital terminals.

Setup

You set up satellites via the main menu carousel's 'installation' option. In here live submenus for manual/ auto installation, blind scan and something called 'guidance of installing a dish'. The latter, the likes of which we've never seen before, basically allows you to select a satellite/transponder and view – on large and pleasantly responsive bar graphs – the signal strength and quality.

Manual installation is both flexible and friendly. For each satellite you can specify DiSEqC 1.0/1.1 options, the 12V switch output, 22kHz switching and LNB power/type. The right part of the screen displays a diagram of how your system should be interconnected.

Another novel feature is Auto DiSEqC. If you have a 1.0 switch the receiver can discover which satellites are available from the dishes connected to it. A transponder on the target satellite can be selected, and its signal and quality are displayed.

The yellow button accesses the motor configuration – both DiSEqC 1.2 and USALS types are supported. Step and continuous movement are available in DiSEqC 1.2 mode; in USALS mode you can enter the longitude and latitude of your location. You can scan for all channels, FTA only, all TV, FTA TV, all radio and FTA radio, perform a network scan, and scan multiple satellites.

Transponder information be edited or deleted – new ones can be added too. Once again, signal strength and quality indication are provided. The modifiable parameters here are frequency, polarity, symbol rate, modulation (DVB-S or S2) and FEC. You can also scan the current transponder and manually specify audio, video and PCR PIDs in addition to the usual scanning mode and network search.

All impressive stuff but, in contrast, the blind search is a bit of a letdown. It appears to be implemented in software rather than hardware, and is thus very slow. Furthermore, the S980 can only scan four user-presetable symbol rates here.

Basic use

The channel list can be sorted alphabetically, numerically, by transponder or encryption status and 32 favourites lists can be created. A useful find function lets you enter the first few letters of a channel's name, and the receiver displays all channels containing those characters.

Another button shortcuts to a list of available satellites, if you can receive more than one, and the relevant channel list is displayed. When viewing a channel, pressing the 'info' button gives you a basic information 'pop-up' about the channel and programme; press it again and you're treated to technical information like resolution, signal strength/quality, bit rate, refresh rate, audio, encryption status, network provider, PIDs, satellite, frequency, polarity and symbol rate.

There's a picture-in-picture facility – the main and 'sub' pictures can be diff erent channels, provided they're on the same transponder – or two channels can be displayed side by side. Add to this 16x picture zoom and a mosaic feature for up to 16 channels at a time.