Icecrypt S4000 review

Not so long ago the idea of a fully fledged twin-tuner, hi-def PVR with a sub-£500 price tag would have been wishful thinking. Today it's a reality, courtesy of the S4000 from Turbosat's housebrand Icecrypt.

This well-specified box of Linux-powered tricks sells for £340 (with a 320GB hard disc or £300 without). Other welcome features include hardware blind search, two CI slots, full DiSEqC compatibility for multi-satellite flexibility, the potential that networkability brings and multimedia playback.

Build and connectivity

As far as styling is concerned the S4000 is quite smart, but not particularly distinctive. The front panel's most prominent feature is a fluorescent display, underneath which is a strip of buttons for volume/channel changes and basic menu access.

To its left is the backlit standby button, to its right a hinged flap that lowers to reveal the two CI slots and a convenient USB port. A dual-slot card reader was obviously considered at one time, but the second has been blanked off.

The remote handset that drives the S4000 is disappointing. Its keys have a tacky feel and an unwanted tendency to 'bounce', causing overshoot. It can, however, operate many TVs and DVD players.

Both DVB-S/S2 tuners support loopthrough and so single-dish users can drive the second tuner with the output of the first. For optimal viewing/recording flexibility, though, you'll need a dual LNB. HDMI and component outputs support hi-def (and upscaled standard-def) video.

The HDMI output can convey either bit stream or decoded (PCM) digital audio; these signals are also available optically. 'Legacy' TV/VCR Scarts are also present, as are analogue stereo and composite outputs. Completing the connectivity are a second USB port, RS232 serial terminal and Ethernet.

Setup

Getting the S4000 going is straightforward, thanks to a well-designed set of installation menus. From 'dish setting', you can specify how your outdoor equipment is connected (independent feeds or a single LNB with loopthrough), and what type of LNB you're using.

The full range of DiSEqC permutations are catered for here – 1.0/1.1 switchboxes, and 1.2/USALS motorised mounts. As far as the latter are concerned dish-movement possibilities are somewhat restricted – you don't get a more precise 'step' option or auto focus.

A welcome touch is the 'extended signal' metering – oversized signal/quality bars, plus a bleeping noise that rises in urgency as the signal increases. It's then a matter of choosing a satellite/transponder and, after setting dish positions (if necessary), you can proceed to the search menu.

This has several modes: 'auto' (all/FTA channels, TV-only), 'manual' (a single-transponder search with basic parameters, including frequency/polarity/symbol rate), and 'advanced' (which builds on the manual search by adding PID entry).

The final blind search option steps through the entire band twice, first with vertical polarisation and then horizontally. As it does so it identifies and stores any transponders it finds. These transponders are then searched, and the channels added to the database. What a pity there's no automated multi-satellite search.

Other menus look after the 'service list manager' (delete/move channels, organisation of favourites lists and other groups), parental locks, recording matters (timeshift buffers, start/end padding, commercial skip intervals), network setup and AV configuration. As far as the latter is concerned your choice of 576i/p, 720p and 1080i is available from the component and HDMI ports.

The S4000 is sadly incapable of delivering standard-definition and high-definition video simultaneously – it's one or the other. The TV Scart can be switched between RGB, composite and S-video.

Basic use

Pressing the 'info' button gives you EPG-derived information about the current programme, plus a smattering of service data. Teletext, subtitles and alternative soundtracks can be easily accessed via handset controls. Another button switches the receiver between radio and TV modes.

Subtitles on our test model were on by default. You can turn subtitles off in the 'language' (setup) menu, but if you do so they can no longer be selected via the subtitle button. The channel list can be sorted alphabetically or by transponder, satellite/group, encryption or provider/ network.

Also available here is 'service find', which allows you to home in on a channel by entering one or more characters of its name. What a shame it lacks a dedicated handset button – one of these has, however, been allocated to favourite channel (and satellite) selection.

On which subject, you can organise favourites directly from the channel list. All 12 (renameable) favourites lists have checkboxes. Ticking the box adjacent to a specific list adds to it the selected channel.

We're pleased with the seven-day EPG, which offers two modes – 'timeline' (simultaneous coverage of six adjacent channels) and 'magazine' (the selected channel's current broadcast, plus the next five programmes).