The GS B211 satellite TV tuner was introduced in 2014, becoming the most popular receiver in the Tricolor TV equipment exchange program. The model was created specifically to replace old receivers that do not support the “HD Maximum” viewing quality.
Appearance
The lack of a display has reduced power consumption. A power supply removed from the housing reduced heat and simplified replacement in the event of a failure.
The GS B211 receiver, the photo of which is presented here, is produced in a black compact glossy plastic case measuring 110 x 175 x 30 mm. The side parts of the body are rounded, which gives it a modern look. On the upper and lower surfaces are ventilation holes. On the front panel there is only one button for switching between the operating mode and the standby mode of the receiver, which is indicated by green and red backlighting, respectively. On the side of the case is a slot for installing a conditional access card.
The glossy plastic case and the lack of a display, which distinguishes the GS B211 Tricolor receiver, customer reviews call the main design flaws of the device. The censure is caused by the fact that the case attracts dust, gets dirty very much, scratches are clearly visible on it.
On the rear panel are located:
- input antenna connector LNB;
- USB port
- HDMI connector
- CVA composite video output CVBS;
- Stereo RCA output;
- remote control signal receiver connector;
- connector for a 12 V power adapter
The RF modulator, which the GS B211 receiver lacks, was also not left unattended by consumer reviews. Without it, viewing on TVs only with an antenna input has become impossible.
The remote infrared receiver allows you to receive signals on a TV tuner, which is located in a place where there is no direct line of sight to the remote control.
GS B211 receiver: specifications + reviews
The main processor AmberS2 was the first processor for satellite receivers, fully manufactured in the Russian Federation. It uses system-in-case (SIP) technology, which is used in consumer electronics. Designed and manufactured at GS Nanotech, which is part of Technopolis GS.
A SIP system is a combination of several functional components in one module. In this case, combined:
- STH206 processor;
- GS Lanthanum cryptographic microprocessor;
- RAM SDRAM DDR3;
- flash drive NOR Flash.
Designed for low-cost, high-definition (HD) devices and supports secure data exchange technology. The processor has improved image quality at a minimum cost, which has found application not only in satellite receivers, but also in security systems, medicine, etc.
256 MB RAM and built-in 128 MB flash memory are another improvement that the GS B211 Tricolor receiver has undergone. User reviews are extremely positive, since such an innovation has allowed to increase the number of connected Tricolor TV services.
The flow rate is from 2 to 45 Msv / s, QPSK modulation and 8PSK.
Increasing receiver sensitivity is another innovation that the GS B211 satellite receiver boasts. Feedback from satellite TV enthusiasts confirms improved reception stability in adverse weather conditions. Of course, the right choice of the antenna and its high-quality tuning play an important role here.
The signal coding system DRE Crypt 3.0 is used.
The ability to record transmissions to an external flash media is another feature that the GS B211 receiver has. Customer reviews on this subject are mixed. On the one hand, this is what many consumers expected, and on the other hand, it is depressing for users that recording movie channels has remained unavailable. Moreover, the record can be viewed exclusively on the device that produced it.
Support for DiseqC versions 1.0 and 1.1, which was acquired by the GS B211 receiver, is positively described by the owners. It allows you to independently select and configure satellites, scan open FTA channels of other satellites in the presence of additional LNB converters, which you could only dream of before.
Contents of delivery
Kit that comes with the GS B211 receiver:
- instruction manual along with the brochure "Tricolor TV",
- external power supply
- remote control,
- the digital receiver itself.
The remote control is similar to the remote controls of other Tricolor TV receivers - it is light and convenient, the control is located in the center. There is a “More TV” button that calls the “On Air!” Application, a “TV-Mail” button, when you click on it, the corresponding section of the “My Account” application is launched, the “Cinema” button calls up the “Tricolor TV Cinema” application. The remote control is powered by 2 AAA batteries, which for some reason are not included.
The lack of batteries, as well as an HDMI cable and a remote infrared receiver are small things that significantly reduce the impression that the GS B211 receiver could produce. Customer reviews confirm this.
Connection
When you turn on the device for the first time, the “Setup Wizard” application starts, which allows you to complete the settings required for the tuner to work and find the channels in several steps. Most default settings are optimized for standard tuner operation. Settings are made by the remote control. The application can be stopped at any time by clicking the "Exit" button. In this case, a message appears indicating that the channel search failed. You can resume it using the TV Search application.
Presets
At the beginning of the “Setup Wizard” you need to set the interface language, video resolution for connecting via an HDMI cable and adjust the image format. The choice of video resolution must be confirmed by pressing the OK button on the remote control and save it, otherwise after 15 seconds the dialog box will close and the selection will be canceled.
For different models of a television receiver, it is possible to select the display format of the user interface. This can be done by selecting the menu item "Set scope". The suitable size of the scope is selected by the buttons on the remote control.
date and time
At this stage of the application, the time and date are set.
If the “Automatic” option is set to ON, then the system date and time will be received from the broadcast operator. This setting is set by default in the satellite receiver.
The date and time are manually set in the OFF state of the “Automatic” option. After that, select the “Change” item in the appeared context menu “Time. Date ”enter the data using the number buttons on the remote control or the cursor buttons. They can be saved or exited without saving by pressing the “Exit” button.
The time difference of a particular place with UTC is indicated in the “Auto Time Zone”.
The ON option allows you to set the time zone automatically if the satellite TV operator broadcasts such information. If this data is not available, either the default value +3 or the value entered last is used. If the switch is in the OFF state, then the time zone information is set manually.
Search settings
All subsequent stages of the “Wizard” are related to the tuning of the channel search.
After selecting the region’s broadcast operator, a strength and reception quality bar will appear at the bottom of the screen. Tricolor TV advises against changing the settings of the satellite dish.
Next, you need to select the broadcast region from the proposed list. If it is “Basic,” then the satellite receiver will find channels broadcasted throughout the provider's territory. Selecting another entity will expand the list of the main region with additional local channels.
Channel search
The next step of the “Wizard” is to actually search for TV and radio channels in automatic mode according to the selected settings of the region and operator. The process is accompanied by a display of progress scales, quality and strength of the satellite signal, a list of channels that are currently found. After completing the search procedure, the application will display a message about the end of the search and a list of channels found.
To save the search results, select the "Save" menu item. After that, the tuner will switch to the first channel of the list and begin to show it. To view the changes in the channel list, select the “Show Changes” menu item. A popup window will display a list of changes. You can return to the search results window by clicking "Exit" on the remote control.
It is worth noting here that the channel switching speed, which the GS B211 receiver demonstrates, is called by subscribers as not critical, but leaves much to be desired.
Firmware update
- Turn off power to the receiver.
- Place the FAT32-formatted flash drive into the USB port of the satellite receiver. The b211.upd file should be in the root folder of the drive.
- Connect power to the receiver. At the end of the download, you need to make sure that there are no messages.
- Wait for the request and confirm the software update.
- After the download is complete, the satellite tuner will reboot automatically.
- Turn off the power. Disconnect the flash drive and write the b211_lcs1_app.upd file to it.
- Connect the flash drive with the b211_lcs1_app.upd file in the root folder to the USB port.
- Turn off the power of the receiver. At the end of the download, make sure that there are no graphics on the screen, including prompt messages.
- Wait until the update request appears and click OK to start the firmware update.
- At the end of the update procedure, the device will reboot automatically.
- Remove the flash drive from the USB port after the reboot is completed.
As a result of the prefix exchange campaign, subscribers not only increase the number of television channels received by more than a third, but also receive a GS B211 receiver for a small surcharge, the technical characteristics of which approach those of expensive high-quality satellite tuners.