A ‘Proper’ digital TV signal meter is not a cheap item, but
it’s essential for the fast and accurate aligning of a satellite dish or
terrestrial TV antenna by professionals – or anyone intending to install a
large number of antennas.
A ‘semi-professional’ meter will often do the job
(identification of the transmission found is the key advantage over a simple
signal level meter), but professional meters and spectrum analysers provide all
the functions required for difficult cases or complex installations.
The HD-TSF, from relatively new meter manufacturer Revez, is
a full professional model which not only measures the received signal level and
quality, and identifies the transmission, but also provides the various bit
error rates, C/N, visual displays of received spectrum and digital packets,
scans for active channels and even provides the means for watching and
recording the received TV – and it does all this for both SD and HD
transmissions byterrestrial, satellite and cable.
Build
The HD-TSF is a remarkably compactdevice. On the front is a
3.5in colour LCD screen, where all the unit’s measurements are displayed. Below
this is an array of 28 buttons, including power, a numeric keypad, cursor
control keys, dedicated command keys and coloured function keys.
Revez HD-TSF overview
At the top are two
F-connectors for terrestrial (with 5V power) and satellite (13V/18V LNB power
and DiSEqC commands too). At the base is the battery chargerconnection, a USB
socket for connection to a memory stick or HDD for software updates and
transferring saved data, and an on/off switch – for complete shutdown that
avoids accidental power up (and battery wastage) while the unit’s not being
used.
The HD-TSF is also supplied with a nylon case with a front
window that allows the buttons to be pressed and a lid over the display, which
provides protection when closed and shade when open. Also included in the
package are a strap for the case, F-plug adapters, and chargers.
The unit requires 12.6V to charge its internal Li-ion
battery, which is provided by the mains charger or the 12V car charger (which,
it’s good to see, includes a voltage regulator).
Signal finding
The HD-TSF provides a pretty comprehensive array of signal
measurement tools for both terrestrial and satellite finding (and cable too,
although that was not tested here). There are also modes to reset the unit to
factory default, access the USB storage, and watch TV channels tuned to it.
In terrestrial meter mode, there are four options: Search,
IDE, Packet Control and Spectrum display
The Search provides a signal strength, quality and BER
display (with a switchable audio indication of strength) for a selected
individual transponder and finds the channels on that or searches the whole
frequency range in much the same way as any TV/receiver.
When you have the antenna aligned, the IDE screen gives all
the technical data on the transponder such as the strength, MER, pre- and
post-error correction BER, modulation format and a constellation display.
The Spectrum and Packet Control displays gives an overview
of the whole frequency range – Spectrum is a traditional display of the signal
strength at each frequency (with a read-out of the strength at the cursor
position) and can be saved to USB storage. The Packet Control display shows the
signal strength and quality for each active transponder.
Revez HD-TSF full
box
In satellite meter mode, the available choices are similar,
but in the Search display, the separate ‘Explorar’ (sic) option provides a
simple signal strength and quality bar graph, along with BER and C/N figures
for your chosen satellite (and transponder) – ideal for both first finding and
then fine tuning the dish.
The IDE screen here, rather than listing the technical
details of the transmission (available from the Spectrum display), will tell
you which satellite is being received, trying the reception against each
satellite in its database until a match is found.
The Spectrum and Packet Control displays are broadly similar
to their terrestrial signal equivalents, but include options to change the
input parameters such as DiSEqC portal, 13/18V, 0/22kHz and LNB type.
The satellite mode also off ers two additional options. The
DiSEqC search looks at the four ports accessible under a DiSEqC 1.0 switched
system, and the 16 under DiSEqC 1.1, to determine which port is connected to
which satellite’s LNB. The DiSEqC Motor screen provides a channel search with
access to the commands for a DiSEqC 1.2 motor.
Outside of the terrestrial and satellite modes, the HD-TSF
also has a dedicated Find key which provides quick access to the Packet Control
menu and a Scan key that takes you to the terrestrial whole-range scan or to a
satellite blind search. This first finds all the active transponders on the
satellite and then scans them for channels – it’s reasonably fast, taking 10
minutes to find 1,600–odd channels on Hot Bird.
Revez HD-TSF front
and back view
Additional functions
Outside of signal finding and measuring functions, the
HD-TSF has plenty to offer. There’s a handy satellite look angle calculator and
electronic compass, but the HD-TSF is also a complete receiver. Not only can
the HD-TSF scan the terrestrial and satellite airwaves for channels, but it
stores and displays them too. Just like a (FTA) receiver, you can display an
onscreen channel list (terrestrial and satellite) to pick a channel and watch
it, with the HD-TSF’s built-in speakers handling the sound.
With USB memory connected, you can even use the HD-TSF as a
PVR! You can record two channels and watch a third from a single transponder on
satellite and/or terrestrial, and even record the whole data stream from a
transponder. You can also fast forward/rewind and pause playback, and pause
live TV too.
In fact the HD-TSF will even play video, music and photos
from the USB storage. It’s something of a repressed media centre – only an HDMI
output for big screen viewing is missing. The only real criticism of the HD-TSF
is the menu control system, which has poor labelling and differences between
the operation of the satellite and terrestrial modes seemingly introduced for
no reason but to make it more complex
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Features
·
Supports: DVB-S; DVB-S2; DVB-T; DVB-T2; DVB-C ·
Signal strength: Pre BER; Post BER; C/N; MER measurement
constellation diagram ·
Screen: 3.5in LCD ·
Packet level display: Yes ·
Transponder data display: Yes ·
Satellite ID: Yes ·
Transponder channel scan: Yes ·
Terrestrial spectrum scan: Yes ·
Satellite blind search: Yes ·
Channel reception display and PVR: With USB storage ·
USB video: Yes ·
Music photo playback: Yes ·
Battery: 2700mAH Li-ion ·
Mains and 12V charger: Yes ·
Carrying case: Nylon ·
Dimensions: 105(w) x 170(h) x 45(d)mm ·
Weight: 500g
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