May 18, 2012 at 11:11Internet TV from Rostelecom
Many are now using digital television set-top boxes that operate over a broadband network connection. Most recently, Rostelecom announced its TV set-top box, which came to me for a test.
A neat white box contains:
The device itself is quite compact and unpretentious. Looking at the rear panel, you can see that this is the SML-282 HD Base model “Designed by SmartLabs in Moscow, Assembled in China”.
The rear panel contains outputs: Ethernet, optical S / PDIF, USB, HDMI, component video output and a classic tulip for stereo audio and video.
The remote control looks simply gorgeous, in addition, it can be programmed to control the basic functions of the TV, such as volume control, mute and on / off.
I got a pre-production device, the set included only technical instructions, which was an A4 sheet describing how to connect the device. You can also learn from it that the minimum necessary Internet speed should be 5 Mbps.
For the rest I had to figure it out myself, looking ahead, I’ll say that the controls are intuitively simple and easy to understand. First of all, it is the merit of a well-thought-out menu and the presence of only the necessary minimum buttons on the remote control.
I connected the set-top box to the BenQ 24 ”Full HD monitor via HDMI.
After turning on the power, a download window appears, which lasts relatively shortly.
After it is finished, we get to the movie selection screen, when you press the button
on the remote control, you can watch the usual TV.
Schedule of programs:
Time-shift (pause, rewind TV broadcast). To watch TV - * must have * function: by pausing, you can run for sandwiches in the kitchen, or even for some need. And then skip the ads.
Interestingly, a local drive is not used for Time-shift, all information is stored in the service’s “cloud”.
You can also record any program by simply marking it in the schedule. It will also end up in cloud storage, which is 30 GB in size. For an additional fee it can be increased.
Image quality varies greatly depending on the channel. On channels where broadcasting is initially carried out in HD, it is not satisfactory. It should be noted that no artifacts appear during viewing.
I immediately went all-in and connected a 1.8 "60GB hard drive. He had enough power, and he successfully decided on a TV set-top box. You can view your files and upload them to the" cloud "
The kit from Rostelecom allows you to connect to social networks Vkontakte and Facebook. To do this, in the settings you need to specify account settings.
It’s not very convenient to type an email and a password from the remote control. I got the idea to try connecting a PC keyboard to the USB connector, and, surprisingly, it worked.
The possibilities of interacting with social networks are in their infancy, you can view your feed, only text is displayed. No pictures, no videos. All hope for future firmware updates.
Having chosen a film of interest, you can see its description and price. At the moment, while the service is in test mode, all films are free.
You can familiarize yourself with the selected film within a minute, after which it will need to be purchased, or refuse to purchase. After confirming the purchase, viewing begins immediately.
In order to evaluate the channel load, I didn’t think of anything better than measuring the network speed on a computer connected to the same router with the set-top box turned on and off: The
results show an increase in the load of the incoming channel by an average of 7 Mbps.
It should be noted that the test samples work with any Internet provider (I used Beeline for testing), during the commercial operation a connection from Rostelecom will be necessary. Personally, this fact upset me.
Until prices are officially announced, they will vary in different regions. Previously reported that, the monthly fee will be from 220 rubles.
Connection and equipment are provided free of charge (several types of consoles from different manufacturers will be available).
I use digital television from AKADO, so I can not help but compare the two services and two devices.
The Rostelecom tuner has several advantages:
Significantly more compact sizes, a much more beautiful and convenient control panel. Initial loading and switching between channels is faster, plus the availability of Time-Shift features, recording programs and storing your files in the cloud.
It is clear that this device is a completely new generation.
Contents of delivery
A neat white box contains:
- TV set-top box
- Power Supply
- Ethernet cable
- HDMI cable
- RCA cable, tulip
- RF adapter to SCART
- remote control with batteries
The device itself is quite compact and unpretentious. Looking at the rear panel, you can see that this is the SML-282 HD Base model “Designed by SmartLabs in Moscow, Assembled in China”.
The rear panel contains outputs: Ethernet, optical S / PDIF, USB, HDMI, component video output and a classic tulip for stereo audio and video.
The remote control looks simply gorgeous, in addition, it can be programmed to control the basic functions of the TV, such as volume control, mute and on / off.
I got a pre-production device, the set included only technical instructions, which was an A4 sheet describing how to connect the device. You can also learn from it that the minimum necessary Internet speed should be 5 Mbps.
For the rest I had to figure it out myself, looking ahead, I’ll say that the controls are intuitively simple and easy to understand. First of all, it is the merit of a well-thought-out menu and the presence of only the necessary minimum buttons on the remote control.
I connected the set-top box to the BenQ 24 ”Full HD monitor via HDMI.
After turning on the power, a download window appears, which lasts relatively shortly.
After it is finished, we get to the movie selection screen, when you press the button
on the remote control, you can watch the usual TV.Additional features when watching TV
Schedule of programs:
Time-shift (pause, rewind TV broadcast). To watch TV - * must have * function: by pausing, you can run for sandwiches in the kitchen, or even for some need. And then skip the ads.
Interestingly, a local drive is not used for Time-shift, all information is stored in the service’s “cloud”.
You can also record any program by simply marking it in the schedule. It will also end up in cloud storage, which is 30 GB in size. For an additional fee it can be increased.
Picture quality
Image quality varies greatly depending on the channel. On channels where broadcasting is initially carried out in HD, it is not satisfactory. It should be noted that no artifacts appear during viewing.
USB media connection
I immediately went all-in and connected a 1.8 "60GB hard drive. He had enough power, and he successfully decided on a TV set-top box. You can view your files and upload them to the" cloud "
Social networks
The kit from Rostelecom allows you to connect to social networks Vkontakte and Facebook. To do this, in the settings you need to specify account settings.
It’s not very convenient to type an email and a password from the remote control. I got the idea to try connecting a PC keyboard to the USB connector, and, surprisingly, it worked.
The possibilities of interacting with social networks are in their infancy, you can view your feed, only text is displayed. No pictures, no videos. All hope for future firmware updates.
Movie purchase
Having chosen a film of interest, you can see its description and price. At the moment, while the service is in test mode, all films are free.
You can familiarize yourself with the selected film within a minute, after which it will need to be purchased, or refuse to purchase. After confirming the purchase, viewing begins immediately.
Menus and Settings
Channel loading
In order to evaluate the channel load, I didn’t think of anything better than measuring the network speed on a computer connected to the same router with the set-top box turned on and off: The
results show an increase in the load of the incoming channel by an average of 7 Mbps.
It should be noted that the test samples work with any Internet provider (I used Beeline for testing), during the commercial operation a connection from Rostelecom will be necessary. Personally, this fact upset me.
Price
Until prices are officially announced, they will vary in different regions. Previously reported that, the monthly fee will be from 220 rubles.
Connection and equipment are provided free of charge (several types of consoles from different manufacturers will be available).
Comparison with competitors
I use digital television from AKADO, so I can not help but compare the two services and two devices.
The Rostelecom tuner has several advantages:
Significantly more compact sizes, a much more beautiful and convenient control panel. Initial loading and switching between channels is faster, plus the availability of Time-Shift features, recording programs and storing your files in the cloud.
It is clear that this device is a completely new generation.
