SFT2000

In august 2003 I bought a Digitallworld SFT2000 satellite receiver, and was a bit surprised to find exactly nothing about it on the web (Did Digitallworld actually sell the set?). So I decided to change that here, hoping it might help other people. This site is somewhat outdated now (2005), but I'll keep it here andway.

The receiver does come with a manual, but it doesn't say much more than one can already read form the menus on the TV set, so it's not very helpful, and I needed a lot of experimenting to figure out how to do things. I hope the info here helps others.

Links, etc

• Linux. Some shops seem to sell a `Linux version' of the SFT-2000. But that seems to be a strange name for the reciever, as the shop apparentely means the version can `illegally' decript encoded channels. If that is true, the people using "linux" in this manner should be sued (apity Linus doesn't like suing people).
• An SFT 2000 user-group has been founded on yahoo. Go and register! (when trying to download stuff from the files section, I regularly encounter "download limit exceeded" messages, so I copied a few of the files here.
• An (unofficial?) SFT-2000 Download site (not all files are for the SFT2000).
  And here's another site, from another dealer: seidel-shop. And yet another one, allstb2000.cjb.net, with the 6.07 version of the software.
• Oh, and the not-so-helpful Digitallworld site.
• Dutch: Wie weet het geheime menu van de SFT-2000 Digit-all (om keys in te voeren); Zenderlijst invoeren, UCAS?.

Inside the SFT-2000

STi5518 OMEGA Set-Top Box Decoder (including a ST20-based CPU)
HY57V641620HG, 64 Meg CMOS Synchronous DRAM
STV6412A Audio/Video Switch matrix (SCART)

See here for more info.

Installation

Here the main thing that I think should be added to the manual, setting the TP listings.

After electing "menu" (white button), Installation, Pin-code(0000), None, you are here:

The manual reads:
To do automatic search, press the red button, to do a network search, press the yellow button
Yes, that's what it says on the screen too, but what is the difference between the "automatic" and "network" search? I have yet to find out (neither finds TP's that are missing in the TP list).

Anyway, the set comes with a pre-set list of TP's that probably were current when Digitallworld shipped the set, but are not any more. To find new TP's, you have to key them in yourself, the "automatic" or "network" search don't work. So, for example for the FTA BBC channels, look up the Frequency, polarisation and Signal Rate on for example lyngsat: Freq=10773, Pol=H, SR=22000. Then go to the "manual" section (green button), you'll be given a list of TP's. Then mark the last TP in the list (the one that has Freq=0, etc), and set the freq, pol, and SR (the rest you can leave at "auto"). Then below you will see the signal and quality indicators light up (if the dish is receiving the signal). Note, that if you get the SR wrong (or polarisation), both the signal and quality indicators will stay at 0. To correct, delete the TP (yellow button), as just correcting the SR value won't work.

For BBC, manually enter Freq=10773, Pol=H, SR=22000 (here TP=47)

Once you've entered the TP's, you can enter the RED button, either while in the TP-edit menu (it will scan only this TP), or in the satellite menu (it will all TP's in the list, as done here). The new channels will be added.

While you are in this TP-list menu, and while the TP is marked, you can press the red button, and the SFT2000 will start searching the available channels. Now you can press the EXIT button, and then OK and OK to save the changes. Ready.

Gripes

• While in the "manual" menu to add TP's, don't press the yellow button, as that will erase all TP's you've just added, no questions asked. Very useful.
• If you add a TP you cannot change it later. Well you can, but the SFT2000 will ignore your change, and use the old value. To change a TP (SR value, whatever), you have to delete it (mark it, press yellow button), and then key in all values again.
• As mentioned above, this TP-list menu is not available while the SFT2000 knows you have a DiSEqC motor. To add a TP, you'll have to make the SFT2000 think you don't have a motor.

Pictures

Yes, they look rather bad, but I'm sure that's because of my TV set (bought it second-hand), not because of the SFT-2000.

Channel list Editing you can Lock, Delete, set Favourites, set Category, and move/sort the channels all in one go:

Settings menu selecting menu language, sound language, etc.

(note: the ScreenType/16:9 option doesn't seem to work for me: my screen goes black/gray).

Skins The SFT2000 offers 4 different `skins' (colour combinations) for the menus:

Installation

TV-viewing

EPG

The Box

The Remote Control

The Inside

Experience, complaints, etc

Good things: well, not knowing any other receivers, I don't know how the SFT-2000 compares favourably to others. However, Freebe writes:
You forgot to say how good this unit is in the Editing mode compared to others. Here you can Delete, Move, Sort, set Fav and Cat all at once.

Gripes I've been using the set for about three weeks now, and I like it (but maybe that's because I have no experience with other sets). However, here are a few things I don't like (most probably can be fixed by a software upgrade):

• The set properly plays most radio stations, but some stations cause it to spontaneously reboot (or show other problems):

  Station Name	Sat	Freq/Pol	SR	Problem
  MM	Astra1	12344H	27500	Reboot
  Music Choice	Astra1	11685V	22000	Reboot
  Radios2	Astra1	12207V	27500	Reboot
  Canalsat Radios	Astra1	12207V	27500	Reboot
  Express Radio	Thor 2/3	12169V	28000	Silence after few seconds

  Reboot: it will switch off and on again, and return to a station you were listening to before selecting the offending channel. (I however notice that in some cases, I can listen to the MM channel without problems, but in other cases, the set reboots)
  Silence after few seconds: It will play the channel for a few seconds, then stop (silence), and then every several seconds play again say 0.3 second, and silence again.
  Source Eric first informed me about the "Reboot" channels, I later confirmed the behaviour with my set; the "Silence after few seconds" problem I noticed myself (and haven't seen it confirmed by anyone yet).
• While viewing the channel list, the ^CH+ button actually decreases the channel number. There is some logic in there (the ^CH+ button is above the CH- button, and decreasing the channel number means you are going UP in the list), but it becomes annoying when you leave the channel list (ie, you're watching TV), and press the ^CH+ button: then it does increase the channel number.

  Actually, Freebe writes that he likes this behaviour. Well, I guess it depends.

• The system does sometimes hang at unexplainable moments. Switching it on--off solves it. Occurs about once a week with normal usage, I guess (ie, once every 20 hours or so).
• When searching for a satellite or channel, the signal strength is indicated by bars. This may look nice, but it's rather difficult to remember at what position the signal was best. Just a number (dB) would be easier.
• Adding new transponders for a satellite cannot be done in DiSEqC-motor mode: you have to fool the receiver into believing you have `none' equipment, select the satellite, add the transponder, and go back to the DiSEqC-motor mode.
• In DiSEqC-motor mode, while adjusting the position of the motor, you get no info about the current position of the motor (I don't know the DiSEqC protocol, but I do assume the motor gives back some info to the receiver?)
• It gives no information whatsoever about the smartcard inserted (only that there is a smartcard inserted, at startup). (This is fixed in software version 6.07)
• Sometimes it forgets *all* channel information, and *all* information about added satellite-TP's. It happened to me once in 10 months of usage (I think it was while I viewed an encoded channel the reciever didn't have keys/emu for), and have one report from someone else who experienced it. Happens with S/W 6.12 (for me) and 6.14 (the other person). Only remedy seems to reload all channels and TP's.

Copyright of the above text/pictures: GPL Joost Witteveen, joostje@komputilo.org
Thanks too: Freebe & Eric (eric at most-wanted.com).