IQON IOS 100 HD, design and connectivity
IQON IOS 100 HD comes equipped with 2 x DVB-S2 tuners. These are not pluggable tuners so you cannot switch to DVB-C or T.
Key Features on the IQON IOS 100 HD:
- Broadcom BCM7335 HD PVR Satellite System On-Chip
- Dual core 405MHz MIPS
- 2Gbit NAND Flash & 3Gbit DDR RAM
- Option to fit Internal SATA HDD 3.5″
- 1 Card reader
- Front Display 12 digit Dot Matrix VFD display
- Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD supported
The IQON IOS 100 HD is in traditional black design. You can control the the receiver directly on the front via the directional and menu and exit buttons. Those are more options than you get on many other receivers but of course the included remote control is the one you would use the most
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The front has a clear 12 digit alphanumeric display which will display channel name or the time and date when in standby mode.
The display also includes information about HD and a rec logo when you are recording.The front also has a front USB connector which is very useful for putting a new Image on the box or for a simple file transfer without having to plug in the USB device on the back.
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Behind the front flap you find 1 internal card reader along with 2 common interface slots
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On the back we find these connections:
- 2 x LNB in
- Optical digital audio out
- Composite video and analogue audio out
- Component video out
- 2 x scart
- HDMI
- Ethernet port
- RF in and out
- 2 x USB
- Serial RS-232 port
- Modem connector
- Power connector and switch
The included RF modulator is a bit of a surprise these days and may be useful if you have coax cable running to a different room. Then you can watch the output of the receiver as an analogue channel on the UHF band. Of course this is not in HD or anything but still and interesting legacy feature.There is a fan mounted at the top of the receiver which is not that common. It is not a noisy fan so should not be a problem for most people.
The IQON IOS 100 HD is delivered with:
- Power cable
- Remote with batteries included
- Brief User guide in English
- SATA/Power HDD cable already mounted inside the receiver
There were no mounting screws included for installing an internal hard drive so you will have to supply those yourself.
The IQON IOS 100 Remote
The included remote does not look or feel high end but it does fit quite nicely in the hand with the buttons sensibly positioned. It seems very responsive in general and has a very good range of dedicated buttons for the things you want the most.
Installation and Image support
The IQON IOS 100 HD is of course delivered with software already pre-installed but you will want to update this so you get the latest driver and software enhancements.We were able to find several options for the IQON IOS 100 HD. The image it is delivered with is an OpenPli software from the 4D Team which did have some recording issues. Those were fixed by installing an updatefrom May 14th. Note this software does not include CI drivers.
A different Image option is the German OpenaTV which looks like the AAF software. The install wizard on this is initially in German but you can change to English.OpenViX is also possible on this receiver though not officially. But if you download the OpenVix software for the Technomate Twin OE and rename the folder inside the update folder to ios100 you can install it. The OpenVix software did not seem to offer 1080p output though.
What Image you choose is pretty much a matter of taste. We prefer the OpenPli 4D edition which also has HbbTV support and much more.
Installing a new Image is easy on the IQON IOS 100 HD
- Download the IQON IOS 100 HD image you want to install on your PC.
- Unzip to a USB stick
- Turn off the IQON IOS 100 HD on the back
- Insert the USB stick on the front of the IQON IOS 100 HD
- Turn on the IQON IOS 100 HD
- Follow the messages on the front display and TV screen
- Press OK button to update
- The IQON IOS 100 HD installs the image from the usb and when finished asks you to reboot.
Inside the IQON IOS 100 HD
Everything is pretty tidy inside and nicely separated. The IQON has internal power supply so you will not need to have an external power supply lying around.
Installing a hard drive is quite easy. While the cable are included and mounted already you will have to supply the screws yourself. You can install a 3.5″ sata hard drive which is quite nice to see as many manufactures now seem to restrict you to 2.5″.
Daily use
Booting speed
The IQON IOS 100 HD is definately not as fast as the current leader Vu+ Solo2. Booting a full feature Image including Hbb-TV support and everything is done though in respectable 65 seconds.
Boot leaderboard
Receiver | Boot (secs) |
---|---|
Vu+ Duo2 | 33 |
Vu+ Solo2 | 35 |
GigaBlue Quad HD | 47 |
VU+ Ultimo | 49 |
VU+ Uno | 54 |
Clarke-Tech ET-9000 | 63 |
IQON IOS 100 HD | 65 |
Venton UNiBOX HD2 | 65 |
Dreambox 7020 HD | 71 |
Venton UNiBOX HD1 | 72 |
VU+ Duo | 80 |
Picture/tuner quality, zapping speed
The tuner sensitivity of the DVB-S2 tuners seems pretty good and the picture quality looks the part too. Better picture than several other Enigma2 receivers we have tried.You can set the video output up to 1080p via HDMI while component as always is limited to 1080i.
Channel zapping is pretty fast and you can of course play around with the on screen graphics look by downloading and changing skins.If you need Picture in Picture mode then you should go for the VU+ Solo2 instead.
We did test the RF output which works. We had no trouble finding the output on UHF channel 40 on our TV.
PVR and Multimedia playback
The twin tuner PVR works as advertised at least if you are using the latest drives and of course you can watch 1 channel and record another at the same time. Record 2 or even more simultaneously is possible if they all are on the same 2 transponders. All recordings are of course saved into .ts files which are easily transferred over the high speed Ethernet if you want to edit them on your computer.The IQON IOS 100 HD serves well as a media player, playing video, music stored on the box hard drive or your home network. Do not expect every file format out there to be supported. But common file formats are handled pretty well.
Hbb-TV and Internet Browser
Hbb-TV is supported on the IQON IOS 100 HD. It is working pretty good but not quite as responsive as on the VU+ Solo2You are also able to browse the Internet with the integrated browser. One really miss a keyboard and a touch pad for this so the browser is probably most useful for Hbb-TV support.
IQON IOS 100 HD Review Conclusion
IQON IOS 100 HD offers a pretty nice package with its twin tuners, internal 3,5″ hard drive support and even a RF output should you need it.
The receiver seems stable and we had no trouble using the latest firmware which is easy and user friendly to flash. Although not widely used outside Germany it is nice to see Hbb-TV being supported.
The modest price difference between this and the VU+ Solo2 perhaps makes the Solo2 the more attractive but if you would like to install a 3,5″ harddrive and like the idea of RF output then look no further than the IQON IOS 100 HD.