MSD7816 receiver review

This is the least expensive DVB-S2 receiver I have ever purchased. It does not have a name but is based on the MSTAR msd7816 chipset. It will need substantial firmware revisions in order to work as advertised. The MSD7816 processor does not have a lot of accurate specifications out right now but works well in this receiver. The receiver did not freeze up on me during testing. It may not support all audio types as I ran into a channel that had no audio information and it had no sound. There is no pid information in the menus and there is no signal meter. It is only equipped with a quality meter.

The MSD is in a case roughly the size of the x2, x5, or s10 receivers. Mine came with a Chinese style plug so an adapter was required. The remote control is very small but has a nice contour on the back for ergonomics. Batteries were not included but the receiver did come with an rca cable. It has hdmi out, coaxial audio out, and rca outputs. The receiver boots up in PAL mode so if you do not have a PAL compatible TV, there is a quick workaround to get it into North American mode:
menu, right, down, down, down, right

The receiver comes loaded with an Eastern satellite list. I created my own list with North American satellites for testing. There is a good selection of lnb types in the setup screen, universal, user lnb/ dual user lnb so there are options if your lnb type is not listed. I wasn't able to get the USALS(Diseqc 1.3) to work. 22khz switching did not work for me at all.I got the USALS motor to move a couple of times but it needs a lot of work as it started moving in the command screen and would not quit moving with the commands so I had to shut off the receiver. The diseqc 1.2 settings do not have an option to choose the memory number. The 4x1 diseqc switch worked OK but none of the 22khz switches would operate.

The blind scan works well and is the style where it searches for all of the transponders first and then scans each transponder for channels afterwards. This receiver does not do 4:2:2 but it gives you a nice pixelated display like the Openbox s9. I like this because its a telltale sign of a 4:2:2 feed whereas many other receivers will only show a black screen. I was able to blind scan a transponder with a symbol rate of 1000.

The PVR function works OK and I was able to record a show using the timer and EPG. A 4gb usb memory stick was used. I was also able to get it to play an .AVI file. I tried a couple of other file types from other receivers(.ts, .trp) and they did not play. There is an upgrade by USB function but no firmware is available right now. There is no RS232 port on this receiver. There is a channel editor from mstar but I was unable to edit my channel file with it so it may only be compatible with other firmware or applications.

Overall a promising receiver for the price. The picture is fantastic and the blind scan is satisfactory. The motor and switching control leave a lot to be desired. This would be better suited for a fixed dish setup at this time. Hopefully they will support this receiver with firmware revisions. Only time will tell as far as reliability and support for this model.

Thanks for a nice review Rob.

Thank you very much for the review, we will keep looking to get the needed support! This is a very similar scenario as to when we found the X2. It is a matter of find or contact the right person, Thanks

good afternoon everyone write to know if this software that allows changes to control functions
remote in ic MSD7816, gx3113b it turns out that in my country it is difficult to find the original remote controls.