The Optibox Raptor is the second linux based receiver that I have looked at this year. Sometimes second is best because this receiver has the features and scanning abilities that I have been wanting for a long time. It really shines and stands out for me. I will discuss and describe what I experience with the Raptor in this thread. Feel free to ask questions or add comments.

Blind Scan:
I have missed the two step blind scan that my first Pansat receivers had because I have always felt that two steps was really needed to blind scan properly. The two step blind scan has returned for me in the Optibox Raptor.
Step one of the blind scan looks for transponders. Step two scans the transponders for channels. This Raptor blind scan technique has proven to be very accurate and fast within reason on the 10-20 ku satellites that I have tried it on so far. The number of transponders, radio, and tv channels that the Raptor has found is impressive to me. C band satellites will be scanned a bit later when I change antenna systems.

LNB Settings:
I asked Pansat for combination lnb settings that could be used for c/ku combination lnbs. These settings were universal 5150/10600 and 5150/10750. The universal settings in the Raptor appear to be user adjustable so I will try these settings when I change to a c/ku antenna system. Other lnb settings such as Unicable are also available in the Raptor.

Tuners:
The Raptor has tuners that can be changed, and it can hold two tuners at one time. My Raptor was shipped with what appears to be 2 satellite tuners and one terrestrial or OTA tv tuner. Only one tuner is installed, so we will go through the steps of changing tuners and running various tuner configurations. (The Raptor can also accept a cable tuner but I do not have cable to test.)

Stored Satellite Information:
I counted 100 slots for satellites. That should be more than enough for North America.

4:2:2 Video:
I scanned the ku channels on 107W to check the 4:2:2 capability. I get a red screen message saying The Video Format Is Not Supported on those channels but the audio works fine. Hopefully we can have 4:2:2 video capability in the future.

Out-Of-Sync Audio/Video Solution:
There is a feature that allows you to correct or allow for out-of-sync audio/video. This feature appears to be adjustable in milliseconds.

Esata Drive Support:
High speed internal and external Esata connections are available. I plan to install an internal Esata drive in the near future and will make comments about the installation.

(More to follow)EB