Formuler F3 Review
Manufacturer: Formuler
Positives
SD Card Reader
Negatives
Formuler is a new brand of Enigma based receivers. Formuler takes inspiration from the Motorsport series Formula One for their receivers. Read our review of their F3 receiver here
Formuler F3, design and connectivity
Formuler F3 is a single tuner receiver which comes equipped with a DVB-S2 tuner. Suggested retail price of the F3 is 159 Euro.
- Broadcom BCM 7362
- 751 MHz
- 512 Ram / 256 Flash
- 1 card reader
- 1 ci slot
- Two USB 2.0 Host ports and SD card slot (for Video file Playback & MP3 Player & JPEG Viewer)
- 10/100 Base Tx Ethernet port
The Formuler F3 is a compact receiver and in traditional black design which is only interrupted by the 4 character alpha numeric display. Not a high end display but we would not expect that on lower end receiver like the F3.
Apart from a standby button which is placed discretely on the side you need the included remote control.
All the options for receving pay tv are on the back where we find an internal card reader along with a common interface slot. That is probably plenty for most people.
- 1 x LNB in
- Optical digital audio out
- HDMI
- Ethernet port
- 2 x USB
- SD card reader
- Serial RS-232 port
- Power connector
- AV/out (cable not included)
The SD Card reader is a nice addon but perhaps a bit inconvenient placed on the rear.
- Power adapter
- Remote with batteries included
- HDMI cable
Here is a unboxing video made by a third party
The Formuler F3 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. Most buttons are reasonably sized.
Installation and Image support
The Formuler F3 came with software preinstalled from the German Team hdmedia-universe.com (HDMU). You also can use OpenATV Image available here
Both images are of course Enigma variants and more options are coming Formuler tells us.
What Image you choose is pretty much a matter of personal taste.
Here are some screen shots from the HDMU image
Daily use
Booting speed
Formuler F3 is not a high end receiver but still very fast. Booting takes only 38 seconds which is very good.
Boot leaderboard
| Receiver | Boot (secs) |
|---|---|
| DM 900 | 16 |
| Vu+ Solo 4K | 32 |
| Vu+ Duo2 | 33 |
| Formuler F1 | 35 |
| Vu+ Solo2 | 35 |
| Formuler F3 | 38 |
| Vu+ Zero | 39 |
| 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
Channel zapping is very fast and you can of course play around with the on screen graphics look by downloading and changing skins. We also have no complaints about picture quality.
PVR and Multimedia playback
You need to add an external USB 2.0 storage device to add the option of recording tv on this receiver. With only 1 tuner you are limited to recording from one transponder at a time. HBB TV is not yet supported but Formuler tells us that it planned sometime in the future.
Like most Engima based receivers the Formular F3 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.
Formuler F3 Review Conclusion
The Formuler F3 packs everything nicely into a small receiver. You get both internal card reader and CI option and it seems both stable and very fast for what is not a high end and pricey receiver.
The SD card reader is also a nice bonus for a receiver in this price range.
Linux-TV.com thanks Formuler for supplying the unit for this review
