VU DUO Clone VS DM800SE Clone

[gsmtech]

I have recently purchased a VU DUO clone having succumbed to the draw of the twin tuner ... Now im pretty sure a fair few people may be in the same boat wondering whether to take the plunge with a VU DUO clone.

I already own a DM800SE clone thought it would be a good idea to compare the two...

Price.

- DM800 SE Clone without Wifi or triple tuner comes in at around 140 - 150 GBP frm China suppliers.
- VU DUO clone around 180 GBP delivered from China.

Again prices do fluctuate depending one exchange rates etc..

Appearance

- I must admit I prefer the looks and form factor of the DM800SE over the DUO. The 800SE is nice and compact and the colour OLED and glossy finish with silver ribbon look good under my TV. The DUO is pretty ugly in comparison and absolutely huge in size comparison it's nearly 3 times the size of the 800SE. Also for my usage the front display is useless I dont need to know what channel im watching I can figure that out myself.
- Basically side by side I think the DUO is butt ugly compared to the 800SE. But I didnt buy the DUO for it's looks

Build Quality/Finish

- Wasnt overly impressed with the VU DUO build quality in terms of the metal used on the lid and the front panel plastics the metal on the lid is thinner and paint job is not as good as the 800SE, also front plastics dont looks as good as the glossy finish on the 800SE.
- However internally I dont see any issues with the board layouts and quality of the soldering on the PCB etc looks very good on the DUO. Easy to install hard disk etc as theres a lot more room in the case.The Hard disk bracket is also made of thicker metal than the 800SE version.
- The DUO remote wins over the DM remote..much nicer layout, thinner more responsive and better finish. The 800SE remote is rather chunky and poor in comparison.
- The fan on the 800SE is better than the DUO. Why ?? Because it's silent and controllable by E2 Plugins. The DUO fan is noisy you can hear it as soon as the box is switched on comparable to the fan noise you get from a Network switch or router..you can hear it... Thankfully it does switch of in standby.

Setup and Flashing.

- DUO came preinstalled with a Blackhole image.
- I recieved a V2 clone meaning that it is already upgraded to latest bootlaoder patch so all new images can be used.
I have succesfully flashed the latest daily OpenPLI builds to test, currently running a VIX image.
- Fairly painless and trouble free to flash via a USB key, different the bootloader/web browser **STOP** mode method on DM recievers but not an issue.
- The DUO has so far succesfully accepted any image I have thrown at it.

Operation

- Menu switching, remote response etc, is all very good on the DUO cant notice any lag or performance issues.
- Timeshift works a treat.
- I have a USB drive holding picons and CrossEPG data same as the setup on my 800SE.
- The colour OLED of the 800SE has the advantage of being able to display Picons..but to be fair it's pretty much too small and useless for anything else...you cant read anything on a 800 dispaly unless your right next to the box.
- Duo works fine with Dreamdroid android app as well so you can schedule recording from your phone etc..same as DM recievers.

UPDATE..

Recording and Playback

- Tested the DUO using EPG timers recording a film on a completely different transponder and channel while watching the Champions league Barcelona vs Chelsea match the other day, worked fine no adverse affects to the channel your watching while the recordings going on on the 2nd tuner channel changes etc all fine. Playback also good rewind, forward, pause restart of the recorded content works fine. The Barca match was on sly sports so both the channel being watched and the channel being recorded were on encrypted streams.

Issues...

I have noticed a sort of 1 second glitch/pixellation breakup issues that seems to occur on some channels not very often but it does happen when your watching there will be a freeze slight pixelation and audio breakup for about a second. I need to investigate this further to see if it's just encrypted channels or FTA as well.

This is using the VIX 2.3 GM image. I have seen this issue before on an old PLI image on the 800SE it disappeared with newer PLI builds. Not sure if this the same issue as im seeing on the DUO. I will try a different image at some stage and see if this issue still occurs on a different image.

I've had to reflash the VIX image once...not sure what happened to it but the box got stuck in a reboot loop, after launching E2 the channel your watching would show for a few seconds the n the VIX spinner would appear in the corner and the box would reboot itself. Cured with a reflash im putting it down to image corruption... Pretty typical of linux recievers though not a DUO specific issue..having to reflash.

 

[digi247]

If you can hear the fan on the Duo then you got a duff one mine is silent, Its the same story with the DM's you can get good ones and you can get Bad ones.

 

[gsmtech]

If you can hear the fan on the Duo then you got a duff one mine is silent, Its the same story with the DM's you can get good ones and you can get Bad ones.

This is a possibility, however the fan is not noisy as in faulty noisy it's not a dodgy bearing sort of noise, the fan is just not silent in operation a bit like the fans in some PC PSU's and as mentioned like the fans in network/switches routers.
You get used to it after a while. If it gets on my nerves too much i'll swap it with a higher spec silent one and use the conenctor off the existing fan.

 

[jamesyboyjim]

It's probably just a case of it being a cheaper fan that what you'd find in a genuine box, no biggie Keep up the comparisons mate its a good read

 

[Oily]

I find my fan a little on the noisy side too,when I fit my hdd I'll see what sort it is and find a suitable replacement

 

[satkr]

i get a vu+ i thinks vu+ better
188 eur include fedex, i buy from here

 

[bobby123]

i get a vu+ i thinks vu+ better
188 eur include fedex, i buy from here

thats vu+solo not the duo

 

[badeaghio]

How could one tell apart the V1 the V2 from the Duo? Just from the websites of the products, or are there also physical differences?

 

[digi247]

How could one tell apart the V1 the V2 from the Duo? Just from the websites of the products, or are there also physical differences?

Most Clone Duo's available now will be version 2 look out for the sticker on the box 'V2' which means it has already had the kernel 3.1.1 update applied at the factory

 

[VectorZ]

- The fan on the 800SE is better than the DUO. Why ?? Because it's silent and controllable by E2 Plugins. The DUO fan is noisy you can hear it as soon as the box is switched on comparable to the fan noise you get from a Network switch or router..you can hear it... Thankfully it does switch of in standby.

Is the DUO fan not controllable by plugins then? It is on the TM-Twin and is one of the first things I turn off completely for both normal use and in standby.

 

[gsmtech]

Is the DUO fan not controllable by plugins then? It is on the TM-Twin and is one of the first things I turn off completely for both normal use and in standby.

I've not bothered trying to see if I can slow the fan revs down via a E2 plugin, this would probably resolve the noise issue. The Fan already switches off in standby which is good... I get the impression it;s not a good idea to slow the fan revs down..the cooling solution on these boxes doesnt look as good as the 800SE clones...

 

[IAmATeaf]

I've swapped out the fan for a ball bearing fan and connected it to a temperature controlled sensor which I got out of an old PC PSU. I stuck the sensor onto one of the heatsinks on the PSU so as the temps rise the fan speed rises. Not something everybody can do but my box is now uber silent.

There are also kits that you can buy to control the fan speed but there was no way I was going to spunk around 25 notes.

 

[jamesyboyjim]

You could get a zalman fan mate for less than a fiver off eBay and it allows you to control the fan speed using a little knob to twiddle up and down lol, cheap effective and requires no technical knowledge

 

[tazb3]

I have recently purchased a VU DUO clone having succumbed to the draw of the twin tuner ... Now im pretty sure a fair few people may be in the same boat wondering whether to take the plunge with a VU DUO clone.

I already own a DM800SE clone thought it would be a good idea to compare the two...

gsmtech
Thanks for this very helpful post. You've had it for 3 months now ! I'd love to know which one you watch most. Is Vu+duo still trouble free. Should I change ??'I seem to get a lot of "no tuner" trouble with the DM800SE (seems to be image related)and wonder should I splash before the football starts. Your posts are always great guide

 

[gsmtech]

I have recently purchased a VU DUO clone having succumbed to the draw of the twin tuner ... Now im pretty sure a fair few people may be in the same boat wondering whether to take the plunge with a VU DUO clone.

I already own a DM800SE clone thought it would be a good idea to compare the two...

gsmtech
Thanks for this very helpful post. You've had it for 3 months now ! I'd love to know which one you watch most. Is Vu+duo still trouble free. Should I change ??'I seem to get a lot of "no tuner" trouble with the DM800SE (seems to be image related)and wonder should I splash before the football starts. Your posts are always great guide

To be fair I haven't had problems with either my 800se or vu duo. If you have a twin feed for the minor price difference its worth going with the duo just for the benefits of twin tuner. If you've only got single feed go with the 800se. Or if you like messing around and swapping images there is much more choice on the dreambox scene than the vu scene. If you just want a stable box to watch the football either will be fine. Put it this way the only reason I have a duo clone is for twin tuner and a good price point... if there was such a device as a 800 se clone with twin dvb s tuners I'd rather have one of those...

 

[Damo1888]

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but your review grabbed my attention. I'd like to ask you a few questions, as I'm considering purchasing a VU Duo clone.

The one second glitch you were receiving, did changing the image solve the issue?

Also, have you tried timeshift on the channel you're watching, while recording another? Any glitches or freezing? I've currently got a DM800HD, but it doesn't seem to handle timeshifting all that well.

Thirdly, when browsing the EPG while watching a channel, does the picture glitch at all? Again, my DM800 seems to glitch on the encrypted channels while I am browsing through the EPG.

 

[gsmtech]

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but your review grabbed my attention. I'd like to ask you a few questions, as I'm considering purchasing a VU Duo clone.

The one second glitch you were receiving, did changing the image solve the issue?

Also, have you tried timeshift on the channel you're watching, while recording another? Any glitches or freezing? I've currently got a DM800HD, but it doesn't seem to handle timeshifting all that well.

Thirdly, when browsing the EPG while watching a channel, does the picture glitch at all? Again, my DM800 seems to glitch on the encrypted channels while I am browsing through the EPG.

Yes, The 1 second glitch issue has disappeared since I originally did this review but I am using a newer image now and newer drivers that might have fixed it.

I havent tried timeshift wile recording another channel.

No there's no glitches if you browse the EPG while watching something else.

To be fair I've never seen the problems you mentioned on my DM800SE either..Dont remember if my DM800HD (non SE) had these issues I sold it a while ago. Maybe the faster CPU and newer chipset on the 800SE resolved these issues.

What you do need to be aware of with the Duo clone though, is that occassionally when you change channel you'll get a error saying "tune failed" but the channel will still clear after a couple of seconds. This is a known issue with the clone DUO security chip being under specced and failing to respond to requests in a timely manner. Although very infrequent i.e: every couple of weeks or so, this is still an issue.

Also The VU DUO clone being a Ferarri Team product...support is pretty crap..The new V3 ecurity module is apaprently still not good enough and theyve gone very quiet on their offer of free V£ chip upgrades to owners of V2 and V3 boxes..it will probabaly never happen..

Having said that though.. My DUO clone is more stable than my 800SE clone, the DUO s the main viewing box in my house so it takes a lot of punishment from the family and remains stable. So if you were buying a new box I would still have a DUO clones over a 800SE clione purely for the small price difference and twin tuner.

 

[Damo1888]

Yes, The 1 second glitch issue has disappeared since I originally did this review but I am using a newer image now and newer drivers that might have fixed it.

I havent tried timeshift wile recording another channel.

No there's no glitches if you browse the EPG while watching something else.

To be fair I've never seen the problems you mentioned on my DM800SE either..Dont remember if my DM800HD (non SE) had these issues I sold it a while ago. Maybe the faster CPU and newer chipset on the 800SE resolved these issues.

What you do need to be aware of with the Duo clone though, is that occassionally when you change channel you'll get a error saying "tune failed" but the channel will still clear after a couple of seconds. This is a known issue with the clone DUO security chip being under specced and failing to respond to requests in a timely manner. Although very infrequent i.e: every couple of weeks or so, this is still an issue.

Also The VU DUO clone being a Ferarri Team product...support is pretty crap..The new V3 ecurity module is apaprently still not good enough and theyve gone very quiet on their offer of free V£ chip upgrades to owners of V2 and V3 boxes..it will probabaly never happen..

Having said that though.. My DUO clone is more stable than my 800SE clone, the DUO s the main viewing box in my house so it takes a lot of punishment from the family and remains stable. So if you were buying a new box I would still have a DUO clones over a 800SE clione purely for the small price difference and twin tuner.

Thanks very much for your reply. I'm after a twin tuner at a competitive price, so I think I may go for the VU Duo.

 

[gsmtech]

If you get a good VU DUO clone theyre generally fine for the same price (around 180 GBP) there is still no alternative for Twin tuner with full E2 support.
Just be aware of the potential issues, VU DUO clones have reports of poor PSU's, i.e: in some cases theyre underpowered and cause issues with hard drives and motorised dishes. In other cases they have been known to fail completely, although theyre fairly cheap to replace 15 quid odd.
Personally I havent had any PSU issues I have a fixed dish and internal 500GB 2.5" Laptop SATA hard disk. Most hard disk issues seem to be with 3.5" desktop drives which draw more power.
I've also swapped my fan with a Fractal Fan as the original was too loud for my liking.