Bit of advice - which box

[ste03]

hi, iv spent days reading up about moving from cable to satellite and i just need some advice.
i have been looking at the DM800HD as it looks nice but im a bit worried about paying £200 quid if i cant get my head round it.

i'v got sly minidish which i have read points at 28.2°e and read that this can be used .... is this true?

so im not sure if to go for a cheaper box standard def for the time being while i learn how to work it what do you think ??

could anyone reccomend a decent first box and could anyone be kind enough to pm me about reccomended server/methods and a quick explanation ??

finally lol is there anything i have to look out for ?? sorry for all the newb q's

any help will be apriciated

cheers

ste

 

[ToneDeff]

TM600 was my first sat box if you know basic network/router stuff "i.p" "dns" "opening ports" or are willing to learn you shouldn't have much trouble, you can get them for about £80 on ebay, or get a TM500 for about £20 cheaper but doesn't have any usb ports "extra storage/recording" and smaller internal memory.

if you've got around £200 though i'd probably wait and see what the TM800 is like should be out in the next few weeks hopefully.

 

[JohnO1234]

yep, you could try a DM600s or even a DM500s clone, you can get them dirt cheap now, if you aren't interested in HD at the moment.

JohnO

 

[ste03]

im doing a computing degree atm so that shouldnt be a problem i'v been looking at the TM600 on ebay £80 quid quite a good price could anyone shead any light on how i would go about accessing a server any recomendations??

cheers

ste

 

[gsmtech]

If you want HD a DM800HD clone is around 150ish quid direct from China suppliers, check the Sat Dreambox forum, there might be a groupbuy going on, price at 136 quid at the minute..Be aware of knwn issues with glitchy HD channels/tuner issues.

Non-HD. Dm500 clone can be had for 50 quid, cant be beaten for such a low cost, wide range of software images available (Gemini, PLI, Nabilsat etc..), very well supported stable with all current CCAM releases as client or server. Some older power supplies had issues, which I believe has now been addressed, potentially a cheap signal booster may be required can suffer from weak tuners.

If you want PVR look at a Dm600 clone which are around 100 quid, gives you the possilbility of recording to a 2.5inch laptop drive, also can run a 7 day EPG using SQLite. Also well supported good range of images available more RAM than a Dm500. Swappable plug and play tuners Cable, Sat or Terrestrial.

Technomate TM500/600 may be worth a look, but you will be restricted in your chouce of images (only 1 offficially supported image UR Team)..not as well supported as any of dreamboxes, current known issues with CCAM compatibility and widescreen display issues. May possibly be fixed in future image updates..TM600 PVR is well priced at 80 quid worth a look maybe for a client box..

Do your research have a good read around this and other forums, ask some questions before you make your final decision.

 

[ToneDeff]

could anyone shead any light on how i would go about accessing a server any recomendations??

cheers

ste

"cccam" is the most common method but try google, this isn't the right place for getting servers

 

[ste03]

ahh thanks i'l have a look around how do i know if the box is a clone or not ??

cheers

ste

 

[gsmtech]

ahh thanks i'l have a look around how do i know if the box is a clone or not ??

cheers

ste

Technomates there are no clones that im aware of.

- Dreambox 500 are all clones, Dream dont manufacture them anymore havent done for a couple of years.

- Dream 600 and above, obvious give away is the price..clones are half the price of the original, Dm500 and 600 clones are fairly mature you shouldnt have many issues with them.

800HD clones seem to have troublesome tuners and issues with overheating.

 

[CrazyFool]

hey guys,
if the dm500/600 clones are as good as you say they are. would you recommend them over the tm500/600 as clients and as a server????

as it stands, it looks like the clones have way more support!

 

[gsmtech]

I dont own a TM500 or TM600 so I cant really comment on them..

- But I do know there is CCAM compatibility/glitching/disconenctions issues with TM devices so basically you cant use CCAM by itself you must also use Newcs in conjunction with CCAM to read a certain white card. maybe this will be fixed at some stage...

- Dream 500 and 600 dont have these issues and CCAM is stable on both..So in purely a CCAM sense yes Dream 500 and 600 are more compatible and stable.

 

[CrazyFool]

I dont own a TM500 or TM600 so I cant really comment on them..

- But I do know there is CCAM compatibility/glitching/disconenctions issues with TM devices so basically you cant use CCAM by itself you must also use Newcs in conjunction with CCAM to read a certain white card. maybe this will be fixed at some stage...

- Dream 500 and 600 dont have these issues and CCAM is stable on both..So in purely a CCAM sense yes Dream 500 and 600 are more compatible and stable.

are you talking about clone dreamboxes there mate?
are there any other drawbacks to the clones?
UR team said that the cccam issue within tm's should be fixed by the end of this month. would that then make the tm a better box?

 

[JohnO1234]

Hi,

There is far more support for the Dm500s than there is for the TM500 as the DM500 has been around longer it is that simple at the moment

JohnO

 

[CrazyFool]

so is the support for the 500 genuine and 500 clone interchangeable?
being a clone though, does it not give problems in terms of picture quality and does it not break easily etc?

 

[gsmtech]

Yes I was talking about dreambox clones, drawbacks:

- If you order from China suppliers where prices are better, then you have support issues and have to send the device back at your own cost if there issues..
- Quality varies between clones...some are very poor some are very good...use a reputable supplier.

Not sure what you mean by better box..depends on your perspective

- TM should have better hardware support being offiicial boxes.
- You still dont have the range of image availability as Dreams, the only real choice for TM's is UR Team images.
- Dm have a an overall much larger user community.

I think TM's have a lot of potential another Linux reciever to choose from is always good from a consumer perspective...but I dont think theres anything currently on offer from a TM500/600 which would make me want to purchase one over a clone dreambox...

Maybe the TM800HD will change this...time will tell.

What you must remember is TM500 and 600 are relatively new boxes and your comparing against old/non current dreambox models such as Dm500 and 600...

 

[CrazyFool]

would you even recommend the clones as servers, taking int account that cccam might be fixed soon on the tm's?

 

[gsmtech]

Yes, I would consider buying a TM600 if the CCAM and widescreen issues were fixed but only because theyre 80 quid (20 quid cheaper than a Dm600 clone), if both were the same price of if the margin was smaller i'd buy the DM600. The 20 quid saving can go towards a hard drive for the PVR...

Clones as servers are solid, I know of people that have been running cloned dm500S clones as servers for quite a while without any issues. I personally have not had any major issues with DM500 clones in both the cable and sat varities.

 

[CrazyFool]

but why is the dm600 better than the tm600? (Apart from the widescreen and cccam issue)??
you mentioned that it has more support but does that not only count when you need optional upgrades like wifi etc.?

 

[gsmtech]

- Dm600: hardware wise the box has got more RAM, good when you want a full 7 day EPG using SQlite plugin.
- Swappable tuners, Cable/sat/terrestrial.
- Multiple image support Pli/Gemini/Nabilosat I think there might be a version of DreamElite as well. Means you ahve more choice..choice is always good...
- Dont know about the optional wifi...never heard of that...

Theres not all that much in it between a Dm600 and a TM600. Infact a TM600 probably more flexible as you can use larger hardrives and laptop drives...DM600 will only take the laptop 2.5inch drives with ide interface.

 

[BE-COOL]

For starting in linux receivers, DM500S is the best choice, it's cheap, and have many images to play with, technomate linux receivers are very good on paper, but in the real world they have serious problems, and I doubt most of them will be solved, since ITGate it's on vacations.

I have a DM500S, TM600 and AzBox Elite, and DM500S it's my favorite by far, the others have good hardware, but the support is terrible.


Cheers.

 

[ToneDeff]

and I doubt most of them will be solved, since ITGate it's on vacations.

how does being on vacation mean they would never get fixed ?