Cost of a HD system set up from scratch

Nolski

I've stumbled across 'Dreambox' on a football forum where 'Sky' was being discussed.

After a quick google search I've found a few online providers of the dreambox receivers and also this website,

as a total novice, I was just wondering the following:-

- how much a dreambox hd system would cost to set up from scratch

- the cost/benefits when compared to a sky system

- hidden costs, or how user freindly a dreambox system is.

Thanks for any input, and sorry if i've posted this in the wrong place.

B16MCC

Ok firstly, don't take this the wrong way mate, but others will say it too, a Dreambox is not for a novice. You must have strong IT skills to even get a picture out of it. Other than that,

1. Basic HD dreambox 800 costs £400. + Dish mount cable and lnb , £100
2. It will not get you anything for nothing. You still need a subscription viewing card.
3. A Dreambox is not meant for just sky, its an enthusiasts box designed to receive mutliple satellites from all over the world. Its much more powerful than a sky box. Its designed to be part of a home network and can interact with your PC in many ways.

Nolski

Thanks for the reply.

my IT skills are ok, I'm not clued up on programming, but know my way about the pc and network fairly well. I'm usually ok at following guides and can usually troubleshoot my way out of problems.

I'm tied in with sky for at least another six months, but that gives me plenty time to do a bit research, are there any links for setup guides on these forums, I've had a quick look but to be honest I've been busy with other things tonight so haven't had the time to research it properly.

Again any info/help would be appreciated.

Analoguesat

Seriously - a dreambox is not really suitable for beginners to the hobby.

You are looking at weeks of head scratching and total frustration before you start to get anywhere near the best out of it. I had my 7020 for about 2 YEARS before I really got the hang of it and go it to do what I wanted it to - and Id had other satellite receivers for 10 years or so beforehand.

Analoguesat's message to the world Analogue forever!

Nolski

Cheers, I guess it's something I'll bear in mind.

zoro25

I think it depends on how much your willing to learn and if you know basic networking, FTP SSH etc,

I work in IT so maybe I had a bit of a headstart but I found it all hard but straight forward. around 3 years ago I brought a dreambox 7020, This was my first entry into this hobby,
I would agree with all the others that its not a normal sat box, (look up hobby boxes).

However as a word of warning mine sat in its virgin state for about 6 weeks while I was working and testing everything out and reading up.

If you really want to put time into the hobby then a dreambox is great, It has a very steep learning curve but the rewards are even greater. Support is the best out there.
If however you just want a Sky Substitute then a Dreambox is not for you.