what will I be loosing with the DM-500 compared to the 7020?

akramh

Hello, it appears due to pricing issues i will not be able to get the 7020, instead the cheaper dm-500. it sells for around $140 over here, while the 7020 is over $500. I am sure these are pretty high prices because I live in jordan and this is what is available here.

anyway, my question what would i be loosing with the DM-500 compared to the 7020? I hear there is less ram and CPU power on the DM-500 is that a big deal? can i still connect via LAN and store videos on my PC?

thanks!

Thundery

Buy a DM-500, familiarise yourself with it, spend some time learning about how it works and what it can do. Watch lots of Satellite TV with it.
When it has served its purpose in a year or so, sell it to someone else on Ebay and upgrade to another dreambox that suits your needs.
A Dreambox DM-500S is a great starter Linux satellite box.
Dreamboxes are small linux computers, with open source software on designed to watch satellite tv.
They have different capabilities and limitations, because they are designed differently (DM 500-S, DM 7000, DM 7020, DM800, DM8000).
You have to think, "Now what do I want from this box and which box does it?".
Not "How expensive a box must I buy because more expensive is better".
Buy the box that suits your purpose.
Remember that Dreamboxes have an open source operating system which is modular, powerful, yet potentially complex because of its flexibility.
What you can create on it is limited by your potential.
Closed source solutions in the satellite world are less complex and simpler, but far less flexible. If you want an easy life, choose sky.
If you want a journey which is far less simple, sometimes frustrating, lots of work and learning to be done, but a far more interesting satellite future then Dreambox is for you.

akramh

thundery, thanks for the reply I have some lynux and pc skills so I'll go ahead and get one, i like a challange

TO be honest i was reading around and heard there is possibilaty that your dreambox might just die suddenly, and it happens once or twice a year, is that true? whats the cause of this? I heard you need to send it back for repairs etc.

Thundery

Dreamboxes are being copied and sold by the Chinese illegally.
They are flooding the European market with them.
If you buy a Dreambox it is important to buy it through an authorised supplier.
Various 'unofficial' software images are available on the internet which you can upload onto these boxes which allow them to do 'other things' that the original dreambox images dont allow.
Gemini is one such example.
They watched the Chinese steal their software and use it on cloned boxes.
They weren't happy with this so they wrote some code into recent releases of Gemini which nuked the clones.
Unfortunately many people who bought these clones because they were cheaper got their boxes nuked when they tried it.
I wont personally use Gemini images because of this.
Gemini punished people who bought clones in preference to targeting the individuals that make the clones.
Many people bought clones without realising they were.
Now they have paid the price.

akramh

thats really sad.. imagine someone would buy a cloned dreambox thinking it's the origional one and then it get's nuked.. Can this happen also to a genuine Dreambox 500?

I'm going to buy my dreambox tomorerow, how do I know it's genuine? what should i look for I never seen one before

tayab

very nice explanation

HB13DISH

akramh,
FYI, there are no genuine 500S these days, only cloned ones.

akramh

ok, so if i get a clone dreambox 500s would it be safe as long ass I don't use Gemini on it?

teide_ian

Yes it is,
I must admit my knowledge is limited on dreamboxes to a point but i have bought 7 clones the first 5 i thought where real.
Before they updated the software gemini to kill copy boxes i had old versions which i still do on six of them now which run fine, but i got a copy 500 s with edg-nemesis image on it and it is far superior than the others so i would try that for starters as has an epg guide rather than my others that dont even give you now or next.
I use mine in a bar so dont need a dead expensive one as the staff dont know how to use so would rather get cheap one s if they break them.
I will upgrade my personal one though just to see what the better ones can do but as previous post says great to start you off with.

Thundery

>Can this happen to a genuine Dreambox 500 (can certain versions of Gemini nuke them)? Yes. Modify your mac address and a certain release of Gemini may see your original Dreambox as a clone. Will Dreambox fix them?. No.
Gemini can and has damaged both original and clone Dreamboxes.
Who in their right mind would use their image, if this is how they behave?

akramh

well i got my dm500 today and it works great! it has the gemni image, and i'm using card sharing to open up showtimes, art and orbit channels.