Additional Receiver for my system

Riverblue

Riverblue

Regular Member
My Satellite Setup
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My Location
Near Brighton
I've had my set up for a few months now, and I'm very pleased with it. I always had the intention of adding another receiver and all cabling is installed and connected to the lnb. I am after a single HD tuner, possibly linux based, PVR via USB, price £100/£200, sensitive tuner if possible. I've tuned in my dish, to what I think , is the max I can get. I have no experience of linux or other receivers apart from those I currently own, but having read many articles/threads about various topics feel confident that (with some help from this forum) I can cope. I would like to be able to "tinker" more with the receiver ie; BISS keys, more options with bird scanning/tp's/frequencies/fec/modulation etc, program info/listing/epg. Basically I'm looking for a bit more of a challenge than my Protek (which is quite basic) but, still doable! Many thanks for any input or opinions :D
 
Skybox F3 will give you a good HD box that can make use of BISS keys and has USB PVR.

And they are only £50.

Some of your other requirements won't be met though!
 
Tivù said:
Skybox F3 will give you a good HD box that can make use of BISS keys and has USB PVR.

And they are only £50.

Some of your other requirements won't be met though!
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As I am newish to this I am open to all suggestions and feedback, but I would like to meet all of my requirements ( if possible! ) especially the additional "tinkering" aspect.
 
Forgot to add Mac household, no pc's. I know that this limits some aspects of a linux based receiver, but I also know that there is software out there that people use. If anyone has any experience of using a Mac in a satellite setup Iwould appreciate any info/feedback ( separate thread? advise please )
 
Thanks Nano, I noticed in your profile that you have a Gigablue 800HD, how does that compare to the Amiko in regard to what I'm after?
 
The Gigablue is a better box than the Alien 8900 hands down, It has a proper processor for a start and its images are stable unlike the SHD-8900

I think the Gigablue is a great receiver and there's plenty of images available for it

If you want to guarantee future proofing, you really need to be looking at either a Vu+ or Dreambox Clone receiver. Don't bother with a genuine Dreambox as they are over priced and the build quality of Sun Ray and New DVB clones are now nearly as good as the original items.

Nano
 
nano said:
The Gigablue is a better box than the Alien 8900 hands down, It has a proper processor for a start and its images are stable unlike the SHD-8900

I think the Gigablue is a great receiver and there's plenty of images available for it

If you want to guarantee future proofing, you really need to be looking at either a Vu+ or Dreambox Clone receiver. Don't bother with a genuine Dreambox as they are over priced and the build quality of Sun Ray and New DVB clones are now nearly as good as the original items.

Nano
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Thanks again Nano, I realise future proofing is nigh on impossible, which is why I don't want to go mad price wise. Also, as a novice if I balls it all up and haven't spent too much then it's not so bad. I don't fancy any type of clone, however good they may be. I've looked at the Vu, Gigablue, Amiko amongst others, so thanks for the info re support etc. How does the Amiko fare on the thing s that I'm looking for? I realise everyone will have their own preferences, I'm just trying to get as much feedback/opinion from as many people as possible.
 
All the receivers you have listed will do what you want them to do, dependent on what emu software you install on them.

mgcamd can handle keys very well, so can OSCam ymod. It all depends on which emu you decide to use. The emus i just mentioned are pretty much available on most linux receivers.

For a first step into the world of Enigma2 linux based receivers i would go for a clone DM800Se. The Alien 8900 isn't bad for a cheap receiver but is no where near as good as a proper MIPS based box.

Nano
 
nano said:
All the receivers you have listed will do what you want them to do, dependent on what emu software you install on them.

mgcamd can handle keys very well, so can OSCam ymod. It all depends on which emu you decide to use. The emus i just mentioned are pretty much available on most linux receivers.

For a first step into the world of Enigma2 linux based receivers i would go for a clone DM800Se. The Alien 8900 isn't bad for a cheap receiver but is no where near as good as a proper MIPS based box.

Nano
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I've been looking at the Amiko Alien 2 ( twin tuner ) & the Gigablue HD 800se ( single tuner ) both priced at £149 on one of the sponsors' sites. Like you say Nano the Amiko has the advantage of dual OS & twin tuner, the Gigablue has the advantage of a broadcom chip and better support :confused Hmmmm, decisions??? Also I noticed on 1 advertisers site that the Gigablue 800se has a Conax descrambler! That could be interesting, can only find this on 1 site, can anyone confirm/deny this?
 
The Amiko is Conax under native SPARK, it will do most others under E2 dependent on which emu is installed. The Gigablue will do most cards dependent on what EMU is installed. The Gigablue is basically just a free to air receiver when it has just its original software installed. You have to install different firmware on it before you can use it for anything else.

The Gigablue is definitely the better box as it has a MIPS cpu unlike the SH4 one in the Alien. I would really think hard before going down the route of the Amiko box for this very reason.

Nano
 
nano said:
The Amiko is Conax under native SPARK, it will do most others under E2 dependent on which emu is installed. The Gigablue will do most cards dependent on what EMU is installed. The Gigablue is basically just a free to air receiver when it has just its original software installed. You have to install different firmware on it before you can use it for anything else.

The Gigablue is definitely the better box as it has a MIPS cpu unlike the SH4 one in the Alien. I would really think hard before going down the route of the Amiko box for this very reason.

Nano
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Okay, I hear what your saying Nano. Although the Gigablue is basically a decent receiver, if you get a problem then you're f**ked! So that leaves the Amiko, what about a Vu+ Uno, slightly more than my budget but would it offer what I'm looking for? They seem to be very popular and people speak well of them from what I can see. Would the Amiko & Uno be similar in so far as technically difficult to use/become familiar with?
 
I've had a Vu+ Duo and it was one of the best receivers i've had upto now. Support is second to none, and there are some fantastic images available for them. Build quality is also very good. You just have to make sure you don't get stung with a clone as there are plenty of them around.

My problem is that i get bored very easily which is why i've had so many receivers. I'm getting shut of my Gigablue sometime next week, so i can buy an Alien2. The Gigablue has got to be worth £100 of anybodies money :D

The only limiting factor of the Alien is that i can't run CCCam due to the chipset it uses. There is a CCCam client in SPARK but under Enigma 2 you have to use OSCam. OSCam can be a pain to get to work if you don't know what you are doing.

My Gigablue will be in the for sale section when i get round to moving everything over to my DM7020Si before setting everything up on it for its new owner.

The only receiver i've never got shut of has been my DM7020Si. I paid £350 for it in 2007 and it hasn't let me down once. For some reason i've never got bored of it :D

Nano
 
So Nano do you think I would be best off spending a bit more and going for the Uno? I'm looking for more of a challenge, but going in blind as I don't have any experience of this type of receiver or know anyone that owns anything "satellite". I'm confident I could figure one out with enough research/forum help. Am I biting off more than I can chew? Should I go for something "simpler" ( what? )
 
Nano I've been trying to find out about Spark on the web, is it a linux based os? I've managed to find a dedicated support section for Amiko receivers, looking through it looks varied and interesting. Of course I've come across lots of support for the Uno, almost too much so as to make it confusing! I've also downloaded the operating manuals for both and have had a thorough read through and directly compared features.
 
Both SPARK and Enigma2 are Linux based, and just to confuse things you can also run Neutrino images on them as well, which are also Linux based. Neutrino images resemble the firmware that is most commonly used on the old Kirch Media dBox2 receivers.

I've had a few dBox2 units as well in the past :D

Nano
 
Nano, judging by the amount of different makes/types of receivers that you've either previously owned or still own then you are obviously the sort of "hobbyist" whose opinion and experience I am looking to tap into. You're not joking when you say you get bored easily!! how many different receivers have you had??? Thats what I like about this particular forum though, there's a strong spine of people like your self willing to share their views and experiences. That's immensely helpful for new enthusiasts like myself. :-beer
 
Lets see, from Technomate I've had a TMS 1500+, a TM1000, a TM3100, a TM7755, a TM500, a TM600, a TM9100 & 2x TM9100 Super.

From Dream Multimedia I've had 1x DM500+, 3x DM500s (2x clones, 1x Genuine), a DM5620, a DM7000, a DM7020s, a DM7020Si, a DM600PVR, a DM800HD (Clone) and a DM500HD (clone)

Others I've had are a Vu+ Duo, a Nokia dbox2, a Philips dBox2, a Sagem dBox2, a Nokia dBox1, a Nokia Mediamaster 9500, a Fortec Star Beta, A Fortec Star lifetime classic, an IPBOX 200s, an IPBox 250s, a Cristor Atlas-E, a Gigablue 800 HD Solo, A Ferguson Ariva 102e, an Openbox S11, and finally my Amiko Alien.

I've also probably forgotten a few plus i've not listed the cable receivers i've had.

So yes you could say i've had a few receivers in the past :D
 
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