OK, Pros and cons all the above mentioned receivers
The TM5400 is a cracking box either way you look at it. Its a good box for somebody who is just starting to get into sat TV. There are no issues with motor control, It still looks good, and there are still a few things open on keys
The cons of this box is as said in the last post you can't share as such. It is possible through the serial RS232 port but its very very limited.
If my memory serves me correctly our favorite Albanian did something with one of his firmware updates a year or so back which did give limited channels.
The DM500 is OK for single satellite or multi satellites through DISEqC switch and a set of static dishes, Its a waste of time through a motor. There are also issues with some of the firmware available for this box. Its also almost impossible to buy a genuine DM500 these days so we can discount the loads are faulty bit.
USALS works fine if setup properly on my Dreamboxes, although i prefer just to use DISEqC commands as its more acurate for some of the fringe satellites like Astra3a.
Reliability has never been an issue with any of my genuine Dreamboxes, other than the DM500 which was clone anyway. My DM7020S (Not a 7020Si) is still going strong as to is my other DM7020Si. The DM7020S is nearly five years old, the 7020Si is 3 years old. My first TM500 went tits up a few months after i had it.
pain in the back side to use
The large majority of TM Linux Firmwares are just modified Dreambox enigma 1 images, so how can they be a pain to use when the images are usually built from very similar CVS basecode?
!
The menus on an image from a Dreambox and a Technomate Linux box are usualy in near enough the same place, and most of the Technomate images use Skins designed for the Dreambox. The web interface is also identical for both.
Support is better for the Dreambox than the Technomate Linux units as there are more of the major teams writing images for them than there are for the TM boxes. Its also worth mentioning that available plugins are 9 times out of 10 designed to run on the Dreambox then modified to run on other linux varients.
The Dream Multimedia CVS is open source, The Technomate CVS isn't.
Dreamboxes very rarely get stuck in a boot loop which is more than i can say about the TM Boxes.
Its easier and quicker to install a new image onto a DM than a TM.
looks better and does exactly same stuff as the dream box
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Its down to personal taste at the end of the day.
Nuff Said
I have had a TM1000D and TM1500Ci+, didn't see the point of going to the 5000 series as it would have been a step backwards after the Dreambox but they were both good boxes at the time due to the ammount of stuff that was open on keys. (The good old days)
Don't get me wrong theres nothing wrong with the TM linux boxes as i've also had quite a few myself ( 2x TM9100, 1x TM9100 Super, 1x TM500, 2x TM600). I just found them very limited compared to the Dreambox due to the lack of new firmware.
There were more images available for my old ABCom IPBox 200s than the TM linux boxes and the IPBox is a box that most people haven't even heard of.
The Technomates also aren't as forgiving as the Dreambox. Its far easier to recover a Dreambox than a Technomate when things go wrong.
As with anybox you have to do your research and make your own mind up which is better for you. I would recommend a Dreambox DM600pvr over any of the Technomate linux boxes.
I myself are looking at treating myself to one of the Vu+ boxes for crimbo
:-beer
Nano
