first box but which one???

S

sproot

Member
My Satellite Setup
none as yet getting dm800hd
My Location
scotland
hi guys
total noob been into dbox for years but obviously its time to move on,,,
sat seems to be the next step but have some questions to see if its going to be viable??

1, which would be the best box for a total noob finance not an issue,
2, not wanting to join any payserver and dont have anyone of hand that would like to spend money on something that may not work or last??
3. where would be best place to buy and are cloned boxes ok now tuner wise etc.
. sorry about going over old ground im sure most have heard a hundred times before but i seem to be going round in circles with every different forum i look at,,,
 
well couple of things i gotta say.

1st if finance is no issue then why are u even bothering asking about 'clones' they are cheap unreliable and dont get supported after sales.

i know cos i cheaped out and got a 800 clone that lasted 6 months max and now im awaiting my vu+ duo to arrive!

all these box's are linux, so noob or not, no matter what box u get u will come across the same problems with inexperience with any box u buy!

personally if cash aint an issue id go for an icecrypt s4000 (£300) or a vu+ duo (£400), cos once u buy a box it will be able to do everything u want and ull not have to upgrade!

as far as payserver scum yea ur right....STAY CLEAR! the best way to start is get a cheap card from somewhere that ppl always want, the smut channels are always good and you can find cheap ones out there. then go on certain sites and offer ur card to ppl in exchange for what channels ur after and build it up bit by bit!

there is alot of self help stuff in stickys on here about how to set up stuff etc....

ian
 
Here is some info on dreambox types. I'm open to correction on all that is written below
DM500S/C/T: Basic entry model. Depending on your needs the DM500 comes with either satellite, cable or mmds tuner. All three boxes look identical and are identical other than the tuner card. What must be mentioned here is that the tuner cards are not inter-changeable so if you no longer use cable and wish to move to satellite then you must buy a different box.

Pros: Cheap
Negatives: Limited memory for storing TV Guide. No USB, No HD, only one tuner so cannot watch and record at the same time, Only 1*Scart.

DM600S/C/T: Tuners are interchangeable so no need to buy a new box (just new tuner) if want to change system, internal 2.5" hard disk,

Pros: interchangeable tuners
Negatives: while it is possible to put a hard disk in it, if you do so you will likely cut the lifetime expentancy in 1/3 as the heat within the system will dry out capacitors on the motherboard. Also the hard disk will overheat any card put in the internal card reader. Still no external memory. No HD. Only 1*Scart. Single tuner

DM7020: Improvements to this system were a double scart interface and the introduction of a USB interface

Pros: Interchangeable tuner, integrated hard disk, USB interface, dual scart interface
Negatives: Heating issues with internal hard disk, no HD, single tuner only

DM7025: The major improvement on this box was the first introduction of a dual tuner solution by Dream Multimedia

Pros: Interchangeable tuner, dual tuner solution, USB
Negatives: Heating issues with internal hard disk, no HD

DM800: The DM800 was the first venture into HD by Dream Multimedia, but while they did this they reverted to a single tuner solution and the hard disk continues to be a problem as the box simply melts with an internal hard disk integrated

Pros: HD included, USB, Esata
Negatives: heating from hard disk, lack of dual scart, lack of dual tuner

DM8000: The over the top solution that has everything, in fact too much. 4 tuner modules, HD, Esata, USB

Positives: Has every 'current' solution any user would need
Negatives: Costs a fortune

DM500HD: I'm totally at a loss as to why Dream came out with this model

Positives: HD included, Esata, Fan for hard disk
Negatives: USB removed, single tuner, single scart


My biggest issue is I wanted a dual tuner solution so I can record and watch at the same time and also I wanted HD. I have found the combination of a DM800 and DM500 to be the most economical solution.

I do not mention CI modules as their relevance these days are very limited. Standard interfaces such as network, serial communication are not mentioned as they are common to all boxes
 
cheers guys some sound advice there, are clones really that bad? without hopefully sounding naive where /what is cheap cards.and what do these do? and will they last
 
I think with clones its a hit and miss thing. Ive played around with 6 clone boxes and so far only 1 of them has started acting up (not confirmed though, could be an issue on my uncles config). But then again its only been about 6 months since I bought them so long term usage, I dont know.

You gotta ask yourself whether you want to take the safe route (original) or take the risk (clone). You say your a noob which is fine, but are you willing to mess around with it and learn or do you simply want to buy, setup, leave as is? If you simply want the easy route get an original, but if you dont mind fiddling, tampering (and accepting the risk that your box may just fail one day and you may have to buy a brand new box within months) then take the risk and get a clone.

Ive only messed around with DM500 and DM600, the DM500 is very limited in its functions but its all you need to get up and running and watch tv (think normal sky box). It does have other features too but they are just "extras" so they may or may not work as desired. DM600 is just an upgraded DM500, and its a good upgrade personally, more memory space and ability to pause, record and rewind TV (think sky+ box with extra features but with one BIG drawback, cant record 1 channel while watching another).
 
to be fair its only really clone 800'd that ive heard bad things over (and experienced)

have had a few 500's and none have failed!

personally if u aint played with these box's before and not too sure if ull like it all then get a cheap dm500. this way if u dont like it u have not lost much. but on the other hand if have an interest in sats allready and know its going to be an investment then buy what ever u think u can afford and like. just personal preference...

ie dm500s from £55! so not even the cost of a night out clubbing! lol

cheap cards... (lagit sub card)
have a look on ebay for some of the smut (adult) cards available and what package / satellite they are on!

you can just go on some websites and just ask for cards ie sly without having anything to offer, but believe me u get more responce if u have something they want! :)

but make sure the card u get that u can use it to.... dont get something on 13e when u cant watch it as well! i know ppl that have done that, just seems daft to me lolol

maybe just get a sub package for some of the indian channels on sly uk or something that you think will be in demand.

put the card in ur box and give peers a line to ur card, and they will do the same!

ok its a cheap start, but being a lagit card if it dies, then they will replace it!

ian
 
cheers total, i set up m8s dboxes for them ,im ok with using laptop to setup dbox images etc, im hoping its pretty similiar??
advice is excellent about cards m8 thats the bit thats confusing me at moment getting started,,,so i need a card for my sly dish setup only,
thanks guys ,this is a real eye opener, im thinking of going dm500 to start then proceed up a level as im getting better ,,
 
Have to disagree with you fintannl regarding over heating of either DM7020 or DM600 boxes.

I still have a DM7020 running 2 cards with a 7200 RPM 160Gb HDD in it and there has been no over heating issues with it since day 1 and no burning of either card. The HDD is used regulary at least once a day :D

My old DM600 which my mate now has is still running with a 60Gb HDD and a card in it and Its knocking on for well over 2 years old now and again like the 7020 i've never known any overheating issues with it or any burning of the cards.

Both boxes were left on 24hrs a day :D

As long as adequate spacing is left around these units overheating is never normally an issue at all.

I've never had a clone DM800 as HD doesn't interest me, but i've had several genuine and clone DM7020s, DM600s and DM500s and never had a problem with any of them :D

Also i'd like to point out that the DM7020 doesn't have an interchangable tuner unless you count getting the soldering iron out.

Sproot if your dBox is a sat version you can run Enigma on it instead of Neutrino and use it as a client box. Unfortunately unless you shell out the thirty odd quid for a card reader it won't be any use as a server as the card slots in the dbox are incapable of reading most cards.

:-beer

Nano
 
I would strongly recommend the DM500HD. It is the best dreambox I ever bought (and I have a few). It beats the DM800 I have hands down as it is more stable, much quicker and much cooler(because it has an internal fan and external hard disk). It is also about £60 cheaper than a DM800 and does everything an 800 does, only better.:D
If you need to be able to watch and record, install 2 x DM500HD and share the disk(s) between them so you can record and watch from either. Dreamboxes support multiple dreamboxes in the same location on their remore controls. This works out much cheaper than the DM8000.
 
Shumifan and NanoChicken, appreciate the feedback. I just decided to put an intro to the boxes in place but not having had all versions I do appreciate the feedback. I thought that from the DM600 onwards the tuners became interchangeable. Is it the case that this is not true and in fact the DM800 was the first version to allow this. Shumifan, I don't totally agree with your comment about the cheapest dual tuner solution. I think a DM500 and DM500HD combination would probably be the cheapest of solutions. I guess most people could live with watching SD while recording on the DM500HD. Not out to offend any of the dreambox community, just trying to share what little knowledge I do have.
 
The DM600 has interchangable tuners, the DM7020 does not.

I can see why you may think there is an issue with the DM600 as it is a small box, but as it has a 250 MHz PowerPC Processor that doesn't run as fast as the later 300 MHz PowerPC Processor Enigma 2 Boxes it doesn't have a tendency to heat up as much. It also doesn't have to work as hard as it doesn't have to process HD broadcasts.

The same can be said for the DM7020. It has the same speed processor as the DM600 but it also has a much bigger chassis which gives it better cooling and heat dissipation than the smaller boxes.

The only time i have known a DM600 or DM7020 burn a card is when the clock speed has been set too high when reading the cards.

:-beer

Nano
 
Nano, I've always wondered why people feel it necessary to overclock a card. Can you explain the benefit. I simply use the default supplied by B16MCC CCCam tool which seems to work just fine for me
 
The only benefit i can see for speeding up the clock timing is to improve ECM timings for card sharing over the internet.

Its also useful the otherway round for slowing down the clock timing, for the likes of both Sky & Sky Italia cards to prevent them from burning out due to the lower voltage the cards use. (AFAIK Sky 0963 card is 3.3v the same as Sky Italia 093b card)

:-beer

Nano
 
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