Multi-purpose HD Receiver (cheap!)

AlphaOm

AlphaOm

Regular Member
My Satellite Setup
1m Orbital - Thor 5, Thor 6
75cm Visiosat Bisat - Astra1, Astra2, Hotbird
My Location
South Wales, UK
Hi folks,
Here's the new question: if you had a budget of £150 :-ohcrap and you were after an HD receiver, what would you go for?

Here are my (simple) requirements :
  • Must have: HDMI out, at least one Card Reader (Conax, preferably), at least one Common Interface Slot, DDVB-S/S2, MPEG-2/4, AVC/H.264 tuner - as sensitive as possible
  • Desirable: PVR, two Common Interface Slots, reliable software (and hardware), decent SD upscale
  • No interest in: networking, card sharing, dodgy stuff
So far, I've looked at the IceCrypt S3000HD CCI, the Vantage HD6000-S and the Golden Media 9060 CRCI HD (yes, I did look at the Vu+ Duo and Solo too, but right now they are out of the budget range :eek: ).

On paper, the IceCrypt looks by far the best option considering its incredibly cheap price, but I'm concerned I'm going to get exactly that. Cheap stuff.
I'm really unsure, so, I'm really counting on your experience and perhaps your suggestions for any box I haven't thought of yet to help me pick something decent. If not, I'll wait another yet and I'll get myself a Vu+.

Thanks in advance! :D
 
AlphaOm said:
If not, I'll wait another yet and I'll get myself a Vu+.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I meant "I'll wait another year", of course :-rofl2
 
If you can find a GDS7000HD it will tick all the boxes on your must have list. Its Conax encryption as is basically one of the HD boxes that DigitAlb uses.

No idea what the price is though - I given mine.
 
You might want to check out this :

_http://www.dr-hd.ie/f15.html

I think it'll do what you want and I have it on good authority that it's tuner is very sensitive. The price might be a little above your budget (though if you convert € to £ I think it'll be close) I've got one on order to run my motorised set up as I'm changing to a multisat setup for my VU+, so I can't make a personal recommendation until sometime late next week when a mate from the UK brings it over for me.
 
Thanks very much, gentlemen. I am finding it difficult to locate a GDS7000HD (the only model I found - GDS7000HD CX - does not seem to have a CI slot, which is a pity because it's cheap...), but the DrHD F15 looks like exactly what I'm after. And at £155 including postage, it's still within the budget! I'm looking forward to reading your opinion on the F15, Pete, when you receive yours (as long as you don't mind sharing your views about your new toy, of course!!). If you're enthusiastic enough, I think that's the one I'll get. My needs are relatively basic, but for as modest as my budget is, I'd like to get value for money.

Thanks again for your suggestions, gentlemen, and please, Pete, do keep me posted.
 
Have you considered the Blade BM7000S or the Technomate TM-5402? Pretty sure they cover most of what your looking for.

_http://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk/Digital-Satellite-Receivers/Technomate-HD-Receivers/Technomate-TM-5402HD

_http://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk/Digital-Satellite-Receivers/Blade-Media/Blade-Media-BM7000S
 
I will do, though a couple of forum members who dabble in C band as well already have one of these. It was through their input I decided to try one. If you search the forum for F15 or DrHD you should get a few threads well worth reading through.

I don't mind sharing my views on the receiver, in fact you'll find it difficult to stop me!! (by the way you do know the F15 includes a spectrum analyser?)
 
Thanks, Mr World-of-Satellite. I hadn't considered those two, but I have to say that they have already become strong contenders, especially the Blade (I need to look up whether it handles Conax Cas 7 or not). Actually, it does suspiciously look exactly like the F15. Hmm...

Thanks again, Pete. I can't wait for your review!!! Following your suggestion I did dig up a couple or really interesting threads, which only sharpened my curiosity about the F15. It does seem to be a bit too good to be true (for the price, I mean), but then again, I haven't found a single bad review about it. Couple of minor issues here and there, just like any receiver, but overall it looks very impressive. And it does offer an optional weather station!!! Yaaay!!!! Err, ahem, I meant, it does offer a spectrum analyser!!! Very impressive. I hope I'll be reasonable enough to wait for your review before clicking that "Buy now" icon...

Thanks again, all :)
 
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