Which Dreambox?

Y

yankeeDDL

Member
My Satellite Setup
Dreambox
My Location
Spain
Hi,

I'm new to the dreambox world and I hope I can find some suggestions here.
I used satellites for a short while (the home I was renting had it installed) and discovered the many limitations of "regular" decoder: sometimes I had to enter 40+ strings using my remote control while in the middle of a movie (or soccer game ;) ).
Then I was told that Dreambox is a "much better" system ... but -forgive my ignorance- I am not sure what that means.

I searched a bit online and I found a list of different Dreamboxes, ranging from ~70eur (Dreambox500) to >300eur (Dreambox 800) but again, I'm not sure what the difference, in practice, is.

Also, I was told that, once I have it, I can take it in a shop to get it flashed. 1 year subscription costs 140eur. But don't the encryption code change "all" the time? Wouldn't it need to be flashed "regularly"?
And wouldn't it be better to flash it myself? I am quite handy with PCs ... just never got into satellite TV before.

Sorry if I'm asking dumb questions ...
Yankee
 
Linux boxes can be used to card share. Highly illegal and highly risky.

Its weeks of work to get one set up with all the bells & whistles running on them - and theres no shortcuts - you have to go through the same pain the rest of us did just to get the damn things working on the free stuff :-rofl2

If you buy into a commercial share you are on your own - you wont get ANY help here and if you get busted you wont get any sympathy either :D
 
Hello Analoguesat,

could you elaborate a little?
What is done during those weeks of setup? Why isn't a "simple" flash enough to have you up and running?
And how different is the card-sharing from uploading new codes, or flashing with one of the images available here and there?
Does it make a difference with dreambox I purchase? I appreciate the difference of HD vs no-HD, PVR vs no PVR, but the rest is hocus-pocus to me.

Thanks in advance.
 
No I cant. :D

Plenty of info available across the forum if you car to do some reading

Flashes are dead and buried - the encryptions are MUCH more secure these days.
 
Ok, thanks: I'll dig a little deeper then.
Let me ask you this then: what would you suggest (HW-wise) I get (even non dreambox) to have the following:
- HD channels
- PVR desirable (not mandatory)
- Watch a few movies here and there. Say, 1 per week
- Watch Formula1 races
- Don't care much about soccer
- Watch British (BBCs) and Italian (RAIs) channels

I'm located in southern Spain (in case it matters).

Thanks again.
 
yankeeDDL said:
I'm located in southern Spain (in case it matters).
Click to expand...


It matters!

For BBC the required minimum dish size will depend upon where you are to within a few km, such are the vagaries of the footprint of Astra 2D down there.
 
Vu+Duo is the current dogs danglies in the satellite world. Its a Dreambox on steroids so all the warnings about DB operations applies to these puppies as well..

Add a HDD to turn it into a pvr.

BBC is dependant on your dish size in your location. Anything from 1m to 2.4m or more depending on EXACTLY where you are in southern Spain.:D

Movies depends on what channels / subscriptions you have access to.

RAI requires a Tivusat card / cam to guarantee access to all programes, although that requires an Italian address and code fiscali to activate it.
 
RAI is still available FTA, other than when "Premium" stuff like F1 is on, but it has been rumoured that once the TivùSat project reaches a critical mass of users, the card-free access will cease. But not any time soon.
 
Analoguesat, Tivu',

When I used satellite before (plain receiver, no codes ...) RAI was a big disappointment: new movies, sport events, even cartoons in the morning were encrypted.
When I moved, I went to cable, only to discover that those encrypted shows were still unavailable - the worst part is that with cable there is absolutely nothing I can do about it.
So now I'm back onto satellite. Dish size is not a big issue (1.8~1.9m are not unusual in the area), but if I understand you correctly I will need two cards, Tivusat for RAI + something else for BBC ... Hopefully the two will cover a reasonable movie offer and sport.
Now, looking at Tivusat website it seems an all-italian service: how would I go about getting a working card in Spain?
For Sky I found a few reseller which offer support in Spain (example: -http://www.mrskytv.com/ seems legit) ... but this is getting quite complicated: two cards, two subscriptions ... for a "light" user it falls quickly into the "not worth it" category. Any suggestions?

I had a look at the VU+Duo ... seems insanely expensive (~430eur, without hard disk). It is still not clear to me why I would prefer that to, say, the Dreambox 500 HD (314eur, also without Hard disk) (prices from satshop.tv).

Sorry if I'm taking much of your time: I do appreciate the help ...
 
Mrskytv certainly is not legit as a card seller :-rofl2

hes a reseller middleman and you will pay over the odds if you use his services as you have to pay his cut.

You dont need any cards for BBC transmissions - just a whacking great dish

You asked what I recommended - and at the moment the hobby box of choice is the Vu+. However there are other options available - a full Sky UK subscription and a Sky+ box for starters :D
 
Analoguesat said:
You asked what I recommended - and at the moment the hobby box of choice is the Vu+. However there are other options available - a full Sky UK subscription and a Sky+ box for starters :D
Click to expand...

Fair enough: did not mean any disrespect: just trying to learn a bit.
I appreciate your help: I will need to look around some more before making a choice.
At this point I'm leaning towards a Dreambox 500 HD: I could add disk to make it a PVR. Should be easy to add few codes here and there, and if I decide to take it further, it's flexible enough.
One last question: if I buy an actual, legit, SKY card, can I use it with the dreambox, or would I need an official Sky decoder?
 
You dont seem to understand one crucial point - there is almost nothing available on codes these days. All the big providers have been secure for the last 2 years. That side of the hobby is more or less dead thanks to more secure encryptions. The odd treat comes and goes but not regularly.

A legit Sky sub will work in a linux box thats set up correctly, but will need to be activated in a proper box.
 
yankeeDDL said:
Ok, thanks: I'll dig a little deeper then.
Let me ask you this then: what would you suggest (HW-wise) I get (even non dreambox) to have the following:
- HD channels
- PVR desirable (not mandatory)
- Watch a few movies here and there. Say, 1 per week
- Watch Formula1 races
- Don't care much about soccer
- Watch British (BBCs) and Italian (RAIs) channels

I'm located in southern Spain (in case it matters).

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

Where are you exactly (I might be able to help you out). There is a Fergusson receiver in vogue here at the minute. It is HD, has a card slot that works with a white Sky card, and a USB socket on the front for PVR. If you want a twin tuner PVR, Enigma 2 box the Vu+ Duo is the best option at the moment. Dish size for BBC depends on location and will be somewhere between 1.2m and 2.4m. F1, MotoGP, Wimbledon, snooker, etc are on the BBC streams and only require an 80cm dish. ITV1, C4 & C5 are also receivable on an 80cm dish in conjunction with a Sky subscription or FTV card. If you motorised an 80cm dish you could use that for Hotbird (Rai) as well as 26ºE which has quite a few films.
 
Huevos,

I'm close to Sevilla: perhaps you can suggest some shops where to inquire? Or are those not-so-legit online services (like the mrskytv I mentioned above) my best choice?
Your suggestion makes sense to me: I'll definitely consider that: thank you.
 
yankeeDDL said:
I'm close to Sevilla: perhaps you can suggest some shops where to inquire? Or are those not-so-legit online services (like the mrskytv I mentioned above) my best choice?
Click to expand...
1.5m dish should get you BBC1/2 with plenty of rain margin where you are. Your best option is just buy an activated FTV card off eBay.

BTW: there are some online services to avoid, especially ones that show one price on their homepage (for an HD box for example) and as soon as you click on it the price jumps up 100€.
 
Thanks for the tip (and for the help, in general)!
This activated FTV card, are usually valid for 1 year or ... until something changes?
 
Cards remain active until they are either disabled upon replacement (eg Yellow House ones were replaced with White not many moons ago) which occurs around every five years or so.

They can become temporarily disabled if not refreshed periodically. In a Sky Box this takes place seamlessly unless you are in the habit of removing power from the box overnight (if you pick the wrong night!) and during holidays. Resolved by leaving the Card in a powered up box for up to 72 hours.

I'm not familiar with the arrangements for keeping them alive in other boxes, though.

I'm sure someone who is will pop along soonish.
 
Tivù said:
They can become temporarily disabled if not refreshed periodically. In a Sky Box this takes place seamlessly unless you are in the habit of removing power from the box overnight (if you pick the wrong night!) and during holidays. Resolved by leaving the Card in a powered up box for up to 72 hours.

I'm not familiar with the arrangements for keeping them alive in other boxes, though.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't recommend a box that didn't auto-update the card. In Linux boxes the card will AU with CCcam 2.1.3 or later.

The Fergusons AU as well. Here's a link: _http://www.ferguson-digital.eu/en/hd-ariva-receivers/214-ariva-100e.html

These days updates seem to be every few hours and once updated the card will stay alive for a good 6 weeks.
 
As far as i am aware the Dreambox DM500HD cannot accept a hard drive, they are your basic rip off Dreambox.

The Vu+ Duo or Solo is a much better box.

As for Rai, you can open it on a funcard or Goldcard if you can find the files. They aren't here.

Its not recommended to update a Sky card in a Dreambox. Its best to block all emm updates in cccam or newcs and update the card in a genuine Sky box. Last time i looked, the updates usually happen around the 13th of every month.

Nano
 
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