Why linux?

[gazzag67]

Iv been thinking of buying a Technomate HD box to start off my system. Particularly TM 800 HD or TM 6900 or 8000 HD wich will support c/s'ing. What are the pros and cons of these boxes?

And what to the Linux enigma boxes offer over the non linux ones? I am vaguely familiar with linux from the o/s on my tablet phone.

Iv been researching solidly to try and come to a conclusion on which box but iv got to the stage where i need advice!

 

[Analoguesat]

The main advantage is that the receivers are infinitely customisable, and it you enjoy tinkering then they are ideal for that.

The main con is that they can take a while to get your head around, especially for the more esoteric functions.

 

[gazzag67]

Well i do like 'tinkering' and customizing but how much of it would be just to get it to work?. I dont mind getting my head around the functions as its part of the fun, however i dont want to spend more time getting it to work than watching tv!

 

[Analoguesat]

Depends what you want to do - setting one up as a basic fta receiver is fairly easy.

Getting card sharing or fancy epg's working will take a while - possibly weeks.

 

[gazzag67]

I suppose i never expected card shearing to be easy, something id have to read about once i have the box to navigate around. Or would that part be simpler on non linux?

What sort of things does the customisable linux offer? better scanning? or more like media add-ons and programs.

 

[Analoguesat]

Gwet reading - theres loads of info on the forum about what you can do with a linux box

 

[nistleboy]

Would stay well away from tm800hd it's nothing but trouble spend a bit of time mate and read some reviews. I have a tm 600, eagle , triple dragon, dm800 hd, spiderbox 7000. They are all great boxes. The dm800 with rev m tuner seems to be the ticket at min.

 

[gazzag67]

Would stay well away from tm800hd it's nothing but trouble spend a bit of time mate and read some reviews. I have a tm 600, eagle , triple dragon, dm800 hd, spiderbox 7000. They are all great boxes. The dm800 with rev m tuner seems to be the ticket at min.

With everything that i have read, that is the one to beat, however DM800 HD is out of my price range for my 1st box. Is there a full HD box out there with a S2 double tuner, USB PVR and card shearing capabilities around the £250 mark?? TM5402 hd seems to do this but i have heard the picture is not so good and im willing to pay a little bit more to get it.

This is why i started looking at TM 800 HD but im getting the impression that my lack of Linux experiance could have me trying for weeks to do anything more than watching FTA even though i would love to get more out of it.

 

[Analoguesat]

If you realise there is a challenge to these boxes and are prepared to put some time into getting to know how they work you will enjoy the experience of owning a linux box, and we will help you as much as we can with most things. (Dont expect explicit abc instructions on card sharing tho).

If you expect a quick weekend setup and dont really want the hassle then find a none linux box

I think you fall into the former category, - you might want to look at the Vu+ Duo receiver.

 

[Huevos]

Read this for some Linux whys. There is other useful info throughout the rest of the thread.

Out of the box the TM5402 is not a card sharing receiver. And even if you do load third party firmware and get it set up it will only work in client mode, not server (which means all you can do is parasite off others without giving anything in return).

You're not going to get a twin tuner Linux box for the price you mentioned. Best value twin tuner boxes right now are the Vu+ Duo and Clarke-Tech ET9000. Or for single tuner Vu+ Solo or Xtrend ET5000.

Whether you find a Linux receiver complicated depends on your level of computer literacy. They all work out of the box for FTA and just take a few minutes to flash with an image like VIX which contains a decent EPG. I can't comment on C/S because I don't do it, but setting up a cam to read your subscription cards is pretty easy.

 

[gazzag67]

Thanks for all the coments.

Vu+ Duo and Clark Tech ET 9000 Linux right?? What are the non linux alternatives, would they be cheaper?

Im liking the ET 9000 from what im reading, slightly over budget but might have to stretch. Will they both play back 1080p?

 

[fergyc]

I've found the VU+ a more user friendly box compared to the DM500. ViX image makes it simple to get 24/7 EPGs for the majority of channels and have got it set up so all the family can use it easily. Apart from my Dad who's the only one who manages to make it crash for 5 seconds every time he does something! I'd recommend that for sure

 

[Huevos]

Vu+ Duo and Clark Tech ET 9000 Linux right?? [...] Im liking the ET 9000 from what im reading. Will they both play back 1080p?

Yes, both Linux (Enigma 2). ET9000 has hardware blindscan, and drivers to control it in VIX 2.2 (soon to be released). No hardware blindscan for Vu+ models. Not sure about 1080p, what channels are transmitted in that format? As far as I know all UK HD channels (satellite, cable and terrestrial) are transmitted in 1080i.

 

[fergyc]

ET9000 has hardware blindscan, and drivers to control it in VIX 2.2 (soon to be released).

Keep up with the times ;) It was released yesterday, installed it a few hours back. Asked it to restore my settings. It restored some settings...but they weren't mine!

 

[Huevos]

It was released yesterday, installed it a few hours back. Asked it to restore my settings. It restored some settings...but they weren't mine!

Have you got an ET9000?

 

[fergyc]

Have you got an ET9000?

No, VU+. Got an email telling me that Vix had been released for both though

 

[gazzag67]

Yes, both Linux (Enigma 2). ET9000 has hardware blindscan, and drivers to control it in VIX 2.2 (soon to be released). No hardware blindscan for Vu+ models. Not sure about 1080p, what channels are transmitted in that format? As far as I know all UK HD channels (satellite, cable and terrestrial) are transmitted in 1080i.

Yes i think that the tv broadcasts are 1080i but i meant if it played back p from a storage device mkv. file.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the advantages of blind search?

 

[Topper]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the advantages of blind search?

With so many broadcasters and so many channels on each satellite cluster these days, oftem in the region of 1000 there is contant moving around of channels and frequency changes to accomodate new channels etc, often reducing the bit rate of a channel to allow another low bit rate channel to bring in revenue. A sky box is designed to track such changes and thus any changes made are transparent to the user, they do not even know about it. With an enthusiasts stb the constant (often daily) changes have to be corrected by re-scanning using a blind scan so that all the possible frequency, SR and FEC permutations are actually scanned. This operation often takes a long time.

 

[Huevos]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the advantages of blind search?

Blind scan means the receiver can find channels on a satellite when the transponder parameters are completely unknown. This function is mainly used for feed hunting, where channels (that are completely unrelated to any other channel on the satellite) spontaneously appear for a short period (to show a news feed for example) and once the story/event is over just disappear again.

All though a blind scan may help with the things mentioned in Topper's post it is usually not necessary as there are related channels on the same satellite. Instead you would use NIT scan, which most receivers have and is much faster than blind scan. All you need to know is the transponder details of one transponder and the receiver will read the NIT (network information table) and access all the parameters of the sister transponders of the provider you are trying to tune by that method.

 

[gazzag67]

Thanks guys,

I might buy the Clarke Tech twin tuner this week. From what i read, it will do what i need and there seems to be plenty of support out there.

Im sure i will need more help once iv installed it but good to know people are willing to help!