Looking for new linux stb

[white_westie]

Just cancelled my cable TV (UPC Ireland) and am looking at buying a new Linux STB.
Currently have a 3yr old ET9000 and a newer ET4000. The ET9000 has a Sony PlayTV usb tuner plugged into it for DVB-T, and both are connected to my T90 dish.

Have been looking at the hardware specs for the current mainstream stb's to see what has changed compared to my ET9000. The changes I see are, new generation Broadcom chipsets, faster/more cpus, more flash/memory, gigaspeed lan, support for >2 tuners, p&p tuners, HD PIP, h/w transcoding, HDMI in, lcd display.
Am I missing anything?

Is there a 'must have' feature(s) that is worth looking out for?
Besides the all round gains from the newer Broadcom chips, does more flash or memory do anything?

Would it be fair to say that manufacturers support for fixing/updating drivers is one of the main key's to a boxes success, along with image team support?

Of the current manufacturers, would anyone involved in image development/support care to comment how good/bad the following are:-

VU+ (solo2, duo2)
GigaBlue (quad plus)
XTrend (et8000, et10000)
Technomate (nano 3T)
Golden Interstar (lx3)
Mut@ant (hd2400)

Appreciate any comments
WW

[nsw9154]

I can not comment on the XTrend or the nano 3T or how you can get your Cable running again

But I can comment on the Solo2 - Duo2 - LX3 - Quad+ and Mut@nt HD2400 They are all Superb Receivers and should do everything that you require from them

If you want the most Versatile Receiver then Go for the Mut@nt with it's 4 plug-able and interchangeable Tuners it is Head and Shoulders above the rest and very Fast

If you want a Flexible and very Capable Receiver Go for the LX3 with it's 2 fixed DVB-S and 2 separate plug-able tuners it is also a very Competent and solid Receiver

and the same can be said of the Gigablue Quad + it is also a very Capable Receiver and like the other 2 Very Fast - and now that they have sorted their Drivers one to consider

That leaves the Duo2 the so called Rolls Royce of sat receivers it is a very good Receiver and very well Built but not really any better than the Mut@nt or the LX3 in my own opinion but it is a very solid and competent receiver and should last for years, but also has its Driver issues
so the choice is yours you pays your money and takes your choice

And with these 4 Receivers I payed my Money and made the right Choice they are all Very good Receivers you should be Happy with any 1 or 2 or 3 or hehehehe

[Sicilian]

My preferences for Ireland as your using DVB-T would be the following depending on your budget: -

1)@ £189 - Technomate TM-Nano-3T, twin satellite tuner + 3rd Hybrid DVB-C/T/T2 tuner. 1.3GHz CPU as same as Solo2. Transcoding on the TM 1.3GHz range being worked on as we speak. Support from 4D (based on OpenPLi) and OE-Alliance Teams OpenViX + OpenATV. Driver support has massivelly improved recently from Technomate, no major issues I'm aware of with this model. Pretty much unbeatable spec from the money. Latest version comes with a Universal Learner Remote control. See HERE

2)Starting @ £289 Mut@nt HD2400, imo probarbly the best value for money most versatile receiver currently on the market. You'll have the option to mix and match upto four tuner modules of your choice, OLED display, loads of Official support from OE-Alliance teams and Official OpenPLi support. Driver support is excellent too. Currently my main receiver. See HERE

[cactikid]

so no talk on the solo for cable if its only a single tuner or sundtek usb tuner for e2 boxes

[twol]

Just cancelled my cable TV (UPC Ireland) and am looking at buying a new Linux STB.
Currently have a 3yr old ET9000 and a newer ET4000. The ET9000 has a Sony PlayTV usb tuner plugged into it for DVB-T, and both are connected to my T90 dish.

Have been looking at the hardware specs for the current mainstream stb's to see what has changed compared to my ET9000. The changes I see are, new generation Broadcom chipsets, faster/more cpus, more flash/memory, gigaspeed lan, support for >2 tuners, p&p tuners, HD PIP, h/w transcoding, HDMI in, lcd display.
Am I missing anything?

Is there a 'must have' feature(s) that is worth looking out for?
Besides the all round gains from the newer Broadcom chips, does more flash or memory do anything?

Would it be fair to say that manufacturers support for fixing/updating drivers is one of the main key's to a boxes success, along with image team support?

Of the current manufacturers, would anyone involved in image development/support care to comment how good/bad the following are:-

VU+ (solo2, duo2)
GigaBlue (quad plus)
XTrend (et8000, et10000)
Technomate (nano 3T)
Golden Interstar (lx3)
Mut@ant (hd2400)

Appreciate any comments
WW

Have to say there is only one box in the competition at the moment - Xtrend ET8500

Extremely fast, 4 tuner box with 4.3 inch 32 bit colour LCD that you can actually watch TV on!
Has an extremely small form factor that makes it look like comparing a suped up Mini cooper vs the old Ford Model T receivers ( & I include my other ET8000/ET10000 rceivers which are going!)
Comes with a multiboot tha gives you an option of which image (of 2) you want to load.... Great for testing.

... And price? At current rates you can pick it up for a measly 240 pounds.... Makes some of the competition look really overpriced.

I will be buying a 2nd as soon as the 8000/10000 go.


Oh and you can just slide a 2.5 inch HD into the sideofthe box.

[white_westie]

Sorry, just to clear I am not interested in trying to get access to cable on this proposed box!
I cancelled cable because they increased the price again this year and offered nothing extra, and most of what we watch is FTA anyway, plus it has better pq.

To receive the few DVB-T channels that are available here, a usb sony playtv dual tuner works perfect, costs about €20 and only needs 1 coax feed.

As regards the h/w specs, does more flash or memory give anything extra?
The gigaspeed lan just allows faster file transfers to/from the box, HD/HD PIP would be nice as can only do SD/HD PIP, 'HDMI in' not sure if I have any use for that, LCD display is astectics (my et4000 only has a red/green led on the front).
Transcoding not sure about. My understanding of it is that it would allow you to watch content from your box on a device that did not support the source stream by transcoding it on the fly. Probably more useful when accessing your box external to your LAN!

Have not set a budget yet, just not sure where the value point is!

WW