STB choice and advice

[insilica]

Hi Guys,

I would like to upgrade from an Openbox receiver + LNB. I'm pretty sure anything I get will be better.

I'm particularly interested to buy an STB with following features.


DVB-S2 HD
Mount NAS storage over LAN (NFS or CIFS)
Mount the STB as a back-end in XBMC
YouTube browser
Excellent EPG
Can display all channels simultaneously from a DiSEqC on one screen


I'm currently looking at two very different beasts.


Gigablue 800UE/SE
Vu+ Solo2


Questions:

It is my understanding that both these devices support the features I have outlined. Please correct me if I'm wrong? I have come to these conclusions from browsing the forum.

With mounting the STB in XBMC: is it possible to watch one channel in XBMC on a PC over LAN while someone else is watching another channel on TV connected directly to STB? If so will this require a second tuner and hence a separate LNB feed to the box?

Now, I'm not a very heavy user but I would like a device that is both reliable and capable. I can just about convince myself to part with the cash to purchase the Solo2 :eek: any alternatives?

I'm going to tune to Hotbird13E, wondering whether to upgrade my Smart Titanium twin LNB with the Inverto Black Ultra twin? I'm hoping for better results with weaker TP's, ones I can only manage 45% signal strength? or no chance?

Thanks

insilica

P.S. With all the clones going around in the market I'm actually only going to buy for WoS as I've read great things :thumbsup: so please consider this if advising an alternative.

[marty]

Avoid the GB boxes. Vu are outstanding. Technomate are great value for money too. Avoid single core machine's

[insilica]

Avoid the GB boxes. Vu are outstanding. Technomate are great value for money too. Avoid single core machine's

Thanks for the quick response. TBH been leaning towards the solo2 :cool:, interesting to see your reaction re: the GB and single core machines.

[rossi2000]

the new miraclebox thats new in stock this week looks like a good buy.

[insilica]

the new miraclebox thats new in stock this week looks like a good buy.

Hmmm. looks interesting, thanks for pointing it out.

It looks like it's manufactured by a Swedish company: They have the mini premium and standard premium. The mini is single core while the standard is dual core.

The mini single is rated at 750MHz while the standard says "Fast Dual Core MIPS Processor" and the page states "Double the speed" with respect to processor, now that either means dual core 750MHz (likely) or dual core 1500MHz (unlikely) - not sure what the frequency is on these processors.

Focusing on the miraclebox standard @ £219.00, it's £70 shy of the solo2.

Overall looks good but is it a newcomer? will need to do some more reading :eek:

[mickyblueys]

Why would you want to use xbmc to watch on pc, when you can use the built in Webif from your pc browser

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

[insilica]

Why would you want to use xbmc to watch on pc, when you can use the built in Webif from your pc browser

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

Sorry I used that as an example.

In truth I have a mac mini attached to a TV in a bedroom with xbmc loaded. xbmc is connected to my NAS etc... Just in the process of unifying the interface to be honest, I mean without the effort of launching a browser etc... and without having another STB in the bedroom.

But I see your point re: Webif which admittedly I know little about.

[marty]

I used XMBC for a while on my Raspberry Pi in the bedroom :D

[insilica]

I used XMBC for a while on my Raspberry Pi in the bedroom :D

Hehe. I still do, though in the living room :rolleyes:.

Scrolling through my NAS folder is so slow, yet playback of 1080p content is perfectly fine. Hence why I'm looking for a solution to attach to NAS and playback all using *one* remote :D

On the miraclebox front (standard twin tuner), the more I read about it the more I'm warming to it.

[marty]

You might want to consider the VU's transcoding too ;) useful when streaming to low powered devices (like the Pi)
I found the Pi was perfect for NAS stuff but struggled with HD streams from the STB

[rossi2000]

i read issues with transcoding on solo2, i think even andy said he might remove support for it as its poop.

[marty]

i read issues with transcoding on solo2, i think even andy said he might remove support for it as its poop.

Dunno? but its great on the DUO² :D (but would be cheaper the buy two STB's :p )

[Rob van der Does]

Transcoding of Solo2 is only rudimentary; the DUO2 does a good job.

[marty]

Transcoding of Solo2 is only rudimentary.

More than what the Quad could manage :sofahide:

[insilica]

Well the CPU on the standard premium is 800MHz dual core.

http://www.miraclebox.se/uploads/Miraclebox_Table_Mar2014_en.pdf

With respect to transcoding, shouldn't concern me as I will primary use the Mac Mini which has a beefier enough CPU to handle a HD stream.

This morning I was all set on the solo2 now not so sure.

Miraclebox seems to be just as good albeit minus internal HDD and 500MHz per core as well as £70.

There also doesn't seem to be any support for streaming to XBMC (nobody has tried?) (although it appears to be based on E2) receiver - Not a biggy, it has a web interface for streaming.

Both boxes support VIX and the miraclebox has 2 year warranty policy which I assume WoS would honors, not sure about the solo2 with respect to warranty.

If I go for it, I'm set on blackhole on the solo2 as an initial image.

alternatively, just remains select the initial firmware for the miraclebox:


Factory Default
VIX Team
OpenATV
Egami
OpenMB (openpli)


hmmm. decisions decisions! damn it, if only I had ordered a month ago I wouldn't have known about the miraclebox. :eek:

[Rob van der Does]

Transcoding is for outdoor use via a phone.

[marty]

Solo² will be better ;) as I said before, don't turn your nose up at Technomate boxes either. They are fantastic value for money!!!!!!!!!!

[marty]

Transcoding is for outdoor use via a phone.

Serves a purpose with a Pi too though, no need to pay for MPEG2 plugin :D

[Rob van der Does]

And also for mobile device usage on your own WLAN.

[insilica]

Solo² will be better ;) as I said before, don't turn your nose up at Technomate boxes either. They are fantastic value for money!!!!!!!!!!

Hehe. Not turning my nose up at technomate :). Have just read loads on vu+ boxes. You've put me right off the GB ue because it was a candidate and looking a little closer at reviews and forum feedback I agree with you 100% re: single core.

OK, so I've got my discount code :thumbsup:

I'm going to go for the solo2 with black hole as the initial image, will cycle through all other images later :).

I seriously considered the miraclebox however there isn't much in terms of reviews (in English at least)

Cracking price though for what it is ;), just not comfortable to take a chance. Prefer to go for the tried and tested :D.

Thanks for all the help guys, really appreciate it.

[Sicilian]

Avoid single core machine's

I think that's a matter of opinion. I've been testing the Miraclebox Mini HD, imo it outperforms any other STB with the same CPU that is currently on the market.

[marty]

What's 1080p mkv playback like?