Newbie getting a new box

[joaoasilva]

Hi everyone,

So I have Sky atm but I don't really use the premium channels so I'm thinking on leaving.
I have a budget of around £100 to spend and the only thing that's putting me off is that missus still wants to be able to "record series" like the Sky box does so I need it to be Twin Satellite also.
Can you advise on the best box that does the "record series" well and the best firmware?

Thanks!

Kind regards,
Joao Silva

[Andy_Hazza]

You are going to struggle with a £100 budget for a twin receiver. Is that your limit?


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[joaoasilva]

£150 but that's risking it a little bit as I'm not sure if the missus will like it so I don't want to waste money and have to go back to Sky... :(
Mostly is twin receiver with a good auto EPG and "Record series" function.

Thanks!

[joysleep1]

£150 but that's risking it a little bit as I'm not sure if the missus will like it so I don't want to waste money and have to go back to Sky... :(
Mostly is twin receiver with a good auto EPG and "Record series" function.

Thanks!

I would spend a bit extra and get a decent receiver like the Vu solo 2. Cant go wrong with that.

[twol]

So buy an ET8000 for 159 pounds, set it up without the hdd just to demonstrate how it all looks and works and then rip the hdd out of the Sky box (of course you "could" do that from the start :) ).

Then tell her how much you are saving on Sky, for that holiday in the Sun :)

[Willmoore]

http://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk/Digital-Satellite-Receivers/Edision-Linux-HD-Receivers/Edision-os-mini-2x-dvb-s-s2

£100 for a twin tuner is great value - don't know much about them as WOS are just about to stock them - spec seems okay.
You would have to add a usb HDD to enable you to record.

[joysleep1]

I am a bit worried about recording on USB HDD. Are they reliable?

[joaoasilva]

That's a good question... and the performance isn't it sluggish running through the menus?
Between the VU+ Solo 2 and the ET8000, why is there £40 difference? is it worth?

Thanks.

[joysleep1]

That's a good question... and the performance isn't it sluggish running through the menus?
Between the VU+ Solo 2 and the ET8000, why is there £40 difference? is it worth?

Thanks.

Depends on if you need three tuners

[joaoasilva]

I only have 2 satellite cables on the living room.

[twol]

That's a good question... and the performance isn't it sluggish running through the menus?
Between the VU+ Solo 2 and the ET8000, why is there £40 difference? is it worth?

Thanks.
First you are paying for the VU name and the minor limitation of a 2.5 HDD, but you get transcoding which doesn,t seem worth it for you.

[joaoasilva]

So VU it's all about:

Brand
transcoding
fixed 2.5HDD
fixed tunner


ET8000 it's all about:

supports 2.5 hdd or 3.5hdd
same performance as VU??
swappable tunners
no transcoding???


Seems that ET8000 is the best future proof choice and it's cheaper?

[Andy_Hazza]

Vu+ Solo2 better looking, better remote imo. Xtrend ET8000 doesn't look nice, colour wise imo. But the specs are good on the Xtrend ET8000 no doubt.


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[twol]

So VU it's all about:

Brand
transcoding
fixed 2.5HDD
fixed tunner


ET8000 it's all about:

supports 2.5 hdd or 3.5hdd
same performance as VU??
swappable tunners
no transcoding???


Seems that ET8000 is the best future proof choice and it's cheaper?
I would agree with that list ... But both are good brands and around for a while now....

[joaoasilva]

Any reason why the ET8000 doesn't do transcoding? Isn't just software?

[DaMacFunkin]

I have to add, and you can see which Vu boxes I have, my sister has the e8000 which I set up and maintain and I have had a couple of Technomate e2 boxes also, the Solo2 is the quickest at booting, scanning abm, running opentv (EPG) and re-flashing out of any if them.

[DaMacFunkin]

Any reason why the ET8000 doesn't do transcoding? Isn't just software?

The solo2 does software transcoding, the xtrend not at all.

[Willmoore]

Any reason why the ET8000 doesn't do transcoding? Isn't just software?

Why give you something they can sell you - ET1000 does transcoding but costs more.

[twol]

Why give you something they can sell you - ET1000 does transcoding but costs more.

Absolutely correct :) but in hardware :)

[Andy_Hazza]

Yep Vu+ Solo2 boots quicker and also way way way faster at reading and parsing epg data.


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[joaoasilva]

Thanks all for the suggestions. You've just made my life even harder :D
Spending more and undecided about which one to buy :D

[joaoasilva]

Another question, sorry guys... I'm a pain in the a** :(
Does anyone have a comparison video between both of them running? How's that vue with the same hardware is much quicker like people say?
Can I keep my Sky card with both boxes, will it work until the contract ends? (still 2 months to go)
Is it possible to buy a satellite motor on WOS and add it to a sky dish pointing the same position? will I have a gain with that? My satellite is on the side of my house but with around 90% signal.

Thanks!

Kind regards

[satpod]

Have a look at the Venton Unibox HD Eco+... just £125 for double tuner sattelite (bargain) new onto the market and are 100% worth there money. :cool:

[twol]

Another question, sorry guys... I'm a pain in the a** :(
Does anyone have a comparison video between both of them running? How's that vue with the same hardware is much quicker like people say?
Can I keep my Sky card with both boxes, will it work until the contract ends? (still 2 months to go)
Is it possible to buy a satellite motor on WOS and add it to a sky dish pointing the same position? will I have a gain with that? My satellite is on the side of my house but with around 90% signal.

Thanks!

Kind regards

Basically faster chip, better box.
Same chip then you start getting into facts and personal views....
Eg this box is faster. ... But things like epg updates, ABM updates are done in the early hours when you are asleep/waking up/off to work :)
Boot times if you update regularly can be a pain if the box is slow to load, but most people power up from standby (I believe) which is like instant.
So everything is relative and its not until you have one of these receivers that you appreciate/or not some "features"

Ref motorised dish ..... Depends what you want to do.... If just 28.2E then No.

[joaoasilva]

Thanks.

I think I'm going for the Vu+ so to keep it simple (remote) and pretty (look) so that the missus doesn't complain too much (The Sky box is also ugly as hell anyway). The transcoding can be handy to play the recorded stuff over the house.

About the Sky card, will it work?

The motorised dish, my wall is facing south so the dish is pointing south-east I think? With a motor I could only move it south or south-west, would it be worth?
Thanks once again!

[whoamI]

Have a look at the Venton Unibox HD Eco+... just £125 for double tuner sattelite (bargain) new onto the market and are 100% worth there money. :cool:

New onto the market pmsl! More like a discontinued clear out! Poor drivers and poor support from Venton. Multikom who distribute them have dumped them.