Reciever Recommendations at the lower end

[Sicilian]

You won't go far wrong with any of them. Android on the Multibox at the moment is first beta test release.

Amiko Viper 4K is same as SF8008 combo, but without built in Wifi, great little box.

[Corin]

Amiko Viper 4K is same as SF8008 combo, but without built in Wifi, great little box.

Almost but not quite. I have been searching the web to see what is the difference between the two boxes (beacause I am looking for a DVB-s2x multistream plus DVB-t2 tuner + 1000 Mbit/s ethernet + USB 3.0 + faster DDR-4 memory) and came upon this thread.

For both, the CPU is the same (ARM Hisilicon Hi3798MV200 Huawei Quad Core 64Bit @ 1.6GHz), memory is 1 Gb DDR-4 (so better than others still on DDR-3), 8 Gb eMMC (supposedly cheaper and not as good as NAND on older models), and ethernet is 1000 Mbits/s whereas other current models are 100 Mbit/s maximum, as well as a USB 3.0 socket (unlike other models which are still on USB 2.0 only).

The Octagon SF8008 has Wi-Fi which is described as 300 Mbits/s. I have not been able to find the exact designation but since this is the only description and also from the antenna design, I can only conclude that the WiFi is 802.11 "bgn" 2.4 GHz only, so anything that needs to communicate with it via WiFi must also be set to 2.4 GHz "bgn" (and not the more efficient 5.0 GHz frequency).

The Amiko Viper 4 lacks Wi-Fi (but you could always buy a suitable USB adapter, if you must have direct Wi-Fi rather than ethernet cable which could always go to a wireless bridge) but, unlike the Octagon SF8008, it has a CI card slot (but not CI+).

Because of these different features there is a minor difference to the layout of the backs of the boxes with the Octagon SF8008 have the on/off power switch easier to access on the top right edge.

If the photographs of the back of the boxes are true, then the Amiko appears to have a 'gold" coated antenna socket unlike the plain steel socket on the Octagon.

The remote control for each box clearly came from the same Chinese factory (user comments about this remote model frequently complain about the poor quality of the buttons) but there are some small differences. There is (in my opinion) better labeling (not just a tiny pictogram) on the remote for the Octagon.

The Octagon has a single button to flip between TV and Radio modes whereas the Amiko has (two) separate buttons, which (in my opinion) is not necessary and therefore the Octagon has one more facility on the remote than the Amiko, namely turning sub-titles on or off (which is very much easier that going into the Enigma2 interface menu to do that).

So the choice between the two is, are you ever going to use a CI slot, or do you prefer the convenience of the in-built rather now old Wi-Fi.
(2.4 GHz gives better coverage but the band in urban/suburban settings is much more crowded and is slower than newer 5.0 GHz 802.11 "ac".)

Hope the above information will help anybody trying to decide between the two boxes.

I lean towards the Octagon (particularly because of the better remote control layout and labeling and almost zero probablity of ever buying a CI card) and would suggest that because Octagon are actively maintaining software support for the box (with an official presence on various other satellite forums), they should be rewarded with a purchase. As always your mileage and preferences are likely to vary ...