Gigablue Quad

RogerThis · 21-09-2012 5:33pm #1

http://www.gigablue.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75&Itemid=37&lang=en

GigaBlue HD QUAD
Hybrid- HDTV Linux Receiver
DVB-S/S2, DVB-C/C2, DVB-T, IPTV, HBBTV

Brand new HD receiver sets new standards
The Gigablue Quad - execution leaves nothing to be desired.
2 built-in DVB-S2 tuners allow an independent twin use. About
two more tuner slots offer the possibility of the receiver
to expand any DVB-T or DVB-C2 and combine. The
strong processor offers the viewer a high resolution pictures
and a never experienced rapid change-over time. A further special
Characteristic of the GIGABLUE QUAD is the linking of TV and the Internet

Special features:
Multi media archive for video and audio over network
LCD Display ( coloured)
EPG up to 14 days
HDMI CEC control
PiP (Picture in picture)
Integrated UPnP Server /-clinet function
Web Browser
Netzwerk-Interface Streaming-function
Plugin service (extensions)
Software update via network
Settings over Pluginservice
UFScontrol - Plugin for Iphone and Android Smartphones
IP TV, IP Radio
2 x DVB-S/S2 und 2 x Plug&Play Tuner Modul Socket
Features:
Integrated HDTV twin tuner for satellite reception
2 x Plug & Play Hybrid Tuner Optional
Record up to 4 HDTV programs and an other HD look show.
Reception of free and PAY TV channels (2 CI-Schnittstellen and 1 Cardreader)
HDTV PVR with e-SATA or USB, Multimedia Archive for image, video and music files
Timeshift ( time shifting)
Timer-Records (Once, daily, weekly, etc.)
EPG function, EPG search, picture in picture, EPG, timer, Favorites
OSD in many languages, DISEqC 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, Unicable, Usuals
Playback of multimedia files such as MP3, JPEGs and videos in HD quality
Electronic Program Guide(EPG)
Connectivity to external devices, such as e.g. a digital camera, external hard drive, and much more. (3xUSB, LAN)
Optical output for crystal-clear cinema sound
Specifications:

Processor / Mhz Mipsel / 1300 Mhz
Linux Kernel Kernel 3.x.x
DDRSDRAM / Flash DDR3 1024MB / 512MB NAND
Front Panel

LCD LCD Display 2inch Color
Frontkeys 8 Buttons
CI Slot 2 x CI
Card Reader 1x Cardreader
USB 1x USB
Rear Panel
Tuner DVB-S/S2 Twin input
Optional Tuner
2 x Plug in Play DVB-C/T(Option)
HDMI 1 x HDMI
USB 2 x USB
S/PDIF 1 x Optical
3x2 RCA
Component, Composite, L, R
Ethernet Ethernet 100/1000 MBit
E-SATA E-SATA
RS-232 RS-232
Power Jack And
Power Switch 1 Switch
Internal
E-SATA E-SATA
Accessories
Remotcontrol
Gigablue Remotcontrol
Remotcontrol + Keyboard (Optional)
GigaBlue myth RCU Universal Keyboard
Tuner (Optional)
Hybrid (DVB-C / DVB-T

Pics and vids here http://gigablue-support.com/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=2977

Looks like there's going to be an optional DVB-S2 coming first quarter next year.
I want 3 x DVB-S2 and 1 x DVB-T, for my perfect box. Too many time my wife has been recording two things at the same time. The single DVB-T will do until there is a second mux.
Only downside I can see is the only 2.5" internal hard drive. Hopefully a 3.5" will squeeze in somehow.

Starts shipping in about two weeks. VIX image too

Definitely getting this for Christmas.

Ronan Raver77 · 21-09-2012 9:32pm

Have to register to see the pages can you get a few screen grabs??

Clareman · 21-09-2012 9:57pm

RogerThis wrote: »

Pics and vids here http://gigablue-support.com/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=2977

Looks like there's going to be an optional DVB-S2 coming first quarter next year.
I want 3 x DVB-S2 and 1 x DVB-T, for my perfect box. Too many time my wife has been recording two things at the same time. The single DVB-T will do until there is a second mux.
Only downside I can see is the only 2.5" internal hard drive. Hopefully a 3.5" will squeeze in somehow.

Starts shipping in about two weeks. VIX image too

Definitely getting this for Christmas.

A lot of desktop computers are going with 2.5" drives now, in a couple of years it'll be a whole lot easier get 2.5"s than 3.5"s.

For your "perfect" setup couldn't you get a VU+ Ultimo and add a forth tuner via USB?

kevez · 22-09-2012 1:53am

just a quick question, can you record 2 channels like on the vu duo and have another sat tuner for say the hotbird satellite and another tuner for saorview on this receiver (might not have explained it properly)

Clareman · 22-09-2012 3:20pm

I have an ultimo and on that you can record up to 8 channels and watch a 9th once they are on the same mux I believe, all the saorview channels are on the same mux so you can record those. As for satellite tuners, you can have them pointing at different satellites and recording them, again you can record as many channels are you want once they are on the same area, for example if you are recording UTV you can record the other ITV channels as well, BBC the same, I find it handy if there's something on ITV that the missus wants to watch (e.g. X-Factor) while there's something else on 1 of the other channels, you can stream from the other channels to your laptop

RogerThis · 22-09-2012 5:26pm

Clareman wrote: »

A lot of desktop computers are going with 2.5" drives now, in a couple of years it'll be a whole lot easier get 2.5"s than 3.5"s.

I can't see 3.5" going away any time soon. If you want a big size drive 3.5" is the way to go. There is no 3TB drives in 2.5". Also you pay a premium for going for 2.5"

Clareman wrote: »

For your "perfect" setup couldn't you get a VU+ Ultimo and add a forth tuner via USB?

I have used two USB DVB-T on the Vu+ duo, WinTV Nova-T and Sundtek MediaTV Pro. Neither were great, with frequent hanging of the box. So I got a new dish for Saorsat, but without TV3 it's become a none runner for me.

Was planning on getting the Ultimo, but I think the Quad is a better option. Of the satellite boxes I have, the Vu+ is the best quality. I'm guessing the Gigablue won't be of the same quality, but will hopefully be enough.

Price taken from http://www.tt-sat.de/
Gigablue Quad €399
Vu+ Ultimo €499
Additional tuner for Gigablue €39
Additional tuner for Vu+ €49

Speed wise the Gigablue has a faster processor 1.3GHz v 400 MHz on the Ultimo
Check out the vid on a reboot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOdY3TMYyN8
The Quad has four slot v's three on the Ultimo.

SalteeDog · 24-09-2012 11:35am

I've a Vu+ duo in my main room with Win-TV DTT stick and a Gigablue HD800SE (twin tuner DVB-S and DVB-T) in the bedroom. Both are running Vix. Two satellite tuners usually suffice for but on occasion when both are recording and I want to watch something else on Satellite in the main room, I have the option of streaming from the Gigablue to the Vu+ using the 'Remotestreamconvert' plugin. It effectively gives me three satellite tuners.

BTW the DTT stick does cause instability on occasions - especially when recording or timeshifting RTE2 HD.

kevez · 24-09-2012 12:08pm

on the vu+ can you get a 7 day egp for all sat stations and the rte stations

Clareman · 24-09-2012 12:28pm

kevez wrote: »

on the vu+ can you get a 7 day egp for all sat stations and the rte stations

Yes you can, get a plugin called CrossEPG and it'll download the epg for you, you can set it to download automatically in the middle of the night as well

RogerThis · 24-09-2012 1:54pm

SalteeDog wrote: »

I've a Vu+ duo in my main room with Win-TV DTT stick and a Gigablue HD800SE (twin tuner DVB-S and DVB-T) in the bedroom. Both are running Vix. Two satellite tuners usually suffice for but on occasion when both are recording and I want to watch something else on Satellite in the main room, I have the option of streaming from the Gigablue to the Vu+ using the 'Remotestreamconvert' plugin. It effectively gives me three satellite tuners.

BTW the DTT stick does cause instability on occasions - especially when recording or timeshifting RTE2 HD.

Have you done it the other way round, so you can get the DTT from the Gigablue to the VU+? Does it work for recording?

RogerThis · 24-09-2012 1:56pm

kevez wrote: »

on the vu+ can you get a 7 day egp for all sat stations and the rte stations

Yes, the also works for all enigma2 receivers such as Dreambox and Gigablue.

SalteeDog · 24-09-2012 2:45pm

RogerThis wrote: »

Have you done it the other way round, so you can get the DTT from the Gigablue to the VU+? Does it work for recording?

I actually haven't tried this but I see no reason why it wouldn't work. I'll give it a go and let you know.

RogerThis · 24-09-2012 2:54pm

SalteeDog wrote: »

I actually haven't tried this but I see no reason why it wouldn't work.

Would be interesting to see if it was a better option than the USB DTT stick.

Did you every try recording over Remotestreamconvert?

SalteeDog · 24-09-2012 4:52pm

RogerThis wrote: »

Would be interesting to see if it was a better option than the USB DTT stick.

Did you every try recording over Remotestreamconvert?

Yes. I have successfully recorded a stream. Remotestreamconvert inserts a service in your bouquets that appears exactly like a service from the on-board tuners.

Important note - that plugin does not work on all images. It works on PLI based images only including VIX but not Team Red (which was the one my GigaBlue came installed with).

cri · 08-10-2012 8:38am

Guys, Is there a thread, or a website, that provides a Dummies Guide to all of this for a complete novice. I have a sky dish that is dormant because we switched to UPC. However due to issues with UPC I am thinking of re-activating the dish using devices such as these but with all the technical jargon it is hard to keep up. I was thinking of a VU Duo but then I read about this GigaBlue, do they do the same thing etc.?

Clareman · 08-10-2012 11:06am

If you are looking for just FTA you'd be hard pressed to find a better spot that the Satellite forum on here. I would advice though that if the dish hasn't been used in a while that you test that it's working before going out and spending money on anything, I'm sure you know someone who could give you a loan of a Sky box to plug in.

If you want to get an Enigma box, have a think about what you want to do and how much you are willing to spend. For example, do you want to pick up satellite and terrestrial on the 1 box? Do you want it to act as a media player as well? Do you want to be able to store stuff on it? Do you want to be able to watch different channels while watching others? IMVHO buying a "box" is like buying a PC, there's an awful lot of choice out there and a lot of it is overkill for what you want to be able to do so it's important to figure out what you want to do and go from there.

Zab · 06-11-2012 3:33pm

RogerThis wrote: »

Only downside I can see is the only 2.5" internal hard drive. Hopefully a 3.5" will squeeze in somehow.

They were exactly my thoughts when I was looking at the box, and the pictures I've seen gave me some small hope that it might be possible. Has anybody tried it?

Personally I have nothing against 2.5" drives, but they tend to be more expensive and of course I have a couple of 3.5" ones lying around already.

BubbleBalls · 11-11-2012 4:16pm

SalteeDog wrote: »

I've a Vu+ duo in my main room with Win-TV DTT stick and a Gigablue HD800SE (twin tuner DVB-S and DVB-T) in the bedroom. Both are running Vix. Two satellite tuners usually suffice for but on occasion when both are recording and I want to watch something else on Satellite in the main room, I have the option of streaming from the Gigablue to the Vu+ using the 'Remotestreamconvert' plugin. It effectively gives me three satellite tuners.

BTW the DTT stick does cause instability on occasions - especially when recording or timeshifting RTE2 HD.

Hi SalteeDog. Do you get the same instability on DTT on both boxes. I have a duo and considering a 2nd box. Not too happy with the random box freeze when zapping Saorview.

SalteeDog · 11-11-2012 9:21pm

BubbleBalls wrote: »

Hi SalteeDog. Do you get the same instability on DTT on both boxes. I have a duo and considering a 2nd box. Not too happy with the random box freeze when zapping Saorview.

No - the Gigablue has an inbuilt DTT tuner so there is no need for an external USB DTT stick. I have encountered no Saorview problems with it.

BubbleBalls · 11-11-2012 11:08pm

Thanks SalteeDog. Still learning the tech but have to say I love the Duo. I love the user options, and preferences available, and am delighted I cancelled Sly and switched. Shame the USB freeze issue hasn't been sorted (read many forums, old and young) - If it worked properly I would get a second Duo.

However, the Quad is looking like a viable alternative at €100 more expensive than the Duo, with the major plus of that internal DTT tuner. Ultimo is more expensive again but slower processor.

I'll keep on saving for the Quad, and by Jan/Feb, there should be even more support tweaks for the Quad. I'll be scouring forums for user feedback on the Quad. Also like the fact that both can run Vix.

Thanks for the info.

RogerThis · 09-12-2012 3:30pm

Got mine ordered today from Germany, with 1 x dvb-t. Should have it before Christmas.

dxhound2005 · 09-12-2012 4:01pm

RSI are working on an image for the Giga receivers.

http://www.opensat4all.com/forums/topic/4678-openrsi-goes-gigablue/

Zab · 14-12-2012 3:52pm

Zab wrote: »

They were exactly my thoughts when I was looking at the box, and the pictures I've seen gave me some small hope that it might be possible. Has anybody tried it?

To answer my own question, I don't think it's a goer. It definitely won't fit on the mount, but that was to be expected. As for somewhere else, it looked like it either wouldn't fit or would be touching/too close to the capacitors (if you attached it to the ceiling of the case for example). Now that I think of it, I didn't consider removing the mount, the capacitors may be lower around there.

BubbleBalls · 17-12-2012 10:38pm

RogerThis wrote: »

Got mine ordered today from Germany, with 1 x dvb-t. Should have it before Christmas.

Hi RogerThis.
Are you planning on an internal HDD? If so can you share the details? I remember reading that a 9mm drive will be ok but a 12.5mm (I think 1.5tb and 2tb are 12.5mm or more) may be too big.
I will buy one in Jan and am looking for advice on at least a 1.5gb HDD.
Thanks

RogerThis · 21-12-2012 1:14pm

BubbleBalls wrote: »

Hi RogerThis.
Are you planning on an internal HDD? If so can you share the details? I remember reading that a 9mm drive will be ok but a 12.5mm (I think 1.5tb and 2tb are 12.5mm or more) may be too big.
I will buy one in Jan and am looking for advice on at least a 1.5gb HDD.
Thanks

I got mine fully setup now. I used a 3.5" 3tb external hard drive. It's working great. It's an extra box but it hidden behind my receiver. Have everything set to the hard drive eg timeshift , picons etc. Can't hear the drive.

I didn't notice the speed increase of the software until I went back to my vu duo. It kicks the ass of the duo, menus load up instantly. No crashes as yet. I'm using openvix.

Clareman · 21-12-2012 4:16pm

Do you mind me asking how old the drive is? I'm always worried about having a drive on and constantly spinning will mean it'll die sooner rather than later.

RogerThis · 21-12-2012 5:49pm

It's a new drive. I won't be concerned about the hard drive running 24/7, they are designed to run that way. There is only a problem on ssd drives, with read write counts. Same problem with USB keys, I have burnt out a few using them for timeshift. They would last about 4 months. I'd be more concerned with the life of the satellite box.

Clareman · 21-12-2012 6:15pm

I'm old school, as far as I'm concerned there are 2 types of hard drives, failed hard drives and those that are going to fail

dfdream · 25-12-2012 3:28pm

Is the external drive USB or eSata ?

RogerThis wrote: »

I got mine fully setup now. I used a 3.5" 3tb external hard drive. It's working great. It's an extra box but it hidden behind my receiver. Have everything set to the hard drive eg timeshift , picons etc. Can't hear the drive.

I didn't notice the speed increase of the software until I went back to my vu duo. It kicks the ass of the duo, menus load up instantly. No crashes as yet. I'm using openvix.

RogerThis · 26-12-2012 8:41am

dfdream wrote: »

Is the external drive USB or eSata ?

It's USB, no problems so far. I used MiniTools Partition http://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html to format it as ext4. I took about 1.5 hours to format 3tb.

TCP/IP · 27-12-2012 11:09pm

Hi I am thinking of getting rid of Sky and getting the Gigablue Quad I hope to get four tuners 2xSat, 1xDTT and 1xCable tuner. I know the Sat channels will work fine and so will one of the extra tuners work for Saorview but will the other one work and be able to use UPC annolougue cable that I have from my broadband.
Any ideas people? Also I feed the existing Sky HD box to the bedroom via the RF out will I be able to do the same with this box.

STB · 30-12-2012 10:18pm

TCP/IP wrote: »

Hi I am thinking of getting rid of Sky and getting the Gigablue Quad I hope to get four tuners 2xSat, 1xDTT and 1xCable tuner. I know the Sat channels will work fine and so will one of the extra tuners work for Saorview but will the other one work and be able to use UPC annolougue cable that I have from my broadband.
Any ideas people? Also I feed the existing Sky HD box to the bedroom via the RF out will I be able to do the same with this box.

What use would your cable tuner be ? The UPC DVB-C channels are encrypted AFAIK.

Most of the latest Linux boxes have a hybrid DVB-T/C tuner module. It does both and is controlled by the software.

If that is what your desired config, then you should be looking at an Amiko Triple tuner which are more than half the price of the Gigablue Quad. There is a thread of users in the terrestrial forum on that particular Box.

kevez · 31-12-2012 2:15pm

STB wrote: »

What use would your cable tuner be ? The UPC DVB-C channels are encrypted AFAIK.

i think he is talking about the analog stations that upc still broadcast down their line and if so i dont think it will work as it as the tuner is a digital tuner and the stations are analog but i may stand corrected

BubbleBalls · 31-12-2012 3:03pm

kevez wrote: »

i think he is talking about the analog stations that upc still broadcast down their line and if so i dont think it will work as it as the tuner is a digital tuner and the stations are analog but i may stand corrected

UPC still pass the anologue signal through their cables alrite but these are of no use on a Vu+ Duo. Can't see them working on any other box.

STB · 31-12-2012 3:24pm

kevez wrote: »

i think he is talking about the analog stations that upc still broadcast down their line and if so i dont think it will work as it as the tuner is a digital tuner and the stations are analog but i may stand corrected

No you are absolutely right. Thats why I asked what the purpose of the DVB-C tuner was. Digital UPC does use DVB-C, but the channels are encrypted. You are required to use the proprietary UPC box. The old analogue UPC would require a UHF analogue tuner which no Linux Combo set top box does.

I would still point out that if he only requires a single DVB-T tuner with Twin DVB-S tuners that the Amiko Alien 2 is half the price of the Gigablue Quad. No RF output though.

TCP/IP · 01-01-2013 7:51pm

STB wrote: »

No you are absolutely right. Thats why I asked what the purpose of the DVB-C tuner was. Digital UPC does use DVB-C, but the channels are encrypted. You are required to use the proprietary UPC box. The old analogue UPC would require a UHF analogue tuner which no Linux Combo set top box does.

I would still point out that if he only requires a single DVB-T tuner with Twin DVB-S tuners that the Amiko Alien 2 is half the price of the Gigablue Quad. No RF output though.

Thanks guys you are correct no chance of getting the old UPC channels. Is there an RF out on the Gigablue?

TCP/IP · 06-01-2013 9:28pm

Anybody?

SalteeDog · 07-01-2013 11:31am

I don't have the quad but I do have the Gigablue HD800SE. There is no RF output on that and I would suspect there is no RF output on the Quad either. I did a google image search for it, looked at a picture of the back of it and see no RF output. No reference to it on the specs either.

Zab · 07-01-2013 6:53pm

I have an Ant In and Ant Out on the optional DVB-C/T tuner in my Quad. I'm pretty sure the optional in the SE was the exact same.

TCP/IP · 07-01-2013 7:19pm

Zab wrote: »

I have an Ant In and Ant Out on the optional DVB-C/T tuner in my Quad. I'm pretty sure the optional in the SE was the exact same.

Sorry for me been stupid but is that the same as RF out that I could use to feed a signal around my house. Thx a mill

SalteeDog · 08-01-2013 10:58am

No it isn't. It's what is called a 'loop through' i.e. it's simply passing the incoming digital signal back out. An 'RF out' requires an in-built modulator to convert the decoded digital transmission to an analog signal. I'm not aware of any Enigma box which has that (although I admit I haven't done much research in the matter).

If you need an RF signal to distribute around the house , you have two other options:-

1. Use an old VCR (it has an inbuilt RF modulator for the SCART input)
2. Use an external RF-Modulator such as the Triax Trilink - link here

TCP/IP · 08-01-2013 11:12am

SalteeDog wrote: »

No it isn't. It's what is called a 'loop through' i.e. it's simply passing the incoming digital signal back out. An 'RF out' requires an in-built modulator to convert the decoded digital transmission to an analog signal. I'm not aware of any Enigma box which has that (although I admit I haven't done much research in the matter).

If you need an RF signal to distribute around the house , you have two other options:-

1. Use an old VCR (it has an inbuilt RF modulator for the SCART input)
2. Use an external RF-Modulator such as the Triax Trilink - link here

Cheers mate taught as much.

SalteeDog · 08-01-2013 12:36pm

Given your handle, another option you may wish to consider is that the Gigablue Quad (or any Enigma2 box) can 'share' its tuners over your home network with another Enigma box. i.e. you can stream content from one box onto another assuming both are on the same network.

TCP/IP · 08-01-2013 12:48pm

SalteeDog wrote: »

Given your handle, another option you may wish to consider is that the Gigablue Quad (or any Enigma2 box) can 'share' its tuners over your home network with another Enigma box. i.e. you can stream content from one box onto another assuming both are on the same network.

Yeah I knew about that option. I think I will sell my existing DM800 and buy the Gigablue Quad and just use the tri link as it has to be very wife friendly.

Zab · 13-01-2013 9:54pm

TCP/IP wrote: »

Yeah I knew about that option. I think I will sell my existing DM800 and buy the Gigablue Quad and just use the tri link as it has to be very wife friendly.

I have to be honest, I'm having a few too many issues with this box to recommend it at the moment.

TCP/IP · 13-01-2013 10:49pm

Zab wrote: »

I have to be honest, I'm having a few too many issues with this box to recommend it at the moment.

What problems are you having

20-01-2013 12:00pm

I have to recommend this box... BUT

You'll need to have a basic knowledge of Linux, not Ubuntu GUI actual Linux command line.

Also its such a new box there are a few teething issues such as my box decided to forget the internal drives UUID and UN-mount it after a package update. (Have it all sorted now)

For a few questions I've seen & a bit more:

I have recorded 10 channels simultaneously without an issue.
It does HD
I can control the Box via a comprehensive GUI accessible from a web browser
I can stream channels to my laptop/ipad/tablet/phone
Provides a 7 day EPG
Timeshift has to be enabled manually and doesn't start automatically which I hope a plugin will be available in the future for this
Can be connected to XBMC

Many great things about this box, getting better every week! I've been using it for about 2 months now.

swoofer · 20-01-2013 2:30pm

whats the pic quality in HD like and can you compare it to a sky hd box say?

20-01-2013 2:41pm

I can't compare it to Sky HD as I only ever had the standard box. But if I compare it to HD movies I watch (.mkv files) it's just as sharp. It also has no issues handling it, never freezes or anything.

BubbleBalls · 28-01-2013 2:29pm

GBCULLEN wrote: »

whats the pic quality in HD like and can you compare it to a sky hd box say?

There is no difference in PQ from the Quad. Quad is excellent in HD.

BubbleBalls · 30-01-2013 11:46am

Hi,

Anyone having issues with Saorview - I updated VIX (new kernel) and DVBt has stopped working.

Gigablue Quad

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