Humax Foxsat vs Vu Duo for FTA PVR

watty

What are pros and cons of VU+ Duo for FTA only TV of 28E(Freesat, not Sky), 19E, 13E and 9E (Saorsat, not Ku) vs Humax Foxsat "Freesat+ HD" HDR?

For (a) Anyone that has no Linux experience
and (b) Me. I can cross compile Kernels and write Device Drivers and Applications on Embedded Linux. Experience ARM, MIPS, x86


No DTT required.

I'm not wanting to promote or dis either. Just curious. Also need new HD dual tuner PVR for living room next year. Maybe May 2011. I have "everything" on PC (three actually).

I still have plenty spare connections on my 16 out Multiswitch

Dish Setup. Must trim trees soon!
(CCTV camera and Floodlight on pole for 110cm Triax plus Motek SG2100 Diseqc motor)


closeup
Triax Multifeed for Freesat/Sky, Astra 19E, Hotbird 13E and Saorsat/Ka-Sat 9E

Getting about 100% quality on 9E Ku band. Obviously in April I will swap the right most (most eastern) LNB for 9E ka, a Single output is all that is needed, not Quattro (three different models in use to compare!).

Motorised is not really for watching TV, but for "hobby" purposes.
3rd dish has C-band LNBF, but is too small. Was going to swap for 1.8m or 3.6m mesh a friend has, but may never bother. You can only see the big C-Band LNBF and boom arm of Channel Master dish at edge of 1st photo.

givecredit

I currently own both receivers. If you just want Freesat channels at 28deg east, the Humax is the way to go. Simple out of box solution.

If you want to view any channel that is not included in Freesat lineup on 28deg or any other satellite VUO+ is the way to go. Humax is good for freesat, not well designed for watching other channels on 28deg east, eg sky news, NME tv, Travel Channel or any other sat. Involves going into a menu and switching modes from freesat to non freesat. Not user friendly.

Want to watch ALL Free to Air channels on 28DEG east and other satellite. Without doubt VUO+DUO is far far better than humax hdr. No linux experience required. I have non and have box fully functioning. Out of the box the receiver is ok, but would highly recommend installing this software:


http://www.vuplus-support.co.uk/showthread.php?3407-VIX-Team-Vu-Duo-Image-v1.2-01-11-2010

Simply download this software, but on formated USB stick, insert in receiver, turn on receiver and the duo will do the rest. (full instructions on above site)
This gives you 7 day freesat epg, 7 day epg for all non freesat channels on 28deg east. 7 day epg for many FTA channels on other satellites. You will need to go to menu options to set this up. Where OTA 7 day epgs are not available the can be downloaded via internet by connecting your DUO to home network.

Tuning; Humax does it automactically. Duo has channel lists available in above software or you can scan and edit order on receiver or use free software editor "dreamboxedit" Google to find this software.

Channel Order: Humax, channels are ordered as freesat spec. Which is actually quite good. You cannot reorder. You can delete.
VUO+duo you can put channels in any order you want. I have 28deg,23deg,19 and 13 connected to DUO, The channels can be intermixed in epg with no difficulties or delays in channel changing and full epgs.

Price: Humax €282 incl 250gb harddrive approx. Duo €387 including no harddrive. Circa €50 for 1tb harddrive.

Irish channels cannot be received on HUMAX or DUO free to air out of the box. The Humax will never have UK and Irish free to air on one epg. The Humax will never receive Irish DTT channels. You will need to to Soarsat ROUTE via 9e. Expensive option and wasting tuner.
Duo+ Duo can receive Irish DTT via usb stick (Dongle).(This optio gives you a 3rd tuner) Epg for Irish dtt integrated with UK epg. Duo will also receive Saorsat CHANNELS with integrated epg when available.

Recording: Humax has series link for freesat channels. series link does not work on non freesat channels. Duo has no series link but does have autotimer which works in a similar fashion to series link. Auto timer works on all channels, Freesat, Uk non freesat, other satellites and Irish Dtt.

I repeat where i started, If you just want freesat Humax is your man. If you want all free UK channels, Free Irish DTT and Free other sats, the Vuo+DUO is the way to go.

Hope the above helps.

watty

Question was specifically EXCLUDING DTT solutions.

I know how to hook Saorsat when available. Receiver has to have Diseqc. Wastes no tuners.

ANY Sat PVR, has to have two tuners or it's a toy.

The VU+ Duo HAS two tuners

ALL Diseqc two tuner DVB-S2 HD PVRs on Multiswitch can record ANY channel on ANY of 4 satellites while watching ANY channel on any of the four satellites. No tuners are wasted.

Foxsat PVR
€282 seems to be closer to 320G price
The 1 TByte drive included price seems to be an eye watering €467


Add on 1TB drive between €70 and €150 depending on spec, shipping tax etc.. Not all drives are equally good for long term Transport Stream live

recording
Heat (5400RPM can be ironically better than 7200, 7200 is better for PC, 10,000 or more for server)
Noise
Re-calibration
Random Access seek
true write speed, not the Interface speed.

I'd have to do some research for 500G or 1T drive for PVR. You could assume what ever is officially supplied in Humax is correct kind?

IMO, enigma 2 is a HUGE *MINUS* for any satellite receiver. Is the VU+ Duo only Enigma 2?
It's not a Linux Distro I'm keen to support.

givecredit

watty wrote: »

Question was specifically EXCLUDING DTT solutions.

I know how to hook Saorsat when available. Receiver has to have Diseqc. Wastes no tuners.

ANY Sat PVR, has to have two tuners or it's a toy.

I am aware that you mentioned No DTT required. My answer was not only geared towards You. It was directed at ALL readers. The Majority of readers will be receiving Irish channels through DTT, so it would be incorrect and misguiding to ignore it. You are free to ignore the DTT option.
By wasteful I mean that there is an option to add a 3 rd tuner (DTT) to the DUO, (Actually i believe there is also an option to add a 4th, but that for another thread.) by doing this you have two free tuners to play with. For example with DTT tuner its possible to record ALL 6 current DTT channels at one time, record a satellite channel at same time while watching another.

As for a one tuner receiver, i agree with you, But why mention it in a thread about 2 receivers that come with 2 tuner as standard?

Anyone else reading this, they main point I want to get across is Buy Humax if you want only freesat channels. See list at www.freesat.co.uk

want Any other channels including Irish ones avoid Humax freesat hdr. Its built with freesat only in mind. Not user friendly for anything else. The Duo does a good job on "full free channel option" but im sure a better option will arrive in the future.

Correction to my post. My pricing is based on 320gb model. Pricing of Humax was based on this site;
http://www.joinfreesat.co.uk/index.php/digital-boxes/humax-foxsat-hdr

watty

DTT is irrelevant

There is a 19 page thread on VU+ Duo. I don't want OT answers.


I'm NOT interested in how great the Enigma 2 or VU+ Duo is for pay TV, or how the box can do DTT

What are pros and cons of VU+ Duo for FTA only TV of 28E(Freesat, not Sky), 19E, 13E and 9E (Saorsat, not Ku) vs Humax Foxsat "Freesat+ HD" HDR?

For (a) Anyone that has no Linux experience
and (b) Me. I can cross compile Kernels and write Device Drivers and Applications on Embedded Linux. Experience ARM, MIPS, x86

No DTT required.

Just an actual list of Pros and Cons of what it does better than Humax OUT OF THE BOX, and what is possible RELATED ONLY to the question.

BTW there *IS* custom Humax FW too.

Not an evangelical Enigma 2 is Great or VU+ Duo blows Humax out of water. Actual specifics ONLY related to the question.

irishchris

sorry watty think you are veering off letting him give an unbiased two sided account of both recievers which he owns and for all readers i think he is trying to give ALL pros and cons not just a select few for you. just think you are trying to shoot the messenger there

STB

I think room for expansion is key.

Having the option to add DTT is obviously a plus.

The media playing facilities would also be a plus.

Support for other cards is an obvious plus.

Supporting OTA Freesat EPG without limitations is also a plus.

No other Freesat product box or PVR allows this.

The big missing product on the Irish market is an easy to use FTA 7 day epg for Freesat and Irish DTT with proper recording facilities. Should such an easy to use product ever make it to the market - Sky and UPC would not be happy given our viewing habits.

I have more boxes than you can shake a stick at and none spec wise and customer reaction wise have caught my attention more than this new kid on the block.

watty

Yes, DTT is a plus..

But if you are in 5% to 8% area with no DTT, then it doesn't matter.

If you are doing a big distribution, or even just 8 x PVRs, then DTT adds about €35 cost per PVR (diplex filter + DTT stick, 2x single or 1x Dual, there will be more than 1 mux). No extra coax needed though as the Multiswitches can distribute the aerial RF on the Sat Coaxes.

In longer term many TVs will be basic PVRs built in and standalone PVRs need to have BluRay recording/ full Media system. W7 MC is now good for a Media Centre, but is not going to be able to compete with Media Appliances that don't have cost and maintainance of Windows.

irishchris

dtt is a plus to the other 92% of people who can get it though and it would interest them. you mention in longer term all tvs will have pvr abilities etc. but people are looking at now and hence why stb was saying what is the best now today. if we were mentioning in longer term humax would be dead piece of equipment when freesat bring on uk only spot beams but do not see point in mentioning that as that is way in future. most people have analogue already in their homes to their existing tvs where their sat equipment would go so no extra cost other than the usb tuner and just to plug the coax cable straight in and away you go. i had the humax foxsat and it was very good for freesat. i found it rubbish for other sats though as you had to setup in separate menus and go into them each time you wanted to switch from freesat to other channels even just on 28 east which were not part of the freesat setup.
so in summary i would say go for humax if you want perfect freesat only with epg and hdd. if you wish for more than freesat channels and for ease of use on other sats and support go for the vu+ duo with 7 day epg for freesat/sky uk/rte dtt etc

givecredit

To be honest it really is unfair to be comparing the Humax freesat hdr to Vu+duo. They are too very different products.

The Humax is an excellent Freesat receiver. It was built with freesat only in mind. Its firmware is very restricted, probable restricted by freesat more so than Humax. To watch a non freesat channel like Sky News, you need to:
1. Press Menu
2. Select settings
3. toggle down through 7 headings to select STB mode
5. toggle right to select non freesat mode
6. press exit to exit menu to enter non freesat channel mode.
7. then go to sky news in none freesat channel list.

Thats circa 10 or more button presses. (You thought selecting other channels in Sky digibox was difficult!)

You then have to go through same process to get back to freesat channels. Guess how many times i watch sky news on my Humax HDR...

The VU+DUO has no such freesat restrictions so is a different beast alltogether. RTE1 on ch1 (Not 101) only one button press
RTE 2 on 2 etc....

As has already been stated in this thread. If you Want freesat only the Humax HDR is by far the best freesat product out there for what you get for your money.
Want more than that, including Irish tv Vu+Duo is your man at present.

rlogue

Does the Vu allow in home streaming over the users local network in the same way the Dreamboxes do? If so then the Vu would win hands down over the Humax Freesat HDR even if only used for FTA.

Adds: Having had direct experience of using a Humax in non Freesat mode I remain extremely sceptical of the oft promoted "solution" of receiving Saorsat with these boxes.

byte

rlogue wrote: »

Does the Vu allow in home streaming over the users local network in the same way the Dreamboxes do? If so then the Vu would win hands down over the Humax Freesat HDR even if only used for FTA.

Yes.

kuro_man

Watty,

I have a Humax HDR and I upgraded the drive to 1tb using a Western Digital Green wd10evds. Any of the western digital wd10e* would be fine. If you go > 1tb it will work, but you need to partition it first before installing (EXT3).

I am also building a linux-based HTPC with a wd20ears (2tb). The HTPC will be used to host my dvds, cds but i will setup a dtt and dvb-s2 tuner to combine EPG's and handle my diseqc.

The biggest difference between a linux sat box and the humax hdr is ability to fiddle - the humax is designed to plug-and-play and give you a dedicated service. If there is anything you don't like about the service (like adding other channels/sats), then tough, its not going to be easy. However, I think freesat and humax have done a great job, and the service is excellent and reliable. For watching/recording UK FTA TV in Ireland, it can't be beat.

STB

Does someone fancy doing a youtube video of it in action showing the epg intercation of Irish and British stations and a general video of how it updates the epg etc.

For box anoraks obviously.....

Shezsharks

givecredit wrote: »

I currently own both receivers. If you just want Freesat channels at 28deg east, the Humax is the way to go. Simple out of box solution.

If you want to view any channel that is not included in Freesat lineup on 28deg or any other satellite VUO+ is the way to go. Humax is good for freesat, not well designed for watching other channels on 28deg east, eg sky news, NME tv, Travel Channel or any other sat. Involves going into a menu and switching modes from freesat to non freesat. Not user friendly.

Want to watch ALL Free to Air channels on 28DEG east and other satellite. Without doubt VUO+DUO is far far better than humax hdr. No linux experience required. I have non and have box fully functioning. Out of the box the receiver is ok, but would highly recommend installing this software:


http://www.vuplus-support.co.uk/showthread.php?3407-VIX-Team-Vu-Duo-Image-v1.2-01-11-2010

Simply download this software, but on formated USB stick, insert in receiver, turn on receiver and the duo will do the rest. (full instructions on above site)
This gives you 7 day freesat epg, 7 day epg for all non freesat channels on 28deg east. 7 day epg for many FTA channels on other satellites. You will need to go to menu options to set this up. Where OTA 7 day epgs are not available the can be downloaded via internet by connecting your DUO to home network.

Tuning; Humax does it automactically. Duo has channel lists available in above software or you can scan and edit order on receiver or use free software editor "dreamboxedit" Google to find this software.

Channel Order: Humax, channels are ordered as freesat spec. Which is actually quite good. You cannot reorder. You can delete.
VUO+duo you can put channels in any order you want. I have 28deg,23deg,19 and 13 connected to DUO, The channels can be intermixed in epg with no difficulties or delays in channel changing and full epgs.

Price: Humax €282 incl 250gb harddrive approx. Duo €387 including no harddrive. Circa €50 for 1tb harddrive.

Irish channels cannot be received on HUMAX or DUO free to air out of the box. The Humax will never have UK and Irish free to air on one epg. The Humax will never receive Irish DTT channels. You will need to to Soarsat ROUTE via 9e. Expensive option and wasting tuner.
Duo+ Duo can receive Irish DTT via usb stick (Dongle).(This optio gives you a 3rd tuner) Epg for Irish dtt integrated with UK epg. Duo will also receive Saorsat CHANNELS with integrated epg when available.

Recording: Humax has series link for freesat channels. series link does not work on non freesat channels. Duo has no series link but does have autotimer which works in a similar fashion to series link. Auto timer works on all channels, Freesat, Uk non freesat, other satellites and Irish Dtt.

I repeat where i started, If you just want freesat Humax is your man. If you want all free UK channels, Free Irish DTT and Free other sats, the Vuo+DUO is the way to go.

Hope the above helps.

@givecredit

Firstly want to say thanks for your reply on this thread as it was just what I was looking for! Im In Co Dublin and use the Openbox at the moment incl Newcamd so have all channels but it is so unreliable for timer recordings Im sick of it so am going to fork out for the Vu+Duo and 1tb hd.

1. Can you tell me though what the other tuner thing is for the Irish Channels is it a DTT us stick??

2. Do I have to have to be in a good aerial reception area for it to work as I have a UPC Digital Box using the regular analogue cable in the bedroom and my openbox is in the sitting room with the 18 analogue channels tuned into the tv also so I can record on the openbox but watch general tv. UPC have said that after 24th Oct that I will still get RTE1, N2, TG4 and TV3 through their cable lines so thats fine.

3. Also I have one dish and cable into the lnb in on the openbox what do I need to do to get two cables for the Vu+duo, DO I need to get another cable from the dish installed or can you split the one cable etc?? Is this easy to do or will I have to get a technician.

4. As for the EPG when I find a suitable Newcamd or CCcam provider and have all channels is the EPG a 7 day one for everything or now and next???

Now to go seraching for best priced one as they are so expensive.

whatsmoney

Hello folks.

I want to ditch my UPC and get a sat dish and receiver where I can get FTA channels along with the Irish channels.

I have been reading up a bit on it and I think I have two options at present, using two LNBs:
1) Vu+ Duo - Has dual sat receiver
2) Technomate 7102 - Has triple tuner (dual sat, and one terrestrial)

For me the price of the Technomate is too much... the Vu+ Duo is a better option.

So, has anyone set up the Vu+ Duo successfully to receive FTA channels with the saorsat channels on a single dish solution?
I know that I will need two LNBs, one universal for the FTA ones, and the second is a dual Ku band (or something like that!)

Is it possible to combine these signals and send them to the Vu+ Duo receiver, on one input, and the box can decode the signals this way?
(I want to actaully send this combined signal to both the inouts separately so I can record)
Do I need to setup a new input (via dongle????) to decode teh Saorsat???
I would like to have the option to be able to record a channel, no matter if it is FTA or saorsat while looking at another channel (FTA and Ssat).

If somebody has all this set up, is it possible to selct saorsat and fta channles from one list... or is there a need to switch over between input signals etc.

Do I need to implement all this with a DscEqc????

As you can see,,, I am still a bit confused, but getting there.
If anyne has done this and has any guidance I would really appreciate it!

Thanks!!

Apogee

First off, why are you going for Saorsat over Saorview? If you're in an area that can get UPC, I'd imagine you can also get Saorview.

TV3 and 3e are missing on Saorsat, and Saorsat is only meant as a fall back when you can't receive Saorview.

The Vu+ will do either FTA Sat/Saorview or FTA Sat/Saorsat succesfully. The former requires a USB DVB-T device and a UHF aerial while the latter requires a dual LNBF setup and a Diseqc switch.

This is FTA/Saorview on a Vu+


And this is FTA/Saorsat on a Vu+ (old pic)

whatsmoney

HI Apogee... Thanks for the quick reply!

Well, I want to use the two inputs on the Vu+ Duo box for watching/recording.... so that was why I was thinking about the Saorsat option.
I didnt/dont know much about the usb dongle or that it was possible to get saorview on Vu+... as I said early days for me yet.

So thats great, I can go ahead and buy the Vu+ Duo then.

So, I had read somewhere yesterday (probably the technomate description) that saorview needs DVB-T2 input,
that DVB-T doesnt work, is only suitable for UK Freeview?? Is that true?
Can I just buy a DVB-T2 dongle then or what is it exactly I need to get. (Or does the DVB-T one work?)

Also, I guess this isnt possible but I'll ask.... can I combine the Saorview&FTA (or Saorsat&FTA) signals in some sort of connector,
and then split them in another connector, and feed the two combined signals, carrying both saorview and fta in each, into the
two dual Vu+ input ports, so I can record on one port while watching on another?? Or is this possible?

Thanks Apogee...it's great to be able to ask someone who has this working.

Apogee

Saorview requires a DVB-T dongle, *NOT* DVB-T2. DVB-T2 is only required for 'UK Freeview HD' and is irrelevant if are getting your UK channels from satellite.

Your two satellite tuners will remain free for recording UK sat channels if you get a USB DVB-T device for Saorview.

You can combine a satellite and terrestrial/Saorview feeds onto a single cable using a pair of cheap diplexers to combine/split the signals.



By contrast, it is *very expensive* to combine two satellite feeds onto the one cable and *not recommended*.

So your setup will have 2 cables coming from satellite, and Saorview from aerial can be diplexed onto one of those cables.

There is zero benefit going for the Saorsat option.

whatsmoney

Hi Apogee
THanks again, I really appreciate this!

So could you please just review my setup below to see if I have the right idea.

Satellite (Single Universal LNB for FTA) UHF aerial for Saorview
| |
| |
| _______________diplexer_______________ |
|
| (combined FTA/SV signal)
|
|

---

splitter

---

|
| |
| |
Vu+ DVBS i/p 1 Input to one end of DVBT USB stick, with USB connected to Vu+ USB port



For clarification, when I use the splitter it splits the signal back to Saorview and FTA on separate outputs (not 2 combined FTA/Sv signals output, right?).

At the splitter, how do you manage to get three outputs for the three separate interfaces, DVBS1 input, DVBS2 input and DVBT USB.
Should I have a dual LNB at the sat dish, to take a second signal down to the combiner, and then a splitter that has 3 outputs
(2 for DVBS1 and DVBS2 and one for DVBT)?

Lastly, if the signals are split with FTA feeding to the two Vu+ DVBS inputs and the Saorview to the DVBT USB input,
then I can only record and watch the FTA at the same time, right?
I mean I can't watch and record on Saorview at teh same time as I only have one Saorview input?
I think I can watch and record FTA and record on Sview, and vice versa right?

Sorry if my questions are stupid.... but trying to get the full picture.

whatsmoney

Sorry my diagram was messed up when I submitted.
Will try to resubmit now.

Satellite (Single Universal LNB for FTA) UHF aerial for Saorview
| |
| |
|______________diplexer_______________ |
|
| (combined FTA/SV signal)
|
|

---

splitter

---

|
| |
| |
Vu+ DVBS i/p 1 Input to one end of DVBT USB stick, with USB connected to Vu+ USB port

whatsmoney

Sorry its removing the formatting

First line should read
Satellite (Single Universal LNB for FTA) - and then - UHF aerial for Saorview

Last line
Vu+ DVBS i/p 1 - and then - Input to one end of DVBT USB stick, with USB connected to Vu+ USB port

The middle few lines should be apparent.
Sorry I dont know how to submit this as iage or without it getting reformatted

Apogee

Like this:



You use two diplexers (NOT splitters - they won't work). The diplexer can both combine the signals in attic, and split signals at TV.

One satellite cable will allow you to watch sat channels.

One cable with Saorview and satellite diplexed will allow you to watch sat channel and record Saorview channel (and vice versa).

One diplexed cable and additional sat cable will give you full recording functionality (watch whatever, record whatever).

whatsmoney

Apogee, you are a star.
I had spent a couple of days researching and was going around in circles but this has cleared it all up!
Thanks a million!!

dharn

sorry to hijack this thread but i was going to pose a similar question or 2,, firstly does anyone know will the humax foxsat hdr do as described above as its cheaper than the duo , also can any of these devices be used as an external drive for recording from a panasonic tv via usb connection

Zardoz

whatsmoney wrote: »

I have been reading up a bit on it and I think I have two options at present, using two LNBs:
1) Vu+ Duo - Has dual sat receiver
2) Technomate 7102 - Has triple tuner (dual sat, and one terrestrial)

There is a third option ,a Golden Media Triplex or Alien 2.
It has a twin sat tuner and a single terrestrial tuner and Enigma 2 is working with Crossepg and Coolepg so u have a 7 day epg.
Its less than half the price of the Vu+ Duo
http://www.smartcard24.com/golden-media-spark-triplex-2x-dvb-s2-1x-dvb-c/t-a14139.html?utm_source=Shopsuche&utm_medium=free&utm_campaign=Shopsuche
Enigma 2 support for the box is getting better,its still a bit buggy but it does the basics.

whatsmoney

Thnx Zardoz.... that's great!
Do you have this working?
Is the performance comparable to the Vu+ Duo, or wld it be advisable to pay the extra for the Vu+ Duo?

As regards setting up the Golden Media, is there much to it, or is it ready to go out of the box?
As regards the 7 day EPG I guess it is ready to go, no tinkering needed....??

@dharn: To answer your first question, the Humax Foxsat will not support the DVBT USB stick.

Zardoz

whatsmoney wrote: »

Thnx Zardoz.... that's great!
Do you have this working?
Is the performance comparable to the Vu+ Duo, or wld it be advisable to pay the extra for the Vu+ Duo?

As regards setting up the Golden Media, is there much to it, or is it ready to go out of the box?
As regards the 7 day EPG I guess it is ready to go, no tinkering needed....??

@dharn: To answer your first question, the Humax Foxsat will not support the DVBT USB stick.

I havent bought one yet but I am planning to do so.

You will need to load an enigma2 image on the Golden Media to get the 7 day guide,it is incorporated in the image.
It runs Spark as default but can support Enigma 2 .Spark doesnt have a 7 day epg yet but it is being worked on.
As regards being ready to go out of the box ,thats not usually the case with an Enigma 2 receiver ,you will have to configure it to your needs but that isnt too demanding.

The support for the Golden Media is growing every day ,it is nowhere near as well supported as the Duo+ and still buggy in some areas but then again its half the price .
The Duo is a nice receiver but its a bit overrated in my opinion and overpriced .

Apogee

whatsmoney wrote: »

Do you have this working?
Is the performance comparable to the Vu+ Duo, or wld it be advisable to pay the extra for the Vu+ Duo?

Speaking from personal experience, having bought Linux boxes with buggy firmware previously, I would advise against buying a box where the wrinkles haven't been ironed out, esp if you intend using the box as a fulltime replacement for UPC. Either wait until the issues have been sorted out, or pay the extra for a box which has a more mature firmware.

There are a few owners of the Amiko Alien boxes on boards
here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=81314486
and here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056707402

Zardoz

Apogee wrote: »

Speaking from personal experience, having bought Linux boxes with buggy firmware previously, I would advise against buying a box where the wrinkles haven't been ironed out, esp if you intend using the box as a fulltime replacement for UPC. Either wait until the issues have been sorted out, or pay the extra for a box which has a more mature firmware.

Thats sound advice.
I think the Golden Media Triplex/Alien 2 will need a few more months before it can be assessed fully ,hopefully then the software will be ironed out.
I just said I'd put it out there as a possible option.

whatsmoney

fyi Zardoz
Been doing some googling and see that Golden Media are made by Cynatrex.
They are releasing a new box called the hypercube this month, see link, based on Linux and Android....
http://www.cynextra.com/en/receiver-HD/Golden-Media-Hypercube/

@Apogee... I understand where you are coming from on that point.

Zardoz

whatsmoney wrote: »

fyi Zardoz
Been doing some googling and see that Golden Media are made by Cynatrex.
They are releasing a new box called the hypercube this month, see link, based on Linux and Android....
http://www.cynextra.com/en/receiver-HD/Golden-Media-Hypercube/

@Apogee... I understand where you are coming from on that point.

Wow,that is a seriously impressive piece of kit ,I hadnt heard of it before.
Hardware wise it looks great but the question is will the software be up to scratch.I think I know what to ask Santa for Christmas

SalteeDog

Zardoz wrote: »

Wow,that is a seriously impressive piece of kit ,I hadnt heard of it before.
Hardware wise it looks great but the question is will the software be up to scratch.I think I know what to ask Santa for Christmas

No Optical Out ????

Seriously though - are there any existing receivers running Android? How does Android compare to Enigma 2 which is a Linux based operating system specifically designed for STBs.

Zardoz

SalteeDog wrote: »

No Optical Out ????

Seriously though - are there any existing receivers running Android? How does Android compare to Enigma 2 which is a Linux based operating system specifically designed for STBs.

Doesnt look like it ,it has Coaxial out instead.
Optical Out doesnt seem to be as common nowadays as it used to be ,I found it very hard to get it on a Bluray player ,Coaxial seems to be a lot more common which is very odd.