Advice please! Main HD Box with Recording

StaticNoise

Hi everyone,

I'm cutting the cable installation, and I'm getting a new (possibly) motorised dish installed. We've got three rooms being done: one cheap box for the bedroom (just for FTA on 28.2), one decent box (with Enigma2 for tweaking) in the other, and a main HD box in the front room.

I'm looking for something solid, with Enigma (hence can be flashed with OpenATV, OpenPli, etc.) with recording facilities like our current UPC HD box.

Suggestions have come as a Technomate Nano SE for the second room (hence no recording needed), but VU+ for the main room.

Could anyone advise me, please, about which box would be good to get. As I said, I need something solid with external (or preferably internal) HDD for recording, ability to tweak, and well supported, without breaking the bank, as can happen with dual tuners, it appears.


I would appreciate the help.

FYI, installation is taking place this weekend.

Thanks!

givecredit

2 of these;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Opticum-HD-AX-ODiN-E2/dp/B00FXSNUEM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428239427&sr=8-1&keywords=opticum+ax+odin

One of these:

http://www.amazon.de/Golden-Interstar-LX2-XPEED-Receiver/dp/B00FYD3ICA

All 3 are supported by OPENatv, All 3 also run VIX. the VIX IMAGE on Opticum is a mod version, but the same as origional.

This way all 3 boxes will have same menu on each. More Family friendly!

Good value for your Euro. Expensive time moving house..........

StaticNoise

Thanks for getting back to me. I appreciate it.

Do these boxes have a built in hard drive at all? I can't see it on the description.

I'm just quite fearful of these small brands. When you see other names being used all over the place you wonder why these ones aren't as popular if they work just as good!

Have I made a mistake by taking a TM Nano SE tomorrow so?

swoofer

no, the TM nano se is very good so tha'ts one room sorted. And give credit knows his stuff. And he is on hand to help as he has probably got them as well. No they don't have internal HDD but I only had a glance!!

But as always if you spend a bit more you get an even bigger choice.

greasepalm

nope i have one very fast box to replace an old vu solo and added a 1tb toshiba externally powered hdd to record to,tm have come a long way and have kodi on box also.
the great thing about e2 boxes as any box can view recordings on another box in a different room.

StaticNoise

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply. I appreciate it.

I have a guy coming tomorrow (Saturday) to bring the satellite into the house through the UPC lines, and I'm trying to figure out our needs.

I'm thinking (now) of buying a VU+ Solo2 and Zero. Maybe it would do the job.

I thank, sincerely, givecredit's advice and links. But I'm fearful of clones. Especially on my first escapade. But I will probably buy them I'm a few months when the flashing novelty has worn off!


EDIT: And, Swoofer, what so you mean by your one word answer? [Edit: Makes sense. I just wasn't sure! Thanks]

swoofer

sorry for the brief post! i got distracted. Now when you mention a solo2 then you are prepared to spend that bit extra. I have the solo 2 and its awesome, it will take anyimage and has loads of support, its lightning fast, small footprint, but a learning curve.

With the solo 2 if you buy a usb sony play tv gizmo you get a dual saorview dtt tuners ie you can record off either mux at same time and watch another etc and openatv works a dream in solo2.

The zero gets good reports as well.

greasepalm

he meant you did not buy a crap box but a very good box.you dont run sat through upc cables ,from sat dish i use a octo [ 8 ] on fixed dish on 28.2 as you never have enough ports or run out later,some people only run 2 cables in but i run 3 as can use the triax combo if the solo is multi recording.if you have or getting a motorised system later maybe a quad lnb with twin ports for allowing recording and viewing on same sat?
dont buy off ebay as cloners are there,wos sell original units and warranties-home of vix image.
only other thing on upc is lan or cable box but cant talk about that.

Zardoz

StaticNoise wrote: »

I'm just quite fearful of these small brands. When you see other names being used all over the place you wonder why these ones aren't as popular if they work just as good!

Alot of the more popular receivers are promoted/marketed more and have business links with sponsors and forums that provide support and promote their receivers.
Some forums are almost a form of propaganda .
They will promote brand x and slate brand b ,as they have a vested interest in brand x.

Alot of these receivers ;the big brand and small brand are actually made in the same factories and use the same chipsets ,they are often very similar .

Some receivers have better support than others that's true ,and can make all the difference for a new user .
Whilst good hardware is important ,good software support is equally as important.

The receivers Givecredit has recommended are excellent buys,very good support ,mature software and very reasonably priced.
He owns both receivers and has first hand experience of their performance and he is also objective .

I think you can add a cheap usb tuner to both the Opticum and the LX2 so you can add Saorview ,essentially making the LX2 a triple tuner and the Opticum a twin tuner.

There are lots of good Enigma 2 receivers on the market now ,its really opened up in the last few years .

StaticNoise

Thanks for your reply.
I have noticed that some sites prefer some brands, and promote them more than others. I've noticed that this is because they are supporters of certain brands and devices. For example, I can see what World of Satellite are supporters of some brands, but this might be because they promote their software, ViX, as they are core developers. I'm unsure if this is because they have ulterior motives, however. It really is hard to tell, as there are SO many websites and forums discussing satellite, custom images, and other software of this nature.

Yeah, I have seen lots of remarks that some brands are created in the same factories and using the same guts as others. I guess this is like the days of MP3 players and 'Discman' being slapped with different branded labels, despite being the same. There is a similar occurrence on televisions and other components, to this day.

I appreciate that GiveCredit has recommended those devices, so I must give credit where credit is due. Sorry, I had to.
They do seem very reasonable and of a good quality for that price. I'll surely be hitting up Amazon later today.

As for the tuning, as we are using existing UPC cables, there's no point doing more internal drilling, so we're attaching a Stacker/Destacker to get the same effect without the hassle. And you're right, there really have been a surge of Enigma2 devices in recent times. It is looking good for customisation and modding.
As a seasoned (and addicted) Android modder and flasher (for the want of a better word), I'm looking forward to the experience.

Thanks everyone for the replies.