Xtrend ET8000 - Any experiences?

Cerdito

Hi all,

Currently running the Amiko Alien 2+ with Hyperion 4.5. It does everything I want but its just off the pace performance wise. Looking at beefier boxes and the Xtrend ET8000 has caught my eye - can get it from Germany for €240.

Is anyone using this and can they recommend it?

OpenPli 4.0 is available as an image for this, is this the same as Hyperion 4.5? From screenshots they look similar.

minterno

hi, im looking for feedback as well but its scarce atm, I await in hope

Zardoz

Cerdito wrote: »

Hi all,

Currently running the Amiko Alien 2+ with Hyperion 4.5. It does everything I want but its just off the pace performance wise. Looking at beefier boxes and the Xtrend ET8000 has caught my eye - can get it from Germany for €240.

Is anyone using this and can they recommend it?

OpenPli 4.0 is available as an image for this, is this the same as Hyperion 4.5? From screenshots they look similar.

Hyperion 4.5 is based on Open Pli code ,but its patched to run on the SH4 architecture of the Alien 2.
Most Enigma 2 images are based on Pli code to be honest.
Openatv and Vix also provide images for the Xtrend.

I used the Xtrend briefly at a friends.
Performance wise its like most 1.3Ghz Broadcom receivers ,its comparable to the Solo 2 but can accommodate an extra tuner.

Picture quality wise ,they are good ,better than other Mips based units due to the drivers but not as crisp as the Alien 2 .

As they are a German receiver (manufactured in Korea though ) most of their support would be on German forums .
It seems a very good receiver at a great price.

Cerdito

Zardoz wrote: »

It seems a very good receiver at a great price.

Thanks for the info. I pulled the trigger on this yesterday from hm-sat.de - €236 with delivery for 2x DVB-S2 & 1x DVB-T. Part of the attraction for me is the native OpenPli images and support.

I'll post a full review once I get it setup.

Zardoz

Cerdito wrote: »

Thanks for the info. I pulled the trigger on this yesterday from hm-sat.de - €236 with delivery for 2x DVB-S2 & 1x DVB-T. Part of the attraction for me is the native OpenPli images and support.

I'll post a full review once I get it setup.

Its excellent value at that price .

I'd have bought one too but I recently bought a Technomate Nano 3T ,just before the Xtrends dropped in price.

minterno

Zardoz wrote: »

Its excellent value at that price .

I'd have bought one too but I recently bought a Technomate Nano 3T ,just before the Xtrends dropped in price.

, how do you find the technomate nano 3T, I have been thinking of one of those for a while but have not seen much reviews on this one either, I know there were driver issues last year which technomate were slow to address but I presume its sorted now, all ways liked the technomates but never got a Linux one, are you happy with it, any issues, I have had a vu ultimo and now have a solo2 but am thinking of getting something for the spare room just to mess about with and if happy use it as my main box, the solo2 is fine just thinking of a change, cheers

Zardoz

minterno wrote: »

, how do you find the technomate nano 3T, I have been thinking of one of those for a while but have not seen much reviews on this one either, I know there were driver issues last year which technomate were slow to address but I presume its sorted now, all ways liked the technomates but never got a Linux one, are you happy with it, any issues, I have had a vu ultimo and now have a solo2 but am thinking of getting something for the spare room just to mess about with and if happy use it as my main box, the solo2 is fine just thinking of a change, cheers

I am very happy with the Technomate ,its an excellent receiver.

I use it as my second receiver ,the one I use when the missus is watching her stuff so its not on all the time.
Its very smooth though ,boots up in about 40 seconds ,its fast ,and runs any plugins Ive tried on it and is rock solid .
Its only green screened on me once and that was probably due to my fault to be honest.

I have no driver issues ,I think that may have been to do with transcoding ,I dont use that so its not an issue for me.
The tuners are very good on weaker signals too.

The only criticism I'd have is that the remote is a little bit plasticky but its grand.

minterno

Zardoz wrote: »

I am very happy with the Technomate ,its an excellent receiver.

I use it as my second receiver ,the one I use when the missus is watching her stuff so its not on all the time.
Its very smooth though ,boots up in about 40 seconds ,its fast ,and runs any plugins Ive tried on it and is rock solid .
Its only green screened on me once and that was probably due to my fault to be honest.

I have no driver issues ,I think that may have been to do with transcoding ,I dont use that so its not an issue for me.
The tuners are very good on weaker signals too.

The only criticism I'd have is that the remote is a little bit plasticky but its grand.

thanks for the info might grab one in a few weeks,cheers

glic83

Any follow up, how have you found using the xtrend 8000?

Cerdito

I'm still waiting for it would you believe! Hm sat have no DVB-T tuners in stock. I placed the order over a month ago now but not much else I can do but wait. Keen to get my hands on it, my aa2 has slowed down a lot and I'm not inclined to rebuild it.

I'll definitely stick up a detailed review once I get it.

UrbanFret

Cerdito wrote: »

I'm still waiting for it would you believe! Hm sat have no DVB-T tuners in stock. I placed the order over a month ago now but not much else I can do but wait. Keen to get my hands on it, my aa2 has slowed down a lot and I'm not inclined to rebuild it.

I'll definitely stick up a detailed review once I get it.

I ordered one a week ago(Xtrend ET 8000 HD 1x DVB-S2 / 1x DVB-C/T2 Hybrid Tuner ). They said the dispatched it and sent me a tracking number that doesn't work. their service I find really poor and if I don't get a satisfactory reply tomorrow I will cancel and get my money back through paypal. First and last time I will buy off HM SAT. Have bought 20+ boxes off satkontor with a 3 day turn around to a northern Ireland address. Not impressed at all.:mad:

UrbanFret

Update. after waiting 3 days for a reply I opened a case on paypal. I received an email today with a different tracking number. When I checked this I discovered the box was only posted today, a full 11 days after they said they originally dispatched it. I hate liars so i will be sending it straight back and getting a refund. Shocking service.

GY A1

Much of a difference between et8000 and et 9500

UrbanFret

GY A1 wrote: »

Much of a difference between et8000 and et 9500

dual core 405MHz Broadcom MIPS CPU in the et9500
1.3GHz Broadcom MIPS CPU in the et8000

Will handle all applications faster.;)

GY A1

thanks
dual core, does that mean 2 x 405mhz = 810 mhz

UrbanFret wrote: »

dual core 405MHz Broadcom MIPS CPU in the et9500
1.3GHz Broadcom MIPS CPU in the et8000

Will handle all applications faster.;)

UrbanFret

GY A1 wrote: »

thanks
dual core, does that mean 2 x 405mhz = 810 mhz

I don't necessary think that's how it works. It has 2 separate cores. These cores act as a single unit, but they will each have their own controller and cache. I'm probably not the person to explain this properly though.;)

greasepalm

you will love the 8000 excellent box,wos priced at e238.68, excellent picture if viewing hd,make sure fan is set to on as it is set to off.
2 cable tuner and 1 sat and get a big internal hdd if going to record.
deffo a big boys box.

Zardoz

UrbanFret wrote: »

dual core 405MHz Broadcom MIPS CPU in the et9500
1.3GHz Broadcom MIPS CPU in the et8000

Will handle all applications faster.;)

Its technically not a dual core cpu in the true sense.
Its a dual-threaded single core .
Hyper-threading can help speed your system up, but it’s nowhere near as good as having additional cores.

GY A1

Any opinions on xtrend v Vu solo se v2 v solo 2
The solo se v2 is cheaper than the solo 2 with bigger flash

glic83

what seems to be peoples choice of image on the ET 8000 then?

greasepalm

dont go the clone route as you will regret it later and finding clone images maybe harder.
buying the real deal enigma2 receiver can run vix image,and once setup you wont have to mess,well maybe a little .

Cerdito

My Xtrend ET8000 finally arrived, the delay was down to a shortage in DVB-C/T2 hybrid tuners, I was waiting 6 weeks for it. I bought this box in the hope that it would address the following issues I had with my current Amiko Alien AA2+ running PKT-Hyperion 4.5:

1. Remote Control - The AA2 remote is very slow, unresponsive and doesn't work from tight angles.
2. Media player picture breakup - Freezing and pixellation when I played avi/mp4/mkv files. I got rid of my PS3 when I got the AA2 and was disappointed it didn't work well as a media player.
3. Saorview issue when recording UK FTA - Saorview picture would break up or go completely black when a DVB-S recording started
4. Overall slow performance - AA2 was slow in general use, some examples would be 5-10 secs for EPG to appear and 30-60 secs to refresh Autotimer. I put this down to the low CPU and RAM specs as discussed in other threads on this forum

I loved the Hyperion/OpenPli software and the flexibility and networking of the AA2, I just felt the overall performance let it down, I believe all four issues listed above were related to the lack of grunt the AA2 had. I would rate the AA2 as 6/10.

So I was in the market for a box that had good tech specs, ran the OpenPli software and didn't cost a fortune. I ruled out the Technomate Nano 3T (poor image support) and the Gigablue Quad (too expensive). The Xtrend ET8000 caught my eye due to its 1.3GHz processor and 1GB of RAM. It also has full OpenPli support with nightly builds and was at a very good price on hm-sat.de, I paid €236 delivered.

I have been running the ET8000 with OpenPLI 4.0 for 4 days now and it has addressed every one of the issues above. The remote is a dream, instant response and works from wide angles. No picture break up on the media player or Saorview (when recording DVB-S). Overall performance is extremely snappy, the EPG comes up straight away and AutoTimer refresh is instantaneous.

I saw it mentioned elsewhere that the HD quality on SH4 boxes (like the AA2) is superior to MIPS boxes (like the ET8000). I cannot tell the difference, the picture quality looks identical to me. However I only have a 32" LCD TV.

A bonus feature is the Gigabit Ethernet port (AA2 has a 100M port). I share my USB HDD to the network through my sat box, my transfer speeds to my home PC (on .ac wireless) have increased from 2MB/s to 25MB/s. Also I can now set and amend AutoTimers through OpenWebif, this didn't work with the AA2.

Only drawbacks so far was issues getting CrossEPG working, however there is a replacement called Rytec XMLTV that seems to work just as well and gives longer programme descriptions. I'm also struggling a bit getting the ET8000 remote to pair with my TV but that is only a minor quibble.

It's still early days but I am delighted with my initial impression of the ET8000, it seems to be the holy grail box I was looking for to terminate my Saorview and UK FTA feeds. I would rate the ET8000 as 9/10.

glic83

Think the picure quality difference is more noticable between sd channels on SH4 and mips based receivers. Nice feedback there Cerdito. I set up one last week for the brother and just put openvix on it. but was looking for feedback on different images and there is a lot out there. I use the openatv image on my OS3 and was thinking either that or openPli.

Cerdito

glic83 wrote: »

Think the picure quality difference is more noticable between sd channels on SH4 and mips based receivers. Nice feedback there Cerdito. I set up one last week for the brother and just put openvix on it. but was looking for feedback on different images and there is a lot out there. I use the openatv image on my OS3 and was thinking either that or openPli.

Yeah I'm a big fan of the OpenPli image. I like the simplicity of the interface, it doesn't go in for snazzy graphics but just does the job of displaying the info that I need. Navigation is great, nothing takes more than 1 or 2 button presses in comparison to the UPC Horizon atrocity I had before, where everything seemed to take 5-10 presses. I only ever tried OpenATV before but the AA2 ran so slow and buggy on that I gave up. Best parts of OpenPli for me are the quick planner guide (brought up by pressing OK) and being able to skip through recordings using the number keys. Also the media player is well integrated and straightforward to use.

Zardoz

Cerdito wrote: »

My Xtrend ET8000 finally arrived, the delay was down to a shortage in DVB-C/T2 hybrid tuners, I was waiting 6 weeks for it. I bought this box in the hope that it would address the following issues I had with my current Amiko Alien AA2+ running PKT-Hyperion 4.5:

1. Remote Control - The AA2 remote is very slow, unresponsive and doesn't work from tight angles.
2. Media player picture breakup - Freezing and pixellation when I played avi/mp4/mkv files. I got rid of my PS3 when I got the AA2 and was disappointed it didn't work well as a media player.
3. Saorview issue when recording UK FTA - Saorview picture would break up or go completely black when a DVB-S recording started
4. Overall slow performance - AA2 was slow in general use, some examples would be 5-10 secs for EPG to appear and 30-60 secs to refresh Autotimer. I put this down to the low CPU and RAM specs as discussed in other threads on this forum

I loved the Hyperion/OpenPli software and the flexibility and networking of the AA2, I just felt the overall performance let it down, I believe all four issues listed above were related to the lack of grunt the AA2 had. I would rate the AA2 as 6/10.

So I was in the market for a box that had good tech specs, ran the OpenPli software and didn't cost a fortune. I ruled out the Technomate Nano 3T (poor image support) and the Gigablue Quad (too expensive). The Xtrend ET8000 caught my eye due to its 1.3GHz processor and 1GB of RAM. It also has full OpenPli support with nightly builds and was at a very good price on hm-sat.de, I paid €236 delivered.

I have been running the ET8000 with OpenPLI 4.0 for 4 days now and it has addressed every one of the issues above. The remote is a dream, instant response and works from wide angles. No picture break up on the media player or Saorview (when recording DVB-S). Overall performance is extremely snappy, the EPG comes up straight away and AutoTimer refresh is instantaneous.

I saw it mentioned elsewhere that the HD quality on SH4 boxes (like the AA2) is superior to MIPS boxes (like the ET8000). I cannot tell the difference, the picture quality looks identical to me. However I only have a 32" LCD TV.

A bonus feature is the Gigabit Ethernet port (AA2 has a 100M port). I share my USB HDD to the network through my sat box, my transfer speeds to my home PC (on .ac wireless) have increased from 2MB/s to 25MB/s. Also I can now set and amend AutoTimers through OpenWebif, this didn't work with the AA2.

Only drawbacks so far was issues getting CrossEPG working, however there is a replacement called Rytec XMLTV that seems to work just as well and gives longer programme descriptions. I'm also struggling a bit getting the ET8000 remote to pair with my TV but that is only a minor quibble.

It's still early days but I am delighted with my initial impression of the ET8000, it seems to be the holy grail box I was looking for to terminate my Saorview and UK FTA feeds. I would rate the ET8000 as 9/10.

I think thats a fair review Cerdito .

The 1.3ghz receivers do run the advanced plugins much more smoothly and allow better multi tasking.
The Alien has a lack of Ram I'm afraid .

I cant say the remote control on the Alien 2 is an issue for me though ,it was on older revisions of the Hyperion image but the eps settings fix sorts that.
Id rate the remote as one of the best on any receiver I've used ,its better than that of the Technomate Nano 3T for example.

The sd picture quality on the Xtrend is better than other Mips receivers I've used ,better drivers, but it still isnt as crisp as the Sh4 receivers though which is better at processing graphics due to the inclusion of a high class floating point math unit and high speed bus which is the key components used for drawing graphics.

Its really only noticeable on a larger set to be honest once the picture is stretched.
I notice it on my 43 and 50 inch plasmas.

Openatv make good images in general,however their image for the Alien is poor.
Its too bloated and doesn't have enough grunt to run it smoothly.
Might be worth giving it a go on the Xtrend but Open Pli is hard to beat to be fair.
There are some really excellent linux receivers available now for very reasonable money.

lucast2007us

Is this a triple tuner guys?

GY A1

lucast2007us wrote: »

Is this a triple tuner guys?

Comes with interchangeable tuners
Ie can have 2 sat tuners and add a terrestrial tuner for saorview and rte

You select what tuners u want

Cerdito

Yep, the et8000 is a triple tuner. My one has 2x DVB-S and 1x DVB-C/DVB-T2.

Next step up is the et10000 that allows 4 tuners and also has a HDMI input for playing other sources through the box.

greasepalm

yep have the et10000 nice unit but lost my internal hdd as not seen =no late night viewing.

lucast2007us

GY A1 wrote:

Comes with interchangeable tuners Ie can have 2 sat tuners and add a terrestrial tuner for saorview and rte

So does this mean it can record like 4 or 5 shows at a time like that upc horizon box?

lucast2007us

GY A1 wrote:

Comes with interchangeable tuners Ie can have 2 sat tuners and add a terrestrial tuner for saorview and rte

So does this mean it can record like 4 or 5 shows at a time like that upc horizon box?

eggerb

Thanks for the review. I'm struggling to love the AA2+ and considering returning it if I can. I'm on two minds between going for a Humax box (Soarview on the TV) or to give another Linux box with a better spec a go.

greasepalm

boxes have come along way and plenty of good linux boxes out.

Cerdito

lucast2007us wrote: »

So does this mean it can record like 4 or 5 shows at a time like that upc horizon box?

Maybe not 4-5 shows at a time but certainly 2-3. My ET8000 has two satellite tuners and one Saorview tuner. Means I can record two UK channels and one Irish channel simultaneously, but I can't watch a 4th channel at the same time.

All the tuners have a passthrough output so if you had a TV with Saorview and/or satellite tuners you could watch a 4th channel this way if 3 recordings were taking place. My TV has a Saorview tuner so this gives me the ability to watch an Irish channel on this if I am recording another on the box (rarely need it though).

Cerdito

eggerb wrote: »

Thanks for the review. I'm struggling to love the AA2+ and considering returning it if I can. I'm on two minds between going for a Humax box (Soarview on the TV) or to give another Linux box with a better spec a go.

If you're struggling with the AA2 because of the performance, then something like the Xtrend will solve your problem. If you're struggling with the Enigma2 software itself then the Humax might be a better bet.

I think there is a steep learning curve with Linux/Enigma2 but the extra features and flexibility you get are well worth it. I'm not overly familiar with the Humax but some of the things I do with my E2 box that may not be possible with the Humax are:

- Ability to setup channel order with DreamboxEdit
- Sharing hard drive connected to receiver to the network
- Streaming recorded and live programmes over network using OpenWebif
- Setting timers remotely using OpenWebif
- RTE player plugin
- 7 day EPG download for FTA UK channels

Alexis Sanchez

Cerdito wrote: »

Yep, the et8000 is a triple tuner. My one has 2x DVB-S and 1x DVB-C/DVB-T2.

Where is the best place to buy one? Do you have any links? I'm worried that I'll end up buying something with an incompatible tuner.

dav32cs

Alexis Sanchez wrote: »

Where is the best place to buy one? Do you have any links? I'm worried that I'll end up buying something with an incompatible tuner.

With the £ exchange rate you're better going European.

HM Sat Shop.de , you can get one with 2dvbs and 500gb HD delivered for €257. Can obviously add bigger HD or extra tuner if required also

Alexis Sanchez

dav32cs wrote: »

With the £ exchange rate you're better going European.

HM Sat Shop.de , you can get one with 2dvbs and 500gb HD delivered for €257. Can obviously add bigger HD or extra tuner if required also

I see this one is for €259, but it says "1x DVB-S2 / 1x DVB-C/T2 Tuner", which, might be dueto my naivety, looks like a double tuner. Was that the product you are referring to.

Gerry Wicklow

Alexis Sanchez wrote: »

I see this one is for €259, but it says "1x DVB-S2 / 1x DVB-C/T2 Tuner", which, might be dueto my naivety, looks like a double tuner. Was that the product you are referring to.

DVB-S2 refers to Satellite
DVB-C/T2 refers to Cable or Terrestrial
The normal combo box has 2 satellite and 1 terrestrial tuner. You need 2 satellite tuners to allow recording and watching separate sat channels.

Alexis Sanchez

Gerry Wicklow wrote: »

DVB-S2 refers to Satellite
DVB-C/T2 refers to Cable or Terrestrial
The normal combo box has 2 satellite and 1 terrestrial tuner. You need 2 satellite tuners to allow recording and watching separate sat channels.

Is this the one? https://www.hm-sat-shop.de/en/hdtv-receiver-sat/xtrend/1965/xtrend-et-8000-hd-2x-dvb-s2-/-1x-dvb-c/t2-hybrid-tuner-pvr-500gb-hdd-linux-full-hd-hbbtv-receiver?dl=23923

It's says €289 though.

greasepalm

that box has 2 sat tuners + 1 cable/terrestrial tuner + 500gb hdd.
so could setup for sat and saorview.

STB.

Alexis Sanchez wrote: »

Is this the one? https://www.hm-sat-shop.de/en/hdtv-receiver-sat/xtrend/1965/xtrend-et-8000-hd-2x-dvb-s2-/-1x-dvb-c/t2-hybrid-tuner-pvr-500gb-hdd-linux-full-hd-hbbtv-receiver?dl=23923

It's says €289 though.

There are variations of the box according to tuners installed.

https://www.hm-sat-shop.de/en/hdtv-receiver-sat/xtrend/1938/xtrend-et-8000-hd-pvr-ready-linux-full-hd-hbbtv-receiver

Now scroll down to

Xtrend ET 8000 HD 2x DVB-S2 / 1x DVB-C/T2 Hybrid Tuner PVR Ready Linux Full HD HbbTV Receiver

239E Euro, no Hard Drive.

You can install a Hard Drive yourself, if you have a spare one lying around or add one if not.

Alexis Sanchez

I got mine today and I have no idea how to set it up. Any help? The user manual doesn't explain anything.

physioman

Alexis Sanchez wrote: »

I got mine today and I have no idea how to set it up. Any help? The user manual doesn't explain anything.

Ordered one from hm sat as well. How long did it take to be delivered?

Alexis Sanchez

physioman wrote: »

Ordered one from hm sat as well. How long did it take to be delivered?

I ordered it exactly a week ago tonight, at this very hour. Got it this morning in the post, so about 12 hours shy of a full week.

Alexis Sanchez

Alexis Sanchez wrote: »

I got mine today and I have no idea how to set it up. Any help? The user manual doesn't explain anything.

Anyway, I managed to get it going but I've no sound when I use my HDMI cable. Have to use a scart lead instead.

Do yous reckon it's faulty?

STB.

Alexis Sanchez wrote: »

Anyway, I managed to get it going but I've no sound when I use my HDMI cable. Have to use a scart lead instead.

Do yous reckon it's faulty?

Press the audio button on the remote control. I presume there is one.

Digital downmix, aac downmix, bypass HDMI EDID Check should all should be on.

Restart the box.

Alexis Sanchez

STB. wrote: »

Press the audio button on the remote control. I presume there is one.

Digital downmix, aac downmix, bypass HDMI EDID Check should all should be on.

Restart the box.

I don't see some of those options here:

tapfit2004

I tried the links on here for hm sat but it looks like they aren't selling the et 8000 at the moment. I got one for a friend on Satking.de for €259 delivered including the paypal charge, AcSatCorner were about €262 all in so not much in the difference.

The model I got is 2xDVB S2 and 1xDVB C/T2.

I got for another fella about 2 months ago but it didn't work out for him so I've been using it myself and its an excellent box, right up there with the VU+ DUO2 I spent €430 on not so long ago. The only difference I can see between the 2 is the transcoding.

Bigcheeze

Alexis Sanchez wrote: »

I don't see some of those options here:

Did you get sorted? About to pull the trigger on one of these.

greasepalm

they are a great box but wonder what image above was used as it does not look like vix.
the audio page is the same on all 5 different enigma2 boxes in use with vix and fixes the no sound.