Best Satellite Receivers

Mossy Monk

what are the best satellite receivers (both pay and FTA)

i am getting one soon enough and hope to get a decent one

cormacl

dreambox 5620.. got mine from hm-sat

has optical out for the audiophile
phono out for hifi
2 x SCART (in/out)
RF out (handy for multi-room viewing)
Ethernet port for networking
One card slot
2 CI slots

being Linux based, it has a load of variation images available providing soft cams , games and lots more.. including downloading of satellite TP updates. (all done over network not OTA)

One excellent feature is the fact that the SCART in for DVD/Video actually gets relayed over the RF.. so in the other room (via RF cable) I can watch DVDs.

I have the Ethernet port cabled to a Linksys wireless bridge joining the whole thing to my wireless network at home.. originally I had intended to use it to record to a network mounted drive but the streaming is prone to frame loss. It seems to me that the best solution here is to opt for the more expensive 7xxx series which can fit an internal HD. The networked solution also allows for fast downloading of updates and plugins from the Internet. Image flashing is still the painful act of using a serial cable and patience.

I also use a Windows-based tool called Dreamset to manage the bouquets of favourites etc.. this comes in real handy when I flash an update image and need to restore previously tuned stations or if I just want to organise stuff more rapidly without fumbling with on-screen menus. Recent images now retain the settings after reflashing.

Among the configurability options are the ability to use skins.. giving great flexibility in look and feel.. tried a skin some time back that looked like a Star Trek console!

Overall I can't fault it.. its very flexible, fast and reliable. It also has a good following in terms of community of users etc.

byte

Hmm. I can only go on what I've used/installed.

Manhattan Skyline 3000: This is my baby with twin CI which works grand still with a 4way DiSEqC switch, though if there is one thing that bugs me is the slow software. I really should make an effort to update it!

Technistar: Dunno model number but it's a FTA box. Small, but let down with crappy R/C and lack of SCART socket.

Strong FTA: Again, forget model number. These are OK, though there was a phase where they were supplied with one of the worst remote controls ever (a big massive Universal thing), though I think they dont use these anymore. Channel changing is quick enough.

Topfield 2CI: Haven't seen one of these in some time, but I installed a few back a year or so ago. THe software was impressive and responsive. Back at the time, it was the best receiver I used. Of course, it's probably been surpassed by others, but I did like it.

Ronan|Raven could give you a review on the Dreambox..

byte

cormacl wrote:

One excellent feature is the fact that the SCART in for DVD/Video actually gets relayed over the RF.. so in the other room (via RF cable) I can watch DVDs.

Aye, my Skyline 3000 does the same, one of the reasons I haven't made an effort to flash the software, in case this trick disappears!

kramlq

byte wrote:

Aye, my Skyline 3000 does the same, one of the reasons I haven't made an effort to flash the software, in case this trick disappears!

I have a deltasat 1104IRCI and its great. Its a few years old but there is still new firmware for it every few weeks.

I dont have one myself but dreambox looks great - and it now has one huge advantage over all others - the ability to use a sky card in its card slot (e.g. a FTV card for ITV/C4/C5).

Ronan|Raven

It cant use sky uk cars in its slots..

markmiller321

Does the digital receiver,80cm dish and lnb in maplin for €200 look like good value. Has anyone bought one of them

Gargantuan

What I am thinking of setting up in a dish with both 13e and 19e FTA and 28E FTV card.
What would be the best box to take care of all this?

Just a side note: it will all be connected into a projector with surround sound, basically i am converting my garage into a home cinema.

cormacl

any receiver that supports DiSeqc switching (for multiple LNBs) or a motorised solution.. most do both. Usually easy to spot in the features.

On the audio side.. many receivers have either a coax or optical output for the audiophiles. Some of the German stations now broadcast with AC3 audio channels but even the standard audio channels sound great over home cinema as do the many radio stations. With my dreambox, the difference between using the phono out and optical is amazing.

Just on the 28E.. unless you plan to have have this wired specifically into a sky receiver, forget any FTV card option... a standard sat receiver, even with all the CAM modules and hacks that the Good lord can offer .. cannot decode sky encryption as the good people as NDS guard their encryption close to the heart.. so if planning to use only a standard receiver, all you can hope from 28E is FTA.. BBC, ITV3, news, loads of shopping channels and lots of UK + RTE radio etc.. still worth it IMO... and you get to decide the ones you want and the order you want!

Dish-wise usually 80cm minimum for decent 13/19 reception.. you can even get 3 LNBs on this. Some interesting articles on this forum regarding the home-made mounting brackets for doing this. I have a 2LNB dish 13/19 that has some spare bracket space.. so I plan to add a 3rd LNB at some point and see if I add 28E to the mix.

A motorised system will obviously let you get more satellites. I don't have one so I can't really preach about the extra benefits or any overheads of channel switching as the dish moves. From what I do hear is that 13-19 movement is a couple of seconds max.. 13->28 is probably more.. but its a boys toy..when the sky is the limit, you don't care about delay!

Gargantuan

Cheers for your help cormacl.

Not quite sure what i will do yet but you were a great help, think i might pick up a second hand Sky box for the FTV card (i have sky already in sitting room).
It would be nice to able to change between the FTV card and the full sky package card to watch matches and movies on the big screen.
Mortorised dish is probably the best way to go, all the satellites will be mine hahahahahah.........

kramlq

Gargantuan wrote:

Cheers for your help cormacl.

Not quite sure what i will do yet but you were a great help, think i might pick up a second hand Sky box for the FTV card (i have sky already in sitting room).
It would be nice to able to change between the FTV card and the full sky package card to watch matches and movies on the big screen.
Mortorised dish is probably the best way to go, all the satellites will be mine hahahahahah.........

Digibox will not work with a motorised dish. Really, digibox is only suitable for receiving sky pay tv services. Even for FTA purposes it can be annoying for anything other than 28e.

intersplat

cormacl wrote:

Just on the 28E.. unless you plan to have have this wired specifically into a sky receiver, forget any FTV card option... a standard sat receiver, even with all the CAM modules and hacks that the Good lord can offer .. cannot decode sky encryption as the good people as NDS guard their encryption close to the heart.. so if planning to use only a standard receiver, all you can hope from 28E is FTA.. BBC, ITV3, news, loads of shopping channels and lots of UK + RTE radio etc.. still worth it IMO... and you get to decide the ones you want and the order you want!

Ermm cough cough not quite true my friend...

intersplat

cormacl wrote:

dreambox 5620.. got mine from hm-sat

Image flashing is still the painful act of using a serial cable and patience.

Why don't you flash it through the lan ? it takes about 20 seconds .

Ronan|Raven

Indeed, flashwizard 5.00 final is the mutts nutts! Very handy for flashing on a new image and also allows the user of multi booting via nfs for the 5620.

byte

In Aprils Wotsat Magazine
RU means Runner Up

Best budget receiver
Topfield TF4000FE (RU: Echostar DSB780; Dreambox DM500s)

Best Entry Level Receiver
Technomate TM1500 CI+ (RU: Hauppauge DEC3000S; Manhattan Plaza ST200)

Best Premium Receiver
Manhattan Plaza ST550 (RU: Humax DV1100s; Topfield TF3000-CIPRO)

Best Satellite Media Server
Topfield TF5500PVR (RU: Finepass FSR5000TDR; Kaon KVR1000 Plus)

Best Motorised Mount or Dish
Orbital dishes & Cryptik V-Bracket Motor (RU: Metronic clear dish; Visiosat 120SMC)

Best Sky Digibox:
SDI Sky Plus (RU: Sky+ 160)

The SDI Sky+ box got my attention. It's a modified Mk1 Pace box check www.pluggedin.tv though I believe it's rather expensive luxury!

Tony

I'd always take What satellite recommendations with a pinch of salt as they rely on advertising revenue from the guys they recommend.

byte wrote:

In Aprils Wotsat Magazine
RU means Runner Up

Best budget receiver
Topfield TF4000FE (RU: Echostar DSB780; Dreambox DM500s)

Best Entry Level Receiver
Technomate TM1500 CI+ (RU: Hauppauge DEC3000S; Manhattan Plaza ST200)

Best Premium Receiver
Manhattan Plaza ST550 (RU: Humax DV1100s; Topfield TF3000-CIPRO)

Best Satellite Media Server
Topfield TF5500PVR (RU: Finepass FSR5000TDR; Kaon KVR1000 Plus)

Best Motorised Mount or Dish
Orbital dishes & Cryptik V-Bracket Motor (RU: Metronic clear dish; Visiosat 120SMC)

Best Sky Digibox:
SDI Sky Plus (RU: Sky+ 160)

The SDI Sky+ box got my attention. It's a modified Mk1 Pace box check www.pluggedin.tv though I believe it's rather expensive luxury!

byte

This is why it wasn't given a thread of its own! Though I'm not sure that the highest advertisers got the best results. From using Topfield in the past, they were a good receiver then, they could still be as good. Sadly I cannot source them anymore (from distributors). Just thought it would contribute to this thread.

The SDI Sky+ box for example would need to be good as over UK£500 for a Mk1 Pace box is a bit mental.

I think though that their results should be taken on board.

OT:
Tony, have you ever heard of, or used, a receiver brandnamed Drake?

Tony

byte wrote:

OT:
Tony, have you ever heard of, or used, a receiver brandnamed Drake?

Yes but I have not seen drake since analogue days

byte

Tony wrote:

Yes but I have not seen drake since analogue days

Ah, right, well they're still about, as a supplier does them. (Vincent McGrath, dunno if you've heard of him). Was just wondering if they were any good.