thinking of buying a dreambox, questions ?

[wod]

as the topic suggest i'm thinking of buying a dreambox 500 as there cheap and something to play around with as i was going to buy a cas 3 and diablo cam but thought that a dreambox may be better buy but have a few questions

whats involved with owning one ?

are they easy to work as never used linux before, well have but found it not easy to use ?

will it work with my adsl router ?

whats difference between the 500 and 600, just the option of using a hard disc ?

is 119 pound the best price for one as i dont want to get a chinese copy

any guides you can give links to will be grateful

thanks

wod

[Jimdefruit]

Hi Wod,

You dont need to know anything about linux to use a Dreambox.

For the full spec of the 600, see http://www.dream-multimedia-tv.de/en..._technical.php

If you have a lan connection to a pc and a router it makes life very easy. Your adsl router should be fine.

The 500 and 600 are very limited on memory and hence not so flexible as the 7000/7020 but then they are so much cheaper. You can in fact use your PC to record programmes from a 500, but the 600 has the inbuilt HD option.

If you dont want to take a risk on the supplier, then Mark Hemmings is a good bet.

[wod]

thats good you mention the 500 can record to a pc as i would prefer that so i can store them on the pc

yep i have a Ethernet router so it should work fine then

can the dreambox 500 download things by pressing the blue or green button like the others

also one thing i'd like to be able to do is create an tp list and upload to the receiver as how do you update the transponder list on them, do they have a quick blind scan ?

i was going to buy from alsat webshop for 119 pound

[Jimdefruit]

No blind scan on the Dreambox. There are however frequently updated channel lists that can be downloaded direct to the dreambox. Also there are PC programmes which allow you to manipulate the channel lists.

a l s a t should be fine although I have never bought from them.

Yes you can do all the direct downloads of emulators/keys etc from the internet using the blue and yellow keys just like the bigger models.

Re my first statement about no blind scan, there is at least one addon programme which is supposed to give blindscan but I have not found it particularly useful.

[wod]

another thing can you group channels into the providers so have a list of digital +, premiere, canal + etc on astra 1 as i'm getting confused on my technomate receiver as it goes by transponder so you get the channels spread around

also i heard the dreambox can stream to the pc so i could watch a channel with vlc media player ?

[BGonaSTICK]

Dreambox lists channels by satellite, provider, type etc. and lets you create your own groupings either on the STB itself or via one of several rather good PC-based editors.

Yes, you can stream via VLC to PC, but not sure if the 500 can keep up with this. I think it probably can :?

Search the Dreambox sections. I wrote a mini-guide on VLC streaming.

[wod]

thanks for the replies

just wondering if to spend the extra and wait for the 600 to come out

[nanochickin]

I would save up the extra and go for one of the 7000 series models rather than the 500 or 600

The 7000 series is definately more versatile and wellworth the extra outlay in cost



Nano

[BGonaSTICK]

Yeah, but you get a butt-kicking receiver for £120 with the 500

That is some serious VFM.

[wod]

been looking at other linux receivers theres quite a few with the relook and technomate 9100 and triple dragon

the 7000 series are abit pricey

so i dont know what to do, as the 500 is tempting at the price