HTPC or Dreambox?

[milli260876]

I'm going for a fixed astra/hotbird/astra2 90cm dish and am undecided which way to go regards the title Q...
Also can you plug a usb2 dvd-rom into a dreambox and play through it with any patches(hd8000)??
Any advice will be greatly received

[milli260876]

Surely someone must have an opinion???

[nanochickin]

Dunno mate whats a HTPC when its at home

I can definately recommend a Dreambox. I have one and i'm more than happy with it Probably one of the most powerful receivers on the market at the moment. On a word of warning though, don't bother looking at the likes of the Technomate TM9100 or ITgate DGS100 as they're more hastle than they are worth



Nano

[milli260876]

Dunno if this is a bite but ...
By htpc i mean home theatre pc/media centre
was looking at a skystar2 hd and thinking of the alt/progdvb route.
I've been warned off motorised dishes tho which i wanted, told they get knocked off too easy with the wind??

[nanochickin]

Thats a load of cobblers, if they are installed properly they are no more prone to moving than a fixed dish. Who ever told you that are talking out of there backsides.

My 90cm dish is still in the same place that its been in for the last six months. It moved slightly in the really bad winds we had in October but only slightly allowing me to compensate by altering the rotor settings on the receiver slightly

My 80cm dish is still in exactly the same place as it was when it was first installed. If its installed on T & Ks with a steel pole it ain't going no where

Most of the horror stories you have heard are probably from people who install their motors on those stupid L- Brackets or if they use an aluminium pole on the T & Ks. Trust me you will regret it if you don't go down the motorised route

Oh and i would definately go for a Dreambox over the PC option



Nano

[milli260876]

Thanks a lot mate, is a motorised dish install a job i could do myself or do you need to be an expert?
I was a sea harrier technician so am quite savvy but have never really attempted satellite b4 only one of those travel camping do-da's

[Curious123]

If you are okay getting up a ladder and screwing a few sturdy brackets onto your house than you have done half the job already m8. There is more than enough information on this forum to help you if get stuck. If you done it yourself than you will never need to call anyone out when things go wrong. A sea harrier technician asking if he is qualified to doing this job is bit like asking if a brain surgeon is capable of wiring a three pin plug! lol

[Jimdefruit]

milli, if you put up a motorised dish with a twin or quad lnb on it you can have both a Dreambox or other receiver and a htpc connected. The HD Dreamboxes are still a dream at present although they seem a bit closer than they were two years ago.

As for installing a motorised dish, its a doddle. Get a pole fixed absolutely vertical and just follow the guides on here. If its not absolutely vertical then you wont get anywhere.

[roadrunner]

Dreambox mate. I have Technomate 5400CI+ so Ido ot have to worry about receivig the goodies
without worrying to much (in the short term), but Dreambox gives you so much more...If you are at the stage of discovering things like I am, get a decent STB (so you can watch something while you learn) and get yourself a dreambox to learn while the other box lasts. At the end of the day You`ll be better off having the Dreambox.
Regards

[kerrywez]

Hi milli,
I would just all one thing to the good advice you have had already, mount you dish as low as you can, best if you can stand on the ground to work at it. There is nothing to be gained by going up and loads to be sorry for later, if you do. I can work at bothmy dishes standing on the ground, as long as you dish has a view of the sky, at about a 30 degree angle, then your OK.

I would agree withall that Jim and Nano say, a Dreambox is the way to go, you will have no prolems with it, by all means go your own way, but my advice would be wait for a few weeks, that was the last estimate for the launch of the new Deambox 800 and 8000, both are HD and the 8000 will be PVR, with twin tuners.

Very best regards Wez