Please advice which Dreambox I should buy

[nickepe]

Hi,
I have a Relook 9000 today and I am disappointed over the lack of update of images for it. So I am thinking of buying a Dreambox.

I must be advised in a couple of questions:
1. I must have a Dreambox with 2 tuners for satellite, is it only the 7020 and 8000 model that is an option then?
2. The 8000 model has been around for a while, how is it compared to VU+ Duo for instance when it comes to hardware? Is 7020 a better choice?
3. Why is 8000 much more expensive then 7020?
4. Is there any new models in the pipeline so I should wait?

Thanks in advance!

/From a Dreambox wannabe

 

[ararat]

Good overview on wikipedia:thum: - but the latest model (7020 HD with 2 replaceable/mixable dvb-s,c,t hdtv tuners of your own choice) is missing.

http://www.dream-multimedia-tv.de/en/dm-7020-hd

For those who want a twin tuner hdtv box and regular updates with latest enigma2 firmware, a device to take into consideration (~ 580 € with 2x dvb-s tuners/no hdd).

Dreambox 7020 HD is (much) more expensive than VU+ duo or other twin Linux boxes, but you can´t know what firmware you´ll get for those boxes in future, because Enigma2´s latest updates are only available for original dreamboxes since some weeks.

This year Dream MultiMedia corporation modified Enigma2 firmware in a way, that it doesn´t run on foreign boxes any more. That´s why there are no/few updates for those boxes, which may use different firmware/plugins in future or other solutions.


E.g new triple tuner box "VU+ Ultimo" for about 540 € with 2x dvb-s tuners/no hdd will use XBMC instead of Enigma2. If you need it, you can insert a third tuner for about 40€ - mixing dvb-s,c,t possible. In my country the first Ultimos will probably be delivered this week - so I can´t tell what functions/plugins they offer, how good/bad they run and if they are worth a try.
My personal choice (at this moment - my opinion may change - time will tell) would be the dreambox. I´d rather pay 670 € for one 7020 HD with 2 tuners and 1TB hdd than to pay 650 € for a VU+ ultimo with 3 tuners plus 1 TB hdd. A lot of money and not so much difference in price for both. For such an amount I would want best known quality and support.

 

[Jahu]

I second the DM7020HD, it's more modern than the 8000 that I have, and for that kind of money compared to VU, I would take the 7020HD every time, and be assured that support, parts, images, community etc. will be better than any other receiver there for many years to come.

VU makes sense only if at least 50% cheaper than DM, and you're tight on money.

 

[ararat]

Yes, support for Dreambox is excellent.

When my 15 month old dm 8000 hd had an ERROR (message shown in display), that I couldn´t fix myself, I directly sent it to Dream corporation - not to my dealer.

Dream first couldn´t fix the problem either.
My box had one of those stupid errors, that let it work correctly when flashed only with latest firmware (no additional plugins).
I got the box back from repair - it worked. I installed pluigins - it broke down with ERROR message.

After three attempts in vain of Dream corp. to fix the problem, I got a completely new mainboard for the box:thum:. All o.k. since then.

I doubt very much, the same would have happened with VU+. I probably would have had to buy a new box, then.
I have a Relook/Abcom IPBox9000HD stored away somewhere in my basement - the box never worked flawlessly - support was not good - no real help, when I needed it. 400 € for a crappy box.

So me too, I´d rather buy a quality dreambox again. At least for myself in the end it was the better deal.

 

[satco123]

dm 800 se is a best 1,rather then u buy 7020 r 800 hd pvr,

 

[ararat]

Yes, fine box 800se:thum:.
But - I quote nickepe - I must have a Dreambox with 2 tuners ...
Then he would have to buy two boxes

Forgot to answer, why dreambox 8000 is expensive.

First:

Dream develops Enigma2 and pays a team of programmers. Other companies only copy (clones, VU+) profit for free, add some gratis plugins from community and invest only very few money to pay s.b. to have drivers programmed for own hardware. In case they do develop s.th. of their own, they keep it only for themselves and don´t share like Dream did (but does not do any more).


Second:

Hardware of dreambox 8000 - you can have up to 4 CI modules, plus 2 internal card slots - up to 4 tuners possible - 3 SATA devices = 2 Harddisks + DVD writer possible - additional USB ports - WLAN inside.
Tuners are excellent - if you have small dish (mine is 45 cm squared) you still receive very good signal.
Enough calculating power. No problem to record six hdtv broadcasts simultaneously (some maintain they can record eight).


Third:

Better support than most other companies, if you have hardware problems.

If you have software problems, you can report on their help board. If the problem is serious enough and concerns more users, you will probably instantly get an answer from a developer himself. If you´re lucky, he´ll find a solution within hours/few days.

The help boards of "Cheap companies" is often cared for mainly by private people only - users help users.


-----

I am very satisfied with dm8000 - I even bought two of them.

If the 7020hd would already have existed earlier, I probably would have bought two of those instead.

 

[Cricket Coco]

if you want a dreambox that waste less electricty and less componentts (slim) then 500HD is the one i got it and it really good.

if you want featured dreambox and and more components then 8000HD is the one to pick but this waste more enegry then 500HD

hope this help

 

[Cricket Coco]

Yes, support for Dreambox is excellent.

When my 15 month old dm 8000 hd had an ERROR (message shown in display), that I couldn´t fix myself, I directly sent it to Dream corporation - not to my dealer.

Dream first couldn´t fix the problem either.
My box had one of those stupid errors, that let it work correctly when flashed only with latest firmware (no additional plugins).
I got the box back from repair - it worked. I installed pluigins - it broke down with ERROR message.

After three attempts in vain of Dream corp. to fix the problem, I got a completely new mainboard for the box:thum:. All o.k. since then.

I doubt very much, the same would have happened with VU+. I probably would have had to buy a new box, then.
I have a Relook/Abcom IPBox9000HD stored away somewhere in my basement - the box never worked flawlessly - support was not good - no real help, when I needed it. 400 € for a crappy box.

So me too, I´d rather buy a quality dreambox again. At least for myself in the end it was the better deal.

This only happend if you don`t flash in a proper manner then a erreor this happend also on 800HD of mine error came but i was able to fix it because i had to flash it properly.

if you know something you can do no price like you gave the dealer

 

[refedit]

Sunray4 sr4

 

[cheekykid]

Go for 7020HD if you can afford it. You can't go wrong with it

 

[Cricket Coco]

DM 8000HD___ is mostly known mention in my opinion and waste lots of energy and has lot of compatibility and more components but is expensive but worth it because it is very featured. DM8000HD is more better than DM7020HD in my opinion


DM500HD___ is very slim and waste less energy and has a very good responsive time in reacting and more cheaper and would save you a fortune if compared to DM8000HD but the Problem is it does not support scart and has less tuners and the DM500HD and DM800HD look more like DM500HD but difference is that DM800HD has a screen in front of it while DM500HD has no screen but DM800HD eats up a little more energy than DM500HD and DM500HD is suprisingly so smal but can do a lot for you.

if i were you i would buy DM500HD first then later problly a DM8000HD

but to be honest both of these are worth it.

but you never know they might come up with better models.

Thank You For Listening

 

[ararat]

This only happend if you don`t flash in a proper manner then a erreor this happend also on 800HD of mine error came but i was able to fix it because i had to flash it properly.

if you know something you can do no price like you gave the dealer

In most cases it is so, but in my case a sat cable connector had loosened from the mainboard. The box had a REAL hardware problem - no firmware/flashing problem.

Probably my dealer, who installed harddisk and discwriter in my second dm8000 box, may have twisted the connector plug too heavily.
With my first dm8000 I never had problems - into that box I carefully installed hdd/dvd myself. Was only too lazy to do that with box #2 and bought it "all inclusive". That box caused trouble from the start. For more than 14 months I discussed software problems on the german dreambox board, that I always only had with my box #2 and not with my box #1. The loose connector had allowed faulty performance until it totally came off the mainboard.

I flashed my two dm8000s regularly - more often than most owners of dreamboxes - always the correct way - with nfi file via Webif on Firefox - must have done this at least more often than fourty or fifty times with both of my boxes (sometimes three times per week).
Today, with a new mainboard in my dm8000 #2, both boxes work flawlessly with always latest CVS oe1.6 experimental image + GP3 plugin. For the first time I didn´t flash my boxes anew the last three months - only regular online updates about once every week, no fresh installation via WebIf since then.

I only post this to say: Sometimes even a quality dreambox may have a hardware problem - it´s not always the user´s fault.
But this really doesn´t happen often and in my case I think that the box got damaged by dealer or during transport (packet being thrown).

So I still would recommend dreambox - best choice for those who need twin tuner is 7020 HD (and 8000 HD for those who want more).
(Clone is too expensive - low quality and when it´s faulty, you can throw it away because you don´t get support.)

 

[matisoft]

I have a DM8000 with 4 DVB-S2 tuners for more than 2 years.
I am very happy with the box.