Technomate 5402 vs Blade 7000s vs Dream 800 Or Better for ?150 ?

[whacked]

Hi,

It's been years since I last posted on this forum and the last time I used it, you folks were very helpful and spot on! Thus, here I am again!

I want to buy a new box and need some advice on the best one for my needs.

Here is what I want:



Lots of channel memory
HDMI
RF Out or convertor option (as I have distribution around the house)
High quality picture
No freezing
Not fussed how hard it is to use as I work in I.T
Box should look nice
Good reviews
Lots of support available
Good and frequent patches
Using Sly dish for now and will upgrade to 80cm/100cm later
Ability to add hard disk (int or ext - not fussed)
more than 1 tuner to record more than 1 prog at once
LAN
Inbuilt CAM would be great
Circa ?150 for the box

I don't ask for much eh?!!

I have found the Dream 800, Technomate 5402 and Blade 7000 at this price range. However I do not know which one fits the bill, if they are any good and if there is a better box?

Look forward to your advice!

Thanks

J

[andy91]

Most will say Dreambox 800hd which you can pick up now for 115 quid,the newer Dreambox 800se is about 150,faster processer,colour led.
Dont know too much about the other boxes though ive been told the Blade is simple to set up.
Best thing about Dreambox is support,loads have them so if you run into problems its easily sorted.

Andy.

[whacked]

Hi Andy

I don't think the Dream 800 meets my requirements. For example (and I could be wrong) it has only 1 tuner and no RF out.

J

[southpaw]

I think you gonna need to compromise here mate, thats a long list of requirements for 150 quid, double your budget and look at vu duo. Or lower your requirements an look at dm800SE clone

[dave-h]

I think the Blade and Technomate are essentially the same box. They're made in the same factory i believe, and when a feature/update appears on one it's closely followed by the other.

[whacked]

Hi Chaps,

I'm led to beleive that the Blde 7000 and Technomate 5402 will forefill every one of my requirements? Ultimetly the Technmate as it is an RF out (needed as I have a LoftBox distribution system) ??

Is this the best option or have I missed an obvious brand/model?

I am struggling to find a review of the Technomate 5402. Wot Sat gave the Blade 7000s a great review.

Your thoughts?

J

[rob s]

Hi Chaps,

I'm led to beleive that the Blde 7000 and Technomate 5402 will forefill every one of my requirements? Ultimetly the Technmate as it is an RF out (needed as I have a LoftBox distribution system) ??

Is this the best option or have I missed an obvious brand/model?

I am struggling to find a review of the Technomate 5402. Wot Sat gave the Blade 7000s a great review.

Your thoughts?

J
Blade 7000 only has 1 tuner mate so it cannot fill all your requirements, its the same thing as you can do with a dm800hd pvr you can watch 1 channel and record another but they have to be on the same transponder which a lot of the time isnt the case. If you only wanna spend ?150 you will not got a dual tuner box you need to spend more than double that on either a VU+ duo or a Clarketech ET9000 which cost around ?330 each. Cheers, Rob

Cheers andy91 I forgot to mention the DM8000 but at ?850 i thought it was a little bit pricey as his budget is ?150 but you are right he is not gonna get everything he wants for ?150 but for ?330 you can get the vu duo or clarke tech ET9000 and they are both very similar but the clarke tech has less 3rd party image support but it has a slightly better spec than the vu duo

[andy91]

If you want twin tuners its the vu duo or the Dreambox 8000 but for the 150 you want to spend your not gonna get all the things that you want for your money.

Andy.

[whacked]

Hi All,

Thanks for your responses.

Am I correct in assuming from the link below that I can record more than 1 channel on the Technomate 5402 whilst watching another? And that this is not possible with other such boxes in the ?150 or so bracket with the same respectable qualities?

Google Images (http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=technomate+5402&um=1&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1540&bih=867&tbs=isz:m&tbm=isch&tbnid=C6EYCH4QMqleEM:&imgrefurl=http://www.syste****.co.uk/satellite-receiver/technomate/technomate-tm-5402-hd-ci-super-lan-usb-pvr-receiver/prod_189.html&docid=P_3I5Qyh5Wsf0M&w=800&h=565&ei=fHOVTq3AJITA8QPlj5zsBg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=339&page=1&tbnh=129&tbnw=182&start=0&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0&tx=16&ty=46)

Thanks

J

[rob s]

Hi All,

Thanks for your responses.

Am I correct in assuming from the link below that I can record more than 1 channel on the Technomate 5402 whilst watching another? And that this is not possible with other such boxes in the ?150 or so bracket with the same respectable qualities?

Google Images (http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=technomate+5402&um=1&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1540&bih=867&tbs=isz:m&tbm=isch&tbnid=C6EYCH4QMqleEM:&imgrefurl=http://www.syste****.co.uk/satellite-receiver/technomate/technomate-tm-5402-hd-ci-super-lan-usb-pvr-receiver/prod_189.html&docid=P_3I5Qyh5Wsf0M&w=800&h=565&ei=fHOVTq3AJITA8QPlj5zsBg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=339&page=1&tbnh=129&tbnw=182&start=0&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0&tx=16&ty=46)

Thanks

J
You can watch 1 channel and record 1 channel on the dm800hd as long as they are on the same transponder, you can watch 1 and record 2 channels on the blade and you can watch 1 and record 3 channels on the technomate but remember all these channels have to be on the same transponder (which is unlikely) but with a dual tuner box they can be on different transponders. Cheers, Rob aka Insomniac

[andy91]

Hi All,

Thanks for your responses.

Am I correct in assuming from the link below that I can record more than 1 channel on the Technomate 5402 whilst watching another? And that this is not possible with other such boxes in the ?150 or so bracket with the same respectable qualities?

Google Images (http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=technomate+5402&um=1&hl=en&sa=X&biw=1540&bih=867&tbs=isz:m&tbm=isch&tbnid=C6EYCH4QMqleEM:&imgrefurl=http://www.syste****.co.uk/satellite-receiver/technomate/technomate-tm-5402-hd-ci-super-lan-usb-pvr-receiver/prod_189.html&docid=P_3I5Qyh5Wsf0M&w=800&h=565&ei=fHOVTq3AJITA8QPlj5zsBg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=339&page=1&tbnh=129&tbnw=182&start=0&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0&tx=16&ty=46)

Thanks

J

Looks like a nice box but the chances of watching and recording on the same tp very slim and its 55 quid more than a Dreambox 800hd pro.

Andy.

[whacked]

Folks,

At the moment, I have a Sly box and a Humax for Freeview around the house. Does the Techomate 5402 have Freeview channels (i.e Food Network, BBC1 etc) ???

I am constructing a diagram with the info you are all providing and will upload once complete. This should help you visualise what I am trying to achieve with the purchase of a receiver and if it is all possible.

Appreciate your help.

J

[rob s]

Yes I would assume the technomate can receive all FTA satellite channels just like the dm800hd can. Channels like bbc1, bbc2, itv1, e4, itv2, food network, film4, sky news etc should all be there with the technomate regardless of whether you are using it for c/s or not. Cheers, Rob

[whacked]

OK,

This is what I am trying to achieve http://imageshack.us/f/847/satdist1.jpg/ . I already have all of the components except for the Techomate 5402 or simular.

The idea is to try and have thousands of channels on the main TV, yet still maintain my Sly and Freeview distribution around the house. It is possible that in the future I may change the dish to a larger one and/or one with multiple LNB's rather than my single Quad LNB.

But, for now, will this work if I buy the TM 5402 (as this box seems to have the connectivity I need) or will the Blade 7000C (not the 'S' model) be better ??

http://imageshack.us/f/847/satdist1.jpg/http://imageshack.us/f/847/satdist1.jpg/


Thanks

J

[whacked]

Hi Folks,

Would appreciate your advice on the post above...

Thanks

[whacked]

Hiya all,

Looks like my diagram has stumped you!

I have an addition to add.

At the mo, I have a Sly dish. The new receiver I get not should be able to record simultaniously from different TP's. My idea is to buy a reciever with more than 1 tuner (assuming that is what I need to record from different TP's at the same time) then at a later date, when I conte,plate a bigger dish, buy a couple of Mono Block LNB's as I already have 4 cables going from my satellite dish to my front room. So I could use 2 cables for my existing Sly and the other 2 cables for the new receiver.

How does ths above sound?

All of that said, I think that pretty much means the initial recievers are no good for me, thus I need to look at ?2xx.

I am NOT an expert in this arena (although I did have a Fortec Star box, dish and motor many years ago). I would once again like your advice.

On one of the above posts, someone mentioned a VU+ box. Looks good, but I always like to shortlist 3 items.

So what is the best of these (unless I missed something better and value for money):

VU + Duo (circa ?300)
Technomate 8000 Combi (circa ?234)
Extrend Et 9000 (circa ?319)
DuoLabs QBox Mini (Circa ?229)
Any that I have missed?????

Thanks

J

[alom5]

dm8000 clone - (can have upto 4 tuners) for around ?375

[andy91]

Recording 1 channel is enough dont you ever go out lol

Andy,

[redondo5]

For the rf distribution side of things, you could get a modulator which would output the scart signal to rf and to a channel of your choice.

I want to sell by blade 7000 and have an rf modulator with it.

[whacked]

Hi Andy,

I have a wife and kids whose PVR demands I have to meet!

J

[andy91]

Hi Andy,

I have a wife and kids whose PVR demands I have to meet!

J

I find it hard watching tv so recording and watching would be impossible lol
Any spare time im on the golf course or on here.

Andy.

[alom5]

Recording 1 channel is enough dont you ever go out lol

Andy,

indeed i do andy :) that's why i'm happy with the 800se and 60gb hdd only for timeshift and epg.

the last thing i recordede was this fat toddler 2ish i think smoking away like a chimney on some german channel.....thought i had to share that with family ....it was unbelievable they way his mum helped to smoke and that lol shocking twas

[alom5]

I find it hard watching tv so recording and watching would be impossible lol
Any spare time im on the golf course or on here.

Andy.

so whats your andycap mate :manutop:

[whacked]

VU + Duo (circa ?300) - GOOD REVIEWS
Technomate 8000 Combi (circa ?234) - CANNOT FIND ANY 2011 PATCHES
Extrend Et 9000 (circa ?319) - PRICEY AND I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THE BRAND
DuoLabs QBox Mini (Circa ?229) - LOOKS LIKE THIS ONE HAS NO RF OUT
ADDED: Technomate 6902 (circa - ?240) -NOT BAD FOR CIRCA ?90 MORE THAN 5402
Any that I have missed?????

Suggested by members:
DM8000 clone

I'm still no closer to finding a box that will meet my needs (at a price between ?150 and ?300 ish).

Also, is a Transponder like Astra, Hotbird, Nilsat etc? Or is the transponder the actual frequency? I ask because the TM 5402 can record up to 3 channels on the same TP. So for example, could it record 3 channels all on Hotbird or MUST they ALL be say Freq 12149 (assuming I was already recording 1 channel on Freq 12149)?

Is it possible to have 2 satellites (for arguments sake - Astra and Hotbird) on the TM5402 ?

Hope I am talking sense!

Thanks

J

[andy91]

so whats your andycap mate :manutop:

Hi mate im off 15.0,was on the bubble recently at 17.4 but had to good rounds in the comps, 4 under and 5 under so got slashed.
Would have been gutted to go to 18 if i had a bad round so finishing the year on 15 im happy cos im not the greatest golfer but get the most out of my game.
Shouldnt this be in the Sport Section lol
Andy.

[whacked]

VU + Duo (circa ?300) - GOOD REVIEWS
Technomate 8000 Combi (circa ?234) - CANNOT FIND ANY 2011 PATCHES
Extrend Et 9000 (circa ?319) - PRICEY AND I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THE BRAND
DuoLabs QBox Mini (Circa ?229) - LOOKS LIKE THIS ONE HAS NO RF OUT
ADDED:
Technomate 6902 (circa - ?240) -NOT BAD FOR CIRCA ?90 MORE THAN 5402
Icecrypt S4000 - ?170 - I THINK YOU CAN LOAD ENIGMA II on THIS
Any that I have missed?????

Suggested by members:
DM8000 clone

I'm still no closer to finding a box that will meet my needs (at a price between ?150 and ?300 ish).

Also, is a Transponder like Astra, Hotbird, Nilsat etc? Or is the transponder the actual frequency? I ask because the TM 5402 can record up to 3 channels on the same TP. So for example, could it record 3 channels all on Hotbird or MUST they ALL be say Freq 12149 (assuming I was already recording 1 channel on Freq 12149)?

Is it possible to have 2 satellites (for arguments sake - Astra and Hotbird) on the TM5402 ?

Hope I am talking sense!

Thanks

J

Just added the Icecrypt S4000 to the list above....

[satmannwest]

No disrespect mate, but your name suites you. lol

[andy91]

He will be whacked once he decides what he wants and where he wants it lol
Id still stick to Dreambox or if flush a Vu duo lol

Andy.

[redondo5]

If rf out is so important just get rf modulator for ?10-15. As long as signal from box goes to both scart and hdmi assuming your using hdmi, it should work fine. Some rf modulators also allow dual output. Ie meaning output from scart, phono and aerial at same time.

You can also get a pack of 5 rf modulators that receive power from lnb from play or Keene for about ?15.

[whacked]

Hehe! I feel Whacked just trying to work out the best option!

OK - I have sorted the boxes below in order of my taking the plunge. I have seen an Icecrypt S4000 dirt cheap and hear it can have Enigma II. Should I take the plunge on this box or go to option 2 (or have I ordered my preferences like a plum?).

Icecrypt S4000 - ?150 -
Technomate 6902 ?240
Technomate 5402 - ?140

DuoLabs QBox Mini ?229
VU + Duo ?300
Technomate 8000 Combi ?234
Extrend Et 9000 ?320

I am getting there, honest!

J

[whacked]

Here is what my first post required from a new box:

Here is what I want:



Lots of channel memory
HDMI
RF Out or convertor option (as I have distribution around the house)
High quality picture
No freezing
Not fussed how hard it is to use as I work in I.T
Box should look nice
Good reviews
Lots of support available
Good and frequent patches
Using Sly dish for now and will upgrade to 80cm/100cm later
Ability to add hard disk (int or ext - not fussed)
more than 1 tuner to record more than 1 prog at once
LAN
Inbuilt CAM would be great
Circa ?150 for the box
Apart from the last point (?150) - it looks like the Technomate 6902 fits the bill to the 'T' ? And it looks like it has the same features Plus some more compared to the 5402... ?


Ta

J

[thijs]

Here is what my first post required from a new box:

Here is what I want:



Lots of channel memory
HDMI
RF Out or convertor option (as I have distribution around the house)
High quality picture
No freezing
Not fussed how hard it is to use as I work in I.T
Box should look nice
Good reviews
Lots of support available
Good and frequent patches
Using Sly dish for now and will upgrade to 80cm/100cm later
Ability to add hard disk (int or ext - not fussed)
more than 1 tuner to record more than 1 prog at once
LAN
Inbuilt CAM would be great
Circa ?150 for the box

Apart from the last point (?150) - it looks like the Technomate 6902 fits the bill to the 'T' ? And it looks like it has the same features Plus some more compared to the 5402... ?


Ta

J
I have the 6902 like it a lot but i have it in the bedroom
cause my family have a high pvr demand too and i use my tm7100 in the livingroom ,so with a tm6902 you can only record and watch on the same transponder or watch freeview and record on that but you can't record and watch on any other transponder you will need a stb with 2 sat tuners in it wich the 5402/6902 don't have you would need a tm7102/7100 for that if you want to stick to technomate but if you're an ip guy you might be better of to go for the vu+duo or a dm8000 clone wich would be more of a challenge and better supported then the tm's .

[whacked]

I have the 6902 like it a lot but i have it in the bedroom
cause my family have a high pvr demand too and i use my tm7100 in the livingroom ,so with a tm6902 you can only record and watch on the same transponder or watch freeview and record on that but you can't record and watch on any other transponder you will need a stb with 2 sat tuners in it wich the 5402/6902 don't have you would need a tm7102/7100 for that if you want to stick to technomate but if you're an ip guy you might be better of to go for the vu+duo or a dm8000 clone wich would be more of a challenge and better supported then the tm's .

Hi Thijs,

Many thanks for your post. I was excited until I read it! I thought I could do the following with the TM 6902:

GOAL
Record 2 sat channels at the same time. I was then going to use the RF Out to distribute the Freeview around my house.

But looks like that is not possible with the box just having the ability to record 1 sat channel at once? :(

The VU+ Duo looks great. But I don't think it can perform the goal above - record 2 sat channels and distribute Freeview via the RF out?

It looks like what started out as a "I might buy a Blade box" has really made me think about a serious increase in budget! It also looks like the ONLY sub ?400 receiver which will give me make my GOAL is the TM 7102 (I don't think the Xtrend or Clark Tech boxes have both 2 x DVB-S2 and 1 x DVB-T2??).

Thanks

J
PS: Some interesting info via this link: http://www.avforums.com/forums/satellite-tv/1383647-technomate-6902-7102-a.html

This is the interesting part:

I have bought the 6902, I was able to go to Technomate's shop in Edmonton... they included a 610 (or 620) GB external drive (http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?&_nkw=external+drive) for ?310, they seemed pretty busy but then this older guy turns up and formats the drive for me, uploads a channel list and upgrades the software and gives me a detailed demonstration by connecting the box to the shop's sat and aerial.

So yes the box can record from either tuner at the same time but when you do this you can only watch another channel from the same transponder or multiplex. You can also record up to 3 channels at the same time from the same tp or mx and watch an existing recording.

It does give you epg for terrestrial and sat - it varies sometimes you can only get now and next but sometimes you can get more in advance...

[thijs]

Hi Thijs,

Many thanks for your post. I was excited until I read it! I thought I could do the following with the TM 6902:



So yes the box can record from either tuner at the same time but when you do this you can only watch another channel from the same transponder or multiplex. You can also record up to 3 channels at the same time from the same tp or mx and watch an existing recording.

It does give you epg for terrestrial and sat - it varies sometimes you can only get now and next but sometimes you can get more in advance...
yes this is what i said in my post and you can get 7dayepg too when you load it up from the right channel ,if you want to know more about the technomate you can ask your questions in the technomate section of this forum

[CoolKen]

Looks like a nice box but the chances of watching and recording on the same tp very slim and its 55 quid more than a Dreambox 800hd pro.

Andy.

Anyone recommend a uk supplier of dream box 800hd pro at these prices thanks