Dreambox the right choice?

[trebort]

Hi all

I am looking for some advice, I am new to all this and have been trying to gather information on the different choices on a cable box.

At the moment I am leaning towards the dreambox 500c from DVBmonkey I understand this is a clone and I won't be able to use some images. First is there an image available for this type of box that will alow the decoding of channels?

The dreambox looks more difficult to set up than the other choices starview or eurovox but I am very computer literate and I like the networking options this box seems to give. Is networking missing from the other options mentioned.

I have 2 xboxs with XBMC installed and like the idea of getting these to work with dreambox as i see a script is available, does anyone have experience of this, does it work well or is it a bit gimicky.

I want PVR functionality is this feature really useable with the 500c networked to a pc?

Finally how is the picture quality compared to the other choices?

Sorry for all the questions but I am finding it difficult to gather information on how the different choices compare against each other. And I want to make the best informed decision I can. If anyone can answer some of these or point me to a comparison

Thankyou in advance

[shady77]

Firstly welcome to DK, now on with the answers to your questions:-

At the moment I am leaning towards the dreambox 500c from DVBmonkey I understand this is a clone and I won't be able to use some images. First is there an image available for this type of box that will alow the decoding of channels?

images don't decode channels, you need keys and roms to do that the dk v1.1 image (created by this site so lots of support) is excellent and there is a noobs guide in downloads to help set it up

The dreambox looks more difficult to set up than the other choices starview or eurovox but I am very computer literate and I like the networking options this box seems to give. Is networking missing from the other options mentioned

the dreambox is actually quite easy to set up is you are familiar with ftp (and it seems like you are) networking is not on starview dont know about eurovox but i assume that its not on there either

I have 2 xboxs with XBMC installed and like the idea of getting these to work with dreambox as i see a script is available, does anyone have experience of this, does it work well or is it a bit gimicky

never used dreambox to xbmc, but i do know that streaming is a bit hit and miss with the dreambox 500c over a network
ps wanna sell one of your xboxes?
I want PVR functionality is this feature really useable with the 500c networked to a pc

never used the pc to record, i use a nas drive and ive never had any problems

Finally how is the picture quality compared to the other choices?

again cant comment on eurovox but the dreambox blows the starview out of the water

Sorry for all the questions

dont be, thats what we're here for

[trebort]

ps wanna sell one of your xboxes?

No I massively rely on XBMC to view media content and realised I would be knackered if it ever went down so bought an xbox and modded it. I am hoping Dreambox can take over here though so you never know : ).
Can dreambox play back different media conent divx, mpg etc from NAS?




I want PVR functionality is this feature really useable with the 500c networked to a pc

never used the pc to record, i use a nas drive and ive never had any problems

NAS is certainly something I want to look at in the future, as this also works with XBMC although limitations on which types work

[cralittlewood]

Hi Guys, Great post this, it saved me asking the same questions.

When my 500c eventually arrives from China one of the things I will be playing with is recording to a PC drive. I was going to look into purchasing a NAS drive do that I didn't have to leave a Pc on all the time so that the Dreambox could record to it. Any recomendations are welcome or is it the case that any will work.

I am also interested in streaming downloaded content from the PC to the 500c, can it handle the higher resolution divx/xvid content and is it possible to to stream HD mkv files to the 500c.

Thanks in advance

[shady77]

you can stream divx to the dreambox, but you need something like tvversity to encode it into mpeg on the fly. plus its rubbish and choppy as ~~~~ so my advice would be dont bother
i bought a cheap nas enclosure and whacked an old 120gb ide in it and it works perfectly

[leeksbadly]

Useful

Weee - DM500C arrived in the post at lunch time.

Useful thread to get me started - thank you.

[cralittlewood]

you can stream divx to the dreambox, but you need something like tvversity to encode it into mpeg on the fly. plus its rubbish and choppy as ~~~~ so my advice would be dont bother
i bought a cheap nas enclosure and whacked an old 120gb ide in it and it works perfectly

Thanks shady, thought it sounded too good to be true. I steer well clear of the encoding on the fly rubbish. I remember spending a few hours on it when it was the only way to get divx on the xbox360. I've got a Media Centre PC now that plays everything I chuck at it, was just hoping I might be able to use the 500c as a bit of a media centre.

[bigdon]

Hi guys heres my first post,I have a dreambox 500c on the way also a null modem cable so I can flash the box with an image,is it possible to veiw all channels by flashing a specfic image,if so what image,or do i have to ftp files to veiw all,
Thanks in advance Don

[trebort]

you can stream divx to the dreambox, but you need something like tvversity to encode it into mpeg on the fly. plus its rubbish and choppy as ~~~~ so my advice would be dont bother
i bought a cheap nas enclosure and whacked an old 120gb ide in it and it works perfectly

divx is good enough for me XBMC can handle everything else. Decided to go with Dreambox it sounds like it will do the job I need and enable me to tinker with it to see what is possible.

One last thing when it arives how do you tell what image is installed or is it obvious?

[MonkeyAl]

Just be careful the 500C's from China vary in quality. Also due to the small size of the unit you may need a booster if your line has lots of splitters etc on it.

Eurovox is a good simple box but I'm not too sure about the new Slimline version? A bit too cheaply made for me

[cralittlewood]

Just be careful the 500C's from China vary in quality. Also due to the small size of the unit you may need a booster if your line has lots of splitters etc on it.

Hopefully the quality of the box will be ok, I have ordered mine from Satsun, which I think several people on here have use successfully.

[Iekos]

I've bought a few from DVBMonkey.com and I goto say, the quality is A1.

But more then anything, its the customer services. They are very helpful indeed and sorts shit out straight away. Thats probably the perk about buying from them..

Bad side, a tad slow on delivery but so far, no custom taxes.

[shady77]

divx is good enough for me XBMC can handle everything else. Decided to go with Dreambox it sounds like it will do the job I need and enable me to tinker with it to see what is possible.

One last thing when it arives how do you tell what image is installed or is it obvious?

well, they used to have dkv1.1 already flashed but apparently customs told them to stop it even if it has got an image flashed on it, i personally would reflash anyway, then i'd know its my cock up if anything goes wrong

[gurbettin]

i have a dreambox 500s and i like it. it's very good.
right choice is dreambox.

[hippy1970]

Checkout FreeNAS: The Free NAS Server - Home for a very simple and versatile homebrew NAS ;o)