DVB Monkey

[Iekos]

Just received a DM500C, DM500S and a La Fonera - Wireless Ethernet Bridge this morning. Ordered on Friday, UPS attempted delivery Monday morning but reported nobody home. In theory it could have been next working day.

Anyway, 500C appears to be working fine.

When I turn on the 500S the green LED lights and nothing else happens. It does not respond to the standby switch or the remote control. No output from the scart or phono connectors. I just signed up here to see if there is anything I am missing such as boot up time...

The seal on the La Fonera box was open when I received it. The nut holding the RF antenna was loose. The instructions are in Chinese and Japanese.

I'll be contacting them in the morning to see what the story is. According to their terms and conditions I have to bear the cost of return to China. Wish I had read that earlier.

I'll let you know how this turns out...

Delivery: 10 out of 10
Products: 1 out of 3
Customer Service: TBA

LaFonera will be open to install the custom DDRT (which makes it into a bridge to make it work with the dreambox).

If you have a faulty, they will eventually respond and sort it. Thats the only thing about buying from china. When it works super dooper and most of mine do from dvbmonkey. But when it doesn't, it takes ages to sort. They lake man power but sell lots.

[yarglags]

Well the story to date...

Cable box is working fine.

La Fonera has DD-WRT installed. I tightened the nut holding the antenna connector. I seem to be getting a reasonable wireless signal. I guess it is usable. (once I figure it out)

Sat box still dead. I tried plugging it in and out over a couple of hours to see if it was just taking a while to boot.

I opened a support ticket from the DVBMonkey web site on the 16th and have had no reply yet. I emailed them a couple of times. No reply. I paid with paypal so I guess I might get a response from them if I go down that route.

I don't like the idea of paying to ship the unit to China if I don't know when or if I will get a replacement.

[yarglags]

La Fonera+ is now working nicely with the cable box. It is possible to control the box from my PC and I can stream video to my laptop. Cool.

I have had a reply to my support ticket about the DM500S. They have asked me to send a video showing the fault which I have done. Waiting patiently...

[dustbinlid]

Id not go near them

I sent an email to them regarding the 800 and the response confirmed to me that they couldn't care less.
I asked a couple of questions regarding the possibility of using my existing sky card with one (OK Im new!), they replied 'too many questions, please dont buy from us' , they are fakes and their service leaves a lot to be desired but then its your money.

[yarglags]

As I mentioned above I got a DM500C and DM500S from them. The DM500S is faulty.

They asked me to reinstall the software.

I asked...

What software?
Where do I get it?
How do I install it?

I found Dreamup and some instructions so I tried it.

If I run DreamUp and connect the DM500C it connects and responds that it is ready to go.

If I run DreamUp and connect the DM500S it does nothing.

I'll tell them what happened and see what they will do next.

I already feel that I have gone above and beyond what I could be reasonably expected to do.

[opsmonkey]

thats why when buying electrical its always best to buy from the UK as the retailer is subject to our stringent trading standard laws

[n1r4l]

I have bought three boxes from them, they all seem to be in good working condition.. the longest one i have had is for about 18 months now and it seems to be working just fine..

[yarglags]

I'm seem to be getting the run-around from DVBmonkey. They have advised me to look here for a solution to technical problems. I told them that DreamUp does not even find the box. It looks like reflashing by jtag is the way to go but I am not prepared to do this. I have asked them to let me know when to expect my replacement box.

As I said im my original post...

Delivery: 10 out of 10

Products: 1 out of 3

I'l change this to 2 out of 3.

Customer Service: TBA

I'll change this to 0 out of 10.

I've decided to stop bitching about DVBmonkey. It looks like it has been well covered here already. I found out about Digital Kaos from DVBmonkey. I wish it had been the other way around.

[opsmonkey]

we are not DVBMonkey's technical support line..

They need to deal with issues themselves

[NineLives]

we are not DVBMonkey's technical support line..

They need to deal with issues themselves

I don't think you realize something opsmonkey, DVBMonkey is promoting Digital-Kaos left, right, and center by installing DK image on their boxes. This is why your forums get sooooo many new members who come here to find out more and learn.

I can not see anywhere on DVBMonkey's site suggesting DK forums as their tech support??

Maybe they should stop using DK image and use Gem or Jade instead??

[.: JaCkPoT :.]

I dont even think they get permission off df to use the image how they do So. I think they use it So that all problems will be posted and answered here saving Them time and money.

[Bonesy]

I have bought three boxes from them, they all seem to be in good working condition.. the longest one i have had is for about 18 months now and it seems to be working just fine..

To my knowledge dvbmonkey hasnt even been around a year? How can you have a box from them working for 18months??

[opsmonkey]

I don't think you realize something opsmonkey, DVBMonkey is promoting Digital-Kaos left, right, and center by installing DK image on their boxes. This is why your forums get sooooo many new members who come here to find out more and learn.

I can not see anywhere on DVBMonkey's site suggesting DK forums as their tech support??

Maybe they should stop using DK image and use Gem or Jade instead??

Maybe you cant read..??

I'm seem to be getting the run-around from DVBmonkey. They have advised me to look here for a solution to technical problems...

DVBMonkey are too keen to offload their customers here for help rather than trying to offer a decent customer service..

They sell very poor quality receivers, aren't too keen to replace and expect us to clean up their mess.. Nuff said mate

[lone]

I bought 5 x 500s from dvb over a year ago and have been happy with all the boxes, Yesterday I ordered a 800HD pvr + 2 wireless fontera from them, If I have the same service from them i will be more than happy.......... I will let you know
regards lone

[caveman_nige]

sounds like a few traders use this place as tech support thesedays, not much we can do about it. As long as we can get people up and running thats ok but if a trader wants to switch to another image they have downloaded for free from somewhere then thats their perogative...

somebody who says they have bought 5 in the last year does not sound to me like they do this for themselves anyway... concerned not.....

We just wish people would think first before they buy... and as for these fontera things they sound pretty shite... to crack them open and install a custom DDRT sounds awful.. why not buy a proper secure gaming adapter that is built for the job..

http://www.digital-kaos.co.uk/forums/f20/open-source-firmware-vuln-exposes-wireless-routers-back-door-complete-control-49249/

what wrong with these for making your digi box wireless...
[ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Belkin-802-11g-Wireless-Gaming-Adapter/dp/B0002AGJOE"]Belkin 802.11g Wireless G Gaming Adapter: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo[/ame]