Advice on a receiver.

[Swanny32]

Hi,
I'm in the market for a receiver but am confused as hell with the sheer amount of choice out there.

My budget is ?300, possibly stretch to ?350 if it's really worth it.
I need something which is user friendly as I have young children and a wife who has only just learnt how to use the Sky HD box properly. I need to be able to series link and record easily, so a built in HDD would be good too.

My Uncle keeps banging on about the Duo+ 2 which is due for release sometime soon, he reckons. What is the difference between that and the new Solo2?

[ramjet]

Hi,
I'm in the market for a receiver but am confused as hell with the sheer amount of choice out there.

My budget is ?300, possibly stretch to ?350 if it's really worth it.
I need something which is user friendly as I have young children and a wife who has only just learnt how to use the Sky HD box properly. I need to be able to series link and record easily, so a built in HDD would be good too.

My Uncle keeps banging on about the Duo+ 2 which is due for release sometime soon, he reckons. What is the difference between that and the new Solo2?

Solo 2 is probably the best at the moment, with the duo a close second

as to your question, I read this elsewhere

Solo2 = 1.3ghz cpu, twin fixed sat tuners with blindscan (when the drivers are updated), 1gb ddr3 ram

------------------------------------

Duo2 = 1.3ghz cpu, twin pluggable tuners with blindscan, 2gb ddr3 ram, vfd and lcd front panel displays, and built in wifi

(all of which to be confirmed before launch as all specs can and are likely to change).

[digicon]

Hi,
I'm in the market for a receiver but am confused as hell with the sheer amount of choice out there.

My budget is ?300, possibly stretch to ?350 if it's really worth it.
I need something which is user friendly as I have young children and a wife who has only just learnt how to use the Sky HD box properly. I need to be able to series link and record easily, so a built in HDD would be good too.

My Uncle keeps banging on about the Duo+ 2 which is due for release sometime soon, he reckons. What is the difference between that and the new Solo2?

Your budget wont stretch to the Duo2 and its release has yet to be decided, The Solo2 is within your price range but if you have only just got use to how the official box works then you are heading for a steep learning curve with the Solo2.

Recording can be done very similar to what an official box can do and there is a plugin for series record but like everything Linux E2 it is really hit and miss.

the difference between the Solo2 and Duo2 are the following extra's on the Duo2 More Flash 1gb compared to 256mb more Ram 2gb DDR3 compared to 1gb Built in Wi-Fi none on Solo2 and the Mini TV screen only 12 digit VFD on solo2

[Swanny32]

Hi,
I'm in the market for a receiver but am confused as hell with the sheer amount of choice out there.

My budget is ?300, possibly stretch to ?350 if it's really worth it.
I need something which is user friendly as I have young children and a wife who has only just learnt how to use the Sky HD box properly. I need to be able to series link and record easily, so a built in HDD would be good too.

My Uncle keeps banging on about the Duo+ 2 which is due for release sometime soon, he reckons. What is the difference between that and the new Solo2?

So what box would you guys recommend to me then?

[ramjet]

So what box would you guys recommend to me then?

I already said in my first reply

[Swanny32]

My concern with the Solo is that it doesn't come with a hard drive, one website I looked at want an extra ?100 for a 1TB hard drive. That takes it well over my budget.

[Swanny32]

Also, is the Solo going to be too good for what I need it to do? Coming in well under budget but still having a bit of kit that's easy to use and can record will get me big brownie points.

[ramjet]

My concern with the Solo is that it doesn't come with a hard drive, one website I looked at want an extra ?100 for a 1TB hard drive. That takes it well over my budget.

so would a duo2 or a duo, they are all bare bones with no hdd to start with

one good thing about the duo is it will take the 3.5 inch sata drive and so you could fit at least a 500gb drive in a duo for your budget

[Swanny32]

So is there going to be a massive difference between the Duo+ and the Duo+2?

[ramjet]

So is there going to be a massive difference between the Duo+ and the Duo+2?

definitely

here are all the specs posted elsewhere for the vu`s

Solo = 333mhz (iirc) cpu, single fixed tuner

Duo = 405mhz cpu, 386mb ram, twin fixed tuners

Uno = 405mhz dual core cpu, 512mb ram, single pluggable tuner with blindscan, so can swap out tuner for sat, terrestrial or cable, and soon twin tuner sat card available.

Ultimo = 405mhz dual core cpu, 512mb ram, triple pluggable tuners with blindscan, so can swap out 1,2 or all 3, mix and match the tuners as you wish, and soon there is twin tuner card, so you could have 4 tuners built in, and the large vfd display

Solo2 = 1.3ghz cpu, twin fixed sat tuners with blindscan (when the drivers are updated), 1gb ddr3 ram

Duo2 = 1.3ghz cpu, twin pluggable tuners with blindscan, 2gb ddr3 ram, vfd and lcd front panel displays, and built in wifi
(all of which to be confirmed before launch as all specs can and are likely to change).

[redondo5]

My concern with the Solo is that it doesn't come with a hard drive, one website I looked at want an extra ?100 for a 1TB hard drive. That takes it well over my budget.

installing 1tb or any size hdd is pretty simple. don't need to be an expert either.

2.5" 1tb drives can be got for 59.99 from amazon and other places.

once you get it, ( i usually preformat on pc to ext3, but the receiver should initialise and format just fine) - you need to open up the solo 2, involves unscrewing 3 (or is it 5) screws with philips screw driver.

you get the sata and power cable connectors with the solo 2 when you buy it, you also get the smaller screws. and connnectors to mount it in the internal caddy.

just 3 screws inside, screw the four hdd screws to the caddy and that's it. attach the sata connectors and you're done.

switch on the box and you can initialize the hdd from the setup menu.

[Swanny32]

All this box is going to be used for is freesat on 28 east, what benefit would the other tuners be to me. If they aren't of much benefit to me then I'm guessing the Solo 2 is going to be more than enough for me?

[ramjet]

All this box is going to be used for is S*y, what benefit would the other tuners be to me. If they aren't of much benefit to me then I'm guessing the Solo 2 is going to be more than enough for me?

be careful on here about mentioning broadcasters (suggest you EDIT your last post)

I think you mean freesat on 28 east LOL

if using on satellite then more than 1 tuner allows more than one recording to take place at the same time

or you can watch bbc1 and record itv1

there are also some possibilities in recording even more channels when the same transponders are in use

so no the T or C tuners are no good to you, but all the S for Sat tuners are, and so the Solo2 is a good choice with twin sat tuners and I said so in my first reply too

[Swanny32]

Good stuff Ramjet, you certainly know your stuff.

I'm looking at someone selling one on eBay with a pre-installed 1TB hard drive. He says that he will "flash with firmware image of my choice"....what does he mean by this?

[blueflash234]

don't get bamboozled by all the spec on the new solo the older duo, solo and others are still good boxes also have a look at some non-linux boxes easier to get to grips with for a newbie,tm 5402,tm6902,spiderbox 9900 they are good boxes to