Scrambled $ - Are Some Boxes Better Than Others ?

[Aletank]

I have a Skybox F5 connected via a Ethernet cable into a Powerline adaptor. I use to have a old CRT TV with the F5 connected via a SCART lead - I was constantly getting the Scrambled $ message especially when the football was on.
I now have a new Panasonic HD TV with the Skybox F5 connected via a HDMI cable, the Scrambled $ message is very rare.

Would the new TV & HDMI connection of improved things ?

Would a different satellite receiver improve things further ? eg a VU+ Solo2 give less Scrambled $ messages than a Skybox F5.
I just thought it was all down to the Server I'm connected to but does the Hardware/connections have a lot to do with it ?

Thanks for any info

[ramjet]

any box is only as good as its firmware or image and support

I dont expect a lot of cheap boxes like the sly boxes anyway, and you can see enough complaints about them on various forums, buy cheap you buy twice

but no matter which box or tv you buy, your last assumption is more or less correct, but I believe that the vu boxes and images are more stable and reliable than any sly box or openbox or clone (but there are others that may be cheaper like the blade or spider or tm5402)

if everything is setup correctly then you should have stability, if its not stable it tends to be the "other end" at fault !

[P&D]

Just my 2 pence worth

I had 2 F3 boxes always getting the scrambled ...picture breaking up....freezing....& the rest of the problems

I upgraded to the solo 2 ....& all the above is now a thing of the passed...fingers crossed

I still have an F3 box upstairs on the same network with the same (youknowwhat) so i can run 2 boxes
i still have the problem's with the f3 box...but not the solo 2.....so as ramjet says.....buy cheap & you have problems (sorry but its called peanuts tv) since the other cable provider disappeared the post went up by 10 fold

at the end of the day...

The oriental's make them cheap as chip's & mass produce them.....all you have to do is look at the sat forum / openbox section / 43,500 posts

[Hadron]

I have a Skybox F5 connected via a Ethernet cable into a Powerline adaptor. I use to have a old CRT TV with the F5 connected via a SCART lead - I was constantly getting the Scrambled $ message especially when the football was on.
I now have a new Panasonic HD TV with the Skybox F5 connected via a HDMI cable, the Scrambled $ message is very rare.

Would the new TV & HDMI connection of improved things ?...

Old CRT TV's generate a lot of RF hash. It's possible that the old CRT TV was generating more electrical noise than your new TV & it was getting through to the mains & interfering with the homeplug nearby. This could have interfered with the data it was trying to send/receive down the mains wiring.