Lovin this sat scene. Thought on an upgrade..

[LindaJones]

Looking to buy a second receiver that has a better EPG, internal HDD and maybe one of those flashy twin or quad tuners. Just wondering what you people suggest I look at?

I've spotted 2 so far, the Amiko Alien 2 and the Icecrypt S3700. Has anyone used either? I'd be interested to know what you thought.

Thanks..

[ramjet]

twin tuner vu, or tm twin or gigablue quad would be my choice

[LindaJones]

twin tuner vu, or tm twin or gigablue quad would be my choice

Ah.... I see... dam, a little more than I planned on spending but that Gigablue is n i c e!

Are you not fond of the units I've listed ramjet? I suspect my choices are rubbish.

[ramjet]

personally I would not buy either of them , so no

I have a vu duo and would buy a solo2 or duo2 or the gigablue quad if I was looking

there are plenty of other threads on here detailing various models , including clones where you add a twin tuner , just do a search

but I look at the long term support and what is generally easily available for plugins etc and the original vu models (not clones) fit that criteria

[LindaJones]

Yes I've see the vu+ solo2 clone for around ?140 but don't fancy any hassle that could come with it.

I'll keep saving.

[happy_highlander]

That is very very cheap for a clone solo 2 so I wouldn't touch it. For a Ferrari clone solo 2 you are looking at around ? 185

[LindaJones]

That is very very cheap for a clone solo 2 so I wouldn't touch it. For a Ferrari clone solo 2 you are looking at around ? 185

For a clone.... Ouch!

[ramjet]

goldwafers has now got the DUO on for preorder at ?199 , not a clone either

Vu+ Duo Special Offer ?199.00 Pre-Order for December Delivery 
Don't waste your money on clones this Christmas when you can pre-order a genuine Vu+ Duo from Goldwafers for only ?199.00!

details on their forum, also on facebook and twitter

[digicon]

I would assume its to compete against the new TM Nano 2t Twin tuner which is basically a Vu Duo in a different skin with more nand Flash and Ram again priced at ?199, My money would be on the more imagec supported Vu Duo

[LindaJones]

Are the VU clones really that bad. Ferrari is a clone of the VU Duo and people seem quite happy with their box performance..

I think it's probably a safe bet to go with VU as someone's already mentioned there is a lot of support out there for these boxes..

[ramjet]

its probably more about the support rather than the box quality

the original boxes have good support from the image makers , clone bpxes may need patched images or plugins etc (mainly patched images)

owners of original boxes have fewer worries due to the images being officially supported and vice versa , so I never have to search out patched images

[digicon]

Take the advice given by ramjet and buy original the difference now compared to clone is minuscule, My advice would be to read around the VU section on the clone Solo and Duo as well as the recently released ibox2 and just see how much trouble there is with trying to get hold of a patched image.

Dont get me wrong i have had clones and have a DM800se Clone which works great but take them at face value that you will be stuck with what ever images appear for them and maybe have to keep with older versions just to keep it running.

An Original as stated does not have this problem and you have no problem in trying or upgrading to another image if you so wish without the doubt in the back of your head wondering if this will brick the box.

If you can live with using older images and maybe perhaps have to wait 3-6 months until patched drivers arrive to use newer images then fine a clone it is but also remember no warranty fear of customs seizing it or worse still dead on arrival.

[LindaJones]

Yes for peace of mind original as you guys have said is the way to go and from what I've seen VIX is just the ticket.

In all honestly I don't really have the knowledge to be tinkering with clone boxes, images etc. I do get a little carried away sometimes. How devastated would someone be spending ?185 and then flash an incorrect image.. that would be one expensive door stop

Thanks as always.

[happy_highlander]

Yes for peace of mind original as you guys have said is the way to go and from what I've seen VIX is just the ticket.

In all honestly I don't really have the knowledge to be tinkering with clone boxes, images etc. I do get a little carried away sometimes. How devastated would someone be spending ?185 and then flash an incorrect image.. that would be one expensive door stop

Thanks as always.

It is not only clones that you will brick if you flash the wrong image. E.g if you flash a solo2 with a duo2 image it will end in tears. None of these boxes are fool proof and all will require a lot of reading to get the best out of the box even if you use vix which is by far the simpliest of the images to use for just watching tv. I have recently changed to openatv and like them a lot but also have a strong preference for blackhole which although it more difficult to get to grips with i find way better than vix but that is just my preference

[LindaJones]

Deary me. Just got off the phone from a local sat shop I called last week about a Duo who returned the call just now. For some reason this guy was 'really' pushing the Alien and the qbox/xbox. This is how the conversion went.

I don't want a Duo because the power supply is suspect and could blow out at any time. The Alien has no such problems.
I don't want a Duo because it's complicated and there is little proven support. Again, no such problem with the Alien.
The Alien is cheaper and better made than the Duo..
The Duo has a software bug that will 'cut off' satellite reception at any time and to get them back is a complicated procedure, the Alien...

That's what I remember of the conversation bearing in mind that part went on for 15 minutes..

Then he went onto something called a qbox, zbox or something and the sales patter began again for another 10 bloody minutes! It was only when my friend took the phone off me and said thanks, we'll call back.... click.... bbbbrrrrrrrr.. My head is S P I N N I N G!

Safe to say he won't be getting my custom.