Clarke-Tech ET9000 My first quick review + plenty of pictures

[Sat-Shop]

Finally had chance to get the Clarke-Tech ET9000 plugged in this morning and first impressions are this one's looking very good already!

I've ended up flashing it with the OpenPLi Beta image from 17/12 as the original image works fine from the little I tried but it's got none of the goodies available via downloadable addons and the very latest PLi 2.0 Beta is not quite there yet, I did give it a quick blast but still a few bugs in this one just yet to what you might call production ready, so for now OpenPLi Beta from 17/12 it is!

Real easy to flash this one, just download the OpenPLI Beta image from 17/12 (available in downloads section now), unzip the et9000 directory and transfer it over to a USB stick, make sure the et9000 directory is in the root of the USB stick, then stick it in the front port of the ET9000 and turn the power on.... The receiver should see the USB stick straight away and will scroll across the image type/date then ask if you want to flash it and promot you to press OK on the front of the receiver if you do.... So press OK and away it goes.... Couple of mins later or so and the receiver will finish then auto-reboot, you can remove the USB stick now and the usual PLi startup wizard will load up, happy days!

I setup my config here just like I do for the VU+ DUO (it's Enigma2 and PLi so it's exactly the same setup for this part). I set this for DVI (it's HDMI actually but just select DVI, unless using scart connection of course!). I set Tuner A for DiSEqC Motor using USALS and Tuner B for single fixed dish on 28.2/5 East. I don't bother with parental controls etc. but set these to suit yourself.

So that's it, base install is ready and you are ready to add some extras. Here you could choose to scan for channels etc. if that's your thing, but for me it's just not worth it, I fired up Dreambox Edit, loaded in the latest Catseye settings, set the IP address up of the ET9000 in Dreambox Edit, again it's standard E2 here so just find this by going to Menu > System > Network > Adapter SEttings and here you can find your IP address, I changed mine to use a fixed IP but you can use DHCP as well, whatever best suits your needs.... So then used Dreambox Edit to send the channel settings over and within seconds they were on the ET9000 and Enimga has reloaded, job done!

So with channels loaded on now I checked out a few stations on various satellites, no problems at all, only FTA channels at this stage and as expected just like the DUO it defaults to Tuner B for the 28.2/5 stuff and the rest using Tuner A via the motor.

Next thing I did was download CCcam from the PLi Addons Menu which is Menu > Plugins > Green > Softcams > CCcam 2.2.1 and install, once this is done it will automatically be set as your standard softcam to use so all you need to do is FTP in and add your C line to CCcam.cfg which is in the usual place on and Enigma2 receiver, in the /etc folder. You can of course also add config settings for the two card readers built into the ET9000 if you want, I've not tried this part yet so I'll come back to that at a later date. After this I tried a Pay channel that I know is valid and sure enough it clears great, no problems what so ever!

Next up tried the PIP (Picture in Picture). To activate this press the blue button. The blue button is important to PIP as this is what controls what Zap (channel change) is controlling, either the main picture or the smaller second picture and if PIP is enabled or disabled. I had a play around here flicking from one channel to another and from main picture control to second, no problems here again at all, it just works including two channels via CCcam at the same time! Once slight thing I've noticed is it won't show an HD channel in the second smaller picture, weather via CCcam or FTA, so it's SD only for second picture at the moment, the main lager picture can be HD no problem!

Next stage once happy that was all working as it should was to switch the thing off and inscrew the case ready to fit a 1TB HDD I've got here, it's a brand new Samsung HDD that's never been plugged in until today. The pictures below will show the receiver with the case off (actually pulled back, no need to take the whole thing off, just slide it back one you've removed the 5 screws
(3 at the back and 1 each side). You can see the HDD caddy in the pictures, this is already fitted inside the ET9000 and is easily removed by removing 3 more screws. Once that pops out you can fit the HDD inside it and screw it to the caddy using the 4 screws provided (they are in with the remote and batteries etc. in the ET9000 packing). Now fit the whole thing back in and screw it back into place with the 3 removed screws, then connect the SATA connections from the drive to the main board using the SATA cable supplied with the receiver, it's just a standard 4 pin power sonnection and SATA cable which slot into place using the supplier lead, so you can use and standard 3.5" SATA drive. Finally screw the case back on buy just sliding it back into place and putting the 5 screws back into place, job done!

Net thing to do then is initialize the HDD. So boot up the ET9000 again and once done press Menu > Setup > System > Harddisk > Initialization > Red > Yes and this will start doing the job, depending on the size of the drive this will take a few seconds to a few minutes! Just leave it be for a while and go and make a cup of tea, once you get back it'll be done and ready!

Once that's done I tried a quick recording of a single channel, recorded an HD channel that's working via CCcam for a few seconds, then tried playing back, no problems at all. I have not gone any futher with testing recordings right now.

Next thing then was to setup an EPG. From the PLi Plugins (Menu > Plugins > Green) select extensions and install both the xmltvimport and xmltvimport-rytec. It's best to give the ET9000 a restart at this point. Once loaded again got to Meu > Plugins and you should now see EPGImport on the menu, select that and alter the settings to how you choose. I Chose Rytec UK XML TV from Sources then pressed yellow to do a manual update. That begins then after a while will complete. Now exit all the menus and give a long key press on the i button, select Graphical Multi EPG, select the channel groups you want and if all has gone well you should now see a fully populated EPG, great!

That's about as far as I've got for now other than download a few skins and try them out, I've not tried out any other plugins or media playback etc. will give more a go when I get chance, will be over the course of the next few days or so now most probably! More to follow...

My honest thoughts on this one, it does exactly what you'd expect at the moment, if you are interested in the extras over the DUO like PIP and tuner loop-through per tuner plus the fanless operation then this has to be considered now, and with some good support from PLi already and only likely to get better it does look a real contender just like the DUO was this time last year! Contact Sat-Shop.co.uk if interested in this, they are in stock and available now and I'm sure a little demo can be arranged for anyone that wants to just see this in action before making your final purchase!

I've uploaded the first 4 photos as attachments on their own then included the rest in one zip attachment because we are only allowed 5 attachments per post. Just give me a shout if you want the pics and can't see the attachments for any reason.

[777anton]

I am curious, how the pictures are - when I get permission.
Hopefully the community works at the sw.

Nice pictures.
Thank you for the long report - you are one of the first.
If I decide to buy one - I will add my experiences after having a dream7025

[Sat-Shop]

I've uploaded a ZIP file with the pcitures in at the following address if you really want to take a look, feel free to download, not the greatest pictures though, only taken on my phone but still worth a look to those interested:

http://www.sat-shop.co.uk/et9000.zip

The software and support no doubt is coming with this one, it's already made more progress since I wrote the above, have it running on the HD Freaks Team backup image now which is based on OpenPLi 2.0 but with some nice extras and to be honest does all I'd personally ever want.... There is the Clarke Support image due out very soon as well, for anyone worried about support for this one then I really wouldn't be, this is not like some others we've seen come and go in the past, this is genuine Enimga2 firmware and it's already got 3rd party support from a major group with others following as well and has most every popular plugin working right now along with the usual softcams, support is there for this one and prety much working as it should already (as you'd expect of course when paying ?400+ for something). The offer of a demo if anyone wants to come and see us in the office during the week is also very much open, just get in touch to arrange.

I still think the bottom line is if you want the PIP, silent (fanless) operation and twin tuner both with loop-through and think it's worth a few pounds more to you then the Clarke-Tech ET9000 is the one to go for, if you're not bothered about that then go for the DUO, that's how I view it in any case

[Manic01]

?419 bit pricey but looks good.

[bassethound]

The price and support might put a few people off cant see any VU+ owners changing to this box

[Manic01]

The support should be good tbh.
price will drop no doubt.

[blueflash234]

how would this box compare to the vu- duo

[mrdude]

MY ET9000 just arrived today - you can bet I'll be playing with this box for a while.

First impressions - this box rocks, got it ready now with the latest pli image on and all sats/channels programmed.

I will probably start adding my own scripts and plugins at the weekend as I have a few jobs to do before I go back to work on the rigs for three weeks in the middle of next week. Once i get back though I will hammering this box to see how good it is, card sharing will be top of the agenda, followed by multimeda type stuff & I'll also be trying to see how good it can download nzb files as well as acting as a web server.

[redondo5]

Can the vu+ duo downloadnzb too?

One thing I've always thought about is why the VU+ duo can't do picture in picture especially it being twin tuner. I'm not expert but i've been told by others it to do with a lack of twin decoder.

My only concern is that a clone dm500s can manage some sort of pip with a simple pip plugin... even though the other picture is in black and white and grainy....it still does some pip with a plugin....that's a $40 clone. why can't a top box like vu+ achieve something similar with all its high specs and support?

[glic83]

i think for the cost of it i would go for a duo,why are the twin tunner hd linux boxes so expensive(i know there is development factors ,support for the box etc but still very pricey)?hopefully they will come down a bit in price

[Sat-Shop]

Can the vu+ duo downloadnzb too?

One thing I've always thought about is why the VU+ duo can't do picture in picture especially it being twin tuner. I'm not expert but i've been told by others it to do with a lack of twin decoder.

My only concern is that a clone dm500s can manage some sort of pip with a simple pip plugin... even though the other picture is in black and white and grainy....it still does some pip with a plugin....that's a $40 clone. why can't a top box like vu+ achieve something similar with all its high specs and support?

You've been told right, the DUO doesn't support PIP because the chip set they use won't allow it, doesn't matter what plugin is used I'm afraid it won't ever support it on a DUO, great receivers though otherwise but if you must have the PIP support then go for the ET9000

[GOI]

Picture Quality

Hi guys.

Could you compare picture quality of this receiver with DM and VU+Duo PQ, please? For SD and HD.

[mrdude]

I've never used the boxes you mention apart from the dreambox - all I can say is I have my tv and box set up at 1080i using a hdmi cable at 60hz and on HD the picture is amazing.

Also any box that can run enigma 2 and has a hard drive should be able to download nzb files as it's an enigma 2 plugin.

[redondo5]

My honest thoughts on this one, it does exactly what you'd expect at the moment, if you are interested in the extras over the DUO like PIP and tuner loop-through per tuner plus the fanless operation then this has to be considered now, and with some good support from PLi already and only likely to get better it does look a real contender just like the DUO was this time last year! Contact Sat-Shop.co.uk if interested in this, they are in stock and available now and I'm sure a little demo can be arranged for anyone that wants to just see this in action before making your final purchase!

Can you briefly outline the benefits of tuner loop through per tuner?

is it possible to have one cable feed from the lnb and then use loop through to connect to the 2nd tuner in connection? or do you have to have two connections coming from the lnb?

Also regarding PIP does the dm500s chip allow it to do some form of PIP or is it just software?

[Sat-Shop]

Can you briefly outline the benefits of tuner loop through per tuner?

is it possible to have one cable feed from the lnb and then use loop through to connect to the 2nd tuner in connection? or do you have to have two connections coming from the lnb?

Yep sure, there are a couple of ways you could make use of the loop-through per tuner. One way is having the cable(s) come in from the dish to the ET9000 then running another cable from the loop-through connection to a second receiver, maybe one in a bedroom for example, this way you can run a second receiver from a single dish, even as a motorised dish if that's what you have and the second receiver will assume full control of the motor assuming the first receiver (the ET9000) is not turned on and only in standby, if you turned the ET9000 on though the second receiver would only become a slave to the ET9000 and as a result would then not control the dish and only be able to watch channels on the same polarity as the ET9000 is using (either V or H). So it could have it's use but you should really consider it to be of use to use one or the other receiver at any one time, but not both at once.

You could also use the loop-through feature to do exactly the same type of thing as above except use it to feed the second tuner on the ET9000, so rather than the dish come in an out to a second receiver it comes in then out to the second tuner and infact Clarke-Tech have included a patch cable of around 3" that's made exactly for this reason! What you should remember though is you'll have the exact same thing as above, if you are only using a single LNB then you are only ever going to have it view H or V polarity at a time, never both at once, so just like with a second receiver this will be fine if you are wanting to use the second tuner for a channel that's on the same polarity as the first, if they are on different polarity though you will most likely run into problems.

In short the loop-through option has it's use and for some would be ideal, for some though it's not quite what they'd want and you can never really beat having a twin (or more) output LNB to give both tuners their own independent feeds, but in the right setting the loop-through function could be of real use.

Also regarding PIP does the dm500s chip allow it to do some form of PIP or is it just software?

Not sure on the DM500 to be honest, not used one for years now so no idea what the PIP does or doesn't do, I can't see it being any different than the loop-through thing though as in it could only ever at best be a second channel on the same transponder, but as we know the ones you see now are all clones from China, not that that is anything to do with how it works it's just we don't get involved with the clones so not got any major experience with how PIP might work, the important thing to remember though is a DM500 is Enigma1 firmware, the DUO and ET9000 are Enigma2 firmware, while they can look similar one firmware is very much different to another and plugins are not interchangable between the two, so while I can see why you might try to compare the two they are not the same thing and so it's really a bit of a none-starter to compare and I'm afraid it still means the bottom line is the DUO won't support PIP, the ET9000 will do but only with the second (smaller) picture being an SD only channel, the main picture can be HD, the second picture SD only, which again is down to chipset.