dm 500 hd review ?

[davemaden]

im thinking of getting one of these but cant find a review anywhere , can anyone who has one recommend them ? whats the picture quality and sound like , and is the picture stable . what are the pros and cons for this box and is it worth getting one or should i wait for the new technomate 800 hd next month ? thanks

[raul]

it has got faster processor and better tuner than all other dm's , even 8000 .

pvr works through esata hdd only .
usb ports are left out on purpose - however there are tricks how to enable that
if you are willing to open the cover and do some modifications on your own .

i bet the clones coming up soon will be more complete .

[jimrare]

I got mine 2 weeks ago, installed dream elite image, connected it to my local network and haven't done a single restart. Xvids and mkvs play straight away from my lan.

The pros of this box are the speed and the support.
The only con of this box is its price, but you get what you pay.

All hd boxes i have seen have similar if not the same picture quality.

It is better to make up your mind of what features you want before you buy your box. Single tuner, double tuner, quad tuner,usb ports, common interfaces, go for something cheap with bad support? or spend a few extra quid and get a fully working receiver?

[oldfart]

Support is the main thing for me, there is LOADS available.
Box has the same picture quality as my DM8k - and it drives the same.
CS works fine.
Downsides - single tuner & no USB/CF - but you can do without those if you have a network. So I guess the only downside is - single tuner. (You have to watch what you are recording.)

[frunko]

Hi Pimps, thought I would *bump* Daves thread here!

I'm a couple of weeks away from probably buying a DM500HD receiver, and am also keen to hear about your experiences or thoughts on this box.

I guess I've always had a wee liking, and high expectations for this box since it was announced ..... way back last year! .... :20:

The one good thing about the length of wait for it's release, is the fact that I had time to look at, and consider a lot of other HD receivers. All seem to have there own little problems (mind you, what receiver hasn't? :rolleyes:)

What I'm looking for is excellent picture/sound quality, stable CCCam running, no over heating, flexibility & future proofing, with alot of on-going customer service. - Will the DM500HD give me this, and what's your thoughts/experiences so far?

Many Thanks,

Frunko

[jimrare]

I have this box more than a month now, still haven't done a single restart. Picture and sound quality has to do with what the providers are sending, your cabling and your telly. All boxes nowadays have good picture and sound quality. If you ask 10 different people about picture and sound quality, you will get 10 different answers...

CCCam was built for dreamboxes so this answers your question about running stable or not. About the support, whoever says that dreambox isn't the king of support is simply lying.

There have been many dreambox wanabees so far but no one has managed to reach any close (although this is bad for us end users and explains dream multimedias pricing policy). Maybe the nearest contender i have seen so far is the vu+ but they need some time to reach top level.

The 500hd only has one card slot no CI slots

[frunko]

Yip, I think your right Jim. I did think about taking the plunge and buying an AZBox, and recently the cheaper SpiderBox 9000HD, but I guess I've always had reserved thoughts about the Dreambox wanna-be's. So I'm kinda glad I've decided to save up my pennies that little bit longer and go for an official Dreambox.

Thanks for your thoughts! ;)


Frunko

[jimrare]

The SpiderBox is a good receiver for today and their "gift" policy makes it an attractive purchase but again i've seen a few receivers in the past offering "gifts" for a few months and then going quiet.

The azbox is already a box of the past to me, almost two years on beta firmware, with noobish network limitations, how can you call this good service???

The vu+ seems promising and if the development keeps on, like it has during the last few months, then it will be the first real challenger. Only time will tell.

A few more boxes coming out in the next months. Many people look for cheap boxes, full of promises, with fancy features, i look for boxes well supported, open source, which cover my needs.

[kennyboy]

does the 500hd have over heating problems thinking of getting 1 was going for 800 but i keep reading you need a fan to keep them cool is this right

[raul]

wait for the 800 HD second edition , it will be out anytime soon .

[sonic1]

does the 500hd have over heating problems thinking of getting 1 was going for 800 but i keep reading you need a fan to keep them cool is this right


500HD is a great box and puts my 800 to shame but the spec of the 800HD SE will make it an even better box.:respect-054:

Forgot to say, the 500hd has a fan and does not get hot.

[kennyboy]

well i got 1 today so some reading to do just not sure what image been readine enimage 2 is the best any veiw on that please