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fuji
18-12-2006, 12:23 AM
I've been out of action for 5 weeks now. My 500 stopped working so I've returned it to the dealer. Its only 6 months old. The dealer tried to repair it but no luck, so its had to be returned to Germany for repair. The tuner has gone. And I thought the Germans are supposed to be efficient. WHY DOES IT TAKE SO LONG TO SORT OUT???. The dealer can't do anything about it other than e-mail to chase them. It seems that the 500 is renowned for having tuner problems, if so why the hell do they sell them? They should make sure that they are reliable before selling them. If anyone is thinking of getting one think again.

Not Happy!!!!!!

dannybcfc
18-12-2006, 03:43 AM
It happened to my mates. Never had tuner problems with mine (touch wood) and I have had it for nearly a year. I just suppose it is the luck of the draw so to say of which batch of Dreambox you get.

Saying that, Rather than mess around sending to Germany etc etc, You can pick one up on that well known auction site for as little at 115GBP now.

digger556
18-12-2006, 10:28 AM
of very little consolation to you now m8.... but i tried to read-up on them and picked the db7020s, gets better reliablility reviews..... in case you might consider another model ?

having said that.... theyre all just a heap of chips ???? only as strong as the weakest item. so tis pot-luck, me thinks?

hda5
18-12-2006, 12:28 PM
Saying that, Rather than mess around sending to Germany etc etc, You can pick one up on that well known auction site for as little at 115GBP now.

Just a word of warning...

The DM500 receivers being offered cheap on e*** are clones mate.
The HK manufacturer of these clones offers no warranty on these boxes what so ever. So if the box goes down your dealer won't be able to have it replaced or repaired so don't expect any customer service at those prices.

The clones are hard to spot without looking at the main board
See here for more details _http://www.dream-multimedia-tv.de/images/DM%20500%20original_copy%20150dpi %20A4.jpg

Dreamlife
02-01-2007, 08:50 PM
Just a word of warning...

The DM500 receivers being offered cheap on e*** are clones mate.
The HK manufacturer of these clones offers no warranty on these boxes what so ever. So if the box goes down your dealer won't be able to have it replaced or repaired so don't expect any customer service at those prices.

The clones are hard to spot without looking at the main board
See here for more details _http://www.dream-multimedia-tv.de/images/DM%20500%20original_copy%20150dpi %20A4.jpg

It's a pitty I never read this earlier. It clearly states on the auction that the boxes come with a 1 year warrentry. What can they do now? :confused:

dajam
02-01-2007, 09:33 PM
Check on the box for a hologram, check the underside of the reciever for another hologram, the tuner can be seen through the grid slots on top, if it has a cut out at the end (just visible) you can be sure it's the real thing, you could take the top off, but if it's genuine you will invalidate the warranty!
Also the new db500s come with a grey topped remote, I got mine off fleabay for £100 + postage, only after checking the pics with the dreambox website.

hda5
03-01-2007, 12:54 AM
It clearly states on the auction that the boxes come with a 1 year warrentry. What can they do now? :confused:

M8 if you got it off e*** the dude you bought it from probably won't be around in 1 month let alone 1 year then again maybe he will thats the risk you take buying on e***.

By the way the fakes now all come with all the right holograms :rolleyes:
If your paying £100 or under for a brand new DM500 I'd be inclined to say it's a fake sorry. It's just not possible to sell at £100 on e*** taking into account the e*** listing and final selling price fees & paypal fees and VAT and still turn a profit, In fact it's impossible.

I've just had a look on e*** and out of all the 500S receivers listed about 3 are genuine the rest are all HK clones.

Peckish
03-01-2007, 01:01 PM
Hello everyone.

@hda5

You cannot judge that any receiver is fake or not solely on the purchase price you have paid for it. I have seen 'official' DM500s receivers for sale in Germany for 146 Euro and if you convert that to UK pounds you will find that there is not much difference. The shop that was selling it for that price was still making a profit so why could the sellers on *Bay not do the same?

Just over 1 year ago I purchased a second DM7020 from Germany and that was £50 cheaper than the price I could get it for in the UK and that receiver was not a fake either. Out of curiosity, I too purchased one of the '£99' DM500s receivers from *Bay and compared it to my friends official one that he had recently purchased at a well established retailer in the UK for a price of £160 and guess what? ; it turned out to be identical in every respect except that the one that I purchased from *Bay had a 2 pin 'euro' plug instead of the 3 pin UK type.

I would tend to agree with you however that not everything listed on that site is the genuine article and buyers should be wary when they see prices that are a lot lower than expected.

Regards to all.

Peckish.

Dreamlife
03-01-2007, 02:00 PM
Just to update on this, the box was delivered today and appears to be ok. On the green outta box it has the holagram and ID, MAC codes, then there is a holagram under the dreambox itself with ID's. As far as looks are concerned it's hard to tell. I looked at the picture hda5 put up and the right side of the box is open as on the original picture. Also iv'e had a look with a torch inside the top vents and there don't appear to be any orange/yellow chip on the top left hand side. One thing I noticed tho with the instruction manual is that it shows the black original remote and not the silver one I had with it. _http://www.dream-multimedia-tv.de/en...0_copy_eng.php

It does look original but i'm no expert and without taking the lid off and comparng everything it's hard to tell. Iv'e just this very mintute plugged it in and it's booted up ok, so time will tell I guess. I'l keep you updated.

simonuk
03-01-2007, 04:49 PM
I've just bought one of fle**** item number xxxxxxxxxxxx

Wonder if I've bee had??

Dreamlife
03-01-2007, 04:54 PM
I've just bought one of fle**** item number xxxxxxxxxxxx

Wonder if I've bee had??

Same person I bought mine off m8, so it would be interesting to see what you make of it.

simonuk
03-01-2007, 04:59 PM
Same person I bought mine off m8, so it would be interesting to see what you make of it.

How long was delivery? I bought mine this morn. I feel a possible paypal claim coming on

Dreamlife
03-01-2007, 05:41 PM
How long was delivery? I bought mine this morn. I feel a possible paypal claim coming on

Ordered yesterday, delivered 10am this morning m8.

Also it seems strange as there seems to be a pre-installed image on mine. When you go into Info it states this,

Dream-Multimedia-tv
DM500
Processor: STBx25xx 252MHz
Frontend: Satellite

Software version:
1.0.9 25.03.2006

Then it has a logo on the bottom right which reads, Powered by Plinux.

Then when you press the Radio button there is a brown picture with some bloke and a hammer hitting a dreambox. Also the info banner stays onscreen. The background image is from _www.dream-zone.info.

It could be that they have patched it before selling it but I never asked them to.

Any ideas what the best thing is to do?

hda5
03-01-2007, 05:42 PM
Guys read the forum rules posting e*** item numbers here is against the rules. It comes under the no advertising rule.

The clones now come with silver remotes and are hard to spot the difference. The price gives it away as it's not possible to sell a genuine DM500 for £99.99

try this... look at the hologram on the cardboard box and move the box about under a light and look inside the window in the w izard's hand and it should display "Dream on Valid" inside the hologram.

You get what you pay for in this life, if you want to deal with monkeys pay peanuts ;)
If you want an official product which is 100% genuine then expect to pay £149.

Dreamlife
03-01-2007, 06:15 PM
Guys read the forum rules posting e*** item numbers here is against the rules. It comes under the no advertising rule.

The clones now come with silver remotes and are hard to spot the difference. The price gives it away as it's not possible to sell a genuine DM500 for £99.99

try this... look at the hologram on the cardboard box and move the box about under a light and look inside the window in the w izard's hand and it should display "Dream on Valid" inside the hologram.

You get what you pay for in this life, if you want to deal with monkeys pay peanuts ;)
If you want an official product which is 100% genuine then expect to pay £149.

All I can see are the words "Dream on", can't see the word "Valid" on it.

hda5
03-01-2007, 06:22 PM
Dreamlife I'm sorry to say you have bought a clone m8.

Dreamlife
03-01-2007, 06:31 PM
Dreamlife I'm sorry to say you have bought a clone m8.

Any ideas on what I can do please ?

Also without sounding dumb here but there has to be about 20-30 different people that have bought these boxes and not one has left negitive feedback. So I take it that these people either know they are buying fakes or they are not checking? Maybe it's me, i dunno.

simonuk
03-01-2007, 07:23 PM
Any ideas on what I can do please ?

Also without sounding dumb here but there has to be about 20-30 different people that have bought these boxes and not one has left negitive feedback. So I take it that these people either know they are buying fakes or they are not checking? Maybe it's me, i dunno.

File a paypal claim now. I am gonna do the same. If u havent left a neg do it now. He's left me positive feedback but think i'll neg him

xanadu
03-01-2007, 07:34 PM
The only place to buy a genuine Dreambox is from an authorised/trusted dealer such as Goldwafers.

If it's too cheap then it has to be fake, and a DM500 for £99 on an auction site, you can guarantee it will be fake, and will probably not last a year as hda5 has already said.

echelon
03-01-2007, 07:56 PM
The only place to buy a genuine Dreambox is from an authorised/trusted dealer such as Goldwafers.

If it's too cheap then it has to be fake, and a DM500 for £99 on an auction site, you can guarantee it will be fake, and will probably not last a year as hda5 has already said.


have to agree here ppl

whilst I feel sorry for anyone scammed by any dealer or by sellers on fleabay , I am also appalled that so many ppl disrespect this site funded by a retailer who sells the official dm500 by openly discussing fleabay and other retailers and cloned boxes , and even copying and pasting item numbers from there etc

this site is not here for that purpose , and to those who have bypassed the sponsor of this site and gone elsewhere , then all I can say is take it up with the relevant ppl , which isnt this forum and isnt our sponsors either

and anyone expecting dream.de to sort out issues with a cloned box made in the far east is living in cloud cuckoo land

so for those with a paypal account etc , take it up with them using the reason as a cloned receiver ie:- a fake !!!!!!!!!!!

ps:- I will leave this thread here for now as it contains valuable information regarding cloned boxes , scammers on fleabay etc

let this be a warning to those ppl who buy cheap , and then find they have bought a fake , happens to anyone travelling to turkey , egypt and many other places , never mind your local car boot , this site and its previous names have always asked ppl to support the sponsors , especially when wanting reliability and warranties etc

hda5
03-01-2007, 08:33 PM
Any ideas on what I can do please ?

Also without sounding dumb here but there has to be about 20-30 different people that have bought these boxes and not one has left negitive feedback. So I take it that these people either know they are buying fakes or they are not checking? Maybe it's me, i dunno.

Those customers WILL leave positive feedback m8 - they received what they ordered but not being fully clued up on whats going on in the market don't realise they've just bought a cloned box as indeed you didn't until you read this thread. So there will be lots of possitives from dudes who arn't clued up on what they've actually bought.

Another thing to think about too which is a bit scary is the MAC address on the clone boxes.

Now on the early clones all the boxes had the same MAC address which ended with 1f:A7:8B

This makes it easy for killer software to be released that checks the MAC address matches that of the clone and kills the box. You all remember what happened with Magic Modules & Titanium 1 ;) This could be done to these boxes if they all use the same MAC address :eek:

The newer HK clones may have individual MAC addresses now but the earlier ones didn't. Ignore the MAC address printed on the side of the box as this could also be fake. To see what the true MAC address of your box is use DCC (Dreambox Control Center) and telnet to your Dreambox and type

ifconfig

Look at what is displayed in HWAddr and see if the last three digits match the one above. Like I said this may have been fixed in the newer clones so don't think if you have individual MACs you don't have a clone. This is just something extra to test.

Those of you who think you have a clone do the ifconfig test and post the last two digits in this thread for comparison.

The Hollogram Test

The clone holograms don't show "Dream on Valid" when you move the box.

When you look at an official hologram on the cardboard box straight on you will see nothing in the window the w izard is holding. When you tilt the box under the light the words "Dream on" then "Valid" will animate in the hologram.

If the hologram is static - just displays "Dream on" in the window then it's a fake hologram.

Attached is a DCC screen capture so you can see where to look for the HWaddr.

Dreamlife
03-01-2007, 09:24 PM
Thanks hda5 for re-opening the thread and helping us all out, i'm really greatfull. I'l post my MAC address within the next few hours in this post, i just need to sort out my router.

cueboy
03-01-2007, 09:33 PM
my mac is 1f:12:38

hda5
03-01-2007, 10:54 PM
The easiest way to test if it's a clone is the cardboard box hologram test...

The clone holograms don't show "Dream on Valid" when you move the box.

When you look at an official hologram straight on you will see nothing in the window the w izard is holding. When you tilt the box under the light the words "Dream on" then "Valid" will animate in the window.

If the hologram is static - just displays "Dream on" in the window then it's a fake hologram.

As I said in the earlier thread the newer clones could come with individual MAC address so don't put to much faith in the MACS it's the hologram and the price you paid that seals it.

If you paid around £99 for a brand new box it's either been nicked or a clone. It's impossible to retail a genuine DM500 at that price. Like I said do the hologram test and that way you'll know what you've bought for certain.

Always buy from a trusted source such as Goldwafers in order to guarantee the genuine article.

Dreamlife
03-01-2007, 11:11 PM
My hologram states,

Dream on
Dream on
Dream on

All in capitals letters. I'm gonna e-mail the seller now and give them 24 hours to refund me the price of 99.99. Then I will send them the box back. If they fail to refund me then i'l file a ****/paypal complaint and basically complain til I can't complain no more. Thanks hda5 and everyone else for your input.

hda5
03-01-2007, 11:16 PM
Happy to help m8 thats what we're all here for ;)

xanadu
03-01-2007, 11:39 PM
If I remember rightly PayPal and credit card companies only refund if the purchase price was over £100.
For this reason you may struggle to get a refund, and this maybe the reason the price was deliberately set below £100.

I have never had any luck getting refunds from Paypal but that is another issue. :rolleyes:

Dreamlife
03-01-2007, 11:42 PM
hda5

Could you please tell me where you got the information about the holograms from m8? Have you read it from somewhere, it's just so when I complain iv'e got some kind on source to go with.

Thanks m8.

gov400
03-01-2007, 11:46 PM
to get a refund mate it will take alot of work

u will need to send the item by recorded delivery
fax the posting do***ents to paypal HQ
Wait about 4 weeks
and u will get it

btw dreamlife can u name and shame the guy here cos i jus ordered a 500s 2 months back from fleabay for 125 quid

hda5
04-01-2007, 02:24 AM
hda5

Could you please tell me where you got the information about the holograms from m8? Have you read it from somewhere, it's just so when I complain iv'e got some kind on source to go with.

Thanks m8.

I have a genuine 500S m8 and thats what the hologram is like.
Anyone who owns an official DM500S will tell you the same.

If the person who supplied you is unwilling to refund you then quote the following text from the Dream website and highlight the bit about the 10,000 euro reward:

An older release of the DM 500 mainboard from 2004 has been copied and this illegal DM500 version is not CE certified and hence, has no approval.
“Dreambox, Dream Multimedia”, and the Dream logo are registered trade marks and may be used solely by Dream-Multimedia on genuine products.
We explicitly state that we will take legal action against the manufacturers, distributors, and providers of the Dreambox-copies. For successful prosecution and conviction of this illegal trade rings we offer a reward of €10,000 for each individual case.
In case you have any information about manufacturers, distributors, and providers of the Dreambox-copies please contact our head office in Luenen/Germany immediately at tel. +49 (0) 231 900387-0 or by e-mail. Upon request your statements will be treated confidential.
We do not issue a guarantee nor shall be liable for any damages of or caused by the faked boxes and/or arise from our original software to these items.

hda5
04-01-2007, 02:54 AM
If you have a laser pen you can also find some hidden things inside the genuine hologram like the Duck.

Dreamlife
04-01-2007, 03:05 AM
Thanks hda5, iv'e sent them the e-mail now so i'l see how it pans out. Iv'e given them 24 hours to refund me or i'm gonna start complaining.

hda5
04-01-2007, 03:25 AM
You'll have to return the item back to the supplier before they'll issue a refund m8. Suppliers don't issue refunds until the goods are returned.

You'll need to return it with proof of posting i.e. special delivery. The supplier is under no obligation to refund you whilst you still posses the goods.

simonuk
04-01-2007, 09:29 AM
Well apart from them being fake, what else is wrong with these boxes? Do they die easily or what?

Dreamlife
04-01-2007, 09:42 AM
Well apart from them being fake, what else is wrong with these boxes? Do they die easily or what?

They could last a few weeks and then have faults or you might be lucky and have no problems for a long time. The thing is once they do have faults or they die, the only thing their good for is the dustbin. Plus iv'e hears dream-multimedia are switching off the cloned boxes they know about.

simonuk
04-01-2007, 10:11 AM
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o268/dj9928/fake.jpg

Inside an apparant fake unit, what do you's think?

simonuk
04-01-2007, 12:53 PM
I phoned Dreammultimedia, I'm not sure if the language barrier was the problem but the guy didn't know anything about the dream valid thingy in the hollogram. He said the only way to test is using the lazer pen.

hda5
04-01-2007, 01:14 PM
Simon can you get a shot of the actual main circuit board in detailed hi-res m8? your picture doesn't show enough detail of the main board.

The cloners are constantly upgrading the boards so as new info is released on the net as to what to look for to spot a clone the HK company make changes to the boards to look more like the genuine article. So as each new batch is produced they become harder to spot.

As far as I know they haven't sucessfully cloned the hologram yet so this is the easiest way to spot a clone at the moment by seeing if the hologram animates "dream on" and "valid" when you tilt the box.

I've asked a mate to try and record video footage of the hologram animation on his camera phone so you can see how a genuine hologram is supposed to animate the words "Dream on" and "Valid" as you tilt the box. If this can be sucessfully shot on a camera phone the footage will be uploaded later on.

simonuk
04-01-2007, 01:20 PM
Simon can you get a shot of the actual main circuit board in detailed hi-res m8? your picture doesn't show enough detail of the main board.

The cloners are constantly upgrading the boards so as new info is released on the net as to what to look for to spot a clone the HK company make changes to the boards to look more like the genuine article. So as each new batch is produced they become harder to spot.

As far as I know they haven't sucessfully cloned the hologram yet so this is the easiest way to spot a clone at the moment by seeing if the hologram animates "dream on" and "valid" when you tilt the box.

I've asked a mate to try and record video footage of the hologram animation on his camera phone so you can see how a genuine hologram is supposed to animate the words "Dream on" and "Valid" as you tilt the box. If this can be sucessfully shot on a camera phone the footage will be uploaded later on.

No I cant, that pic was of one of the sellers listings, Dreamlife has done the lazer test and so far so good

Dreamlife
04-01-2007, 01:49 PM
hda5

If they can't clone the Dream on Valid then surely the duck thing on the wall would be harder to clone? I can just about see the duck with my pen, but need a 2nd person to do it as my hands shake badly.

Done the MAC tests now to, on the dreambox packaging it ends 83 OB, on the dreambox it ends 83 9A, and the HWadder ends 61 5F. So all in all I got 3 different MAC codes.

steve
04-01-2007, 07:54 PM
**** and bring it to thier attention, put them onto dreams website....

Steve

Peckish
04-01-2007, 08:05 PM
Hello everybody.

Please find attached an internal picture of the £99 units that are for sale on *Bay.

Regards to all,

Peckish.

hda5
04-01-2007, 08:36 PM
Thanks Peckish, that board is a clone m8 as you can see the ethernet chrome casing has no engraving and just below the ethernet chrome casing it shows DN500S - it should show DM500S also with a careful eye you can see the printing on the circuit board bottom right "GN3617 94V-0" is slightly different from the original board. On the original board a slash goes through the "0". On the clone no slash through the "0" Also the "V" is more prominent on the original board.

hda5
04-01-2007, 09:19 PM
Heres a very crude blow up of the hologram JPEG from the Dream website.
You can just make out the word VALID in the window when the image is blown up by 500%. I’ve crudely drawn over it in RED to emphasise it in the bottom picture. Now go back and look at the original and you can see the word VALID in the hologram.

Owners of the genuine DM500 can see the words DREAM ON and VALID animate on the cardboard box hologram when tilting the box.

There isn’t much more I can add to this discussion. I’ve pointed out everything you need to know to confirm whether a box is original or not so what you do next is up to you.

fuji
04-01-2007, 10:50 PM
Well mine is genuine and its still pants. I got it back today finally after nearly 2 months and guess what it don't f**kin work. I'm well miffed. I connected it up plugged it in and during boot up the Green LED started flashing both on the DB & on the transformer. Not sure what the problem is but it won't work. I've connected up to pc to try and erase image. It pings ok but after about 30 seconds the same thing happens and it won't work.The dealer is sending out a new transformer, just hope that's the problem. If not it looks like I'll have to wait again.

hda5
04-01-2007, 11:40 PM
fuji your problem sounds like a transformer problem. The box you returned was most likely working all along.

Totally plucked
04-01-2007, 11:46 PM
From day one I had problems with my DM500, it just wouldnt work. Posted on Dudez at the time but just drew a blank! Fortunately I had purchased the box from the board sponsors and got a quick exchange direct from their distributer. Unfortunately they just sent me a new box, and guess what, the problem was the same but funnilly enough they said my original box was working perfectly! Anyway to cut a long story short I decided to try another PSU, found one lying around the house 12V but only 1 amp and surprise surprise it worked. I should have got back to them and asked for a replacement PSU but to be honest I couldnt be bothered and just got a 12v 3 amp PSU of e**y. Plenty of juice and no problems since. In hindsight I should have thought about the power sooner, as if the dreambox is just a mini PC then it would follow that all the problems I have every had with my PC have been power related (or lack of). Fuji, I hope the new PSU sorts it for you.

simonuk
05-01-2007, 01:14 PM
Heres a very crude blow up of the hologram JPEG from the Dream website.
You can just make out the word VALID in the window when the image is blown up by 500%. I’ve crudely drawn over it in RED to emphasise it in the bottom picture. Now go back and look at the original and you can see the word VALID in the hologram.

Owners of the genuine DM500 can see the words DREAM ON and VALID animate on the cardboard box hologram when tilting the box.

There isn’t much more I can add to this discussion. I’ve pointed out everything you need to know to confirm whether a box is original or not so what you do next is up to you.

I have phoned Dream Multimedia today again about this hologram issue, They have 2 hologrames, Infact the guy on the phoned checked his, I didn't tell him what mine said but I asked him what his said and guess what he said? "Dream On" Mine also says dream on.

So theres to solutions here, either A/ The £99 boxes on **** are genuine or B/ The scammers have mastered the hollogram.

Fell free to contact Dream regarding this hollgramme issue

simonuk
05-01-2007, 01:55 PM
I have just opened my £99 Dreambox and its the same as the above fake. So the only way to tell a fake is by opening the box as the scammers have sucessfully duplicated the hologram

dajam
05-01-2007, 06:26 PM
Hi m8, this is my result from ifconfig.

20:63:30

What do you think

xanadu
05-01-2007, 06:53 PM
Here are some more fake/original pics from DMM.

simonuk
05-01-2007, 08:17 PM
Here are some more fake/original pics from DMM.

I'm affraid the remote has also been well cloned now, my buttons do not stick out. The only way to tell is if you open the box, but most people wont as it wrecks warranty

fuji
05-01-2007, 11:21 PM
From day one I had problems with my DM500, it just wouldnt work. Posted on Dudez at the time but just drew a blank! Fortunately I had purchased the box from the board sponsors and got a quick exchange direct from their distributer. Unfortunately they just sent me a new box, and guess what, the problem was the same but funnilly enough they said my original box was working perfectly! Anyway to cut a long story short I decided to try another PSU, found one lying around the house 12V but only 1 amp and surprise surprise it worked. I should have got back to them and asked for a replacement PSU but to be honest I couldnt be bothered and just got a 12v 3 amp PSU of e**y. Plenty of juice and no problems since. In hindsight I should have thought about the power sooner, as if the dreambox is just a mini PC then it would follow that all the problems I have every had with my PC have been power related (or lack of). Fuji, I hope the new PSU sorts it for you.


Its defiantly the transformer I used my 15v transformer from my belkin router and it works fine. Problem now I need router to go online so I'm snookered until I get a new one. Will it cause a problem using 15v instead of 12v?

xanadu
05-01-2007, 11:30 PM
Will it cause a problem using 15v instead of 12v?

I don't think 15v instead of 12V will do any harm as the main board should be fitted with voltage regulators and overvoltage protection.

Peckish
05-01-2007, 11:51 PM
Hello everyone.

@simonuk

It is obvious, now that you have opened the receiver, that you intend to keep it so have you tried any of the alternative images for it? All of the ones that I have tried work as they should so other than the fact you may be disappointed because it is a clone it should work as normal. You must have noticed by now that the circuit board in the receiver is NOT of poor quality and is quite well made and it uses the same components as the original.
Personally, I am not bothered if the one that I have is a clone or not. I am more interested in it actually working, and who knows, it may even last as long as an original.

My job takes me all over the world and I am forever carrying a DM7020 or a DBOX2 with me so this smaller receiver should be ideal for the purpose. Just as a test to find out how reliable/troublesom it might be, I installed it in an enclosed box and elevated the internal temperature to 40C by the means of a heat gun and maintained this temperature for a full 24 hours. For a further 24 hours I kept it in the same box and left it outside on the window ledge where the temperature fell to -3 deg overnight and the receiver still worked correctly. During both tests the receiver was hooked up and working. OK, I know these tests are a bit extreme but I was interested to see how robust these 'clones' are and so far everything seems ok, but only time will tell I suppose.

Regards to all,

Peckish.

simonuk
06-01-2007, 10:14 AM
Hello everyone.

@simonuk

It is obvious, now that you have opened the receiver, that you intend to keep it so have you tried any of the alternative images for it? All of the ones that I have tried work as they should so other than the fact you may be disappointed because it is a clone it should work as normal. You must have noticed by now that the circuit board in the receiver is NOT of poor quality and is quite well made and it uses the same components as the original.
Personally, I am not bothered if the one that I have is a clone or not. I am more interested in it actually working, and who knows, it may even last as long as an original.

My job takes me all over the world and I am forever carrying a DM7020 or a DBOX2 with me so this smaller receiver should be ideal for the purpose. Just as a test to find out how reliable/troublesom it might be, I installed it in an enclosed box and elevated the internal temperature to 40C by the means of a heat gun and maintained this temperature for a full 24 hours. For a further 24 hours I kept it in the same box and left it outside on the window ledge where the temperature fell to -3 deg overnight and the receiver still worked correctly. During both tests the receiver was hooked up and working. OK, I know these tests are a bit extreme but I was interested to see how robust these 'clones' are and so far everything seems ok, but only time will tell I suppose.

Regards to all,

Peckish.


I'll be honest, It is very very good quality, I've not hit any major problems, well theres the annoyance with the motor (Technomate sg2100a) but then alot of original DM500's have the same probs. I have gemini on it and no probs, and my sly uk card works fine in it.

bkejji
07-01-2007, 11:03 AM
Hi all

I read this thread to end and i take very valuable informations. so thanx for that

I have one question : since i'm from morocco and i can buy a dreambox d500 ( genuine or not? i don't know ) but is it sufficient for tests any image i found? will it be supported or no?

is there any solution to extend it's memory?

is the card reader able to accepet original csat french card?

is there a method to plug a usb stick on it?

Thanx a lot for the answers.

bkejji

gov400
07-01-2007, 01:51 PM
1. Depends on the sat dealer. U will come accross alot of fakes as dealers try to sell it cheaper to get more customers

2. Usb Pen Drive is fine or u can use a pc server

3. Depends on what emu u use but newcs mgcamd newcamd will read it fine and update

4. See number 2.

Totally plucked
07-01-2007, 03:01 PM
Sorry gov400 your wrong about the pen drive. The DM500 has no usb slot so the pen drive is not an option.

gov400
07-01-2007, 04:52 PM
ok sorry mate i thought it was like my 7020s only smaller.

Totally plucked
07-01-2007, 05:47 PM
Hey no problem to me. I was just pointing out the error. For what its worth Im very happy with my DM500 now it works but I dont think it can be compared with a 7020, not that I have one myself! That said I got the 500 to replace my faulty Technomate and for that it is/was a good choice.

Dreamlife
07-01-2007, 09:54 PM
I'm gonna keep mine now, it's working great so far. :) I got Gemini 3.30 maxvar on it.

dajam
07-01-2007, 10:28 PM
I'm gonna keep mine now, it's working great so far. :) I got Gemini 3.30 maxvar on it.

Same here m8, and using ccam at the mo, opening plenty now, I'm finding me way around the files as well, if it goes **** up it will be to my cost, no one else to blame, we all get our fingers burnt at least once in our lives:rolleyes:

Did not mean to direspect our sponsors in any way, money is tight sometimes and rose tinted specs don't help.

pipino
04-04-2007, 01:23 AM
ok,regarding the issue of the flashing green light and so on ,i found the real problem as our friend fuji said is the power supply,i did an investigation about the subject and i found all capacitors inside the PSU completly fooked up and that for original and clone boxes ,so after a year or so if you had your box 24hours on i´m sure you will need to remplace the chinees capacitors ,1 extremly strange thing i did find , after tests with both machines original and clone unit with diseq 1.2 motor i had lots of problems with the original but the clone was perfect no even once the motor stoped working ,there is something very fishy about clone dreambox 500 ,i also heard dreamultimedia them selfs created the pararell market ,so they make sure they can sell in both side since the original was very pricy unit ,so the clone or the 2nd class unit could be sold for cheaper ..some kind of monopoly all the way ..in few days or week, we will see the new DM 600 PVR with i very nice new front design ,also the DM 8000 HD as its expected in may as i heard..lets wait and see..best and kind regards

johnb582
19-12-2007, 07:55 PM
Hi:)
The people worried about paying for or bidding for a dm500 and getting a clone, why not do as I did and buy or bid for an Envision or Eagle (well under £100) they do S and C Versions. I was so impressed with my Sat version I went and brought a C version, Both running Gem4.1, all dm files compattable.
jbvid:)

bobi
19-12-2007, 09:35 PM
Hi:)
The people worried about paying for or bidding for a dm500 and getting a clone, why not do as I did and buy or bid for an Envision or Eagle

Well, both thos boxes you mention are FAKE with big lethers :D
there are even more clones to look out for .

why will anyone wanna buy a clone ??? you will save 50 euro
but you do know that the clone may not work from day 1

cheers

bobi

johnb582
19-12-2007, 09:56 PM
Well, both thos boxes you mention are FAKE with big lethers :D
there are even more clones to look out for .

why will anyone wanna buy a clone ??? you will save 50 euro
but you do know that the clone may not work from day 1

cheers

bobi

Hi bobi
Yes I know they are fake but I only paid fake money so I don't care, I'm chuffed.:)
There are also reputable sellers out there selling Envision & Eagle, but its up to you, its only MY opinion, but from what some forum members have said on this thread some originals DM's are poor and some fake.
jbvid:)

bobi
19-12-2007, 11:13 PM
I know mate , there are some shops that are very well know that are selling this boxes
and they ofer even warranty.

but a China Mercedes is not the same as an German one is it ???

cheers

bobi

johnb582
20-12-2007, 12:38 PM
I know mate , there are some shops that are very well know that are selling this boxes
and they ofer even warranty.

but a China Mercedes is not the same as an German one is it ???

cheers

bobi
No its not, but like I say I can't complain about the price and reliability of my Chinese or from wherever box at the moment as its working fine but I may have second thoughts should I have problems in the near future.
jbvid

Detlef
23-12-2008, 02:05 AM
I don't think 15v instead of 12V will do any harm as the main board should be fitted with voltage regulators and overvoltage protection.

I hate to disagree with you xanadu m8 but 15Vdc is well above the design spec of 13.8V (DC12V +/- 15%). That means that the regulator will be working a bit too hard and dissipating about 3W. Whilst it may work, I would advise getting a 12V supply before too long.

I looked into this when I decided to run my 600 (almost identical power requirement to the 500) directly off the battery in my camper. Fortunately a 12v battery on charge shouldn't exceed 13.8V.

flutered
03-04-2014, 07:27 PM
i have a dreambox 500 for the last four years, i got it from a fourm sponser, this i did not know at the time, perhaps he was not back then, at the price it had to be a clone, i took it to a techie who added the cline, it had been fitted with an image when recieved much to the tech guys amazement, it has never given trouble, then it is on from 9am-6pm monday to friday, rarely on weekends, i bought a 500 online for a fiver, it arived yesterday i plugged it in, it seems to have a cable tuner, so i am looking for a tuner to fit it, my thinking was/is to use it to learn how to add an image and a line, so if any one has an old tuner for sale let me know, the prices on line vary quite a lot, also some guy is flogging a manual on evil cove for a fiver, put a trawl through yahoo sould get it for free.

Aldo
03-04-2014, 08:17 PM
Please read the Rules regarding Sales between members of the forum:


1) NO PRIVATE ADVERTS = this means no sales adverts of any kind , and also means no WANTED adverts of any kind , especially when referring to sat gear (including programming boxes or setting them up for pay tv channels (subscription channels), sat motors , sat receivers , games console`s etc (respect our forum sponsor)
no part exchanges of any sort allowed either !!!