Vu+ Duo Evaluation Questions

[DanBeachbum]

Hello,

I am in the market for my first satellite receiver. I am only considering generic FTA HD PVR twin tuners. I am currently doing a detailed "paper" evaluation of the Vu+ Duo, after having considered the Azbox Premium HD and Technomate 7100. I have downloaded and read the Vu+ Duo User Manual, some reviews and many forum posts, but still have a load of questions!

My objective is to try and get the Vu+ Duo to meet the requirements I have by using the native (original) firmware image + any plugins that are available for download through the Duo’s Plugin menu. I am trying to avoid the fun (pain?) of trying different images, plugins, patches etc that will no doubt consume hours of my free time. I am not a Linux expert (yet!), but have had some experience of Unix machines in the dim and distant past.

So, please can any Vu+ Duo experts out there tell me whether the Duo meets the following requirements “out of the box”, with the native image and the plugins available for download via the Duo’s Plug-in Menu (I will update to the latest versions). If any of the requirements are not met by the original image, but are supported by a third party image or other plug-in, please mention the
relevant image/plug-in.

Here are my requirements/questions. It looks like a lot, but most of them only require a simple answer, many just YES or NO, so don't be put off! Even if you only know the answer to one of them please reply with the question number as a reference. Thanks in advance!

Satellite Receiver

1. Does it work globally (particularly in Europe, Asia & US) with any satellite broadcasting in DVB-S/DVB-S2, mpeg-2/mpeg-4 in the C and Ku bands?

2. What about Ka band support?

3. Does it or will it support 4.2.2 feeds?

Satellite Control

4. Can new satellites be added manually?

5. Can you add/delete/edit new transponder info manually?

6. Dish/LNB Control: Is USALS supported? I have only seen references to DiSEqC in the spec.

7. As far as satellite control and sensitivity goes, which is more flexible: The Vu+ Duo or the Technomate 7100?

Channel Database Control

8. Can you Add/delete/Edit new channel info via the receiver’s menu system?

9. How are updated channel lists added to the Duo? From where do I get them?

10. Is blind scanning supported now?

11. Is blind scan very different from “Auto Scan” that the Duo supports?

12. Are PIDs supported?

13. How are bouquets (I am assuming that a bouquet refers to a particular band/polarity grouping) used within the Duo?

AV Quality and Control

14. How good is the SD upscaling - Is there any “softness”?

15. Can the user control upscaling of SD content – original (no upscaling), 576, 720 and 1080?

16. Is there Zoom control?

Ease of Use

17. Is the machine generally fast? Any particularly slow areas?

18. Can multiple favourite screens be set up?

PVR

19. I am in a flat that has 2 satellite points (single dish). Will I able to record at least 1 channel while watching another channel that is not in the same band/polarity group (or record 2 independent channels) with the Duo?

20. Can I record 2 programs while watching a previous recording?

21. Are Bookmarks available within recordings?

22. Can I edit recordings (trim ends, remove ads etc)?

23. Can I do Timed “Series” recording?

24. Assuming 3 tuners (USB DVB-T + 2 x DVB-S2), what is the maximum number of SD channels that can be simultaneously recorded without seeing dropped frames in the playback? …. And the same question for for HD channels?

25. Is there a file size limitation on recordings?

EPG

26. The User Manual appears to only show “Now & Next” in the multi-EPG screen. Is there an extended EPG available (for channels that provide this info) showing programs beyond “Now & Next”, out of the box? (e.g. full 7 day “Freesat-like” EPG)?

27. Can I record a specific programme my selecting it from the EPG, even if it is an extended EPG?

28. Can third party EPGs (e.g Rytec) be loaded under the original image? Can you do a timed recording from this type of EPG?

29. Briefly, what is the process for loading and maintaining a third party EPG?

30. Are extended EPGs available for European, North American and Asian countries?

31. Are extended EPGs available from within the WEBIF plug-in?

Media Player

32. Can the Media player access the eSata drive and all USB drives? The manual only mentions the HDD + USB.

33. Can the Media Player access content from a NAS via an ethernet LAN? If so using which file transfer protocol (Samba etc.)?

34. Which video formats can it handle (Xvid, MP4, WMV etc)?

35. Which Audio formats can it handle (MP3, WMA, FLAC, AAC etc)?

36. A Techradar review says that the Duo can’t handle images and that it needs an image viewer plug-in, yet the manual suggests that the Media Player can handle JPEGs. Which is correct?

Connectivity

37. Is media streaming from a uPnP server (NAS, in my case) supported? Has the Duo got a uPnP client that can stream photos, videos and music from the server and does it support Albums, Artists, Playlists, Album Art etc.?

38. Can I record directly to my NAS (on the ethernet) and stream recordings from my NAS to the DUO with no dropped frames?

39. If not, can I at least copy recordings to/from my NAS or PC?

40. With regard to the USB Wi-Fi sticks, will they work with the original image and is Wi-Fi b/g/n supported?

41. Does streaming via Wi-Fi to the Duo work well – no dropped frames, no glitches in music playback etc.?

Plugins

42. Does the youtube plug-in work with the original image?

43. With the original image, can I use plug-ins that are not available from the Plug-ins Menu? Briefly, what is the general process for installing these?

44. Where can I get a list (with brief descriptions) of the 70+ “official” plugins that appear in the Plug-ins Menu? Apparently these are available from a vu+ site, but googling only showed up various forums with threads on just a few plug-ins.

Misc.

45. What File system is used by the Duo?

46. Can the “noisy” fan be switched off in standby mode now?

47. Can SD, MMC and CF cards be read via a USB card reader without additional drivers etc.?

48. None of the technical data sheets or specs on the Vu+ site mention the internal SATA HDD slot/interface – there is one, right?

49. Can recording be made from deep standby mode now?

50. Has PIP been “soft” implemented?

51. Is IPTV supported?

52. Can web sites be accessed via the Duo (on to the TV)?

53. Do I have to use basic Linux commands via a Telnet interface to the Duo to be able to get the most out of this box?

54. I have heard that the Azbox machines have hardware/software/support issues when compared to the Vu+ machines. Is this correct and is the VU+ Duo a better box than the Azbox Premium HD+?

That's it! I know it is a long list of questions, but any responses will be gratefully received.

 

[pooface]

1, Should do, many people in NZ, Egypt, and US use this box, so think it would be pretty international.

2. I think so, but don't take me as gospel.

3. Doubt it. If it's same as a dreambox, you can get a 4:2:2 stream, but can only watch it streamed to a pc. WOuld be interested to know if anyone has managed to get the duo to display a 4:2:2 stream though!

4. Yes, edit the satellites.xml

5. Yes, edit the satellites.xml

6. Yes, USALs works just fine with the box (as long as motor is supporting it)

7. ??? - No idea

8. Yes, you can do a scan of transponders/satellites, and then create your own "bouquet" to show just the channels you want in it. So, you can create a sky italia, nova, bis, etc bouquet which will only show their channels (in the order you want them in) from the 13e satellite. You can create bouquets for any satellite, and just choose the correct bouquet you want to watch, then choose the channel. It's done by going to the bouquets list, using remote, adding a bouquet. Then, go to satellite list, add all the channels from the satellite you want for the bouquet you want. Then, you can go to the bouquet view again, and open the bouquet you want, and the move the order. It's much easier though, to arrange it all using dreamboxedit or a similar programme on your pc...

9. If you're using an pre-made channel list, these are updated by users as and when they have time. You will download the channel list from forums like this, and then unzip it on to the pc, open with dreamboxedit, and upload it to the box. Some other images allow you to download the channel lists directly from their update servers by pressing some buttons on the remote

10. Don't think so...

11. As far as I know, blind scan will just scan the satellite. You can set the duo to do a scan using the transponders in the satellite.xml (either auto scan, which will scan all satellites, or manual scan to scan for a single satellite, or even a single transponder on a single satellite). Most usual people won't bother with blind scan, as they will look for the feeds on feed sites (where other people have done the blind scan), or just do a normal satellite scan (unless others can correct me).

12. ??? - What do you mean by are they supported?

13. Bouquets are just channel lists. As stated before, you can use them to create different channel lists for different packages.

14. You can use the plugin that comes with the box in the menus, to adjust the sharpness to your choice. But this is personal choice... I find it fairly good. Not quite as good as the native freeview image (when I compare), but not far off either!

15. You can use a plugin (autoresolution I think it's called, but not sure), where you can tell it how to handle different content.

16. There is a plugin for this also, but can't remember what it's called. It controls a few zooms, e.g. can make 4:3 16:9, etc etc.

17. Generally I find it quite fast. Sometimes it has a few slowdowns, but I think that is image dependant

18. What do you mean by favourite screens? If by channel lists, then see the comments about "bouquets"

19. If the 2 points are definately to a different lnb connection (or different point on a switch), then yes. You can record 2 different channels on different transponders (and maybe more channels depending if they are on the same transponder). Many people have recorded more than 3 channels on just 1 feed.

20. Yes, assuming your hdd can handle it. I've only recorded 1 programme whilst watching another personally, but it should be working no problems.

21. Yes and no. When you watch a recording, if you stop, it will ask you if you want to start at the point it stopped. But it isn't really necessary, as you can use the different number keys to jump different times in the recordings (which can be altered). It also puts in markings where the movie is supposed to start and finish (according to time). Might be possible to create these markers yourself, but I haven't had a need to, as I use the number keys and fast forward/rewind to get the point I want to in a record.

22. There are plugins (movie cut and movie trim I think they are called), that allows you to make the cuts, and then execute them with the trim.

23. There is a "autotimer" plugin, which is meant to do this, but it will never work as good as sky plus, and requires you to have a decent epg. But some users have it working perfect (never used it myself though).

24. Don't know, as not tried it (others might have). But, you will only be able to use the dvb-t tuner in the dream-elite image, as no other images have support for usb tuners.

25. My largest recording has been 25gb, and have heard others recording longer. So I would say no...

26. You can view all of the epgs which you have available. To get more than now/next, you need to use other images or other plugins. For sky uk and italia, you can use the crossepg plugin (should work in original image I think, but have definately had it working in vti image). You can get some other epg data using the rytec website (www . rytec . be), which will then download epg data from the web, and be shown when you check the channels. Or, if you use dream elite image, you can download pre-compiled epg channel lists from the internet to show the epg data.

27. You can record from epg data. Once you've chosen the programme, you press the green button to add a timer. It takes the data (as in programme start, finish, name etc) from the epg info.

28. I think so, and yes.

29. In dream-elite image, you download the cfg file from the rytec website, upload it to /etc/ via ftp, go to blue panel, epg panel (blue button -> red button), then choose the epg you want to download. Then, you can download the data manually at that point, or change the settings to automatically download the epg data at a certain time every day. Works similarly with the rytec plugin...

30. Main epg support it for europe channels. With the dream-elite image, you can download for australia_foxtel through a satellite download. Have no experience of north american or asian, sorry.

31. When accessing the webif, you can click an icon next to the channel to see all of the epg data for that channel. It will also populate all channels with epg data, with a now and next on screen.

32. Haven't really played with media player much.

33. Haven't really played with media player much.

34. Haven't really played with media player much.

35. Haven't really played with media player much.

36. Haven't really played with media player much.

37. ??? - Not tried

38. Yes, you set up a share on the nas, and connect to it with the duo. Haven't done it myself, but have heard others with good results.

39. You can ftp in to the box and fxp the files over (if the nas supports fxp)?!

40. Think you will need to add the drivers to the original image. And there are only certain usb wifi's that work...

41. Not tried it.

42. Not tried it. It works on the dream-elite to a fashion. I've found times where if I use it, there is no audio until I reboot the box...

43. To install the plugins, depends on the file type. If it's an ipkg, you ftp the file to the /tmp directory, and then telnet in to the box and issue the command "ipkg install /tmp/xxxxxxxxx.ipkg". If it's a tar file or other, you need to untar the file, etc.

44. Don't think there is one

45. The duo can read all I think. The internal file system I'm not sure of, but think it's jffs. For hard drives, you're best using ext3 (because of file sizes). You can use fat for usb, but I'd recommend to use ext2.

46. Yes. In the latest image, it turns off as default in standby. There is a plugin to leave it running in standby if needed. It isn't that noisey, but can be heard. Not when watching tv imo though!

47. Not sure, haven't tried it...

48. Yes, an internal sata slot, and an e-sata slot. Can use both if you so wish (I believe, although haven't tried it, only using e-sata at the moment).

49. If your box is of the latest models, yes. There is a sticky in this forum about finding out if yours will work.

50. PIP will probably never be implemented, as there is only 1 enconder in the box. Whether anything will happen in the futuer, or it will need a new hardware revision is unknown...

51. ??? - No idea.

52. There are some plugins for the dreambox, but I haven't tried them.

53. You don't have to. It's only needed when doing complex things really.

54. Only you can make your mind up on that. I prefer the vu duo than thinking of getting an az box, as the support for that is not as good as this (currently)

Right, now can I have a pint of beer please!!! (actually, a crate for the time it's taken to write this reply! hehe)

 

[Sicilian]

Omg, well done there pooface!

32. Yes.
33. Yes, use CIFS like when you mount a shared folder form a PC.
34. Media player still needs, work. I've played back some mkv's and xvids, depends on the file. Dont expect it to replace a media player atm.
35. I can only advise the ones I've tested, MP3 and AC3.
36. Not tested.
37. Not tested.
41. Doubt that streaming over wifi will work well as it only supports 54G usb wifi sticks atm. Hard wired works great through web-interface.
47. Not tested.
51. Not tested.

 

[DanBeachbum]

Hats off to you pooface! What an awesome response. I wasn't expecting one person to answer all the questions!

Thank you very much for your time and effort. I hope that many will benefit from your post. If you are ever in Surrey let me know and I will gladly buy you a beer!

Thanks Sicilian for filling in the gaps.

I will research the very few outstanding issues and post here when I find the answers.

 

[grtmoby]

well done pooface

i'd vote for this post to be a sticky as it will help a lot of people as well

oh by the way, i am the guy from Egypt

 

[canthackit]

@ pooface

awesome! mate, just awesome! :amen:

there just aint a smiley for it.

regards: canthackit

 

[xarqi]

Indeed a great set of questions and a splendid response.
I can't contribute much, except a small clarification on one point.
1. The Vu+ Duo is only due for release here in New Zealand today (14-Jul-10). There may be a few already in use, but there isn't a lot of chatter on local forums other than in anticipation. I hope to have mine by next week.

 

[Hakon]

Hello,
38. Can I record directly to my NAS (on the ethernet) and stream recordings from my NAS to the DUO with no dropped frames?

I can confirm recording of 5 HD channels at same time and 1 already recorded HD channel in replay,all runs perfectly, no dropped frames.
First 3 HD channels 15-19Mbps/channel next 2 HD channels 5-8Mbps/channel , replayed HD channel 15-19Mbps
FreeNas server, wired giga LAN , all units behind gigaswitches.

 

[forrest1066]

whats the fast fowarding and rewind like, as i seriously considering buying one as i currently have a TM800HD and the playback on this just does it own thing. Pausing using causes the box to crash and fast fowarding or rewind its just a pointless waste of time as it will go foward 10 seconds then back 20 then forward 5 seconds then back 10 you just cannot do anything with it

 

[silverfox0786]

pooface even i got worried when i saw the first post wow mate

you have been brave enough to answer that but i would suggest that this same post #1 be presented to vuplus them selves

i'd love to see how alex handles that one

 

[satmanbasil]

Hi mate

Boy didnt you do well !! i started reading that post answering as i went along but by the time i got half way i was thinking my fingers are so gonna ache typing any reply....well done mate thats what makes this board extra special.

regards
satmanbasil

 

[MrKappa]

Hello', I'm interested to know if Vu+ Duo is able to record a channel while using the media player to see divx or mkv. Is it possible to do so?
Thanks

 

[silverfox0786]

Hello', I'm interested to know if Vu+ Duo is able to record a channel while using the media player to see divx or mkv. Is it possible to do so?
Thanks

yes it is possible