Buying second hand

[gerinemo]

Well during the Christmas period the Wife was looking to record more than 2 programs at a time

My Duo2 has only 1x DVBs twin tuner and a t2 terrestial card so I was thinking

I could drop the terrestial card and replace with another twin tuner but the dvb-s tuners seem few and far between
and last time I tried a USB Tuner it did not quite work reliably ( was off a plasystation )

This would be the cheapest option


I have seen some Ultimo 4k and duo 4k ( Not SE Version ) boxes on ebay but they are still mad money €350 for what could be a 8 year old box and how much longer will they be supported by VIX

Would I be mad to buy a 8 year old box and upgrade the LNB for FBC?

Main considerations are has to have VIX and a terrestial tuner for RTE and wife likes the little screen for weather and picons
Thanks in advance for any thoughts / suggestions

 

[bellejt]

look for second hand duo2 twin tuner to replace single one. The 4K boxes are expensive but really good for recoding with FBC

 

[abu baniaz]

I presume you are in Rep of Ireland. With a twin terrestrial tuner, you can record all the terrestrial channels simultaneously. I wouldn't drop the Terrestrial card. You also have a twin satellite tuner, so you can access two transponders on satellite simultaneously, provided they both have independent signal.. Are you sure everything is configured correctly?

 

[gerinemo]

look for second hand duo2 twin tuner to replace single one. The 4K boxes are expensive but really good for recoding with FBC

Yeah been looking on ebay and bought a used duo 2 with tuners
Seller posted it and it went from Austria to Germany for a month and customs sent it back to Austria :-(
they want the seller to pay postage again so they cancelled and refunded
Not many of them come up for sale at a good price like that
all a bit messy

 

[gerinemo]

I presume you are in Rep of Ireland. With a twin terrestrial tuner, you can record all the terrestrial channels simultaneously. I wouldn't drop the Terrestrial card. You also have a twin satellite tuner, so you can access two transponders on satellite simultaneously, provided they both have independent signal.. Are you sure everything is configured correctly?

Yep in the Republic
Pretty sure it is configured correct
A DVB-S2 twin tuner card 2 inputs from the dish and I can record or watch 2 channels at same time
Single DVB-T2 terrestial tuner can watch or record 1 channel

Trouble is wife at times wants to record more than 2 channels as she usually records the program's and then fast forward the ad's
So to be able to record 4 channels at same time would be better and I believe with FBC twin card I could record 4
But means swapping the LNB

She is used to VIX and likes the small screen on the Duo2 which has the Weather and Picons

I would like the ultimo 4K or the Duo4K off ebay but I think they might be too old as they are not even SE edition & 350 euro seems a lot for older tech
But having said that our Duo 2 is at least 10 years old and going strong and does not miss a beat

What do you guys think ? would I be mad to spend that much on an older box
Thanks

 

[bellejt]

swapping LNB does not work because duo2 has no FBC tuners.Maybe duo 4Kwhen available.Bought one a few months ago and superbox.

 

[gerinemo]

swapping LNB does not work because duo2 has no FBC tuners.Maybe duo 4Kwhen available.Bought one a few months ago and superbox.

Yep I realize that the FBC wont work on the duo2

But If I bought the older Ultimo 4K or the Duo 4K off ebay and then swapped the LNB I could record more
But are they too old
How long more will they be supported here

Thanks for replying

 

[bellejt]

in ultimo 4k you can install 2 twin tuners (FBC) and in extra slot (3) a dvb-t2 .You would need to change to quad lnb's .

 

[Joe_90]

If the Duo 4K has FBC tuners, then you are well covered for sat recording even with a universal LNB assuming you have a twin cable feed.
I have an Uno 4K SE which has twin tuners. I have a twin LNB (universal type, not unicable) and can record up to 8 sat channels simultaneously. With the FBC tuners I can pretty much record all BBC 1/2/3/4 London channels and also ITV and CH4 and CH5 at the same time. They are spread over probably 4 transponders but several of them are in the same quadrant (polarity, band). I'm assuming your existing Duo has standard tuners so you are limited to whatever you can receive from two transponders.

My Uno4KSE has no built-in DVB-T, but I have been using a Playstation (PlayTV) USB twin tuner for the past year quite successfully. I bought it used for €8 from Cex.

 

[gerinemo]

in ultimo 4k you can install 2 twin tuners (FBC) and in extra slot (3) a dvb-t2 .You would need to change to quad lnb's .

At the moment I have a universal inverto octo ( 8 port ) LNB
There are 4 cables coming to the back of the box but only 2 are in use

But did I read somewhere that you can use a universal LNB with FBC tuner's ?
Cheers

PS sorry for all the questions

 

[abu baniaz]

Are you sure it is a single terrestrial card? Please post a screenshot of menu > Information > devices

With recording number, best to refer to transponders/multiplexes, not just channels.

 

[Joe_90]

At the moment I have a universal inverto octo ( 8 port ) LNB
There are 4 cables coming to the back of the box but only 2 are in use

But did I read somewhere that you can use a universal LNB with FBC tuner's ?
Cheers

PS sorry for all the questions

See my post just before yours. I'm in Wicklow also. Here's a link to my initial thoughts on the Uno4KSE

 

[bellejt]

I have universal LNB's here on the FBC-S2x tuners connected and works fine.The (image) tuners makes slave tuners if they are in the same transponder for recording. You will see differance in name so as tuner A , B and next is I ,J etc

 

[gerinemo]

Are you sure it is a single terrestrial card? Please post a screenshot of menu > Information > devices

With recording number, best to refer to transponders/multiplexes, not just channels.

Attached is screenshot
When Recording Terrestrial other terrestrial stations are greyed out
Thanks for your help & sorry for all the questions

 

[gerinemo]

I have universal LNB's here on the FBC-S2x tuners connected and works fine.The (image) tuners makes slave tuners if they are in the same transponder for recording. You will see differance in name so as tuner A , B and next is I ,J etc

Lovely that means I wont have to get back up on the roof to change the LNB
Great to know
Thanks

 

[gerinemo]

If the Duo 4K has FBC tuners, then you are well covered for sat recording even with a universal LNB assuming you have a twin cable feed.
I have an Uno 4K SE which has twin tuners. I have a twin LNB (universal type, not unicable) and can record up to 8 sat channels simultaneously. With the FBC tuners I can pretty much record all BBC 1/2/3/4 London channels and also ITV and CH4 and CH5 at the same time. They are spread over probably 4 transponders but several of them are in the same quadrant (polarity, band). I'm assuming your existing Duo has standard tuners so you are limited to whatever you can receive from two transponders.

My Uno4KSE has no built-in DVB-T, but I have been using a Playstation (PlayTV) USB twin tuner for the past year quite successfully. I bought it used for €8 from Cex.

that's great to know I don't really need to change the LNB


I have also got one of the Playstation sony tuners but could not get it working couple of years ago
I tried it again there earlier today and still no joy
Someone said to use the DIB 0700 driver
I tried that and firstly it seems to fail to download the driver from the plugin feed
Then after a couple of attempts it says it successfully downloaded
But doesn't show up in the devices
even after rebooting

 

[abu baniaz]

Attached is screenshot
When Recording Terrestrial other terrestrial stations are greyed out
Thanks for your help & sorry for all the questions

That is a single tuner. Hopefully, you can get hold of a twin tuner. Until then, you should still be able to access other channels on the same multiplex. Try doing following:
Select a channel, start a recording, then without any screens showing: Up ( next to OK) , Green (satellites) , Current Transponder. They should all be available. If not, we will have to look at it.

Which image version are you on please? Menu > Information > About?

 

[Joe_90]

that's great to know I don't really need to change the LNB


I have also got one of the Playstation sony tuners but could not get it working couple of years ago
I tried it again there earlier today and still no joy
Someone said to use the DIB 0700 driver
I tried that and firstly it seems to fail to download the driver from the plugin feed
Then after a couple of attempts it says it successfully downloaded
But doesn't show up in the devices
even after rebooting

Sorry about the delay in replying - dealing with other issues!

As @abu baniaz posted, your DVB-T is a single tuner so you can't record (say) RTE1 and RTE2 at the same time as they are on different multiplex frequencies. But you could record RTE1, RTE1+1, RTE2+1, VM3 and VM4 at the same time (subject to restrictions of the internal VU setup which might limit the maximum number of simultaneous recordings). My VU 4KSE will record up to 8 channels at once.

Your satellite tuners are standard and can only record one transponder each, but you should be able to record all of the channels on a transponder.

 

[gerinemo]

Thanks very much for your help guys Much appreciated
I went ahead and bought the VU Duo4K on ebay
It comes with 1 twin FBC sat tuner and 1 FBC cable tuner but not a terrestrial one
I have ordered a T2 dual Tuner for RTE and will probably try sell the cable tuner and maybe the Duo 2
Will flash with Vix when it arrives

Is there any guide for setting up the FBC tuner with a universal LNB?

Thanks again

 

[abu baniaz]

Same as any other tuner with a signal wire from a universal LNB:
Simple, single, 28.2

The other tuners will work as internal loop through when the system requires them. "FBC automatic" is a misleading term. There is nothing automatic about it at all.