GM Spark and Fulan receivers - Alternatives to other boxes?

[jenny]

I've noticed that the GM Spark and Fulan boxes that are around at the minute are also dual boot with Spark and E2 but apparently all these boxes (including Amiko) are from the Fulan stable in the first place.

With them all around the same price (around £100) they would seem a good first HD Linux box to play with for a novice like me but would the others have this 'timebomb' installed?

Would there also be the need to avoid buying one of them on the same ethical grounds?

Jenny

 

[A nonymous]

I have no idea about the GM boxes but as far as i am aware the firmware is the same for both boxes and yes you are right they are from the same stable.

As for if there are any clones of the GM box i would proabaly say there are, but i have never seen reports to confirm or contradict it.

If you are a novice i would go for a MIPS based box like the MaxDigital XP1000 over a SH4 based box, but if you want a cheaper alternative go for the modified nBox 5800s or 5800sx. I purchased a modified nBox5800sx and i've been more than happy with it. I haven't seen another box that comes close to it yet for price and usability. Firmware support for it is also getting beter.

Best £99 i have ever spent, although only time will tell how good the support for these boxes will be. You can find them pre-modified on ebay for around £100. Do not buy one that has not been modified to run Enigma as apparently its not the easiest thing to do to get Enigma to run for the first time on them.

I have to be honest even though i have had a spatt with the main retailer in the UK of the Amiko boxes and the fact that i would not buy anything from Amiko on moral grounds i would still recommend to other people the SHD-8900 or GM eqivillent box, but i wouldn't recommend the Alien 2. make sure you buy from a trusted source otherwise you may end up with a clone box.

Nano

 

[jenny]

Thanks Nano.

I looked at those Nbox's on ebay and I think they were the modified ones as they were described as 'professionally redone with E2 installed.' The only thing I found that was a concern was that they only come with 3 months warrantee but other than that they look a great box for the price.

Another one I looked at was the Amiko 8840 twin tuner but this isn't linux based although I am assured you can still do most things with it including run **cam. Still looks a nice box for £109. Would you get a full EPG etc?

The Icecrypt 3500 and 3550 also look nice for the money but I'm not sure about their capabilities and support etc.

Jenny

Jenny

 

[A nonymous]

No idea about the 8840 or the Icecrypt boxes mate.

I haven't had either of them. Non linux boxes don't really hold any interests for me if i'm totally honest.

 

[jenny]

Hi Nano

Is your Nbox one of the 'professionally redone' boxes from ebay by any chance?

I was told by one of the sellers that these boxes are 'redone' in Poland - hence the fact that most of the adds are in Polish - and that's why there is only a 3 month warrantee with them.

What is the picture quality like and do they run certain types of software (c*ms) very well?

Jenny

 

[A nonymous]

Nope i had it from a guy in the UK. The picture quality is as good as my Gigablue.

They won't run CCCam, but they will do Oscam and MGCamd.

Nano

 

[colenz]

nano why wouldn't you get a HD2? yet would recommend 8900? They use the same processor and spark and E2 but has extra tuner and Optical digital out as well? Im guessing with the oringal 8900 that they check if the serial is vaild and if not bricks the box in the update if its running on a older base firmware. But guessing if its on a newer based firmware that they dont check it on future updates and will probably only put another bomb out if they fine cloners have updated the base firmware to the latest one? How would people get on if they are flashing Amiko firmware on a icecrypt decoder? Its made in the same factory. What you think about the new Optibox EVO M7 HD?

 

[A nonymous]

I've had both and to be honest i wasn't impressed with the Alien2 one little bit. It is not the same box as the SHD-8900 as it uses a different processor. The SHD-8900 uses a STi 7111 CPU the Alien 2 uses a STi7162. They are not the same.

I thought the Alien SHD-8900 wasn't a bad little box once i had a good play with it if I'm totally honest. I'm sorry but i cannot give you my honest opinion on this forum regarding The Alien 2 :-shh

I also have no idea how the firmware from the Alien 8900 would work on an Icecrypt receiver either, but i certainly wouldn't recommend flashing firmware to a receiver if it is not known to work with it. If you want to try it its upto you, but i certainly wouldn't recommend it.

As for the Optibox EVO M7 HD all i will say is that i wouldn't buy one. Its just another OEM copy of the Mara M7 box, also known as the Galaxy Innovations Genius, Odin M7 or what ever you want to call it. It is currently supported by some of the Open Alliance E2 teams but how long that will last for is anybodies guess.

Nano

 

[Piltdownpaul]

This might be relevant but in the case of "Canon" cameras contacting them with your serial number, they can determine if its a fake canon camera,could this be done contacting amiko?

 

[A nonymous]

I have contacted both Amiko and Fulan who make the boxes to ask them how to spot a clone box and i had no reply from either of them. You can try asking them yourself but i wouldn't hold your breath about getting a reply. I tried three times and i have yet to receive a reply from either company.

Nano

 

[colenz]

nano why wouldn't you get a HD2? yet would recommend 8900? They use the same processor and spark and E2 but has extra tuner and Optical digital out as well? Im guessing with the oringal 8900 that they check if the serial is vaild and if not bricks the box in the update if its running on a older base firmware. But guessing if its on a newer based firmware that they dont check it on future updates and will probably only put another bomb out if they fine cloners have updated the base firmware to the latest one? How would people get on if they are flashing Amiko firmware on a icecrypt decoder? Its made in the same factory. What you think about the new Optibox EVO M7 HD?

 

[colenz]

I've had both and to be honest i wasn't impressed with the Alien2 one little bit. It is not the same box as the SHD-8900 as it uses a different processor. The SHD-8900 uses a STi 7111 CPU the Alien 2 uses a STi7162. They are not the same.

I thought the Alien SHD-8900 wasn't a bad little box once i had a good play with it if I'm totally honest. I'm sorry but i cannot give you my honest opinion on this forum regarding The Alien 2 :-shh

I also have no idea how the firmware from the Alien 8900 would work on an Icecrypt receiver either, but i certainly wouldn't recommend flashing firmware to a receiver if it is not known to work with it. If you want to try it its upto you, but i certainly wouldn't recommend it.

As for the Optibox EVO M7 HD all i will say is that i wouldn't buy one. Its just another OEM copy of the Mara M7 box, also known as the Galaxy Innovations Genius, Odin M7 or what ever you want to call it. It is currently supported by some of the Open Alliance E2 teams but how long that will last for is anybodies guess.

Nano

If your looking at model numbers of the CPUs it looks like the HD2 has later model CPU than the 8900 so is it a firmware issue you have an issue with or is it a hardware issue with the CPU if you think the 8900 is better minus not having a optical Digital out and not having another tuner? What do you think is a good model box with a dual tuner in the HD2 price range? As for the icecrypt box and firmare. Ive been told its ok by a company that sells them just comes up with the other brands logo

 

[A nonymous]

Colenz why have you asked me the same question again regarding the Optibox EVO M7? I have already answered it. I wouldn't buy one myself, thats as much as i'm going into it :-shh

As for the HD2 which box are you referring to? Is it the Venton Unibox HD2 or some other box, i could only guess in the first post you made that you were referring to the Alien 2? If you want an answer please make your question clear.

I cannot give you an honest opinion of any of the Amiko or Optibox range as the site sponsor that sells them will probably complain about it again, with that its pointless asking me about anything to do with them. I had a bad experience with the Alien 2 and i think they are utter garbage. I certainly wouldn't buy another Alien 2 or recommend them to anybody else, that's as much as i can say :-shh

Nano

 

[colenz]

Colenz why have you asked me the same question again regarding the Optibox EVO M7? I have already answered it. I wouldn't buy one myself, thats as much as i'm going into it :-shh

As for the HD2 which box are you referring to? Is it the Venton Unibox HD2 or some other box, i could only guess in the first post you made that you were referring to the Alien 2? If you want an answer please make your question clear.

I cannot give you an honest opinion of any of the Amiko or Optibox range as the site sponsor that sells them will probably complain about it again, with that its pointless asking me about anything to do with them. I had a bad experience with the Alien 2 and i think they are utter garbage. I certainly wouldn't buy another Alien 2 or recommend them to anybody else, that's as much as i can say :-shh

Nano

Sorry I posted it again as I thought it had not gone threw. Sorry I thought you would have picked up when the subject I was talking about was of the alien range. Anyway Is there any way I can talk to you more direct about this if its going to be an issue talking about it threw the website? and what dual tuners would you recommend?

 

[A nonymous]

probably a VU+ Duo would be a good start or if your after something a bit cheaper try the Technomate TM-2T, I've had a TM-2T and found it a good box with very good image support from some of the major players.

Most importantly it uses a MIPS cpu so its 99.9% guaranteed to work with all of the plugins available.

You can find me on other forums if you look hard enough

I've also split this off from the Alien 8900 Clone thread as it was starting to go way off topic.

Nano