Dreambox PVR question

**froop** · 12-01-08, 01:07 AM

Hi All,

Apologies first up if I'm raising a question that I should know (or be able to find) the information for. I'm pretty new to this whole satellite game, and gradually getting my head around the information out there before making any purchases.

I was first looking at the Strong boxes and came across the 4890 PVR before I stumbled onto the Dreambox 500S. It seems like a pretty worthwhile receiver, but doesn't have PVR capabilities. Until I found the 600 and 7020. Only problem is, there is very little information about them compared to the 500S. And on Austech I can't find a single reference to either.

Is it worthwhile following them up, or is there a very good reason that they are not spoken of?

**fandtm666** · 12-01-08, 01:12 AM

500s

great little unit and can pvr with a hard drive attached to a computer within the local lan.

7020

great units though best with a laptop hdd and converter as the standard hdd draw to much power and it does not like it or the heat produced

**jonc** · 12-01-08, 03:14 AM

Originally Posted by froop

Is it worthwhile following them up, or is there a very good reason that they are not spoken of?

Due to the system crash on here I suspect, it will all be back later.

I love the 600, 7020 and 500. But I prefer the 7020 for PVR and other stuff it has as it just works and works ..

**jonc** · 12-01-08, 03:17 AM

Originally Posted by fandtm666

7020 great units though best with a laptop hdd and converter as the standard hdd draw to much power and it does not like it or the heat produced

Horses for courses, and with the WD drives up to 1tb they work a ripper without heat or current overload and remember our average room temp is about 32 degrees all year round, so we know heat when we feel it.

**z80** · 12-01-08, 09:58 AM

Originally Posted by jonc

Horses for courses, and with the WD drives up to 1tb they work a ripper without heat or current overload and remember our average room temp is about 32 degrees all year round, so we know heat when we feel it.

Hmmm.....seems I am disagreeing alot with you jonc

The 12v supply in a 7020 is driven by a 7812 to-220 regulator with no heatsink.

Just how does yours supply all that start current and still run a DM7020 when others en-masse have failed?

**froop** · 12-01-08, 11:29 AM

Thanks for your replies. From my past experience with heat in my Topfield 5000 (especially after upgrading to a 300Gb HDD), I think the 2.5" drive is a good suggestion.

It looks like the 7025 is a closer option to a Topfield replacement (ie, twin tuners and hdd). All I need then to keep the wife happy is an upgrade which does recording based on program title like I had on the Toppy. Eg, record all "CSI", no matter which channel or time its on.

**z80** · 12-01-08, 11:49 AM

Originally Posted by froop

Thanks for your replies. From my past experience with heat in my Topfield 5000 (especially after upgrading to a 300Gb HDD), I think the 2.5" drive is a good suggestion.

It looks like the 7025 is a closer option to a Topfield replacement (ie, twin tuners and hdd). All I need then to keep the wife happy is an upgrade which does recording based on program title like I had on the Toppy. Eg, record all "CSI", no matter which channel or time its on.

Be careful, the only way to make a gamma work on a 7025 is with an irdeto cam, since the embedded slot and the serial port don't work with it.
7020 is a more compatible option.

**froop** · 12-01-08, 06:51 PM

Originally Posted by z80

Be careful, the only way to make a gamma work on a 7025 is with an irdeto cam, since the embedded slot and the serial port don't work with it.
7020 is a more compatible option.

Thanks z80..
So the 7020 is the "easier" option, but if I want the dual tuner option and to use gamma, I need to pay the extra $100 for the 7025, plus the extra bucks for an irdeto cam. If I go down the 7025 route, can I expect more configuration troubles over a 500, 600 or 7020, or is just the fact that I need a irdeto cam?

(I'm still learning here, and haven't quite figured out exactly what gamma and/or gemini do for me..) There's certainly a lot of information out there, but there's a lot to digest, and I'm sure the it will make a lot more sense after I get up the first slope of this learning curve

**z80** · 12-01-08, 08:39 PM

Originally Posted by froop

Thanks z80..
So the 7020 is the "easier" option, but if I want the dual tuner option and to use gamma, I need to pay the extra $100 for the 7025, plus the extra bucks for an irdeto cam. If I go down the 7025 route, can I expect more configuration troubles over a 500, 600 or 7020, or is just the fact that I need a irdeto cam?

The serial port doesnt work on the 600 and the 7025.
All other models are fine.
It will limit your cardsharing experience using these two models.
If you just want pics from a card, then get an appliance box rather than a dreambox,

**fandtm666** · 12-01-08, 08:56 PM

1: gamma will only work with dream box in
a: phoenix connected via serial port
b: in an addon cam
c: card sharing setup

So
1: 600 and 7025 have serial connection issues and can not work unless you use and addon irdeto cam.

2: the 7020 although do not have free to air are a much better pvr setup

3: as for a standard drive opposed to a laptop hard drive the units power supply rating is far to low to be able to use a standard drive and constantly lock up and freeze due to the strain put on it.Those that say they have no issues must be one of the luckiest ones as when the voltage and amperage tests are done on the psu under load you see that they are their upermost limit and as such no good to continue .

My recommendations are based on actually having one here that i have throw 50 odd images at and tested with 15 different hard drives of various brands and size all coming back to the fact a laptop drive is more stable

**jonc** · 12-01-08, 09:02 PM

Originally Posted by z80

Hmmm.....seems I am disagreeing alot with you jonc

The 12v supply in a 7020 is driven by a 7812 to-220 regulator with no heatsink.

Just how does yours supply all that start current and still run a DM7020 when others en-masse have failed?

Sorry I can not answer that as I do not know what has happened there in OZ in the past but it is my experience with the boxes we use here that the 7020si will handle happly up to a 3.5" 1 tb hdd.

We install mostly WD 320gb drives as this is what people want for just under a weeks recording.

**ol' boy** · 08-03-08, 12:13 AM

Yep, WD320gig 3.5" works fine here... no pixilation on spin up (although i once heard some singing from the PSU, then it went away)
Amazing you have a 1Tb running in it.... As much as i've had no problems with selected 3.5" drives, i might start looking at 2.5" drives for the next one

**z80** · 08-03-08, 12:20 AM

It's not the Gigabytes that determine how much current it uses at 12v.

It's the design of the spindle motor and the number of physical platters that need to be spun up when it's started.

Simple really...just read the label on the drive.

I find that if the 12v is under about 600ma it works fine, above that and it needs the capacitor mod.

Of course the notebook drives use only the 5 volt rail...but beware..some use more current at 5v than a 3.5 " drive does (1A).

Always check the drive label for its specifications.