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Sat, Cable, IPTV - recommendation for a suitable box

chris-manch

chris-manch

Newbie
This doesn't seem to fit well in any of the forums so here goes.

I currently have VM Cable (200Mbps) and a Sky Dish (single LNB) connected to a Freesat Box. I also have a touring Caravan, and as terrestrial reception is often dire where I go to in UK, I have a portable Satellite dish which I use with the Freesat box.

I am looking for recommendations for an STB to use with IPTV, Satellite and possibly Cable too. I don't want to spend a lot of money, say around £80 for the box, but I also don't want to buy something too cheap that is soon outdated or laggy/slow/glitchy. I'd like it to have a decent EPG with the option of programmed recording to an external HDD. I'd like to be able to use it in the caravan too (I am always on mains power in the caravan).

Questions:
  1. I assume IPTV isn't practical with a mobile data conection (when touring) but would Sat/lines work?
  2. Would I get much extra from a Cable Tuner at home over just having a satellite tuner? As I only have a single LNB would a cable tuner allow me to record from Cable while whatching Sat? (I know I can get a dual or quad LNB fitted).
  3. Is Amazon generally a good place to buy boxes in that they are what they claim to be and not clones? (unlike eBay).
I've been looking at the ZGemma boxes but find the model numbers confusing.
  • Combo Boxes
    • Zgemma H.2H (£54), H5(£56) and H9.2H (£83) seem to do Sat & Cable
    • Zgemma H7S (£130) is out of my price range
    • Zgemma H3.2TC looks promising but seems to be out of stock everywhere.
  • Sat Only boxes
    • Zgemma H.2S (£58), H9S (£70), H9.2S (£90)
Do you think one of these Zgemma boxes would be suit my requirements? If so which? I am thinking H9.2H or H9S, or is there something better within my budget?
 
H9.2h is the only one worth bothering with form that list, everything else is outdated and/or doesn't have a cable tuner
yes you can use the box for cable, iptv and sat, all at the same time WHILE AT HOME, whether the sat will work at the caravan is questionable as it needs a constant internet connection as they all do...obviously the iptv and cable are out of the question in this scenario.
You appear to be under the impression that sat and cable are similar, they aren't - Cable has all sky sports, sky movies and all other channels, sat boxes don't, they disappeared from sat 2 years ago but you still get about 100 channels inc bt sports, some kids, some doccs and other channels
IPTV has everything but it requires a lot of bandwidth etc.
For home usage, a cable tuner/line is required for stability, maybe iptv if you want 3pm football and german porn etc, and if you like, a sat tuner/line for no other reason than it's still available
in the charabang, you'll be lucky to get any of them to work

EDIT, yes, a sat line and a cable line would allow you to watch one, record the other whilst at home
 
Ah that is useful. Yes I didn't know there was much difference between Sat and Cable, that has changed my plans.
I'm not interested in Football (any sports really) nor German Porn.
So forget the caravan, I can use the Freesat Box in there.
Any other boxes I should consider for Cable/Sat/IPTV in my price range?
 
1. you could use which ever box you decide for freesat while mobile without the need for a good internet connection, I knew someone that didn't have broadband at all at home and used a mifi from three at home and had no problems running a line on his box and got all available sat channels so depending where you are you may be able to use a line with your satellite using your mobile as a wifi hotspot, to get the extra channels from sky that are still available if your in an area that has fairly decent mobile coverage but it will be hit and miss, cable wont work mobile and IPTV is very doubtful.

2. yes you would be able to watch sat while recording cable or visa versa while at home, personally I would hold off of IPTV if you have cable unless you want all the 3pm kick offs and/or international channels. If you do record a lot then I would tend to aim for a box with a twin cable tuner as has already been said you don't get all the sports/movie channels on satellite that you do get on cable.

3. Which ever box you go for make sure the cable tuner is a Hybrid DBV C/T/T2 tuner (I think all the ones you mentioned do) that way if cable dies in the future you can use it as a freeview box with a normal arial, ie I have a VU+ uno 4K which is dvb-c only tuners, so if cable goes I have an expensive door stop.
 
I am currently considering either the ZGEMMA H9.2H at £91 or the OCTAGON SF8008 at £114 (delivered prices). Both have DVB-S2X & DVB-C/T2.

The ZGEMMA H9.2H seems popular and well-supported in the forums.

The SF8008 seems a better box and Kodi can be installed on it, is it well supported in the forums?
If I order one from WOS they will install a choice of firmware, OpenVIX, OpenATV, OpenEight, PurE2. I have no experience of these, is there a preferred one? Presumably it is easy to reflash.
 
chris-manch said:
I am currently considering either the ZGEMMA H9.2H at £91 or the OCTAGON SF8008 at £114 (delivered prices). Both have DVB-S2X & DVB-C/T2.

The ZGEMMA H9.2H seems popular and well-supported in the forums.

The SF8008 seems a better box and Kodi can be installed on it, is it well supported in the forums?
If I order one from WOS they will install a choice of firmware, OpenVIX, OpenATV, OpenEight, PurE2. I have no experience of these, is there a preferred one? Presumably it is easy to reflash.
Click to expand...
I've not used the H9 but I thought like the H7 they can also run kodi, I may be wrong.

Choosing firmware is purely personal choice, I will tell you OpenATV is the best, @Willo3092 will probably disagree and suggest openVix is better, someone else will tell your Pure2 etc.
 
I would go for a combo box get a vm line mine has both sat and vm set sat for freeview get mifi and use that to watch the remaining sat channels
 
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