Dreambox DM800HD PVR review

The capacity of the Linux-powered Dreambox DM800HD is determined by your choice of HDD.

Our review sample was equipped with a 2.5in 120GB drive. Something else the 600 and 800 models share in common is the external power supply.

An advantage of this approach is cooler running, and that the receivers could be powered from a suitable 12-volt DC source. Great for caravanners, who can then worry about the practicalities of trying to accommodate an HD-Ready TV.

That said, the 800HD makes provision for standard-def reception and connectivity too – and so will be just as happy with a Scart-fed 14in portable set, should you decide to take it on the move.

Compact but fully-featured

For proof that the design of this receiver is a triumph of form over function one need look no further than the front-panel display.

Despite the 800HD's small size – a mere 196x130x40mm – Dreambox's designers have seen fit to accommodate a miniature version of the front-panel status LCD that adorns its full-sized products; in this case, cutting-edge OLED technology has been specified. However, the text it displays is so tiny that a magnifying glass should be supplied.

Compounding its limited usefulness is a lack of any controls, other than standby.

On the opposite side of the front-panel, and hidden by a flap, is a card slot. This is only active if you're emulating a CAM with one of the numerous 'plug-ins' or third-party firmware. No CAM emulation is provided as standard with Dream Multimedia's pre-installed 'Enigma2' firmware.

Standard connectivity

Connectivity is fair, considering the limited rear-panel space available. It's possible to switch the (single) Scart output between RGB, composite or S-video – all accompanied by stereo audio. And that's just as well, given that the only other AV outlets available are optical digital audio and DVI.

The latter – the only way of getting hi-def pictures out of the receiver – is an odd choice as everyone else has moved over to HDMI. DVI doesn't normally cater for audio, but with the supplied DVI-HDMI cable our Sony HD-Ready TV yielded sound as well as pictures.

The single tuner's LNB input has a loopthrough and there are also Ethernet, two USB ports, an external SATA (eSATA) terminal for storage devices, an RS232 port and, surprisingly, a built-in analogue modem.

Plug and play

Fitting a 2.5in hard disc is easy to do as there's only one power/data connector, or you can attach an eSATA drive. These tend to be cheaper than the internally fitting 2.5in drives, and boast higher capacities – which is worth bearing in mind when the storage requirements of hi-def are factored in.

Unfortunately, you can't have internal and external drives working simultaneously; the well-made 300MIPS Broadcom BCM7401-powered 'motherboard' only has one SATA connector. If eSATA operation is required this connector is instead routed to the rear-panel port.

As with other Dreamboxes, the tuner module – in this case an ALPS BSBE1-401A type – is 'plug-and-play'. If the widest choice of hi-def viewing isn't essential you could replace the supplied satellite (DVB-S2) tuner with a DTT (DVB-T) or digital cable (DVB-C) one.

Installation wizard

Our sample came with Enigma2 firmware pre-installed, the step-by-step wizards of which guide you through the process of installing the receiver. They cover language, TV system, time-zone, initial dish/DiSEqC configuration and searching for channels – all parameters that can be modified later on via the setup.

The DiSEqC capabilities are good; in addition to 1.2, this receiver supports simple switchboxes (1.0) and USALS. All of the usual controls for dish movement are supported.

We're also pleased with Enigma2's timesaving ability to accept the original DiSEqC memory locations ('satellite numbers') assigned to your motor by a previous receiver.

Satellite searching

Searching can take place for single transponders or complete satellites. For some odd reason we could search Astra 1x, Astra 2x/Eurobird and the Hot Birds without problems, but we weren't so lucky with some other satellites – Thor, or Eutelsat W1/W3, for example. Here, there's no progress at all – after moving the dish, searching doesn't proceed beyond the first transponder and so obviously no services are found.

The receiver doesn't crash, though – you can exit the search mode and return to normal operation. But you can't tell the 800HD to home in on only FTA or scrambled channels. Also allowed are multiple-satellite searches, the dish moving automatically where necessary. As long, that is, as none of the satellites in your list are ones that the 800HD doesn't like.

As regards manual searching, Enigma2 doesn't permit PID entry for non-standard services; also regrettable is the lack of blind search. We hope these features will be added via plug-ins.

Something that is welcome is the 'satfinder' option, with its large signal strength/quality bar graphs and ability to select a specific satellite/transponder.