Mag box choices

Smithy882

Newbie
Hi,
I am looking at purchasing a mag box. I need to have WiFi capability. I am firstly unsure on whether to get the mag254 or the newer 256, (is it worth the extra money)? Secondly I have noticed u can buy a WiFi dongle or buy the box with WiFi built in. I have also seen that both boxes do a w1 and w2 version. I take it the w2 version is a better built in WiFi? So do I buy the box with a separate dongle or built in WiFi, is there no difference in speed etc? Or if I go for built in do I get the w2 version, is this a better WiFi?

Thanks for your time.
 
First of all I would test the speed of your internet connection.

Wired and WiFi, sometimes there is quite a big drop off.

I always prefer a wired connection so I would tend to look at a pair of homeplugs if you don't
want cables everywhere.

I have no experience of the 254 but the 265 has approx twice the processing speed for about an extra fiver
so I went for that as streaming is constant, unlike c-s which only uses small packets of data.
 
Got the MAG256 for two of my mates who can't get cable, they are pleased with them.
Easy to use and easy to set up.

As for homeplugs they don't have to be expensive, speed doesn't matter either these days as they are all faster than what your box requires, lots of people use TP link, but I moved to BT homeplugs cause I had a couple of sets which went dodgy after about 3 months.

I am running a cheapo MXQpro (£25) just as a back up to cable, it's android so I put on a MAG emulator so it looks and works the same as a MAG, I can run Kodi, so have Tererrium and Covenant and also have a dodgy Netflix account on it :grin::grin::grin::grin::grin:

To be honest it is fine as a backup but if it was my main box I would probably buy a MAG myself.
 
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Thank u, I have red on here that the mag254 can record but the Mag256 can’t or needs to be changed in some way, is this correct?
 
Not sure to be honest, I have read similar, however it also seems some servers
allow recording and others don't so this could also confuse the issue.

Also, if you think of a MAG like a single tuner sat box, as you only have one feed in
the box locks itself to the channel while recording takes place.

So not sure how useful recording actually is. At least that is my understanding of it.

My mates only had single tuner sat boxes in the past
so it wasn't something they where bothered about.

Maybe somebody else will chip in and clarify
 
If I run one of the boxes on WiFi would you say to get the Mag256 then buy the dongle which is £5 or get the w1 or w2?
 
As I said, I would do an online speed check for wired and WiFi on a computer or laptop before deciding what to do.

You should be alright with about 20Mb download speed.
 
I take it that the 256 w2 is the better built in WiFi one? But it’s a lot pricier and would I notice much of a difference between the two? I assume the w1 is just the same as using the 256 with a dongle?

MAG256w1

MAG256w1 is a version with a built-in Wi-Fi module of 802.11 b/g/n standard and 150Mbps bit rate. This modification enables users to establish a network connection without additional equipment.

MAG256w2
MAG256w2 is a version with a built-in Wi-Fi module of 802.11 b/g/n/ac standard and 600 Mbps bit rate (dual band). This modification meets all the recent industry.
 
The W2 has the AC WiFi standard. You only benefit from the faster speeds if your router has AC.

Does the 600mbps in the w2 make a diffeeence compared to the 150mbps in the w1? Also the w2 says dual band, does that make a difference?

Thanks
 
A single band router can only pick up the 2.4 GHz band, while the dual band router can pick up both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.
Here are some advantages of using a dual band router:

  • Up to 100x the wireless bandwidth (Picks up both the 2.4 GHz and 5GHz bands)
  • Dedicated Wi-Fi Network for Video and Gaming
  • Separate networks avoid interference
  • Two separate Wi-Fi networks operating simultaneously
 
All of the above is true the Mag 256 V2 is the better box and of course it is very handy to bring on holidays providing you have the wifi code and the internet speed is good in the hotel.
 
256 would be my choice or a 254, avoid any of the newer models 410,351 and 322 as they are incompatible with the sort of iptv people like on here
 
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