What's new

Please help me to choose box per my requirements....

Nads

Newbie
Hi,

I currently have a Skybox F5s, that has stopped working. Problem with picture. Hence, i am looking at an alternative.

I really wanted the HD channels, but I've been looking around and found that i need a cable installation done also? Which is unlikely to happen. Hence, if thats the only way to get HD channels then I'm just going to keep to the regular channels. I don't use the box much anyway, i just need it occasionally to watch live sports or some Bollywood channels.

Anyway, theres so much choice out there on eBay etc.. that its quite overwhelming, earlier i was actually using someone local who provided this service but after i searched and found it all online, i discovered that this guy was a total ripoff, he was charging me £70 for a one year GIFT sub and also £150 for each skybox. Although he did provide some sort of support when needed and also free installation. Now though that i discovered so many ways to buy GIFT from eBay, his prices seemed ridiculous. (I found a 3 year Gift for £10, which seems to be working fine so far on one of my boxes).

Going back to my new box I'm looking to purchase, its going to sit in my home cinema room, connected to a 4K projector screen.

- Ideally it needs to have WIFI built in, because I've run out of LAN cable sockets in my hub, and I'm not sure the included wifi dongles are very good anyway.
- Single tuner is fine, because i only have one satellite cable installed in this room.
- Hard drive is not necessary either.
- It needs to have a good UI interface, ideally the Sky Skin interface.
- Im looking to spend as little as possible, because i only ever occasionally use it.
- It should come plug and play, with everything set up, although i can setup the GIFT no problem myself and do channel list updates. But I'm not sure about installing images etc...
- The Channels list update should ideally happen automatically or through update from network and not have me do it through USB.
- Most crucial point, is that there should be no freezing, slow down. But i think that is a GIFT issue rather then a box issue?

So far in my previous boxes i think I've only ever used ccamd which i assume is c-line? Im going to need a new GIFT anyway with the new box, so ideally if it comes with one that would be great otherwise i can look for one.

Thanks,
Nads
 
Id get a Zgemma H2s and a wifi dongle or homeplugs if possible.

Be wary about gifts on ebay, Ive heard they are often cut off after 6 months because you can no longer leave feedback on ebay after 6 months have passed.
 
Id get a Zgemma H2s and a wifi dongle or homeplugs if possible.

Be wary about gifts on ebay, Ive heard they are often cut off after 6 months because you can no longer leave feedback on ebay after 6 months have passed.

Thank you for the reply. If the Zgemma requires a wifi dongle also, then please tell me what the benefit of this box would be over say a OpenBox V8S that pretty much does exactly all the same but comes at roughly only £50 where as the Zgemma H2s comes at double the price at £90 on eBay/amazon. Wouldn't the open box v9s be a better solution as it has built in wifi?

Thanks for warning about eBay sellers who may run off after selling gifts. I assume its safer to buy GIFTS from this forum instead? DO you know roughly what they go for? Are they similarly priced at £10 for 3 years or vary in prices?

Thanks
 
Zgemma H2s will look like sky thanks to kiddacs skin.

The zgemma is a faster box and does the channel updates itself.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Zgemma H2s will look like sky thanks to kiddacs skin.

The zgemma is a faster box and does the channel updates itself.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ah i see, that makes sense. Thanks for that recommendation.

Can you also tell me about a box that does HD channels? Even if it don't have a cable connection now but want to use it for satellite connection like the gemma H2s, which box would i need to go for? Whats the best available option in that and approximately are we looking at the same price £80 as zgemma or much more?

As for the zgemma H2s, where would you recommend that i get it from? If i buy from zgemma official website i saw its £80 but i guess this comes with absolutely nothing installed and you have to set it all up from scratch? If i buy a box from eBay, some of them are £85 that comes with everything already setup and Sky skin installed too. Which one is better to go for?

Thanks
 
Go for the one from zgemma website and flash it with wooshbuild or sucmnsee's image. It'll tell you exactly how to set it up.

I know it's only a fiver but no point spending extra if you can do it yourself.
 
not many hd chanels on sat m8 you will need vermin cable for that and take a look at the edison os minis very good little box similar price too and as for wifi dont bother m8 very unstable for these box's i would recomend using home plugs work flawlessly

hope this helps :)
 
not many hd chanels on sat m8 you will need vermin cable for that and take a look at the edison os minis very good little box similar price too and as for wifi dont bother m8 very unstable for these box's i would recomend using home plugs work flawlessly

hope this helps :)

Ok thanks, if that's the case perhaps I won't bother and just get the Gemma box. I know what your saying about the wifi, this is true for dongles in general which is why I didn't want a dongle and wanted the wifi built inside the box, that would make it much more stable.

Unfortunately, I'm completely maxed out of both socket extensions and lan cables which is why I was looking at wifi. If you see my back of cabinet mate it's like a wire jungle LOL absolutely no space left for anything now.
 
not many hd chanels on sat m8 you will need vermin cable for that and take a look at the edison os minis very good little box similar price too and as for wifi dont bother m8 very unstable for these box's i would recomend using home plugs work flawlessly

hope this helps :)

Go for the one from zgemma website and flash it with wooshbuild or sucmnsee's image. It'll tell you exactly how to set it up.

I know it's only a fiver but no point spending extra if you can do it yourself.

That sounds like a good plan, in case I need to do it again in the future then I will know what to do atleast. Hopefully it's easy to flash and reinstall everything, settings wise I guess it's just the ccamd account similar to my skybox and channels wise I guess it will get those automatically, is the only other thing that I need to do is install the skins. Hopefully it's quite simple.

Thanks for everyone's help with this by the way!
 
Rather than ebay try these for zgemma Satellite Boxes

Excellent thank you. Ive just ordered two of these boxes from this website. Its actually a little bit cheaper then the official zgemma website and free next day shipping also. I think the zgemma website takes a bit of liberty by first charging full price at £80 each and then charging an extra £5 for delivery on top too.

Anyway ive ordered the boxes now, so i can setup whenever they arrive.

Now i just need to find the best gift for both boxes. Hopefully one that is reliable and doesnt freeze but nicely priced also :)
 
you should have done more research with zgemma ,flashing issues,stuck on boot screen and many other things all getting daily postings,i would have said look at this box as it works with original openvix images ,7 day epg and abm.

Edision OS MINI 1x DVB-S/S2 Linux Enigma 2 Digital Satellite Receiver HD 1080p PVR

that box is bluetooth and wifi complient.
 
you should have done more research with zgemma ,flashing issues,stuck on boot screen and many other things all getting daily postings,i would have said look at this box as it works with original openvix images ,7 day epg and abm.

Edision OS MINI 1x DVB-S/S2 Linux Enigma 2 Digital Satellite Receiver HD 1080p PVR

that box is bluetooth and wifi complient.

Oh man really? Everyone recommended me the zgemma and it sounded good and seemed to do everything i wanted apart from wifi.

Can this Edision box do everything the zgemma can? For example, SkyQ skins, Auto channel corrections etc...

Please let me know guys, as i assume my zgemma order can not be shipped anyway until monday, so if need be i can still cancel it!

Is it true that the ZGemma box has too many problems and the Edision box is better?
 
Last edited:
I have set up approx 50 zgemma h2s for family and friends over the last year. I have had one back that needed reflashed due to usb being pulled out by the owners kid.

I reckon for the money they are great. And very reliable if flashed and setup correctly.

Whooshbuild and good quality usb for recording and epg etc (sandisk)
 
Last edited:
For the money they are good Most things are down to user error and playing around If it ain't broke leave it alone
 
ask anyone who has the edison and will say its excellent,if you want to take a chance on zgemma your choice,i see many posts of issues on many forums so well aware the hazards on new boxes,i like quality viewing and not having to mess with boxes and not have all those issues posted.

research and reading many many things as some people buy a cablebox to work on sat or satbox for cable.

all i can offer is my advice as quality can come at a price sanity and baldness included.
 
okay thank you everyone, i will take all your advice on board. From what ive seen and heard it does seem Zgemma boxes are good, Edison boxes also seem very good. I was thinking maybe to get one of each for both rooms. Then i can see for my self, but id rather not have separate devices in every room, because that can be a pain when it comes to maintenance and figuring things out. They will all be different from each other and id have to learn how to setup each one separetly. Which would be a pain.
 
So far I have set up 3 Zgemma 2s lboxes for my self and 2 of the same for friends and no problems so far, it's a matter of personal choice really.
 
Back
Top