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Hello,

I purchased yesterday very cheaply a "GigaBlue UHD UE 4K Cable" receiver.  

Now since I was so satisfied with openpli  running on a VU+ Uno 4k SE

 I would try to install on the Gigablue also the lastest openpli image.

Will this work smoothly, or is the ​Gigablue maybe not so well supported here,

because I read that the company wasn't very corparative in the past  with the openpli developers?

If the STB is not listed, it is indeed not supported by OpenPLi and that indeed has to do with the way GB positions itself...

Isn't an "GigaBlue UHD UE 4K Cable" simply an "GigaBlue UHD UE 4K" with DVB-C tuners?

The UE 4K is supported by OpenPLi.

And no, Gigablue isn't known for it's after sales efforts, to put it mildly. They prefer to buy hardware cheaply, let the community deal with the software for free, so they can rake in maximum profits.

Great thanks. I will try then  "GigaBlue UHD UE 4K" image.

Yesterday I tried to research if there are any other available from different groups.

It seemed to me that the was once a openmips image with direct support from Gigablue. But this image is now discontinued. Then there is an image 

called teamblue. This image seems to be very focused on Gigablue hardware. Maybe I will also try it out to see if it has different drivers and maybe an advantage with hbbtv.

And? Have you tried any other images? 

What was wrong with OpenPLi on your box?

I tried out teamblue on GigaBlue. I wanted to see if the hbbtv support is better. It did work a little better. But I not fluent enough for me to value teamblue over openpli.

In the end I put back openpli.

The reason is that I have two other receivers running openpli, and that way I just know the settings better. I actually only have the gigablue because I bought it very very cheap.

So now I have 3 receivers:

1 Vu+ uno 4k Se 

1 Octagon SF8008 4k Supreme 

1 GigaBlue 4k Cable

all running latest openpli

Right now I prefer to watch tv with the Vu+ because its got FCC and blazing fast channel  change.

But the SF8008 is close. It might have the slightly better picture (but not sure), Its wifi is also  great and IMO a good bargain.

The gigablue remote is not that cool. The infrared sensor in the receiver is not so strong. And no FCC. 

Thanks for the comparison between these boxes.

Pity the Gigablue staff do not want to cooperate with OpenPLi:

 

Due to earlier differences of opinion followed by the lack of technical support from their engineers we are no longer able to provide active support for the brand GigaBlue. In 2023 we received a new request for active support but unfortunately, mostly for the users of this hardware, we couldn’t agree some details. As long as building images is possible without changes in the BSP we will continue building images.

Yep but its got an FCB tuner.

I am keeping it as a rescue device  if I my Vu+ uno 4k Se  ever goes down.

Actually I don't know of much alternative boxes if an FBC tuner is important to ones tv viewing habits.

DreamBox, Vu+ and Gigablue are the only brands I know about who were/are using these tuners .

Those were all Broadcom based boxes, and Broadcom doesn't make any chipsets for the OEM market anymore (they were bought off by the media industry in 2021), so don't expect any new hardware to come to market.

would you know of any other way to  have only one DVB-Input and watch one TV channel and in parallel record any 2 other channels? 

FBC

DreamBox/Vu+/Gigablue/Lunix3 4K/Galaxy 4K

would you know of any other way to  have only one DVB-Input and watch one TV channel and in parallel record any 2 other channels? 

No. FBC is the only option, and then if DVB-S, ideally in combination with Unicable.

But there aren't any chipsets with FBC available now that Broadcom refuses to supply the OEM manufacturers.

The others (HiSilicon, AMLogic, STMicroelectronics) only make entry level chipsets, they don't have the number of demuxers to support an FBC tuner.

would you know of any other way to  have only one DVB-Input and watch one TV channel and in parallel record any 2 other channels? 

You can do that on any multi tuner box using a unicable LNB. Even the original duo could do that, watch one, record one, using unicable. Lots of second hand boxes around with 3 and 4 tuners.

You can do that on any multi tuner box using a unicable LNB. Even the original duo could do that, watch one, record one, using unicable. Lots of second hand boxes around with 3 and 4 tuners.

The requirement was "one input".

For DVB-C and DVB-S icm Unicable you can indeed do the same with multiple tuners, using a single cable to the box, and using (the correct) splitters to connect every input individually.
 

But if second hand is an option, I'd personally try to get a VU+ FBC box instead of an old quad-tuner box.

You can also reduce the requirement by having one single box with lots of tuners (which is what I do, I have it in the attic, directly connected to Unicable switches), have that do all reception (recording and streaming), and use a fallback stream for all other boxes.

I have no satellite system, only a DVB-C  provider, so Unicable is not an option, if I understand you all correctly 

Correct.

So either FBC, or a box with multiple DVB-C tuners, and loop the cable through using T-splitters.

 

You can do that on any multi tuner box using a unicable LNB. Even the original duo could do that, watch one, record one, using unicable. Lots of second hand boxes around with 3 and 4 tuners.

 

But if second hand is an option, I'd personally try to get a VU+ FBC box instead of an old quad-tuner box.

Can anyone please list VU+ boexes wityh FBC tuners?

Also, what about Dreamboxes? I know they are not supported by OpenPLi but perhaps they could also be considered?

Any VU+ 4K box, except the Zero 4K.

No comments about Dreamboxes, nobody here uses them. And the chinese manufacturer is bankrupt, so they aren't made anymore either.

Yes end of the story for Dreambox too....

But regarding the FBC tuners DM900UHD, DM920UHD, Dreambox One, Dreambox Two

Dreambox One, Dreambox Two:

DVB-S2X Twin Sat SiLabs Tuner