Paphos People

Hi

We keep hearing about this wonderful DreamBox.....

But, please can someone explain to us the following:

1. What is it?
2. How does it work?
3. Does it work in Cyprus?
4. What can we get with a small sat dish 1m?
5. Do we have to subscribe to a sat package or can we get the same channels we have now for free?
6. Can we use it to connect to the internet and do away with our Cyta broadband connection?
7. If all of the above answers are favourable - can we buy them in Cyprus and roughly what is the cost?

We use ART sat system just now, which is fine - but the prices are going stupid. We've just re-subscribed our package, which has increased from Cy£85 for 6 months to Cy£120 . However, by losing just 1 channel Nat Geo, which unfortunately was a particular favourite - we brought the cost down to Cy£65 for 6 months!

Lots of questions, I know - but we are totally "green" when it comes to satellite stuff....

Thanks guys, I'm relying on you

_________________
Regards
Shell

This is a mine field.

VERY Basically
The Dream Box is a "General Satellite Receiver". Based on Linux software. (Google it)

You can use it to receive just about any broadcast satellite transmissions.

Like many general receivers it has slots for what are known as CAM cards (Conditional Access Modules) (Google)

These CAM cards will give access to the various encrypted broadcasts. There are many different encryptions and each encryption type requires a different card (Via Access, Irdeto. etc. etc.) (Again Google is your friend) However, a card known as a Dragon CAM or T-Rex CAM will give access to many pay channels. Particularly the French ones on HotBird

The DreamBox system tends to be used by enthusiasts as there is both a strong web support presence and a lot of un ortherised pirate cards are available.

Once you have a CAM it is possible to use a "card programmer" and download the encryption software from various web sites to allow access to the pay channels. (especially the porn ones no surprises there then)

There is now a system being sold in Cyprus that is a way of getting the Sky channels via a DreamBox. I am not sure how they are doing this of what size dish is needed or if it is via broadband but I understand that it still involves a fairly high subscription. (Demotronics on the Polis road are selling it) If all you want is the free to air Sky, a 3M dish is still the best option I believe. I understand the DreamBox route is cheaper if you intend to have the FULL Sky pay package.

Hope this goes some way towards answering your questions.

Brian

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Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want....

Thats interesting Brian, I understood all that you wrote you explained that well, thanks for the info.

Jan

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ALWAYS MOVE FORWARD

If you're interested in sat stuff this is a good site for finding out about whats available out there.

http://www.flysat.com/index.php

And there is tons of it!!!!!!!!!!!

It will give you listings of all the different packages available all over the world and all that is available free to air on the various satellites. Plus loads of other info.

Brian

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Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want....

Hi.

I would warn you against dreambox, we have it, we got it when our Sky subscriptions ran out. It is cheaper than the sky package and there are many channels....my husbands choice!
The guy who was running this was apparently working for cyta. My husband has friends who have a computer shop and they recommended this guy. So we got it all set up and had too many problems with the reception,my husband was never off the telephone. The next thing was nothing at all, no reception...nothing. I kept asking what's happening. It turned out that the guy who set it up was found out as he was doing it illegally and was jailed, he also lost his job at Cyta.
He's now back on the scene, set it up again and has to go around his 500 customers to sort out their systems. The other day when he was at our house I asked him about the dish, he said he had been on the roof to look at it and because he planned only 15 minutes at our house as he is busy he didn't have any more time to sort it out.
I wanted to say to him, for weeks we've had nothing! or something else! The guys' name is Costas I think and I don't like his attitude, so if you are tempted find out about the after sales, it's rubbish!


Jill.

That is very interesting Jill that you have had these experiences.
I wonder who this Costas is?
The guy that runs Demotronics with his brother is called Costas but I don't believe it's him. his brother is the one who sorts out the TV /satellite stuff normally. Plus they are both really nice guys.
Just as a point of interest I would like to point out that the Dreambox itself is generally considered to be a really nice piece of kit. It's the use it's being put to here that is at fault.

Brian

_________________
Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want....

Hi

I asked the same question on the Limassol forum too - so you may want to read both lots of replies: https://www.bfctradingpost.com/clboard/ ... orum_id=76

But, this DreamBox all sounds a bit too confusing.....

_________________
Regards
Shell