I’ve been using a VU+ Duo 4K SE BT with a DVB-S2X FBC Twin Tuner for about two years now.
Before that, I was a happy TechniSat user for many years — solid, reliable hardware that just worked.
But eventually, a few thoughts led me to switch to something a bit more… open-sourcey:
- A Linux-based system – more flexible, open, and likely to get updates and new features for longer
- Better codec and format support for my rather large movie archive (TechniSat just couldn’t keep up)
- The ability to install a 2.5″ HDD or SSD for TV recordings
- An insane variety of plugins and apps – YouTube, anyone?
- HBBTV / media library support, something my older Samsung TV lacks
- And of course, SSH access for transferring files and running cron jobs — because automation makes life better 😉
So, why not just use the built-in satellite tuner of my TV?
Easy: my Samsung TV isn’t “smart,” has no media library support, no recording feature, and I have two SAT inputs in my living room — one for watching, one for recording. The TV simply can’t handle that.
The VU+ ecosystem (similar to Dreambox) offers multiple “images,” basically Linux distributions for your receiver.
I’ve tried OpenPLI, OpenATV, and VTI – each comes with pros and cons.
Honestly, there were moments I wanted to throw the box out the window and go back to my old TechniSat.
Yes, the flexibility is amazing — but configuration can be a total time sink. You can tweak everything, but you’ll need patience… and coffee.
Currently, OpenATV seems to fit my needs best.
It comes with a proper German channel list out of the box (ARD on #1), unlike other images where German channels start somewhere around position 200 – reordering that was a nightmare.
HBBTV can be installed easily, and I’m planning to set up a network share for my media server next — so the box can not only access my movie archive over the network, but also record directly to it, in addition to using the internal SSD.
My internal 500 GB SSD is formatted with Ext4 and works great so far.
Occasionally, when exiting the HBBTV app, the video freezes.
No big deal — I just ssh into the box and type reboot. Problem solved like a true nerd.
So yeah, no final verdict yet. It mostly depends on the Wife Acceptance Factor. Like, if I’m chilling on the couch with my wife, trying to watch something from the media library or the news, and the box crashes or just rage-quits itself… yeah, that’s an instant dealbreaker.
It’s the classic trade-off: ultimate flexibility vs. time and tinkering.