Which new receiver? Ultimo 4k or Duo 4k?

[giorgoulla99]

Hello everyone,

Can i ask you for your opinion in the hope it will enable me to finalise my decision to upgrade our receiver please?

My family are getting a little fed up that i still cannot decide which to buy and our current Xtrend has been having too many issues for a while now.

Please can i ask the following if it is not too much trouble...

Between the VU+ Ultimo 4k and the VU+ Duo 4k which has the best picture quality?
I ask this because we are really looking for the receiver that offers us the cleanest and most crisp HD image and great SD quality also.

Our Xtrend 9200 has offered us high quality in both.

How fast are these receivers to boot up/ which of the two is faster, if any?

Can my family use the iptv service that we use on these receivers or will there be issues?

Finally, i am just concerned reading many posts across the various forums about VU+ not updating the drivers and many images stopping development of their images
for these receivers. My wife and i are worried in case this will cause issues using the receiver for satellite and iptv viewing as well as media files playback ( those that are playable before having to convert the format).

I was going to buy a ZGemma H7s due to the ability to play a large range of video file formats but both my wife and i love the quality of the VU+ boxes although we have never owned one. I have decided that in the event a movie file will not play then i will use a file converter instead.

Your experience and knowledge would help us so much if you are able to help us to decide so that i can place an order in the hope we can receive it this week.

Thanks again for if you are able to help us.

 

[giorgoulla99]

Another question we have is to do with the remote.
We've noticed there is no 'info' button so what button replaces this?
For example in order to utilize the IMDB plugin when viewing a movie on a channel
you select the info button to get the movie description. In addition, the info button is
required when using the Mediaportal plugin. What is the procedure to replace the info button here?

 

[Ev0]

Picture quality is identical between the Ultimo4K and Duo4K. The only thing that I should point out is that some TV's (my Samsung for example) require UHD colour mode for 2160p HDR material, but on Duo4K I have to disable the UHD colour otherwise colours are washed out (this is not an issue with 1080p mode).

They both boot quickly, and much faster than your Xtrend 9200 (as they are quad core 1.5 / 1.9Ghz processors).

IPTV works fine on both.

The Ultimo4K supports Mpeg 1 but does not support H.264 4K, the Duo4K does support H.264 4K but does not support Mpeg 1, so there is a trade off there and you will need to decide which is more useful to you.

As for the info button, the EPG button replaces this.

 

[AlexWilMac]

I think all this concerns you have are really, really, exaggerate.
-The picture quality depends more on the "image", that is the Operative System of these STBs than on the models.
-The boot time is a false problem, because nobody puts their boxes in DeepStandBy, as far as I know (or someone might put in DeepStandBy during the night, in case). So the boot time is... 2 seconds. If it wasn't for my TV (that needs about 5 seconds to show the HDMI content) it would be a split second. Actually, if I keep my TV switched on, is like I said.
-The video files are, as a matter of fact, another non-problem. Ev0 was surely right and very precise in specifying those video file formats, but beware of the fact that h264-4K is not the h264 more common format.
In my experience, I had no issue with any files. If really such an uncommon situation would occur, you can always recode by Handbrake or Avidemux, two great free software.
IMDb is just a secondary plugin and many people don't even install it. I use it and you can recall it the way you like from within the EPG. Otherwise, the EPG has got a lot of info without the need of such plugin (I use just once out of 50 times I'm in the EPG).
-The support and the development to our operative systems, the so called "images", like BlackHole and OpenBlackHole, is incessant.
-IPTV is obviously possible (but here I can't help you a lot because I don't use it).
In case, you should check how many slots for Smartcams and Smartcards the VU+ boxes have, in case you need them.
Solo4K (if still available), Ultimo4K, Duo4K... are all great.
Enjoy the life and don't worry! Whatever 4K model you'll choose, particularly the ones among the three written above, you'll be happy.

 

[giorgoulla99]

Thank you to both of your feedback, it is very helpful to us.

@aAlexwilmac - the imdb option is something we always use especially the rest of the family because it provides a great deal more information and synopsis
of the movie and not just the standard description the epg provides. That is the reason we are asking what button on the remote will take the place of the info
button in order to access the imdb description. With regards to the booting time, we are referring to the time it takes to 'restart/reboot' the box because our current receiver takes over 2 minutes! We have never owned a VU+ and to be honest have not actually seen one working by anyone we know to answer these questions so that is why we are trying to find out before i proceed to order one of the two. With regards to the file formats, at the moment we do not have a 4k tv but will have by the end of the year so at present the main file formats that would be useful would be in mkv, mp4, avc, wma. As you have mentioned, we can use the recoding software you kindly suggested.

@Ev0 - your feedback is great to read. The file formats are interesting to note. We haven't got a UHD tv at present but will have one by the end of the year. With this in mind, i assume we have to ensure that the new tv we choose should have the UHD colour mode option for 4k HDR? Thank you also for confirming iptv will work with both.

The posts i have read regarding the lack of driver updates from VU+ are not an issue? This worried my wife when we discussed the receivers but we really do not know what 'issue' this will create, if any.

Does the 'epg' button replace the 'info' button in order to use and access the Mediaportal plugin features? If someone who uses this plugin can confirm it would clarify this for us.

We appreciate all your comments especially as you are more experienced and offer more knowledge on these receivers than just reading about them.

 

[giorgoulla99]

One final question, how are the tuners when carrying out a manual search? Does it scan all available channels? I ask because i have seen a friend's Mutant HD51 4k receiver scan a lot less channels than my current Xtrend across multi satellites so either there was a fault or the tuner is not the best in picking up all channels.

 

[giorgoulla99]

One final question, how are the tuners when carrying out a manual search? Does it scan all available channels? I ask because i have seen a friend's Mutant HD51 4k receiver scan a lot less channels than my current Xtrend across multi satellites so either there was a fault or the tuner is not the best in picking up all channels.

@Ev0 - in reply to your comments regarding the file formats. You mentioned the Duo 4k does not support Mpeg-1. As we do not use a UHD tv at present so the 4k-H264 isn't an issue is it able to play the rest of the file formats such as mkv, avs, xvid, mp4, divx? I'm not sure what the Mpeg-1 covers...

Apologies for the questions, i really would like to know a bit more details so i can actually make a choice and order in the next 2 days.

 

[AlexWilMac]

I don't have, too, for my Solo4K, a UHD TV. But this is completely unimportant. What matters is what the STB can or cannot do. That's why I have such a VU+ even without a 4K TV.

About scanning of channels, there is no issue: the results depend more on the quality of your system in terms of dish, LNB, cables, switches and so on than on the STB if, of course, we are not talking about fringe reception of some channels from some satellites.
Then, yes, there are more sensitive boxes and less sensitive ones. So maybe your friend problem is more on his system side...

 

[gerolamo]

I do not know if by inserting myself in this 3D I mess up or make my contribution in making a decision on the merits.
I, in my somewhat impromptu way (as a self-taught casinaro as Alexvilmac defines me), I didn't pose any problems.
I came from a VUDUO purchased in 2009 combined with a 40-inch Samsung HD TV.
About 8 years ago I modified the antenna by mounting a Stab HH100 engine on my own
In 2016 recommended by this forum without asking too many questions, but I was already from a vu +, I purchased a vusolo4k that worked until 2018 with the 40-inch Samsung HD TV and then connected it in November 2018 with a Samsung 4k
What advice can you give if not to buy a Vu 4k without any fear.

 

[Ev0]

One final question, how are the tuners when carrying out a manual search? Does it scan all available channels? I ask because i have seen a friend's Mutant HD51 4k receiver scan a lot less channels than my current Xtrend across multi satellites so either there was a fault or the tuner is not the best in picking up all channels.

@Ev0 - in reply to your comments regarding the file formats. You mentioned the Duo 4k does not support Mpeg-1. As we do not use a UHD tv at present so the 4k-H264 isn't an issue is it able to play the rest of the file formats such as mkv, avs, xvid, mp4, divx? I'm not sure what the Mpeg-1 covers...

Apologies for the questions, i really would like to know a bit more details so i can actually make a choice and order in the next 2 days.

Mpeg-1 is very old now and I don't think there is anything broadcast in Mpeg1 these days, but there are still old video files out there that the Duo4K will not be able to play.

H.264 4K is not a broadcast standard, but it is a video standard that some IPTV servers use.

It does not matter that you do not have a 4K tv, as you can "downscale" the 4K content to 1080p (or 720 or whatever).

So for future proofing the Duo4K "should" be better, but that said I still use the Ultimo4K as my main box.

 

[giorgoulla99]

So, would you recommend we choose the Ultimo 4k instead of the Duo 4k?

 

[AlexWilMac]

No, he said that Duo4K, as it's the last one produced, "SHOULD" become obsolete later. But they are different, as I already wrote, for instance regarding their smartcard's slots. I could not buy Duo4K for my needs.
I'm very very happy, too, to make another example, with my Solo4K, although the Ultimo4K is more powerful in terms of CPU. So, if today my Solo4K would die, I'll probably buy another Solo4K or, as an alternative, the Ultimo4K but only for what I said above.
There is NO perfect choice in life. Everything is subjective.

 

[gerolamo]

well I would like to buy a second solo4k for my son, too bad that for some time this box is nowhere to be found

 

[AlexWilMac]

I know: I wrote so just in case... because I can testify it's a model which can give the satisfaction a user would look for, without the need of spending more. But it seems out of the market...