Vu+ Uno4K Tested for You !!!

Ev0

Admin
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“Most Affordable UHD Receiver”

Since Vu+ announced the Uno4K at the Anga Cable and Satellite fair earlier this year, there has been a lot of people wondering how this box compares to the Solo4K and the also announced Ultimo4K.

Well I can’t comment on the Ultimo4K as yet, as I have not seen one, but I can compare it to the Solo4K.

So let’s take a look and find out.

Hardware:

  • 1.7 GHz ARM Dual-Core Processor
  • 4096 MB Flash (eMMC)
  • 2048 MB DDR3 DRAM
  • Gigabit LAN (10/100/1000 MBit/s)
  • 1x Advanced Pluggable FBC DVB-S2 or DVB-C Tuner
  • 1x HDMI 2.0 (with HDR support)
  • 1x Common-Interface
  • 1x Smartcard-Reader (Xcrypt)
  • 1x USB 3.0 (Side)
  • 1x USB 3.0 (Rear)
  • 1x 3.5mm A/V Jack
  • S/PDIF audio output optical (digital)
  • HD PIP (Picture in Picture)
  • Blindscan
  • DiSEqC 1.0/1.1/1.2, USALS
  • External 12V power supply
  • Power Switch
  • Fanless Silent Operation

Software:

  • Advanced Linux Operating System
  • Media Player
  • Downloadable Plug-Ins supported
  • HbbTV
  • EPG supported
  • Unlimited channel lists for TV / Radio
  • Automatic & Manual Service Scan Supported
  • Multiple LNB control (DiSEqC) supported
  • OSD in many languages
  • Skin change supported

As you can see, it’s certainly not lacking in features for a budget 4K receiver.


Inside the box:

I am testing a pre-production model here, therefore the box that mine arrived in will be different from the final retail models.

On opening the box up, you find the following inside:

  • Vu+ Uno4K Satellite Receiver
  • Remote Control (the same popular Universal type that is supplied with other models in the Vu+ range)
  • 2x AAA Battery’s
  • High Speed HDMI cable
  • IR Sensor
  • Power Supply unit
  • Mains Power cable

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Appearance:

The Uno4K is a small box (the dimensions are (W x D x H): 230 mm x 175 mm x 50 mm). The front panel is basic with only a white Led glowing on the left, there is a USB 3.0 connection on the left hand side. The box is finished with a matt black on ¾ of the lid, and the other ¼ has a shiny glossy finish, which looks great (although the glossy part is a fingerprint and dust magnet).

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At the rear we find the connections available on the Uno4K:

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  • 1x Advanced Pluggable FBC (Full Band Capture) Satellite Tuner (or cable)
  • 1x USB 3.0 port
  • Gigabit LAN (10/100/1000 MBit/s) Port
  • S/PDIF audio output optical (digital)
  • 1 x HDMI 2.0 port
  • RS232 / IR Sensor port
  • 3.5mm A/V Jack
  • External 12V power supply connector
  • Power switch

The Uno4K has an HDMI 2.0 port which is HDR compatible.


Inside the Uno4K:

Looking inside the Uno4K,, at the rear right, is the advanced pluggable FBC tuner, (this will work with the dual FBC DVB-S/S2 tuner or the dual FBC DVB-C tuners). The large black heatsink you can see in the centre covers the Broadcom BCM 7252s 1.7 GHz dual core 12,000 DMIPS ARM v7 cpu,, then at the rear left is the the card reader and CI slot. There is no space for any internal hdd in the Uno4K.

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Getting started:

I connected my Uno4K up to my motorised dish. I also connected up the HDMI cable to my TV, plugged an Ethernet cable from my router (there is no Wi-Fi on the Uno4K), and then I connected the power supply.

With all the connections done, I flicked the switch on the rear and powered on the box for the first time.


First Power up and Flashing:

Before I did anything else, I let the receiver boot up, to make sure it was all working ok. Once booted and I was happy, I then proceeded to shut down the Uno4K, pulled out my favourite usb stick, and loaded on the Black Hole 3.0.3 image for the Vu+ Uno4K J

If this is your first Vu+ receiver, you will be pleased to know, that installing an image onto any of the Vu+ receivers is a very simple process. Simply grab a usb stick, format it in fat32 with your pc, download the BlackHole image from www.vuplus-commuinity.net (other images are available from different teams) and extract the zip file contents to the root of your newly formatted usb stick. Once this is done, plug the usb stick into the usb 3.0 port at the side and then power the box on at the rear, the front panel led will start to flash in a slow (almost like it’s breathing) sequence, and when finished, it will flash a fast on and off sequence.

At this point you can remove the usb stick and power the box off and back on again.

It is a very quick and simple process and it doesn’t take long to reflash this box.

On first boot after flashing, you will be greeted with the setup wizard, just follow the simple onscreen instructions to setup your new Uno4K.

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Time to Play:

So first of all I decided to do a channel scan, which didn’t take very long at all, I scanned over 2000 services on 13°E in under 10 minutes.

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If you would rather not wait, you can grab a channel list from the BH addons server, or choose one of the many available on the internet.

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With the channel scan done, I then added the EPG, I personally used CrossEPG

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The Uno4K from a cold boot gives me a picture on my screen less than 38 seconds (time will vary depending on how many plugins, skins, plugins etc. are installed) and an enigma2 restart takes only 15 seconds.

As already said there is no room for an internal hdd in the Uno4K, however you can use a network hdd if you have a NAS setup (or another Vu+ box that does have a hdd installed), using the Network & Mount points feature in most images.

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The Uno4K is a Smart Box, which means you can install plugins on it, and it also supports HbbTV, and you can use IPTV channels in your bouquets, just like if you were watching Satellite or Cable tv.


Ultra HD:

The Uno4K will output tv pictures at many different resolutions, so you do not need to have an Ultra HD tv to use this receiver, in-fact viewing 4K UHD channels on a 1080p tv makes you wonder if you even need a 4K tv as the picture is bright and clear even when downscaled. However if you do have a 4K tv then you can set the Uno4K to output at 2160p and this will do all the upscaling for you, obviously SD content does not look as good as HD and UHD, but it doesn’t do a bad job of the upscaling (probably a lot better than some of the cheaper 4K tv’s can manage on their own). On my tv, compared to the Solo4K, the Uno4K actually gives a sharper and clearer, more defined picture and if you have some HDR content on your NAS it will also play that back too.


Advanced Pluggable FBC Tuners:

The Uno4K comes with swappable tuners, FBC stands for Full Band Capture. This new FBC tuner, will allow you to tune into 4 different frequencies per tuner, which means that you effectively have 8 tuners inside your Uno4K and as it is a removable tuners, you can have either DVB-S2 or DVB-C.

To get the maximum from the DVB-S2 FBC tuners you will need to use a Unicable LNB, this means you can choose to view / record 4 different frequencies per tuner, however using a conventional lnb as found on most current satellite dishes around the world, it is still possible to tune to 8 different tv channels, but there are some limitations to which frequency’s you can tune at the same time.


HbbTV:

The Uno4K also supports HbbTV, just tune to a channel that provides the service (Vox Music on Hotbird 13°E for example) and press the red button, the Uno4K will then use your internet connection to connect to Vox Music’s on-demand services.

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IPTV:

As mentioned earlier, the Uno4K gives you the option to use IPTV either from plugins, or directly from your channel list (bouquets), when using IPTV from the bouquets, it is just like watching tv directly from the Satellite or Cable tuners.


Kodi:

The Uno4K (as with most recent Vu+ models), supports Kodi, which means you have access to a huge array of multimedia addons, video, movie, music and radio streaming from the internet.


Blindscan:

Another great feature of the Uno4K, is the Blindscan function, this is more for enthusiasts and advanced users that like to scan the skies for all the channels they can find. The Blindscan plugin will ask you to select which satellite you want to Blindscan, and then the receiver will do the rest. It’s a great feature especially when looking for feeds, or scanning those satellites where channels move around frequently (this feature requires a driver update to get it working at time of writing this review).

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Conclusion:

The Uno4K is a budget Ultra HD set top box, therefore it is not difficult for it to claim “Most Affordable UHD Receiver”. However it does more than just claim that title, it produces stunning UHD pictures with HDR support, great HD pictures and even the up scaled SD picture is a lot better than some tv’s can manage on their own.

The box has plenty of processing power (more than it’s big sister the Solo4K), which gives it fast boot-up and restart times, fast channel zapping and most importantly, it’s stable.

For the money it has all the features you would expect, it is a budget receiver that punches well above its weight. You will not be disappointed with the picture quality, and if you are a keen satellite enthusiast, looking to move up to 4K, but with a limited budget, then this could be the machine for you.

It is ideal for use in a back room or bedroom and as it comes with the IR sensor in the box, you could even hide it behind the tv if space is limited.

Of course you could also use this as the main box in your living room if you have a NAS or simple do not require any of the PVR features found on other models.

Should you buy the Uno4K ? Well only you can decide that. If you are just moving into the 4K era, then it’s certainly a good starting point, however if you are a Satellite enthusiast and require both DVB-S2 and DVB-C connections, then you would probably be better off looking at the Solo4K or the Ultimo4K instead, as these will offer more flexibility.

If you don’t have a 4K tv yet, but are looking for a new Satellite Receiver, then the Uno4K should not be overlooked, it will give you those UHD broadcasts and downscale them so that you can watch them on your current tv, and this is something it does very well, the Astra and Hotbird UHD demo’s look stunning even on a 1080p tv set.

And don’t forget about the flexibility that you get from the Advanced Pluggable FBC tuner, it will give you, 8 different transponders with only 2 feeds from the lnb, you should never miss a tv show ever again.


Review written by Ev0, BlackHole Team.
 

Attachments

  • Vu+ Uno4K Review.pdf
    2.4 MB · Views: 268

4Sage

Vu+ Newbie
I have one this new small box, but my image openAtv is not very good. VTI 11 too.
Some stations cuts and blurs the picture. A media player is too weird and they cut images too. I did not lose either MPEG-4 file, H.264,2160p plays only goes up to 1080p. Hevc.265 goes playback in 2160p. The image cuts even at 1080p 60Mbps. Why?
Please send me Image BH for testing purposes.
 

4Sage

Vu+ Newbie
PLS send my BH image for VU+ Uno 4k for testing. Now I have time for testing some functions, Have a nice days. PEACE
 

4Sage

Vu+ Newbie
Ooo no, OK, I wanted to be involved in your great project. But remember that the response by multiple users helps prevent problems.
Please please reveal the approximate date when the image becomes available, I do not tell anyone - joke
 
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