Alien 2 - is it there yet?

Hi

I'm planning on getting an Alien 2 or a Giga Blue UE in the next week or so. I would much prefer the Alien 2 because of the specs (and price) but am worried the other half will have an epileptic fit when it freezes or some function doesn't work properly.

I hear the latest Satstation E2 image is good, but is it up to scratch? How often does it freeze?

And finally (because I don't know anything about these boxes), is it possible to set the epg in spark to download every night. And if so, do you still only get a now and next view?

Thanks

Quote from musogeek

Almost anyone who has had an sh4 receiver (Alien, Qbox, Ipbox etc) and a mips receiver (Dreambox, Vu+ Gigablue etc) will tell you to choose the GigaBlue out of your 2 considerations. A receiver is only as good as the support imo, and you will be more likely to be satisfied if you went for the latter. There are those who have been able to get the Alien 2 working for them, and there are those on the other hand who will curse it as the worst thing ever. There are also those who haven't got on with the GigaBlue. Have a browse through the support sections for the receivers you are considering and make your own mind up.

Quote from nano

In a word, no it isn't there yet and i doubt it ever will be.

Go for the Gigablue, it has a proper MIPS CPU unlike the SH4 one the Alien works. Why have a Reliant Robin when you can have a Ferrari. Enigma 2 is native to a MIPS CPU, It has to be messed with to port it over to work on a SH4 box.

My Alien 2 packed up after 10 hours use and my SHD 8900 lasted 3 months. What does that tell you. I've had clones last longer.

These boxes are cheap for a reason, you get what you pay for these days. I would avoid the Alien boxes and go for a receiver with a MIPS cpu, so at least you know you won't be waiting years for a good stable workable image, which will probably be the case of the Alien2.

If you like seeing green screens or waiting for hours for the remote to respond then go for the Alien 2. Its the worst box i have ever had the displeasure of owning.

Nano

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I think I'll take your advice. Thanks a million.

Quote from master G

You should also consider the maxdigital xp1000, if you compare the specification to the gigablue UE you will see xp1000 is actually a more powerful receiver.

It has double the amount of ram, a better processor and two card slots..Best of all its £20 cheaper..

Quote from pheonix

a lot of people tend to forget about the XP as it;s not as well known but it's actually a very nice and well supported receiver.

I live in Ireland so I would need dual sat tuners and and at least one aerial tuner for Saorview (our crappy version of freesat). From what I can gather the xp1000 is only a single.