Dreambox 2819454 226025337 2008-07-16T14:21:52Z Adam Mirowski 455122 [[WP:UNDO|Undid]] link spam by [[Special:Contributions/89.15.83.86|89.15.83.86]] ([[User talk:89.15.83.86|talk]]) [[Image:Drem-multimedia-logo.gif|right|197px|thumb]]{{otheruses}} The '''Dreambox''' is a [[Linux]]-powered [[DVB]] [[DVB-S|satellite]], [[DVB-T|terrestrial]] and [[DVB-C|cable]] [[digital television]] decoder ([[set-top box]]), produced by [[Germany|German]] multimedia vendor [[Dream Multimedia]]. Its [[firmware]] is officially user-upgradable, since it is a Linux-based computer, as opposed to third-party "patching" of alternate receivers. All units support Dream's own [[DreamCrypt]] [[conditional access]] (CA) system, with software-emulated [[Conditional Access Module|CA Modules]] (CAMs) available for many alternate CA systems. The Dreambox is based on the [[DBox2]] units that were distributed by [[Kirch Media]] for its [[pay-TV]] services before its bankruptcy; it uses the same Linux-based software originally developed for the DBox2. The built-in [[Ethernet]] interface allows networked computers to access the recordings on the internal hard disks on some Dreambox models. It also enables the receiver to store digital copies of DVB [[transport stream]]s on [[Network File System|networked filesystem]]s or broadcast the streams as [[IPTV]] to [[VideoLAN]] clients. Unlike many PC based [[Digital video recorder|PVR]] systems that use [[free-to-air]] type of DVB receiver cards, the built-in conditional access allows receiving and storing encrypted content. The combination of third-party developers and network connectivity which facilitates [[Card Sharing|card sharing]], makes Dreambox use particularly common among enthusiasts and those who intend to [[pirate decryption|obtain services without payment]]. Third-party software for this purpose is neither officially endorsed nor supported by Dream Multimedia and voids the official warranty; however, unofficial web sites support a very large community of enthusiasts. In 2007, Dream Multimedia also introduced a non-Linux based Dreambox receiver, the DM100, their sole to date, running on unspecified hardware, but still featuring an Ethernet port and a USB port.<ref>[http://www.dream-multimedia-tv.de/english/products_flyer.php Dream-Multimedia-Tv GmbH<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The speed of the USB port is not specified, the manufacturer only says it is of "B" type, the one found on peripherals connected to PCs. <!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:DM7025.jpg]] --> ==Models== There have been a number of different models of Dreambox available. The numbers are suffixed with -S for Satellite, -T for Terrestrial and -C for Cable: {|class="wikitable" ! DM ! 7000 ! 56<var>x</var>0 ! 500(+) ! 600 ! 7020 ! 7025(+) ! 800 ! 8000 |- ! Production <!-- should be time range --> | {{no|discontinued}} | {{no|discontinued}} | {{partial|500+ avail.}} | {{yes|available}} | {{yes|available}} | {{partial|7025+ avail.}} | {{yes|available}} | {{no|forthcoming}} |- ! [[System-on-a-Chip|SoC]] | STB04500 | STB04500 | STB<var>x</var>25<var>xx</var> | STB<var>x</var>25<var>xx</var> | STB04500 | Xilleon 226 | {{dunno}} | {{dunno}} |- ! CPU type | PPC | PPC | PPC | PPC | PPC | MIPS | MIPS | MIPS <!--IBM in text--> |-align=right ! CPU (MHz) | 252 | 252 | 252 | 252 | 252 | 300 | 300 | 400 <!--723 in text--> |-align=right ! RAM (MiB) | 64 | 64 | 32 | 96 | 96 | 128 | 256 | 256 |-align=right ! Flash (MiB) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 64 | 128 |- ! Flash type | NOR | NOR | NOR | NAND | NAND | NAND | {{dunno}} | NAND |- ! [[DVB]] | {{dunno}} | {{dunno}} | 1 × S | 1 × S / C / T | 1 × S | 2 × S / C / T | S+S2 / C / T | {{dunno}} |- ! [[HDTV]] | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{partial}}<!--see text--> | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |-align=right ! [[Common Interface|CI]] | {{yes|1}} | {{yes|2}} | {{no|0}} | {{no|0}} | {{yes|1}} | {{yes|1}} | {{no|0}} | {{yes|4}} |-align=right ! [[Compact Flash|CF]] | {{yes|1}} | {{no|0}} | {{no|0}} | {{no|0}} | {{yes|1}} | {{yes|1}} | {{no|0}} | {{dunno}} |-align=right ! [[Smart card|SC]] | {{yes|2}} | {{yes|1}} | {{yes|1}} | {{yes|1}} | {{yes|2}} | {{yes|2}} | {{yes|1}} | {{yes|2}} |- ! [[USB]] | {{yes|1.1}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes|1.1}} | {{yes|1.1}} | {{yes|2.0}} | {{yes|2.0}} |- ! [[Local Area Network|LAN]] (Mbit/s)<!--max.; Wifi?--> | {{yes|100}} | {{partial|100 (DM5620)}} | {{yes|100}}<!--DSL--> | {{yes|100}}<!--DSL--> | {{yes|100}}<!--DSL--> | {{yes|100}} | {{yes|100}} | {{dunno}} |- ! [[hard disk drive|HDD]] | {{yes|3.5"}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes|2.5"}} | {{yes|3.5"}} | {{yes|3.5"}} | {{yes|2.5"}} | {{yes|3.5"+DVD}} |- ! [[AT Attachment|ATA]] | {{yes|parallel}}<!--PATA/IDE--> | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes|parallel}} | {{yes|parallel}} | {{yes|parallel}} | {{yes|serial}}<!--SATA--> | {{yes|serial}} |- ! [[RF]] mod. | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{dunno}} |-align=right ! [[SCART]] | {{yes|2}} | {{yes|2}} | {{yes|1}} | {{yes|1}} | {{yes|2}} | {{yes|2}} | {{yes|1}} | {{yes|2}} |-align=right ! [[DVI]] |{{no|0}} | {{no|0}} | {{no|0}} | {{no|0}} | {{no|0}} | {{no|0}} | {{yes|1}} | {{yes|1}} |- ! Display | {{yes|LCD}} | {{yes|LCD}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes|LCD}} | {{yes|OLED}} | {{yes|OLED}} | {{yes}} |} ===DM 7000 (discontinued)=== [[Image:Dreambox 7000-S.jpg|thumb|DM 7000-S]] The DM 7000 is based around the IBM STB04500 controller, featuring a PowerPC processor subsystem and hardware MPEG decoding, has 64 [[megabyte|MB]] of [[RAM]], 8 MB of [[NOR flash]] memory (directly executable), a [[Common Interface]] slot, a dual [[smart card]] reader, a [[Compact Flash]] card reader, a [[Universal Serial Bus|USB]] 1.1 port, and an [[Integrated Drive Electronics|IDE]] (also known as [[Advanced Technology Attachment|PATA]]) interface for attaching an internal 3.5[[inch|"]] [[hard disk drive]] to convert the unit into a [[digital video recorder]]. Accepts only 220 V AC power.<ref>In order to use model DM 7000 within North America, a stepup [[transformer]] is needed to run the Dreambox on 220 V. This is the only model Dreambox that requires this when used in North America.</ref> Because the boot loader resides in flash memory, this model may require the use of a [[JTAG]] in case of bad flashing which destroyed the boot loader. However, a bad flash will occur under rare scenarios, and rarely - near never will you need a JTAG. ===DM 5600, DM 5620 (discontinued) === There was a DM 5600 and also a DM 5620 model. The only difference being that the DM 5620 included an Ethernet port. Otherwise, the DM 56X0 models were a cut down version of the DM 7000 without an IDE interface. They did, however, include an [[RF modulator]] allowing them to be used with older TVs that lack a [[SCART]] connector. ===DM 500 (discontinued), DM 500+ === <!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:DM500.gif|thumb|DM500]] --> The DM500 is the successor to the DM5620 and is the smallest and cheapest Dreambox. It is based around an IBM [[STBx25xx]] Digital Set-Top Box Integrated Controller, featuring notably a 252&nbsp;MHz [[PowerPC]] processor subsystem, hardware [[MPEG 2]] video and audio decoding and smart card interfaces. The DM500 features 32 MB of RAM and an unspecified amount of Flash memory, probably 8 MB, given that firmware images are about 5 MB. It has the standard features of a free-to-air (FTA) satellite receiver, plus extensive [[Fast Ethernet]] networking connectivity and a single smart card reader. It does not feature a 7-segment LED display, normally found in other FTA decoders. Also has the ability to be used on Digital satellite, cable and terresteral broadcasts (also known as DVB-S, DVB-C, DVB-T). Counterfeit versions of the DM500-S are wide spread<ref>http://www.dream-multimedia-tv.de/english/dm500_copy_eng.php Plagiarisms of the Dreambox DM500-S are in the market</ref> and are often sold at a price close to the original.{{Fact|date=December 2007}}. As a result, Dream Multimedia introduced the DM500+, with changes to try to prevent further counterfeiting. The DM500+ model has 96 MB of RAM instead of 32, and 32 MB of NAND flash instead of 8 of NOR flash. This makes it similar to the DM600 PVR model. It is only available in DVB-S versions. There also exist legal clones, built around the same commodity IBM SoC chip and hence having identical or slightly superior features but not sold under the Dreambox brand name, eg. the Envision 500S (with 48 megabytes of RAM instead of 32, also available in a 500C cable version), the Eagle box or the Linbox 5558. They have a retail price approaching the one of non-Linux receivers, generally a fraction of the Dreambox 500 price. On April 2008, an unofficial firmware group called Gemini installed a time bomb in their firmware, causing flash corruption on clone DM500-S receivers. === DM 7020 === The DM 7020 is essentially an updated DM 7000 with 96 MB of RAM, 32 MB of [[NAND flash]] (disk-like) and an RF modulator. Changes were also made on the software side, utilizing Open Embedded [http://www.openembedded.org/] for the base Linux operating system. Because the flash memory of this model is not directly executable, the primary boot loader resides in ROM and can recover corrupted secondary boot loader in flash by loading from the serial port. === DM 7025, DM 7025+ === The DM 7025 is similar to the DM7020 but with the ability to add a second "snap-in" [[TV tuner card|tuner]] that makes it possible to watch one program while recording another. It is possible to change the tuner module, selecting between any two of Satellite, Terrestrial or Cable versions. Internally, it features a [[Xilleon]] 226 [[system-on-a-chip]] from [[ATI Technologies|ATI]], integrating a 300&nbsp;MHz [[MIPS architecture|MIPS]] CPU core instead of the traditional PowerPC found in other models, and has 128 MB of RAM. It uses Enigma2, this is a complete rewrite of the original Enigma GUI, and is still going through growing pains as features that were present in Enigma are added to Enigma2. Enigma2 is [[Python (programming language)|Python]]-based instead of C code. The DM 7025 has the ability to decode MPEG 2 HD as well. Unfortunately, it must downconvert this to 480i to display it. 720p works great but 1080i can stutter during fast motion scenes. The DM 7025+ model features an [[OLED]] display instead of an LCD one, an eject button on the Common Interface slot and improved power supply. === DM 600 PVR === The DM 600 PVR is the same small size as the DM 500 but includes an IDE interface allowing to add an internal 2.5" laptop-type hard disk drive. On the outside it adds an [[S-Video]] output connector and an analog modem port. It is built around the same IBM STBx25xx integrated controller, but features 32 MB of flash and 96 MB of RAM, of which 64 MB are user-accessible. It is possible to change the tuner module, selecting between Satellite, Terrestrial and Cable versions. There is still just one SCART connector and no 7-segment LED display, just 2 status LEDs. The provided remote control unit is the same one supplied with the 7000, 7020 and 7025 and allows one to control the TV set as well. === DM 800 HD PVR === This is essentially a [[High-definition television|high definition]] version of the DM 600 [[Digital video recorder|PVR]], featuring a single pluggable [[DVB]] tuner ([[DVB-S|S]]/[[DVB-S2|S2]], [[DVB-C|C]] or [[DVB-T|T]]), a 300 [[Mhz#Computing|MHz]] [[MIPS architecture|MIPS]] processor, 64 [[Mbyte]]s of [[Flash memory]], 256 [[Mbyte]]s of [[Random access memory|RAM]] and room for an internal [[Serial ATA|SATA]] 2.5" [[Hard disk drive|disk]]. <br /> It also features one [[Digital Video Interface|DVI]], two [[USB]] 2.0 and one 10/100 Mbit/s [[Ethernet]] interfaces. <br /> It has an [[Organic light-emitting diode|OLED]] display. === DM 8000 HD PVR === This is the long-awaited [[High-definition television|high definition]] PVR. Like the DM-7025, it is supposed to support pluggable tuner modules. In addition to High Definition, it should also have a DVD drive and USB 2.0. This product has been announced at beginning of 2007, but its release date has slipped. The planned features have been revised as well. Originally, this model was supposed to have 128 MB of RAM (now 256), 32 MB of flash (now 128) and a 300 MHz processor (now 723 MHz IBM Processor). Other Linux-based HD receivers have become available in the meantime. ==Software== The Linux-based software used by Dreambox was originally developed for DBox2, by the [http://tuxbox.org/index.en.html Tuxbox] project. The Dbox2 was a proprietary design distributed by [[Kirch|Kirch Media]] for their [[pay TV]] services. The [[bankruptcy]] of Kirch Media flooded the market with unsold boxes available for Linux enthusiasts. The Dreambox shares the basic design of the DBox2, including the Ethernet port and the PowerPC processor. The factory-installed distribution on the Dreambox is mostly available under the [[GNU General Public License]] (GPL) and uses standard Linux [[API]]'s, including ''Linux DVB API'' and ''Linux Infrared Remote Control'' ([[LIRC]]). This configuration encourages enthusiasts to modify its functions, particularly in the form of so-called images such as ''PLi'', ''View'', ''Gemini'', ''Neutrino'', ''Colosseum''. In addition, unofficial third-party conditional access software modules (CAMs or emulators) are widely circulated on the [[Internet]] that [[emulate]] the CA systems developed by [[VideoGuard]], [[Irdeto Access]], [[Conax]], [[Nagravision]], [[Viaccess]] and other proprietary vendors. Many Dreambox owners use these ''softcams'' in conjunction with card sharing software to access pay TV services without a subscription card inserted in every connected box. This practice may be illegal in some jurisdictions. There are also many 3rd party addons & [[plugins]] available that will extend the functionality of the Dreambox too. Some plugins are model specific, while others run all boxes. Plugins such as Jukebox and [[SHOUTcast]] playback, also external [[XMLTV]] guides, a [[web browser]] are available, and a [[VLC media player]] interface for on demand [[streaming media]]. Games are also abundant like [[PacMan]] and [[Tetris]]. == Notes == {{reflist}} ==See also== * [[Hauppauge MediaMVP]] - another connected device based on the IBM STB02500 chip *[[Media center]] *[[Moxi]] *[[Telly (home entertainment server)]] ==External links== * [http://www.dream-multimedia-tv.de/ The manufacturer's homepage] * [http://www.dream-multimedia.ca/ The manufacturer's canadian homepage] * [http://www.linuxtv.org/docs/dvbapi/dvbapi.html Linux DVB API] * [http://ati.amd.com/products/xilleon226/index.html Xilleon 226 Highly integrated dual high-definition MPEG decoder for DTV and STB applications] {{Linux devices}} [[Category:Television technology]] [[Category:Satellite television]] [[Category:Digital video recorders]] [[Category:Linux based devices]] [[de:Dreambox]] [[fr:Dreambox]] [[fy:Dreambox]] [[it:Dreambox]] [[nl:Dreambox]] [[no:Dreambox]] [[fi:Dreambox]] [[sv:Dreambox]] [[th:ดรีมบ็อกซ์]]