Vu+Duo2
“Double your Expectation!”
Well this has to be one of the most eagerly anticipated Satellite box’s of the last 10 years.
Ever since Vu+ Announced the Duo2 at the Anga Cable and Satellite fair last year, there has been a lot of hype surrounding this receiver.
Finally it is here.
So what’s all the fuss about? Let’s take a look.
Features:
The Duo2 has a great set of features, which at this moment in time is not matched by any other satellite receiver on the market (and there doesn’t look to be anything that will get close to it anytime soon either) so what are these features I hear you ask:
Hardware:
Powerful Dual Core 1.3Ghz cpu
3.2” TFT LCD 262,000 colour front panel display
Large VFD front panel display
Pluggable Twin tuners dvb-s2 (fit 1,2,3,or 4 internal satellite tuners, or 2 satellite & 1x dvb-T / C tuner)
Dolby Digital Plus & DTS supported
2 x SmartCard Readers (Xcrypt)
2 x Common Interface slots
Dual MPEG2/H.264 Hardware Decoding
DNR (Digital Noise Reduction)
1GB Nand Flash / 2GB DRAM
Gigabit Ethernet
3 x USB 2.0
SATAIII 2.5" and 3.5” HDD supported
RS232
HDMI 1.4
YPbPr Component
Composite Video
1 x SCART
SPDIF for digital bit stream out (optical)
Full HD 1080p Output
Full HD 1080p 60hz Transcoding
HD PIP (Picture in Picture)
Built in Wi-fi
Blindscan
Automatic temperature sensor based FAN speed control system
Software:
Linux Operating System
Media Player
Downloadable Plug-Ins supported
HbbTv
EPG supported
Automatic & Manual Service Scan Supported
Multiple LNB control (DiSEqC) supported
Skin change supported
As you can see, it’s certainly not lacking anything, and it’s promising to be a full media player, rather than just the best satellite receiver available.
Inside the box:
The box itself, is just like previous releases from Vu+ so no expense spared there then, it simply lists the connections on the rear panel, and the features of the Duo2.
On opening the box up, you find the following inside:
Vu+ Duo2 Satellite Receiver
Quick Start instruction manual
Remote Control (my pre-production unit was supplied with 2 remote controls, but I understand that Vu+ have a new remote control to be released with the Duo2)
2x AAA Battery’s
Hdmi 1.4 cable
Sata cable
Hdd fitting kit
RF Loopthrough cable
Power cable
Appearance:
Aesthetically the Duo2 is very similar to the Vu+ Ultimo, but has a 3.2” TFT LCD 262,000 colour display on the left hand side of the front panel and a large bright VFD display that is smaller but similar in design to the Vu+ Ultimo, in the centre.
On the right hand side there is a flap that hides the front USB 2.0 port, Power button and also features the 2 CI slots and below there are 2 Xcrypt embedded card readers. Note that there are no channel change or volume control buttons.
It is nice to see that Vu+ have moved away from the Glossy “dust magnet” finish of the case found on the Ultimo, and moved to a nice matt black finish.
At the back we find a similar array of connections to that of the Vu+ Ultimo:
2x Tuner slots (I am running 1x Twin dvb-s2 and 1x Single dvb-s2 tuners)
1x Scart socket
1x YPbPr (component) sockets
1x Component socket
1x Hdmi 1.4 socket
1x E-Sata connecter
1x Gigabit Ethernet connector
2x Usb 2.0 sockets (1 also found at the front)
1x S/PDIF socket
1x RS232 connector
ON / OFF switch,
Power supply connector
Cooling fan
Now lets look inside the Duo2, on the left side is the platform for the 2.5" or 3.5” hard drive, in the centre, the new cpu Broadcom bcm 7425 1.3 GHz protected with the classic passive heatsink as seen in the previous Vu+ models, then to the right the block that houses the card readers and CI slot.
Getting started:
Ok so before I powered the Duo2 up for the first time, I actually fitted my hdd to the box, removing the lid is a case of removing 5 screws from the case (very simple), inside the box there is a hdd tray, that will accommodate either a 2.5” laptop hdd, or a full size 3.5” desktop hdd, installation is very straight forward and should take no more than 10 minutes.
Once the hard drive was installed, I added a single dvb-s2 tuner to the spare tuner slot, as I had 1 lying about. This converted my Duo2 from a twin tuner into a triple tuner (remember you can run it as single, twin, triple or quad tuner, so it really is a very versatile receiver, and should give even the most die hard of satellite enthusiast all the choice they need).
With the hdd and extra tuner installed, I refitted the lid and then plugged in all the connections.
I connected my Duo2 up using Tuner A, connected to a fixed dish, Tuner B (2nd tuner of Twin tuner card) to my motorised dish and then Tuner C (single tuner) was also connected to a fixed dish.
I also connected up the HDMI to my plasma TV and at the same time hooked up the component (YPbPr) connections to my LCD monitor.
Then I connected the power lead.
With all the connections done, it was now (finally) time to power the box on for the first time.
First Power up and Flashing:
Ok before I did anything else, I let the receiver boot up, to make sure it was all working ok, and the hdd was installed correctly. Once booted and I was happy, I then proceeded to shut the Duo2 down, pulled out my favourite Usb stick, and loaded on the BlackHole 2.0.4 Hyperspace image for the Vu+ Duo2 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 Vu+ Community and extract the zip file contents to the root of your newly formatted Usb stick. Once this is done, pull down the flap on the right hand side of the front panel, and plug the Usb stick into the 3rd Usb socket.
Now power on the Duo2, and when asked if you want to update, press the power button that is just above the Usb socket.
The Duo2 will do the rest and once flashing is complete it will reboot (you can now remove the Usb stick).
On first boot after flashing, you will be greeted with the setup wizard, just follow the simple onscreen instructions to setup your new Duo2.
Many Thanks Evo and vuplus-community.net/board for this