Octagon SF8008 Tuner vs...VU+, ABCom Pulse, Gigablue

[kippysat]

I have an Octagon SF8008 Twin tuner receiver and the sensitivity is fantastic for the spec and price.

May I ask if anyone who has used the VU+, ABcom Pulse and/or the Gigablue range of receivers, are
able to comment on the relative sensitivity and strength of their tuners?

I am able to pick up weak transponders and signals on 7E, 7W, 8W and others sats using the Octagon
SF8008, but want to get another receiver that can match it or get close in tuner sensitivity.

Anyone have any experience and information?

Thanks.

 

[Ferret]

FBC tuners in the Gigablue UE in my opinion are not as sensitive as my 8008 rev 1

 

[jdavid22]

I have Octagon sf8008 rev1, Edision Osmio4k+ and a Vu zero 4k, the best tuner by sensitivity is the SF8008, then my Vu Zero 4k and finally the Edision Osmio4k+, I have low signal in some tps and the Edision is the one that blocks the least. But I think it also has to do with the image you put on it, for example, if you use Openpli 7.3 with Edision it seems to improve a lot, now if I use TNAP 6 with Octagon some tps give freezes but if I use the Define Os that comes from the factory it blocks the tps without problems...that's how things are.

 

[hatters1976]

I have octagon sf8008 v2 and edision os mini 4k. In feeds edision os mini with avalink tuner seems to give better results.
On the other hand silabs sf8008 is going lower in symbol rates. With these two boxes you have the choices of silabs tuner
then avalink 6261 or avalink 6261 Tnap Mod. I think is a fantastic combination. If someone else has experienced such good
results concering enigma2 tuner let uas know!

 

[kippysat]

FBC tuners in the Gigablue UE in my opinion are not as sensitive as my 8008 rev 1

Thanks @Ferret ...

 

[kippysat]

I have Octagon sf8008 rev1, Edision Osmio4k+ and a Vu zero 4k, the best tuner by sensitivity is the SF8008, then my Vu Zero 4k and finally the Edision Osmio4k+, I have low signal in some tps and the Edision is the one that blocks the least. But I think it also has to do with the image you put on it, for example, if you use Openpli 7.3 with Edision it seems to improve a lot, now if I use TNAP 6 with Octagon some tps give freezes but if I use the Define Os that comes from the factory it blocks the tps without problems...that's how things are.

thanks @jdavid22 ...

 

[kippysat]

Just as an FYI. My Octagon SF8008 is the Rev 1 or Version 1 twin.

From what I understand the latest Octagon SF8008 tuners on the Rev 2, Supreme, etc are
not as sensitive as the previous and older versions.

It is the older generation higher sensitivity that I am trying to match or get close to with
the latest models of VU+, ABCom Pulse and/or Gigablue. Also any other quality Enigma 2/Linux
receiver with twin tuners.

 

[arkanoid9]

How can I check if my octagon is Rev1 or Rev2?

 

[jenseneverest]

There is now a v3 sf8008 that i believe uses the older v1 tuner chipset again.....which i am thinking of buying.
I have had many STB's over the years, ultimately i always end up back on my utimo4k with its ancient non FBC tuner that works perfectly fine for me.
It is not as sensitive as the sf8008 v1 or the GT combo i have had, but blind scans quicker than either of those and is miles faster than my qviart combo.
The os mio 4k+ is also very highly rated - but sadly not made anymore..... (and im pretty sure it has the same tuner as the v1 sf8008)
I wouldn't touch another gigablue ever again - they have crap drivers. I cant comment on the ABcom stuff as never had one.
IMO stick with what you have, or look at getting the V3 sf8008 if all you want is a twin tuner.

 

[Ferret]

I have had many STB's over the years, ultimately i always end up back on my utimo4k with its ancient non FBC tuner that works perfectly fine for me

Good box but its drivers aint all that either and it could do with a kernel update, may help with the audio codec issues they have.

Wont be getting any support going forward.

It is good the octagon realised going back to the rev 1 tuner was the best thing to do all round it now at rev 3 a decent budget box again.

 

[kippysat]

There is now a v3 sf8008 that i believe uses the older v1 tuner chipset again.....which i am thinking of buying.
I have had many STB's over the years, ultimately i always end up back on my utimo4k with its ancient non FBC tuner that works perfectly fine for me.
It is not as sensitive as the sf8008 v1 or the GT combo i have had, but blind scans quicker than either of those and is miles faster than my qviart combo.
The os mio 4k+ is also very highly rated - but sadly not made anymore..... (and im pretty sure it has the same tuner as the v1 sf8008)
I wouldn't touch another gigablue ever again - they have crap drivers. I cant comment on the ABcom stuff as never had one.
IMO stick with what you have, or look at getting the V3 sf8008 if all you want is a twin tuner.

How would you tell or what is on the receiver to indicate that it is a Rev 3 box?

I would go for this like you are thinking of doing, but would want to ensure that I get a Rev 3.

I bought my current Octagon SF8008 Twin in 2020, hence why I am fairly sure it is a Rev 1.

 

[jenseneverest]

I would go for this like you are thinking of doing, but would want to ensure that I get a Rev 3.

Sadly, It doesn't look like the forum sponsor has the V3 in stock to me, they look to have the v2 2024 model in the shop.
I cant directly link to it on this forum but a google search of "V3 2025 sf8008 supreme" should render results from the other usual outlets like fleabay and amazon.de

Immerse yourself in the innovative world of the Octagon SF8008 V3 SUPREME Twin, which builds on the impressive success story of the SF8008 models and offers groundbreaking innovations. The latest additions to the Octagon Supreme series proudly present the M.2 interface, which enables the expansion of SSD hard drives for the first time. Also new is the Bluetooth 5.1 function and dual-band WiFi (2.4/5 GHz) with up to 1200 Mbps for even faster connectivity.

 

[jenseneverest]

Good box but its drivers aint all that either and it could do with a kernel update, may help with the audio codec issues they have.

Agreed 100%.... VU plus has never been great at driver updates and by all accounts have now left the hobby STB market altogether.....
I hope Octagon one day bring out a high end model with FBC tuners and spare slots for dvb/c/t tuners, gigablue attempts to do it.... but fails with there poor drivers.
Even Airdigital aka Zgemma have gone quite now. Perhaps the market is just not what it once was ( especially with the slow death of CS and IPTV being cheap as chips on a firestick lol)

 

[Ferret]

Agreed 100%.... VU plus has never been great at driver updates and by all accounts have now left the hobby STB market altogether.....
I hope Octagon one day bring out a high end model with FBC tuners and spare slots for dvb/c/t tuners, gigablue attempts to do it.... but fails with there poor drivers.
Even Airdigital aka Zgemma have gone quite now. Perhaps the market is just not what it once was ( especially with the slow death of CS and IPTV being cheap as chips on a firestick lol)

Chipsets are apparently thin on the ground to produce boxes with FBC tuners.

Yeah E2 boxes are drying up so for me fair play to the manufactures that still try.

 

[hatters1976]

Octagon sf8008 v1 and octagon sf8008v2 have a difference at the back where the wifi antenna is located. They both have the
sensitive tuner silabs 2166.

Octagon sf8008 supreme has avalink tuner 62x1 with problems, they just introduced v3 supreme with silabs. The choice is yours!
And of course it depends what someone needs and wants!

 

[EnoSat]

Keep in mind that the tuner consists of two parts:
RF front-end (e.g. RDA5815)
and
demodulator (e.g. Si2166)

 

[kippysat]

Keep in mind that the tuner consists of two parts:
RF front-end (e.g. RDA5815)
and
demodulator (e.g. Si2166)

Hello @EnoSat

I can see in your handle that you have an EDISION OSmio 4K and an Octagon SF8008.

May I ask how you have found the relative strength of the tuners on the above boxes compared to each other?

 

[EnoSat]

Approximately the same , the biggest difference is that the current drivers for Si216x do not support the new DVB-S2X IP transponders (ShortFrameRate,ModCode)

 

[EnoSat]

 

[kippysat]

Hello @EnoSat ,

Which picture is the SF8008 and which one is the Edision OSMio+ 4k?

Apologies if it is obvious, but I can't see where the receiver name has been listed or identified.