Some of you are probably anxiously waiting for arrival of this new beast and here are some rumors that I have taken from around the web.

First I would like to present nice comparison between Solo2 and Duo2. I took the picture from vuplus-support.org forum but I do not know who is the author:

1. Vu+ already prepared their GIT for DUO2 arrival: http://code.vuplus.com/gitweb/?p=vuplus_openvuplus;a=commit;h=1aa385e36aecb62a04f87e084c039f621d1b0361

2. For official specifications visit Vu+ site: http://www2.vuplus.com/products/dou2manu

3. Price is already official and will be 499EUR for one Dual DVB-S2 and one DVB-C/T tuner!

4. Start of production Duo² is expected to be 24.06.2013. We can expect store availability in early to mid July.

5. No USB 3.0 ports

6. Support for 2x DVB-S2 dual tuner which means you could have 4x DVB-S2 + 1x DVB-C/T box 🙂

7. For information from Anga 2013 please visit this article: https://www.satnigmo.com/2384/anga-2013-report/

If anyone is working for Vu+ distributors or know someone there, please recommend me for test version of this new beast 🙂

#1 Original MetrixHD skin made by iMaxxx – vuplus-support.org forum

iMaxxx created excellent skin that is probably the most moddable skin in the history of Enigma 2 receivers. His version only work with VTi image therefore you need to use other modifications if you are running alternative images. It does include MyMetrix plugin! In my opinion some of the mods are better than original. Use this skin only if you use VTi image, otherwise please use skins which are modified especially for image that you use!

Home and download website is: http://mymetrix.de/

#2 MetrixHD MOD by BiNiCKNiCH – gigablue-support.org

BiNiCKNiCH created one of the first or maybe even the first modification of MetrixHD skin. Skin should work on all images based on OpenPLi. Originally it was made for OpenMIPS which is image for GigaBlue receivers. I do not know if he plans to develop it further, it seems that development came to a halt. It does not include MyMetrix plugin! Original forum thread is located here: http://www.gigablue-support.org/

#3 MetrixHD + Plugin BH 2.XX mode by ramiMAHER

RamiMAHER is known for his skin modifications. This one is tailored especially for BlackHole images. Most of the other parts of the skin are the same as in original skin, there is also included MyMetrix plugin! BlackHole images are based on Vu+ original image and therefore you are forced to use skin modified by ramiMAHER or original skin my iMaxxx (VTi is also based on Vu+ original image). If you try other skins which are adapted for OpenPLi, you might get not-bootable receiver! Original forum thread is located here: http://www.sat-universe.com/showthread.php?t=251419

#4 MetrixHD MOD by SSD – et-view-support.com

Skin is based on BiNiCKNiCH version and should work on all images based on OpenPLi. The main differences are changed font and some color and infobar changes. MyMetrix plugin is not included. My recommendation is that you skin this one as you can get other, better modifications. Original forum thread is located here: http://www.et-view-support.com/Forum/showthread.php?10886-Metrix-HD-MOD-by-SSD

#5 MetrixFullHD MOD by area51 – et-view-support.com

Area51 has done great job. He has transformed this skin to 1080p resolution. It should work on all images based on OpenPLi. MyMetrix plugin is also included. Overall, this is great modification and I recommend it if you want to have 1080p skin. Originally, skin is 720p. Original forum thread is located here: http://www.et-view-support.com/Forum/showthread.php?11174-MetrixFullHD-mod-by-area51

#6 MetrixHD MOD by scwheeler – world-of-satellite.com (ViX)

Skin is using Taykun345 modification as a base and is still in early stages of development. It is modified to work with ViX but because ViX is OpenPLi based image, you can use this skin with other images too. In my opinion you should better stick to skins #7 and #8 if you are using OpenPLi. Original forum thread is located here: http://www.world-of-satellite.com/showthread.php?27637-MetrixHD_MOD&highlight=metrix

// AND HERE ARE TWO OF THE BEST MODIFICATIONS OUT THERE //

#7 MetrixHD with myMetrix plugin by IPMAN & Misiak and other contributors – et-view-support.com and openpli.org

This skin has strong development and some nice new and improved features/screens that are not present in current version of original skin. It should work on all images based on OpenPLi. MyMetrix plugin is also included. Development can be tracked on GitHub: https://github.com/Misenkooo/e2-openpli-plugin-MyMetrixHD

Original forum threads: http://openpli.org/forums/topic/28287-mymetrixhd-for-openpli-3x/ and http://www.et-view-support.com/Forum/showthread.php?11172-MetrixHD-**MyMetrix-PlugIn**

#8 MetrixHD MOD by Taykun345 – openpli.org

And we come to the end of this collection. This skin is modified by known skin modifer on OpenPLi forum and works on all OpenPLi based images. It does not have MyMetrix plugin BUT it does have some nice designed screens which look a lot better than in original skin. If you really want MyMetrix plugin, then this skin might not be for you BUT if you do not need it, then it is the best modification available. Developer is responsive and can be found in this thread: http://openpli.org/forums/topic/27010-metrixhd-mod-by-taykun345/

Development can be also tracked on GitHub: https://github.com/Taykun345/skin-PLi-MetrixHD-WPstyle-mod

There might be other modifications available. Feel free to post a comment if you think I missed something 😉

Here is the newest information about MTV Unlimited package from TechniSat. You have probably noticed that for a while there is no more 6 or 12-month tickets  available. Here is why:

From 1. July 2013 there will be new smartcards (currently there are yellow cards) in circulation and also new tickets with the corresponding validation time.

You also need to know these facts:

• The new Conax cards will not be exchanged free of charge. You will have to purchase a new card (price is not known at present, but should be in the region of the old price approx. 25 Euro)
• Old and new tickets are not compatible. This means that the ticket you have purchased can only be activated using old smartcard. This also means that if you have not activated your current card(s), you must activate the card before the 30th June 2013! After this date it will not be possible to activate the tickets.

When you wish to receive MTV beyond 30^th June 2013, I recommend that you buy the ticket(s) before this date (perhaps for 1 or 2 years in advance – you can do this by ordering 4 three month tickets or 8 three months tickets). Old cards that are valid will not be switched off according to the announcement from MTV. So you wont have to buy new Conax card for the validation time of the old card.

Hey!

After closing down my other two blogs (oscamtips and oscamconfigs), my new blog was struggling a bit but for a last few weeks it is going really strong. Statistics are showing that there are more than 500 visitors and 1000 page views every day. Visitors are highly targeted as they come to my blog via satellite related keywords.

What does this mean?

This means you can advertise on my blog very efficiently as visitors are targeted and therefore very interested in everything satellite related. If you are running internet store with satellite equipment (Enigma 2 receivers for example), then this is the right place to advertise.

I offer FREE ADVERTISING period of 1 week. After that we will discuss about possible future cooperation. Please send me a email to this address: support”at”satnigmo.com

I expect that you have banners already prepared. Accepted sizes are: 728×90 and 468×90

Recently I decided that it is time to start using something new on my receiver. I have been following this discussion on OpenPLi forum and decided to download latest version of PTS plugin, modified by user Dima73.

Permanent timeshift is basically automatic timeshift in other words. When you zap to channel X, receiver automatically starts recording it. If you decide to switch to another channel, receiver will stop recording previous one and start recording current/new channel.

Plugin also has a few settings where you can for example set when should timeshift start after zapping to certain program. Default setting is 5 seconds and its quite OK. If you are zapping fast, then you should not set up very short time (1 second for example).

OpenPLi recently undergo some timeshift changes and Dima73 is still tweaking this plugin. Latest version is 1.2F but we can expect new version soon. Current version works fine for me though. For latest version please visit above link.

If you decide to use PTS plugin beware that this means your HDD will run all the time. I use NAS and I dont hear my HDDs 🙂

EDIT: OpenPLi now support permanent timeshift by default. You can find this setting in OpenPLi settings menu!