In this article, I will try to make a brief comparison between one of the best selling digital satellite receivers on the market today, and see the difference between Dreambox DM800 HD, Dreambox DM500 and Openbox S9 receivers.

The most obvious difference between these 3 receivers is their dimensions. Dreambox DM800 and DM500 are relatively the same size, 195mm(W) x 140mm(D) x 40mm(H) for DM800 and 195mm(W) x 130mm(D) x 40(H)mm for DM500. Much larger dimensions have the S9 receiver. It is 300 (width) mm x 220 (depth) mm x 56 (height) mm. As we can see, Dreambox receivers are much smaller compared to Openbox S9 receiver.

Now let’s compare the external interface of the receivers. The Dreambox DM800 HD has one optical S/PDIF output, one scart socket, one Ethernet and modem port, two USB and one eSata ports, one Dvi port and one RS 232 port. The Dreambox 500 S receiver has far fewer ports. It has only one scart and one Ethernet port, one S/PDIF port and one RS232 port and 2 analog audio out ports and one analog video out port. The Openbox S9 receiver has 2 scart ports, 6 analog audio and video output ports, one Ethernet port and one HDMI port, one RS 232 port and one USB port and no S/PDIF port.

The third point of our comparative analysis is the comparison of the internal components. The DM 800 HD has a high-quality 300 MHz processor and is equipped with the Alps 801A M tuner, offering crystal clear HD video and sound. It also has an OLED screen and a smart card reader. The DM 500, on the other hand, has a weaker processor, at only 250 MHz, and an older version of the Alps tuner. It also has a single smart card reader. The Openbox S9 receiver has a standard tuner and a normal LCD display and 3 smart card readers. Like the Dreambox 800 receiver, Openbox has a fast 300Mhz CPU.

All three receivers run the Linux operating system, all support Multiple LNB-Switching (DiseqC), all have Teletext, OSD and EGP support and the frequency range on all three models is 950 to 2150 MHz.

Now let’s compare the price of these receivers. According to CRVC11 Store, the DM800 HD is priced at $193 in the US and £121 in the UK. [1]. The price of the 500 S is $89 in the US and £57 in the UK, and the price of the S9 is $118 in the US and £77 in the UK. [2].

In conclusion, the cheapest model Dreambox 500S also has the worst performance, while the most expensive model of the Openbox S9 receiver has medium to high performance and the most expensive model Dreambox 800 has the best performance.