Sif Team Enigma2 ‘JACKAL’
Distinctive to look at and many features to
get your teeth into. Blind scan isn’t, alas, one of them
This comprehensive Italian image is
characterized by a ‘distinctive’ default user interface. The setup procedure
differs from the basic Enigma one. After specifying your display and language,
a ‘start wizard’ is displayed. With Big Brotherish connotations, this asks you
if you’re happy for it to “collect anonymous user statistics” for the purpose
of software improvement. If you decline, installation won’t proceed until you
change your mind!
Sif
Team Enigma2 ‘JACKAL’
Then it’s a matter of configuring your tuner
(it automatically identifies incoming signals). An automatic or manual scan of
relevant satellites is then possible, followed by network setup. After
installing some updates, we were prompted to restart. Unfortunately, it didn’t
pass the boot loader stage, even after a ten-minute wait. We had no option but
to reinstall the firmware and no further updates were tried!
Like OpenPLi, Jackal has been optimized for
HDTVs. The main menu is rather busier than usual. A ‘cloud’ option is provided
for updates and the sharing of ‘crash logs’; a password and username are needed
to access it. There are also various options related to conditional access
matters and a menu for running scripts. Among the pre-installed plugins are the
CrossEPG and Open AirPlay for streaming from Apple devices.
The ‘software manager’, which handles
plugins and updates, is a modification of Enigma2’s. A neat feature is a ‘Top
10’ listing; thanks to a ranking system, you can contribute to these! Around
350 plugins (including around 120 skins and ‘picon’ sets) are listed, but there
is no blind scan. Many of the plugins are also available for other Enigma2
variants, including the usual traffic jam/weather forecasters, Google players,
internet radio clients and a nifty ‘LiveFootball’ plugin.
We had trouble installing some plugins, and
suspect this and the aforementioned ‘update’ problem is due to a lack of
memory. Our DM800HDse has a restricted amount of flash memory (64MB) compared
with other Linux receivers, and the Jackal image is larger than many.
In terms of channels, EPG and recording
capabilities, Jackal is identical to what we’ve already encountered. The
OpenPli-style ‘recordings’ player will handle a wide range of video, music and
photo formats (including ISO DVD images) as well as captured broadcasts. Odd,
given the AirPlay support, is the firmware’s inability to handle M4A audio
files or MP4 video clips. A nice touch is the green button’s ability to toggle
through aspect ratios.
Verdict
SIFTeam’s ‘Jackal’ is on the whole a well
thought-out and distinctive-looking image with plenty of features. However,
it’s larger than usual and is only recommended for receivers with lots of flash
memory (at least 128MB).
Features
·
Version tested: 2012-11-23 SIFTeam
·
Restore of previous settings: No
·
Blind scan: No (not installed, plugin not listed
in extensions management)
·
Network browsing: Yes
·
Receivers supported: Gigablue HD800SE/
HD800UE/HD800 Solo, Mara M9, Vu+ Uno/Solo/Duo/Ultimo, Drembox DM500HD/
DM8000/DM800se/DM7020HD, Venton HDX, Clark Tech/Extrend
ET4x00/ET5x00/ET6x00/ET9x00, Technomate TM-Twin/TM-2T
·
Web interface: Yes (Open Web if)
·
Video formats (video): DivX, Xvid, MOV, FLV,
MPEG-1, MPEG-1, MKV (to 1080p)
·
Audio formats: MP3, MP2, WAV, FLAC
·
Image supported: GIF, JPEG, BMP, PNG
·
Cue/review will all video formats: No (Can crash
receiver)
·
EPG days: DVB now/next and 7-day, CrossEPG
·
PVR: Via USB, network or HDD
·
Channel change: <2 sec
·
Reboot time: 1 min 8 sec
Ratings
Plus
·
Plenty of features
·
Excellent support for non-Dreambox receivers
Minus
·
No blind scan
·
Needs more flash memory than other images
·
Easy to use: 7/10
·
Navigation: 8/10
·
Searching: 7/10
·
Performance: 8/10
·
Features: 9/10
·
Overall: 8.2/10
The winner: Dream Elite
Similarities in search times and overall
usability show the heritage if Dream Multimedia’s original work across the
group. The daddy of ‘em all, Enigma2, is the best for small-screens. It may
lack some of the features of the firmwares that borrow so much from it, but
much can added via plugins.
Open PLi seems to have lost some of the
features that one time made it unique, but as a ‘general purpose’ image it
works well – the excellent multimedia player is a definite boon. That SIFTeam’s
distinctive-looking ‘Jackal’ is the best of the bunch in terms of overall
feature-count only highlights its lack of blind-scan! It also wins hands-down
when it comes down receiver compatibility. If you have one of these boxes, you
owe it to yourself to give it a try – especially if there’s plenty of flash
memory on tap. All four images and many more besides are free, and so it will
cost you nothing to try them and settle on the one that best suits your needs.
Dream
Elite is the winner
Verdict
That all four of our firmware contenders
share so much in common helps to explain the very similar ratings. However, our
winner, Dream Elite, maintains a sensible balance between usability, stability
and features. Come the next firmware group test, though, the balance of power
may have changed!
