IMO, Azbox gives you more for the money. I bought one and am satisfied with it. Nevertheless, it is kind of flakey and still being developed.
I think the Dreambox is a more mature platform (been around a while longer) and you pay more for it. However, the DM8000 is new, so there are some issues there as well.
DM 800 one tuner
DM8000 - comes with two tuners.
DM 800 HD PVR
Powerful receiver for digital TV and Radio programs.
Main features are a 300 MHz processor the Dreambox DM 800 HD PVR supports the Linux TV API
have a look to HighDefinition TV on your Dreambox
10/100MBit compatible Ethernet Interface
DVI connector
plug & play Tuner
brilliant OLED display
SATA for use either as internal HDD 2,5“ or eSATA
Technical Features
300 MHz MIPS Processor
Linux Operating System
OLED - Display
MPEG-2 / H.264 Hardware decoding
Tuner: DVB-S, optional: DVB-C, DVB-T
Tuner Module, Plug&Play
1 x Smartcard-Reader (Dreamcrypt CA)
V.24/RS232 Interface
10/100Mbit Ethernet Interface
1 x Scart (RGB, FBAS or S-Video)
DVI
2 x USB 2.0
analog modem
S/PDIF Interface for digital bit stream out (AC-3)
64 MByte Flash, 256 MByte RAM
SATA
for use either as internal SATA HDD 2,5“
or to use for extern eSATA
unlimited channel lists for TV/Radio
channel-change time < 1 second
automatic service scan
directly bouquet-lists
EPG (electronic program guide)
multiple LNB-Switching control (supports DiSEqC)
OSD in many languages and skin-support
Videotext Decoder
extern 12V power supply
DreamBox DM 800 HD PVR technical data
DBS-Tuner mit DVB-S2:
Frequency Range 950 .... 2150 MHz
Demodulation DVB-S (QPSK); DVB-S2 (8PSK,QPSK)
Symbol rate DVB-S: 2 ... 45 Mbaud/s, SCPC/ MCPC
DVB-S2: 10 – 31 Mbaud/s (8PSK) , 10 –30 Mbaud/s (QPSK)
Video decoder:
Video Compression MPEG-2 and MPEG-1 compatible, H.246
Video Formats 4:3 / 16:9
Letterbox for 4:3 TV-Device
Audio decoder:
Audiokompression MPEG-1 & MPEG-2 Layer I and II, MP3
Audio Mode Dual (main/sub), Stereo
Frequency: 32 kHz, 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 16 kHz, 22.05 kHz, 24 kHz
DM 8000 HD PVR
Powerful receiver for digital TV and Radio programs.
Main features are a 400 MHz processor the dreambox DM 8000 supports the Linux TV API
MPEG-2 / h.264 decoding
10/100MBit compatible Ethernet Interface
DVD support
Twin-DVB-S2 tuner
optional DVB-C or DVB-T
mixable, plug & play
with a big size OLED display
Technical data
400 MHz MIPS Processor
Linux Operating System
brilliant big-size OLED - Display
MPEG-2 /H.264 Hardware decoding
TWIN DVB-S2 tuner
2 x Plug&Play tuner sockets
optional for DVB-S, DVB-C or DVB-T
4 x DVB Common-Interface Slot
2 x Smartcard-Reader (Dreamcrypt CA)
V.24/RS232 Interface
Integrated Compact Flash and SD Card Slot
10/100 MBit compatible Ethernet Interface
3 x USB 2.0 (1 x front, 2 x back)
S/PDIF Interface for digital bit stream out (AC-3)
2 x Scart-interfaces
S-Video
YPrPb (Component)
DVI
Audio/Video cinch out
128 MByte Flash, 256 MByte RAM
2 x integrated SATA
- support for internal HDD 3,5" in any capacity
- support for SATA SlimLine DVD
embedded WiFi (Mini-PCI device inl. antenna)
unlimited channel lists for TV/Radio
channel-change time < 1 second
automatic service scan
directly bouquet-lists
EPG (electronic program guide)
Videotext Decoder
multiple LNB-Switching control (DiSEqC)
OSD in many languages and skin-support
DreamBox DM8000 technical data
DBS-Tuner:
Frequency Range 950...2150 MHz
QPSK Demodulation EN 302 307
Signal Level - 65 dBm...- 25 dBm
Signal-to-Noise Level 12 dB max.
DBS-Tuner Input Connector F-Type female
Input Impedance 75 Ohm
AFC +/- 3 MHz
Demodulation Shaped QPSK and 8PSK
FEC Viterbi and Reed-Solomon
Viterbirate 1/4, 1/3, 2/5, 1/2, 3/5, 2/3, 3/4, 4/5, 5/6, 8/9
Roll-off Factor 35 %
Common-Interface:
Common-Interface Power Consumption max. 0,3A/5V
Video decoder:
Video Compression MPEG-2 / H.264 and MPEG-1 compatible
Video Standard PAL G/ 25 Hz, NTSC
Video Formats 4:3 / 16:9
Letterbox for 4:3 TV-Device
Audio decoder:
Audiokompression MPEG-1 & MPEG-2 Layer I and II, MP3
Audio Mode Dual (main/sub), Stereo
Frequency: 32 kHz, 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 16 kHz, 22.05 kHz, 24 kHz