On 2026-09-23 19:55, Carlos E.R. wrote:

On 2026-09-23 14:11, Jan Panteltje wrote:

"Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid>wrote:

Yes, I have one similar. But they are not even close to the features of
the M740

Waht features do you mean?
Mine can record, as times you can set, playback, sometimes I record stuff
mosty music, or sciencewprograms an then later copy it to teh 4 TB
harddisc
also connected to teh big Samsung TV.

The M740 could record two programs and play a recording simultaneously,
for instance.

It could edit a recording.

You could download a recording to the computer.

It could automatically record all programs named "kojac" in a channel.
You could program the recordings using a web page on the computer.

It ran Linux. Originally there was a telnet port, then a community
firmware update added ssh, I think. There was ftp and http

And many things I have forgotten. I asked ChatGPT for a summary:

Yes. The **Siemens Gigaset M740 AV** was quite an ambitious DVB-T set-
top box for its time (around 2004?2005). It was essentially a **digital
TV receiver \+ PVR + network/media player**, rather than just a basic
tuner.ÿ CHIP+1

ÿ### Main features

ÿ- **Dual DVB-T tuners** ? two independent terrestrial digital-TV
tuners. This allowed you to **watch one channel while recording
another**, and also enabled Picture-in-Picture (PIP).ÿ ManualsLib+1

- **Recording to external storage** ? it had **no built-in hard disk**,
but could record TV to a USB hard drive or a network drive. Recordings
were stored as MPEG-2 streams.ÿ Golem

- **Time-shifting / timeshift** ? with a suitable USB hard disk, you
could pause live TV and continue watching later. The configuration
allowed a timeshift buffer of up to **240 minutes**.ÿ ManualsLib

- **Electronic Programme Guide (EPG)** ? used programme-guide
information for navigating TV schedules and setting recordings.

- **Picture-in-Picture** ? the second tuner could display another TV programme in a small window while the main programme remained full-
screen.ÿ ManualsLib

- **Network connectivity** ? built-in **100 Mbps Ethernet** allowed it
to communicate with a PC or network storage.ÿ Gigaset

- **USB 2.0** ? two USB ports for external storage and peripherals.
Gigaset

- **Network/media player** ? it could play multimedia stored on a PC/ network drive or USB disk, including **MPEG-1/MPEG-2 video, MP3 audio,
and JPEG/BMP/PNG/GIF images**.ÿ Golem

- **PC-to-TV streaming** ? the idea was that you could keep your media
on a computer elsewhere in the house and play it through the M740 AV on
your television.ÿ ManualsLib

- **SCART connections** ? two Euro-AV/SCART sockets, one intended for
the TV and another for a VCR/other AV equipment.ÿ Gigaset

- **Digital audio** ? optical/coaxial-style **S/PDIF digital audio
output** (listed as Audio Digital), plus analogue stereo RCA outputs. Gigaset

- **PAL television output** ? designed for the analogue PAL/SCART
television environment of the period.ÿ Recambios y Accesorios Online

- **Software updates** ? firmware could be updated manually,
automatically, or via DVB-T according to the manual.ÿ ManualsLib

ÿ### Hardware specifications

| Featureÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ | M740 AVÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ |
| --------------------- | ------------------------- |
| TV tunersÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ | **2 ? DVB-T**ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ |
| Networkÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ | **100 Mbps Ethernet**ÿÿÿÿ |
| USBÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ | **2 ? USB 2.0**ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ |
| Video/TVÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ | **2 ? SCART**ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ |
| Analogue audioÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ | Left/right RCAÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ |
| Digital audioÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ | S/PDIFÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ |
| Internal HDDÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ | **No**ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ |
| External recordingÿÿÿ | USB HDD / network storage |
| Dimensionsÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ | \~200 ? 200 ? 66 mmÿÿÿÿÿÿ |
| Weightÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ | \~850 gÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ |
| Powerÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ | 230 V / 50 Hzÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ |
| Standby consumptionÿÿ | \~1.7 Wÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ |
| Operating consumption | \~12.5 Wÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ |

### What makes it interesting today

ÿThe really interesting part is that **this wasn't simply a DVB-T decoder**. Siemens essentially built a networked media centre around a dual-tuner PVR. For 2004, the combination of **dual DVB-T \+ USB
recording + timeshift \+ Ethernet + network media playback** was fairly sophisticated.ÿ CHIP+1

ÿThere is one major caveat today: it was designed for the **original
DVB-T era**, so its usefulness depends heavily on what digital
terrestrial television standards are currently transmitted in your area. Modern DVB-T/T2 compatibility is a particularly important question
before assuming it can still receive today's broadcasts.

ÿIf you're asking because **you have an M740 AV in front of you**, I
can also explain its **connections, how to use a USB hard drive with it, what file formats it supports, and whether it's still useful with modern Spanish DVB-T**.

I have searched for information on it.

This is a press release from 2004, in Spanish: <https://www.marketingdirecto.com/digital-general/digital/siemens-gigaset-m740-av-la-perfeccion-en-home-entertainment>

There should be more information in German somewhere.

Museum piece: <https://ceres.mcu.es/pages/ResultSearch?txtSimpleSearch=Gigaset%20M740%20AV&simpleSearch=0&hipertextSearch=1&search=simpleSelection&MuseumsSearch=&MuseumsRolSearch=11&listaMuseos=null>


Google tells me that something similar could be the "Vu+ Duo 4K Lite".
It says it comes blank and you have to install community firmware to
make it work. Price around 350?.

<https://padredefamilia.com/vu/1363-vu-duo-4k-lite>


--
Cheers, Carlos.
ES??, EU??;

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)