Hi everyone,
Well it's all set up and I'm glad my son has more patience than me.
I downloaded the 06/01/14 PLI image from Jenseneverest at xxxxxxxxxxxxx it came with all the plugins that you should ever need :) credit given where its due, a great build that's been solid so far.
I copied the XP1000 folder straight onto a SanDisk 8gb pen (formatted to FAT32) and plugged it into the box to flash it. Turned the box on at the wall, 2 red lights showed on the front after 20 secs or so. I pressed the CH+ button on the box once and a purple light showed for around 3-4 minutes. This light indicates that it's in the process of flashing the box with new firmware/software. Once done, it automatically rebooted and loaded the new image which has been working great ever since.
It uses CoolTVGuide with a S*Y style skin over the top of everything, very easy to navigate and runs smoothly without glitching or delay. To get the full 7-day EPG updated I had to go into Menu>Plugins>CrossEPG Downloader. This automatically detects all your channels and sources the EPG info from the web, installing everything in under 2 minutes. Obviously you don't need to bother doing this until your CCcam line is in and you've got all your channels.
I had to use Dreambox Control Centre to FTP the C-line over. Download DCC from their website and run it. When it starts it automatically runs in Deutsch but on the right hand side there is a drop-box with languages that you can flip over to English. Click 'Search', and another window should open. Start the search and it should find your box on the network. Mine was IP Address xxxxxxxxxx, but yours may differ. If it can't find it, you can type the IP address manually to connect. You can find out what this is by looking in the Network settings on the box.
Once it says connected and you have the green light, you can go ahead and click 'FTP' in the left hand bottom corner. This should show you the files/folders already on the box. Go to var>etc and scroll down to CCcam.cfg. you can right-click on this and click Edit. Then just back out the default text and paste in your C or N-Line and click save. That's it, your C-Line should be up and running! Your box may require a reboot for it to enable, I honestly can't remember if mine did or didn't.
I have read on some forums that you cannot plug a USB device in hot (whilst the box is turned on) because people have bricked boxes, but I thought this sounded like rubbish as i've never encountered a USB device that wasn't hot pluggable so I took the risk and plugged in a USB with some movies on. It came up with an error message about the drive not having any readable files, but ignore this. Open up your Menu>Plugins and scroll down to pick a media player. There you will be able to browse your USB device and play whatever you wish.
I know it costs a little more than the Skybox F5 (we own 2) but for around £80 its one hell of a box for the money. Definitely a budget alternative to any VU+ or Dreambox when you consider the price and the amount of features it has.