I think it's no secret that the Skippa is based on the Altech 9600T PVR. Have a look at the Skippa thread on Whirlpool for more discussions on that.
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=2390297 for the start of the thread
And around here for posts dealing specifically with the comparison between the Skippa and Altech.
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=2390297&p=20#r396
If you're interested in the manual for the 9600 (and what I suspect will be an almost identical manual for the Skippa, apart from ICETV EPG specific functions), have a look at these links:
http://www.uec.com.au/au/manuals/PVR9600_UM.pdf for the original 9600T manual
And here:
http://cdn.altechuec.tv/PVR9600/PVR9600_addendum_manual.pdf for the addendum which added extra functions to the PVR
A review of the 9600T was made here:
http://cdn.altechuec.tv/PVR9600/Sound%26ImageReview_Mar15_AltechPVR9600T_singles.pdf
All in all, the Skippa may not turn out to be entirely based on the 9600T, but I suspect that apart from a smaller case size (and with it the smaller 2.5in HDD and lower power consumption) and of course ICETV specific functions, it will be the same machine. Which, considering the pedigree status of Altech UEC bodes well for us and is I think a wise choice by ICETV to have made to supply them with an OEM PVR. The fact that Altech is a locally based company here in Sydney adds to that.
The Skippa has a different Broadcom SoC; the only difference that I can see is that one used on the Skippa has on-board wireless (a/b/n). They both have external power supplies. Being basically the same SoC they have the same Ethernet and USB support (Ethernet and USB support is included in the SoC).
Altech may well be the OEM building the Skippa; and that will have an impact on build quality. However, the OEM are not necessarily involved in the software development for the OEM products.
Ian