Best FTA box

[VinceT3]

What's the best FTA box you've used and why.

Also, is the coolstat 8000 worth it yet? considering there only 1 hd channels available fta?

 

[Anole]

I've only used one actual FTA box, and I'd say it's not the best.

The 8000 might be useful for feeds.
If you're not really into North American sports feeds, then . . .
...but I say this mostly to get the 8000-owners to speak up...


______________________
Invacom SNH-031, Fortec 36", Satpros DSR500s, Twinhan 102g & USB StarBox I.
Thanks to Sadoun & SatelliteAV for good deals, and SatelliteGuys for good reviews.
quote=brentb636: My wife glares at me when the UPS truck shows up.

 

[Mr Tony]

There is more than one KU channel HD and that's feeds. Is it worth it? Depends on if you're in to sports or not. I average 4-5 HD feeds a week sports related. Sometimes more. But since the 8000 doesnt have blind scan I wish it did

Also I have C-Band so I can get a couple of the nets in HD too so for me its worth it (even though I'm yet to get a HDTV)

Best box I've used?
Coolsat 5000 for the speed of the blind scan
Pansat 1500 for the meter…yeah its spazzy but its legit. The blind scan is thorough but slow.

Other good ones
Pansat 3500
Fortec Classic
Fortec Ultra…this one uses an interface like the Pansats

 

[SatinKzo]

hsoliman, it's not considered good ettiquette to hijack a thread.

As for my favorite well it's gotta be the Pansat 3500sd. I don't have years of experience, but this one just hits the right spot for me.

As for the CS8k, well if it gets blind scan, then I'm gonna seriously consider one.

 

[rdel]

Hey Ice
What do you think of your dreambox for normal use? I hear that dreambox and a few other European units are good, but no blindscan.
For those who have dreamboxs, with the exception of no blind scan, what do you think of them? (I'm thinking about getting one)

 

[Mr Tony]

rdel
I dont have a dreambox. Never had one

 

[Lucky53]

anybody like ..or dislike their Fortec Mercury II ????

 

[tdti1]

I like my old Pansat 2500a, I used the 2700 it's nice, I also used the Coolsat 6000 I like the channel edit and delete on that, my buddy has a Traxis dbs3500 and it's neat I love the super fast blind scan and the great signal meter.

 

[hiebert]

Traxis DBS 3500 is a good receiver, very fast blind search, very good signal meter and work great.

 

[voomvoom]

My favorite would have to be my Qualitv, with the 4:2:2 capabillity as well as HD. To bad it doesn't do Blind Scan, and at times, it's a bit more than flakey. My most used is my Pansat 3500s, I just love the way it works, absolutely no complaints from me. I also have the Coolsat 5000, and there's nothing bad I can say about it. I just like the Pansat better, no particular reason.

Al

 

[cspiteri]

The CoolSat 5000 is a great receiver for the $$. There`s plenty of support here on the forum although the manual is not that great. For any receiver you choose, do some shopping on the net. I have found CS5k prices to vary as much as 20%.

 

[updatelee]

I have a dreambox 500 and 7000, I love them both, if your a little computer savy the 500 is a much better value, the 7000 is just easier to setup pvr as you can use internet harddrive insted of a network storage.

it doesnt have blindscan though, which sucks, but I use my merucry II to scan and move the motor, when I find a new freq its easy to scan with the dreambox, just type the freq in and press ok, once its got the freq it finds the channels as well as my mercury.

dreambox defn isnt as user friendly but it has some pretty powerfull features if your willing to put the time into it.

$200 and you get a pvr (though network storage) and also can stream 4:2:2 and HD to your computer and have your computer decode it. basically streaming content is like having a usb tuner, you can change channels with the web interface and use your coputers to decode.

 

[dougruss]

anybody like ..or dislike their Fortec Mercury II ????

I've only had my Merc II for a few months now,and am very happy with it!! No complaints ....so far !!

 

[rdel]

rdel
I dont have a dreambox. Never had one

Sorry about that Tony
I thought you had a 500 at one time.

 

[VinceT3]

So far I'm leaning on coolsat 5000, I need the blind scan, integration with channel master is a huge plus.. I would prefer the 8000 but no blind scan kills..

anyone know what advantages the 6000 has on the 5000?

 

[updatelee]

if the mercury II has any down sides, its the fact that channel master doesnt support it yet

 

[linuxman]

I'm like Al.

I have a Coolsat 5000 and 2 Pansat 3500sd's. There are some things I like about the Coolsat, like moving the channels around and renaming them, plus the fast blind scan, but I really like the Pansat. The signal meter on the CS is way off. The Pansat meter is pretty good. It jumps a little but gives a little more indication of true signal. Add the memory card for channel transfer back and forth to the computer, Channel Master support, good blind scan, and to me the Pansat wins.

Just my opinion.

Fred

 

[kstuart]

Now that I've used the Fortec Mercury II for a few weeks, there are some annoyances:

- Adding a channel to a Favorite List is rather tedious:
Press Channel Edit on Remote
Move to Favorites and Click
Move to the particular favorite list and click
Click on Menu to exit
Move to Save and click
Click on Menu to exit
Alarm clock rings now that you've fallen asleep and slept all night

- Remote is "fair" (not good and not poor), a lot of buttons are hard to dintinguish from others in the dark

- Absolutely no other remote will control the receiver (except perhaps a "learning" remote)

- Will not work correctly with a combination of 22k switch and Diseqc switch (that evidently will work with other receivers)

- Clock will only keep time if receiver is never powered off

Is the favorites list any easier with Pansat or Coolsat ?

 

[VinceT3]

I'm not worried about remotes.. if its on my main tv (if its the 8000 without a doubt it'll be on the main tv).. then I have a harmony remote.. which controls anything..

 

[stogie5150]

I haven't used but two receivers, the CS 5K and the satpros. My next receiver will be another Coolsat. I simply MUST have blindscan! it took me a bit to get used to the 5000, but I like it. IMO you cannot go wrong with the Coolsat 5000.:up