Coolsat 8000 thoughts??

[carlospr43]

Hello Iceberg,
This is probably not the right place to post this question but just in case just do the move if necessary. I have purchased an used Coolsat 8000HD w/remote/software/users manuals and original box which is in transit to me. I have noticed you probably owned one of this. I have read the product review which contains a lot of pages in it. Can you please take a minute and summarizes in term of pure FTA for me what you like and don't. After I got an Nfusion HD in a bargain it wasn't was I was expecting for (No Blind/No sats renaming/No Manually Search/PIds entering etc. So I'm moving the Nfusion to a family room with some 5.5 dishes that I already have set in some sats and will dedicate the CS8000HD for my 10' bud. Also, using a 48" 1080HD TV Thanks

 

[brentb636]

Here's MY take on the CS8000 . I have two of them in service, one running my 1.0M ku dish and one running my 1.2M Mini-Bud setup.

Cons-
1) No Blindscan
2) No Channel Editor
3) With recent firmware versions, added satellites cannot be integrated into USALS, they must be Diseqc 1.2 mode.
4) Signal meter in Dish tuning is not at all linear, and factory firmware has an annoying tuning beep.

Pros-
1) Good Picture Quality
2) Good and simple Manual Scan and PID entry.
3) Good motor control , which I find useful for tuning the more elusive DVB-S2 signals.
4) Satellites can be renamed ( BUT there positions are fixed) .
5) Works well with DVB-S2 as well as DVB-S
6) I've never had a problem on any feed that I can detect, in 4:2:0 video.

I obviously like the CS8000, since I use it as my primary stb. I'm sure Tony will chime in when he thinks about his CS8000 days.

 

[carlospr43]

Nice inputs!!!!! Thank you so much!!!! This inputs are going straigth to my References BOOK (My Bible)

 

[carlospr43]

Also I'll need to know which firmware versions I receive with and see how I'm going to proceed. Meanwhile let me know which version is working better so far?

 

[Mr Tony]

Brent pretty much nailed it. I liked the OTA tuner in it...very sensitive tuner but only does ASTC (digital) sop if you have analog stations they wont show up. But the digital do.

I knew there was no blind scan and channel editor when I got mine originally (I was part of batch 1) so never expected it. Manual scan is a breeze. Just type in the info and hit "ok"...it wont store the TP in the list but will store the channels

The one thing I didnt like is how it puts channels in the list. It sorts them by SID so you will see numerous CH1 and items like that. I know I typed up a book on what I mean. Lemme try and find it
You can sort the channels by transponder which actually sorts by satellite THEN transponder but every time you scan it resorts them again

 

[Mr Tony]

Also I'll need to know which firmware versions I receive with and see how I'm going to proceed. Meanwhile let me know which version is working better so far?

2025 is the most recent factory software

 

[brentb636]

Check out this thread, http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/213401-coolsat-8000-hd-sg9120.html . It contains the latest Factory firmware for the CS8000. I use a "hackerware" version that kills the tuning tone beep , and supports Diseqc 1.1 switching, but those are the only advantages that I know of.

 

[LoTech]

Personally, I love my Coolsat 8000 even without blind scan. DVB, DVB-S2, QPSK, 8PSK, MPEG2 SD/HD, ATSC HD tuner. If you can find one for a decent price, what's not to love?

 

[Mr Tony]

I cant find what I mean. I'll try to explain it the best I can

OK so lets say you have 4 sats scanned in (72, 74, 91, 97). What happens is it looks all jumbled and you'll see something like this as a channel list

1. NBC Satops 1
1. Service 1 (ohio News Network)
1. Color bars
1. 3ABN
2. NBC Satops 2
2. Color Bars 2
2. 3ABn Espanol

etc...it sorts them weird

What I do then is say sort by transponder then it will sort them to show
1. NBC Satops 1
2. NBC Satops 2
3. NBC Satops 3
4. NBC Satops 4
1. ONN
1. Color Bars
2. Color Bars 2
1. 3ABN
2. 3ABN Espanol

When I set mine up that time I went from Eastern sat to western so they sorted that way

 

[crackt]

i could only store 31 diseqc 1.2 positions to my vbox and gbox with my 8.1k. definately an issue if you plan to use it for c and ku on that BUD with a positioner.
otherwise its an awesome tuner.

crackt out,.

 

[Mr Tony]

crackt
version 2025 eliminates that issue. I had that issue with just KU & DBS
9 DBS sats at the time
23 KU going from 72-129...I was OK until 125 popped in there

 

[brentb636]

I cant find what I mean. I'll try to explain it the best I can

OK so lets say you have 4 sats scanned in (72, 74, 91, 97). What happens is it looks all jumbled and you'll see something like this as a channel list

1. NBC Satops 1
1. Service 1 (ohio News Network)
1. Color bars
1. 3ABN
2. NBC Satops 2
2. Color Bars 2
2. 3ABn Espanol

etc...it sorts them weird

What I do then is say sort by transponder then it will sort them to show
1. NBC Satops 1
2. NBC Satops 2
3. NBC Satops 3
4. NBC Satops 4
1. ONN
1. Color Bars
2. Color Bars 2
1. 3ABN
2. 3ABN Espanol

When I set mine up that time I went from Eastern sat to western so they sorted that way

I simply think of all the channels , by satellite, and use the FAV button on the remote to select the satellite I want. That way, I only see the channels on one satellite. It keeps this old guy from getting too confused by all the 001 , 002, etc channels.

 

[hd fan]

Iceberg, I think the issue is still there with 2025A. I have the same issue as crackt now that I have C/ku band capability.

 

[Mr Tony]

huh...it must be hidden then
The old version use to label the sats 1,2,3,etc through 31
version 2025 didnt show that option anymore

 

[crackt]

crackt
version 2025 eliminates that issue. I had that issue with just KU & DBS
9 DBS sats at the time
23 KU going from 72-129...I was OK until 125 popped in there

i know we stand divided on this iceberg. i remember having this discussion with you a couple times now. haha.

anyways the problem i have is that, the save position command from the reciever, does nothing once 31 positions are saved.

after you suggested 2025a i flashed the cleaner and 2025a about 10 times trying to get it to work. it just dont for me. i even bought my gbox so i could eliminate the vbox2 from the equation.

crackt out,.

 

[crackt]

huh...it must be hidden then
The old version use to label the sats 1,2,3,etc through 31
version 2025 didnt show that option anymore

its not saving the sats in the reciever iceberg. its the fact the reciever will not issue the save command to the positioner after 31 sats are saved. im sure it is a code fragment from the old 31 sat issue your talking about.

crackt out,.

 

[brentb636]

Sounds like something I wouldn't encounter. since I only use Diseqc 1.2 mode for a few birds. USALS settings work fine for most my Ku sats. I suspect that anyone using Diseqc 1.2 mode for a lot of birds will encounter limits on most receivers. Frankly , we haven't found a perfect box yet. The AZbox, for all it's limitations, is the best that I've seen, overall.

Still learning,

 

[crackt]

Sounds like something I wouldn't encounter. since I only use Diseqc 1.2 mode for a few birds. USALS settings work fine for most my Ku sats. I suspect that anyone using Diseqc 1.2 mode for a lot of birds will encounter limits on most receivers. Frankly , we haven't found a perfect box yet. The AZbox, for all it's limitations, is the best that I've seen, overall.

Still learning,

your right. it really only is an issue if you use a BUD positioner.

crackt out,.

 

[LoTech]

DVB, DVB-S2, QPSK, 8PSK, MPEG2 SD/HD, ATSC HD tuner

... and if Miami 1 on Satmex 6 is still MPEG4, we can add that to the list too.

 

[Mr Tony]

yeah the 8000 can do MPEG4