Might be ready to get a HD??>?>?>

[skewed]

Last time I made the mistake of getting an expensive receiver and I learned a lesson. So now that I am in the market for a HD I was thinking of getting this one. It is the cheapest one I could find. I just don't know squat about HD so I don't know which one to get. What does everyone think about this one, oh and I would welcome advice from recievers that anyone actually owns. As I have a feeling that used ones are going to be getting cheaper and cheaper.


This is the box I am looking at.

CAPTAIN 8000 FTA HD SATELLITE RECEIVER

PRODUCT FEATURES:

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DVB-S Fully Compliant

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Total 5,000 Channels

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On Screen Display with 256 Color

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Multi-Picture Function (4-16 Pictures)

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Blind Search (Power Scan)

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True 16:9 Widescreen

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Powerful Search Function: Automatic, Manual (PID) & NIT

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HDMI, Y Pb Pr (Component), S-Video & Composite Video

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SPDIF Digital Sound

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USB Memory Stick Interface

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Multi-Language Supported (OSD & Menu)

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AC-3 Digital Sound

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DiSEqC 1.0 & 1.2 Compatible and USALS Supported

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Powerful EPG: Now/Next & 7 days Program Guide

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One Button Set Up Feature

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6 Year Limited Manufacturer's Warranty

 

[cracklincrotch]

I bought a Viewsat 9000 back last September and wish now I got the Coolsat 8100.

I considered the Captain (because of the price) but just about everywhere I went Google-wise said the Captain was junk for legit FTA, but great for the pirates in the way of features, or lack thereof depending on your point of view.

The Captain does not have DVB-S2 or PVR capability. My VS9000 hardware supports (but the software does not) DVB-S2, broken/non-working blindscan, and does have a mostly working PVR as of the December 2008 firmware. Not having DVB-S2 capable software really p!$$es me off. I can deal with the lack of blindscan in other ways.

Read the reviews here: FTA/MPEG2 Equipment Reviews - SatelliteGuys.US. You'll be better off doing so, if even for piece of mind.

Just remember that, like any other electronics, any hardware you're looking to buy today was obsolete yesterday. But if you're spending money on an HD box I think you'll be happier in the long run getting a DVB-S2 capable one. That's where everything is going. It's already happening. Diamond 9000, Coolsat 8000/8100 are about as expensive as a Captain and will do DVB-S2, and PVR.

It's better to spend the money and have the feature than spending 90% of the money and be wishing you spent the 10% more for that one feature you're now lacking in the future.

 

[skewed]

This is exactly the kind of stuff that I need to hear, I want HD to upgrade I know it wont get 4:2:2 but I dont want to be hindered by anything else. I may just wait for a deal on a coolsat or something. I do know I will not spend more than 50 on a viewsat. No offense but I have an ultra and I hate it( blindscanning really sux)

 

[TRG]

Are you sure that the Coolsat 8100 does DVB-S2? I can't find that in any of the online specs. But then again I might be missing something.

 

[1captain]

This is exactly the kind of stuff that I need to hear, I want HD to upgrade I know it wont get 4:2:2 but I dont want to be hindered by anything else. I may just wait for a deal on a coolsat or something. I do know I will not spend more than 50 on a viewsat. No offense but I have an ultra and I hate it( blindscanning really sux)

I am with you on a Viewsat skewed, had 1 an that was 1 to much for me, it was 9000 model.

friend of mine has that Captain HD receiver an after him having it for about a week, I had to go over an show an help him how to set it up, also no dvbs-2 with the Captain. an it has bugs in it, just about all hd receivers have some types of bugs in their soft-ware.

now you're Cool 8000 & 8100, will play dvbs-2 right out of the box an play a real good picture little hard to set up, nothing at all like the Cool 4000, 5000, an 6000. very different, the 1 I had here use to reboot a lot, an it came from the eye patch gang think that could of caused its reboots problem.

now my favorite HD receiver here is a Pansat-9000, but you can not buy a new 1 any more, an not that mainy where ever made cause they came out with the 9200 right after the 9000 was only out for about 5-months. they will do dvbs-2 right out of the box an it will lock an play very week signals better than any of the HD unites I have had, but no PVR. if PVR is what you want then go with a new Cool-8100.

 

[cracklincrotch]

Are you sure that the Coolsat 8100 does DVB-S2? I can't find that in any of the online specs. But then again I might be missing something.

I've found posts here and other FTA sites from people that have both the 8000 and 8100 and they both do DVB-S2 out of the box.

 

[brentb636]

Other than it's lack of Blindscan, I'd claim the CS8000/8100 as the best FTA HD box. Purchased used on ebay, they are very nicely priced, with a solid picture, and no surprises. I've only had mine maybe 5 months now, but it's real useful.

 

[Mr Tony]

yes the 8100 does DVB-S2. When Gary (gas) was still at Equity he told me he was using that to view the Equity DVB-S2 channels on G28 C-Band (which are now gone)

 

[skewed]

But the cs8000/8100 has no blind scan??? I was under the impression that all the coolies had them. I am having a real problem with my viewsats marginal blindscan so I dont think I could deal with a box with no blindscan.

 

[cracklincrotch]

I wouldn't worry too much about that. It does blindscan DVB-S to the best of my knowledge. There are no boxes that blindscan DVB-S2, at this time, that I know of. (What a caveat, eh?)

In fact, the only reason I bought the CS5000 is for blindscanning. Then I'll transpose the info to the VS9000. Problem solved.

 

[brentb636]

But the cs8000/8100 has no blind scan??? I was under the impression that all the coolies had them. I am having a real problem with my viewsats marginal blindscan so I dont think I could deal with a box with no blindscan.

No Blindscan for the CS8000/8100 at all. I use my Merc II for scanning, and the Coolsat for viewing HD and DVB-S2 .

 

[stogie5150]

IIRC the Captain is a functional twin for the Neusat HD. A few of us had the unfortunate experience of that box...have a look in the equipment review section and you'll see the exploits of us and the Neusat.

That being said I'll go along with the others here, coolsat 8000/8100 or, a Diamond HD. I liked the Diamond better than the Coolsat 8000, but that is personal choice.

Good luck!

 

[gillham]

This is exactly the kind of stuff that I need to hear, I want HD to upgrade I know it wont get 4:2:2 but I dont want to be hindered by anything else. I may just wait for a deal on a coolsat or something. I do know I will not spend more than 50 on a viewsat. No offense but I have an ultra and I hate it( blindscanning really sux)

Coolsat 8000/8100 does not blind scan DVB-S or DVB-S2. No blindscan at all. (as the OP mentioned) This sucks, since at least DVB-S blindscan would have let me skip slaving with a Coolsat 6000. I'm over it though, after watching numerous HD feeds, news, sporting events, etc.

I bought a Coolsat 8100HD and I like it a lot. I then stumbled across a Coolsat 8000HD on eBay for $cheap$ that was broken (F connector pulled out of the tuner) and was able to fix it. It works great as well albeit without USB/PVR.

If you watch for used 8000/8100 units you should be able to find a good deal and won't have too much invested when they become obsolete.

If we can believe the part about Dish switching to nagravision3 real soon on the "high value" content like HD/PPV/pr0n, I'm guessing there might be a flood of used HD units on the market in 2009.

 

[cracklincrotch]

Flood? More like an empty Pacific being filled with receivers.

 

[Mr Tony]

But the cs8000/8100 has no blind scan??? I was under the impression that all the coolies had them. I am having a real problem with my viewsats marginal blindscan so I dont think I could deal with a box with no blindscan.

The 8000/8100 has a different menu setup/guts than the 4000/5000/6000/6100/7000 etc

 

[ghia]

The 8000/8100 has a different menu setup/guts than the 4000/5000/6000/6100/7000 etc

Does it let you sort the satellites from east to west like the 5000 did? Can you delete and add from the default list of satellites? I've been thinking of picking up another HD box, I have the Traxis 3500 for scanning.

 

[Mr Tony]

Does it let you sort the satellites from east to west like the 5000 did?

it can be...the sorting is goofy as in the review. What I did (when motorized) is set each satellite in order E to W so setup wqas 61.5,72,74,79,82,83,85,87 etc...then after scanning I select sort by TP and it sorts them by TP by satellite. I dont know about the newer software if it sorts differently (I have the newest factory software but others have old hackware in it that drops the 31 sat limitations...maybe they can comment on it)

Can you delete and add from the default list of satellites?.

yes...originally I deleted all the sats that I didnt need (everything KU from 1W to 61.0W) and C-Band...but then added them

right now my 8000 is mainly used for DVB-S2 and C-Band (fixed dish)

 

[brentb636]

Does it let you sort the satellites from east to west like the 5000 did? Can you delete and add from the default list of satellites? I've been thinking of picking up another HD box, I have the Traxis 3500 for scanning.

Using ver 12001 or higher of the hacker software, the satellites are ordered from east to west. You can't delete any satellite, but you CAN rename them. There are also several USER satellite definitions you can use. Only problem I've had is that I had to rename Galaxy 14 to Gal14/AMC21 to cover the new PBS bird. The UPSIDE of the hacker version firmware is that you can actually backup your channels , clear out the stb, and restore the file and be in business again. Not an option with the factory firmware, if you customize the Sat list at all.

 

[ghia]

Thanks for the info guys...