What receiver and LNB would you buy?

[iafirebuff]

OK, I know I have asked in the past about receivers, but here is the deal. Our Dish contract is up next month, and we find that we mainly just watch stuff on FTA and local OTA. So, I have 2 receivers, but I would need a 3rd. So I want to get a new receiver for my "main" tv. I am looking at the Coolsat 5000 or 6000. Out of all the receivers out there, what would you buy?

Also, I want to upgrade my lnb. Currently I have universal and standar lnbs, all single output. I want to get one that had dual output. What lnb would you buy?

THANKS for ANY input, good or bad.

 

[voomvoom]

A new receiver would have to be HD capable for me. And either Blind Scan or 4:2:2 is a must, but both would be better and it would be nice to have a Digital OTA Tuner in it as well. Remember these HD capable receivers will output the signal in SD, so you can still watch HD channels (in SD mode) on your old analog tv until you move toward an HD TV in the future? Prepare for the future now!

Al

 

[iafirebuff]

Sounds like a nice featured receiver.........I had not thought about HD capable

 

[voomvoom]

Sounds like a nice featured receiver.........I had not thought about HD capable

Larry, the problem is, there is no receiver that has it all. And probably never will be. Right now there are some HD receivers with Blind Scan and there are some with Digital OTA Tuners and there are some with both, but there is only one (set top box) with 4:2:2 (and it doesn't have Blind Scan or the Digital OTA Tuner). The Fortec Passion doesn't have the Digital OTA Tuner, but it is promising 4:2:2 and Blind Scan. To me, that will be more appealing than the others, but I do already have a 4:2:2 STB in the Qualitv, wish it had a Blind Scan though. Brian at SatelliteAV has said that the Passion is scheduled for an October, North American release. Only then will we know for sure if it has both 4:2:2 and Blind Scan.

Al

 

[brada]

If I had money, I would buy Dreambox500 or newer, 600: even the one without HDD is capable to record shows. And it's small!
I don't plan to have HD TV, but may upgrade TV set some day, which will solve digital OTA question: all newer TV's willl have the digital tuner.
I am not sure does Drembox support USALS, though.

 

[john green]

Invacom QPH-031 on the LNB would be a great choice.
I also love the Coolsat receivers. Can't really go wrong with either model.

 

[SatinKzo]

Since you say main tv, I'll make a pitch for the conaxsat Trio with dixv support (saves my kids DVDs from all the abuse). I love mine. Blindscan like a fortec (many options and settings). Good motor control, PVR with USB harddrive. Trickplay stuff coming for pausing and rewinding live TV

Unit doesn't do HD tv, but will upconvert divx to 1080i over component. Handles AC-3 channels well like PBS's

 

[Mr Tony]

LNB would be either the QPH031 or the Sadoun dual (scrap that Universal crap...standard LNB easier to work with)

Reciever the CS5K is nice. The Coolsat 8000 is nice but too many bugs (IMO) and no blind scan.

The Visionsat is nice and you can add a hard drive if you want

 

[dishMIKE]

Tony is the Coolsat 6000 as good as the model 5000 which seems a little harder to find ? Thanks, Mike

 

[ghia]

I'm using a CS5K and the QPH031 on my main TV. I will probably keep this set up until the new HD receivers mature a bit. IE: price comes down, or all the features I want in one unit.

 

[Mr Tony]

Tony is the Coolsat 6000 as good as the model 5000 which seems a little harder to find ? Thanks, Mike

The 6000 & 5000 are pretty much the same box. It has a few things that the legit FTA'ers dont need (7 day EPG) but the original idea of the 6K was
"Its a 5000 in a 4000 box labeled the 6000"

 

[iafirebuff]

The only reason I currently have a universal, is for Cubavision 58w BUT, I rarely watch it!

LNB would be either the QPH031 or the Sadoun dual (scrap that Universal crap...standard LNB easier to work with)

Reciever the CS5K is nice. The Coolsat 8000 is nice but too many bugs (IMO) and no blind scan.

The Visionsat is nice and you can add a hard drive if you want

 

[iafirebuff]

Thanks all for the input! I will do a little research and see whats what. So far the Coolsat 5000 and the QPH031 are in the lead. I am thinking about putting up a 2nd motorized dish, and for that I will do a 90cm for sure

 

[CharredPC]

Thanks all for the input! I will do a little research and see whats what. So far the Coolsat 5000 and the QPH031 are in the lead. I am thinking about putting up a 2nd motorized dish, and for that I will do a 90cm for sure

Ironically, I'm shopping for a new setup and have compiled a very similar list I won't double-post it here, but you can find it in the main section on the thread I started.

 

[Mr Tony]

The only reason I currently have a universal, is for Cubavision 58w BUT, I rarely watch it!

I thought you had the Dish at 30W? Cubavision Int'l is on there too

 

[iafirebuff]

I did. That is the dish that got destroyed in the storm I plan on planting a dish in its old spot soon, either a Primestar @ 30w or a motorized since I can hit 30w from that spot.

 

[SatinKzo]

I wish I could see 30w.

 

[Mr Tony]

I did. That is the dish that got destroyed in the storm I plan on planting a dish in its old spot soon, either a Primestar @ 30w or a motorized since I can hit 30w from that spot.

oh yeah thats right...forgot about that

I wish I could see 30w

line of sight issues or below the horizon?

 

[provresgrp]

Believe it or not, I actually researched for over a YEAR before deciding on a receiver. (not constant research of course).

My family & I hardly ever watch TV, but we wanted to have that option when we DO decide to watch something, but paying a cable/satellite bill was out of the question for 4 hours or less per month of television viewing.

My choices were finally narrowed down last month to the Coolsat 5000 ($135) and the Viewsat Ultra ($170).

I ended up going for the coolsat, and am 98% pleased with it.

The only thing I think about now, is whether or not I would have rather had the VSultra which has a USB port I could use to plug in an external hard drive for recording.

As of now, I just can't spend the extra money on a hard drive, so it doesn't matter anyway, but if that's something you would be interested in, I would go with the viewsat Ultra. If not, save your money and get the Coolsat 5000 or 6000.

 

[Anole]

Well, I feel a little hamstrung with just the CS 5000 and 6000 to choose from.
I'd at least put the Mercury II and Pansat 3500 on the list to think about.

Have you considered one of the low cost units with blind scan and the ability to record your shows?
Coolsat 7000, Conaxsat Duo/Trio (review on this site), or the Visionsat IV200 (reviewed on this site).
Some if not all of those will do blind scan.
I think SatAV sells the latter on FleaSpray for a quite attractive price.
Read CharredPCs thread for encouragement.

To connect to two or more receivers, an LNB with two outputs would be mandatory.
...Followed by a 2x4 (or maybe 4x4) switch.
Kind of depends on if everybody looks at one motorized dish, or you want to add extra fixed dishes to the mix.

I would buy a QPH-031 for my next LNB, but I'll stop short of recommending one.
I'll suggest it, though.

_____________________
Invacom SNH-031, SKY Mexico DVB321-3, Fortec 36", AzureShine 36", Mercury II, Satpros DSR500s, Twinhan 102g & StarBox
Thanks to Sadoun & SatelliteAV for good deals, & SatelliteGuys for good reviews.