Anybody own a CS 7100 Micro PVR rec?

[McGuyver]

correction: I meant to write "Micro" , not Mini

I ask because I'm considering one just because I need another SD receiver that has the PVR function. I have only found a couple of reviews here and there on the internet but they are mostly the hacker's and seller's reviews.

I would like to hear from an actual owner using it for TRUE FTA and how well this box performs, I'm mainly concerned about the PVR function and the Blind Scan feature, do they work well or does this box have issues?

Thanks in advance

 

[Mr Tony]

fixed the title

From what I have read here I thought the 7100 is just like the Visionsat but has a built in buffer of like 40 minutes

 

[McGuyver]

Thanks for fixing the title Iceberg....

I read the same thing, it has an internal memory of 1 gb for recording shorts. I highly trust CS products but don't have any right now... I bought 2 6100 privates for a friend and they work perfectly. I'm hoping to have the same good luck with a 7100, I found them on ebay for $99 bucks + free shipping, this is the cheapest I could find.

One thing I found is that some sellers say the Max HDD PVR capacity is 500gb and others say 750gb, conflicting info frustrates me although I have a few 500gb so it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Anole]

The Visionsat IV-200's have gone for quite a bit less.
And they've been favorably reviewed, AND gotten great firmware upgrades in their lifetime.
I don't think the latter can be said for the 7100 (but I don't know).

edit: on second thought, I remember some comments by SatelliteAV on the subject.
Do an Advanced Search. Comments may have been in the Visionsat review thread, or elsewhere.

As a last resort:
If you do get the 7100, and do have any troubles, look for the last hack ware, and hope it fixed any motor or switch problems.
A quick search, finds: CS7100 V222 20090520

 

[SatelliteAV]

In my experience..... the 7100 has had some buggy issues with the onboard flash. I would opt for a unit that doesn't use the flash as recording buffer.....

 

[McGuyver]

Thanks Brian, I guess I'll keep looking, it's hard to settle on a receiver these days with all the reported quirks and bugs they have. Do you have any personal preference or suggestion on a SD box that is around $100 bucks?

 

[SatelliteAV]

Are you asking a Ford manufacturer to recommend a Yugo?

Kidding aside.... I kinda am partial to our GEOSATpro for a new unit, Visionsat IV-200 for a used.

 

[Pepper]

Finally, here is the review I should have written a year ago back when I got the thing.

First, just as a correction of the above, the CS7000 was the one with the built in flash memory for a buffer. The CS7100 has none but "new in the box" came with a 1GB USB stick. Most USB sticks or powered USB hard drives will work with this unit. The USB stick is also the preferred method for loading new firmware or saving and restoring channel lists.

It works really well as a PVR, at least as well as you can expect when there's no EPG available for 99% of channels. I prefer the lastest hackware over the factory version simply because it is better at supporting stacked LNBFs and a variety of switches. Had I known at the time what its real purpose was (stealing Dish and Bell) I probably would have chosen something else, but it really is a good receiver for true FTA regardless.

In November, this was discussed and I uploaded a few files that were relevant. http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/194720-what-happened-coolsat-2.html#post2027778

One thing I have noticed, the box is kind of finicky if transponders are too "close" together. For example whatever satellite PBS is on now. There are several "feed" transponders if I remember correctly that are just a few MHz apart on the same polarity. I was only able to input one of those at a time, as the existing one would popup as a conflict if I tried to add another close to it. Speaking of PBS, the box has both coax and optical digital audio outputs that can connect to a home theatre and decode AC-3 audio streams.

Blind scanning seemed slow, but keep in mind this is the only blind scan unit I have yet owned, maybe they are all this way. Several minutes to scan the whole satellite looking for signals, then a few more minutes spent scanning whatever it found looking for channels.

 

[McGuyver]

Thanks Pepper, this is good news indeed... but it's kind of odd that there's so much conflicting information about receiver specs from one site to another. some say this box has 32 megs of DDRAM and others say 64, go figure. and I found one seller that double posted the specs about the PVR HD sizing, they said 500gb and 750gb all in the same specs table, I guess it's a guessing game. But I find these conflicts in almost every brand when shopping.

Just to let you all know, just before returning here to post, I purchased a "Viewsat VSPro PVR" online for the same price of $99 bucks. It's brand new from an authorized dealer who is having a super sale on their stb's. They are in Calif, my home state too.

If any of you have any input/info you'd like to share with me on this VS Pro please post. I already found the user manual in pdf format, I don't think I'll need any files though.

And for your info, in my research I found that the former N2 hackware for the "CS 6100 Private" will make it a USB PVR ready stb. This too is interesting how we benefit from the former hackware, lol

 

[McGuyver]

Update to my last post, the seller emailed me and said the Viewsat VS Pro is out of stock and they can't fill the order... how convenient when their website says it's IN STOCK and they took my payment. LOL

So now I'm back in the market for a RELIABLE standard definition PVR ready receiver that WORKS as advertized.

My main interest is using it for PVR function. It's critical that I have the ability to edit the recorded files in my PC using Windows XP (32 bit) OS and a software editing program. I have the PC, software and Seagate 500gb hard drives but need a dependable and usable PVR !!! My one year old Pansat 9200 HD is on it's death bed, the piece of crap has major memory issues that may be the cause of the factory firmware, that's another issue.

Getting back to the Coolsat 7100 PVR,

Pepper, what file system does the CS 7100 use and can the recorded files be edited in the Windows XP environment using video editing software that supports ".ts" ".vob" and so on?

I do a lot of special video recordings and extensive editing for my church and I need to get a replacement for the Pansat 9200 HD. High Def is not needed, just a versatile FTA machine.

Thanks to anybody who can contribute in this thread.

 

[McGuyver]

Pepper, never mind the question about the CS 7100 PVR file system, I found your review accidentally and you stated that it uses FAT32.

Thanks

 

[SatelliteAV]

I am sorry that I confused the 7000 with the 7100. My bad! So many models, so little time!