Coolsat USA currently offers Repair & Upgrade Program with a discount for its older models Coolsat STBs 4000, 5000 & 6000 to be exchanged to new models Coolsat 6100 & 7100. What are the major Feature & Connector differences btw these older and newer models that would justify such upgrade for an extra fee? Or its just an attempt to improve STB sales and hold prices up that dropped drastically down after "support" for the STBs has being discontinued? Any serious performance differences btw the old and new STBs? Which one of the older Coolsat models is the best - they seems to be all sold for about the same on Fleabay?
Coolsat Sat Receivers Repair & Upgrade Program?
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The 7100 is a PVR option unit
I dont think the 6100/7100 will work with Channelmaster which for me is huge. Love Channelmaster
other than the PVR option on the 7100, not much difference between the 4/5/6000 & the 6100
I dont think the 6100/7100 will work with Channelmaster which for me is huge. Love Channelmaster
other than the PVR option on the 7100, not much difference between the 4/5/6000 & the 6100
I have read that Coolsat is very close to going out of business. Supposedly they don't even produce the 8000/8100 anymore, as dealers can't even get it. Anyway, sending them a receiver for exchange might be risky, unless you can talk them into sending the new one first. I'd also be suspicious that the new ones are actually new. I also have reason to suspect that some Coolsat dealers actually sell returned units as new.
i have 2 5k and one 6k and love them all its my best receiver.
will probably have to clear out a few receivers soon make way for the new
will probably have to clear out a few receivers soon
make way for the newThey started that "incintive" about a year ago just before dropping legacy (4,5,6K) support/warranty supposedly because of the Cooltec clones and it was costing sales. ( no honor amongst theives, imagine that!...)
Anyway it was for pennies on the dollar, and pretty much a marketing thing for their next gen STBs. The 6100, AFAIK the main upgrade was a USB I/F for a usb stick that eliminated the need for a serial cable & loader proggy every time the FW needed to be "upgraded". Someone once posted (another site) it was to be for PVR function, but I never saw that in the specs, OEM specs anyway. I think the 7100 was the 1st factory sanctioned PVR box.
Even if the 6100 would do PVR, I wouldnt trade my 6K for one, especially at the exchange rate. I didnt even know the program was still in effect. I thought it had expired long ago.
Unfortunately the IKS exploit is proping up STB prices more than I had expected them to be at this point in time. Echostar has secured the CAM (so far) but, their is still an avid group that is capturing CAM<---->IRD com, gleening out and sharing decryption keys from subbed systems over IP. Nothing new, it's been happening in Europe for years. I expect the "public" servers will likely eventually be sniffed out, but anyone doing VPN or similar may be doing it for quite a while.
Since all the FTA setups are on a "3rd party" network (AFAIK), I dont know if they are capable of interfacing to a private sub/VPN system (home or LAN based system with a privately subbed Echo box). Once the "3rd party" key servers are taken out, we may finally see the high end PVR/HD boxes come down in price considerably as well.
)Anyway it was for pennies on the dollar, and pretty much a marketing thing for their next gen STBs. The 6100, AFAIK the main upgrade was a USB I/F for a usb stick that eliminated the need for a serial cable & loader proggy every time the FW needed to be "upgraded". Someone once posted (another site) it was to be for PVR function, but I never saw that in the specs, OEM specs anyway. I think the 7100 was the 1st factory sanctioned PVR box.
Even if the 6100 would do PVR, I wouldnt trade my 6K for one, especially at the exchange rate. I didnt even know the program was still in effect. I thought it had expired long ago.
Unfortunately the IKS exploit is proping up STB prices more than I had expected them to be at this point in time. Echostar has secured the CAM (so far) but, their is still an avid group that is capturing CAM<---->IRD com, gleening out and sharing decryption keys from subbed systems over IP. Nothing new, it's been happening in Europe for years. I expect the "public" servers will likely eventually be sniffed out, but anyone doing VPN or similar may be doing it for quite a while.
Since all the FTA setups are on a "3rd party" network (AFAIK), I dont know if they are capable of interfacing to a private sub/VPN system (home or LAN based system with a privately subbed Echo box). Once the "3rd party" key servers are taken out, we may finally see the high end PVR/HD boxes come down in price considerably as well.
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Here's a reality check. The source has to be within the footprint of the Echo bird. How else would they be able to capture the stream real time?Thanks. I don't know about "3rd party servers taken out" reality check, given their international "undisclosed location" and jurisdiction, but as of today all the wise guys are clearing out their beloved Coolsat boxes.
I suppose they could be piping the gleened data via IP/VPN to an undisclosed site then "serving" it from such an out of jurisdiction location, if such a place exists. Dont kid yourself. There is no anonimity on the 'net. If you are connected, you are numbered and accounted for, somewhere by someone.
The issue with re-directing is about timing. The control word "stream" could be in for some serious propagation delays. At the end of Nagra 2 the CW was needed every 6-8 seconds to keep the decryption smooth. I dont know what N3's specs are but I've got to think it is at least what they were using for N2.
Regardless, something somewhere doing the primary capture is within the Echo footprint(s), therefore locatable and within jurisdiction and control. It's all a matter of time and resources.
Guess I'm not following your meaning here........ but as of today all the wise guys are clearing out their beloved Coolsat boxes.
Actually there is a great deal of difference. The 4000, 5000 and 6000 units were make by one company who had a falling out with Coolsat. Coolsat then contracted a different company to make the 6100's. The menus, operation, virtually everything is different. The 6100 is not anything near the quality of the 4k-6k units, it's only advantage over the older units is the USB port. Backing up my sat/channel maps is easy enough with my laptop and a serial cable.
I actually prefer my Coolsat 5000 over any of the other brands I've deal with for working with a 10' dish and a V-Box positioner.
I just want a nice HD box that Blindscans - lol.
I might 'rough it' with an AZBox -
I just got my AZBox today and it took me about an hour to figure out how to scan in the truck race backhaul feed but I finally got it. I have read that blind scan is possibly in the future for the receiver.
Well, I wonder if its in the interest of state to finance a massive halt operation around the globe that in practice enforces monopoly of 2 companies on brain washing their citizens. In the interest of citizens though is diversity of info sources, which will be suppressed, if production of FTA receivers is halted by shrinking consumer demand, and FTA programming is halted by shrinking audience. In my view, the common interest is in supporting alternative info sources, and one side's guided enforcement should be balanced by state support to FTA. Yes, each major Sat TV operator (out of 2 ) offers a great choice of "independent" programming. However, in reality they don't just assemble that orchestra, but in large determine what to show, how, when and to whom (via viewing statistics, rates, time slots given and such). To understand it, its enough to watch at times Al Jazira and such - its a totally different highlight of familiar events, and a different selection of events to highlight. I'd say, FTA enriches the audience, allowing to look out of the box and make more intelligent choices in life.
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Could you be more specific, what companies were the previous and current designer & maker of Coolsat receivers? The brand owner usually only specifies desired feature set, but not the hardware design. As to firmware, its often done or finalized by a 3rd party, developing it (or simply branding, or modding) for several different STB makers, especially those employing the same chips in their boxes.
A few other mentionable enhancements, more RAM and flash memory. uP upgrade to a faster and wider SYOAC. (Brazos vs Virgo. Quick,anyone remember the pomp and circumstance when the STi5518 was hailed as the savior to the STB industry?....but I digress.....) anyway.....
The extra memory allows for more user definable storage. ie sats, channels, TPs, etc. and a larger OS (future upgrades, yeah, right) in the flash. The uP upgrade was a patch-eye feature all the way since the uP had to emulate the increasingly complex CAM math and run the STB's main OS tasks, all without stumbling. For true FTA DVB-S operation , the extra horspower isnt really needed. On non PVR boxes the USB I/F was a feature for those that needed a means to repeatedly and easily re-write the flash.........
So easy a grandma can do it!I dont know about the 2nd gen STBs blind scan capabilities. They have some pretty high standards to live up to in the legacy boxes. Except for increased channel capacity, none of the other new features have any use, for me anyway.
Like Iceberg said, take away Channelmaster compatibility and it's a downgrade AFAIC.
I concur with your observations, and to answer your opening question, of course "its in the interest of state" but that's not to say in the best interest of the citizens of the state. We as FTA users do have access to the raw news and events, not the version that is considered acceptable to be dissimenated by whatever entity or entities that make these determinations. I am not a sheep, and it REALLY gets on my nerves to be treated and expected to act like one.
In a nutshell, the state will never subsidize open access to raw information (FTA) as they can not control it. The SSPs, CSPs and ISPs all know which side the bread is buttered on, and have no intention of crossing the ones holding the butter knife. I feel fortunate that we (still) have access to the info that we do. That might not always be the case. We, as a free society have already given up many freedoms and personal liberties, and it has been essentially mandated to do so in order to be a member in this modern day society. I cant help but wonder what kind of world my grandchildren will be raising their children in.
Coolsat 7100 is PVR with no blind scan but very nice unit but lack of blind scanning option is the main reason i sold mine long time ago.
No blind scan on the 7100? So, apparently this is not just a Visionsat IV-200 in a different box...
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