Visionsat and coolsat7100

[brotherhood]

looking at the specs Visionsat and coolsat7100 , they are the same machine ,so what makes the Visionsat a better choice?

 

[Anole]

- reasonable price
- great support from the company
- great champion in our man, SatelliteAV (Brian)
- flattering review right here on the forum

I don't recall anyone saying they got the Coolsat version and commenting significantly on it.
Think the only difference is that the CS has some built in flash memory you can use without a hard drive.
I started out on a 60gb 2.5" drive which worked fine.
Then I found a bargain on a new Western Digital 500gb for about $79
Can't see a use for built-in flash, but with the cost of big thumb drives coming down, you can use one of those if you don't like hard drives.

 

[Pepper]

the coolsat 7100 does NOT have built-in flash, the 7000 did. So if you don't have something connected to USB you have no PVR functions, it still works as a receiver though.

 

[jerwucef]

I was about to get the Visionsat when they were on clearance, but then from everything I could find out, the USB port is apparently only on the front behind a panel, and the idea of having a cable permanently coming out of the front from an open door and going back to the hard drive was just a little to unsightly and passed. I'm still looking for a PVR receiver to take over my constant recording of RTPi with a flaky Lifetime Ultra and a flaky Panasonic DVR, and for a time did settle on a Coolsat 7100 since they're readily available where I am, but now I'm being drawn to a Conaxsat Duo. I think my Fortec or my Panasonic is going to have to flat out just die in order for me to finally make a decision.

 

[brotherhood]

it funny that every Portuguese household i go into uses pansat or fortec ultra ,never once did i see a coolsat .
i must be the only goose that loves coolsat.

 

[Anole]

the coolsat 7100 does NOT have built-in flash, the 7000 did.

Thanks for the correction. I guess I'm not paying enough attention to their models.
They sort of fell of my radar when they trashed/abandoned their successful 5000/6000 series

I don't care for the USB on the front, behind the door, either.
But you know what? I got over it!
Since I access the hard drive several times a week to make a DVD, the front panel is lookin' pretty handy.
I'd thought about relocating it to the rear (and there have been some discussions here on the subject), but in the end I haven't bothered.

Couple of days ago, NewEgg had an 8gb thumb drive for $12 after rebate.
Today, I see it''s up to $15 AR (free shipping).
Those things fluctuate in price all the time, and if you want one, just -wait- for it to happen!
While I do not recommend a thumb drive for recording, you might like the idea.
Using several cheap 8gb sticks or maybe 16gb in a few months, will become attractive to some users.

(...but as cheap as 500gb hard drives are, I don't really consider alternatives very viable)