If you want more uptime than downtime, then here are four WORKING options:
1. Plastic. Requires quite a bit of learning and you will have to buy programmer and possibly some other equipment, and of course a ROM102 card. But your uptime is very good. Can be susceptable to ECMs and there is a risk of having your card looped. ROM102 cards are selling for $200 to $300 on ebay.
2. If you've got a lot of balls, then go with a Neosat. It's uptime will be at least as good as plastic. Another plus is that it is cheap; but you will need an always-on connection to the Internet. Downside is that we don't know how safe it is because it does grab card keys from across the Internet.
3. My personal fave: C00lsat with an x2 reader and a ROM102 card. Downside is that you will have to buy an unlocked ROM102 card. Upside is that your uptime will be better than plastic and you will be more protected from ECMs (bin has a built-in blocker).
4. Sub sharing will get you 99% uptime but you don't get free PPV or pr0n. You will have to share the cost of a sub.
If you continue to buy other FTA receivers, and God forbid, clones, then you will continuously be in the dark.
C00lsat 5K receiver about $150 x2 card reader $30 ROM102 card (unlocked) anywhere from $200 to $300 Info can be found under C00lsat files at dsstester*com
You cannot use your Fortec in this way. But seeing as it's worth so little, I would just keep it around, in case.
If you've got a lot of balls, then go with a Neosat. It's uptime will be at least as good as plastic. Another plus is that it is cheap; but you will need an always-on connection to the Internet. Downside is that we don't know how safe it is because it does grab card keys from across the Internet. I would be a little careful using the net...........
I woundn't be able to sleep nights knowing there is a wired direct connection,no matter how it routed to me! Knock...Knock ... Who's there? nobody but who needs the stress over tv? Expessivly when there is safer way's.
It doesnt make sense to buy a ROM 102 card and then use it with cooolsat..the total cost of this solution would be more than double the cost of a VS..plus rom 102 is not guaranteed to run forever..as the revs go higher, the life of rom 102 comes to a slow end so nothing is guaranteed.
Just like I tell anyone interested in DSS: there is no such thing as "free tv". Charlie/Bev will always put out ECMs to make it cost more than "free". If you can get away with paying the same as a sub with minimal downtime, then it might be worth the trouble to test, because you get perks (pr0n, sports, ppv).
Nothing is guaranteed to last forever, but, ROM102 will have less downtime than a cardless bin. And when ROM102 technology is made obsolete, I'm sure all FTA bin writers will be back at square one!
But ROM102 will be around for a while. Think about all of the DN receivers that are cardless, where ROM102 technology is built into the chips. Surely, DN wouldn't want to replace all of those receivers!
Here's the deal with C00LSAT. 1. C00LAST 6K (incldg. pre-installed card reader & shipg.)= $210 * avoild buying a new CS-5K a lot of returns due mftg. defect.) 2. ROM 102 card (REV 103-108) = $200 to $300 * Make sure it has a valid ATR, otherwise, you ca NOT AUX the card. REV 103 is the easiest to unlock, less chances of looping. * Unlocker $130
TOTAL = $ 500 minimum
* If you loop the card, if the card has NO valid ATR, or the card was REV-109, you need to buy another card & try again. *Regarding Jason's #3 post (LOL), that still has to be proven. Wether the card susceptible to being ECM'ed or NOT, we don't know yet. So WHO knows? Only the C00LSAT coders that created the (AUX) bin file that knows the answer. The bin file does the emulation. The card is only there for the MAPROM. I had a few posts here before, and had exactly the same opinion with Jason. But after extensive reading (read,read,read TDG), I could be wrong or totally wrong. They say that the C00LSAT's AUX bin file has it's own "BLOCKER", and is on "SLAVE" mode. And also, thinking that the card is in C00LSAT, not DN, there is NO WAY it can be ECM'ed. I can't imagine a DN card being ECM'ed in a DTV receiver. BUT AFTER DOING MORE RESEARCH AND READING, specially from one that has been doing testing since DN/DTV, my opinion was nothing but useless. So how could you prevent your card from being ECM'ed (not a guaranty, since we don't know when the next ECM going to be), unplug the RG cable off the CS receiver when not watching TV. Hey, it's $250!...LOL.
TDG, I agree about my point #3 not being proven - I should have put in that caveat. This is why you have to know what you're doing no matter which method you go with. Read, read, read...
Remember, there is no ONE SIZE FITS ALL SOLUTION. Nothing will last forever. All options have strengths and weaknesses! There's NO PERFECT SOLUTION either.
Jason's summary makes the most sense in my opinion - time will tell. Money and cost asidde, I think C*oolsat has the best option right now, and is a shade ahead of the traditional plastic-in-a-DN-box. Again, time will tell.
Sure VS is tempting but they have proved to be liars very often so it's hard to believe their promises. Time will prove them honest or not if they have everything to stay up a loooong time.
Truth be told... I cannot wait for the next BIG ECM because it will start to provide genuine answers, and provide more clarity. Will VS go down for weeks and weeks again? Will C*oolsat card owners smile or cry? Will Neosat eventually take their money and run before year's end... and will that internet connection come back to bite the owners? Will another ECM kick the other FTAs while they are still down to keep them down? Will DN finally learn how to REALLY nail plastic?
Well, I think the next ECM is around the corner. and yes, we'll see who's fix stays up...If CS makes it thru, I'd be so glad. I love my Pansat though, even though BL sucks!
The last 2 ECMs were only less than 2 weeks apart...
If the ROM102 map has been totally dumped, as claimed by VS, then there's only so much Charlie can do in terms of an ECM: change autoroll signatures, move TPs around, send revs that change the way a protocol works, etc... I think they will be screwed for a while anyways.
If BL says his next bin will last for a year (I find that hard to believe, however it is possible) then he must also have the full MAPROM and is on to something!
Jason, let's say Charlie throws his next ECM thru the air. And let's say VS and BL does NOT have the FULL MAPROM. So VS & BL is again blacked out! Possibly CS (with card) too. If not, VIOLA! BUT even if CS goes down, all they have to do is RE-CODE their AUX bin file, & up they are! So even IF CS goes down, they will be back again in no time as long as CS provides the AUX solution. And better yet, if you have both CS and DN IRD, then, there is very limited DOWN time. If CS does not come up immediately with a new AUX bin file, then use the card with DN IRD (well of course with the use of ISO).
SO BOTTOM LINE, C00LSAT's downtime will be very short, even if they don't have the MAPROM, just as long as they keep up with the AUX file. And it seems like, it's one reason they are not spending time/money for the cardless fix. Other than, they also wanted to sell those X-2 readers, before they become scrap.
I guess I'm more of an optimist. I believe the C00lsat is a company that always try to be on the bleeding edge, instead of just wanting to get rid of card readers. Their decision for an auxed card may not be popular, but I, as well, believe it's the best thing going right now. It's the cat's a55! lol
Same thing here. I think it's the best option too. But I also have a couple of DN-301 IRD's. I did not hesitate buying a CS. The 301's are just a back-up, in case there is a temporary CS "downtime"... The (2) 301's were married with the (2) yellow cards. So it's PERFECT! I sold 4 Pansat 3500's, one left, then got me a CS.