Merry Christmas everyone. I am going to get a new receiver soon. I was reading all the info on new models at Cyberdss.com, and man, is there a lot to process. I have narrowed my choices with all the info and I just wanted to get some quality feedback from owners of the new Conaxsat, and the VS Ultra. Thanks in advance you all.
I'm finding that many who have BOTH, all say there are advantages to both...but the Ultra is easier to setup and use..and prefer the Ultra pic quality and scan speed, and simplicity of loading and its overall simplicity....and the Magnum is NOT for newbies (who don't read), but the Ultra is..and the pansat is the toilet compared to either the Ultra or the Magnum..
satscan , I don't know why U are having all these problems with your Ultra, most newbies have No problems with them...they are really simple..and no harder than any other Viewsat or a Pansat 2700 , in fact easier!
I am Testing Viewsat Lite, Viewsat Extreme, Viewsat Ultra, Extremeview Magnum, and Pansat 2700.
Viewsats are the easiest to use and support so I will continue to sell and use them over any other box. As an aside, I think Pansat has totally gone down the tubes, still uses "old technology", and has their days numbered. (The sad part is, I used to swear by them a year ago and recommended people buy them, but now that has shot me in the azz...lol)
Now for the comparison between the Ultra and the Magnum.
Pic Quality: On my 52" HD projection (both using component video) Out of the box I found my Ultra had a considerably better, more vibrant picture than the Magnum. Watching, for instance, a soccer game, the contrast between the jerseys and grass was definately more distinguished. People in the forums have said by adjusting the colors it would be better, but I haven't had the time to play with it as yet.
Ease of setup and use: The Ultra blows the Magnum away in this regard (all Viewsats do) I resell set up receivers and support them and I loathe the problems I would have if I resold the Magnums. A recent case in point; I run five birds into my "main" receiver with 82 and 61.5 going through a 22Khz switch before my Diseqc switch. On my viewsats, extremely easy to set up. On the Magnum, a real pain. Recently, when Bev changed pretty well all of the transponders on 82, it took me no more than 5 minutes on my Ultra to delete and rescan (without having to hook up seperately or turn off other lnb's or anything) It took me more than 45 minutes to try and do the same on my Magnum and it was still incomplete.
Channel Scans: Extremely slow on the magnum. They say it is because the scan is more refined and will be more complete, but on any of my Viewsats (without going direct or turning off lnbs, for other birds) I get just as many or more channels in one tenth the time.
Channel changing: The Viewsats (all models) change channels at least twice as fast as my Magnum.
Guide: The Magnum has a problem when you switch between providers and guide retention. With the Ultra, the transition is almost unnoticable (the guide populates very fast) but the magnum you have to force it to get the guide when you switch (or wait).
Loading Bins: There is really no comparison here. The USB stick loading makes the Ultra worth the difference in price for this reason alone. I know the Magnum has a "wireless" option, but you still have to get up and switch the receiver off in the back, go back to your computer, start the load, and then go back and turn it back on again. With the Ultra, I load the bin to the stick, go plug it in, upload in about 5 secs, it reboots and done. And the Magnum with the wireless option costs about $40 more than the ultra.
Key Rolling: I have found the Magnum does roll the keys faster on both providers. I'm not sure if it's the bin, or if it just happened to be the "right" time when I switched boxes. But when I did switch so far, it has rolled faster.
Support: Bins: They are both well supported at the moment (that changes quickly at times when it comes to FTA) They both Maintain they are here for the long haul, but my gut feeling is Viewsat will last longer.
Warranty: Magnum has said they have a "no questions asked" return ploicy (which is very good) but I haven't seen results either way so I can't comment if this is indeed true. With Viewsats, I buy from the dealer who happens to be the "Official" return agent for Viewsat, and I can return boxes to them "no questions asked" but that just may because I'm a regular customer (which I have done).
To summarize, the Magnum is indeed a VERY good receiver for those "initiated" already into FTA (the hardware and the features for the price is outstanding), but I would not recommend one for a "newbie".
I find the Ultra a far better "all-around" receiver. I feel it still has some minor "growing pains" to overcome, but is the best of them all.
Sorry for the "long-winded" response, but that is my opinion thus far.
ive read that ultra has problems changing channels from one sat to other, and some people complain from a buzzing sound, i guess this is going to be corrected with time, is this true??
and how does the sonicview sv100 compare with these boxes??
Dont forget about little ol CaptiveWorks Premium. It blows away my VS Platinum, and has been up longer than all, cept mabe extremeview. Card sharing is proven and ready to go if need be :-)
That was a excellent reveiw LK.I'm happy with the ultra overall,but with all the hype I guess I was expecting more.The audio is terrible,I run mine through a spectrum equilizer and my technics home threatre.I can hear and see the difference.If this is improved over the extreme,I feel sorry for those peeps.Pansats audio blows vs away.I had my pansat back in nagra 1 day's so it owes me nothing.It was time to upgrade,but vs does have it's advantanges and so doe's pansat,like it loads mirred channels were vs doesn't.And few other small benifets.More ird's more option's and hopefully more up time.lol
And the more I think about the magmun and your review ,the happier I am I chose the ultra,but it would of helped me choose a lot easier if you posted that before .
U are the ONLY person on the planet that says the Pansat even compares to any Viewsat or Magnum!...and many will say that they like their Magnum over the Ultra...But NOBODY, except you, will say the Pansat is even in the same league!
Thanks a ton for the info guys. I think I am leaning towards the Ultra, but can't get past the USB PVR cababilities of the Conaxsat. I own a VS Plat, and am very happy...Decisions.
Wow SS you spoke without lk in your mouth... But you are right Pansat "Audio" and Video are far better than Viewsat..
Viewsat is great for dial-a-bin users it's made for only stealing v3b and charile.. Where pansat is great for that also plus watching true FTA like that of telstar5.
HEY MINN - HAPPY HOLIDAYS right back 2 u...lol...this is just like old times; i guess davidvd is born-again good guy, but now we have other troublemakers making their mark.
MESSAGE FOR MEMBERS:
I will defend LK 'till my username is banned....not because i necessarily agree with everything LK says, but because i know these jackazzes have targeted in on him.
There is a reason they want him 2 leave. They want him gone because they know he IS the most helpful member on here - despite any personality quirks which we all have.
They want him gone because sites like this one, and with members like LK, are helpful 2 the FTA cause. I encourage everyone 2 think carefully about this....there IS a motive for their existence. Let's band together & put these jokers in their place.
Once LK leaves they will target anyone else who may help at this site. They DO NOT & WILL NOT want this site 2 be an option. And they will & have already driven many away.
I encourage everyone 2 hang in here...and support those like LK who are being intentionally targeted.
I, for one, will try and leave a comment about supporting LK after every post by "dsscom" or his aliases ( u may recognize them by their anger...just read their replies, which will surely follow). I encourage everybody else 2 do the same. Let's send these azzes a united message.
there they are..don't know who is who..but they doing it...LOL