What is the best FTA Receiver to buy?

[XcessKills]

I have been in this hobby for close to 3 years (1 year plastic and 2 years trying different options such as Magic Card) ... Now I want to try FTA REceivers but I am a total noob in this area so I will appreciate of some of the veterans in this field can give me some advice...

As far as FTA I heard there are 3 streams (Pansat, Fortec and DVB), easch one with pros and cons. I am computer literate and I feel comfortable JTAGing and opening boxes, etc... I have a HDTV and I would like the best audio and video combination as possible (preferrably a receiver with Component Cables output and Optical Audio output), something that can be firmware updated easily and that will work with Dish for a while...

Having said all this I would appreciate if you can give me some suggestions on which receiver models out there are the best...

Thanks for you help guys...

[el6]

Currently, there is only one FTA receiver with component out. The Pansat 3500. The video quality is just 480i. No better than the S-video. It is easy to set up.

As far as 3 streams for (Pansat, Fortec and DVB), I am not sure what you mean ?

Also, coolsat pro, viewsat and space star are pretty good.
Dreambox is the best but cost more money.

At this time, I would wait a couple more weeks before spending any more money. If the avr-x card come out, the price of FTA box will drop for sure. There maybe more testing options coming soon. (Hang on to your ATMEGA 128)

[ginseng3]

Mvidea is by far the best box out now. Super Fast, full Epg, and adjustable picture.. almost like HD. Also 130mhz CPU .. all other out are like 81mhz..

think about it .. 130mhz or 81mhz both for about 160.00 or so ... hmmmmm


NO Brainer .. the only thing still out on the Mvidea is fast support .. However .. they did just put out file for for EPG and it works .. SO .. Beside Dreambox .. you will not get EPG ..

Make your own call .. but ... Mvidea sold me.

By the way .. I had pansat and coolsat before this unit. Both work .. but EPG not full and units are slow . Or I should say .. pansat is really slow .. coolsat a bit faster.

Ginseng3

[XcessKills]

Which box is better:

Fortec Lifetime (or Fortec 5900) or Pansat3500S ??

[XcessKills]

HI Ginseng3 I did some research on the web about Mvidea .. What benefit will 130 Mhz have vs 81 Mhz.. Will the EPG be faster or channel navigation... Mvidea does not have a Card Slot or an SD slot , plus Pansat is been proven to work... Do you currently use MVidea..how good is it? DOes it have Component out and Optical Audio out?

[jjplace]

I have tried the Fortec Ultra but sold it and bought a Viewsat . The channels change extremely fast compared to the Ultra. I did not Know too much about the FTA receivers but when I received the Viewsat and flashed it ,I was up in about 15 minutes.Still using the same D***net Dish.Instead of sw21 I used a Diseq switch.Happy so far with over 600 channels wide open .

[jjplace]

Also the Viewsat has 160mhz processor and 16 megs of ram.Just a little extra insurance down the line. Viewsat Platinum. Plus it has a card slot . I have been told that if they ever went to 768 bit encryption the extra horsepower would be needed but I dont know for sure or if it will ever happen.

[ginseng3]

XcessKills I think jjplace has answered your question about the MHZ .. 130 mhz will handle higher encryption, If this should happen. 81 mhz box will become a paper weight at that point.

As far as fast .. yes the Mvidea unit is much faster. As far a Component out or Optical Audio out ..... For what would you need them for ?


I can tell you this .. the Component out on the 3500 looks like VHS compared to the Mvidea unit which by the way .. You can adjust the picture .. Pretty crystal clear if I don’t say so myself.

Sound on the unit works great .. I run it though stereo anyway .. NO Optical on the Mvidea.

Last but not least lets think about what FTA is and how much you are willing to spend.

FTA is a temp fix for those who enjoy living on the edge. Why spend 200 / 300 for an FTA box that is slower then a box at 150.00 with less to offer.

Yes if your going to worry about all the bells and whistles .. spend away .. get a dreambox .. and when that unit becomes a paper weight .. then what ... ?

My personal pick is Mvidea .. you can choose for yourself .. I just post my results.

regards
Ginseng3 :)

[staticvoid]

Which box is better:

Fortec Lifetime (or Fortec 5900) or Pansat3500S ??

both units use 81 mhz processor, but i have to say Pansat 3500 cause of support and sd card use.

i have a pansat 3500 and a viewsat plat. i use the viewsat the 3500 is sitting on the shelf.

if you have the $ to spend get a dreambox. both the viewsat and dreambox have faster processors.

[karn]

Mvidea is by far the best box out now. Super Fast, full Epg, and adjustable picture.. almost like HD. Also 130mhz CPU .. all other out are like 81mhz..

think about it .. 130mhz or 81mhz both for about 160.00 or so ... hmmmmm


NO Brainer .. the only thing still out on the Mvidea is fast support .. However .. they did just put out file for for EPG and it works .. SO .. Beside Dreambox .. you will not get EPG ..

Make your own call .. but ... Mvidea sold me.

By the way .. I had pansat and coolsat before this unit. Both work .. but EPG not full and units are slow . Or I should say .. pansat is really slow .. coolsat a bit faster.

Ginseng3

Could you point me to a dealer to purchase a Mvidea?
I'm sold too.
Thanks.

[flybyu]

And there is additional faster units out there, like the UltraStar, SpaceStar and
as said before the Dream which all have 250Mhz or 350Mps of processing
power if needed. Do we need more speed or processing power, who knows in
the near future, the old Fortec/Pansat units with slower processors, less tsop
area (1Mb) and less ram (2/4Mb) might be left out in the cold and go the way
of the old BB. I have a coolsat running at 80Mhz+ and still do not get a full EPG,
but is much better then the old original Fortec that I had in channel changes
and Scrambled errors. Looks like speed does matter sometimes, time will tell.
Also does that Dream unit not have a ethernet port to pick the full guide off the
net? Wish the SpaceStar and UltraStar had it also.