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Okay, you have made the decision of entering the world of FTA or want to upgrade to a better receiver. But the question is what receiver should I purchase? There are quite a few of manufactures and models to choose from. Starting out there are also a lot of questions, I will try to answer the most asked questions;
Should I buy a used or new? Buy New, as this "industry" is like the Cell phone industry, new features, more user friendly, better compatability, Etc.
Is there one receiver that is easyer to program? All new receivers are about the same, like driving a car, You get out of a Ford into a Toyota, basicly everything is there, just in different places. Where should I get advise on the receivers I am considering? Give the greatest weight to the "Senior" members with multiple receivers. There are many who have one receiver and think it is the greatest (just like your first car, the best car in the world!). Where should I buy from? Any reputable satellite dealer. ONLY IF they carry the manufacture and model that you have chosen. Note: stick with your selection, do not get talked into another that they have a "special" on, If they can't supply your selection, find another dealer who can. Clones, what are they? If the receiver is popular there will be Clones, a better more accurate description would be "Counterfeit". A clone or counterfeit is a PHYSICAL copy of the original, they will even have the logo's and trademarks, they look exactly like the original. But that is where it quits, the insides are different, and the original manufactures programs that change frequently will not always work in the clones. They have very poor support. STAY AWAY FROM CLONES! Buy from a reputable dealer. If in question, ask the dealer, is it a genuine (Manufactures name) or a clone? and use a credit card, or PayPal for protection. What is the "key" in selection of a receiver? SUPPORT! Support if the most important "feature" of the receiver. Many people get wrapped up in the speed of the processor, the size of the memory etc. While these features are important, they are secondary to support. If you buy the NEW "SUPER WAZZO" receiver that was the dealer special, and the dealer tells you it is a great receiver, however after the next ECM (Electronic Counter Measure, the providers send them to confuse non-subscribing receivers) and it is not supported in a timely manor. With the new "SUPER WAZZO" there are few answers and IF'y support, because it is new and not yet popular. The senior members and Mod's will or may not have the answers. So you wait for a answer or a new program, your receiver is down and wife, MAD! - - So what to do? - - Buy a "Seasoned" receiver with good support. Seasoned = been on the market 2 years or longer with a good track record of supporting its products with updates. With the "Seasoned" receiver it will have alot more support in this forum, as the Mod's and Senior Members will be more likely to own them, and thus more familuar with them. Another area that is not talked about and is very pertinant, is receiver and software stability, there are receivers w/programs that have a assortment of problems that show up, vidio glitches, rebooting the receiver, locking up, just to name a few. This again is usually poor software support. Read the threads/posts/comments in receiver discussion forum.
Support = How long does it take the receiver manufacture to get the program for the receiver adjusted and YOUR receiver up & running after a major ECM (Electronic Counter Measure). This will be YOUR down time, and the $20.00 that was saved on the new "Super Wazzo" receiver may not have been such a great bargain! Some pointers; Look in this sites "FTA Receivers - Files Only" forum, under the Manufacture/Model headings and compare the software download dates on the receivers that you are considering after a ECM (Electronic Counter Measure), what Manufacture and Model had the fix the quickest or did not require a fix for previous ECMs?
A feature that is worth consideration is the USB memory stick programing and is standard on most receivers. The receiver will have the usual serial port for programing, plus a additional USB port feature, this uses a USB memory stick/drive to transfer the programs from your computer to the receiver in addition to the serial cable. It is very fast and convenient. I highly recommend it, not all receivers offer this feature, look for it. Note; there are some IKS receivers that do not need the USB memory stick, as you connect the receiver to the internet for operation and you get the software update from the internet. My top picks for stable and supported receivers as of 2009.08.20;
For High Def. the Sonicview SV8000 with the iHub.
For Standard Def. with USB loading; Sonicview SV-360 Premier (non=N-3).
Lower cost receivers the CNX Nano, Viewsat Ultra Lite or the Captiveworks CW-700S (non=N-3).
For PVR the Sonicview 360 Elite or Viewsat VS-2000 Pro (non=N-3).
For IKS (Internet Key Sharing) will decode some N-3. The K-box w/hub, the Sonicview SV360 (Elite or Premer) with the SV iHub, Nfusion Phoenix. (SV has more channels, mainly more Bev and the VOD channels, however K-box is now giving some PPV events on US Provider Ch455.
Note: There are/will be CLONES (counterfeits) of the above receivers, do your homework! Don't end up with a clone! Note; IKS receivers and support is currently very changeable, IKS updating sites supporting one manufacture may support one provider better (Canadian or USA provider), you may want to consider and research this prior to purchasing your receiver.
To make the set up and FTA files update process as simple as possible visit FTA FILES and FTA
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