MsgtRetired's Review of the COOLSAT 5000

[grynner]

c&p from another site,thanks goes to msgtretired


MsgtRetired's Review of the COOLSAT 5000

Overall Rating, two Thumbs up and a big ole smile!!!

The Coolsat 5000 is easy to setup, fast channel changes, pretty good picture, and easy to read OSD and EPG. The remote control has all the features needed, however the keys are a bit smaller than what I would prefer, as I got big thumbs and hit the wrong number keys a few times. The Coolsat universal remote control was easy to program with my Mitsubishi TV, Sony VCR and symphonic DVD player.

Prior to the Coolsat 5000, when I went from an ST-1000 to a DVB card, I noted quicker channel changes. Now with the Coolsat 5000, it's way faster. It's actually comparable to a subbed receiver. This is a real asset for a channel surfer like me. Channel changes within the same sat and across different Sats seem equally fast and seamless. No delay at all and it switched every time. I couldn't say that with the other receiver I own.

I connected the Coolsat 5000 receiver to both the component video YPbPr connections and the coaxial output. The coaxial output is connected to a powered signal splitter feeding three rooms. The component picture looks pretty good on my big screen HDTV, much better than the coaxial output, however, not as crisp or clear as the picture on my DVB Card using a DVI output. However, it’s a pretty good picture.

My first tests were performed by hooking up the second LNB leads from Sats (1) 119, (2) 110, and (3) 91 to a Coolsat Diseqc switch 2 feet away from the dishes. I ran a single 75 foot cable from the Diseqc to the receiver. The cabling feeds a big screen HDTV, the same TV which my DVB card feeds.

I initially flashed the Coolsat 5000 using 'COOLSAT5000_NORW_105_20051125', performed a Database factory reset, and highlighted the three Sats, in the order of my Diseqc setting, and then performed an auto scan. Shortly after that, within minutes, I was watching TV. This works very good and very fast. The software setup is super easy, much easier than my other receiver and even easier than my DVB card.

Later in the day, after playing around with it a bit, I upgraded to a newer version, where my channels and favorites stayed intact. Afterwards, I manually changed keys. This process was easy as well. I selected channel 8282, and scrolled to the proper key section (matched the Ident number), I scrolled down to the proper line, hit ok and got a key entry keyboard. This keyboard made it easy to input the keys. Key change worked good.

After testing this configuration, I saved my current channel list soas I can easily revert back after the next set of tests.

My next tests comprised using a 22k switch connected to a Diseqc port. I scanned the two Sats thru this setup, and verified. Resulting scans were good. The channel also changed quickly during viewing using this setup. Then I got froggie, I introduced my c-band and universal LNB into the mix. Setup the lnb and frequency settings to match. Performed some auto scans on various satellites. Those scans worked out good.

When I was done playing around with various scans and such, as well as verifying the results, I reverted back to my first setup. I imported my saved channel list using the CoolSat Pro Loader v.2.2. This process was quick and sure.

A few days later, I setup and aimed an extra dish towards sat 148 to be included it into the mix. I once again rescanned all the Sats in this 4 port configuration. I exported the resulting channel list into channel master. I then converted the channel list to a Mytheatre dvb card channels database file. Ran a DVB card channel rename utility which changed the names to match what Lyngsat has them identified as. Once done, I then imported back to channel master and then on to the Coolsat. This process worked good as well. All the channels work and the EPG populates just fine on all Sats as it did before the channel list change.

Now, my current setup is: Sats (1) 119, (2) 110, (3) 91, and (4) 148. Looks like I will be ordering a few more 22k switches, soas I can add a few more birds, to mimic my DVB card setup, without disturbing that setup. Sometimes I use both sat feeds (Coolsat and DVB card) on my big screen TV in split screen mode, for those must see games and such.

Since my initial setup, I have upgraded to the most current release available at the time. My upgrade path thus far: Version 1.05, 1.06, 1.07, 1.08, 1.09, and 1.10. Since I’m a tester, I will continue to upgrade and test as newer versions as they become available. It can’t get better than this. Can it?

The Autoroll feature introduced in the later releases is great. Provider key changes have been seamless. I haven't noticed any key change since upgrading to the later versions. The only way I know there was a change, is to see all the forum posts identifying that there has been one or to view my DVB card and see the dark channels. One thing I think would be nice, is to have a date\time stamp to identify when the key change was written by the Autoroll function. I then took testing the Autoroll feature one step further. I input bogus numbers for keys for both Bev and Charlie. It took less than 30 seconds for both sat to automatically roll.

I like the OSD, the quality meter is sorta like a tachometer. The OSD has all the info needed. Just need a little more room for the title of what is playing. The EPG is easy to read as well. Looks like 12-15 hours were available for nearly all the channels I checked.

The multi picture scan screen looks cool, however, the numbers it references is not the SID channel number, but some other number. The BEV channel renumbering works great, it added 1,000 to the channel numbers, keeping them in correct provider order.

One feature I think is a waste of memory, is the Games. I noticed is that with the later releases we lost a couple of games. It’s not a big loss to me, I only noticed it.

What I like best is the ease of flashing, the ease of setup and scan, the ease of upgrading the software, and the superb Autoroll feature. The best thing about this receiver is that it’s wife friendly. Between You, Me and the fence post, she doesn’t know much about electronic devices, but she can use this puppy with no problems at all, and that’s less headaches for me.

This is a great receiver. Now I am interested in seeing how the competitor's receivers stack up against this guy. Bring em’ on. Bottom line, I am a happy camper using the Coolsat 5000.