Skystar PCI card

para

Hi lads,

I intend to install SkyStar 2 TV PCI in my computer and wonder if anybody is using it already.Can it support motorised system (specification mentions diseq 1.0) and where would be the cheapest place to buy it?

thanks

Webmonkey

I've got one of the cards, its good, I amn't sure bout the motorised system , they arn't that expensive i think, if you buy a subscription to www.europeonline.com you will get one free i think, but you can buy without subscription too for 66 euro http://www.europeonline.com/en/ordering/hardware/dvb_device/dvb_card.shtml

mayto

skystar 2 card works fine with my Superjack DG 120, DiSEqC 1.2 Motor , got off www.hm-sat.de for 59 euro . they sell skystar2 for 65 euro ,delivery about 20 euro if u select cash on delivery (Nachnahme in german). you should get a motor with ss2 card to get most out of it . used programme called progdvb with ss2 card and worked well. then i got a dreambox sat reciever and rarely use ss2 card. have a look at dvbn.net (forum for ss2) and sat-industry.net (dreambox forum). would recommend dreambox 5620 over ss2 card.

watty

For Data / Direct to disk recording a Skystar2 is good (Hauppauge Nova-s)
For Data / Direct Disk recording AND watching on ordinary TV (with decent remote) and best MPEG2 decoding, then Skystar1 (hauppauge Nexus-s) is better.

For living room TV a Palcom DSL4 (€85) is excellect. A Dreambox is fine if you want to mess with CAMs and piracy etc.

All will do Motor Drive, but the PC cards need 3rd party software. I have a 4 way switch on mine as I read that extra current of Motor Drive can exceed design limits of PCI Sat cards. But it works for most people.

A Skystar1 type card is 3X price of Skystar2:
Uses its own DSP MPEG2 decoder, not PC
High quality TV out built in
Audio and Digital Audio outputs
IR remote eye and handset
Header for a real CAM CI board.

The Skystar2 has none of this so needs a MUCH higher spec PC to deliver poorer video, but is better at data.

www.technotrend.de make the cards for most people.

Depends what you want as what is best

The Cigarette Smoking Man

This guy is good for DVB cards:

http://www.dvbshop.tv/

If you get a Skystar 2 and have a Pentium 4 2.8Ghz+ you can watch HDTV on Astra. You'll need Progdvb and the Elecard mpeg decoder.

http://www.euro1080.tv/

Eurorunner

I use a skystar 2 with the Superjack DG120 motor. The skystar 2 is good for the money but does have some drawbacks as watty has outlined above. I find that it is resource intensive and can lock up a reasonably well speced pc sometimes.
As regards the motor, DONT buy the superjack!! It is the cheapest motor around but its a case of you get what you pay for. Out of the box, there was a problem with it - the 'arm' was slightly loose - and this can mess up the alignment of your motorised setup. This is not an isolated case - all of the feedback on the various sat. enthusiast sites is bad for this motor.
Spend a couple of extra euro on a Stab HH 120.

I also bought off hm-sat.de - they offer a competitive price and delivery wasnt bad considering the gears coming from germany.

krissrodriguez

I have skystar2 (Technisat) not Hauppage as specified above... it is verry good for the price. I use it with a motor STAB hh120 works perfect (u need a plugin and modified driver), I use Alt-DVB program or ProgDVB... my system is amd athlon xp 2500+ 512M ram.. I'm verry happy but I intend to swich over for a Dreambox just for my comfort..

para

thanks everybody for help
i'm only novice (never had sat system before...).So what i want is to get cheapest system with some functions and upgrade at later stage (motor / bigger dish / different tuner ). Dreambox is quite expensive (as far as i know more than 400 eur) so it's out of question and my pc is ok i hope (3000 athlon 512 ram) so i don't want skystar 1 either. so for now i consider buying lidl 80 cm dish (lnb,wall mount,sat finder) get cable somewhere connect to skystar (still looking for cheapest place) and see what hapens

Ronan|Raven

You will get a dreambox 5620 for 179euro. The version with hdd ability (7000s) is 300 odd euro and a new version is out soon with dvdrw so expect price on the 7000s to drop, it isnt the easiest rxr in the world but when ya get used to it it is fantastic imho.

byte

I have 2 Skystar2 DVB cards (thanks to EuropeOnline and Netsystem ). Have never tried a motor, though it did work with a 4way DiSEqC switch for a while. Sadly, my PC is too slow to run all the latest DVB viewing program releases, so I cannot get the full potential with the card unless I upgrade my PC.

As it stands I'm only receiving Astra 1, which is looped through my Skyline 3000. Only really use it to listen to Astra radio channels (primarily Veronica Radio )

Webmonkey

byte wrote:

I have 2 Skystar2 DVB cards (thanks to EuropeOnline and Netsystem ). Have never tried a motor, though it did work with a 4way DiSEqC switch for a while. Sadly, my PC is too slow to run all the latest DVB viewing program releases, so I cannot get the full potential with the card unless I upgrade my PC.

As it stands I'm only receiving Astra 1, which is looped through my Skyline 3000. Only really use it to listen to Astra radio channels (primarily Veronica Radio )

Byte,
Whats netsystem like. The 6 gig quota a month is good for dsl surfing but only 300kbps, would u get up to 38kbye/sec?