Joker CAM n Universal CAM

sat_freak

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hey u tech buffs

i m thinking of goin for some kind of pentacrypt CAM

apart from Magic CAM i also encounter terms like Universal 7in1 and Joker CAM......are they essentially the same?

if no then what are the drawbacks n advantages?

i presume joker cam handles the noZAP skypilot encryption!
is there more to it...
has anyone tried it

pls share ur feedback


PS: i hav an echostar D2500-IP receiver

thanx
 

Nickolai

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Sat_freak,

the Universal CAM is a clone of the Magic Module and can be loaded with Pentacrypt software. I do not believe it gives any advantages vs the MM, but may be worth checking out.

The Joker cam is a different product with its own soft, can not comment, as have not seen or tried it.

Check out 2old's link "Info on every cam in existance" for further details - these CAMs are listed at LEF data site.

BTW the D2500 you have should work reasonably well with MM, as I had the AD3000 before, that belonges to the same family.

However, as Rolf pointed out you may not be able to enjoy all the delights of Thor at 1W. :(

Regards
 

Yorin

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The Joker Cam... a quick review by Laurals.
I am using an 'Elvis' Programmer and Humax 5400 Receiver plus a Fun5 & 4 Fun4 Smartcards,to update the Joker cam,you will find out why I used so many cards Later !!!

If yo don't have a Fun5 card you can use 2 Fun4 cards, you can programme the same card twice if you only have 1 Fun4 card, just make sure you use the Fun4 version files.

Programming the cam with
Fun5 version
loader.hex = Flash file
EepV069_1_5.hex = External EEPROM file

I used an 'Elvis' Programmer to programme the card, I first set the External EEP to 24C512 thats the size of the eeprom for the Fun5, then loaded the files ' loader_hex' to the Flash and the 'EepV069_1_5.hex' to the External EEProm clicked programme and it took around 3mins to programme the Fun5 card.

Once the card has been programmed with the above files, you will need to insert the card into the Joker cam, make sure the receiver is switched off at this point, once you have inserted the card into the Joker cam, and the cam is inserted in the C.I slot of your receiver, switch the receiver on, you will be asked if you would like to 'Use the Smartcard to Update the Module' choose yes, then turn off the receiver,leaving the card still inserted in the Joker cam,turn the receiver back on, you will then see the message 'Module is downloading' the download took me several hours to complete, the reason being I wanted to see how the cam would react if someone made an error while updating it, so I programmed 5 cards with the following:-

The approx update time to install new firmware is <5mins

1 card with the Fun5 software on
2 cards with the Fun4 software on
2 cards with the erase software on

I first used the Fun5 card to update the Joker and after about 10 mins I turned off the receiver and then turned it back on,the cam just continued to download as normal, so I removed the cam and replaced it again after re-initialising it just continued as normal, so I then removed the Fun5 card and replaced it with the Fun4 card 2 it asked for the card 1 to be inserted after inserting Fun4 card 1 it just continued downloading,even after trying the erase cards mixed with the Fun4 cards the cam carried on as if nothing had changed, so I dont think anyone can make a hash of programming the Joker cam, it seems to be fool proof.
Even while updating the cam you can still use the receiver to watch FTA, or if you have a second cam and the correct card encrypted channels as well, the only indication that there was any activity is the text 'Module is downloading' will flicker every now and then,or if viewing an FTA channel a popup window will appear stating that the Module is downloading,press the 'OK' button to remove this window and just be patient untill the downloading process runs its course,once the download has finished you will get the message 'Module update succeeded'

Once the Joker cam has been updated, you can then go into the common interface menu of the receiver, the Joker cam is named just as 'Module' in the menu, click on 'Module' and you get this selection of CAs:-

All = Select this if using a 6in1 card
MG = Mediaguard or Seca
VI = Viaccess
IRD = Irdeto
BETA = Betacrypt ( but Premier World + ORF is not accesible ? )
NAG = Nagravision ( but not Polsat on Hotbird )
NZ = No Zap

All
MG
VI
BETA - A
IRD - A
IRD - B
BETA - B
BETA - C
NAG
IRD - C
NZ

(Skycrypt is the encryption used by No Zap)

Using a 6in1 file channels opend faster than with a Magic cam, and even after fast zapping there was no lock-up or waiting for channels to open, but as far as channel choice goes you get more choice with a Magic cam, at the moment, the firmware with the Joker seems more stable and you have a far less chance of encountering any problems associated with these types of multi cams, such as lock up or freezing etc. Tested on Turksat Astra Hotbird Sirius & Hispasat and as long as your cards upto date you should have no problem viewing your selected channels.
When trying to view No Zap you may have to go into the common interface menu of your receiver and select NZ once the channel clears you can then go back and select all, then you can view NZ while using your 6in1 card.

If you remember back when the Magic cam first appeared the channel choice was rather limited for it, and as there are only limited files available for the Joker cam, I believe it to be unfair to make a comparison soley based on channel choice at the moment.

Price wise the Joker will cost you far less than the Magic cam also you do not require any special loader to update it if and when the next one gets released.

Loading/updating the Joker is by far the fastest of the two to update, also the Joker seems almost fool proof to get wrong during this process.

Both cams have their good & bad points, I would hate to have to choose between them, luckily I don't have to.

You may experiance a different result if your not using a Humax 5400, as I made this review using only a Joker cam & Humax 5400.

I still have some testing to do with the cam, like will it a/u on Viadigital & Carbo with the correct files of course.

If you belong to other Forums and believe this info will be of help to the members there then please feel free to post anything that may be of help to others.

All the best
Laurals

After thought, if you already own a patched receiver thats capable of getting Betacrypt & Conax, then the obvious choice would be The Joker as this will add and not just mirror what channels you can already access.


Just finished testing the Joker cam for Auto updating Viadigital and Carbo on Hispasat.
And Im pleased to say auto updates, on both Viadigital & Carbo, were a complete success.

The card works on either Nag or All,but it may be more prudent to select Nag when waiting for an Auto-Update, go in the Conditional Access Menu of your receiver to make your selection.

Tested and working 100% on Humax 5400 using Funmagic & Apollo Programmer
to write the Flash.hex file, no External or Internal Eeprom files are required.

The attached file is a copy of a Wapo File

Channels used to obtain updates:-
Viadigital
Showtime - update time = 13mins - Date 03 April 2003

Carbo
Disney Channel - update time = 4 mins - Date 03 April 2003


Latest Software Update for the Joker Cam

You can now view Irdeto Beta from the Joker Cam, with the latest firmware update v070
After updating my Joker Premier World, ORF, Show TV etc were no problem for the Joker any longer, they came in almost instantly you select a beta programme, which is another feather in the hat for the Joker team.

The only problem you will incure is when updating the Joker to v070 you will be required to use the the two files erasecam_eeprom_1 & erasecam_eeprom_2 as the main firmware update file eepv070_1_5 & CamLoader will not finalise, and just keeps looping, if using the two Fun4 files you will notice it keeps on asking for Card 1 and then Card 2 to be inserted over & over again.

What you will have to do is run the firmware software, in my case it was the Fun5 firmware version v070 and after 2-3 mins remove the Card and when asked for Card 1 insert erasecam_eeprom_1, then you will be asked for Card 2 insert erasecam_eeprom_2,you will then be asked for Card 1 once again this time insert the Fun5 Card with the updated firmware Camloader & eepv070_1_5, you should then get the message 'Module update succeeded' remove the card and restart your receiver,then you can insert your 6in1 card, and start viewing.

The updated firmware v070 is available from either www.laurals.com or http://jokercam.szm.sk/eng/


Joker Cam and Emulators

After testing the Joker Cam on numerous emulators the result was the same on each and every one,the Joker Cam does not work via a season card and emulator, all the emulators ceased to function after getting the Atr.
After trying many variations of the baud rate on various encryptions nothing cleared, so if you intend to purchase a Joker Cam for use with a season interface and emulator, you may be wise to go for a Fun Card instead as this has no problem what so ever with the Joker Cam.
Ive seen a few adds describing the Joker Cam as working with Fun Cards Season Interfaces and emulators, guess this was made by someone who dont even have a Joker Cam but is just presuming it will work with anything, so if you see an add describing the Joker as being compatible with an emulator, just ignore it

It would give me great pleasure if someone could prove me wrong on this issue, as I would like to see it working with an emulator myself.

Further updates can be found here:-
Joker Cam updates:-
 
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