Most flexible CI CAM ?

[bibi bear]

I apologize in advance for over-trying your patience & goodwill, but I've read the past posts and yet I'm still somewhat confused.

Let me begin by asking any and all's opinion on the underlying idea: might be wiser to invest more heavily in the CI CAM today and buy just a simple DiSEqC 1.2 rcvr WITH CI ONLY (ex. the Radix 3CI for 198€ - or even at auction or classifieds) and then in two years get a hard drive rcvr.

Now for the sought after advice:
Could you all (esp. the 3 wise men) advise me as to simply the most flexible two or three CI CAMs available today and indicate whether the flashing is something a newbie can do w/ a laptop or not.

Flexible = it's multiple decryption capabilities will work correctly w/ just about any hobbyist's "test" cards and in just about any rcvr.

(Part of my confusion stems from the fact that there seems to be at once both hardware and software that share similar names )

[ I was informed that the N°1 was the ALLCAM 2.017, but then I read that while "ALLCAM" certainly means Irdeto + Betacrypt it does not necessarily mean + Viaccess and/or + SECA ]

Also one of our Magi spoke of a "FreeCAM 2.018" - is that the real winner, is it out, is it hard or is it soft ?

 

[rolfw]

I think you've probably already sussed that the irdeto with the freecam or allcam software is the most flexible of cams, although there is a new universal cam being released (see other thread).

I've only just got my Freecam2.017 so really can't offer much by way of recommendation, but bear in mind also that many of the providers are in the process of changing to updated encryption versions, so it may not be as useful for a while.

Rolf

 

[bibi bear]

Thanks - so the Irdeto v2.017 FREE CAM really is "the enthusiasts choice" but owing to the change in encryption systems its flexibilty may be soon hampered. 2.018 may give back some of that flexibility but we just don't know yet (or does anyone have inside scoop contacts)Also, the supposedly very flexible "Universal" from Digicrack is eagerly awaited and despite an Italian site's review of the product, I'm pretty confident that the product isn't on any store shelves just yet (Hell, Ich calling Germany every day!) & Jensy's closed 'till 7th.

Also worth noting and underlining is that a 3-star heavyweight just recently acquired the 2.017!!

So again if this 2.017 will work with just about machine ?? - my idea seems viable. Now who else sells this CI CAM besides SatOnline/SatZone's CardMania and Astratech ?

 

[rolfw]

LOL, I wouldn't put too much store in what I buy Bibi Bear, I'm a relative novice in the Cam field. Unfortunately the prices of the Irdeto Flashable Cams are very high now, it may be worth waiting for the universal. The only reason I bought one was that it came bundled with a receiver, so the value was reasonable.

Rolf