What CAM shall I use?

roshii

Member
My Satellite Setup
Motorized dish | Topfield TF5000CI | Diablo CAM | Canal Digitaal smart card | CAS 3+ Interface
My Location
Holland
Hello all,

Some times ago I bought a DVB-S receiver Topfield TF5000CI as I thought I could get TPS, Canal Sat, Canal Digitaal for free. I have read a few topics on this forum and it looks like only TPS would be available "for free".

I am here seeking for help because I have a few questions:
  • Which CAM should I use?
  • Can I get Canal Sat for free?
  • Which smart card programmer should I use?
  • Which smart card to use for which provider?
Any answers and/or help is more than welcome. Many thanks to all.
 
No you wont get Canal Sat for free. You want it = you subscribe to it (or find a card share but thats a new kettle of worms)

TPS is currently open on old key settings - they must be using some really ancient keys.

Note we are expecting TPS to disappear at some point fairly soon.
 
The keys are known/out for canalsat (seca2) Astra1 19.2°E, but the Nano still remains unknown, so not much use unless you have a mosc card.
For the money, I would get a Diablo cam and a Cas 3 programmer, although you will still not receive canalsat...

Regards,
Ollie
 
Thank you both for your reply. It is a bit clearer now though I still have a few questions.

Analoguesat said:
Note we are expecting TPS to disappear at some point fairly soon.

Thanks for the advice, I will not invest in anything there then :D

v9oly said:
The keys are known/out for canalsat (seca2) Astra1 19.2°E, but the Nano still remains unknown, so not much use unless you have a mosc card.

So, if I understand correctly, I should purchase an original subscription card for a year and modify it at the end of the subscription period right?
Do I need to subscribe to the full package or can I simply subscribe to the cheapest package and eneable every other channel afterwards?


v9oly said:
For the money, I would get a Diablo cam and a Cas 3 programmer, although you will still not receive canalsat...
  • Will the original Canal Sat subscription card work in the Diablo CAM? Is it a Seca2 CAM?
  • Can I reprogramm the original Canal Sat subscription card with the CAS 3 programmer?
  • I assume it is the same for Canal Sat (France) and Canal Digitaal (Holland), right?
Once again: many thanks!!
 
i have a t.rex/dragon cam and i am very happy with t and also cas3.the amount of programmes open o thor are {at the moment]amazing
 
All,

Can someone explain what is the main difference between Diablo, Dragon and T-Rex CAM?
Which one would be the best option?
What I want is something reliable and compatible.

Thanks for any enlightment.
 
TRex is the new version of the Dragon. Bigger and better. More support.

Dragons are getting a bit long in the tooth although they still have their uses at times.
 
roshii said:
All,

Can someone explain what is the main difference between Diablo, Dragon and T-Rex CAM?
Which one would be the best option?
What I want is something reliable and compatible.

Thanks for any enlightment.

Hi roshi,
Both cams are well proven, the Diablo has great support, regular software (Stealth) updates, guides etc, it is also a bit cheaper too.
Don't hear as much about the dragon as I used to, but still a good cam, the recent version has a secure chip so the dragon team could release 'exclusive' hacks, but from memory this has only happened once (TV Cabo).
Either way you go, the Cas 3 programmer will program both cams, again a well supported item, reliable and compatible.
Roughly, the diablo & cas 3 is about £105 + delivery.

Regards,
Ollie
 
roshii said:
Thank you both for your reply. It is a bit clearer now though I still have a few questions.

So, if I understand correctly, I should purchase an original subscription card for a year and modify it at the end of the subscription period right?
Do I need to subscribe to the full package or can I simply subscribe to the cheapest package and eneable every other channel afterwards?
  • Will the original Canal Sat subscription card work in the Diablo CAM? Is it a Seca2 CAM?
  • Can I reprogramm the original Canal Sat subscription card with the CAS 3 programmer?
  • I assume it is the same for Canal Sat (France) and Canal Digitaal (Holland), right?
Once again: many thanks!!

Wrong.
If you are going the official subscription route (might be quite expensive outside France), then buy the 12 months card with the maximum options that you can afford.
You will not be able to make any changes to the package, so do be careful as you might ruin your card while experimenting and then you will not have any direct support since the dealer will not be able to help you once he has done the activation for the card for you.
You might be able to open also the TPS channels on Hot Bird 13E, in addition to the Canal Sat channels on Astra 19.2E.
Please report back on this point if you can.
(TPS stopped supplying smartcards to subscribers since the merger with Canal Sat on 28/03/2007 so I expect they will stop transmitting on Hot Bird during April 2008).

You will not be able to use any of the interactive services (only available with the Canal Satellite dedicated receivers) nor the PPV services or the adult options.
May I ask why do you want the French package when you are entitled to subscribe to Canal Digitaal (Holland)?
Are they not interesting enough?
 
Thanks to your reply Ollie, I would go for a Diablo CAM with the CAS 3 programmer :)

HB13DISH said:
You will not be able to make any changes to the package, so do be careful as you might ruin your card while experimenting and then you will not have any direct support since the dealer will not be able to help you once he has done the activation for the card for you.

If I understand correctly, I assume there is no way to make some kind of backup of the data of the smart card before "experimenting", right?

Considering this I wonder if it would not be cheaper to buy the CAM only, and just pay for the channels as it seems quite risky to modify an official card.

HB13DISH said:
May I ask why do you want the French package when you are entitled to subscribe to Canal Digitaal (Holland)?
Are they not interesting enough?

Well, Canal Digitaal is interesting enough but I am French and I would not mind if I could have the Franch package for free.

Thanks again to all.
 

Could someone let me know what is the main difference between the Astoncrypt 1.07 and the Diablo CAM light?

I wonder because I saw the Astoncrypt for 60 € versus 85 € for the Diablo.

Many thanks !!!
 
The Diablo light cam is one of the latest multi cams and can open available packages without thye use of a card.
You will need a Cas programmer to update it with the latest Stealth firmware, I recommend the Cas 3+.
I'm not sure what the Astoncrypt 1.07 can do but I would suggest you pay the extra and get a Diablo, unless you're only looking for a cam to work with a subscription card.
 
Thanks Mickha!!

Indeed would be stupid to get the Astoncrypt, I will get myself a Diablo and see what I can do with it.

Thanks to all for your answers. Great forum :)
 
The Diablo cam is extremely popular at the moment, hence there are many discussions, guides and most importantly people to help you with it!:)

Regards,
Ollie
 
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