Matrix 3.07 HELP

[Djbaz]

Hello everyone,
I need help! No, really. I have had a 'dead' Matrix Reborn 3.07 CAM for a while and I want to bring it back to life again. But I don't really know how. I also have a PCMCIA slot in my PC. When I put the CAM in, it is recognised but when I try to load a file on to it (for example MRB307.upd) it will not work and says 'error occurred while downloading - please re-insert CAM and try again'.

This always happens and it's driving me MAD! >. Are these CAMs outdated and if so, what is the best one to get now? I used to get D+, TV Cabo and loads of TPS and Canal Plus. I am missing these!!

Also, I know there is a facility to update keys on screen, but when i go to the CAM menu on my receiver, there are no clues as to what keys go where.

I would appreciate any help / links others may have

Cheers

Baz

[Analoguesat]

Matrix is just about useless these days.

Canal Plus is only available on K3 cards,

TPS is changing its keys every 20-30 minutes, so unless you have an auto updating receiver, or can load a key bundle onto the cam its unavailable nowadays.

D+ and Cabo come and go, but are down more than they are up.

[BGonaSTICK]

The best and easiest way to update your CAM is with a CAS2/3. Alternatively you can use Fun cards I believe.

As has been said though, it will only open a few minor bits and bobs these days, but is still useful for carrying official subscription cards. You may be able to manually plug a few keys into it.

What does the CAM menu on your receiver look like? Is it sorted by encryption type and/or provider ID?

The current CAMs are the Diablo and the T-Rex 4.5 supermodule, though the latter is untested thus far.

As it's very new, I'm sure there will be good support for it in the future. Maybe Premiere will make a return soon.

D+ and CABO were opened again this evening, but CABO (like TPS) change keys very frequently now.

HTH

STICK

[Djbaz]

Thanks for your help / suggestions guys. My CAM menu is firstly sorted by Encryption. So, for example if I select Viaccess 1, the next menu reads 000000:, then the next line 000000: etc etc. This is the same for all the encryption types, so I can't even work out which provider is which!! As said before, I used to get D+ etc without these numbers being changed.

Perhaps the Matrix is now to be given up on? Maybe I'll try the Diablo CAM instead. What are these self-updating cams then? They sound as if they could be a lot less hassle!!? How much should I be paying for a Diablo Cam, and how would it be updated?

the CAS2/3 programmer thing plugs into your computer via USB as I understand, then this should accept the .upd files I am finding? Is that how it works?

Thanks again.

[Djbaz]

Sorry people - just forgot to ask, would the Diablo CAM or the T-Rex cam need smartcards or would it work without them (just like the Matrix used to).

cheers

Baz

[BGonaSTICK]

There are some interesting threads on D+ and the K3 card etc. in our CAMs and cards section, including this one.

Now, jumping around your questions a little bit, yes the Matrix Reborn has pretty much had it. There are a few things to try, and a few lesser packages probably still open, but it will probably never see another ‘premium’ release.

That's the way the CAM (and card) business works. Newer hacks are released on the newer CAMs only. This is what forces you to buy a new CAM - and indirectly 'pay' for the hack.

Yes, the CAS2/3 plugs into your PC and can then use various files to update your CAM. I don't have one and I'm not an expert, but there's not much that can't be programmed with one of these, and there's a very good piece of software that comes with it to make your job a bit easier.

Many people have criticised Duolabs (the manufacturer) over the years for poor quality products and even worse customer support, but there is a lot of help available from hobby sites and forums like this one to compensate, and there have been an awful lot sold, so they can't be that bad.

Most programmable multi-CAMs like the Diablo and T-Rex will open stuff without a card (when hacks are available) and will usually support most programmable cards, like the K3 too. These cards often open extra packages (and often exclusively).

For example, there is stuff open on the K3 card ATM that’s not available with any other programmable CAM or card - namely loads of SECA2 encrypted packages. I guess the hope throughout the hobby is that at some point this hack will be given up to the public domain.

I don't know if the Matrix Reborn ever opened any Nagra2 encrypted channels. If it did, then you might be able to punch in some keys, otherwise only scraps.

Check this thread to see if you can get anything else to work. You'll have to do some research on codes for encryption types and provider IDs and the like. Any softcam.key file will give you a good headstart.

The 'hassle' with updating all this stuff is really half the fun of the hobby. You're never going to have a hack that's pain-free and easy to administer unless you card-share.

There is no such thing as a true auto-updating device, be it a CAM or anything else. Not for longer than the short term anyway. You'll always have to work hard on this as the providers are never going to give us a holiday. That's what keeps it interesting.

Some bits of hardware (though I'm not sure about CAMs) do pick up keys automatically from the Internet if kept online 24/7, but that's only short term too as the key-servers get knobbled PDQ. This method also won't cope with any code changes introduced by the provider to circumvent a hack.

Hope this helps.

STICK