CAM Emulation?

[Gav]

Hi there again.

I was just about to 'take the plunge' and buy a SkyStar2 Card when I stumbled upon some other threads & this website : www.dvbshop.net

On that site there seems to be many, many more cards than just the SkyStar2. But anyway, what I was thinking is, would it be easier to purchase a card with a CI slot (so I could possibly insert a Dragon CAM) or are there computer programs that can do the same and if so, are they any good?

Also, I read somewhere that you can add a CAM reader at a later date to your skystar2 card, is this also true?

One last thing, if its not possible to emulate the CAMs using a program, is there another decent card that has a CI slot - I've heard the SkyStar1 has 'Quality Issues'.

Many thanks...

[BGonaSTICK]

There are cards with CI slots, so if you want to use an official subscription card, then one of these might be better for you. The 'new' Skystar 1's don't have hardware decoding on-board and are inferior for that reason alone (don't know about any issues with this card in terms of reliability.)

The older Skystar 1/Nexus-S branded cards are hard to find now (and only second-hand), but you can still buy a 'new version' of it at DVBshop here.

Hardware decoding is certainly a big plus point, but you pay for it. The SS1 will emulate the SS2 almost perfectly.

The Skystar 2 can do everything that the older Dragon CAM can do and much more for less money. Yes, there is software emulation readily available to decode and decrypt everything where the plain keys are known, like the Dragon. This is where the SS2 beats every other card hands down.

It's not possible to add a CAM/CI slot/reader to the Skystar 2, though it is possible to add a card reader (to the serial port of the PC.)

Not sure how messy this is to get going though, as I've never tried it.

[Gav]

So I can get all the functionality of using a Physical Dragon CAM & Card with Software on a SkyStar 2. Great

I'll order one now!

[BGonaSTICK]

Not necessarily the cards, but the CAM, yes. The programmable plastic can cost £40 - £100 a pop, but of course there is no guarantee that they'll last until the next day even.

There's loads of stuff open on the Skystar 2 at the moment, so no need for a card IMO.

[jontydog]

Yep its a great little card the Skystar 2 and can open more or less the same stuff as my Technomate at the moment