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CNX Dongle solution arrived giving the anticipation to many that the CNX would see life again. When it first came out, there was a BETA solution for the original version of the Nano. A BETA for Nano 2 was released shortly thereafter, prematurely and was immediately shut down. CNX Nano II users then resorted to converting to an I-Link, which worked nicely, until the South American I-Link server operators shut them down requiring a key for access. Not long after a new compatible IX-200 Dongle hit the market for the remaining CNX Mini, CNX Duo, and CNX Trio models. Many had a great deal of support issues getting things setup, especially since the server was down much more often than it was up. For severak weeks the server was completley down but CNX eventually made a comback when all thought it was lost they came online again. After a few rounds of files things are beginning to stabalize for CNX users although there seems to be more problems with the Duo, Mini and Trio compared to the CNX Nano and Nano 2. CNX Nano and Nano 2 serial to ethernet intefaces do not require external power sources and may have some impact on performance. The CNX Nano uses the same IX-100/200 device without external power that the Mini, Duo and Trio require. The CNX Nano 2 uses its own serial-to-ethernet adapter without power.
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IKSlinger or simply "Slinger" is not for the ordinary tester. This solution requires a network provider issued receiver only, which when properly modified (Jtag/Vidmod) opens the door to most channels including Adult and some Pay Per View programming. The IKSlinger operates in both client and server modes, enabling those using them to set up private card share style systems in addition to client based IKS. As an advanced form of testing that requires the physical modification of hardware, this method IS NOT RECOMMENDED for most testers. IKSlinger does have its share of problems as do most IKS solutions when it comes to network configurations. Some experience freezing when sitting behind a NAT or firewall. Its best to set this box up on the primary router as a DMZ host for the best performance. The IKSlinger was one of the first boxes to have some open PPV channels, but since the lost of VOD broadcasts the Slinger like all other IKS solutions no longer offer them. The IKSlinger is available for about $180 - $220 USD. New recent versions of the software for the Slinger limit viewing time on the same channel to 4 hours which is easily bypassed by simply changing the channel and resetting the counter. All IKS systems need a way to limit load when TV is not actually being viewed. The best thing to do would be for everyone to power down any IKS based solution when not in use.
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K-Box K-Hub is not nearly as popular as other IKS solutions, and suprisingly it appears to be one of the most stable solutions tested thus far with very minimal downtime and quite an abundance of channels to enjoy. We are actively testing both the K-Box K1 Heros Plus with the original grey version of the K-Hub along with the K-Box Prodigy and sleek black new v2 version. This may change as more users catch on and begin testing this platform. There has been only a few extended outages for their IKS service, as adjustments were made to the production server. While there are less US channels available through the K-Box solution they were the first to bring PPV events on DN Channel 455. Other solutions have since followed in their footsteps. The K-Box does support a higher number of international channels than most other solutions.
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Neosat EKS solution is a PAID solution for Neosat Ipro 2000/+ users only at this time, but it is being designed from the ground up to us an advanced method of IKS known as "
Extreme Key Sharing (EKS), that will support additional brands and models in the future. We were happy to be a part of the initial test group for this solution, and it definitely will get the Neosat Ipro 2000/+ working, however there are several issues that concern us. First and foremost is the complexity some are having getting things setup or activated with the EKS support group at
ExtremeDVB. A PayPal donation system is used to upgrade your account at ExtremeDVB to include GOLD VIP membership, which includes access to the EKS service. Since its public launch last week, it has been what seems like a support nightmare in getting everyone who paid activated. This is mostly the fault of new clients who are not providing accurate setup information through the donation system, which requires the special private box keys and model serial number. According to latest reports most have now been activated successfully. Now confident existing users are setup and with a new donation and support process, they have resume accepting Lifetime donations for $100, and have abandoned the plans to change that to an annual fee for users above 500. The EKS service was initially plagued with a ton of freezing and downtime, as have most IKS style solutions when first launched. As time has passed we have seen a big improvement in support by the ExtremeDVB Team and much greater overall stability.
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Nfusion IKS solution was first to give many users access to N3 content on the popular canadian BEV service. First in North American support for N3 via IKS, it was expected that they would do very well in providing a DN solution. This unfortunately was not the case in late June and early July. The Nfusion solution has been scarred badly as Nova users were restricted from using the first round of DN IKS testing based on the support groups claims security issues among clones are preventing them from giving support to Nova owners. In a bad move, all support for the Nfusion Nova on both Bev and DN was taken away even after a Mac and Cheese exploit was made available to bypass mac based security. With a new security model in place, Nfusion Nova and clones are no longer able to use SUNS. Nfusion Nova users may again see life soon with private card sharing options and possibly an expansaion of Neosat EKS to include the Ipro 1000 series which is basically identical to the Nova. Solaris, Phoenix and HD receivers are however being supported by SUNS with more HD programming expected to come online soon on DN. Occasional freezes and maintenance downtime impact every IKS solution out there, and we are happy to see Nfusion making great strides in maintaining stability over the past several weeks. owners were told they needed to upgrade to a Solaris with a special upgrade network card. Then a week later, even those who purchased the upgrade were again dead in the water. The community had come up with its own Nfusion Nova workaround modification of the Solaris/Phoenix release and the Nfusion team shut it down along with those who had purchased the upgrade card. As for channel support, the Nfusion had originally offered the least amount of channels on DN and channels had been dropping on BEV as well. Thankfully to many Nfusion owners this has improved and there is now an abundance of working channels on both provider networks. As for the Nova, they have pretty much stated they will be shutting down all Nova support in September of 2009. Again the community has stepped up with a "temporary" Nova solution, known as Mac and Cheese, that essentially generates a Solaris mac address for the Nova with a custom bin file. Unfortunately now we have come full circle, and we are now combatting eachother. We hope the Nfusion IKS team works with the community on setting up a vialble alternative that works for everyone.
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Sonicview iHub solution was the first N3 solution we tested for DN. The Sonicview iHub offers a large number of channels on both BEV and DN, however stability issues from its inception to even today are of great concern to many of its product owners. Sonicview USA had also been named in a recent lawsuit resulting in concerns by some about this solutions future. The Sonicview iHub solution is plagued as well by a large number of testers who jumped on this offering as it was the first DN solution to hit the streets in Late June of 2009. Continued sales means more and more uses every day. When the system is stable it works beautifully with a great number of viewable channels on both major providers. When its not working, the FTA community goes into an uproar. The last two rounds of fixes for the iHub introduced an unhealthy dose of confusion in accurately setting up the product, with network configuation issues being at the heart of all the problems facing this solution. We do expect that these issues will be addressed in short order, possibly with a new round of files that may correct the abundance of version 82 and IP Config issues and errors. Many users are unable to connect to the iHub service when using the required DNS entry and in September of 2009, securit enforcement was enabled and no one is working without having the correct and sometimes hard to read serial number entered accurately within the Network Config menu screen the last fix was meant to keep you out of. Many have problems using the Wiznet application and some wind up having the Network menu area dissappear. Most of these issues can be resolved with the help of many great people in the community who offer assistance. Very unfortunately, Sonicview does not keep a scheduled maintenance window and cab ne up or down any time of the day or night and battles freezing issues on an almost daily basis and even has a plagued 1 freeze per hour built right in. Sonicview is now considered the least stable solution of all and they have much to do to restore faith in end users that have been trading in for an alternate solution. Many believe they should rethink their strategy on how they employ the solution and make big time improvements to server and client code. We are sorry to see Sonicview continue on a downward spiral. The loss of Bev over the past months have also lowered Sonicviews Channel Availability score. The
Sonysat solution is still pretty much a Nagravision 3 workaround virgin although they have been successfully running IKS for years, perhaps longer than any other. The new ShowMe X2 Adapter is being tested in our lab using the Sonysat DCR 5500 PVR model and while it was down nearly a month to address server load and demand issues along with a hardware meltdown, this box sees little to no freezing on available channels when the server is functional. Although back online for less than a week now, the Sonysat solution looks like it will be a strong and viable contender
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