Let me start off by saying I am new to pansat. The 250sm is my first reciever. I purchased it because the website I bought it from said it can be used as a dvr with the addition of an external HDD. I haven't figured that one out yet.

Anyway, I load the .bin directly onto the thumbdrive (which came with the unit) and popped it in the unit, downloaded it to the reciever. No problems there, very easy and efficient.

After doing a few scans I picked up everything with no problems. I have occasional problems with the guide loading, nothing major. At first I had problems with the unit locking up all the time. I haven't had that since I loaded the latest file.

I wish the reciever offered a program reminder, but no such luck. Overall I am happy with it. Keep in mind I don't have anything to compare this to, being my first reciever.

I've been reading reports of very good clone copies of the 250, being sold on flea-bay. BUYER BEWARE ! I suggest peeps buy from only reputable dealers , such as sponsors of this site. A few bucks more now, wont matter at all, if you buy a clone and it dies with the next bin that may have a clone-killer code in it.