Thread: Enter to Win: Sponsors Super Satellite Sampler System - Contest Ends 2.28.2010

I would like to enter. Thank you. Have a great day!

Nice give-away sirs. First and foremost is the crazy prices to watch tv, it's out of control. Thats what got me to buy a fta set-up.

I tell my friends once they set up a fta system that the skies the limit to what you can tune into. It's more fun to scan the skies to me than most hobbies, and once you do it yourself you really feel you accomplished something pretty cool.

I would really tell my friends that FTA is the way to go in comparison to DISH or DirecTV. The way I see the "big picture" is that it gives me many more channels to view and from different areas of the country and the world.

The overall cost/benefit of such a system for a wannabe user (as I am) or anyone else considering it can be large in comparison to the DSS providers; and you won't get caught in the middle of a squabble between a network and those guys. Having a favorite channel blacked out over money issues only has one loser, and that's the consumer.

My first satellite system was a Drake that my Mom bought for my Dad and me for Christmas back in 1983. I was able to watch all kinds of stuff for awhile until VCII went full force and most things scrambled. The folks didn't care enough to buy a descrambler and I went off to college chasing girls.

Five years later I wound up engineering a radio station and playing with all kinds of OTA signals. When DTV went live in 94, I bought the first system they put out and had it until I moved to TX in 05.

Didn't bother with anything after moving, as I have cable for the net, but about a year ago I was offered a FTA receiver to see if I wanted to buy it. He was asking way too much I thought, so I passed. However, that got the itch started, so have just recently picked up a cheap one from the bay and am wanting to play around with it.

The house had a DTV dish installed when I bought it, with three LNBs. I know these are circular, so waiting on a new universal I ordered just Sunday from WS International! Once I get it up and running, can't wait to see what all I can find. I know I may not find much with just the small dish at the moment, so this system would do wonders for my recent "itch"!

What would you tell a friend or co-worker to interest them in owning a Free To Air satellite system?

I don't know anyone who currently has a Free To Air sat system. I did drove by a neighbor one day while visiting someone and one of the neighbors got a free to air sat dish that does not say Dish Network or Direct TV on there. It was an Indian family who owns the dish.

Free to Air satellite system will be best for Asian viewers like Thai, Hmong for example. Thai and Hmong programming is not offered anywhere on TV. Not on Dish or Direct. Not even on cable. I don't know how good or bad are the tv stations for Thai viewers, but it is better than nothing if they want to watch programming in their language. I did image what will they watch on tv during evening hours when other ethnic viewers such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Flipinoes, Vietnamese can get their own shows from Direct or Dish. For others, only a free to air sat dish or IPTV.

What got you interested to purchase your first Free to Air satellite system?

I have been interested in a big satellite system/receiver about 20 years ago.

I wanted to get the certain Asian language international channels directly from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Korea. A Indian sales staff from a satellite company told me that would not be possible due to signal restrictions. And, only
cable providers, TV stations got the technology to possibly get the actual stations all around the world. The pro is getting to watch the latest shows. The con is waking up earning in the AM hours to watch the PM shows in the actual country.

The cost to get the KU-Band or C-Band system cost $2,000+

No choice, back to cable TV and enjoy the American TV stations like ESPN, MTV.

About 10 years ago when Direct TV and Dish Network begin competiting against cable TV, I saw an ad about a Free To Air satelite system costing around $100-200 bucks. As advertised, I will get limited non popular Asian TV channels and other channels from Middle East and Europe. While those limited channels does not look appealing, I depend on the satelite TV providers for
better international programming.

Then, I join this forum about 3 years ago and I read more about the facts on free to air tv stations. There are more appealing TV stations over the air, but the TV station can block the free to air signal or beginning charging customers at any time. With Direct TV and Dish Network, the same international channels (pay channels) just air the same shows over and over. Nothing new. Maybe, it is time to check out the "free to air" tv stations on a different sat dish. Sadly, Dish and Direct will never add "free to air" tv stations as a pay or free channels. Might as well depend on a new dish to check out the latest free to air shows.

Well I remeber being a kid and watching all the nice $3,000 sat systems going in and getting all the channels. So I looked around on the net and found FTA. As for freinds. I tell them FTA and they think *($%($*%. So I correct them and say with the proper dish, lnbf and receiver they can get 100% legal stuff. But that mostly falls on death ears. Sigh.

TTFN,

Josh

What got you interested to purchase your first Free to Air satellite system?
Being able to watch programming without having to pay. I'm tired of paying all this money for a few channels that I actually watch.

I got interested in FTA because commercial TV in general is so bad that I had to justify myself spending hours with the TV. At least I can claim to myself and others that I had to adjust the arc of the motor, or the angle of the LNBF, etc. Otherwise, watching TV without doing any technical job is like sex without foreplay

My dad and I were always interested in getting a satellite dish, mostly to watch Portugal's RTP channel. The local Portuguese radio station would always advertise these C-band systems starting at like $1000, and I did a lot of research and subscribed to some magazines and got all juiced up, but the time was never right.

Then one day I heard you could get RTP on a smaller dish. Again, did a bunch of research, and ended up with a motorized 1.2M Fortec Star dish as our first dish. Not exactly a beginner set up, but hey, it's still working.

Sadly, I'm not into FTA as much as I would like -- although I did pass by SatelliteAV one day with my truck and a shopping list that may have been more impressive than this contest's prize package -- but one of these days I'll finally get around to finishing all the projects I have planned.

Hopefully there'll still be stuff up there to see when that time comes.

Eh, I'm sure there will be.