Thread: Need more advanced FTA knowledge/advice

For a long time, I've been setting up FTA systems for friends to help them get programs on G19. I've learned a lot about it by hit and miss, but haven't ever discussed the technical aspects with anyone, so some of the information referred to here is over my head.

We've moved to a more remote area where mountains prevent OTA reception without major labor and expense. We cancelled Dish Network and use our DSL a lot, but streaming video doesn't always cut it. I have my dish set on G19 with a GeoSat Pro DVR 1000ci. Also have a working ViewSat Pro receiver, but I haven't used it much.

I would like to be able to get network news feeds--particularly NBC and PBS would be nice. In the past, when I've run across channels like History and Biography, I've never been able to get any reception. From what I've read here, I haven't had the right receiver to pick those up. At the time I had thought they were scrambled. Apparently, I will need a more advanced receiver to bring in the channels I want. I'm aware of the different programming on satellites--I've seen The List here and other listings. I'm aware of the choices between going with stationary dishes pointed at different satellites or putting one on a rotar. Trees are not an issue at my location, but I'm not sure which option I'll go with. I'll probably point at a few satellites and see how I like what I get before making the final decision. I know there's quite a bit of programming available, but would mainly like an option to the internet and streaming video sometimes.

What receivers should I look at for picking up the channels I want? (Please suggest brands.) Our currently TV is analog, though we've considered getting a new digital. That's never been an issue with our receivers and the programming on G19. If the answer includes getting a digital receiver, what is involved in getting reception on our TV? Would we need a box? If there's much expense, we might as well invest in the digital TV instead.

Would appreciate your help in sorting this out. I'm open to reading info in other places here, if you can give me a link to answers that are in terms I can understand.

Thanks much

There's no reason you shouldn't have been able to pick up History and Biography on any old receiver. Maybe you were trying the channels listed under those names, instead of "ENC11_TEST" and "ENC13_TEST"?

I think you can still get some of the PBS feeds with an old receiver, but you'd get more of them with an HD receiver. (And even some of them that aren't HD are DVB-S2 and MPEG4, which an HD receiver will take care of.) Some HD receivers will convert them to standard definition for an old TV, although none of them have coaxial outputs. (If your TV has a yellow RCA jack, they'll work with that.) The NBC feeds on 72W are available with any receiver, but they're not broadcast-ready feeds, they're just for their people in the field to see what's live on the channel, so they're not guaranteed to be there all the time, or be the same channels all the time. The ones on 103W are there in primetime every night, but they're all DVB-S2 and HD.

I would NOT buy an HD receiver right now! To the best of my knowledge, virtually all of them have bugs to a greater or lesser degree. Wait for the new GeoSatPro receiver next month, which is not only supposed to be bug-free, but also fairly cheap.

Your reply is very helpful. I'll wait for the GeoSat Pro. Thank you!

Second what Jim said! Also, you do know that you can get even more channels with a big C-band dish? If you're in a location that doesn't prohibit them, you may want to keep an eye out for a give-away dish in your area. There's sometimes good bargains (like for free) on big dishes that people don't use any more, they just want them GONE in some cases. So it never hurts to ask. Maybe once you get your ku system the way you like it, you may want to add a c-band setup. Any fta receiver will also pick up c-band too, so once you get the new receiver you want, you'll be ready to add to it with cband. 6' dish will work, but 8-10' is better.

Unfortunately BIO and History are gone right now. Don't really expect they will be back.

Here in mid-Mo I get the c band stations ; ... abc , nbc , fox & cw from the virgin islands with a 36" x 30" primestar dish off 99w sat , (abc's HD but not dvb s-2) , you can get them on older receviers , the wht /lesea ch's on that sat have alot of good old shows worth watching too . Just started enjoying them myself , thought I'd suggest it as a possible help .

Didn't know that a Ku receiver could also get C-band. I've been reading about it and know where there's a large dish that looks like its idle. Hmmmm. . .sounds interesting! I may need to pay those folks a visit.

Will the larger C-band dish pick up Ku, too?

There are plenty of PBS channels on 125w, and 4 NBC feeds on 72w. Any receiver will get the SD NBC feeds. The PBS channels have AC3 sound, which some older receivers will not decode; and some are HD which requires a HD receiver.

The NBC feeds are not up all the time, and may include The Weather Channel, MSNBC, CNBC, and regular network programming.

Suggest you consult "The List" on this website for specific channels available.

Most of the better English language channels/feeds are on C-band, one exception being all the PBS channels on 125w Ku.