What Can I get?

[addision]

I'm a Newbie,


I tried searching the forums and looking over satellite lineups but I still can't find an answer for my question so I though I would ask here.

I know a number of years ago my buddy was able to get many sat feeds with free channels using his big dish and if he chose to he could pay for premium channels al la carte. I am soo tired of Direct Tv and getting charged $80 bucks a month for stations I do not use. Now, they want to charge me a "local Sports Fee" and i don't even subscribe to any premium sports channels (nor do I have the time to watch them anymore). I don't use movie channels such as HBO either, they run the same 5 movies all month long. For where I live in SoCal I have a descent size property, a little over an acre. I have clear views of the Southern sky and my zip code is 92555. I know I can't get OTA signals from Los Angeles because there are some hills to my west that block them and all I pick up are 1 or 2 local stations with a real good OTA antenna placed very high up. So that leaves me wondering if I can get the network feeds from the satellites instead of the local station?

I would really like to have at least the basic networks (abc, nbc, cbs) in my area but if I could at least get one I would be happy and would use my new ROKU for everything else. Is there a site or pdf or something that will say "oh you live here, this is the programming your should be able to get" ? Nothing I look at shows this.

Do they still offer the al la carte programming for C, Ka and Ku signals?


Thank for your help.

 

[madmadworld]

Do they still offer the al la carte programming for C, Ka and Ku signals?

that's almost gone it seems
networks can be seen still.
here's the channels you can get with 1 big and 1 smaller dish.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/thelist/
good luck

 

[upnatm]

Hi Addision.

Welcome to the hobby!, Welcome to the site!

You haven't mentioned if you already have any dishes besides the Direct-dish. Do you
plan on going "dish hunting"? Are you a "Do-It-Yourselfer"?

A good dish and motor can be had for the asking, if you find the right people to ask. Be
prepared to "modernize" with new LNBs, cables, receivers, etc. The cost is a small fraction
of what subscriptions have cost you!

Bigger is better. I'm getting nice results with a (free) 10 footer, which I use for both
C and Ku band reception. The "C/Ku LNBF" cost me around $60 CDN. I also have an
assortment of spare actuators (dish-movers) given to me by ex-users.

You'd be surprised at the FTA channels that are up there! Lots of major network
reception to choose from, and many interesting channels from around the globe!
With enough patience, luck, and determination, you could be "feet on the coffee
table" in a few weeks!

Keep in mind though, the hobby can be high maintenance, it's not "plug & play" like
subscription TV. There will plenty of "tinkering" to get those elusive channels to materialize.
Heh, heh, My "tinkering" happens only when the Missus is not using the TV!

Here are a few web-site links that I found to be indispensable; (@Mods, I hope I'm doing it right)

www.geo-orbit.org/sizepgs/tuningp2.html } Very informative, the "ABCs" of dish planting and growing.

www.lyngsat.com/america } Tons of necessary Sat info needed to set up the
www.sathint.com/america } receivers, and to find the right satellites to aim at.

www.dishpointer.com/ } Gives a birds-eye view of where to aim a dish.


Don't be shy to browse around and ask questions, things only get better when learning.

Gotta run, I hope I've been of help.

Cheers, --Kev--

 

[primestar31]

Go to this site: http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=29 You may be surprised what signals are available now that it's digital, even in your situation. Realize also that sometimes, a higher antenna is not as good as a lower antenna. There are situations such as yours where signal levels shoot down lower above a property, and it's possible to put an antenna up high enough that it's above the signals. In which case, you want to place it lower.

Punch in your particulars, and it'll tell you what sort of over the air tv antenna you can put up for your local channels. There's so many available in California, you might not even need any sort of satellite dish install at all. So, outside tv antenna, and Roku might be more tv than you can handle.

This forum here is the proper one for any further questions dealing with OTA tv signals: http://www.satelliteguys.us/forums/46-Digital-Over-the-Air-(OTA)

 

[upnatm]

Good ideas Primestar.

I never thought of OTA, as I don't do it here.

CBC shut down their local repeater here in Wawa, and
CTV's is behind a small mountain from me.
I do get a signal, but it's badly ghosted from bouncing
off a bunch of houses to get here.
I would need a 100' tower to fix it.

Plenty of options in SoCal for Addison, though!

Cheers.

 

[Lak7]

You get......
Headaches
Heartaches
Frustration
Satisfaction
Education
Empty Pockets

Not in any particular order.

 

[pwrsurge]

Good ideas Primestar.

I never thought of OTA, as I don't do it here.

CBC shut down their local repeater here in Wawa, and
CTV's is behind a small mountain from me.
I do get a signal, but it's badly ghosted from bouncing
off a bunch of houses to get here.
I would need a 100' tower to fix it.

You could receive several CTV affiliates with most in HD on C-band FTA. Although there's hardly any Canadian channels on Ku-band, the 107W Anik F1R C-band satellite offers a fair selection which is good for people like yourself who are out of OTA range. http://cband.fta.channels.drsat.ca is a good list of what's currently available FTA on C-band. CBC also used to be available as well on the same satellite but sadly, they are now encrypted.