Why do you have FTA?

[GaryPen]

I've been researching FTA thinking their might be a ton of programming of interest to me, possibly some Japanese language programming for my wife, and also for the gee whiz factor of more cool gadgets to own, and getting stuff for free.

However, I haven't found any worthwhile programming that can be received with a FTA DVB type dish. Quite frankly, other than foriegn language and religious programming, I don't really understand why anyone would want one. (BUD's are just too damn big and too damn ugly to even be considered.)

I'm curious why the SatGuys FTA users purchase, install, and own their Ku/DVB type FTA systems. So, I've created a pole. Because, quite frankly, I just don't understand why an English-speaking, non-religious persion would bother with it. Perhaps I'm just missing something, and you guys will enlighten me.

Also, if I left out the reason that you use your system, please let me know so that I can add it. Also, please post comments that expand on the simple poll answers.

Thanks

 

[charper1]

I voted News, but easily could have gone with Out of Market Broadcast Stations and tech. I have both C & Ku digital and analog. C band is loaded with wild feeds.

 

[ghia]

The Technology of It and Getting Stuff for Free are very close in the list though. I also like watching soccer that shows up from time to time. You don't need to understand the announcers, as the commercial says football is futbol

 

[digiblur]

I would highly recommend FTA to anyone. Quality programming and feeds that can not be found anywhere else.

 

[techpuppy]

For me it came down to wondering why I was paying for satellite service when there are so many commercials on virtually all of the channels. One night I recorded one of my favorite programs, pausing during commercials and was stunned to find out that the one hour show had 30 minutes of commercials. I am bored to death with "reality" programming. I don't care who has talent, humor, or is fearless.

After finding this site and discovering how inexpensive a basic system would be I decided to try it. For about $70 I got a used dish and receiver. I added an old 18" dish with a switch later.

The FTA system takes care of my entertainment needs. I get good quality local signals off air, but not from WB or UPN. On G10R I get the missing networks, Retro TV (it's worth it for that alone), and some new favorite programs such as Off Beat Cinema, Out There TV, and of course Unreliable Sources. Occasionally there's something on UWTV or Research of interest and I enjoy KEXP-FM. The 18" dish receives the FTA audio channels. It's nice to be able to select what type of music you want and then hear it commercial free and free of charge.

My problems with the subscription satellite companies are the quantity of commercials, high repeat rate, and programming packages that make me pay for channels I have absoutely no interest in. The premium movie channels have such a high repetition rate it is difficult to find something "new" on. I used to call Cinemax the "Matrix" channel because it seemed to me that they had nothing else on for over a month.

As far as I'm concerned it's not a matter of why I have an FTA system, it's why doesn't everyone? Using G10R as an example, the lyngsat listings for Ku FTA may not look that interesting, but take a few minutes and enter some of the stations in titantv and review the programs available. The variety is impressive.

 

[DK_Sat]

For International programing , wild feeds and the best of all first generation Video quality .

 

[kevingilmore]

For me it was simple. I had a C band dish and in the last couple of years
it was exclusively tuned to PBS schedule X. Then PBS moved satellites
and my picture turned to crap. Then a storm bent up the 15 year old dish
to make it permanently unusable.

So now i have a 1 meter dish pointed at amc3. But pbs is dolby digital
only which causes a significant problem. A coolsat 5000 drops the dolby
every time a plane flys overhead. The unitymotion receivers have all
sorts of interesting long term problems. Finally found that the viewsat
extreme box works absolutely perfectly planes or no planes with an
external dolby digital decoder. And that all feeds a CE labs stereo
encoder which drives every tv in the house.

And i use the 2 unitymotion receivers for the HD channel and get a picture
with a quality level higher than anything else in the sky.

All off of 1 dish and 1 lnb.

 

[Eastcoast]

IMO, most os us here just like tinkering with this stuff and not necessarily any particular program.
Anyone can subscribe to the hundreds of channels a month and sit back and watch tv all day but we would rather spent the day up on the roof adjusting nad talking to others about what we did and what kinks of signals we are getting.
We are somewhat like amature radio operators.
Besides you can pick up some channels of interest and some you would never see all for just the cost of some equipment.
Get The FTA BUG.

 

[Tron]

I voted for news feeds, you'll never see THAT on Dish But I am equally interested in network affiliates, RetroTV, and the free music.

 

[MrMylesG]

Why FTA? Better choices

I got so peeved at D**N because they changed their Russian channel package to exclude Perikanal (Channel 1). That wasn't so bad but when we emailed them about a zillion times (not really but alot) we never got a reply. So we found D***N competitor had Channel1 so we switched. Two months later I got an email saying they could do whatever they wanted with their programming. Yes, I understand, but that attitude gets nowhere, so I took my business elsewhere.

Anyway, I find I get far more entertainment with G10R's RTN channels and I have one of my dishes aimed an T5 for the free music channels and there are a lot of them and great quality too. :up

If I can get my homeowners association to give me a waiver on say a 6' or 7' dish at ground level, I will probably go with C-band and order ala carte programming. Like was said earlier, there are only a few channels I like on DT and the rest are "fillers".

Whatever...................

 

[iafirebuff]

I am a techno gadget nerd

 

[digital_one]

Nostalgic Cuban Television Stations on Hispasat, except when Fidel is giving a speech.

Also excellent progamming from television of Spain.

 

[Pittsville]

I didn't know FTA existed or I would have gotten it long ago.

I can only get 2 and a half channels over the air in this area and one of them started a digital channel so I was looking into getting a tuner card that would do digital reception and my searches lead me to FTA.

I had cable for a while but the commercials were overwhelming as was the cost. I've always been a radio hobbyist and FTA was a natural extension of that. I've enjoyed it immensly in the short time I have been involved with it, and the advice and encouragement from satelliteguys forum members was a huge help in getting started.

 

[brentb636]

I also didn't know that FTA existed ( until it was mentioned by a DN installer when he saw all the gadgets in my basement ) . This was the week before father's day. I prevailed upon my wife for a receiver ( so I could play with our old DTV dish ) , and now I'm permanently "ruined" by this experience .

I have a $90 /mo DN sub and still frequently find that what I want to see is only on FTA ! Pretty ironic .

 

[MrMars]

Sports Feeds

 

[W_Tracy_Parnell]

I voted for news feeds but free TV is a close second. I figure you can only watch so many channels and now that I have a C Band dish to go with my FTA dish I am going to pull the plug on cable and watch what I have. You figure between news feeds, PBS, CBS Newspath, MSNBC etc. there is a nice variety of worthwhile (not couch potato type) programming. Of course, half the fun is finding new stuff!

 

[Mr Tony]

All of the above

news feeds
sports feeds (College hockey games)
The weird channels out there
the religious stuff (Doc Scott is a hoot)

just seeing something that I normally wouldn't.

Its not for everyone. This is a hobby, just like shortwave, ham or CB operators. You never know what you're going to get. If you want it for one thing, then you might be disappointed.

Its just a fun hobby. Yes some of us are always tinkering with it but what we see is the best. I didnt know what FTA was 2 1/2 years ago. I got a box to save a little money on my ExpressVu account and get the free radio stations for free (I was paying for them with part of my package). Then got a 30" dish and opened myself up to all the fun stuff. Had a fixed dish and in 2 weeks when I got a motor and a receiver with blind scan, I really opened up to FTA. Love seeing the news feeds. If something in this world happens, you can usually see it LIVE, UNCUT, UNCENSORED.

Hurricane coming? watch the countless news feeds
Cop chase in California? watch it on FTA
I know this might be touvhy for some but when Hurrican Katrina hit, there were tons of news feeds out there (probably close to 100 or more). What you see on the news is a snippet of what you vcan see on FTA

 

[sdoradus]

I would also go for all of the above but would echo the sentiment that paying for programs and then having to put up with extensive commercials along with being forced to buy packages of channels I have no interest in to just get a few stations is also a major annoyance.

SD

 

[GaryPen]

Thanks for answering, everyone. It helps me understand fta a little better. It seems like a fun hobby for most of you guys. But, there doesn't seem to be anything to get me involved right now. For me, the reasons above stack up l;ike this:

• 
  
  Religious Programming - I couldn't be less interested

• Int'l Programming - Without Japanese, there is nothing of interest to me

• Out of Market Stations - I get enough IN market stations. I don't need anymore. (I can receive about 20 OTA digital channels here.)

• Public Interest/Educational - Not interested in PI. Otherwise, I've generally been happy with TLC, Disc, Animal, and PBS for my educational experience.

• News Feeds - THIS seems like a valid reason for me. I may go for it in the future just for this.

• Technology - I love technology. I've got a pretty decent home theater setup. I was a touring concert soundman for 20 years, and currently am an IT and AV specialist. But, I don't care to constantly tinker with something, just to get it to work. (I sold my XJS for that very reason.) I enjoy setting stuff up. But, once up, I should never have to touch it again, other than to enjoy its use.

• Free Stuff - It's only worth it to me if the stuff is worth watching. While there may be indeed some occasional prgramming of interest, for me, I don't see anything worth the money, time, and effort of an FTA system. Perhaps if I was home more? (Retired, Unemployed, or work from home) But, I only have so much time at home. And that means limited time for TV watching. So, we usually fill it with DVD movies on the home theater.

But, it sounds like a lot of fun for you guys. If more programming gets added, or if I have more time at home, I might join you. Some od the equipment looks pretty cool too.

 

[Mr Tony]

FTA...It's not for everyone

by the way...you don't have to tinker with it to make it work. We tinker with it to make it better (kind of like when people who have Dish or Direct spend hours tweaking a dish to get another point out of the meter)