Looking at getting my first FTA setup

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empiretc

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Mar 4, 2008
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Well, that was the system I was going to get, but the wife really stressed her point about the PVR. So, I am looking at getting the VISIONSAT IV200 PVR MOTOR 36 INCH SYSTEM from satelliteav. IT seems like the only 2 birds we are interested in are galaxy 10r and amc 4. Should i still go motorized or will a stationary be better for this? Is Fox News coming in ok on amc 4? How easy is it to add a 2nd receiver to this kind of setup?
 
Although I prefer a motorized system, IF you're mostly interested in just a few sats, with multiple receivers, you'd be happier with a couple fixed dishes. KUIL, FOX 64 on AMC4, though, I 've read is likely to leave the FTA scene sometime soon. There's another thread going on that somewhere, here. The basic fact is that with multiple receivers on a motorized system, both must watch the same satellite. If you have multiple dishes, then each receiver can tune any dish.

:)

Brent
 
ditto. thinking 2 motorized systems may be in my future. figured i'd start with the motorized and find out just exactly what the wife likes, and then put a stationary for her in the bedroom.
 
Its always best to get the whole setup right away...otherwise you'll pay more for the pieces separatelly in the end

but you'll probably do what most of us do and get one system and keep adding to it piece by piece :D

The Visionsat is a very stable unit with the PVR. You can add a hard drive or just use one of those thumb drives if you only record just a few things
 
thanks for the input guys. i think I am just going to order that motorized Visionsat system and start there. I have the digital OTA connected and it is so much better than the fuzzy cable. i guess if i want a second receiver later, i can use it as an excuse to buy a t90 system or some other cool toy.

So what is the deal with Fox News? Does it come on, or is it scrambled?
 
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Fox News and those other 'cable' channels on AMC4 are scrambled , sometimes you can get one channel or another for a day or two, possibly when a cable system has problems. I get audio on them all the time but no video. PowerVu encryption, I believe.
 
Planning Ahead

Let's say you might want to eventually have two LNBs, or even two dishes, for the wife.
Sounds like the motorized system would be for yourself.
Do you see a possibility that her fixed dishes might be something you'd like to switch to instantly (use her dishes)?
... or that maybe you'd like to let her access your motorized dish for special events?

If so, just plan ahead by making sure all the LNBs have two outputs each, and then you can later ...
- use two receivers with hardly anything other than a 4:1 diseqc switch
- expand to 4/6/8 receivers using multiswitches

Not a big deal. Just a thought.
We're here with ideas for ya. ;)
 
Get a motorized system for her and one for you. Once you find out the channels she likes the most, put the channels in a favorites list. That way, she can just change channels using her favorite list without having to search through the satellites list, etc. It works all the time. :D
 
Sadoun, i think that is what is going to end up happening if she really likes the initial one. I wish you guys carried a PVR system since you include more freebies, lol.
 
Hey empiretc, don’t forget the cables, a ground block and a Sat finder kit. The kit I used made things considerably easier.:)

Yeah, a PVR system does sound great. I am still going old-tek by using an old VCR and a whole bunch of VHS tapes. But I imagine having a bunch of thumb USB drives laying around is a lot better and less space consuming then having old tapes.:D

My fantasy receiver would have all the features of the mercury II along with USB-PVR, internal AC3 processing, 4:22 processing and be completely upgradeable and compatible with Mpeg 4 & DVB-S2!:hungry::music::love


And it would fly!:cool:
 
I wish you guys carried a PVR system since you include more freebies, lol.

I agree with you. We used to sell Fortec Star PVR receivers back in 2002-2003 and people loved them. I wish Fortec would send more to North America. Try to send them an email at fortecCA@fortecstar.com to encourage them to bring a Mercury II version with PVR and extra features. The more emails they get the better.
 
so there a more channels available than what is listed.

If i understand correctly, they come in on different birds as "wild feeds" that are on and off a lot. Is this correct? I want to get a motorized because I wanted to switch between 123 and 101 for Fox News. But if fox news isn't working i get the feeling it will stay put most of the time unless I am chasing these "wild feeds". What do you all think? What other birds have good english channels besides 123?
 
i looked at that list, and the other one listing 95 English channels. My questions was about "wild feeds" .
 
Which satellite usually has wild feeds? I will be ordering my system next week.
 
Well, I went and did it. I ordered the VISIONSAT IV200 PVR MOTOR 36 INCH SYSTEM. I am actually pretty excited. I have an 2.5" USB powered 60gb drive to attach to the system. I'll let you all know when it gets here.
 
mine is -this- big...

Sixty Gigs is fine. I actually have a WD 60gb 2.5" USB drive, too.
It's powered from the USB port, so if I pull it off and take it to my laptop, it gets power where ever it's installed.
No need for an external power supply.

Keep an eye peeled, 500gb external USB drives go on sale from time to time in the $89..$99 range.
... and every month they get bigger and cheaper.
I know the receiver will support 500gb, but don't think it'll handle a larger one.
 
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