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Hello everyone, I have looked over several posts although with as many as are out there not sure I can get to all of them . A friend recommended FTA over a year ago and I have been trying to learn as much as possible. It is going slow for me unfortunately. One of the reasons is the funds available to me. I was born visually impaired, please do not think I am whining as I am only stating this because this limits my income to produce the funds. It has not been easy on Social Security but I finally have saved enough, at least I hope, to buy a system. Deciding to go FTA also helped by not being able to afford the subscriptions (small dish). I have a few questions that I hope some of you can help me with now that I am ready to make the jump.

I guess I should tell you what I would like to get and what I already have as well as where I am. I only speak english and would like mainly the major networks as well as some news/sports. i have also heard about wild feeds and am interested in those as well, these seem to help getting the wife motivated but that is for amother topic all together. I had DirecTV but could not afford the subscription but still havet he equipment and cabling all in place. I am also living in the North Easter corner of MO on 3.5 acres so I have lots of room.

For equipment to use, I have seen a few sites offer package deals for stationary/moving/c/ku combos. Are they for a noobe like myself a good deal or good idea to go with? I built my own computer system and know doing it that way you get a better system but not sure if it works the same way.

I know that there are many good brands out there and have seen several debates about which is better. But for the price of the total package and getting as much value for my money I would like some recommendations.

I have seen on one site they have a maintenance option which includes automatice updates to the receiver and channel updates for a year or lifetime. The service includes downloads to the receiver but not sure what it all does. Is this something that is worth the money?

The notation 4:2:2 was used several times in my viewing of the posts and one said it would say what it was but I think I missed the definition. Can you tell me what it is and is it something I should look for.

The TV here is a 27" no frills no HD but hope that someday if I save enough I can get a nicer one. Are there receivers that are capable of doing both HD and SD?

Around here there are large dishes seen but have not seen any for sale. Is it generally ok to buy used or refurbished equipment. None of the sites visited had any listing of refurbished equipment so hopefully not asking a foolish question.

There are probably a few more questions but am drawing a blank right now. The budget is upto $500.00 right now, it is not much but hope will be enough to get me started. A few combos seen online run about $300.00 plus s&h give or take but not sure as said before if they are what is needed.

Would also like a record function like PVR or what it is called in the FTA world. I can not see details well and forget reading subtitles in real time so this would definatly help me to enjoy the programs.

Thank you in advance for any advice and recommendations you can give me. Have a truly wonderful and beautiful day.