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spec1alk
Last reply · posted in Free To Air (FTA) Discussion
Guys,

I apologize because I am sure this has been asked before. It would help if there was a sticky.

Basically I want to know what FTA satellite is all about. What kind of programming is available? Networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC)? Movie channels? Is the content in HD? What equipment is required? Is a program guide available?

What are the differences between FTA and OTA or a pay service like cable or E*/DTV?

Thanks for your patience.
8 Replies · 1875 views
Blindowl1234
Welcome to Satellite Guys! It all depends on what you want to watch. If you're looking for all the premium stuff on your cable/dish setup....Well 99% of that isn't on FTA. However if you're looking for a great hobby and aren't particular with what channels you watch then FTA is for you. It depends on what you are willing to live with and without. It also depends on how much you want to spend to on equipment...dishes, receivers etc... As for OTA. Thats the local channels available in your area on regular Tv. It depends how close you are to a major city etc...what you'll get. I live near Cincinnati and Dayton so with an antenna on the roof I get about 35 channels. Some of them are duplicates between the two cities. Ask anyone in these forums any questions you have....All are glad to help in anyway they can. Also the sponsors here are great too!
Blind
ikki
I will post you a list of what is in my favorites, for many people FTA isnt an option, for me its perfect.

1. History
2. Bio
3. THIStv Network
4. Saudi TV1
5. Saudi TV2
6. Russia Today
7. Al Jazeera - English
8. Mhz World View
9. Kuwait TV
10. Kuwait 2
11. Kuwait 3
12. TimeTV
13. Press TV
14. Pastor Scott
15. JCTV
16. NHK 525
17. NHK 1080i
18. YES Italia
19. RAI News 24
20. Arirang
C
Guys,

I apologize because I am sure this has been asked before. It would help if there was a sticky.

Basically I want to know what FTA satellite is all about.
It is basically what traditional TV isn't. There isn't a gatekeeper as such for the programming up there, or controlling what our FTA receivers cannot see or do (except by using encryption.)

IMHO what is on FTA satellite fits into two categories:
1. Feeds and backhauls. These are things that are there, but you are not supposed to see at home, at least from that source. This includes closed circuit feeds for hospitasl, department stores, pharmacies, and teleclassroom courses, as well as news, sports feeds/backhauls, wildfeeds, and network feeds.

2. Programmed channels intended for end viewers, but could not make it on pay systems, or for whatever reason prefer not to. These would include the foreign and religious channels on G19 and AMC-1.

FTA is not getting pay services without paying for them.
What kind of programming is available? Networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC)?
Those networks have some feeds. I personally don't know more than that.
Movie channels?
Not really that I've seen. I heard there is some on Hispasat, and there is the River Broadcasting channel on G19.
Is the content in HD?
There is some HD feeds and PBS. I don't think the international/religious programming has HD.
What equipment is required?
A receiver. Almost any will do for most SD channels. You will need to do some research for HD, MPEG4, and DVB-S2/8PSK formats, to get the right receiver.
A dish bigh enough to get the satellite (s) you want. Same for the LNBF. Cabling/switches/motor might be needed.
Is a program guide available?
Mostly not.

What are the differences between FTA and OTA or a pay service like cable or E*/DTV?
OTA only has broadcast and a few other channels available. That is good enough for some.

FTA, said above.

Pay satellite, you have to pay, and have to take the channels they offer in the packages. You need their receiver, and they mostly decide how it works.
spec1alk
Thanks guys for the helpful information. I plan to read the stickies referenced by Pepper and then may play around with this a little bit.

The reason I started this thread is that I am irritated at the selection provided to me by my Pay service (E*).

I am pretty much only interested in HD content. SD content just doesn't look good on my TV (Samsung 67" DLP).

I was looking at alternatives or perhaps a compliment to my pay service. I am also thinking about investing in a good exterior VHF+UHF antennae to pull in additional content.

Some of the FTA programming sounds interesting. I notice there is quite a bit of programming available from the middle east. Am I correct in stating that the majority of the FTA content is news/religious/educational related? What about sports? I am a football junkie. Any NFL on FTA? I will watch baseball occasionally (grew up in San Diego, so I loosely follow the Padres). I will watch some March Madness, NBA playoffs/finals, and I am trying to get into College Football. What kind of sports content is available? Am I right in assuming the sports content that is available is more global? i.e. Soccer?

Anyways, it sounds like this could be something really fun to play around with. I like the idea of tapping into content coming from a broadcast truck somewhere. Sounds fun.

In response to Blindowl1234, unfortunately I live in a valley of a sparsely populated area and will be lucky to pick up 4 or 5 OTA channels, let alone 35.
turbosat
You won't find much, if any, pro sports on fta (they want MONEY). Some college sports can be found if you look around for the feeds, but no fulltime sports channels for US college sports that I know of . The regional sports networks, like the pro sports, want MONEY to pay for the expense of providing their content. That said, you can almost always find something to watch with free to air. If you want guaranteed coverage of certain teams or sports, I'd suggest one of the pay-tv providers (which should really be called 'get-paid providers" lol)
T
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
I thought I would come here and find lots of complaints about the update to the dish anywhere mobile app, but am not seeing any. It used to look just like the desktop webpage. Now you can no longer filter by sports channels or movie channels. Plus that they made it look like a big button telephone and you see fewer channels in the screen which requires more scrolling. Yes I realize you can look at sports then select which sport you want to look at, I just liked being able to see all sporting events in the guide with all other channels being filtered out. Am I alone in the wilderness on this?
2 Replies · 25 views
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Juan
Not alot of dish customers any more
Foxbat
I'm not a big fan of the new layout, especially on my Apple TV. It used to look like the old Guide layout on the Hopper 3, but they changed parts of that, too.
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meStevo
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Sports Section
Schedule drops tomorrow. Mandatory mini camps in June. Hall of Fame game August 6th.
110 Replies · 1605 views
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Y
Selfish Drake Maye holds back on giving the ball to Bills unlike Jags game, gets the win on the road.
Y
Selfish Drake Maye holds back on giving the ball to Bills unlike Jags game, gets the win on the road.
A big win for the Patriots, and they are now 3-2.

Browns lose a close one with... The Jets. That is a classic Browns loss (granted, any loss is a classic one it seems). 49'ers, Vikings, and Chiefs remain undefeated. The AFC north have a three way tie at 3-2 for second place. :eek:
osu1991
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M
Hopefully nowhere near a microphone.
Y
Hopefully nowhere near a microphone.
After having experienced Gus Ferguson trying to call soccer games, I'm uncertain why NFL football analysts get hate. Even the "worst" of them are pretty good.
meStevo
Jalen Hurts out indefinitely as they treat and monitor a superficial blood clot in his leg.


View: https://x.com/RapSheet/status/2111074303185989663?s=20
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dishstaller
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
· posted in TV Shows
I had quit watching this show years ago because I ended up more annoyed than entertained. Well......I'm STILL more annoyed than entertained. I DO find it interesting to see how things work behind the scenes at many businesses. What annoys me is how utterly out of touch CEOs are with the companies they run. At the end of almost every episode the head of the company is amazed at how hard the employees have to work and many times have to work around impossible guidelines set forth from headquarters.

I found this one interesting because the new CEO had big plans for this company, Muscle Maker Grill, and it looked like the stores were all pretty busy. Recent history hasn't been good to this company however. I bet the covid lockdowns were the real killer.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIhZm0qkz0o
0 Replies · 2 views
Scott Greczkowski
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne


Get it?


An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68500 Replies · 2670779 views
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ClarkGable
White Wedding - Billy Idol
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M
White Christmas - Elvis Presley
dishstaller
Dirty White Boy - Foreigner
Bobby
Tickle Me (Dirty, Dirty Feeling) - Elvis Presley
dishstaller
Dirty Diana - Michael Jackson
osu1991
Pub Member / Supporter
Last reply · posted in TV Shows
1 Replies · 48 views
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Howard Simmons

Another Tulsa King spin off.🙄
Anony55
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
For quite a while now, people with a VIP211k have been losing their recordings on their activated external HDDs... even when there's nothing physically wrong with HDD. I believe this is an intentional and underhanded tactic that Dish is pulling in an attempt to force users away from the VIP211k.

They are obviously regretting that they ever let users have a "non-dvr" dvr in the first place. You would think they would be happy charging you a $40 one time fee... and then be happy letting the customer be the one responsible for HDD failures.

Dish clearly hates the 211k bitter-clingers. This recording deletion problem is intentional (IMO), and I think it is just one more tool that they are using. Hopper and a 2-year agreement... that's what they want you to have. Think about that... a 2-year agreement... with a company $30 Billion in debt (that's with a B). What happens when all that debt causes them to drop the channel that may have been your whole reason for having Dish in the first place? Guess who's stuck with a service that no longer suits their needs... for the remainder of the 2-year agreement.

On top of that, they don't want you to install it yourself. I purchased and installed all my equipment myself. That used to be common. Now, they lie to me and tell me that my dish must be updated to use a Hopper. Funny thing is... they don't even know what dish I have because they didn't install it, and I didn't tell them. If you ask what type of dish/LNBs the hopper needs... good luck getting an answer. All they know is that whatever you have needs to be upgraded by an installer.

It is quite apparent to me that they care much more about staying in their box, than they do working with the customer. That's too bad, because it hasn't always been that way. It's like they are totally unaware of the current business environment that they are trying to compete in.

I have been a customer since 2010. I will be cancelling my service before the next period. Yeah, I know, my $1,200 a year won't make a difference to them. It just seems like they have forgotten who needs who, especially when you consider the competition in today's streaming world. But hey, they will have succeed in forcing me off the 211k.
165 Replies · 7366 views
Nebugeater
Got a 211k that works fine, and I no longer need it if someone wants to throw me a few bucks and pay shipping. Not tied to my account as of last week. Used with a tailgater and got a wally
Former member 208119
Class action.
a hopper 3 with 6 firesticks and or if you wanna spend even more money apple tv's
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T
Got a 211k that works fine, and I no longer need it if someone wants to throw me a few bucks and pay shipping. Not tied to my account as of last week. Used with a tailgater and got a wally
Is the 211k still available? If so, I'm interested.
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Nebugeater
Is the 211k still available? If so, I'm interested.


Actually, it is. A couple of people PMed me when I posted this, and when I asked for an address, they never responded. Then I just sort of let it go. Send me a PM to continue the discussion
Anony55
Well, after nine months of being on pause, I finally figured out that I was wasting $5 a month. So I cancelled. For the first time since 2010, I no longer have a Dish account.

I do have to say that I did appreciate the account pause option. That just gives a person some time to see what the fallout of cancelling will be... without having to go all the way over the cliff first.

Since I never once had an "oh shoot, I need Dish Network for..." moment, the decision was a lot easier.

Funny enough, when I called to cancel (for real, not playing the pricing game), all of a sudden, they were offering me deals that I was told before that I couldn't get without changing out my VIP211k. Now, I could have had those specials with them just sending me a new card for the receiver. LOL!

Of course, my mind was already made up because of having not missed the service while on pause. That, and the fact that I bet the 211k still kills recordings.

All in all, I'm glad that I had Dish for all those years. I just outgrew the need, and they pressed the issue by deleting recordings. I would have eventually went this route without the deleted recordings issue. But, for sure, that did hasten the outcome.

I'll still pop in at this site from time to time. Believe it or not, I still have a C/Ku BUD that I intend on playing with again if life ever slows down.
dishstaller
Actually, it is. A couple of people PMed me when I posted this, and when I asked for an address, they never responded. Then I just sort of let it go. Send me a PM to continue the discussion
Unless things have changed at Dish, which is entirely possible, they won't activate the 211, even as a replacement. I gave one to a customer a while back....which when I turned it off I made sure to tell the CSR I wanted it freed up so another customer could use it, I was assured it was.....and when they called to swap out there's they were told it couldn't be done. Now like I said, things MIGHT HAVE CHANGED.
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Former member 209992
Last reply · posted in SatelliteGuys Support Center
For some reason, the satelliteguys.us site is loading a lot slower than usual on both Chrome on my Asus laptop and Safari on my iPhone.
I'm also seeing longer appearances of the blue bar at the top and the "3 blue bars" loading symbol.
Is anyone else also having the same problem? Thanks in advance.
529 Replies · 18012 views
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Scott Greczkowski
Remember folks... just like DNS... its always Foxbat. :D
Foxbat
Remember folks... just like DNS... its always Foxbat. :D
WTF… …What the Foxbat!😱
S
zipping right along here
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S
WTF… …What the Foxbat!😱
wow what a kick in the balls!!! the wife blames you when things don't work now scott's blaming you :biggrin
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Foxbat
wow what a kick in the balls!!! the wife blames you when things don't work now scott's blaming you :biggrin
I know. Here's what Scott has in store for me if I get out of line:
IMG_1990.webp
IMG_1989.webp
S
I know. Here's what Scott has in store for me if I get out of line:
OMG to freaking funny :biggrin
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comfortably_numb
I know. Here's what Scott has in store for me if I get out of line:

Not likely since that place closed down.
TheRatPatrol
Last reply · posted in TV Shows
Anyone else watch this show? Any guesses as to what was in the box Gibbs gave to Abby that was on her desk? It look liked it was glowing.

I also heard that someone was leaving the show at the end of this season. Any guesses as to who thats going to be?
2131 Replies · 214669 views
Jimbo

Howard ...
You don't like Tony, or Tony as the Director (he's only been there for 30 seconds now) or you don't like NCIS ?
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Howard Simmons
Howard ...
You don't like Tony, or Tony as the Director (he's only been there for 30 seconds now) or you don't like NCIS ?
Tony as the director.🙄
Jimbo
Tony as the director.🙄
Would you rather have LaRoche ???
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dfergie
I liked this episode and a toned down Tony...
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Howard Simmons
Would you rather have LaRoche ???
No. Bring in someone new.🤔 Tony is not serious enough for me. Parker is too close to the team and Tim is too young to take over IMO.
dfergie
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!
Last reply · posted in The Sports Section
159 Replies · 3335 views
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meStevo
Oh weird, it was I think a 20 minute version of this.


View: https://youtu.be/nFM3BlYQJT4
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Foxbat
Weird F1 weekend is already over with a Saturday race.
dfergie
Tried to watch the truck race but the stage c**p is why I don't watch NASCAR anymore…
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Y
Today is the anniversary of Dan Wheldon's passing at Las Vegas in a dreadful crash that luckily didn't take more drivers' lives. I vaguely remember the crash, but I more strongly remember Paul Tracy trying to keep it together as he left the Medical Center knowing that Dan most likely wasn't going to.

The safety in these vehicles is beyond incomprehensible, especially relative to what it was 60 years ago, when dying wasn't unexpected. But it is still very dangerous. I always scoff at the prayer invocations, but never scoff at the risks these drivers take and the emergency workers out there who might need to pull short of a miracle to save a driver's life.
Tried to watch the truck race but the stage c**p is why I don't watch NASCAR anymore…
HBO Max has the live in car streaming without commercials, which provides an interesting take, but you are driving blind, knowing only what the team is telling the driver about what is happening on the track. The stages definitely ruin the NASCAR set up.