Big Dish -vs- Small Dish or both?

[thomas34461usa]

OK I'm using Brighthouse Cable right now for my TV, Internet (Road Runner) and Digital Phone.

I'm waiting for a 3 1/2" pole to come to me from the well drilling company for my 10' Unimesh Dish, then I can put that in.

I've have read some threads here that some of you guys here have both the big dish and small dish too, reason being?

What kind of Speed can I exspect from Satellite Internet? As fast as Road Runner I hope!

Can you have a digital phone using your satellite dish? Big or Small?

What are the differences between Dish Network, DirecTV and the VOOM HD Networks?

I've heard that some promotions are changing Mar 1 for some of the small dish companys. Is this true?
Thanks,
Tom

 

[voomvoom]

I'll take a shot at this....

I've have read some threads here that some of you guys here have both the big dish and small dish too, reason being?

a lesson I learned from DishNetwork billing department:
Because I can....!!!!!!!!!!

But realistically, if you are doing this for "FTA" programming, you need to remember/understand that FTA is supplemental programming for existing Pay services. It will not replace "That Programming". It could (and probably will) and does disappear overnight?
With the 10' Unimesh dish you could get a 4dtv receiver and get programming at a cheaper rate than Cable or the Satellite services and probably FIOS (which I know nothing about)?

 

[truckracer]

Big Dish vs Small dish/cable:

Big Dish:

Has free programming on it (free to air)
Channels come and go without notice (Not 4dtv)
It is a fun hobby
You get to see interesting things the general public will never see on their tvs
There is always something to watch
Free to air is NOT mainstream cable.
You do not get free cable service from a big dish (not usually for long anyway).
Big dish is not really multiple tv friendly. (you are bound by the channels on the particular satellite the dish is pointed at the time. Dish can only be controlled by one master receiver or positioner box.
You get a first look at new and upcoming channels.
Lots of feeds and backhauls for sports and news coverage of disaster and breaking news events.
Free to air is highly technical and is not user friendly for average tv users. *everybody can learn however.
Mainstream cable channels can be received with a big dish using a 4dtv receiver. DSR-922, 920, 905 sidecar.

Small dish/cable:

Mainstream pay tv
Higher priced service
multi-tv friendlier with extra receivers (for and additional fee monthly 5.00 each receiver)
Nothing is free - If you don't pay your bill the entire receiver is shut off and is now a doorstop.


Hope that helps. Some folks on this board are FTA only and do not subscribe to anything. They use over the air HD and their big dish for the free channels only.

Others have cable and big dish. They use cable for the kid's rooms and the wife. The big dish is for their experimentation and enjoyment (Man thing-LOL). Kind of like having having a bigger engine in your muscle car LOL.

Satellite internet in my opinion is a "last resort" for people who cannot get cable or DSL high speed service. If you live out in the country or a subdivision that does not have infrastructure. My uncle has hughes net and quite honestly it is not that fast for one, they use some kind of "fair use bandwidth throttling" that results in you being cut off for the day if you download too much data withing a certain period of time. It is much more expensive than comparable landline services such as cable or dsl.

 

[Anole]

lotta questions

I'll try, too...

OK I'm using Brighthouse Cable right now for my TV, Internet (Road Runner) and Digital Phone.

What sort of TV programming do you watch?
How many hours a day/week do you watch TV?

I'm waiting for a 3 1/2" pole to come to me from the well drilling company for my 10' Unimesh Dish, then I can put that in.

Seems odd you'd order up a big pipe and get a nice dish without some plan.
What're ya up to?

I've have read some threads here that some of you guys here have both the big dish and small dish too, reason being?

Big dish 6, 8, 10 foot, is for C-band.
As suggested, there is both real FTA and less expensive pay TV via 4DTV receivers on C-band.
There are also US networks, feeds, and other things of general interest.

Small dishes in the 36" range, are for Ku band reception.
Just another frequency range, with lots of FTA available.
For more info, you can check out TheList located right here on SatGuy's
For a very quick overview of just Ku-band, only, you might see this page on FTAlist.

What kind of Speed can I expect from Satellite Internet? As fast as Road Runner I hope!

I don't think so.
Haven't been keeping up with satellite internet connections, but generally they are for people too far from civilization to get cable, DSL, or other wired connections.
You might get a list of the few providers, then check their web sites for throughput.
Any such system will come with a dedicated dish, under 1m, and be totally independent.

Can you have a digital phone using your satellite dish? Big or Small?

You might put in VoIP (voice over IP) with an internet connection.
Vonage is one you could look at, or for much cheaper maybe Skype.

If you are anywhere you can get reliable cell phone service, that is the way I would go.
The only reason I'm now tied to a land-line number, is because it's necessary for my DSL internet connection.
I have friends who have his 'n hers cell phones and NO HOME PHONE beyond that!

What are the differences between Dish Network, DirecTV and the VOOM HD Networks?

Dish Network and DirecTV provide pay TV via satellite.
They will need their own dedicated dishes, apart from anything else you have.
VOOM satellite TV has been off the air for several years - they're dead, Jim.
All were based on small dishes under 3 feet.

I've heard that some promotions are changing Mar 1 for some of the small dish companys. Is this true?
Thanks,
Tom

We have DirecTV and Dish Network forums.
I'm sure there is much chatter about such things in those forum departments.

edit: looks like it took me too long to compose, and TruckRacer beat me to it.

 

[schlever]

VoIP or digital phone does not work well with satellite internet as there are latency problems. If your going to go VoIP, get a cable or dsl connection and you'll be fine.

 

[14karat]

Ditto the VOIP reply above.
Satellite internet is only feasible if you don't have DSL or Cable options (or like me - wireless broadband!)
It is expensive.
For general browsing & downloads, it is great, but for low latency stuff (two-way voice and video for example) it really stinks... not to say that you couldn't use it, but it is tough to carry on a conversation when there's a 2-3 second delay from the time you say something until the person on the other end hears it!
If you can get DSL, do. If you can't but can get cable, do that. After that, you are left with:
A. Broadband Wireless (if you're close enough to a cell tower - and it's expensive - believe me, I know.)
B. Satellite
C. (Dare I even say it...) Dial-up.

 

[truckracer]

satellite broadband could be stellar (other than latency) if they would open the pipes and let some data flow!

 

[thomas34461usa]

Hello and Thanks to everyone,
Thank you VoomVoom, Truckracer, Anole, Schlever, 14Karat for your quick response! Rather then address all my answers to each of you in this post, I think that I can best address all of them with Anole’s post.

What sort of TV programming do you watch?

I watch my fair share of Movies that I get from Brighthouse. HBO and Cinimax. Mostly Network programming that comes with ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, TNT, True TV, Military Channel, History Channel, Learning Channel, Discovery Channel, a few more.

How many hours a day/week do you watch TV?
About 3 to 4 hours per day weekdays. A few more on weekends. I don’t sit there to watch TV just because it’s there.

Seems odd you'd order up a big pipe and get a nice dish without some plan. What're ya up to?

Geez, maybe I must be ODD? Actually when this first thing came about is that I remembered a friend of mine back in Michigan who sold the Big Dish’s and remembering how great they were with all the free programming. So I did a search on the Internet and found this site. From there on I was destined to find more about getting a big dish. I came about a great thread here called Great Adventures in Dish Hunting by Fred. I’m sure you know of him. He’s a great guy and helped me a lot with my questions. I started to look for satellite dishes myself and because I was now paying attention to them they seemed to me coming out of the woodwork. I was talking to a friend and she told me I could have hers, I just needed to take it down. At that same time I found a satellite shop that had went out of business and left a message at his door to call me. I got a call from him the next day and told him that I would like to have one of his dishes. He told me he would have to think about it. Well he did call like he said he would and we made plans to get it on that Saturday. Cool I thought, I was going to have two dishes now! I went to the well drilling company and got a pole for one of the dishes. Then I got the call from my friend that she could give me the dish as her Father wanted it. Well at least I thought I still had one. Went and got the dish and drove it home. I put it in my garage for now, while I was digging a hole for the mounting pole I discovered that the pole was a 4” and the satellite mount was a 3”. So I had to go back and get another pole for this dish. Then down the street from me I see this really big dish and it has a 4” mounting pole, and a Heavy Duty Motor mount. I think it’s a H&H. Not sure till I get it. Talked to the guy and he wanted to know how much I was willing to give to him. He also says that he still has all the receivers. I may be getting this Dish too tomorrow, cross my fingers! I was told my one neighbor in my neighborhood who has a Big Dish that she can’t get any of the Networks like ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, etc. That’s why I wrote my next question.

I've have read some threads here that some of you guys here have both the big dish and small dish too, reason being?




Big dish 6, 8, 10 foot, is for C-band.
As suggested, there is both real FTA and less expensive pay TV via 4DTV receivers on C-band. There are also US networks, feeds, and other things of general interest.

Small dishes in the 36" range, are for Ku band reception.
Just another frequency range, with lots of FTA available.
For more info, you can check out TheList located right here on SatGuy's For a very quick overview of just Ku-band, only, you might see this page on FTAlist.
So I can get the entire Network programming plus my local stations from the Big Dish? I know and remember all the free stuff and that great, but I do have some favorite shows on the networks I like to watch.

What kind of Speed can I expect from Satellite Internet? As fast as Road Runner I hope!


I don't think so. Haven't been keeping up with satellite internet connections, but generally they are for people too far from civilization to get cable, DSL, or other wired connections.
You might get a list of the few providers, then check their web sites for throughput. Any such system will come with a dedicated dish, under 1m, and be totally independent.

Looks like I will stick to cable and Roadrunner for my Internet service.


Can you have a digital phone using your satellite dish? Big or Small?


You might put in VoIP (voice over IP) with an internet connection. Vonage is one you could look at, or for much cheaper maybe Skype.

If you are anywhere you can get reliable cell phone service, that is the way I would go. The only reason I'm now tied to a land-line number, is because it's necessary for my DSL internet connection. I have friends who have his 'n hers cell phones and NO HOME PHONE beyond that!

Looks like I will stick to cable for my Digital Phone. Near the same price as Vonage.




What are the differences between Dish Network, DirecTV and the VOOM HD Networks?


Dish Network and DirecTV provide pay TV via satellite.
They will need their own dedicated dishes, apart from anything else you have. VOOM satellite TV has been off the air for several years - they're dead, Jim. (Jim?? My name is Tom) All were based on small dishes under 3 feet.

I see that Dish and DirecTV are similar except for the sport package. I did an Internet search for VOOM satellite TV and they are still in business. Looks limited by what they have to offer.

I've heard that some promotions are changing Mar 1 for some of the small dish companys. Is this true?
Thanks,
Tom


We have DirecTV and Dish Network forums. I'm sure there is much chatter about such things in those forum departments.


I won’t need either of the small dish networks as long as I can also get network programming and local channels. I may have to get another antenna to reach the Tampa stations.


edit: looks like it took me too long to compose, and TruckRacer beat me to it.

Again, thank you everybody!

Tom

 

[voomvoom]

Well Tom, as far as Voom goes, you can get it from Dish Network, it's not available from Directv. There are supposed to be some Cable Companies that have Voom, but I don't know of any, and obviously yours don't?
All in All, your plan seems like a Good One.......
Good Luck!

 

[voomvoom]

As far as the Networks, if you get an HD capable DVB receiver, you can get ABC HD, CBS HD, CW HD, MyTV HD, and PBS HD. You can also get NBC and Fox in SD versions. PBS HD and Fox are on Ku-Band and the others are on C-Band. You can also get ABC and MyTV SD versions on Ku-Band. And on occassion you might find an NBC SD version on Ku-Band. You can also get NBC in SD version on KU-Band if you have a 4:2:2 capable DVB receiver.

 

[truckracer]

There a a few networks up there. Mainly my big dishes (I have two up and running) are a hobby. I do subscribe to callnps.com. I have the "ku value pack" and "hbo/cinemax" pack.
It is a cheap priced package that offers me what I like to watch without breaking the bank.

I have no need for some super sized cable package with 1,000,000 channels since all the religious channels, networks, and shopping clubs are free anyway (not knocking the religious channels - I enjoy many of them). I don't do pay per views even back when I had directv except one time when the movie "Radio" came out on PPV one of my friends was a wallpaper in the barber shop scene sitting on the chest freezer drinking a mug of coffee.

Get the big dish and set it up. Don't get frustrated as it takes some learning. You will gain a ton of knowledge about tv and how signals get to us. There is a wealth of knowledge about satellite communications right here on these forums.

 

[thomas34461usa]

Programming

There a a few networks up there. Mainly my big dishes (I have two up and running) are a hobby. I do subscribe to callnps.com. I have the "ku value pack" and "hbo/cinemax" pack.
It is a cheap priced package that offers me what I like to watch without breaking the bank.

I have no need for some super sized cable package with 1,000,000 channels since all the religious channels, networks, and shopping clubs are free anyway (not knocking the religious channels - I enjoy many of them). I don't do pay per views even back when I had directv except one time when the movie "Radio" came out on PPV one of my friends was a wallpaper in the barber shop scene sitting on the chest freezer drinking a mug of coffee.

Get the big dish and set it up. Don't get frustrated as it takes some learning. You will gain a ton of knowledge about tv and how signals get to us. There is a wealth of knowledge about satellite communications right here on these forums.

Thanks Truckracer,
I can hardly wait till I get a satellite dish up. It feels like this is all I have been thinking about! I'm hooked!! I have one dish sitting in my garage that requires a 3" pole. It's on order. I have two holes dug in my backyard waiting for me to put the poles in. I do have one pole in the backyard that is a 4" that I have to drill some more holes in so I can put rebarb in it. I was just offered a 12' satellite dish, unknown maker. See thread: Adventures in dish hunting and what we find. Last page to see images of the satellite dish.

I'm all set to join the band wagon for Big Dishes yesterday! At the same time I know I can get the Big Networks like ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox but what about local channels?

I think I'm learning more about all of this now. At least more then I did when I first joined. It's does seem like it is taking for ever to get at least one dish up!

Oh yeah, the guy I'm getting the 12' dish from is telling me to completly dis-mantle it and then take it to my house and put it back together again, and to use a string to test it. I was thinking of keeping it intach, Yea or Nea?? Hope you get a chance to see the photo's of it. Maybe you recognize the maker of the 12'??

Thanks,
Tom
Waiting for Satellite TV! :

 

[voomvoom]

At the same time I know I can get the Big Networks like ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox but what about local channels?

There are 2 places on C-Band (different satellites) that has the networks from a local, and it's probably not yours.

 

[thomas34461usa]

local stations

There are 2 places on C-Band (different satellites) that has the networks from a local, and it's probably not yours.

I'm thinking you are right. I didn't see anything listed for Tampa Florida. Maybe I will have to put up a antenna on my roof to pick up Tampa Bay? Hope that you get the chance to see my post about a 12' dish I'm suppose to get. It's on the thread: Adventures in dish hunting and what we find. Would like your feedback.

Thanks,
Tom

 

[tvropro]

"What sort of TV programming do you watch?

I watch my fair share of Movies that I get from Brighthouse. HBO and Cinimax. Mostly Network programming that comes with ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, TNT, True TV, Military Channel, History Channel, Learning Channel, Discovery Channel, a few more."

If you like Movies there is nothing better than the BUD. They are all the first generation masters, which means theres no better picture quality then them anywhere. There are close to 90 premium movie channels. All the other channels you mentioned above are on the big dish. If you going to do it right you need a 4DTV and a FTA receiver. I have both with a 12 foot dish, and a 90cm and 85cm dish. I use a couple antenna's for my local OTA channels.

To use an old saying "Try it you like it"

 

[thomas34461usa]

Bud and OTA Antennas

"What sort of TV programming do you watch?

I watch my fair share of Movies that I get from Brighthouse. HBO and Cinimax. Mostly Network programming that comes with ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, TNT, True TV, Military Channel, History Channel, Learning Channel, Discovery Channel, a few more."If you like Movies there is nothing better than the BUD. They are all the first generation masters, which means theres no better picture quality then them anywhere. There are close to 90 premium movie channels. All the other channels you mentioned above are on the big dish. If you going to do it right you need a 4DTV and a FTA receiver. I have both with a 12 foot dish, and a 90cm and 85cm dish. I use a couple antenna's for my local OTA channels.

To use an old saying "Try it you like it"

Hello tvropro,
Thank you for your reply and your answer. I thought that I would need to get a antenna to get to the Tampa Bay stations which are about a hundred miles from me. I might need another antenna for me to reach the Orlando stations which is about 130 miles from me. Then I can watch my OTA channels. I guess I should check out a Radio Shack dealer for them?

On the other hand as far as the Movie channels I have a 10' Unimesh and suppose to get a 12' dish. The 12' maker is unknown at this time. The 90cm and 85cm dish that you mention I take it are small dishes? Are those for your KU Band and your 12' dish for C-Band?

I'm not sure as to the condition of these dishes I have till I get them planted in the ground. Then I can check out the feedhorns and the actualtors.
Thanks,
Tom

 

[truckracer]

Do you have a new tv with a digital tuner (that receives the 8vsb digital local signals)?
If you do , all you need is a UHF antenna with enough gain for your area. Your locals will come from the antenna for free and digitals have good quality. Some HD channels in your area I am sure.

If you don't have a newer tv, Walmart sells a vcr/dvd recorder combo that has the digital tuner built in that will work with non-HD non-digital tv's.
It is around 172.00 dollars and is a great deal IMO. Here's the link: Magnavox DVD Recorder/VCR with Digital Tuner, ZV450MW8 - Wal-Mart

It will down convert the digital signals to your analog tv (with a good picture quality).

I was thinking of buying one myself for my non-digital 32" old school tv that still works great.