Do I need a DISH receiver to view programs?

[rbarch]

Please forgive me if this is a dumb question but I am really a newbie at all this.
I would like to subscribe to DISH programing but I would also like to experiment with "Free-to-air" channels and see what is out there. So do I
need to have two complete satellite systems or can I go with only one system that will do both jobs. I would appreciate your advice. Thank You
Robert Barch

 

[PSB]

Robert,
You will probably be best with two separate systems at this stage, depending on what channels you want from Dish they may have to give you two dish depending on where you are and if you want local channels, as for the FTA I have a motorized system and I can use the one dish for every satellite, if you want to watch more than one FTA satellite you will need a motorized system, if you just want to watch just one FTA satellite a regular FTA system will work, where the dish does not move and stays pointing at one satellite all the time, hope this helps keep asking if you have any more ??? You could always integrate both systems at a later date!