FTA in the US

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MaxBiT

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Aug 13, 2008
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Im totally new to FTA, and im still trying to figure out some stuff. From what i've seen, the list of available FTA channels in the US doesnt look that good, what channels are avalible appear to be things i dont want to see(i.e. local news channels from around the US). Am I missing something or is FTA truely limited to these useless channels? Im looking for things like TNT, Spike, Comedy central, you know, things worth watching. Can this be done without using money hungry companies like DTV and dish?
 
Generally, you will not find those kinds of channels in the clear. Occasionally they will pop up in one place or the other, but certainly not on a daily, reliable basis. You will see things in the clear that you'll never find on pay cable or satellite :eek:
 
OK, so then what am I missing? I see FTA boxes selling for hundreds of dollars, what justifies that cost? Are these channels better then i think?
 
Well, for one thing, playing with the hardware is a nice hobby. Also many people who start out with an FTA box do so for a particular ( maybe ethnic programming ) purpose. There is no regular TV series on my current viewing agenda ( and I have a big DISH sub ) , just the news and sports . Occasionally, I'll catch GET SMART but not regularly . I lust for finding a good sports uplink, in HD that I can enjoy , or a newsfeed uplink with behind the scenes action that is compelling.
:)
 
Oh, ok. That makes everything clear now. Im a hardware tinkerer myself, so i can relate to the hobby aspect of it. Although i dont know if the resulting outcome is worth it for me since i really have no interest in viewing the religeous and news channels avalible over FTA, but to each his own. Thank you to everyone who explained this to me.
 
I'm cheap and ornery. I believe that tv should be funded by commercials. The idea that I have to watch commercials AND pay a company (whatever they feel like charging me in a given month) makes me grumpy especially when I'm not going to watch most of the channels that they are charging me to watch.

Let's say I could pay $30 a month for cable or satellite. That's $360 a year.

I took that money and the bought a satellite receiver, motor and dish.

The second year I took some of that money and bought a receiver with a pvr, and the cabling required to hook my computer to my tv.

I own all my equipment. The only payment I have each month is my internet connection. I record and watch some of my favorite network shows from satellite. The rest I stream and watch over the internet from sites like Hulu. I watch what I want, when I want, for free.

Free is good.
 
Equity & RTN, Networks, Feeds . . .

You might search around here for other comments on Equity Broadcasting.
They are the source of a bunch of RTN channels.

If you happen to live far from regular network programming, you can pick up about half the networks on Ku-band satellite.
To get all the US networks, ya might need both Ku and C-band, but that's what some rural users do.

A lot of guys watch temporary channels, set up to carry sports from the field, to their network for distribution.
If you like any sort of sports, tell us which kinds and I'm sure someone will give you a good example of what can be found.
To get these feeds, you need a receiver with blind scanning capability (all the good receivers we'd recommend, have that).
 
RTN is my main reason for FTA. You would be surprised once you start turning the motor and checking out the other satellietes what is out there. I will admit 95+% of the time I am on 123w for RTN :)
 
last I checked there wasnt much on Spike, TNT etc to watch anyways

give me a sports feed or RTN anyday :)
 
Uh, did he look at the list of channels for 123 w? That bird alone makes fta a very nice hobby. We don't watch it as much now that we do have a local ota fox, but before that we used WMQF all the time... now we still do watch either that or KUIL when the OTA signal goes out in bad weather... also, the news channels are nice to have... I love abc news now... just wish they didn't repeat the stories... Russia Today makes for some really interesting watching, especially now with this thing going on with the Georgia war.

Fashion TV can also be some interesting watching as can tons of other stations. Nasa may sound boring, but it's not really.

Movie-wise... some foriegn channels do do movies in English late at night a lot if you don't mind foriegn subchannels. Hispasat is especially known for that sort of thing.
 
I'm also new to all of this, so I'm also unclear on FTA offerings. Can I find all of the basic network programming ( nbc, cbs, abc, fox) unscrammbled? Even if on seperate birds?

In my view the whole situation with fss is out of hand. The FCC has totally lost touch with the concept of fair use of the airwaves. They ought to at least pass a law forbidding the scrambling of PBS, NASA and other subsidized content. Frankly, I they are using a big portion of our kings belt, they should also be providing network program unrestricted access.

This is part of the premise originally enforced on the terrestrial broadcaster of network television. These were going to be public airwaves and they were going to guarantee and ensure that a least a portion of the time/spectrum, was used to serve the public interest.

How is broadcast philosphically any different from what the subscription satellite broadcasters are doing?
 
ej00807 -

PBS and NASA are available FTA, unscrambled on Ku-band, and more on C-band birds.

To get all the basic OTA networks in the clear, you'll have to be able to receive both Ku and C-band, as stated above.

See our own Satellite List, as well as Global-CM for more info.
 
What's On FTA ???????

What's on FTA You Ask ?


RTN LISTING
(Galaxy 18 Ku Band and Galaxy 28 C Band )


21 Jump Street
Adam 12
Airwolf
Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alias Smith and Jones
The A-Team
Bachelor Father
Battlestar Galactica
Black Sheep Squadron
The Bold Ones
Buck Rogers
Delvecchio
Dragnet
Ellery Queen
Emergency
The Greatest American Hero
Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries
Harry and the Hendersons
House Calls
Hunter
The Incredible Hulk
Ironside
It Takes A Thief
The Jack Benny Show
Kate and Allie
Knight Rider
Kojak
Laredo
Leave it to Beaver
Magnum P.I.
Marcus Welby M.D.
McHale's Navy
Mickey Spillane's
Mike Hammer
The Monkees
Munsters Today
Night Gallery
Off Beat Cinema
O'Hara U.S. Treasury
Operation Petticoat
The Partridge Family
Quincy
Renegade
The Rockford Files
RTN Mystery Theater
Run For Your Life
The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo
Simon and Simon
Switch
That's Incredible
Unreliable Sources
The Virginian
Voyagers
Wagon Train

Children's Programming
( Galaxy 18 Ku Band and Galaxy 28 C Band )


Hip Hop Harry
Love2Talk
My Bed Bugs
The Outdoorsman
Wild America

FOX LISTING
( Galaxy 18 Ku Band )


Terminator: The Sarah Conners Chronicles
Prison Break
House
Bones
'Til Death
The Moment of Truth
Kitchen Nighmares
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader
Don't Forget The Lyrics
Cops
America's Most Wanter
America Fights Back
The Simpsons
King of The Hill
Family Guy
American Dad
MadTV
Talkshow with Spike Feresten
The OT
Do Not Disturb
The Fringe

CW LISTING
( Galaxy 18 Ku Band )


Gossip Girl
One Tree Hill
90210
Surviving The Filthy Rich
America's Next Top Model
Stylista
Smallville
Supernatural
Everybody Hates Chris
The Game
Reaper

MYTV LISTING
( Galaxy 18 Ku Band )


The Academy
The Best of In Living Color
Celebraity Expose'
Control Room Presents
Decision House
Jail
Meet My Folks
NFL Network Total Access
Paradise Hotel 2
Street Patrol
The Twilight Zone
Under One Roof
Whacked Out Videos

ABC LISTING
( Galaxy 28 Ku Band )


ABC Now ( News )
According To Jim
AFV - America's Funniest Home Videos
All My Children
The Bachelorette
Boston Legal
Brothers & Sisters
Dancing With The Stars
Desperate Housewives
Dirty Sexy Money
Eli Stone
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
General Hospital
Grey's Anatomy
High School Musical: Get in the Picture
I Survived A Japanese Game Show
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Life On Mars
Lost
The Mole
One Life To Live
Opportunity Knocks
Private Practice
Pushing Daisies
Samantha Who?
Supernanny
The View
Ugly Betty
Wanna Bet
Wife Swap
Wipeout

PBS LISTING
( AMC 3 )


The Adirondacks
Adventure Lodges
Affluenza
Africa
African American Lives
African American World
Africans in America
Aging Out
AIR: America's Investigative Reports
Alan Alda in Scientific American Frontiers
Alcatraz is Not an Island
Amato: A Love Affair with Opera
America at a Crossroads
America Quilts
America Rebuilds I & II
America Responds
American Experience
American Family — Journey of Dreams
American Field Guide
American Flag, The
American High
American Love Stories
American Masters
American Photography: A Century of Images
The American President
American Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith
American Roots Music
American Storytellers: The Sensible Thing
American Valor
America's Ballroom Challenge
America's Investigative Reports
America's Walking
An Evening with Quincy Jones
Ancestors in the Americas
And then One Night: The Making of "Dead Man Walking"
And Thou Shalt Honor
Antiques Roadshow
Antiques Roadshow FYI
Antiques Roadshow UK
Arguing the World
Art in the Twenty-First Century
Arthur
Assignment Hanoi
At Close Range With National Geographic
Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State
Austin City Limits
Australia: Beyond the Fatal Shore
Avoiding Armageddon
Back to the Floor
Backyard Jungle
Barney
Battlefield: Vietnam
Becoming American
Benjamin Franklin
Berenstain Bears
Berga: Soldiers of Another War
Between the Lions
Beyond Brown
Beyond the Border
Big Apple History
Big Time Losers
Bill Moyers Journal
The Black Press
Bloodlines: Technology Hits Home
The Blues
Bob Dylan: No Direction Home
Body & Soul
Bonhoeffer
Boohbah
Boomer Century
The Border
P.O.V.'s Borders
Boulder City
Broadway: The American Musical
A Brooklyn Family Tale
Brother Can You Spare a Billion? The Story of Jesse H. Jones
Brothermen
Brown is the New Green: George Lopez and the American Dream
Buena Vista Social Club
The Buffalo War
Building Big
By the People: Election 2004
Caillou
California and the American Dream
A Capitol Fourth
CARRIER
Caring for Your Parents
Caught In the Crossfire
Century of Quilts
CEO Exchange
Cezanne in Provence
Changing Stages
Character Above All
Character Studies
Chasing the Sun
Children of the Camps
Children's Hospital
China From the Inside
Chinatown
Churchill
Circle of Stories
Cities of Light: The Rise & Fall of Islamic Spain
Citizen Kurchatov: Stalin's Bomb Maker
City, The (La Ciudad)
The Civil War
Click & Clack's As the Wrench Turns
Clifford The Big Red Dog
Closer To Truth
Closing the Achievement Gap
Collected Stories
Colonial House
Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy
The Congregation
Conquistadors
Conscience and the Constitution
Continental Harmony
Cooking Under Fire
Cop Shop
Copenhagen
Country Boys
Cowboys, Indians and Lawyers
Coyote Waits
Craft in America
I, Cringely
Crucible of Empire: The Spanish-American War
Cucina Sicilia
Culinary Travels With Dave Eckert
Culture Shock
Curious George
Cyberchase
Daring to Resist: Three Women Face the Holocaust
Death of the Dream: Farmhouses in the Heartland
Deford Bailey: A Legend Lost
PBS KIDS Democracy Project
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Depression: Out of the Shadows
Design Squad
design:e2
Destination America
Dickens
Digital TV: A Cringely Crash Course
Digital TV, PBS
Disconnected: Politics, the Press and the Public
DNA
Do You Speak American?
Don't Buy It
Dragon Tales
Dragonfly TV
Duke Ellington's Washington
Earth On Edge
Echoes From the White House
Edens Lost and Found
EekoWorld
EGG the arts show
Egypt's Golden Empire
Einstein's Wife
Electric Money
Elie Wiesel: First Person Singular
Emile Norman: By His Own Design
Empire of the Bay
Empires
Empty Oceans, Empty Nets
Endgame: Ethics and Values in America
Ending AIDS: The Search for a Vaccine
Enemies of War
Escape From Affluenza
Evening at Pops
The Everlasting Stream
Everyday Baking from Everyday Food
Everyday Edisons
Everyday Food
Evolution
Exploring Space: The Quest for Life
Exposé
Extreme Oil
Eyes On The Prize
The Face of Russia
Faith and Reason
Faith, Hope and Capital
A Falconer's Memoir
Farm Aid 2003
The Farmer's Wife
Farmhouses in the Heartland
Fat: What No One Is Telling You
FETCH
Fight in the Fields
The Fillmore
Fire and Ice
The First Measured Century
First Person Plural
First Year
Flashpoints USA with Bryant Gumbel and Gwen Ifill
Food for the Ancestors
For Gold and Glory
A Force More Powerful
The Forgetting
The Forgotten Americans
Frank Lloyd Wright
Franny's Feet
Freedom: A History of US
Freedom Never Dies: The Legacy of Harry T. Moore
Frida Kahlo, The Life and Times of
From Swastika to Jim Crow
From the Top
From the Top at Carnegie Hall
Frontier House
Frontline
Frontline/World
George Shrinks
Get Up, Stand Up: The Story of Pop and Protest
The Gin Game
Global Connections
Global Watch
GlobalTribe
Going Places
Gonzalez Family
Good War and Those Who Refused to Fight It
Gormenghast
Grand Star
Great Food
Great Lodges of the Canadian Rockies
Great Lodges of the National Parks
Great Performances
Great Projects: The Building of America
Great Wall Across the Yangtze
The Great War
The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization
Gulf Coast: Road to Renewal
Guns, Germs and Steel
HandyMa'am With Beverly DeJulio
Hans Hofmann: Artist/Teacher, Teacher/Artist
Harriman Expedition Retraced: A Century of Change
Harry T. Moore (Freedom Never Dies)
HDTV (PBS Digital TV)
Healthcare Crisis: Who's at Risk?
Heaven on Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism
Hemingway Adventure (Michael Palin's)
Heritage: Civilization And The Jews
Heroes of Ground Zero
The Hidden Epidemic: Heart Disease in America
Hidden Korea
History Detective Kids
History Detectives
Hitchhiking Vietnam: Letters From The Trail
Homecoming
Hometime
Hopes on the Horizon
Horatio's Drive
How Art Made the World
Huey P. Newton Story
Hunt for the Hood
I, Cringely
Illicit: The Dark Trade
In Search of Ancient Ireland
In Search of Myths & Heroes
In Search of Shakespeare
In the Balance
In the Mix
The Inaugural Classroom
Independent Lens
Independent Spirits: The Faith and John Hubley Story
Indian Country Diaries
Innovation
Intimate Strangers: Unseen Life on Earth
Islam: Empire of Faith
It's a Big Big World
It's My Life
Jack Johnson, The Rise and Fall of
Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks
Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire
Jay Jay the Jet Plane
Jazz
Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ocean Adventures
The Jewish Americans
Jewish Cooking in America with Joan Nathan
The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow
John Gardner: Uncommon American
Lady Bird Johnson
Journal Editorial Report
Journey Into Amazonia
Journey to Planet Earth
A Journey Towards Peace
Julia Child: Lessons With Master Chefs
Just One Night
Justice and the Generals
Justice for My People: The Dr. Hector P. Garcia Story
Kate Chopin: A Re-Awakening
Keeping Score
Ken Burns American Stories
Kennedy Center Presents: Speak Truth to Power
The Kennedy Center Presents: The 2005 Mark Twain Prize celebrating Steve Martin
The Key of G
Kids World Sports
Kofi Annan: Center of the Storm
Kratts' Creatures
La Ciudad (The City)
L.A. Holiday Celebration
Lady Bird Johnson
Lance Loud! A Death in An American Family
Last Best Hope
Launching Young Readers
Lawrence of Arabia
Legacy
The Legacy
Legacy: Being Black in America
Legendary Lighthouses
Lewis and Clark
Liberty! The American Revolution
The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo
A Life Apart
Life Beyond Earth
The Life of Birds by David Attenborough
Life Part 2
Literacy Link
Literature and Life
Live From Lincoln Center
Livelyhood
The Living Edens
Living With Suicide
Local News
Lost Liners
Made in Spain
Make Way for Noddy
Manor House
Marie Antoinette
Mark Twain
The Mark Twain Prize
Martin Luther
Masterpiece
Matters of Race
Maya and Miguel
The Meaning of Food
MediaShift
Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance
Memorial Day Concert
The Merrow Report
Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure
Mississippi River of Song
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
Misunderstood Minds
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Monty Python's Personal Best
Most Honorable Son
MotorWeek
Moyers on Addiction: Close to Home
Moyers on America
Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet
My Journey Home
Mysteries of Deep Space
The Mysterious Human Heart
Mystery!
Mystery of Love, The
Napoleon
The National Memorial Day Concert
Nature
NBR
NeedCom
Nerds 2.0.1
NerdTV
The New Americans
The New Heroes
The New Medicine
The New Red Green Show
New York Goes to War
New York Online
News Flash Five
The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer
Nightly Business Report
1900 House
No Greater Calling
No Safe Place
Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony
Not In Our Town
NOVA
NOVA scienceNOW
Novel Reflections on the American Dream
NOW
Old Settler
On Our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying
On Stage at the Kennedy Center
Once Upon a Sleigh Ride: The Music and Life of Leroy Anderson
Online NewsHour
Only a Teacher
Open Outcry
Our Genes Our Choices
Out of the Past
Parent Tales
PBS Hollywood Presents
PBS KIDS Share a Story
PBS Previews
PBS Program Club
People Like Us
People's Century
The Perennial Gardener With Karen Strohbeen
Perfect Illusions
The Perilous Fight: America's World War II in Color
Pete Peterson: Assignment Hanoi
Peter and Paul and the Christian Revolution
Philadelphia Diary
Plein Air: Painting the American Landscape
Postcards From Buster
P.O.V.
Power of Art
Precious Cargo
Precious Children
Presumed Guilty
Prince Among Slaves
Program Club (PBS)
Queen Victoria's Empire
The Question of God
Race: The Power of an Illusion
Raising Cain: Boys in Focus
Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey
Re: Vietnam - Stories Since the War
Reading Rainbow
Reading Rockets: Launching Young Readers
Ready to Learn
Real Simple
Red Files
Red Gold: The Epic Story of Blood
The Red Green Show
Red Tail Reborn
Rediscovering Dave Brubeck
Rediscovering George Washington
Regret to Inform
Religion and Ethics Newsweekly
Remaking American Medicine
Remembered Earth: New Mexico's High Desert
Reporting America at War
Retirement Revolution
The Return of the Cuyahoga
Ribbon of Sand
Right Here, Right Now
The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow
Roadtrip Nation
The Roman Empire in the First Century
Roots in the Sand
Rosalie Sorrels
Rough Science
Router Workshop
Rx for Survival
Sagwa the Chinese Siamese Cat
Savage Earth
Savage Planet
Savage Seas
School: The Story of American Public Education
Science Investigators
A Science Odyssey
Scientific American Frontiers (Alan Alda in)
Scout's Honor
Searching for Asian America
Second Opinion
Secret Files Of The Inquisition
Secret Life of the Brain
Secrets of the Dead
Secrets of the Ocean Realm
Secrets of the Pharaohs
Seeing in the Dark
Senior Year
Sesame Street
Seth Eastman: Painting the Dakota
Shall We Sing?
The Shape of Life
Share a Story
Shattering The Silences
The Silent Epidemic
Simon Schama's Power of Art
Sister Wendy's American Collection
The Six Wives of Henry VIII
The Sixties: The Years That Shaped a Generation
Skin Stories
Skinwalkers, An American Mystery! Special
Slavery and the Making of America
Small Ball: A Little League Story
Small Fortunes
Small Steps: Creating the High School for Contemporary Arts
Smitten
Soldiers Without Swords: The Black Press
Sound and Fury
Soundstage
Space Station
Speak Truth to Power
The Split Horn
Springboard: Exploring the Digital Age
Srebrenica: A Cry from the Grave
Stage on Screen
Standard Deviants TV
Stealing Home
Still Life With Animated Dogs
Store Wars
The Story of Jesse H. Jones
Strange Days on Planet Earth
Sugihara: Conspiracy of Kindness
Sun River Homestead
SUPER WHY!
Swastika to Jim Crow
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Take One Step
A Tale of Two Schools
A Taste of Louisiana
Tavis Smiley
Taxi Dreams
TeacherLine
Teletubbies
Ten Steps to College With The Greenes
Tesla: Master of Lightning
Test of Courage
Texas Ranch House
That Money Show
The Price of Freedom
The Supreme Court
The War
These Kids Mean Business
They Drew Fire
They Made America
A Thief of Time
Think Tank
The Thirty Second Candidate
This Far By Faith
This is a Game Ladies
This Old House
Thomas Eakins: Scenes from Modern Life
Thomas Hampson: I Hear America Singing
Thomas Jefferson
Thou Shalt Honor
Through Deaf Eyes
To Our Credit
To The Contrary
Trade Secrets
Transistorized!
Treasures of the World
Tree Safari: A Sculptural Journey
Triumph at Carville
Triumph of the Nerds
The Truth About Cancer
Tutu and Franklin: A Journey Towards Peace
Undetectable
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
The U.S. - Mexican War
Via Dolorosa
Victory Garden
The Video Game Revolution
Vietnam Passage
Voyage of the Odyssey
Walking the Bible
Walter Burley Griffin: In His Own Right
The War
The War That Made America
Warplane
Warrior Challenge
Warrior in Two Worlds
Warship
Washington Week
Way of the Warrior
WayBack
Wayfinders: A Pacific Odyssey
Weekend Explorer
Welcome to the Club: The Women of Rockabilly
Well-Founded Fear
The West
What's Up With the Weather?
When Parents Are Deployed
Who Cares: Chronic Illness in America
The Whole Child
Who's Dancin' Now?
Wide Angle
Wild Indonesia
Wild TV
Windsor Castle
WIRED SCIENCE
With Eyes Open
Wonders of the African World
The Woodwright's Shop
Woof!
WordGirl
Words and Music by Jerry Herman
WordWorld
World War II on PBS
The Writing Code
Y2K: The Winter of Our Disconnect?
Young Dr. Freud
Zoboomafoo
ZOOM
Zora's Roots

AMC 1 Ku Band

Pentagon Channel

Galaxy 28 C Band

AMG TV

Galaxy 27 Ku Band

White Springs TV

Galaxy 25 Ku Band

Safe TV

Horizon 2

ONN
 
Last edited:
That is one heck of a list Crypt.

Also, see "why in people's opinion it is a GOOD idea for someone to own a true FREE TO AIR satellite system." here
 
the packages with c band are much cheaper then dtv or dish so if you have a big enough dish and a DSR receiver you cant go wrong, plus picture quality you wont get on the small dish providers.

also there is alot of stuff thats still free as i enjoy varsity tv some of its just stupid it can make one laugh on a bad day
 
FTA channels make a great supplement with paid subscriptions such as Directv and Dish Net, even with cable. Also with the digital channels available on OTA.
Also there's shows on FTA that pop up from time to time on wild feeds... That add the fun of blind searching!
I believe the FTA hobby will be BETTER as far what's available in the future! Take a look what the European countries are watching with their FTA systems! Sooner or later USA should start offering more to watch... for free!!!

AND reading forums such as this one makes interesting reading. Most of us are like family!
 
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