Good FTA HD channels & receiver

[N6BY]

I am considering buying an HD FTA receiver. I already have a 10' BUD that gets both C and KU band. Are there any HD channels (in the clear) that are worth watching? Anything besides PBS HD and NASA HD?

Also, which HD FTA reciever is recommended? Thanks.

 

[boomer_106]

Depends what your interests are. There isn't a ton of full time HD channels but, there are lots of feeds in HD.

As are as what receiver is recommended, you will get several different answers. Pansat 9200, Coolsat 8100, Quali TV 1080. I'm sure I'm forgetting some. You already have a nice dish setup so, I'd definitely go for an HD receiver. Maybe tell us what you like to watch and we can give you a good recommendation.

 

[N6BY]

You're right, I've invested a lot in motorizing the dish (money plus many hours aligning it to the arc). Might as well get a decent HD receiver to go with it. Plus it will be nice to record stuff. For feed hunting, I can just tune it to a likely channel and record for later review.

Which sat has the most HD feeds?

 

[brentb636]

"Which sat has the most HD feeds?"
Good Question .
If I give my usual response, which is 74W, 91W, 99!, 105W , you might be tempted to ignore the rest, but some nice feeds show up on sats that seem to be pretty sparse for programming. That's why a good blindscan stb is necessary. My habit is to park my 90cm dish on PBS, while I'm blindscanning other birds with my 1.2m and Merc II . My 12" TV monitors the blindscan progress and if something might be interesting I check it out first with my tt s2-3200 ( attached to the 1.2m dish) . I have a pretty involved life, as you can see.

 

[boomer_106]

Yep, Brent just hit on the most populated satellites but, like he correctly stated, things pop up everywhere. If you are going to buy a HD receiver that doesn't have a blindscan (like the QualiTV 1080) then you can also get a good blind scan SD receiver pretty cheap. The Quali TV is currently the only consumer set top box that can get 4:2:2 feeds. The Quali however is not a PVR so, no recording. You can see why I said let us know what you want to do so we can make more informed suggestions for you

 

[vc2]

The Quali TV is currently the only consumer set top box that can get 4:2:2 feeds.

But it won't handle DVB-S2, MPEG 4 video which seems to be a growing trend.

 

[boomer_106]

But it won't handle DVB-S2, MPEG 4 video which seems to be a growing trend.

That's correct. There isn't really one set top box that does it all. If you aren't interested in 4:2:2 then I don't see any reason to even look at the Quali. I have the Pansat 9200. It's not a perfect box but with the additional S2 add in piece it will do what you seem to want.

 

[Mr Tony]

Coolsat 8000 or 8100 can do DVB-S2 and MPEG4 from the get go...no extra equipment needed

but no blind scan

 

[eurosport]

I have a Pansat 9200 that will do bind scan and mpeg4 but not DVB - S2 -and I just (today) got a Coolsat 8000, which seems to be a good one so far, but like Iceberg said, no blind scan. But with the transponder info in hand most of the time, the lack of blind scan has so far been a non-issue for me. The Pansat will do -S2 with an adapter card, but you need to watch out for the right one....some are just for the "Eye-Patch Gang"

 

[N6BY]

Unfortunately I made the mistake of getting a ViewSat Max HD from GoSatellite.

I ordered it, and then the next day I read the reviews. So I immediately tried to cancel my order because I read that blind scan doesn't work.

In response to my phone calls and emails to GoSatellite requesting to cancel my order, they ignored me and an hour later they sent me a UPS tracking number.

Their return policy is no refunds and they will only replace defective equipment within 7 days (with the same model).

So it arrived yesterday and the first thing I tried was a blind scan on G-19 (97W). It found nothing -- nada, not a single transponder. However, doing an 'auto scan' with the factory pre-programmed list of transponders found some channels.

But I got this reciever for feed hunting, and not having blind scan to find new transponders makes it worthless to me.

The receiver is so buggy, it wouldn't even let me upgrade the firmware from 1.05 to 1.07. It just says 'bad file format', even though I got the file directly from viewsatusa.com.

Has anyone here been able to deal with GoSatellite into accepting a return?

 

[boomer_106]

Unfortunately I made the mistake of getting a ViewSat Max HD from GoSatellite.

I ordered it, and then the next day I read the reviews. So I immediately tried to cancel my order because I read that blind scan doesn't work.

In response to my phone calls and emails to GoSatellite requesting to cancel my order, they ignored me and an hour later they sent me a UPS tracking number.

Their return policy is no refunds and they will only replace defective equipment within 7 days (with the same model).

So it arrived yesterday and the first thing I tried was a blind scan on G-19 (97W). It found nothing -- nada, not a single transponder. However, doing an 'auto scan' with the factory pre-programmed list of transponders found some channels.

But I got this reciever for feed hunting, and not having blind scan to find new transponders makes it worthless to me.

The receiver is so buggy, it wouldn't even let me upgrade the firmware from 1.05 to 1.07. It just says 'bad file format', even though I got the file directly from viewsatusa.com.

Has anyone here been able to deal with GoSatellite into accepting a return?

Not very good news from a site sponsor. You can recover for about $75 with a Traxxis 3500. Everything I've read on them states that it's blind scan is fast and good

 

[FTAsquirrel]

I found the Pansat 9200 to be a bit to buggy for me. Went back to my Mercury II for now until a good solid HD receiver comes out some day that can do all the things like blind scan all formats.

 

[boomer_106]

I found the Pansat 9200 to be a bit to buggy for me. Went back to my Mercury II for now until a good solid HD receiver comes out some day that can do all the things like blind scan all formats.

I think we may be waiting a long time for that.

 

[N6BY]

Anyone here dealt with GoSatellite? Know the owner?

Wish I could get rid of this VS Max HD turkey.

 

[rv1pop]

My four dealings with Go Satellitie have been totally unsatisfactory. They posted unsatisfactory review on Ebay for me because THEY would not deliver what I won from them even after I paid them. A month later they refunded my money and then said I had not paid them.
I will never recommend them.

 

[N6BY]

My four dealings with Go Satellitie have been totally unsatisfactory. They posted unsatisfactory review on Ebay for me because THEY would not deliver what I won from them even after I paid them. A month later they refunded my money and then said I had not paid them.
I will never recommend them.

I have now ordered from two of the site sponsors and neither was positive.

I ordered a GBox V3000 from Sadoun and it took 30 days before I got it. I heard 'You'll get it next week' for 3 weeks in a row. Finally got it, but it kept my motorized dish project on hold for a long time.

Go Satellite shipped quickly, but ignored my order cancellation request. Their response to my cancellation request was a tracking number! Also, their 'return policy' if you can call it that, only allows defective replacement. No refunds.

I'm sure many here have had positive experiences with these 2 companies, and if so, power to you. But don't get mad at me for complaining. All I can say is that my 2 experiences were not good.

As for the blind scan problem with the Viewsat HD Max -- I should have read the reviews BEFORE I ordered it.

 

[gabshere]

i don't know what their policy is but maybe you could ask to exchange it for another box that you find more suitable to your needs ?
just a thought

 

[brentb636]

Possibly return it with a re-stocking fee.

 

[N6BY]

i don't know what their policy is but maybe you could ask to exchange it for another box that you find more suitable to your needs ?
just a thought

I just tried that. They refuse to help.

Here is the actual chat transcript I had with 'Allison' at Go Satellite at 3:52 PM today (Sunday)

Please wait for a site operator to respond.
Chat InformationYou are now chatting with 'Allison'
Allison: Welcome to GOsatellite.com
Allison: We are America's #1 volume free-to-air satellite retailer.
Allison: We offer:
Allison: NO TAX ON ALL ITEMS
Allison: FREE SHIPPING on FTA Receivers.
Allison: FREE Installation software CD
Allison: FREE Bonus items with each purchase
Allison: FREE Lifetime access to our online tech support community
Allison: I am here to help you find the best satellite gear that suits your needs best. We ship nation-wide from our California distribution center.
Allison: How can I assist you today?
you: I ordered a Viewsat Max HD last week and am not happy with it. Can I exchange it for a different receiver?
Allison: contact the manufatcure
Allison: ViewsatUSA
you: I am going to post your response on satelliteguys.us, a website you sponsor.
Allison: Understood, Is there anyhting else I can help you with?
you: You didn't help me.
Allison: Thank you for chatting. Good-bye.
Chat InformationChat session has been terminated by the site operator.

 

[boomer_106]

I just tried that. They refuse to help.

Here is the actual chat transcript I had with 'Allison' at Go Satellite at 3:52 PM today (Sunday)

Please wait for a site operator to respond.
Chat InformationYou are now chatting with 'Allison'
Allison: Welcome to GOsatellite.com
Allison: We are America's #1 volume free-to-air satellite retailer.
Allison: We offer:
Allison: NO TAX ON ALL ITEMS
Allison: FREE SHIPPING on FTA Receivers.
Allison: FREE Installation software CD
Allison: FREE Bonus items with each purchase
Allison: FREE Lifetime access to our online tech support community
Allison: I am here to help you find the best satellite gear that suits your needs best. We ship nation-wide from our California distribution center.
Allison: How can I assist you today?
you: I ordered a Viewsat Max HD last week and am not happy with it. Can I exchange it for a different receiver?
Allison: contact the manufatcure
Allison: ViewsatUSA
you: I am going to post your response on satelliteguys.us, a website you sponsor.
Allison: Understood, Is there anyhting else I can help you with?
you: You didn't help me.
Allison: Thank you for chatting. Good-bye.
Chat InformationChat session has been terminated by the site operator.

WOW!