Is i all still worth it?

[Spacecop]

OK; So I finally got a big ugly dish yesterday. I didn't measure the diameter before taking it apart but the individual ribs are 6 feet, so I'm guessing it is a 12' dish. I got a DSR920 controller box w/remote, the dish itself and the Orbitron dish mover. Unfortunately I was unable to get the mounting pole or the ribbon cable.

So far the only thing I have invested is my Saturday to disassemble it and take it home. Before I invest in a mounting pole and a couple hundred bucks for the ribbon cable is it still worth it in 2014? Is there still any FTA in the North West US to be worth it? Also what about pay providers? Can I use the DSR920 or will I need to upgrade? Is there a DVR solution for this set up?

I am rural enough that I cannot get anything off a regular antenna and there is no cable available. Currently I am a Direct TV subscriber and am tired of spending almost $100 a month now for the hand full of channels I acutely watch.

I know you guys must answer these same questions over and over, so thanks for putting up with them.

 

[Diamond Jim]

I was begining to wonder the same things you are asking. Then we built and moved to a new house in the country in an area where there is no cable. I left the BUD at the old house for a few weeks until we got everything moved. I then went and got the BUD and it laid in the back yard for about a month or so. Then I realized that college hockey season was coming up. I dug the hole and set the post then called a friend who is a former installer and we had that baby up and running in no time. After 3 months of the 4 local netwoks I was ready to get back into the game. To answer your question, YES, it's worth it.

 

[77TA]

Whether it is worth it is up to you and what you like to watch. Most cable channels are not available fta but a lot of good programming is including the big ota networks. If you are hooked on a couple of cable channels you may not be satisfied with a big dish alone but to me it is definitely worth it. While the channels available change from day to day at last count I had over 50 channels that had programming that I would actually watch. That was excluding duplicates and channels from different time zones. It also excludes channels in languages other than English and religious channels (if you like either of those your channel count will be much higher). Additionally there is a lot of sports and entertainment wildfeeds out there. Wildfeeds show up at random locations and disappear when the event is over.

You don't have to invest in ribbon cable if you don't want to. I use rg6 for the signal, extension cord for the motor power and speaker wire for motor sensor wire. Less than $40 for a 60ft run.

You will want a dvb s2 receiver to go with the dish. There are plenty to choose from Microhd, x2 premium, Traxis 6000, Alien 2, Manhattan RS1933 just to name a few.

As for pay services using the big dish there are a couple of options, but I'll let people more knowledgeable about them reply to that part.

 

[ken2400]

What channel are you trying to get?

 

[waylew]

Read thru this;
http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/331225-Which-Sat-has-HGTV-when-it-comes-to-Skyvision-4DTV

 

[rv1pop]

The big question is WHAT KIND of programing are you looking for?

With the answer to that, then an answer to your question is possible. We watch 97W KU almost exclusively.

 

[Spacecop]

So here is some more info I forgot to mention in the original post. The LNB is NORSAT 8000 Digital C Band.

OK now on to the question of what I watch. It looks like I could buy the Digital Deluxe Pack from Skyvision and cut my current bill in half. That package is basically what I watch now. I could probably even go to the Basic package and be happy. Add to that the adventure of the other FTA stuff would be a plus.

Would I be able to use the LNB, and DSR920 that I have or will I need to upgrade either of these things. I read somewhere that I should check the battery of the DSR920 So I will do that soon. Are there any tutorials on any of this stuff?

"77TA" Thanks for the heads up on the RG6 and other alternatives instead of ribbon cable. Are you suggesting that I add one of the receivers you recommended or will I be replacing the DSR920. Once I know that this is viable I am not afraid to invest some money to do it right. If I stay with Direct Tv I will need to upgrade that receiver and I don't do contracts so that means I need to buy a receiver either way.

Thanks for the input so far.

 

[Spacecop]

I do also watch some of the news channels, CNN, MSN, FOX, CNBC. In no particular order or importance.

 

[turbosat]

I would fire that 920 up and make sure it still has a unit address in memory, otherwise I don't think they're good for anything, other than maybe moving the dish. If it is still good, the battery inside it may need replacing soon. There's information available on that too, but I haven't done one myself. If your unit address is good, you should be able to subscribe to those skyvision packages. It's all SD though, unless you can find that HDD-200 high def decoder box that was available for the 4DTV boxes at one time.
You'll find a lot of free tv to watch on satellite, with a current HD free to air receiver, and c / ku dish setup.

 

[77TA]

"77TA" Thanks for the heads up on the RG6 and other alternatives instead of ribbon cable. Are you suggesting that I add one of the receivers you recommended or will I be replacing the DSR920.

Since you want to use both subscription service and fta, the DSR920 or similar receiver would be used for the subscription service and is typically used to move the dish and adjust the polarity for the fta receiver as well. Then a dvb-s2 FTA receiver like those I listed would be used for the free channels.

 

[Spacecop]

Turbosat; I need to find a cord for the 920 so I will get on that right away to check for the unit address. Sorry to sound so ignorant but I am. When I plug the unit in and turn it on will that information show up on a display on the unit? Or will I need to plug it into a monitor and look for it in a menu system somewhere? Is it obvious or will I need to search for it. If it all works I will start looking for an HD decoder.

What HD FTA receiver should I be looking for?

Thanks

 

[Spacecop]

77TA; Thanks for the clarification that there is a difference between subscription service and FTA and that separate boxes will be needed. I know you listed several, Do you have a favorite? This is unknown territory for me and while I am not afraid to spend a good dollar on quality I also don't want to through money away on junk or something that I would outgrow in a very short time. What about DVR? Or is that also something that would be stand alone?

I know lots of questions, Thanks so much for all the input form everyone so far. I am feeling much more confident about moving forward.

 

[77TA]

Most fta receivers have good points and bad points. Any of those listed should do a good job, it mainly just comes down to what features you want. The MicroHD seems to have good forum support here, the x2 premium has excellent blindscan capabilities, I believe the traxis and manhattan both still have component output, and I think the alien offers streaming to pc. Most if not all of these offer dvr functions when you connect them to a usb hard drive.

Here are some links to help you see what functions and pricing is available.

http://gotcband.com/receivers.html

http://store.fridgefta.info/?page_id=1613#axzz2uASHo5bI

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008TJQZ76/?tag=satell01-20

 

[migold]

Spacecop;
I do not know about the DSR920, I used the DSR922 for years, but no longer. If they are the same, then you will need to connect to a TV to go to the menu where the unit ID is shown. I do not know of any HD that is available for these units - I believe that only SD transmissions are available now for subscription. You should check before you seek an HD decoder for your 920.

 

[waylew]

First,don't even worry about the HD decoder,there is no HD available for 4DTV anymore.
Once you find a cord for the 920,plug it in,at first the front panel should show all "*****",then change to WMUP.After Warm Up,you will either see a sat and channel number or press the power button and then the channel display will lite up.
Hook it to a TV,you can use either the modulator output(channel 3 or 4 on the tv) or the video/audio outputs (yellow/red/white rca jacks).You don't need to be connected to a dish to check the numbers.
Press the OPTIONS button on the remote,then 6 then 5,the receiver number,line B,should match the the UA number that is on a tag on the back,or maybe the bottom of the receiver.
If the numbers still match the ID is still good and you can buy programming,if the numbers don't match the ID is lost and you can no longer subscribe with that box.
If the ID is bad you can still use the 920 as a dish mover and still receive what free digital (and analog) channels that are still up there.You will have to replace the battery first tho.
If the ID is good you should replace the battery asap,unless you know the bat has been replaced recently,say in the last 2 or 3 years.