New to C-band satellite, dont understand it

[49studebaker]

I currently receive analog(NTSC) and digital/high definition(ATSC) with my hd television with an antenna on my roof. I am interested in getting a satellite system. I understand there is DirecTV and Dish Network, but I do not understand much about C-band/KuBand. I am not interested in anything illegal, only legal please.

Please correct me if I am wrong but from what I understand in order to receive C-band/Ku I need to get one of those big satellite dishes. Lets say I can find someone in the newspaper giving one away for free. Next, I need to get a Free-to-Air satellite receiver. This is where I get confused. I don't understand what signals the satellites send out. What is digicipher, digicipher 2, mpeg2, dvb, MPEG-4, and QPSK? So could someone simpfly it for me. For example a tv getting a signal from a roof antenna can pick up NTSC and ATSC, but what would be the equivalents for satellite? If I buy a receiver like Fortec Star Mercury II would I be able to pick up analog, digital, and high definition free-to-air signals? Would I need something like the Sonicview 8000 HD in order to pickup free-to-air high definition signals? Would the Sonicview 8000 HD be able to pick up analog, digital, and high definition free-to-air signals or would I need both the Sonicview 8000 HD and Fortec Star Mercury II? Is satellite analog being phased out like antenna tv?


Lets say I decide I want to subscribe to channels like Tv land, Discovery, and so on. I was look at skyvision website /programming/dsr410pack.html and they have a package called "410 Basic Pak". Would I just need to buy their DSR-410 receiver and then pay the monthly fee so I could watch those channels? Would I have to buy the DSR-410 receiver or could I just use a Fortec Star Mercury II or Sonicview 8000 HD receiver? Lets say the only receiver I buy is the DSR-410, can that receiver pick up free-to-air signals like the Fortec Star Mercury II and Sonicview 8000 HD receiver? Or would I have to have all three receivers, the Fortec Star Mercury II for analog/digital free-to-air, Sonicview 8000 HD for high definition free-to-air, and the DSR-410 for my "410 Basic Pak" subscription? From what I understand all the programming for the "410 Basic pak" is on one satellite so I would not have to turn the dish, is what right?

I found another programming package on skyvision's website called 4dtv skyvision website /programming/digital.html . Lets say I want to subscribe to DIGITAL Basic PAK instead of the "410 Basic Pak", what receiver would I need? Would the DSR-410 work, or would I need a different receiver? Is 4dtv on different satellites or is it all on one satellite?

Thanks in advance.

 

[GreatFTA]

In order to get the "410 Basic Pak" you will have to purchase DSR-410 receiver from Skyvision. Then you need a BUD (Big Ugly Dish), Ku/C band feedhorn with KU and C band lnbs (or just a C band feedhorn with C band lnb), a motor arm to move the dish east and west, cables that go from dish to receiver in the house... Then you need to find someone to help you set up the dish and equipment. There are folks who want to get rid of the BUD systems even for free. If you go that route, make sure it is working (if possible, see for yourself, unless you know and trust the person giving it away).
I believe the DSR 410 is setup for one satellite to get the package. And may not be able to change satellites across the arc like the IRD receivers do.
If you do search on this forum you will find guys who have DSR 410 and is knowledgable.
There are other ways to get into this hobby, and I suggest you do a great deal of researching
before plunging into it.
There are guys on this site who are very smart in this field and willing to help.
This is a really exciting hobby to get into. Good luck, and have fun!!!

 

[GreatFTA]

Oh, one more thing, in order to get the free to air channels you would need a FTA receiver. The 410 is not a FTA receiver. There are certain receivers that get HD, like the Coolsat 8000. All you need is one receiver to get free to air channels. If you want HD get a receiver that is capable to get it.
Gosh, it is so much to explain to you!
I subscribe to Directv to get channels you mentioned, and have FTA systems to get the extra free channels. And I have a 4DTV system for C Band channels.
The way I am set up, it's like having a huge cable system in my home!!!

 

[49studebaker]

I think I now understand everything. I still have a few free-to-air questions:

1) Are there any analog channels left? If so, what in the specs of a receiver should I look for that tells me it can recieve analog?

Analog channels are NTSC. Check satellite chart here: lyngsat.com/america.html

2) If I buy a Fortec Star Mercury II can I receive analog c-band/ku band channels or am I limited to only digital?

Both C-Band/KuBand. Digital only.

3) I currently receive local HDtv stations like PBS, CBS, ABC with my roof top antenna. If these are the only HD channels a free-to-air HD sat receiver could get then I do not see a reason to buy a free-to-air HD sat receiver. Are there a lot of HD free-to-air channels now or will there be a lot more in the future that would make it worth it to buy a HD free-to-air receiver instead of a non hd digital receiver?

Check chart here: lyngsat.com/america.html Free HD channels are MPEG-4/HD or DVB-S2.

4) I am intrested in recording ATSC(digital signal I pick up with my roof top antenna) and free-to-air satellite, would I be correct assuming that the SONICVIEW 8000 HD can record both?

Yes.

Thanks for your help.



EDIT: I found the answers to my questions. Just thought I would post them if anyone else had the same questions.

 

[49studebaker]

1) Is DVB-S going to be replaced with DVB-S2? Similar to the switch of almost all free-to-air channels from analog to digital.

2) Is there an all in one satellite receiver with DVB(free-to-air), ASTC(over-the-air), and pvr capabilities?

3) I want to receive both C-Band and Ku-Band. A universal lnb would allow me to receive both signals, correct? What universal lnb would you recommend?

 

[Mr Tony]

1. no. DVB & DVB-S2 qare 2 different ways they can send up the channel. Like SD & HD or 4:2:0 & 4:2:2

 

[phlatwound]

1) Is DVB-S going to be replaced with DVB-S2? Similar to the switch of almost all free-to-air channels from analog to digital.

2) Is there an all in one satellite receiver with DVB(free-to-air), ASTC(over-the-air), and pvr capabilities?

3) I want to receive both C-Band and Ku-Band. A universal lnb would allow me to receive both signals, correct? What universal lnb would you recommend?

1.) There is more stuff going to DVB-S2 all the time, but it's still a fairly small percentage, compared to DVB-S.

2.) I think the Diamond 9000 has all 3 of those capabilities (it also had HD & DVB-S2). I have one but I have never tried the ATSC tuner.

3.) No. There are LNB's that will pick up both C-band and Ku-band but (I think) a "universal' LNB is just a type of Ku-only device.

edit: I just hooked up my OTA antenna to the Diamond and scanned in my local channels....ATSC tuner works great!

 

[49studebaker]

If only the Diamond 9000HD had Blind scan it would be perfect for me. Is there any way they could add Blind scan support via firmware update, or is that only a hardware feature?

 

[Lak7]

A Universal LNB will not pick up both C and Ku, you need a LNB like the BSC621-1.
Blind Scan is a Hardware feature, and there is no DVB-S2 Scanner yet.
You may only "think" you need Blind Scan. If you are a "watcher" then don't worry about it now, there are plenty of places on the net where people post their finds. If you are a "hunter" then get a receiver that specializes in Scanning. Most of the guys who post the Feeds do not use an "All-In-One" unit for scanning.
There are a couple issue with the Diamond, the Program Guide does not work, so recordings must be set buy timer, second - it' can't record "High Bit Rate" channels like ABC's Network Feed, it does record off the antenna just fine in HD.

 

[Tron]

Universal vs standard LNB types apply to Ku Band. In Europe, universals are required, since they use the lower Ku frequencies that aren't generally used over North America (exception being Intelsat 9 at 58w). You can use a universal with no trouble here in North America, but it will prevent you from being able to use 22k switching, since the 22k tone is required to internally switch a universal LNB to the high Ku Band.

 

[49studebaker]

I was thinking of getting a BSC621-1 but after reading the forums I think it would be best to go with two seperate lnb's. One of c-band and one for Ku-band.

When reading I have come across the terms "Circular" and "Universal", is that two different words for the same thing? Also, is there a difference between "DSS" and "DBS"?

 

[fanquon]

Lots peoples still don't know what a C or C/KU band dish about, since DTV and Dish are free install, these peoples think the big dish will be install cheap, and they are out of their mind.

Those DTV and Dish installation free but not the home theater and digital TV installation or big dish, these installation will not be cheap and some could cost as much as $450 per installation along.

 

[Tron]

When reading I have come across the terms "Circular" and "Universal", is that two different words for the same thing? Also, is there a difference between "DSS" and "DBS"?

Circular is the type of signal pattern that the small dish (pizza dish) pay services usually use. DBS LNBs (for Dish and DirecTV) receive a circular signal. Ku-Band FSS (Fixed Service Satellite) LNBs receive a linear signal. This is what most FTA signals are. Universal is a type of Ku FSS LNB, the other type being standard. Universals are required in Europe, because their satellites use a lower band Ku frequency segment in addition to the standard Ku frequencies.

DBS and DSS are different terms for the same thing, and refer to "pizza dish" service providers such as DirecTV and Dish Network.

 

[49studebaker]

Thanks for clarifying that. Are there any free channels that I would be able to receive with a circular lnb that would not be available on C Band and Ku Band linear? I think I remember reading that someone said that a person could pick up Angel One and NASA TV with a circular lnb, but as far as I know I should be able to pick up those channels on C band or Ku band linear. If thats the case then a circular lnb would be useless to me since I do not subscibe to direcTV or dish Network.

Another question I had was I see some people have a setup:
Dish -> motor -> positioner -> receiver

others:
Dish -> H-H motor -> receiver

If I put a H-H motor on my dish I would not need a positioner like the PowerTech V3000. Is there any reason I should have a setup that uses a Dish, motor, positioner, receiver instead of one that uses dish, h-h motor, receiver?