Noob Setup

[redzeus]

Hi all,
I have been doing some reading and I would like to set up FTA on my PC, but some of it is confusing . I am not sure what I need dvb-s/dvb-s2/8psk/turbo 8psk/qpsk... to pick up HD programming. My goal is to get as many HD channels that I can. Can anyone let me know if I am missing anything?

I already have 2 Dish 500 dishes for my HD DN and I was hoping to us those.
I was going to purchase a Skywalker-2 card for my PC.

The specs for my PC are:
Windows Vista (32)
AMD Dual Core 4050e 2.1G
3G memory
500G free space
turtle beach riviera
NVidia GeForce 6150e nForce 430

I was planing to run DvbDream and a plugin.

Any guidance is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[guapoharry]

Unless I don't understand, you won't get too many HD channels using Dish 500 dishes. you need larger ones.

Do you have an example of what HD channels you want to get?

 

[14karat]

Without doing anything unethical, those DN dishes are good for nothing.
There are enough defunct stores around Memphis with abandoned dishes on the roofs that you should easily be able to rectify the situation...

 

[redzeus]

Thanks for the info. I will add a new dish to my list. Can I get one of those 30" ones and it will work? Anything special in a LNB that I should be looking for?

As for channels I am really interested in the sports channels. I was hoping to pick up a bunch of FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS. That way if FOX for the midsouth is showing the Titans play and I want to watch Greenbay I can choose a different FOX station.

I was looking at the HD list on lyngsat and it showed alot are 8psk or DVB2D, but it also shows most of them in dark green (encrypted). Does that mean I won't be able to view them?

btw. Thanks for taking the time to help me out.

 

[guapoharry]

The Skywalker-2 website says:
This hardware/software/firmware does NOT do any decryption. It's for clear/unencrypted signal ONLY.

On Lyngsat, light green HD channels saying HD/clear are the ones you can view legally for free.

You won't be able to receive anything that says DVB-S2 with a 30 inch dish. To get that, you need a much bigger dish.

A 30 inch dish is the smallest practical size for the most part. (IMO) However some people have luck getting stuff with smaller dishes.

I think the best overall size to begin with is a 36 inch dish. But as with a lot of things, BIGGER IS BETTER.

For most free to air stuff the LNBF you want is linear polarization. (V, H) The other kind is circular. (R, L)
An LNBF with a lower Noise Factor, NF is usually better.

If your budget supports it, you may want a QPH-031 LNBF. It does circular and linear polarization. Also, a motor to point the dish is good idea.

EDIT - One more thing:
Not sure if I need to explain this, but: From Memphis it's only possible to see satellites located at 25W through 155W approximately. (trees, buildings and other obstructions notwithstanding)