Where are the FTA birds?

[bigjnsa]

Ok, second day of playing with this. Kinda fun. However, I can't get any other bird than IA5. However, I have been able to get 101W (dish network) and some other one just right of 101. I thought 101W was AMC4, but doing a Power Scan the only free channel I get is "You've just setup a Super DISH" message. I see from lyngsat, that AMC is also 101. Is the Dish bird over powering AMC4?

Also, since I know where 101 is, can I use that as a reference to find whatever else is close?

Thanks!

 

[charper1]

They do not over power each other. What are you trying to pull in?
What setup are you using - dish, receiver, etc? Is it motorized?
What is your zip code or lat/lon?

Here are a few basic resourses.

US Satellites http://www.lyngsat.com/america.html

Ku Band List http://www.global-cm.net/MPEGlistKuBandUS.html

C Band List http://www.global-cm.net/MPEGlistCBandUS.html

Skyvision FTA List http://skyvision.com/pages/information_center/fta_mpeg2_no_am_east.html

Skyvision Satellite Chart http://skyvision.com/pages/information_center/satarc1.htm

FTA List http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Channels/Channels-FTA-free-to-air-Satellite-TV.htm

 

[bigjnsa]

Update: I finally got AMC4, BUT only 5 channels are coming thru even after a power scan.Lyngsat shows a lot of FTA, but I only get 5, include KUIL Fox. I'm wondering if I should manually enter the TPs for the NBC feeds.

 

[PSB]

Yes, if Power scan does not pull em in a manual/advanced scan may!

 

[bigjnsa]

PSB. the weird thing here is some TPs come in but others don't. For instance KUIL Fox is 99% link, 95% quality. So I manually enter 3860 for the NBC feeds and I don't get anything on Quality. So I try another TP, this one 12120. I get 88% Link and 40-50% Quality. So I do a TP scan and it doesn't find any channels.

Question, is it common for the different TPs on the same bird to have different link/quality levels?

 

[PSB]

Thats normal, all TP's are different strengths.

Also not all TP's pop in with a blind scan!

 

[bigjnsa]

Ah, that's good to know, but bummer I can't get the NBC feeds. I wanna watch the Olympics NOT on cable

 

[charper1]

They should be digital or what was it, 4:2:2 and I think something special was needed to decode, not 100% sure.

 

[PSB]

The NBC channels on AMC-4 are C-Band

http://www.lyngsat.com/amc4.html

 

[charper1]

OK, I thought last time they were all in the 4:2:2 thus not allowing the vast majority of us free access.

PSB can you reexplain the 4:2:2 deal and how I might be able to get it; cost effectively. Thanks

 

[Larry1]

So I manually enter 3860 for the NBC feeds and I don't get anything on Quality. So I try another TP, this one 12120.

The transponder frequencies with 4 digits, like 3860 are the C Band transponders and require a large (7-8 feet plus) dish with a C band LNB. The 5 digit numbers like 12120 are the Ku band transponders and require a smaller dish, generally 1 meter (39 inches) or less with a Ku band LNB. the LNB is the electronic signal pickup part on the dish where you attach the coax cable to. A C band LNB only works for C band frequencies and a Ku band LNB only works for Ku band frequencies.

 

[charper1]

The 5 digit numbers like 12120 are the Ku band transponders and require a smaller dish, generally 1 meter (39 inches) or less

I would reword it to say something like "it doesn't have to be as large as a typical c-band dish" as opposed to "requires a small dish". It is great to have a Ku dish as large as you can afford, even using a 8' - 10' BUD is GREAT. You just need the dual band feedhorn such as the CorotorII with quality low temperature LNBs. (when using a BUD) That way it doesn't make a newbie think you can't use a dish over 39" for Ku. But thats just me.

 

[bigjnsa]

The transponder frequencies with 4 digits, like 3860 are the C Band transponders and require a large (7-8 feet plus) dish with a C band LNB. The 5 digit numbers like 12120 are the Ku band transponders and require a smaller dish, generally 1 meter (39 inches) or less with a Ku band LNB. the LNB is the electronic signal pickup part on the dish where you attach the coax cable to. A C band LNB only works for C band frequencies and a Ku band LNB only works for Ku band frequencies.

Thanks Larry. I kinda figured that out late last night.

 

[Tron]

OK, I thought last time they were all in the 4:2:2 thus not allowing the vast majority of us free access.

PSB can you reexplain the 4:2:2 deal and how I might be able to get it; cost effectively. Thanks

Probably the cheapest way to get 4:2:2 is to use either an internal PCI card such as the Twinhan or Nexus-S in your PC, or an external USB-based solution such as the DVB World USB box or the Twinhan Starbox.

There are some high-end ($700) FTA receivers that will receive 4:2:2 as well as HD, and of course some commercial broadcast-grade receivers (VERY expensive) that will work. But the PC-based platform is the most cost-effective.

 

[Pepper]

Stupid question: so what exactly is 4:2:2 if it's not HD?

 

[charper1]

4:1:1 - The component digital video format with one Cb sample and one Cr sample for every four Y samples. 4:1 horizontal downsampling with no vertical downsampling. Chroma is sampled on every line, but only for every four luma pixels (i.e., 1 pixel in a 1 x 4 grid). This amounts to a subsampling of chroma by a factor of two compared to luma (and by a factor of four for a single Cb or Cr component). DVD uses 4:2:0 sampling, not 4:1:1 sampling.

4:2:0 - The component digital video format used by DVD, where there is one Cb sample and one Cr sample for every four Y samples (i.e., 1 pixel in a 2 x 2 grid). 2:1 horizontal downsampling and 2:1 vertical downsampling. Cb and Cr are sampled on every other line, in between the scan lines, with one set of chroma samples for each two luma samples on a line. This amounts to a subsampling of chroma by a factor of two compared to luma (and by a factor of four for a single Cb or Cr component).

4:2:2 - The component digital video format commonly used for studio recordings, where there is one Cb sample and one Cr sample for every two Y samples (i.e., 1 pixel in a 1 x 2 grid). 2:1 horizontal downsampling with no vertical downsampling. This allocates the same number of samples to the chroma signal as to the luma signal. The input to MPEG-2 encoders used for DVD is typically in 4:2:2 format, but the video is subsampled to 4:2:0 before being encoded and stored.

4:4:4 - A component digital video format for high-end studio recordings, where Y, Cb, and Cr are sampled equally.

 

[charper1]

Probably the cheapest way to get 4:2:2 is to use either an internal PCI card such as the Twinhan or Nexus-S in your PC, or an external USB-based solution such as the DVB World USB box or the Twinhan Starbox.
There are some high-end ($700) FTA receivers that will receive 4:2:2 as well as HD, and of course some commercial broadcast-grade receivers (VERY expensive) that will work. But the PC-based platform is the most cost-effective.

Thanks TRON, the PC card would go for me; the $500+ set-top receive would cause ME TO GO, by the wife.

 

[Larry1]

I would reword it to say something like "it doesn't have to be as large as a typical c-band dish" as opposed to "requires a small dish".

Yes I did not word that correctly as a larger dish will also work.